The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-12-14
MUSIC AND THE STAGE.
METROPOLITAN.

A good sized audience was present last
evening at the Metropolitan to welcome
Nine. Modjeska and her capable COM
pany in their revival of Shakespeare's
tragedy, king john" The audience
was notable in one respect. Few of the
familiar faces of the regular theater-
goers were to be seen. Shakespeare,
played so seldom, draws quite another
crowd from that seen at the modern
drama. It was a scholarly audience that
last night greeted this seldom-seen play.
For two generations artists on the
stage have seen fit to pass by the trag-
edy of king john in spite of It's in
tensely dramatic action. Now, at the
end of the century, when managers adj
nit that Shakespeare must be regarded
in the light of an expensive fad-more's
p the pity-tWo noted players BeerDohm
Tree, of England, and Modjeska, of all
countries, have added it to their roper
toire. Success has attended this revival,
the success that novelty assures. For,
while one may admire Shakespeare. his
tragedies are a little too invigorating for
modern life. His men are bigger than
the men of today. They dwell in a larger
atmosphere; they play with greater
things. They take away ones breath in
stead of making one laugh
Nine. Modjeska's Lady Constance last
evening laid that subtle spell over the
audience that her genius has always been
when France is beside her, her son with
her; as the wrathful ally when she finds
that she has been made a dupe of bv
that same France; but above all. as the
despalr1ng mother, when Prince Arthur
Is snatched from her arms, Modieska
easily meets every demand the role
makes upon her AS much is her grief
expressed in her woeful countenance- her
tragic eyes, as in her half-maddene1
tempest of words. In those two supreme
demands on her powers-f1rst where she
accuses the king of France of betravjnor
his trust, and, later, when she tf.lIs
that same king and his court how grief
mas taken the very form and features of
ner son, is she superb. Modjeska's voice
mas not lost any of it's strong foreign ac
cent, Out neither has it lost ANYTHING of
its wonderful sweetness
"A more important part in the play than
ModJeska has R, D. MacLean. who PLAYS
Alng John. Throughout the play his act
Ing is fine and even piece of work
The role requires him to run the whole
gamut In the scale of emotions. He is
bold and warlke king, he is a plotting
assassin, he is a dutiful son bewailine
the loss OF a dear mother, he is a con-
sclence-Strlcken man and, finally a dy-
ing man. Perhaps no bit of acting re-
vealed so clearly Mr.. McLean's capabiIi-
ties as the scene with Hubert when he
plots Prince Arthurs murder Not quite
so grewsome, but just as impressive, is
his acting when he learns his mother is
dead and that his subjects are aroused
by the murder of Arthur Miss Odette
Tyler is Prince Arthur. In appearance
she is very bonny prince, and in the
scene with Hubert-the only demand
made upon her in the play-she proves
herself a tragedienne of no little merit
Barry tombstone, as Foulconbridge, the
natural son of Richard Couer de Lion,
easily shared honors with the principals
in the cast. Faulconbridge has all of
the brave and reckless qualities and
the merry humor that made his father
the idol and despair of England, and Mr..
Johnstone's presentation of this inter
esting character left nothing to be de-
sired A gloomy character in a play not
remarkable for its gayety is Hubert,
Prince Arthur's keeper. The part was
adequately presented by Max Won Nit
Eel. Worthy Of special mention was Mrs
Henry Vandenhoff's crafty Queen Elinor
and A G. Carleton's king Of France.
The costuming, the staging and the
scenery detracted nothing from the ar
tistic presentation of the play.
This evening Modjeska will present
Macbeth" tomorrow afternoon MARY
Stuart" and tomorrow evening s'King
John will be repeated
Tim Murphy in Sol Smith Russell's
play, ga Bachelors Romance" will open
at the Metropolitan opera house Sunday
night, for an engagement of four nights.
GRAND OPERA.
The season of grand opera by the Mau-
rice Grau opera company opened aus
piciously last evening in the somewhat
remodeled hall of the Exposition build
ing, Minneapolis The length of the
opera was too great to admit of full
rendition in time to allow the people in
these Twin Cities of magnificent dis
tances to reach their homes, even at a
late hour, so that but three of the four
acts of Meyerbeer's 'Huguenots" were
given. This eliminated the final tragedy,
but permitted the retention of the
best of the music And it was all
the best of music, for the real music con-
tanned in this beautiful opera was
brought out magnificently by orchestra,
chorus and principals, all under the SUI
perb leadership Of Mr.. F'lon.
To analyze so well known an opera as
this masterpiece would require a mu-
steal critic of more than ordinary
strength, but to enjoy it one only needs
be a lover of music. Placed in the
thrilling time of Catherine d Medici, with
the st. Bartholomew massacre as the
central plot about which the love and
hate of the various individuals is gath
cred, there is much dramatic opportun-
ity and the histrionic abilities Of this
fine company were tested, as also were
their musical excellence
The hall is not the best that could be