The record-union., 1898-07-24

In reply to the query, Are actors
1 hard worked?" Robert Downing, the
famous tragedian, recently said. AT
| the commencement of the season they
are compelled to, memoriZe a number 81
| lines which constitute their stock IN
| trade. Then they have to dress, read
| novels, talk over the wonderful hits
| they have made, tell how the drama is
| going to the dogs, incidentally eat
| lunch and dinner, and in that way NIL
out the day till o'clock at night.
But then comes the hard work They
are compelled to speak the lines they
have studied. After the play is over
| they return to the hotel, talk over the
merits or the demerits of the other act
ors, then retire, and arise the next
| morning to do the same thing over
again. 1 do not mean that this applies
to the actor who has made a reputa-
ton for himself, but to the ordinary
class who are content and poor"
|
Hillary Bell in New York Press: Be
yond the prospect of losing some of
their most. talented players, our mana
| gers are in a dilemma about plays.
England still controls this source of
production. In spite of the industrious
|
| continues to virtually monopolize their
! territory. Last season Daniel Frohman
produced only English plays. Last
season in all his theaters Charles
Frohman produced only one American
| play. After spending a year in adver-
tising an offer of $4,000 for a native
piece suitable to Maude Adams, he pro-
| duced 1.-The Little Minister" for which
Ia Maid S1S Of1 in ROYALTIES n M
Barrie. His single production of an
American play-for he bore only half
| speculation of 1.-THE First Born"-was
| The Conquerors." 1t would appear
| that for several years past native au-
| thors have had i'll luck. Gillette and
Belasco have brought forth nothing
since Secret Service" and THE
| Heart" Bronson Howard, Augustus
Thomas and Henry Guy Carleton have
| fallen behind. At occasional intervals
| our writer's turn out a Beau Brum
| MEL" a 'Trilby," a Shenandoah"
Senator" a Heart of Maryland" a
Country Fair or an "Old Home
| stead,' but the great majority Of
MOI Cney-making plays are Of English au-
| thorship.
| Under the title of 'Drame Ancien,
| Drame Moderne," Emile Faguet, the
| French critic, has published a volume
| on the theater. In his preface he has
] some remarks about the reasons that
| impel people to go to the play, his be-
| lief being that the foundation Of all
| dramatic emotions is to be found in the
| sympathy of man with man, and that
on the stage it is in the bad fortunes
and not the good fortunes of the char
| acters that we most delight. Thus, he
! says: DO you ever see a picture Of
| happiness in the theater? Never!
| Comedy and tragedy? Why, comedy
| is a picture of ridiculous misfortunes
and tragedy of terrible ones. Some
body once wittily said: Why do COM
edies always finish with a wedding? Be
cause it is only after the marriage that
the tragedy begins Well, this is not
bad, but it is not ALL What ought to
| be made clear is that comedy itself is
a picture of unhappiness, nearly always
| turning on the misfortunes Of two young
people who would like to marry and
| cannot AS soon as they can be the
thing is at an end. Oh! drop the cur
| tain, for heavens sake-theyre going
| to be happy. I'm off They interest
me no longer. No dramatic author ever
| painted honeymoon, or, if he did, it
was just when the honey was beginning
| TO turn sour"
The popularity of Tchaikovsky's Pa
thetic Symphony in England is illus
| trated by the fact that when a vote
was taken on the program for a con-
cert at Stonehouse, it received 143
votes, as against 50 for Schubert's un-
| finished. and 4 and 8, respectively, for
I two nj Raathoyep'S cyr10nbopieS
Wotan at last is appreciated in Lon
don. Sutherland Edwards makes this
| amusing contribution to musical his
| tory: Fifteen years ago, when the
| Ring des Nibelungen' was played at
Her Majesty's Theater for the first
time in England, Wotan was a very un-
| popular parsonage. His significance in
the great tetralogy does not seem to
have been apprehended He was looked
| upon as a portentous bore, and Mr.. Ma
pleson assures US in his Memoirs that
! the Prince of Wales took a particular
| dislike to him, and hnted, after first
making his acquaintance, that If Wo-
| tan came on too often he might feel
compelled to withdraw his subscription.
/ Alfred Watson, too, was severely down
| the Ring des Nibelungen' which he
contributed. while the performance was
! going on, to the columns of Punch
| The Scandinavian love has now been
more than rehabilitated by Mr.. Van
Rooy. Once oppressive, Wotan is now
grandly impressive, and this is a tri-
| umph not only for Mr.. Van Rooy, but
also, and above ALL for Wagner Mr.
Van Rooy being the first artist who has
fully realized the composers conception
and brought it before us in all its ma
jesty''
A correspondent writes to the "Mu-
steal Courier from Rome: "Puccini is
writing a new opera in five acts. and
on the plot Of Marie Antoinette's life
Puccini conceives most of his music
when out shooting. he being an invet-
crate sportsman. When he travels. he
never takes a sheet of music with him,
but he is never without his gun That
accompanies him everywhere. Curl
ously enough, he has the greatest hor-
ror of seeing a wounded bird or any
other wounded game. He once shot
stag without killing it. He left II
where it fell. and returned home with
out it The following morning he felt
like a murderer and was irresistibly
attracted to the spot where the wound
ed animal fell. He found it still gasp
ing in the throes Of death, but 1t was
not dead Puccini has never forgotten
the look in the dying animals eyes. and
| 1.a of, ,,1 - To-