The times., 1901-04-23
AT THE THEATRES.
The NationaI-phe Bostonians.

| The Bostonians. minus Mr. Macdonald.
/ bat with II. Clay Barnabee and George
| rockingham on hand, to say nothing OF
! two score or more of other very capable
! lyric artists. opened their annual engage
| ment at the National Theatre last evening
| in The Serenade." one of the very best
! comic operas of recent times and quite
| the ablest that Victor Herbert has ever
| written The audience. while not a particu-
! larly large one, was very generous in
! the matter of applause. The performance
of the Smith-Herbert piece was in some
| respects better than any the famous COM
pany has given in many seasons.
| So far as The Serenade" itself is con-
cerned local theatres know that it pos
| sesses many melodies that infinitely
| better than the average in similar works.
that Harry Smiths lbretto is excellent
/ in its way and provides plenty of Oppor-
| tunites for the principal members of the
| cast which. it should be added, they take
| full advantage Of, while the new Boston
| ians contributed a great deal to the gen
! eral excellence of the performance. One
| of the most capable of the new members
| is Estelle Wentworth a local singer. whose
appearance last night was her premiere
| in this city. She was in good voice and
! while her dramatic work evidenced mex
]
success, her song. In Fair Andalusia,
| receiving a number of encores. Another
new member OF the Barnabee- Macdonald
| forces Is Adele Rafter. a winsome young
woman whose contralto is of pleasing
quality. even If il has its limitations,
which are quite noticeable in some of her
| numbers. The tenor of the organization
| is Albert Airing Parr. who has been pre-
| viously heard in the Capital in secondary
roles with Francis Wilson and other COM
| panies of a like type. But with the Bos-
! tonians. Mr.. Parr has come into his own
| and the impression he created last night
was distinctly favorable. He has an adj
mirable voice and marked dramatic abii-
| ties, and he Is by far one of the most
acceptable tenors that have been heard
! in this city for some seasons
! II. Clay Barnabee. the only and original.
| who seems as sprightly as ever, displays
| the same unctuOus humor as in the days
| when he a less prominent ngure IN
| the realm of comic opera. Mr.. Macdonald
| was indisposed and his part was most
/ acceptably taken by Charles r. Hawley,
/ who gave a very spirited and finished per
| formance Other members Of the COM
/ pany whose work was worthy Of praise
| were John Dunsmure. w. II. Fitzgerald,
/ and Josephine Bartlett.
| The Bostonians chorus IS OF good
numerical proportions. while the feminine
| element is more youthful and good look
| ing than it's predecessors. while there has
| been no falling off in the vocal abilities
of the members The voices are fresh
| and strong and are usually in harmony,
| with the result that the ensembles are
! extremely well rendered, even for this
! organization.
| Local theatregOers who have In years
| gone by found much to admire in the
| performances of the Bostonians will great
| " enjoy the productions during the pres
| ent engagement. Tonight and tomorrow
| Serenade' will be repeat ted: Robin Hood
| will be the Offering a the matinee tomOr-
| row and Thursday night, while The Vice
| roy will have a single presentation Fri
| daV night