The herald., 1896-07-19


of a surprise. as no one expected tina
she would in any measure come up II
her advance notices The Orpheum':
audiences had but very lately been re-
galed by wonderful euloges anent the
art of a certain Wagnerian singer. so
called, who, in the forceful language
Of Shakespeare. they found to be "a
frost, a killing frost!" After such dis
astrous experience, is 1t any wonder thai
they were q little afraid of PATTI
II is, therefore, an additional triumph
to Sissieretta Jones that in her first
number she captured her audience. she
has a pretty voice. especially pleasing
in the middle and lower registers. The
upper notes are often shrill and harsh,
having forced quality that jars on one.
The attraction of the voice. however, is
its sympathetic quality, which the audi
ence was quick to recognize.
AS a general thing the gods do not take
kindly to classical compositions, nor dit
ties in the italian or other foreign Ian
guages. They scorn the twittering trill,
and the brilliant roulade excites only
their disabilities. They often applaud
these things, to be sure, but it Is only
because they don't want to let de mugs
down stairs" think they are farmers;
but in their hearts they don't care for
musical fireworks, as any close observer
may note who will take the trouble to
distinguish between the quality OF the
applause bestowed upon the exponent
of the italian art of singing, ana upon
the performer who INDUCES in the popu-
lar songs of the day. They recognize the
claim to their sympathy of the young
woman whose mother was lady" and
they applaud her sentiments. but the
SORROWS of Marguerite or the trials OF
Elsa they care not for 1t was wonder
full then, with their prejudices against
the style of her art, that the Black Patti
should have won the hearts of those ar
biters of the success of artists. the gods,
at the outset of her performance. her
popularity continuing through her sec
ond number and amounting to an ova-
ton when the orchestra played few
bars of the Suwanee River as a pre-
lude to the third.
1t showed great many other things
beside the mere appreciation of good
work, this applause. 1t showed nine
teenth century broadness of view as to
race privileges; an Acknowledgement of
talent existing outside the dominant
race, and a recognition of the bond of
brotherhood which is so often lost sight
of, but which nevertheless exists among
the most intelligent of Gods creatures
man.
In the list of nuisances to which thea
ter-goerS are often subjected, and In
the same category with the ubiquitous
infant and the man who will insist on
explaining the jokes to his companion in
an audible voice. may be classed the man
with a breath redolent of strong waters,
with occasionally an admiXture of the
fragrant limburger and the odoriferous
onion. If there is anything that will
cause man to resort mentally to pro-
fame language to relieve his feelings, it
Is the close proximity OF such a COM
panion Then, too, this nuisance, not
content with his present achievements,
must perforce, go out between the acts
to refresh himself further. He ruthless
ly tramples over everyone in his mad
flight to his favorite tipple. and on his
return the fragrant breath is found to
have a new addition in the shape of
cloves. And what an addition! To
most noses, if there is any one thing
more offensive than the fumes of liquor
it is an odor of cloves thrown in. And
yet the nuisance goes calmly on, ap-
parently enjoying himself quite as much
as if his neighbors We're not harboring
murderous thoughts against him. Such
is the value of a high opinion of ones
self and oblivion to the comforts of all
the world beside.
Another nuisance in a theater is the
woman who will use musk or patchouli
as perfume. These odors cause misery
to many people. One delicate looking
woman was heard to remark with the
air of martyr, after attending one OF
the theaters: Really, l scarcely know
what the play was about. 1 was in an
agony all the time. The woman in front
of me wore tlberoses, the woman beside
me had just cleaned her gloves with
benzine, and the woman just behind
me was perfumed with a German CO.
logne. / don't know which odor was the
worst. l only know that between then
all l was brought to pretty pass. Why
cannot people remember, in getting
ready to enter the close atmosphere OF
public gatherings, where such things
are particularly noticeable, that there is
no perfume SO sweet as no odor at all
except it be the invigorating odor OF
cleanliness following a good application
of soap and water.
After causing everyone to believe that
the highest point in her art had beer
reached in her dances, lie feu" and "le
papillon," Papinta showed her audi.
ences last week in her lily dance that
there were combinations yet undreamed
of by the votaries of Terpsichore.
The dance was truly what it claimed tC
be, lily dance, as, after skillfully mani
pulating the Voluminous folds of her 81.
yard gown, the dancer ended by causing
it to assume the appearance of gigan-
tic white lily. Papinta has been one ol
the greatest attractions the Orpheun
has ever had, and having procured hei
speaks well for the enterprise Of the
management. 1t is not alone the novelty
of her act and its beautiful color effects
that make Papinta popular. Her beauty
of face, symmetry of form and grace ol
motion all have their effect upon the
audience and conduce much to make he,
the attraction she is.
Something new is proposed by the Or
pheur-a Wednesday matinee. This
custom will be begun next "Wednesday
afternoon. when the brilliant program
planned for this week will be given If
it's entirety.
The Orpheum is jammed every night
Long before the orchestra has strucl
up its music, every desirable seat in tn,
house has been sold. So many peopl,
have been turned away nightly tha
Manager Petrich hopes this extra per
formance will somewhat lessen tn,
strain and afford ladies and children {
convenient opportunity to visit the pop
ular vaudeville theater. The "Wednesday
matinee has proved very successful il
San Francisco and it is doubtless des
tined to become feature of the amuse
ment life of Los Angeles.
The bill which will be produced tomor
Rovv avaOip0 tho OrnbaI1,,, ic q rnoord