The San Francisco call., 1897-03-19
OPERAT|C COMEDY
AND TRAGEDY
French Singers Give a
Double Bill at the
California.
Les Noces de Jeanette" Does
Not Weary With Its
Dialogue.
Masca yni's Cavalleria Rusticana :"
Brings Out Some Good Singing.
Albers' Fine Work

The French operate organization at the
California Theater combined two entirely
different kinds of bills last night. The
first part.of the programme consisted OF
Mich ael Cares and V V.ctor Masses frothy
little ope-etta, Lies Noces de Jeanette" "
and the second part OF the bill was Mas
cagnies musical melodrama, LA Caval-
leria Rusticana.
"Les Noces de Jeanette" pleased the
audience better than miss Helyett' did
on Saturday, probably because there is
more singing and consequently less dia-
logue. Jeanette is young peasant girl
who is about to marry man in her own
rank of life named Jean. At the eleventh
hour Jean thinks better of his proposed
marriage, looks on the wine when it is red,
and when he finds that he has been
tricked into signing the marriage con-
tract by the willy Jeanette he breaks all
the furniture in his very modest little
home.
Jeannette is not daunted, however.
While Jean is sleeping off the effects Of
the wine in the hayloft she has the house
refurnished regardless of expense, cooks
her recreant lord nice omelet and makes
he agrees 10 love her and live happy ever
afterward.
NJ. Freiche was a clever Jean, and sus-
tanned the dialogue entirely on his own
shoulders, for Nine. Berthet as Jeanette
scarcely raised her speaking voice above
the ordinary conversational tone OF lady
talking in a drawing-room, and the con-
sequence was that the dialogue had to be
gathered almost entirely from Freiche's
side OF The conversation.
In com pensalion for this carelessness in
the dialogue..Mm Berthet sang so charm
ingly that she may be said to have carried
off a large share of the honors of the per-
torrance. The aria in which she sang,
with flute accom- paniment, was exquis-
itely rendered. There were a couple OF
minor roles satisfactorily taken by Grevin
and Lelong.
After the operetta the audience had to
endure an almost interminable wait before
the curtain went up on the "Cavalleria
Rusticana. It would be hard to say why
the wait was inflicted on the public, for
the settings OF Mascagnis opera were OF
such a meager description that the stage
could have been set in few minutes.
The overture to La CavelIeria Rusti-
cana was brilliantly played under the
direction of NJ. Nlcosias, and Massart
sang the incidental tenor aria well. All
cept;onally good work, and it goes with
out saying that the inlermezzo was en-
cored, for TO encore the intermezzo has
become a tradition.
Nine. Foedor, the Santuzza, sang well
and occasionally grew tragic in her act
ing, but she was rot so impressive a two
other Santuzzas who have been heard here.
Emma Juck was altogether more artistic
in her conception OF the role and Thea
Dorre was more powerfully dramatic.
Although Foeuor acred we'll she did not
seem able to shake off entirely the tradi-
tions of the older school in which the
singers never forget the hearers. The re-
cital OF her wrongs was addressed more TO
the house than to Mamma Lucia, and
some of her pleadings with Turridu were
addressed almost as much 10 the specta-
tors as to The recreant lover. Foedor sang
well, however, and in some parts OF her
role she acted very artistically.
The dramatic music of Turridu's role
suited Massart excellently, but he was
not dramatic enough in his acting. Henri
Albers, the silveI-voiced baryIo one, made
brilliant success of the thankless role of
Alto, and Andree Savine was a charm
ingly coquettlsh Lola. F-emeau was a
good Lucia, and the mixed choruses were
sung with a splendid volume of voice.
The following artists will appear in "La
Juive' on Saturday: Messieurs Provost,
Albers, Deo, Freiche, Cb ateau, Rltiy Mes
DANES Foedor. BerIhet, Horis, Eek.