The sun., 1894-10-30
COMIC OPERA AND FARCE.
,,,o "cAMILLE," WTTH oLsh
yrruERsoLE As THE HEROINE.

.roo uueh Joknson~ nnd Wlitss eti-
,.,. 81 the Csiu.si. - Te-y Faster
,,,roduess so-s Tsis.t rro- Lo-ss-.
All doubt that Olga Nethersole IL . genius was
,,.netIed at Palmer's Theatre last evening. This
s,.sr demonstration that she IL much more than
MERELY accomplished actress, that she IL truly
great actress. came Of her performance OF
camille for the first time In her life. The audi
.rce was against her at the outset, in the sense
,bstit deemed her unlikely TO stand the test Of q
role in which the gifts Of a dozen famous
actresses are memorable, and In which failure
has for that reason, been encountered by un-
counted players Of q Lesser grade. Miss Neither
.ole had been Of debatable quality, 90 far as
,udsed Of in London or New York, by her
acting in "The Trsnsgressor." The poorness
Of that play. and the personal harassments of
the woman here had crippled her powers so
much as TO leave her. st the end Of its brief
term quite indefinite In the minds Of acute OBJ
servers as well as the theatrical public in gen.
sral so II was that that last nights as
s-mbage required to be convinced OF Miss
Nethersole's genius by the most posi-
tive evidence, or she would be finally and de-
cislvely rejected. Well, the performance was
not over until close to midnight, and yet the
familiar, time-worn, vicious old drama held the
audience enthralled, because an actress Of CON-
manding greatness was revealed In IL.
There will be plenty Of time hereafter 10 dis
cuss in detail the merits Of this Cdmtlle, and Of
the actress in other roles, because she is d.
yulged at time when the top rung OF the lad
der Of fame is empty for some English-speaking
actress to climb to. Little more need be
given here, than the news that, In ex-
cess Of the meanings Of Dumass words,
Miss Nethersole expressed the emotions OF
this Parisian wsnton, and that sho did II as art
fully, pathetically, and electrifyingy as Sarah
Bernhardt. This praise must be stinted by the
reminder that, in bestowing II. only one of
Bernhardt's many and various roles Is brought
into comparison. But II Is q sufficient cause for
conaratulation that there has come forth an
English actress At to stand in the shoes of
single one of Bernhardts characters.
Intensity was the chiefest element in Miss
Eethersole's performance. The physical activity
which had made her q fair subject for ridicule
have been exaggerated by nervousness,
was much abstod, and tho remainder OF II
agitation and heartbreaEing agony. The fri
yolity Of the heartless oo9uette. her partial re
se psnS her death
ated and differentiated with the skill Of an
artist With an of stage M dsySs AND AND
manner; but the triumph Of the achievement
came OF something born IN the actress, not
acquired. In other words, Olga Nethersole is q
Maurice Barrymore and John H. Barnes
either by enthusiasm derived from the actress's
success or q manly resolve beforehand TO assist
Rsd Rsd 70 terSid % e"rn.stncss ar @ which does not al
WAYS ehsraeteTise, , his acting. Mr. BarneS I'm.
maas tS tSs fatSef "s e.hness
and commendable. Mrs Phillips was the Nine.
Prudence, and there was no miscasting 10 mar
the representation.
One Of these days some patient person will set
out to discover why the authors OF comic operas
select the kind OF subjects they usually do, and
why the most complicated and involved appeal
70 librettists with such irresistible force. 1t will
be difficult though. to decide why to light music
there should be united q book as dif1cult
of understanding ono Of the Scribe
Meyerbeer operas when IL has been literally
cut. Ono incident, clearly and skilfully shown,
is worth all the dreary intricacies of such a
libretto as Harry Smith has written for Rob
Roy The Gilbert nbrettos have shown how
effective simplicity Is in the story Of an opereta
aud It is quite as worthy an achievement TO sue
eeed these lines as 1t is to bewider an audi
ence with such ambitious complications as
make up the three confused acts Of
"Rob Roy" The lyrics OF tho opera are
occasonall graceful. and the story serves TO
Keep the stage Allied from tim to TIM. with the
we.trained shorIs anu suped5numares yer !i bSs r IL
feeble. The acrobatic Mr. Carroll helped 1t ont
last night, and his heels made the most success
full contribution 20 the evenings fun. IL was
significant that his dancing was more enjoyed
than any Of the other efforts at comicality.
with Mr.; Smith. He has written for the opera
generally agreeable score that is in no places
than a sense OF IT, pleasant quality. The com
poser has made good use of some OF the familiar
tInotiVe V ~ chsrscter % T than ' $ most % ths. Mr.. De
koven writes. In the first act was grace
and ons sf for Fiors i in the second act we're NUM-
bers that the audience seemed 10 enjoy particu.
isrly The nales 70 the acts the marches, mar and and
more The music OF the new work is very much
superior, TO the libretto, but neither is much
chorus In in SRob Roy" that viii ever linEsr in
the memory or be the better for second hear
While the result Of the performance was not
manage Rs sSslsau. the sroSpHss @ and the
ga &. with sr. rare s.ss and fault sRA ,Ai. Il
Smith marched his soldiers up q hill
ns aSTn
sBiy sfiifSl INN IN nOysRsnt We and pose The scenery
probably the best results possible with the
Scotch dress. The oonpsny, included Julie.
ssS:s1s S8.1I .sS and ss.sRs 9ss:ts Gs.sssi
We're amusing within their opportunities, while
William Pruette. W. II. Mclaughlin, Barron
other roles. The orchestra under signor de No
Velis was at times too loud, but usually was
IN Rob Roy" tasteful costumes and bright
sword blades, pleasant music and graceful
moyements. But there Is not much humor IN
the lines nor much In the music that fingers In
the memory.
Mr.. William Gillette tried Ibis recent At
tempt 20 kill time" which answers TO the name
of Too Much Johnson" on Brooklyn Audiencs
last night at the Columbia Theatre.
Mr.. Gillette saws the bill that his time
killing effort Is either q comedy, or q tragedy
according as you look at IT," and he modestlJ
Acknowledges that ian idea from the French
vaudeville, 'Tomassin Plantation has oeer
used by permission In Too Much John
sOn, but in dialogue, Characterization. Anc
all that sort OF thing, the piece is original" Al
that sort Of thing Is vague enough 10 cover much
that is good in the play, and that judging from
Mr.. Gillette's previous work. was the result o.
the time that hung heavy on his hands
Probably the nat the hero, M. August u