Waterbury evening Democrat., 1894-02-09

'MAGDA'-ACT l.
lar to all theater goers that it is doubtful If
anything that she might do could increase
the ranks of her admirers or detractors
The former say that her art is unsurpassed
and unsurpassable while the latter declare
that her frightful and frequent assaults
upon the orthoepy of the English language
do not constitute the greatest of her short
cOmings as an actress. Both factions are
firmly settled in their convictions; perhaps
you are. l know | am; so there we are.
"Magda' has already been seen in several
of the large cities of the country, and many
out of town critics were of the opinion that
the play would create little short of a
furore in New York. That it has not done
so will probably surprise these sapient gen
tlemen greatly, but to those who observe
such matters closely the reason is not hard
to find. For some cause there is a pretty
general idea that Gothamites will stand
plays which breathe forth social miasma
and the moving theme of which is the
problem of the sexes considered from any
thing but a church standpoint In meas
ure this is true, but the play to succeed
must be sufficiently strong dramatically to
dwarf and overcome the malOdOr of the
subject. This was the case with The Sec
ond Mrs. TanQueray," which will long
stand as a model of the playwright's art.
But if Mr.. Pinero could have evolved as
effective situations from less Objectionable
Material his play would have been received
with even greater favor. New Workers,
unlike the French people, do not become
zen rapport" with unveiled vice. rs de-
picted upon the stage They may gulp it
down while making a wry face if it is par
ticularly artistically sugar coated, but they
would vastly prefer something which is a
natural and not an acquired taste.
The Second Mrs. Tanqueray' cannot but
exert II harmful influence for this reason:
Very few playwrights are Pineros, but most,
if not all, imagine that they are and to
prove it they are apt to perpetrate imita-
tions which will resemble the original only
in the respect that both deal with erOtic
subjects. But one is not unpleasant to take,
while the other will be repulsve in its vul-
garnudity, devoid even of the lghtest cloak
to conceal its manifest attempt at suggest
iveness. As a natural consequence, where
one pl asses the other will only disgust.
Prince Kan, or Trip to Venus" which
during its long and successful career at the
Hub was known simply as Venus" has
come to town. The Camille d'Arville Com
ic Opera company is singing the piece at
the Casino. 1t would be very easy to apply
Shakespearean tests to prince kam' and
at once declare that it is a worthless con-
cOction, but as the authors, Charles Alfred
Byrne and Louis Harrison, and the COM
poser, Gustave kerker, do not sail under
false colors, but frankly designate their
work as "a fantastic comic opera" it would
be manifestly un ust to condemn it because
it is not up TO "TrOvatOre' form.
The book of prince kam' is the best
thing that Byrne and Harrison have ever
done, or, to be more exact, it can easily be
made so. Whatever defects there may be are
not due to the general construction, but rath-
er to a misapplicatiOn of detail. These are
faults easily remedied, however. Prince
KAN" contains many odd conceits, one of
which is a quartet of wise old men made
up to look something like White Leghorn
ROSTERS who calculate at intervals, That
reminds me-" and then proceed to tell the
audience all about it in a plaintive but very
fetching melody They are very funny,
though by yielding freely to the tempta-
ton to take too many encoreS they might
easily become tiresome. Some of the gags
in the libretto of prince Kan" might also
be dispensed with to advantage.
The story of the opera is not intricate or
probable, but it doesn't pretend to be-
Poem, the grand Llama of Thibet, has a
son, Prince Kan, who cannot succeed to the
throne unless he shall have been married
on or before his twenty-first birthday. The
young fellow very foolishly, however, does
not regard with favor the fair creatures of
this mundane sphere. Like the artist in
the novel, he has an IDEAL who is no less a
parsonage or star-age than Venus. An cleo
trician agrees to shoot them all up to the
planet la Jules Verne, but the apparatus
is not we'll aimed and the party lands on
Mars where, however, Venus is found liv-
ing as the partner Of the god of war, whom
she quickly throws over for Prince Kan.
After numerous complications and humor-
Gus episodes everything ends happily for
the fellows from earth, but Mars is, to use
a Steve Brodyism, in the cold, cold soup.
prince Kan" is int nded to amuse, and
this it is certain to do in a marked degree
after it shall have been given the polishing
touches which are necessary to all produc-
tions after they are seen in this city.
Mr. kerkers score contains several very
swingy numbers, but it will need a great
deal of petouching to bring it up to the plane
of the book. He does not appear to have
exactly caught the spirit of the hbrettists
The operetta is interpreted by an exception
ally competent cast, of which the principal
members, besides Miss Camille d'Arville,
are w llllam 1rueUUe, 11dllen hOSl SI, marry
Macdonough, Fannie Johnson, Nellie Brag-
gins, Louise Sylvester and that phenome
nally clever little tot, La Regaloncita.
When Calve sang at the Metropolitan
Opera House for the first time, wrote that
while most persons went to hear her out of
sheer curiosity the announcement of the
wonderful Frenchwoman as the star of the
bill thereafter would be sufficient to test
the capacity of the magnificent Temple of
Art" as Mr.. Grau would put it. This has
proved to be the case. Grand opera, as
given this season, despite the prodigality of
lyric ability, has not swelled the bank &C
count of Abbey 81 Grau to the extent that
was expected. The Wagner element has
shown by it's absence that it resents the
slight put upon it's idol by the manage
ment, which, it must be admitted, has not
given the works of The Shakespeare of
Music the attention to which most per-
sons consider they are entitled. This de-
lection from the comparatively limited
ranks of the lovers of grand opera has nat
urally injured business and has married
somewhat the brilliancy and enthusiasm of
the season. But when it is necessary to
fill the opera House TO the very doors Car
men," with Calve in the titular role, is an
nounced. The result is never in doubt. One
II l. - Il