The times., 1898-10-16

'sousa has never written and I have
never had an opera half so good as The
Charlatan. " quoth De Wolf Hopper to
the writer late last week And desnite
the inexplicabe coldness Of the New
York critics and audiences when the piece
was presented at the Knickerbocker this
seems to be very close TO the truth The
Charlatan' Is. In every sense of the word.
a delightful offering. and one that IS
distinctly credit to all concerned in its
production.
The plot of the opera is tangible and Of
annie merit TO permit the construction of
straight" comedy from its elements.
There IS plenty of novelty and an abun-
dance of situations thar could not fail to
be rirth-provoking under the most ad-
verse circumstances. Then. too. the lines
are unusually witty and of the very sort
for the delivery of which Mr.. Hopper has
made a reputation HorseDlav and buf-
foonery are firmly eschewed in the mat
ter used. and the result is a Ifbretto
which in evenness and briIliance of con-
struction has not been rivaled within the
last twenty years.
Thorgh the music sung is much heavier
than anything Sousa has ever done be-
fore. this quality does net seem to have
| detracted from its beauty or simp' icity
| There is. cadence and rythm to every
| one of the numbers that is delightful,
| while the old spirit and fire that has
marked every thing the Mach King
| has turned out is by no means ab-ent
| from the selections in his latest effort
| The airs cling to the ear and remain there
| steadfastly, their odd chords and strange
combinations of tone and color pleasing
| rather than jarring upon the senses
| Above even this, the solos contain deli
cacy and shading Sousa's work never
| seemed to possess prior to this presenta-
ton, and which is totally lacking in the
| compositions of some of the e -eatest
masters the world has ever known. These
hits imprint and suggest convincingly the
| pictures they accompany. and are in all
ways. the highest conceptions the musi-
| clan has ever shown 4 theatsr- going pub
| lie. The love song in the first act of the
piece when the Orange Flowers B os-
SON." 1.-THE Guilty Man.. The Frc g
Song" Ammonia" and 1.-THE Matrimo-
niai Guards" all have an oddity and jim
l gle that is positively unique while the
now familiar march that ends the second
act is a magnificent combination of color
| and movement rarely equaled-
Sousa's lyrics are not the least enjoy
able feature of the presentation. with
their wealth of ingenuity and humor.
Though this first quality may prevent
their ever becoming popular, they have a
sparkle and a jingle that has existed be-
fore only In the works of Gilbert and Sui
iivan Each of the verses tells its story
concisely and brightly. without STOPPING
to false effects. Not even Mr.. Glib srt
ever succeeded in rhyming four-sylabled
words in the manner accomplished by
Sousa in 1.-THE Charlatan."
OF Mr.. Hopper's production only that
which is good can BE- said. Costumes
scenery and accessories all combine "a
give a picture that has not been equaled
for brilliance in the history OF comic op-
era. The cast employed is one of exc p,
tional ability, too while the star himself
never appeared to better advantage. Ar
intelligent and well-trained chorus Ct
over forty people completes the extraor-
binary equipment of an organization that
merits the greatest success for its abi ity
its presentation and for the enterprise
the management has shown In preparing
II for the road.