The sun., 1896-07-03
NOTES AT THE THEATRES.
THE GRAND CENTRAL PhLkCE,s
moor GARDEN OPENED.

moor GARDEN OPENED.
Ample space for Thousands OF People to
Cool Themselves and SEQ Vaudeville
| show-A First American Performances
| of "The Model" mt Terrace Garden.
How two.s story garden was being built In
the Grand Central Palace. the big structure
| which faces Lexington avonue from Forty
| third street 10 Forty-fourth. was described In
| THE Sun month ago. This now summer re-
sort was opened TO the public last night. The
| roof has an open-air auditorium. with 1900
seats facing sufficiently commodious stage,
on which vaudeville entertainments arc given
tower serves as music stand for a band
| to play in the intervals OF the other perform
| ance A great plenty Of trees, vines. palms.
and flowers add picturesque beauty to the good
architecture. electric lights impart brlliancy
to the scene, and thus tho acres OF roof have
become an exceedingly attractive place for
| clear, warm summar evenings. Tho height
| OF l35 feet, besides being breezy, affords an
| extensive overlook of the city. In case Of
| rainy weather, an enclosed hail will hold tho
audience, and 80 the entertainment need mover
be omitted. The etage Is simply reversed, and
the actors go right along with their special
| ties, with the people under dry cover. There
are extensive promenades. beneath glass domes
| and under tho clear sky. The next story be-
low tho roof has moro than hundred booths
| intended for various traffic and trade exhibi-
| tions, and It Is expected that those will soon
| DO occupied. OF course, beverages are sold. and
| there Is a restaurant also. The Grand Central
| Palace is hotel. in law and in fact. the stipua-
tions Of the Raines law being obeyed by means
of twelve LODGING rooms and the serving Of
meals, so that the quenching Of thirst cannot
be hindercd by tho police.
| Not ali these arrangements for comfort and
| beauty Tho IN liahu hue epf IVA
not ready. There were barren walls yet to be
decorated, tho foliage was not completely placed,
| the proscenium lacked paint and there was
some confusion In seating the people But they
| were q good. .humored multitude. and they had
| no reason to complain of tho stage show which
| was distinctly above the roof garden average in
quality. That is not high praise to be sure. as
the roof garden average is deplorably be-
low that Of winter vaudeville Gustave
Amberg is the manager Of the Grand
Central Palace In this summer venture. and he
kI had engaged some strsngers' along with the
brette from Hamburg. was one Of the entertain.
ers. She acted and sang In an English farolcal
w siosS sios9ts fsd
Perhaps the most notable Of the novelties was
bred as that 90 much was her appearance
o ho the bu. sRee sRs came Ua WsS
shoss aea u, H at the %5
danced bareleeged to tho knees. There was mo- no
humbuG about the nudity OF her patter!ng
sR sRsy then Ssxss sss aaa
| retired. One surmise was that she had stepped
sse .bs.,s E she Of %a.c esaS had
snd the s s &dfsd snt zosa9d
Grey was completed.
The management Of the Terrace Garden left
the name OF Franz Won suppe off the pro-
gramme when his last opera. "The Model" was
given there last night for the first time in this
country, and the omission seemed on the
whole proper tribute to the memory Of
the composer. Won Suppe was q tremen-
dously prolific writer In his time and he
turned off for years comic operas, marches.
| dance music. and overtures at rapid rate.
Much that he wrote was delightful. melodious.
and original and some of his works. such as
"Boccaccio" and Fatinitza" are nearly clas-
sics In their line. But In everything
that bore his name there was some dis
tinctly musical excellence that gave IL
| n merit mere facility and technical skill could
never accomplish. Tho Model" is provided
with what Is practically the first score OF Won
| Suppe's that Is commonplace. except where the
| qualities that any experienced composer pos
| sessess serve to relieve tho lack Of freshness
and melody.
An ensemble chorus at tho end of the flrst act,
an Italian solo for tho soprano. q march for
| three of tho women singers. and rhythmical
but colorless waltz about the only numbers
that impress themselves on the hearer. and
their melody is thin, with only Won Suppe's
method and finish to disguise the weakness
| and give them the specious sound OF
real animation and spirit. Contrasted with
these numbers. there Is q stretch of uninspired
solos and choruses that indicate what a good
thing for the composers reputation It was that
Model had become 'Ia associated with bis name ae
is IN with h the sho. Rs
Italian. and the adventures OF a laundry girl
shagrin Of her iowiy born lover Furnishes a
lively enough and generally Somprehsnsos
and Athe quality maxi the scenes M I picturesqae %
and this element Of the performance was we'll
circumstances under which the opera was
given.
Edmund Loewe, who is q faoe and graceful
actor. was tho best of the men. and he Is a good
example of of that genius To- 70 our sage
aud ID sentimental interest ST. Of comic
Herr %Sst soS
S The snsnr A1 wa.
good and much Of It. in fact. wa, very bad; but
and tx
| color " of the Italian scenes was very sucoess-
fully retained by the PRINCIPAL actors: Think OF
hang for local color" whether the scene was
| laid In Iindoostan or Hoboken.
Dorothy Martin came into comparison on
| Monday night with the actresses who won par
ticular fame as interpreters Of Olirette when the
| opera vas first used In New York. Katherine
| Lewis was the first Of these. and her perform
| ance. full of gayety and ebullience. made an
| impression that was emphasized by the bold
ness In her acting. Especially was her dane
| Ing of the farandole. which combined some
amazingly comprehensive kicks with fore-
| shadowing of the later ddnse du pentre, re-
| garded as audacity. But Miss LOWS too
brisk and lively person TO disseminate an
| air Of contagious wickedness, and the lam
| guors OF her rival, Selma Dolaro. were per-
| haps a good deal more reprehensible In their
different way. Where Miss Lewis was blithe
| aud mlschievous. with an Obvious knowledge
| OF naughtincss. Miss Dolaro was heavy eyed
| and "oluptuous. moving slowly and pulingly.
and presenting an Olirette who not only sus-
pected,, but knew; Nothing that katherine
| lished her in position as an actress Of opera
boufre quito the equal OF her better known
French cOntenDOrarieS. who chat time