Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1903-12-26
Special Correspondence,

Ff'NlHi WI
London, Dec. 8, l503.-The perform
ance yesterday afternoon OF Humper-
dincks opera, Hansel and Gretel at
the Lyric theater by the pupils Of the
Royal College of Music, gave Miss
Mamie Tout a splendid opportunity as
Hansel, 10 show her abilities on the
lyric stage. The story OF this opera
is taken from an old German fairy tale
FAMILIAR TO almost every child In the
civilized world. We all remember hear
Ing our mothers tell OF the boy Hansel
and the girl Gretel, who lived with
their poor parents who made u scanty
living making brooms how the tired,
care.worn mother coming nome one
evening, finding the children negiecting
their work, drove them oui OF the
house into the woods hard by telling
them not TO return until they had filled
their baskets with strawberries, how
the children wandered far from the
house, and when II grew dark dis
covered they We're lost, so lay down
under tree and went to sleep, and
when awakened in the morning by the
Dew-man they saw before them a
beautiful little house all made OF cakes
and sugar candy, glistening ~ the sun.
how the wicked old witch who lived I'm
the candy house put Hansel into the
stable and fed him on almonds and
raisins to make him fat so she could
eat him, and then tried TO get Gretel
to look into her oven so she could push
her In as she had many other little
girls and boys. But Gretel was ION
to" her little dodge, and so got the
witch to show how IL was done, and
when the witch bent over the oven
Gretel and Hansel who had in the
meantime escaped from the stable,
gave her good push, and IN she tum-
bled and the children shut the doot.
Soon there was a crash and the magic
oven fell to pieces and behold! all the
ginger bread aound the house turned
into living children who thanked Han
sci and Gretel for delivering them from
the magic Of The witch.
Tho music Humperdnck has set to this
story is very beauti ful. and when pro-
duced In England about ten years ago,
because of its novelty and charming
simplicity, was very well received by
the public.
II viii be seen from the story that
the greater part OF the work rests on
Hansel and Gretel thus Miss Tout,
and Miss Kate Andersen (another pupil
of Mr. Nisctti's who impersonated
GreteD were or the stage most of the
time, While II cannot be said that
Miss Tout's impersonation of Hansel
was altogether free from faults she
certainly carried off the honors of the
afternoon. ! do not remember at
present any role better suited to her
than this one as far as the acting Is
concerned 1t requires considerable
animation, and Miss Tout's free life In
the west has given her this, indeed II
might be said that she had to check
herself net to overdo II. There, was a
decided Improvement over her Fidelio
of last year and after more experience
on the stage her chances OF taking
high place among operate singers are
very good.
The following press notices from the
leading London papers viii tell how
she impressed the critics:
Miss Mamie Tout, who last year APP
peared as Fidelio sang and acted
charmingly as Hansel- Morning Post.
Miss Mamie Tout, perhaps, bore Off
the chief honors OF the afternoon for
her very animated representation of
Hansel. Her voice told best in its
upper register, some of the lower notes
being decidedly weak. But on the