The age-herald., 1902-03-09
Carmen and LesHuguenOts Pre- sented Yesterday and Both
 Were Strong
MANY SPLENDID CLIMAXES
The Audiences Were Not Very Large, But Some of the Most Fashion able and Cultured Society
 People Were Present.

Neither Carmen nor Les Huguenots, presented by the French Opera Company, of New Orleans, at the Jefferson Thea Ire yesterday. drew a large house. Car men was sung at the matinee and Les Huguenots was sung at night.
 Lent kept away many fashionable peo- pie and the theatre presented less bril- liant scene than usual.
 Very few of the boxes were occupied, and there were no theatre parties. The cafes had their gay little supper parties after the opera last evening, but they were not thronged and it cannot be said that society was largely in evidence at the opera
 There were. of course, many cultured people in the audience and among those occupying boxes at night were MT. and Mrs Clarke. Miss Margorie Cachings, MT. Thomas, MT and MT. Jack Johnson. MT. and Mrs Ross Smith. MT. and Mrs Allan Haskell.
 Some Toilets.
 Miss Catchings wore a blue gown scin- tillant with spangles. Mrs. Haskell was in white. the decolete corsage being trim med in violets and a cluster of violets be- ing caught in her low coiffeure
 Mrs. Smith was in a black spangled net over white, with red roses; Mrs. Johnson was in grey.
 Among those in the audience were MT. and Mrs. Nathan l.. Miller, MT. and Mrs. Robert Jemison, Jr, MT. and Mrs. Frank Ellis, Mrs. Edward Wilkinson, MT. Rob- ert Hiden, Mrs. Jordan, Miss Amy Jor- r Roden, Mir. Melville Drennen. Mrs. Blount Mrs. Lewis. Miss Lewis, Miss Carrie Sharpe, Miss Ethel Sharpe, MT. William Mudd Jordan, MT. and Mrs. Thomas H. Motion, Mrs. John c. Henley, MT. Jack Martin MT. Jack Barr, MT. and Mrs. Guckenberger Major and Mrs. Ed ward Magruder Tutwiler. Mir. and Mrs. Oliver Chalifoux, MT. and Mrs Simon Klotz.
 Among those at the matinee yesterday were Mrs. Edward Wilkinson, Mrs. Nethe Anderson, MT. Little, Mrs. John Caldwell, Mrs. James Warner Shook. Miss Daisy Moody, MT. Erskine Ramsay, Mrs. Joseph R. Smith. Jr., Mrs. Calvin Jones. Mrs. Benjamin F. Moore, Mrs. Hugh Morrow, Mir and Mrs Preston Means, Mrs. Sims. MT. Harry Upsom Sims, Mrs. Charles J. Smith, Mrs. Ad- dison G. Smith, Mrs. L. J. Haley, Mrs. Everad Meade. Mrs. Truman H. Aldrich, Jr' MT. William Walker, and MT. Car l penter.
 The Criticism. l The French Opera Company gave two i exceptionally fine performances Faults i might be pointed out here and there but to judge an Artistic performance correctly comparisons must be made. The most pre-. tentious operatc performance ever pre- sented in Birmingham was that of the Maurice Grau Company last October. The French Opera Company, coming without any flourish of trumpets was far superior to Graus troupe. The princi- pals were better as whole and the chorus was much stronger and much bet ter trained. Grau brought larger or chestra and one that could not we'll be equalled. The French orchestra, com posed of nearly forty musicians, was at times very ragged and was never as smooth as 1t should have been,, but with this defect in the New Orleans organiza- ton, both operas were rendered with charming brilliance. M. Amalou's con ducting in Les Huguenots" was master ful and the style in which he worked up and delivered his climaxes was little short of marvellous in artistic achieve. ment. If we were asked to name the greatest thing about the French per formances. afternoon or night the an- swer would be the climaxes
 mine. ftdcnel Iaya made beWitching Carmen. She has clear and powerful voice and her acting yesterday was never oVerdone. The senuous, ravishing music of Bizets opera was enjoyed from be- ginning to end.
 In Les Huguenots the company present ed great star cast and when seven principles appeared in the second act the audience showed its appreciation by tu- multuous applause.
 Bouxmann the basso, came in for the greatest honors, but Due, the tenor. aside from his ranting, was quite popu- lar. Mime. Feodor, the dramatic soprano. Mime. Chambellan. lyric soprano, and Mime. Lava, mezzo soprano, achieved signal triumphs.
 Les Huguenots was cut, but that was necessary on account of its great length Had 1t been given in It's fve-act entirety the clock would have struck 12 before the curtain fell As 1t was 1t was after Il when the performance was ended.