The San Francisco call., 1897-04-25
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IVAN u tell yer So
This is the style of conversation which
is in vogue at the Tivoii just now. For
over a week Denis O'Sullivan has toiled
through the heat and burden of the day to
teach the Tivoli company Just the right
roll of the tongue necessary for making
"Shamus O'Brien" racy of the 'ould sod "
and now success is beginning to crown his
efforts. Even the walters are saying "be-
gorra," instead OF Zach" and "Gott in
HImmel." There are rough spots in the
brogue of the chorus here and there, lap
sus linguae when the American touch of
the banjo IN the voice gets the better OF
the brogue, and sometimes an Irisfmau
would not recognize the language as his
own, but tie principals have become abb
soIuteIy word perfect. An expert would
be deceived into swearing that they were
imported direct from Cork or Limerick.
We have heard a great deal about
"Shamus OBrien'' since it was first pro-
duced in London over a year ago. The
WORK is a new departure-an Irish opera
written by an 1rishman. The Lily of
Killarney" is an Irish opera, but Sir julius
Benedict was far from being an Irishman
Bale and Wallace were Ir:sbmen, but
they sought Bohemian girls and Spanish
gypsies and all sorts of foreigners for their
heroines. Not a custom house on the
globe would stamp their operas "Made in
Ireland" When ViIiers Stanford wrote
"Shamus O'Brien" he did one of those
things that make people exclaim after
ward: "Why in the word did no one
think OF it before?'' He got an Irish plot
and made his music racy of the Irish soil,
do ,NF
Poland and Grieg is making his music
breathe the airs of Scandinavia. and-but
their name is legion. Dvorak has tried to
do the same thing for America in his
symphony, From the New World" but
Dyorak was not "made in America" and
somehow his negroes had a way of whis-
ting Bohemian airs when they should |
have been teaching DvoraK plantation |
melodies.
There is no doubt about the character |
istic quality of the music in "Shamus |
OBrien." One cannot sit through half |
an act of a rehearsal without catching up |
tunes that make one think of the songs of |
Ireland, and very fine songs they are. / !
once knew a musician who was music !
on The subject o. folk songs. He had |
never been in ireland and had not drop |
OF Irish blood in his veins, so hi, testi- |
mony was unbiased, but on their in ntrinsic |
merits he said the folk songs of Ireland |
were the finest in the world. He would |
sit at the piano and play them for hours, |
and when he stopped to rest made such |
remarks as, The songs OF Scotland BAIL |
\ ou like them because you know them. |
The songs of Englandl Nonsensei Not TO
be com pared to these. Plantation melo- |
dies! Bah! Nonsense Just listen to this"
ana then be would play one of the for
gotten songs of Irela nd, for, when you
come to think of it. the songs Ireland
are practically forgotten. Most peoples
ideas OF them are confined to Moore's
Irish melodies, Bales Killarney and
above everything else, The Harp That
Once
1t is the last orchestral rehearsal but
one Of ''Shamus O'Brien' at the Tivoli,
and the singing and resinging of the
mum bers afford a good opportunity of
unraveling the tunes from the very mod |
ern orchestration of Stanford's opera.
Let the army come with it's word and
Its gun" sings the chorus. "Ar-r-my,"
yells O'Sullivan jovially. "Ar-r-r.my,"
responds the chorus, with good ringing
''r' this time that brings whiff of the |
Emerald lie with it. 4 minute later the |
chorus subsidies, and Kitty O'Toole Is
singing, "Where is the man that is COM |
ing TO marry me?' and l think OF my |
friend, the foIk-song player. Where is |
the man?" is not one of the melodies that !
he used to rave over, but it has all the |
characteristics of his pet songs.
steam on" and that exactly describes the
barytone's condition, which they say is
chronic at rehearsals. Most singers find
that they have enough to do through their
parts, and rest their voices between times,
but OSullivan scorns traditions about
resting the voice. He is doing the work
OF stage manager, property man, chorus
m aster, musical director. brogue instruct
or, and operate hero all rolled into one
George Lask's occupation s gone. for he
seems to recognize that too many stage
managers would be as bad as too many
cooks. Even Carl Martens conducts with
one eye on the score and the other on
O'Sullivan. When "Shamus O'Brien"
was first produced in London O'Sullivan
sang the title role. He has gone on sing
ing 1t ever since, and knows every bit of
business and every bar of the music by
heart. As the barytone gets older and
more hardened in stage ways, he will take
more care of his voice and have less over
flowing enthusiasm 10 spare for the gen.
eral production, but just at present he has
thrown himself heart and soul into max
ing "Shamus O'Brien" a San Francisco
success.
The day is hot, and the rehearsal has
been long and arduous, but no ones en-
ergy flags. The musicians stolidly play
on scarcely looking up from the score.
the principals go through all the dashing |
business of 'Shamus O Brien" again and
again, and never seem to grow tired,
though they have none of the exhilaratlng !
features OF a performance TO inspire them.
The Clark theater yawns like an empty
tomb at their feet. and the brick walls
stare behind the jun BILE OF scenery ON the
stage. Laura Millard is absent and her
part is assumed by George L4sk, in a white
sweater and a brown Derby hat He
W ont hear of the British soldiers captur-
ing Shamus, and pleads 'tLet me not live
rs his widow forlorn," but the military
are inexorable, and drag the hero from his
owing embrace. That is the signal for
the end of Act l, and The rehearsal is
called off for the company to get mouth
ul of lunch. l ask o Sullivan if he is not
worn out but he responds "On it's aoth-