The times., 1899-04-14
THE GRAND OPERA.

The ghost OF departed magniicence re-
turned to the Grand Opera House last
night. and, stalking majesticaliy past the
arch of lights that forms the entrance to
1 that place of amusement, took up its resi-
| dence in the lobby and the auditorium as
OF yore. This time the specter was In com
! posite form-like the wrath of Bret
\ Hartes fancy, because accompanied b.
swishing skirts and rustling silks and sub
/ tie perfumes: like the spirit of which
| Washington Irving told In that 1t arrived
with The clatter OF horses hoofs and the
cries OF drivers; like nyron's spirit of the
ieast, for its presence was signalizsd by
flashing lights and the strains of music.
| A triple form, with treble the grandeur
and the pomp claimed by its original of the
| days when the big theatre was always be-
ing given over to great men and beautiful
women who occupied its stage and audi
] torium, the shade filled the structure from
/ the back wall to the front. and frcm the
/ street to its furtherest side Conjured up
/! by the temporary tenancy Of the Grau
| Company, it held the fullest sway.
| FOR an hour before the performance OF
'Lohengrin." which drew the shadow, had
begun. the joint creation OF Harte and
i Byron and Irving was master OF the scene
: The hanging semi-cirele of electric lamps,
| which affords the gateway to the house.
and the numberless like bulbs which stul
! the ceiling of the foyer and the ba. comics
within, commenced 10 glow until their
| brillianee was stronger than usual and
! then crowd began gathering. First came
/ boys with iibrettos. doorkeepers, ushers
i porters, and other retainers, and then
, those who wished to see the show outside
! This assembly almost blocked the sidewalk
| for period, but moved back when the
| carriages began rolling up and their occu-
pants were handed out one by one. So
great was the number of these vehicles
and so strongly were they REINFORCED by
/ auditors who came on foot and in street
cars that the foyer was soon packed and
jammed with laughing. chatting good
! humored mass of humanity A long line
/ OF late purchasers wended its way past the
/ box Office, and another made for the fight
OF steps by which entrance to the audi
! torium is gained
Here the gathering was most dense. A
suspended chain guarded the wide passage
! and left SO small a place that men and
| women were pushed here, there, and every
where in their efforts to crowd through
Many gave up the trial early and re-
! turning to the front Of the lobby, sat on
the settees with the idea OF waiting until
the passage was free Meanwhile ushers
! were rushing to and fro on the three floors
OF the structure. seats were falling and
clap-b boards rafting. patrons talking, and
! yenders of fans and scores calling their
| wares, musicians taking their positions,
and employees rushing about, while in front
OF all in the only quiet space in the thea
ire hung the curtain, the rising of which
was to disclose the incentive that mad
| brought the ghost.
The combination specter enjoyed a
! triumph in as brilliant scene as has
| been witnessed at the Grand in many a
! day. Every seat in the house was flied
and every occupant, whether of an orches-
ira chair or of gallery bench, was dressed
! fashionably. Upstairs gay-eolored ribbons
| and hats of all descriptions: below fine
, silks and costly c,oaks; in the boxes shin
| ing shoulders and costly jewels-avery-
where the magnificence OF society in a
city where the social are truly magnifi-
cent. And with all was the somber back
| ground of the hundreds of men clad in
conventional black and white and OF the
dull painted walls Of the theatre. A ka-
leidoscopic arrangement OF a score of hues
! and two thousand persons-a blending of
the fashion and intellectually of Wash
| ington.
After o'clock the fanciful creations Of
Irving and of Bret Harte were lost in The
| pre-eminence of the Byronic wrath. The
signal for the singularizing of this shade
!
| baton on the music rack and the follow
ing extinguishing of every light in the
! auditorium An orchestra of sixty rem
dered the overture to "Lohengrin' and
| rendered il admirably. Every man re-
| sponded feelingly to the demand of the
! director and the result was execution
| marvellous in its tonal quality and in the
! ineness of its conception. Strong in
creating dynamic effects, harmonious in
| their coloring OF the most minor chords.
and always sympathetic to the ideas of the
| composer, the musicians gave Wagner s
great prelude in scholarly fashion.
"Lohengrin- followed. Every enthusias-
tic admirer of the German-and all Wag-
ner's admirers are enthusiasts-knows that
! '.Lohengrin" was one of the masters ear
lier and least pretentious efforts With
| "Tannhauser, it forms a remarkable ex-
ample of variety of operate music that
was nothing if not Wagnerian, and yet that
had not become sufficiently distinctive tC
be beyond the range of comparison with
the French school, When "Lohengrin
was written its author had not yet at
tempted to allow his motives the full sway
notable in Die Walkurke." "Pareifal.
"Das Rheingold" and other works that
followed. Motives there are In the COM
position, twining in and out of its score
until they seem to express the story OF the
libretto without the assistance OF words
and yet "Lohengrin' is not the tone poem
that its successors were. The score
abounds in a noble wealth of melody-in
lofty themes and ideas treated with dignity
and grace. These are now sweet and ryth-
mical and again powerful in their contrast
and climaxic strength. here almost light in
their swing and there quite classic in the
wild harmony of peculiarly related chords
"Lohengrin'' is remarkable production
AN offering alike appreciable to the mos
censorious and to the least requiring
The rendering given the work last nigh
by the members of the Grau Company il
vocally and histrionically the finest evel
brought to the attention OF local critics. Il
not one of the best provided in this coun-
try. Certainly if the performance has beer
equalled in the United States 1t was by thI
same organization, for none comparable
has existed in time memorial. Perfect il
its wonderful cast, perfect in its singing
chorus, and perfect in all that goes to max,
up such a presentation, the entertainment
was simply delightful. The big audienc,
present appreciated this fact to the fulles
degree and the result series of from
six TO nine curtain calls after each of tn,
three acts in which the legend is told
The combination was forced to appear be-
fore the spectators again and again, and Il
bow its Acknowledgements in a manner thai
must have been soultorturing to those who
declare that 1t is not artistic to abdicate
character In order to express personal
| qualification.
With two striking exceptions the east
of yester-evening was identical with that
of earlier years. The more notable of this
duo is Nine Schumann- Heink whose sing