The sun., 1903-08-02

lish. He is vocal curiosity. Musical
London crowds His recitals, not to enjoy
the quality Of his voice, which 10 cultural.
strident, unpleasant, but to see him act
his songs He is very dramatic. He is
very tall He wears his yellow hair in a
PaderewslSi mop, and his face is full OF
heavy burrows, the general expression
being one OF fatigued intensity His voice
penetrated the vast spaces OF the Cathe-
dral, which Cardinal Vaughan since dead
had graciously opened for the ocoa-
sion Herr WGllpers English diction Is
clear. his conception musical Tho others
participating were Muriel Foster. whose
megzo-soprano is rich, and Mr.. Davies, the
man from Wales with the fortissimo front
name. AS ever, ne was bland and orotund.
have heard better choruses, better or
chestras.
Weldon Grossmith's new play put on at
the Kings Theatre is called The Cure"
The idea is capital but the author lacked
the power Of developing it and introduces
a sub-plot that really spoils the main theme.
But there is so much fun of rattling sort
and so much movement farcical withal that
one forgives Mr.. Grossmith's hackneyed
situations for the laughter he produces
with his fresh ones. A wife, alarmed be-
cause she believes her husband is becoming
a drunkard, mixes cure-powders with his
whiskey. Unluckily they contain just
enough strychnine to make him uncom-
Portable. Not alarmed by his sickness she
gives him more powders until he is really
i'll. A friend OF his tastes the whiskey,
dislikes it, abuses 1t at his club and has IL
taken of the wine card. In consequence
the wine merchant sues for slander. The
whiskey is analysed and the scared wife
confesses her ruse-a wholly unnecessary
one. The other part Of the story weakens
the play, for the credulous wife believes
her husband to be q notorious forger and
also an INSCRIPTIONS scoundrel who poisons
the water supply that he may sell his mineral
waters. This is too much for one farce.
though It is all handled deftly and per-
force mechanically enough.
The mans house is burned down by
club Of fanatics called the "Do Good So
ciety," and one scene ought to appeal to
New Workers. living near city railroads.
It shows house at the back OF which trains
pass and repass each other The house
rattles, furniture creaks, smoke enters
whenever window is opened. 1t ls
Crummles-like realism with vengeance
The acting would have served an inferior
play, which "The Cure" is far from being
Its dialogue Is swift and neat Mrs. John
Wood was capital; so was Arthur Fired as
the young prig of the "Do Good Society y
He hopes to be its president some day.
Polite Emery as maid of all work was very
funny. Grahame, Browne, Enid Brunton
and others were well cast
I had the rare pleasure OF hearing Mr..
Arthur Symons read in private parts OF his
new play. The theme is one that wonder
has not appealed before to dramatists,
as it has drawn from Wagner his finest
music, and caused two such poets as Alger-
non Charles Swinburne and Matthew Ar
mold to sing it in poetical numbers. refer
to Tristan and Isolde Perhaps Wag-
ner's overwhelming music has warded on
intruders Yet it is story the most
beautiful in the world and one eminently
adapted for dramatic treatment. Mr.
Swinburne's setting is not suitable for
stage performance and Arnold's LIS not a
notably poetic one. Mr.. Symons is one
Of the gifted Of the younger group OF Eng
lish poets and his verse has always seemed
to me to contain dramatic fire. He has
gone back to the genuine Godfrey OF Strass-
burg legend, which for obvious reasons
Wagner could not have followed in music
drama. The two Isoldes are restored. for
they make splendid foils, and the double OF
Tristan 10 brought about much more ef-
fectively than in Wagner's version. Nor
is the love-potion theme handled the same
Very ingeniously does the poet contrive
the tryst in the forest. The lines are dra-
matically pregnant, the action incessant,
clima1es striking and about the whole
play there is a rich, poetic atmosphere as
befits such moving theme.
The scene at the close OF Act III. ahords
an opportunity to an actress OF emotional
temperament and poetic personality-un-
luckily for the latter-day stage, rare
combination. Julia Marlowe is an artist
who would make a passionate and tender
Isolde, And what a fascinating role for
an actress Of ambition. Tsoldei Why there's
music in the namel Sarah Bernhardt
could delineate the impassioned side OF
the Isolde nature, but there Is too much
of rhetoric and animal passion In the work
of Partisan actresses, of real poetry seldom
CLEAN. The love-lorn Irish princess.
who 80 fiercely drained her dree, is the
noblest figure in legend, nobler than Brun-
hide and coequal with any of the heroic
Shakesperian women. Tristan is an equally
difficult part to portray, especially in Mr..
Symonss last act The simple yet really
complex skeins Of emotion he manages
artis icaly and need hardly tell you that
his lines are lovely in music and meaning,
for his ia an ear exquisitely attuned to
verbal hsrmonies. Nor is this Tristan
and Isolde" like poetic plays In gene raj.
for it was written to be acted and is not
encumbered with redundant words. The
action is speedy, the story skeletonized
and there is abundant scope for decorative
display and scenic splendor. But, az
asked the poet where is there an Isolde
who shall speak his lines?
An afternoon nj the Imperial Theatre
with the fifth production Of "The Stage
Society" was we'll worth the spending,
The society" Ia in it's fourth season and
among it's other good works has produced
Ibsen's when We Dead Awaken. "A Man
of Honour" by W. Somerset Vaughan;
a,rbe Good Hope" powerful play by the