The record-union., 1898-01-02

The first two weeks of the Orpheum
have been verg successful ones. For
this week an entire change OF programme
is announced We are to have PauIl-
nette and PiQuo in a high class gym
nastic comedy act; Carlotta, the human
lizard so styled; Caroline Hill, triple
voiced vocalist and woman baritone
Professor Doherty's canine circus, white
poodles, the Waiting dogs Dude and
Dimple and Flip, the somersaulting
dog; Pepita Delara, chanteuse, from
Paris M Felix's miniature vaude-
VILE circus, with clown ponies and ba-
boon, and lastly the great American
blograph, the most perfect projectro-
scope yet presented for public criticism.
The biograph referred to above is said
by Manager Walter to be the greatest
moving picture machine yet invented
All that have preceded it are pigmies
beside ie. One of its great attractions
is the picture OF the Haverstraw tunnel
taken by the biograph from the front
of train as it approaches, enters and
emerges from the tunnel. This scene
is, we are told, beyond all question the
most vivid and sensational ever pro-
duced by any moving picture machine.
Theater has under engagement Stuart
Robson. the noted comedian, who will
appear here soon in his new character
of "Juklins. He also has booked the
Calhoun Opera Company for an early
appearance; also "The Man From Mex
ico." and Courted Into Court companies.
They will all appear during the month
of January. They are leading Eastern
attractions
Recently Rossini's William Tell" had
its fous hundredth performance at the
Vienna opera, having required sixty
seven years to reach that number. Only
six operas have so far surpassed it at
the same house-"Don JUAN" with $40
performances: Les Huguenots," with
454; "Freischutz." 4S1; Barber of Sc
VILE" 454: Robert the Devil" 447;
Magic Flute" 413. These are older
works. During the last twenty-five
years "Lohengrin' has headed the list,
followed by Gounod's Faust"
In an article which has appeared in
the American Antiquarian" the emil
nent anthropologist. DR.. d. G. Brinton,
disputes the current belief that the
American Indians had at the time this
country was dicovered no stringed in
struments. He describes four which he
has discovered-the quijongo of Central
America, a monochord with a gourd or
jar resonator; the Apache fiddle"
which has one chord and, as resonator,
a hollow reed; an eight-stringed instru-
ment which Adair speaks of in his his
tory of American Indians, and an in
strument with four strings and jar,
which may be seen in the Metropolitan
Museum, and which is said to be from
Brazil.
Until six years ago Wagner's operas
We're kept from the boards of the Grand
Opera in Paris by the Chauvinistic op-
position Of the mob. At last, on Sep
tember 16, 1891, "Lohengrin" was pro-
dueed and scored an enormous success.
During the first year it was sung sixty
ore times, and the receipts were over
million francs. The "Walkure" and
''Tannhauser'' We're produced in the fol-
lowing years, and won a similar success.
On November 10th this year Die
Meistersinger'' followed with a perform
ance so excellent in nearly every detail
that the foreign critics in Paris unite
with the French in pronouncing it one of
the greatest achievements in the history
of the grand opera. The manager had
during the last year visited a number
of German opera houses and noted all
the good points in the staging and inter
probation of this work which he en-
deavored with eminent success, to re :
produce Scenically the view of old
Nuremberg in the last act is pronounced
1narvelously true TO life. The chorus
was augmented by eighty voealists, who
not only were trained to sing well, but
to act inteligently; consequently even
the difficult riot scene in the second act
was we'll done. The cast, too, was a
good one. Alvarez being Walter, Delmas
sachs, Mile. Breval Eva. Renaud's Beck
nlesser is declared to be intimately fun
ny and true TO Wagner's conception. AS
might have been anticipated, the dra-
matte points in general were brought
ont even better than they usually are
by German companies. A new transla-
fiou had been made for this occasion by
Alfred Ernst Risler, which is considered
vastly superior to earlier versions. Ris-
Ter wisely made no attempt TO retain
the rhyme which would have doubled
his already very difficult task, but he
carefully preserved the language and
spirit Of Wagner's poem.
William Archer makes a good deal of
fun Of the recent performance of The
,ren1nest" by MIR. Poel's society in the
London Mansion House. He says,
among other things: In the perform
anee there was diligence. enthusiasm,
even talent-everything in fact. except
common sense Whatever the an
cient Elizabethans obviously did not do
whatever contradicts the text and
flies in the face of reason-that the
modern FlizabethanS conscientlously
set themselves TO achieve. IheT
choice of play is this time beyond
criticism. Nothing could have been
more curious than an endeavor to real
ize the original presentment or The
rranpest, But what is the first thing
our Elizabethans do? They choose a
side gallery or balcony. cut in the very
cornice OF the lofty hall, TO represent
the ship at sea. and they make Miranda
watch the wreck from the stage, some
thirty or forty feet below, III
was in the first apparition OF Ariei,
however. that the society achieved Its
triumph of wrongheadedness. The dress
(from a contemporary PRINT was plaus-
ible enough: but imagine eurate-
Ariel mechanically intoning his rote-
learnt lines, with his eyes fixed on the
ceiling, motionless, expressionless. like
one in a dream! Was ever perversify
more elaborateiy destructive?"
g
The historian. Sorel, at meeting of