The San Francisco call., 1898-08-07

C-FN. iii: grand opera season at the :<-! .a*'.sTfvou has had most suspicious .s:fFrS;t: week and it is evident that .+ 4 s4 =. he Venture will not only be a .-~ fiyia ntlaI but artistic success. The pEeSEntat!GT. of two operas. Aida" and =: L Lucia::.:. during the week afforded the
 .[lei4 VQCal. stars opportunity to display
 tieiT:a5ilECies, and the result was quite satis clUfI Anna Lichter in Lucia"
 has LHlrEoYed greatly since she was = here :aVlth the Tavary Company. Her : yuiCe is stronger, more flexible and of Y. paEticu.ariy brilliant quality in the up
 .per'.r register: She will become favorite . after she has been heard in simpler and
 more melodious lines. Edgardo Zerni,
 the new tenor, has a surprisingly sweet,
 high, vibrant voice that carries well :. and is under good control. He is val . uable. acquisition to the company.
 ::.: In ::AIda, Marie Brands, a prima
 donna' of wide experience and reputa- :.,tion, is the possessor of a grand voice, ::cIears dominating and possessed of the . ever valued dramatic quality. She 2 sings. with power and good. method, and aside from the handicap of makeup made a very favorable impression. In
 strong contrast to her voice is that of Mary Linck, the contralto. She has an attractive personality, fresh, rich,
 elastic voice fairly well mastered and sings with a freshness and purity of ~ tone that has made her favorite from
 the. beginning.
 H.: U. N anrell, the basso has a big,
 round, substantial voice, well culti- .'.YaGed and which is a genuine satisfac- tion to hear. He sings the part Of the priest in Aida" with excellent effect.
 William Rruette seems to have deVel-
 oped his magnificent baryIone voice to higher degree of richness and power
 even than when he was here last It is: always a real pleasure to listen to
 sEis full rolling, mellow tones, which appear to be created with little effort
 De Vries, the old friend, has been re- ,ceived: in a. manner which should con- vince him. that his voice is well appre-
 ciated here, and he deserves the oVa-
 tiop ' 'Rhys Thomas and William H. West acted and sang their parts eX- cepCiOnafly well, both fully establish
 ing {heir claim to grand opera honors.
 , The management is mounting the YODeEas in excellent style and Is en- titled to" the thanks of the public for ,tAls musical treat There is no other : place tn the country where grand opera /: lS' such quality is to be heard for Zo
 and 50: cents. However, it is appre-
 Clated,. for the house has been crowded aak:the Week. Next week will be pre- : se1lted %Faust' and I'll Trovatore.
 ' :=ii;:ihe:: complications in the F'rawley <cOup4ny which have resulted in the
 ra=tareu3ent of Madeleine Bouton, the 4ea ding. lady, and Cora Tinnie, have : h6t been made public by MT. Frawley, but.3n the case of Miss Bouton the req sons for. her release are not hard to ' ~pneeITe. She came here with yaunt- . ed: Eastern reputation and much was
 9XPected of her, but the lady's dra- :{n&tic efforts did not /meet the antici-
 Iauorls'' of the public. However, she was .tTeated with great deal of con- ,sIGeration by the patrons of the house :9rBd.. the critics, who earnestly hoped that in each succeeding play she would develop some of the ability with which she was credited. Miss Bouton did fairly well on some occasions, but these were few and far between, and 1t. becanle evident that she was not up She has a fine stage presence and is 1 selassed as even aS good elocutionist, l aside from the fact that her acting was | acceptable only in spots. Whether | this: is due to carelessness or lack of | talent has nothing to do with the case. | The fact remains that the ladv had | her opportunity and made no advan- | Atageous use of it. MT. FrawIey Is not the loser, and the public will not com
 plain. It is to be hoped that Miss | .Beuton's successor will more nearly | approach the praiseworthy standard | set by the former leading lady.
 So far as Miss Tinnie is concerned | very little of her work has been seen |