Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-10-27

MUSIC

WUSlC
The difference of opinion concerning the
merits Of the new opera is very slight.
Best thing since Robin Hood -" say some.
Best thing since The Fencing Master, -"
say others. Possibly I'll be independent.
and start u new record for myself" says
Foxy CUTLER" with sagacious nod in the
direction of the box office.
The arrangements for the production Of
Foxy CUTLER We're such to make 1t
difficult for the most pessimistic prophet to
utter a foreboding croak In the first place
klaw & Erlanger were not the men to let
any production suffer for the lack of money
Money! When these magnates of the theat-
ric world need a little spare change, say
forty or fifty thousand dollars, they send a
messenger with dust pan to brush out
the corners of their Broadway offices that
have been overlooked in the general sweep
up. And then they scold the Office boy for
being so careless. Ordinary phrases fail to
do justice to the display Of liberality There
Is a temptation to revert to ShakeSpeareS
practice Of throwing in a double superlative
now and then. 1t is the most lavishest pro-
duction of comic opera that Washington
has ever seen. The name of B. D. Stevens.
under whose direction the enterprise is
launched, inspires confidence, for Mr.. Ste
vens is man of long experience in such
enterprises. The Importation of special
orchestra to cooperate with that of the
theater was a bold stroke. in keeping with
the general magnitude of the scheme. The
company included singers of reputation, and
there WAS little left to do Monday night
save to wait for the intermssion. proclaim
success by the usual methods of applause
and call for speeches from author and com
poser.
The author and composer are gentlemen
in whom the public has long been interest
ed. The Washington public may justly feel
an especial interest in Mr.. De Koven. for he
has elected to dwell here. He has partici-
pated in this city's social functions and has
bumped his tune-laden head against our
asphalt bicycle ways. He has shared our
Joys and sorrows, and may be pointed to
with proper pride as an illuStriUuS fellow
townSman. Foxy CUTLER was composed
during Mr.. De kover's residence here: and
II environment has anything to do with a
musicians inspiration the capital city may
feei encouraged anew in its artistic hopes.
IL scientists, men and women of letters
musicians and other artists continue to con-
sregate here, the city may live down the
Statuary in frOck coats and thick-Soled
shoes and the SeriO-cUmic effects in archi-
lecture which Turk among its stately groves
and splendid colonnades and proclaim itself
without fear of contradiction the Athens of
the new world.
Seriously speaking. Mr.. De Koven's work
in this opera is a credit to not only
his own reputation, but to American music
In all its gaiety it is not undignifed; and
in its more serious moods it attains scholar
~ effects without becoming ponderous and
forfeiting the confidence of the popular
car. Whether Foxy CUTLER will prove
another Robin Hood is something which
only time can demonstrate. But it can be
asserted that it will rank as a musical
work well worthy of the genius whose
ballads of love and ditties of drink and
uutiawry made the bold denizens of Sher-
wood Forest almost as familiar to the pres
ent generation as they We're to the merry
Old Englanders One advantage which
Robin Hood may nave over Foxy Quill
Ter in the prospect Of permanent sur
yival is that its theme is more plausible
and poetic. 1t has the enduring attraction
of a historic subject. and its comedy is
of the subdued kind which does not become
burdensomely familiar. In that opera
Harry Smith subordinated his work com
pietely 10 that of the composer. In Foxy
CUTLER he has made his comedy a con-
spcuous quantity. Excellent comedy 1t is
too. The plot is ingenious and the charac-
tiers well removed from the commonplace
In devising situations which give place for
love duet or d comic solo, Mr.. Smith has
a facility which only a constant study
could attain. 1t is probably the best libretto
he has yet produced He does not strive
lot any very ninety Drawn literary eHtctS
His satire negects the detectives of higher
fiction. such as Mons Dupin and his later
representative, Sherlock Holmes, and ad-
dresses itself mainly to the old sleuth of
small boy story papers. His strength lies
in his resourcefulness in plots. Thanks to
him, Foxy CUTLER is one of those rare
quantities. comic opera with a consistent
story. No production in many seasons has
had hearter welcome during its stay, and
none has departed with fairer prospects of
triumph in other and more extensive fields
The new stock company opened its career
most auspiciously. The general average or
the cast is high. Blanche Bates renewed
the splendid impression she had already
made in tbs city, and John 7. Sullivan com
manded instant recognition as an actor of
brilliant quality. The Masqueraders' is not
a great play. although 1t shows a company
off to good advantage. The scene on which
it relies almost exclusively for right TO
exist at aH-the one in which a dssolute
husband stakes his wife and child against
the fortune of the man who loves hers as
artificial bit of stage trickery az was ever
devised. Men who would engage in SO cold
blooded an enterprise would not have hest
tated to settle the transaction by much
more obvious and convenient method, some
thing follows:
Sir. you want to get rid of your wife and
you want my money!
Exactly. You do not care for your
money and you want my wife. who loves
you"
Precisely
Then let US exchange; your money for
my wife"
This would have perfected an arrange
ment satisfactory to all parties, and GER
tainly no less repugnant to good taste or
morals than that which the dramatist sa nc
tons. But 1t would have destroyed all the
interest in the play.
The melodrama at the New National was
a colossal affair and proved that 1t Is pos
s!b!e to have an interesting and well-writ-
ten play with sensational incidents. 1t was
a thriller of the most emphatic sort.
why Gid I play Hamlet" echoed Mr.
Sohern. Write It down simply ambi-
tlcn-an actors ambition If you like.
was anxious to reach the highest in art
and l consider Hamlet affords every oppor-
tunity for the utterance Of the best man
has in him. Am l satisfied? AS to the re-
suits, the reception, the generosity of the
audiences and the critics. l am more than
satisfied: l am deeply grateful. 1t is diff
cult to describe ones feelings when au-
dience rises 1t were at you and cheers
you for the months of silent labor, the
hours OF study and doubt and fear. An in
slant may decide the efforts of lifetime,