The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-04-12

there IL q secret underrtandine. between
the two. He uses his knowledge 70
on and subseqnently brought him back. Just in
time to see Dol In Ed,cgrdrs arms, the situation OF
the atory Ia reproduced. Then follows the mono
iogus OF grief and jealousy. which, as already
pointed out has much In common with the sim
l,st s siloS ,S 70 90 down on honest Johns de.
in adream picture, which is very prettily man
aged here, we see from the moonlit river n baby
position rise. We hear the infant fanfare In
the orchestra, we see the winsome fairies and
gcsted by ths angel Vision in "Ilansel and
Gretel," the curtain descends.
The third act, which Ia uahered In by q strik-
ingly effective orchestral Introduction, which.
contrary to all custom here, had to be repeated,
S"% i e ys BE SGT % ,sS s w,sh sS0 seI q s 9Tb ,se Queen SS%,
Of Shebn I" for brilliancy Of effect. brings the
Inevitable happy conclusion to the simple tale;
sings n capital bass butTo song, which met with
. specially friendly reception, but u course Ia ns
appear as self-inyited wedding guests. and after
the would.bc bridegroom has been made tho
united with his Man. and john reconciicdi 10
Dot. while the Crichct and the attendant spritcs
send the audience homewith 1" chirp the last;"
The chief repronch that Herr A. NJ. wilmer
deserves. for his libretto apart from the wilful
changes he has introduced In the dit.mdts per-
sonr. il that 1t, lacks all local color, ana were
IL not for several OF the themes. which denote n
distinctly British origin. there Is no reason why
the scene Of action should not he laid In Ger
many or in France quite as suitably as in Eng
land. Bluntly stated. the text book is not n
g sIon. one are tn, ,hsr to is fnS !'' the i ysrIon. d the sliTa,
have not sufficient individuality. When
we turn. however. TO q consideration
OF affairr. From cover to cover there /. not an
nninteresting page in the score. The musical
workmanship as careful as it is mastery. No
modern work boasts n richer and more effective
tGao ,fIm'aTRts whose He ehar ssr"nfs H' III IT m RIs e sff%;
COMPOSITIONS Is the sensuously Oriental in mu-
sic; has, In his later; and especially in this last
Coming at u time of special musical productiv-
ity, THE Cricket on the Hearth would deserve
to bo reckoned among the most notable tone pro-
dnctions. but appearing. rs IL does. a. the present
day, when operate masterpieces are but few and
far between, It is impossible to ove%restimate the
value of this latest GoldmarKs score. Conceived
In an entirely different vein from that Of The
same exalted plane of merit. II will he remem-
bored that its composer was past As years Of age
when he gave his first opera to the world. and
youtlv 10 he hoped, in the interests OF ali that is
work received In Vienna last evening is a
Certain it is that whatever could be done by
an opera house to insure success was here &C
AS so often before, the chief merit
belongs to Director jain. who stage. managed
rehearsed. and conducted tho difficult work
with rare ability. The valiant Vienna orches-
ira. beyond dispute the finest body OF musicians
in the world. contributed the lions share
toward the evenings triumph. while among the
ind artists, though it seems almost In.
vidious to single out one. none more fully de-
serves praise than Fri. Marie Renard. the pet OF
the Vienna public and emil the %prettiest
most tuneful Dot that ever trod the boards.
1t Is q pleasing sign how excellence OF charac-
industry, a high ambition. and all those
sterling qualities for which Goldmark IL be-
are appreciated even in the musical
guild, and how sincerely every one rejoices
with the veteran composer over his latest tri-
unphs. No better illustration OF his retiring
nature could he found than in this little Incl
for the last philharmonic concert pr.
Hans Richter had chosen ~Goldmark's Spring"
as an opening number. and tioldmark
raIne to him begging and implOring him to take
II from the programme.
81 have an opera coming ont shortly" he said.
= and 1t will not do to give the public too much
Of my work"
And yet when. spite of his protests. the over
ture was performed II was applauded "a no piece
had been applauded during the whole season.
w vow SACua |