The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-12-31
AT THE THEATERS.

After long an absence from the local
stage OF anything approaching a genuine
comic opera, 1t is not surprising that the
Metropolitan opera house contained a largo
audience last night to greet a worthy pre-
sentation OF this much wanted style OF
theatrical entertainment. That was to be ex-
pected In view OF the standing and merited
reputation Of the three principal artists These
expectations were realized. The Wedding
Day. is a bright and tuneful opera, hand
somely mounted. prettily staged and ade-
quately sung. Musically. It excels in the
ensembles The choruses arc more than
vapid, colorleSs, conventional Endorsements OF
other peoples sentiments. They have dis
tlnct character of their own. Many OF them
are very sweet and dainty, and the harmOnes
rich. The opera is deficient in solos and
duets of a purely lyric character, and such
as there are do not linger in the memory
The prettiest solo is that written for the
contrato in the second act. The finest music
in the opera is the inspiring martial ensem-
BILE in the same act, which also constitutes
its finale
The libretto, in SO far the dialogue IS
concerned, Is not distinguished by grace OF
diction or keenness of wit. 1t is quite com
monplace. The lyrics, however, are written
gracefully and evince considerable cleyerness
in the matter of rhymes.
The plot is excellent. A more prolific time
and place could not have been chosen. The
history OF the Frondist uprising in Southern
France is q fountain Of inspiration for the
romancer, and all successful comic opera has
its romantic coloring. The Wedding Day.
does not lack coloring in the broad sense
of the term, but it does lack romantic interest
in spite of its inspiring force. That is. the
romance is suggested rather than expressed.
Some things are better when confined to mere
suggestion, but when it comes to romance, II
we are to have it at all, it must speak with
greater eloquence than it does in The We'd
ding Day." The lovers who are not married
are always the most interesting and they are
too continuously apart.
So much for the opera. Naturally the live
Hest interest of the theatergoer centered in
the trio Of comic opera exponents-Lillian
Russell, Della Fox and Jefferson De Angels
The last two are well known here. Miss Rus
sell is not SO well known. because eleven or
twelve years have elapsed since she has
graced the local boards. And 1t is no idle
compliment to say that Miss Russell graces
the stage She certainly adorned 1t last
night. 1t is little late to affirm that she Is
a beautiful woman, for the fame of her per-
sonal charms is not ciTcumscrlbed. neither
is the announcement startling that Miss Rus
sell possesses a pure soprano voice. which
she has under perfect control She demon
strated some time ago-no need to say how
long-that she could sing. She sang well
last night, but not as brilliantly as she has
been known to do. Her higher notes rang out
clearly and most effectively in the ensembles,
particularly that in the second act, but in the
more subdued and less dramatic numbers
there was a noticeable weakness and lack
of musical quality in the middle and lower
register. Judged from the comic opera
standard OF histrionic effort, Miss Russel's
acting was satisfactory. She was always
beautiful picture.
But the vision of the fair Lillian did not
obscure that unique and original compound OF
femninity who answers to the name OF Della
Fox This young woman may be said to have
completely monopollzed one adjective in the
English language-cute. When one thinks
of Della Fox. "cute" is the very first word
that pops into the mind. And cute she is.
She looked very pretty as the bride in the
first act, and If possible still prettier in the
costume of the drummer boy In the last act.
Miss Fox makes no great pretensions vocally.
She Is not a proficient singer. But she is
soubrette of undeniable powers Of attraction
and distinct individuality. She was greeted
with as much applause as last nights aud
fence would vouchsafe to anybody or any
thing It was the chilliest, most unresponsve
while.
In the matter of personal beauty Jeh De
Angels may have been somewhat at dis
advantage last night, when Miss Russell and
Miss Fox were on the stage with him, but
his star nevertheless shoue the brightest.
For 1.-The Wedding Day is essentially a
comic opera, with the emphasis on comic
and Mr. De Angels IS a still more comic
comedian. While the dialogue Of the opera
is destitute Of real wit, Mr.. De Angels
cracks a lot of funny jokes, both old and
new and performs several queer antics that
provoke laughter pure and simple. Without
wishing to be captious it must be confessed
that some of Mr.. De Angels speeches are
pretty highly spiced. Risque some might
charitably call them. while others might ex-
claim. worse than that" Della Fox's song
with chorus in the last act. Is likewise Of a
Frenchy flavor. De Angels offends more
than once IN this respect. but he is so irresis-
tibly funny that is forgiven. From the time
he dons soldiers uniform his every ap-
pearance is a Drovocation for laughter.
The company surrounding the three leaders
is in every way worthy. Tom Greene. who
impersonated Viscount Raoul. possesses a
voice of the pure tenor quality. He sings
easily and smoothly. though his acting lacks
somewhat in spirit. Miss Lucille Saunders.
in the role of Nine Montbazon. has mel
low, genuine contralto voice. which she uses
wisi good effect. Her solo is the prettiest in
the opera The chorus is admirable
Tho stage settings are rich and the final
scene representing Frondist outpost is ex-
tremely effective.
White Reinstnted.