The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1900-10-18

| Numbering over 100 persons, 1t sang
and acted with precision that demon
strated not only individual ability, but
most careful and splendid training. The
Klaw e. Erlanger special orchestra of
twenty-five pieces greatly aided the
success of the performance.
The story of Foxy CUTLER" bears no
relation to the Highwayman, from
which the title role is borrowed. The
plot and it's development and the scenes
are entirely original. Foxy CUTLER"
is a detective whose bumptious self
conceit make him the genius of blunder-
ers Mr.. Smith has made this charac-
ter a broad travesty on the inductive
logician of the Sherlock Holmes type,
and in developing the story gives him
comic lines galore and ludicrous situa-
tions that create no end of laughter.
Set to catch the thief, Kimoso, a Japa-
nese dwarf, who robs Ned Royster, a
sailor he finally, by inductive reason
ing, concludes that he himself is the
thief, and as an officer of the law deals
with himself as the culprit offending
the law. He only does justice to him
self when he is forced to the conclusion
of his own innocence through the con-
fession of Kimono.
The robbery takes place in an inn
opening on a shipyard in Portsmouth,
England. The time is 1916. Foxy Sc
cures his first clue to the robbery
through highly intellectual CONVERSE
ton with parrot. Ned Register is to
marry Daphne, the daughter of Abel
Gudgeon the shipbuilder, but is pre-
| VOL taI NV bo nf Al
this juncture there appears on the scene
La Colombo and 'Paganino" from
Corsica, who are pursuing the oath of a
vendetta They are determined to kill
Foxy CUTLER" His ancestor, seventy
five years before, won and deserted a
maid in Corsica. The oath of the VEN
delta falls on him. He escapes them
by changing names with Register. Sus-
pecting that the thief will go to Corsi-
ca, CUTLER determines to go on Registers
vessel. Learning of this the Corsicans
sail too which takes all the principal
characters to Corsica, where the last
two acts occur.
In the second act "Quiller" reasons
he must himself be the thief, and after
comical adventures with La Colombo
and "Paganino" arrests himself and
turns himself over to justice. In the
third act the mystery Of the robbery is
solved and Foxy CUTLER" clears him
self, escapes the vendetta and brings
about the reunion of Register and
Daphne.
The music of this opera will become
widely popular. The overture while
not in strict overture form, is removed
from the ordinary pot-pourri in that
the composer has taken the leading
theme of Foxy CUTLER associated
with the principal character, and used
it as binder to connect and hold to-
gether the different themes of which
the number is made up.
AS the curtain rises on the opening
chorus the shipyard at Portsmouth is
disclosed, showing a group of work.
men and apprentices singing and drink
ing. This leads up to bass solo by
Abel Gudgeon, foreman of the yard,
who sings of his craft as a ship-builder
I'VE Build the Walls of Old England,
the Hardy Oaken Walls" This leads
up to the entrance for the female
chorus, wives and sweethearts, sailors
and townspeople, and the number ends
with repetition Of the principal melo-
dy by the full chorus
After a brisk entrance chorus Ned
Register. captain in the Merchant ser
vice, sings q rolicking sea song about
a Swearing Skipper whose oaths got
him into trouble one stormy night
This IS followed by duet between Ned
and his sweetheart, Daphne, daughter
OF Abel Gudgeon, who, sitting at the
spinning wheel, makes her sweetheart
wind the yarn for her, the number end
ing with pretty waltz theme Wind |
ing, Winding, My Love and T." The
next number is the "Montebanks
Song" introducing Walsingham Binks |
and his company of strolling players, |
including Kimono, the Japanese dwarf, |
a snake charmer, a rope dancer, a |
giantess, and other members of his |
troupe. They sing of their hardships, |
and in brisk galop resolve to forsake |
the legitimate for the circus, in an en- |
deavor to change their luck A short |
chorus after this introduces the great |
Foxy CUTLER" who in a characteristic
ally pompous number, whose theme is |
exploited in the overture, and which |
recurs throughout the piece in different |
forms, tells Of his sagacity and general
ly overwhelming Importance. In the
next number in which the two Corsi-
cans, La Colombo and Paganino, fol-
lowing the object of their vengeance
to England appear, the character of the |
music changes, and they sing 1.-The
Song of the Vendetta ending with a
strong waltz refrain Vendetta, Ha!
Hal" The finale, an important musical
follows. The repetition of THE
Song leads into an ef-
fective ensemble for principals and cho-
rus the number ending with a strongly
rhythmic sea song "Over the Rolling
Sea-" as the characters take ship to |
Corsica. The ship sails away from the
dock as the curtain falls.
In the second act the character of the
music changes from the English
rhythms to those appropriate to south
arn Corsica where the scene is now
laid. AS the curtain rises the single
figure of La Colombo Is discovered on a
rock, singing to the fishermen who are
seen in their boats at sea- Paganino,
in the distance, sings typical Italian
fsherman's song, which is taken up
oy the male chorus in the distance and
he number ends with the same theme |
f.,11 II, |