Pawtucket tribune. (Pawtucket, R.I.) 1890-189?, 1894-04-16

MoUNET-sULLY IN COSTUME.
tempt IL made 10 set Mounet- Sully mp az
the first tragedian OF his time IL can excite
no emotion more serious than pity. The
absurdity OF the thing TO any one not so
aggressively patriotic as the average Pa
risian is at once manifest. Compare Mou.
net-Sully, for instance, with Booth, Irving
and Salvini.
There Is absolutely no respect In which
Booth was not the superior Of the French
man. He possessed a much more pleasing
personality, a million times the subtlety,
and as reader he was to Mounet-Sully a.
the schoolteacher Is 10 the child who Is at
tempting to master its alphabet
With Irving the shortcomings OF the
French tragedian are not so marked, foi
they both have strong mannerisms. but
every word, every step, every change of ex.
preston Of the Englishman is characterized
by thoughtfulness, and there is a strong
spirituality or idealism about his work that
Mounet-Sully cannot approach, much less
excel.
Salvini--the elder, Of course-is, however,
the actor who most strikingly disposes OF
the pretensions of the French tragedian.
They are both addicted 10 robustious
methods, but Salvini's are always consist,
ent, seldom inartistic and never impotent,
while unet-Sully's frequently are.
To sum IL up, the representative OF the
Academic Franchise, while fine actor, is
not a great one His work Is marred by
too much crudity, offensive mannerism
and spasmodic Jerklness to entitle him to
rank with such men as Booth and Salvini
or even Irving. His methods may be ap-
preciated In France, n country which has
produced many excellent comedians and
some really great tragediennes, but never
but one wonderful tragedian excepting
Talma.
The company supporting Mounet-Sullyi Is
mediocre or worse, with but one bright
spot. That is his leading lady. Nine SECOND
Weber, who IL an actress Of great power
and much finesse. Her art, however. seems
to have not yet reached its zenith. Con
scientiousness and a desire TO avoid rantine
seem to be the distinguishing characters
tics of her work, and as she possesses un-
questioned dramatic strength and appears
to be quite young great things may yet be
looked for from her.
The engagement Of Mounet-Sully up to
this time has been anything but a success
full one, rows of empty chairs being pain.
fully in evidence at most of the perform
nnces. MouneetSully Is worth seeing as the
representative of a certain school Of acting,
but any one who has listened to the incom.
parable and subtle Booth, the powerful
and robust Salvini or the spiritual and
painstaking Irving will experience some
thing OF disappointment unless he goes pre-
pared to see the inferior of these men.
Utopia, Limited" )" the latest Joint work
of those past masters of comic opera con-
struction, Gilbert and Sullivan, has been
packing the Broadway theater at every per
formance. II is generally conceded that
neither librettist nor composer il heard at
his best in Utopia" Mr.. Gilbert's falling
short being much more marked than that
of Sir Arthur Sullivan.
1t would be strange indeed II two men
could go on forever writing such meri.
torious operettas as "The Mikado," PA,
tience," "Iolanthe," Pirates OF Penzance'
and "Pinaforc," and It Is by these standards
that the distinguished collaborators always
have been judged. There are many little
Gilhertian shafts Of sarcasm in utopia"
ard considerable music which is typically
Sullivanesque and therefore decidedly in.
teresting.
But the stage setting Of utopia" is what
has made the opera the talk Of the town.
| The first act Is very beautiful, but the SEQ
ond act, which represents the throneroom
| In the palace OF King Paramount on the
occasion Of his first attempt at a state re-
ception, Is the most elaborate scene ever
shown upon the stage In this country. Be.
side 1t 1.-THE Black Crook" and similar af-
fairs actually sink into nothingness.
The reception Is deliberately carried out,
and the costumes Of the women are enough
to set the average feminine heart in Wig
orous and envious futter. When "Aris-
tocracy" was produced In New York, the
papers had good deal to say about the
magnificent court dresses worn by the prin-
cipals. But in utopia" ordinary every
day chorus girls wear trains which appear
very much more elegant, besides being
more numerous. The mems habiliments,
too, In this act are not easy to describe, al
though they may be set down. in word, a.
gorgeous. OCTAvus COHEN.
New York.