The record-union., 1898-08-21

large is apparently not only not dimin-
fishing, but even extending to the pro-
vincial public, as the following anus
ing advertisement reproduced in the
"Orlovski Viestnik' will testify.
The theater in Krementchug, South
ern Russia, has done of late bad bus
mess. To overwhelm and attract the
citizens the manager decided to give
them no less piece than Hamlet,
which novelty he, announced on big
boards in the following terms:
To-day
A Genuine English Tragedy Will Be Given,
Entitled.
1t NJ l. E t
Composed by w. Shekspir,
The Fayourite of the Local Public
Important-This piece had a great sue
cess in Kharkoff.
After the unqualified success which
this genuine English tragedy had
both in Kharkoff and Krementchug, we
think English managers may we'll ven
ture to give it also on a London stage.
Perhaps Sir Henry Irving or Beerbohm
Tree may succeed in making. 1--WE
Shekspir" a favorite of the London pub
lie, too.
Beethoven's unpublished letters from
the Jahn collection, recently present
ed to the Royal Library Berlin, contain
some amusing features. In a letter to
Won DomanowecZ, a Viennese lawyer,
Beethoven wants to know if he can get
rid of a troublesome man servant with
out paying him a fortnight's wages. In
another, the irate composer writes to
Nanette Streicher: Il thank you for
your sympathy for me. To-day L had
lots of trouble with Nanny, but 1 flung
half-a-dozen books at her head New
Years day"
The Sketch: Hans Richter is blessed
with such a memory that he conducts
everything without notes, from an aria
by Lully to the most complicated of
Wagner's operas. One day in Vienna,
however he was seized with an un-
wonted fit of abstraction while con-
Quoting, and when he came to change
of time in the piece he went on calmly
with the same movement as before.
Part of the orchestra changed the time
according to the music, while others
followed obediently the baton of their
leader. Such a frghtful medley of
sounds arose that Hans Richter
and commanded a pause. Then he
turned to the audience and said: ct
was not the fault of my orchestra; it
was entirely my own. Let US begin
over again" And so they started
afresh amid the applause Of the audi
ence.
THE rubato' says a writer in the
Musical Courier" that eloquent
weapon in the hands of rhythmic con-
troll and the pitfau of disaster where
rhythm is angular or imperfect, is en-
ployed with poetic authority in the Ger
man waltz as danced in Vienna spe-
citically. Here men and women execute
insinuatingly, ravishingly, with their
feet fuctuant measures which they
might never perhaps have learned to
control had they begun with their fin
gers or a voice. But abroad everybody
dances. They begin life with the dance.
and train their steps to dance music
played with lyric feeling and an aban-
don which the mechanical revolution of
the American dance has slaughtered
Shahespeare's Julius Caesar has
been translated into German nine times
into French seven, into Italian six. into
modern Greek three, into Latin and
Swedish twice. and into Croatian, DAN
ish, Dutch, Frisian, Polish, Roumanian.
Russian, Magyar, Portuguese and Yid-
dish. There are seven or eight English
acting editions of the tragedy. But
one attempt actually to alter and i'm
prove it has ever been made. This
was in 1922, when John Sheffield, Duke
Of buckingham, divided it into two
parts at the death of Caesar, calling it
The Tragedies Of julius Caesar and
Marcus Brutus," and made many 9TH
er changes. To enrich this poor play
Cor, rather, these poor plays Pope fur
nished some choruses. But they had
the usual effect of ill-adjusted orna-
ments-they served only to make the
meanness of the thing they bedecked
the more conspicuous.
Every play by Shakespeare has been
acted in modern times, including even
"Troilus and Cressida," "Timon of
Athens" and Titus Andronicus.
which certainly cannot be called IA
miliar plays. The last-named revolt
ing drama is declared by some recent
commentators to be the work of a
lesser poet, not even touched in re-
vision by Shakespeare. But that is
mere speculation. Titus Andronicus"
was acted in England as recently as
1881, having been adapted for the late
Ira Aldridge, the colored tragedian, by
IAN eminent literary gentleman" The
African Roscius" himself undertook
the part of Aaron the Moor. Dryden,
Colley, Cibber. Garrick, and others
made adaptations of this gloomy trag-
edy.
New York Times: How interesting
would be Shakespeare opinion of Sar-
dou! But, alas, it might not be more
favorable than that of Professor Bran
der Matthews. Sardou's opinion of
Shakespeare, however, is now at hand.
NJ. Lermina has begun to newly trans
late Shakespeare into French Sardou
has written his opinion that the trans
lation was needed. OF the other French
translations he says: 'Guizot is too
French Montegut-in his fear of not
being understood-has taken up three
lines to translate as many words, while
Francois Hugos literal word for word
translation is neither English nor
French. 1t belongs to no language.
"As a matter of fact. what all these
translators lack is knowledge of the
stage. Shakespeare needs to~be trans
lated by dramatist and a comedian,
and not by Professor, In whom the
action Of the stage is completely want
ing. The perplexed- reader therefore,
often comes to the conclusion that the
plays We're written to be. read, but not
to be performed. And yet what writer
for the stage has ever been such a
dramatist in the full acceptance Of the