The age-herald., 1899-05-03
A Splendid Presentation at
 0'Brien's Last Night.
MRS. LAyRETTKs POWER
And the Gifted Ones Who Aided in Making Great Success-A Bril-
 liant Event in Birmingham's -s -.5sz Musical Circles.

opera 'Martha' was presented laSI nlSHl at O Brien's by the Apollo club, under the direction of MT. E. Williams, with Mrs Lavretta. of Mobile, in the title role, and Justin Thatcher of Chicago. as "Lionel." | The boxes, the parquet and balconies were l thronged with representative Birmingham l ians and the event was in every way a | brilliant one in fashionable circles. The sweet, forgotten airs of Martha" heard | last night in the story of love so old and | yet so eternally new, were charmingly sung l by cast of amateurs, augmented by pro- | fessional voices.
 The story of Martha" so familiar to many is, nevertheless, worth the telling: l Lady Harriet, lady of rank at the | court of Queen Anne of England, tired of | the amusements which court life affords, forms a plan to visit the Servants fair at | Richmond in the disguise of a servant girl in search of employment. She is accom- l panied by Nancy her maid, and Sir Iris | tan a cousin and admirer of hers rather 1 advanced in years, all appropriately att l tired for the occasion. Lionel and Punk | ett, two young farmers and foster brothers, l come to the fair for the purpose of engag- | ing help for their farm. The lady and | Nancy engage themselves, thinking it a | huge joke and not knowing that each are bound by the law to serve one year. They wish to leave, but the farmers detain | them, and not wishing to reveal their names and characters, mount the wagon and drive to the farm. Arrived at the | farm, the foster brothers find that the ser- wants know absolutely nothing of their du- l ties Lionel is smitten with the lady and | asks her to become his wife. Lady Har- ret who has given her name as Martha, laughs at him. Tristan, who has followed | the tracks of the prisoners, at midnight enters the house and escapes with the la- l dies. The farmers discover their flight and follow, but the trio escapes. The two I farmers, while hunting in the forest, ac- cidentally fall in with party of huntreSses headed by Lady Harriet and maid The men recognize their former servants, but l the ladies deny all knowledge of them l Lady, Harriet stigmatized them as mad i&n uhiwoftny@ of notice. Linael, driven frantic by Martha . nalIpxess in pretending not to know him, entrusts a ring, left him by his father, to Plunkett, and as the queen, who Is of the party, passes by de- | flyers 1t to her. By means of this ring Lionel is found to be the son of the Earl | of Derby, and he gains possession of the | estate.
 1 Lady Harriet discovers that she is deep l in love with Lionel but that gentleman | looks upon her coldly Kneeing, she of I | and cruel lady. He contrives another plan l and finally he confesses he loves hen and | at last both are united. So are Plunkett l and Nancy.
 | The cast was as follows:
 | Lady Harriet Durham, Maid of Honor | to the Queen...... 1 ....... Mrs. Emma Lawrence Lavretta. | Nancy, her waiting maid... .....,....... | ..... Miss Marie Kern. Lord Tristan Mickleford, Harriet's l Cousin. ... ..... .....Mr. Luman Handley | Plunkett, a wealthy young farmer....... | ....... ..... .... MT. Chas. c. Washburn. | Lionel his adopted brother, afterwards
 Earl of Derby.....M MT. Justin Thatcher. | The Sheriff . ..... MT. Sam E. Cowin Farmers, Servant Maids Hunters and | ,~ Huntresses, in the suite of the
 Queen, Pages, etc.
 Mrs Lavretta, whose voice is admired in | Birmingham so greatly, and who has been | heard often in this city, repeated her sue cess of former times. Her appearance was
 greeted with the greatest enthusiasm by
 her friends, all of whom look forward to
 her coming to Birmingham with that de-
 gree of impatience that finds expression IT
 prolonged en cores.
 Her impersonation last night deserved 3
 story flashed across the wires quite as l much as the success of a London sta1
 would thrill the Atlantic cables. Endowed l with a superb stage presence she possesses
 that artistic instinct which always keeps
 her from over -acting-a temptation almost
 impossible to avoid in operatic roles.
 MT. Thacher was the most adorable | Lionel. His reputation as a tenor made hi:
 role all the more difficult for the audience
 was naturally exactlng. The role suited | him, and his voice was wonderfully SWee | and strong in the tenor role. He was quit; l as picturesque a Lionel as one would care l to see, and the audience went quite Wilt | about his voice.
 | Miss Kern surprised her friends by he
 dramatic power last night, the role o
 Nancy giving her fine opportunities.
 MT. Washburn was in fine voice and Wa
 never heard to better advantage than il | the solo roles offered in Martha"
 MT. Handey, in the elegant attire of Lor'
 Tristan, was a striking figure, with quit
 the air of professional. He sang with hi
 accustomed power and sweetness. hr
 Cowan made clever sheriff.
 The chorus was superb and the costumini
 was charmingly picturesque.
 | The orchestra so magnificently trained | was last night at it's best. Miss Any Jor | dan and Miss Williams were accompanists
 As for MT. Williams, the director, wha l can one say of him? His friends have s
 long recognized in him keenness and deli l cacy of perception in matters musical, am
 sense of all that is rare and sweet il | music as well as power of expressing il
 so that it is as Du Maurier would say, tha | when one within the immediate circle o | our acQualntanceS IS gifted Tn lnlS IdSIilO l we either hate or admire him for it, |
 proportion to the greatness of his gift O | according to the way we are built.
 So that Birmingham admires MT. Will
 Hams genius and appreciates his utterl.
 uaselfish work for the sake of art alone l The brilliant musical coterie of which h.
 is the leader has for many years fostere'
 the sublime art in this city, and has nor
 than any other organization helped t
 create the musical atmosphere here whicl | is making of the city center of musica
 art. The Apollo club is the only incor | porated musical society in the state.
 laid, as it were, the corner stone in Bir
 mngham, and with the passing of tn | years it has given to the public a serie
 of the most charming musicales ant
 operas. The opera of last evening will b
 universally regarded as the most exquisite 1y staged, as one of the most charming
 presentations of opera that has ever beel
 attempted by the Apollo club, which ha