The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1896-02-06
A Friendly Reception Is Ac-
corded the Tenor in Les
Huguenots. .
SOME EFFECTIVE CHoRUsEs
Prince Luigi of Savoy and His Aids
de.Camp Witness the Per.
formance.

There was visible falling off in the at
tendance at the Baldwin Theater last
night. No doubt one reason was that the
opera "Les Huguenots' is not so attrac-
tive as the "Aida" or Carmen" Mey-
erbeer's snowy, meretricious music does
not wear well. 1t is little like glitter
ing, tinseled robe that is growing thread
bare here and there.
"The Huguenots," however, is well
suited to the talent of the Tavary Company.
There is no denying that the work con-
tains some magniticently effective choruses,
particularly those for male voices; and
these received a satisfactory rendering,
particularly the "Deo 10 VuoIe' and the
rataplan chorus. The solo singers also
were, for the most part, well fitted to their
various roles.
Guile, who made his debut for this sea-
son. was warmly welcomed. Vocally speak
ing, he was an excellent Raul, using his fine
voice artistically and with considerable
expression. He was particularly APP
plauded for his first aria and for his scena
with the Queen. Nine. Tavary was eff
cient as Valentino, her singing was little
more strident than in 'Aida," but she
looked and acted her role better than she
did that of the Nubian slave on Monday.
Mile. Anna LIGHTER, as Marguerite of
Valois, bore off large share of the honors
OF the evening. She sang the ford vocal
embroidery of her role with grace and
fiuency. Her voice sounded a trife I'M
sympathetic, but it is we'll placed and we'll
under control. Mile. LIGHTER also looked
very handsome, though her coronet at the
back OF her head gave her the appearance
of Lucia, not the lady of the mad scene,
but she Of 81 Promessi Sposi" notoriety.
Nine. Belle Tomlins, the contralto of the
company, made her first appearance last
night in the role of Urbano. She was a
disappointment, as her vocal method is
tricky and she did not show any capacity
for acting. The dashing, mischievous
spirit of the page, who leases the cheva-
liers by showing the letter and raising the
hopes of each in turn, was entirely lacking.
Nine. Tomlins sang ''Nobil Signor," in
fact, as if it had been love lament or
dirge and her ventriloquial chest notes,
tones by a gasping hiccup, produced an
almost painful impression on her audi
ence.
The basso, Abramoff, again proved him
self to be fine artist. The part of MarseI,
RauPs aggressive Huguenot servant, is
not a role that generally commands the
sympathy of the audience, but Abramoff' 8
intelligent acting and his fine singing
made the part one of the most interesting
in the cast Max Eugene was stately
Philip de Nevers, and Schuster was at
home as the Count di st. Bris.
Toward the finale of the second act,
Prince Luigi OF Savoy. accompanied by his
two aids-de-camp and several officers OF
the Cristoforo Colombo, entered the thea
ter. They wore regulation evening dress,
which, perhaps, accounts for their not be-
ing recognized at once. The Prince wan
dered forward looking for his seat and not
finding it, leaned rather disconsolately
against the wall, near the entrance to one
of the boxes, guarded to right and left by
his two faithful aids. In that position he
was promptly recognized by people who
remembered his picture, and there was ID
mild sensation in the theater as the
whisper Prince Luigi began to circulate
| At the end of the act the Italian officers
were taken in tow by an usher and con-
Quoted to their seats in the dress circle,
where they renamed during the rest OF
the time they spent in the theater.