The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1894-05-11
MUSIC AND DRAMA.
DEVILS Auction.

| 1hHA4to Variety is a term GhaG is per-
Tectly applicable to the succession of
pleasing features to be seen in Manager
1ale's Newest DEVILS Auction" at
Portland Theatre tonight and tomorrow,
both afternoon and evening. Since last
seen IN this city the play has been entire
~ recast for the better, and everything
wonderfully improved, enlarged and
strengthened. No similar company of it's
class presents SO many novelties and i'll SO
artlstlc manner. The arrangement of
the speciaties is also good and nothing
is allowed to drag from the opening
scene in Mephisto's realm to the closing
transformation scene, 1.-The Advent of
Spring" Each principal in the cast is an
artist in his or her line, no weak act is
tolerated and interest is not allowed to
flag at any period of the exceptionally
long programme. Among the leaders of
the company are Misses Nera Vernon,
Madge Torrance, Josie Sisson and Annie
Moore and Messrs. Augustus Bruno, Jr..
William Ruge and Al. W. Decker. The
principal dancers are Signoritas Con-
cettia Chitten, Emilia Bartoletti and
Abel Amoree and Little Miss Columbia.
The speciality stars include Toner and
Froebel, aerial grotesques: the Lorello
Trio, pantomimic eccentrjcs; and the
French Quadrille dancers.
Haydn Concert.
Portland has been particularly favored
the past season in the excellence of it's
musical entertainments. and to these
must be added that OF tle Haydn Asso-
citation at Kotzschmar Hall last eve
ming. 1t was gratifying to see the inter-
est taken in the concert by the public,
for every seat was taken and chairs had
to be placed in the aisls to accommodate
those SO unfortunate as not to be able
to secure seats.
The first part of the evening was de-
voted to miscellaneous concert, and
the last part to Gounod's Messe Solen-
nellie. rendered by sixty female and
twenty male voices. Owing to the sud-
den indisposition of Mrs. Helen Winslow
Potter. who was unable to be present,
Miss Ida Tarbox kindly consented to
take her place.
The great attraction of the evening to
many of the audience was the appear
ance of Mr.. Arthur Beresford, the cele-
brated baritone, in the miscellaneous con-
cert. Three NUM- ers were assigned him
on the programme, Schumann's 1.-TWO
Granadiers,m Bohm's "Still We Die
Nacht," and in Pinsuti's "Bedouin Love
Song" While the Two Grenadiersn was
sung with fire and spirit, the singers
voice was rather disappointing. This
condition was caused by the position of
the piano, which prevented his coming
forward beyond the curtain border, and
consequently the volume of sound was
beaten back. When he appeared for his
second number he was able to come ar
ther front, ana the effect was Immediate
~ noticeable. The audience insisted
on recall, when Mr.. Beresford gave
that old German drinking song, whose
authorship is unknown, and which My
rons Whitney made Portland audiences
acquainted with, with admirable power
and finish. In fact, while the Bedouin
Love SongD was sung with intense fer
vor, the drinking song was the most ar
tistically rendered. In response to the
encore of the Love song, Mr.. Beresford
light to hear baritone voice of the power
and quality of Mr.. Beresford's handled
with so much intellectually.
Miss Tarbox surprised even her friends,
who knew her capabilities as a singer SO
well. Her first number was exceedingly
well calculated to display not only the
range and sustaining power of her voice,
but its fiexibility and clearness. 1t was
no wonder that she aroused so much en-
thusiasm. For an encore she sang with
much brillisncy and expression "Jerusa-
lem.n
Mrs. Morrison's beautiful, rich contral-
to was admirably adapted 10 "The La
ment" (Ben Hur) by Chadwick, which
is full of dignity and sentiment, and an
excellent contrast was afforded by the
pretty, sprightly gavotte. from "Mignon."
In response to an encore, Mrs. Morrison
bowed. Miss Burke possesses voice of
excellent range and most sympathetic
quality. She sang Marston's Ave
Maria" SO well that she was recalled and
gave kathleen Mavourneen" wi til
wealth of fervor that carried away her
listeners.
Gounod's Mass is dependent, more
than many others, upon fine orchestra
to properly display it's delightful color
ing. 1t does not appeal by the clear,
cold, passionless music that marks many
of the masses of other composers, hut
rather by the opposite qualities. 1t is
religious, but it is also theatrical. The
CreQO Is d uOSG DeauGlIul composition;
the AgnusDei goes straight to the heart,
the Gloria is full of joy; the Sanctus is
an appeal that it seems must reach the
7 hrone of Grace The perfection of Mr..
Kotzschmar's training was especially
shown last night. The gradual rise and
onward sweep of ssthe crescendoes, the
gradual, almost imperceptible diminuen-
does, the delicacy of the shading, the en-
tire choir at times almost rivaling a
quartette in that respect; the precision
of attack, were especially noticeable. I he
were admirably played
by Miss Plummer.
The house was effectively ushered by
Messrs. E. S. E. Mcclellan, Herbert Barn
ard, Jr., M. Harry Shurtleff, John Burke
and Charles Baker.
The Torbett Concert Co.
Miss Ollie Torbett, the violinist, is an
artist of great talent and is also very at
tractive in appearance on the stage. The
St. Louis Globe-Democrat says:
miss Ollie Torhett with her appear
ance alone captivated her audience. She
demonstrated herself to be thorough
master of the violin, and answered re-
Al