The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1902-11-30
fensively vulgar than all the gallic farces
in the world-and squeaking marionettes.
true libes upon real men and women.

true libels upon real men and women.
We wonder how many American actresses
, study tone-production. They all study
| elocut ion, of course. But the proper ennis
| sion of the speaking voice seems 10 lie
| singularly neglected. This results in the
monotone unaffected speech nightly
| heard in our theatres. Yet there IL good
even remarkable. material In the throats
| Of our leading actresses. Duse has been
! cited IA al example Of what patient drill
| ing can do for IN organ not naturally beau
tiful. The golden-tongued Bernhardt sur
passes Duse in prolonged passages, in
those fiery flights up the scale TO a climac-
teric summit of passion that sonnet lines
achieves shr.llncss. Dlise. however. went
10 nature, and the sincerity of her utter
anCe is often poignant and euphonious.
There Is va. .aty of infection and core.scndo
quality that must have taken years To
make captive.
The most b. sutiful voice that New York
has listened To IN long time IL that OF Edith
Wynne Mail .ason, the comely ErCrpndn
in the old III raty play. Her organ IL OF
luscious quality, and In the lower register
booms like bell. There are in il familiar
cadences, the cadences Of Ellen Terry.
Few young English actresses have escaped
the influence of Miss Terry's once charming.
caressing voice. Our own Lillian Russell
has clear speaking voice, which she varies
after the manner Of well-bred English
woman. But IL does not carry conviction
in its cadences. II IL always crystalline
and often chilly. Mrs. Patrick Campbells
voice is changing; not exactly roughening.
but IL no longer has the slightly yelled.
delicious quality. She uses it too much
katherine Grey IL the possessor OF
deep. vibrant voice and wellmodulated
one. The hmbre is rich; il moves Va when
the speaker il agitated. Eleanor Robsons
voice is as pure and as sweet a. her profile.
II lacks variety So does Viola Aliens
speech. Hers is remarkable contrato.
and if she did not listen to il so consciously
it would gain in sweep. in nuance. But it is
all in one agonized key nowadays Virginia
Harmed has a fine. sonorous organ, that was
always flexible even in the old Lyceum
days She has improved it much during
TIN. past decade. Ethel Barrymore speaks
in the fresh tones Of girlhood. Her voice.
however. needs rigorous training, both az
to emission-she breathes bady-and eocu-
ton. Many of her speeches. which now
drawl, would be streng hened by little
study. She has an appealing hmbrs AZ
times.
Mary Mannering is a contrato, hers is
the dark" voice. the voice for sustained
though dangerous sentiment II is very
un-Ainerican voice. without any nasal or fiat
tones. II is pleasing voice to listen TO,
it comforts the ear. And. them she never
talks TOO fast, the besetting vice of our
young actresses Fay Davis shows what
careful culture will do for a light reedy
organ She lived in London and learned
10 subdue the shrillness in her upper tones
They are now often birdlike in their sweet
ness II il voice which expresses arch
ness. pouting infect ions. blithe spirits;
and il cen also convey distinct emotional
mea nings just listen to the way she
varies the vowel sound in her All" during
the five or six times she utters it in I'm
prudence" at the Empire. There is a
lesson in vocal coloring for any one Mrs
Fiste's voice has changed very much dur
ing the past five years. II has grown
darker. heavier, though 1t has lost none OF
III old-time suppleness II Is now better
adapted TO the expression Of tragic terror
and also to those semi-rythmic intonat ions
sh" employs in MARY Of Magdala
Mrs. LeMoyne Ia, easily the best I'll aimed
voice among the actresses now here And
/ ay Iempeton has the most characteristic
that is, char acteristic Of any one she
chooses to imtat Her natural voice is big.
deep and eloquent. II is often hoarse-how
can a. woman talk or sirg in a dense atmos-
phere of tobacco suiokef Miss Tempeton,
like NVe'te Guilbert, really acts with her
voice Nfs. dltef mas 50 long patterned
after French models that there has Crept
-. " - e ISL ''"'''
ni' "'en's 'er'aih rap'uiS uehNereu
phrases IN the crisp, sfdccdfo style Of Sarah
la discuss. She has the uniinpeded flow
81, VI "''"''
stress "he Is often shril' marsh even
raucous. bu' " II usually turned 70 profit
able account. Mrs Carter can make you
I.u,b thai j. .ha Inns M .a., ,,,,,,,a,, -,
t,,.,,..,,,., i,ao,io H. ,t,
~
Wv ''",' go '"' e'"' '''o - "9' 9"'ccH>'
~" '"' f' w o"'' P"3'"s'S WIN
sh"u' oi IRONY iurhihg IN hcr tones Tier