The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-10-25
"COyIC OPERAS" REVIEWED.
WHEN THEY ARR OPERETTtS
AND WHEN NOT.


SiNger-NOicc Eunnser Than HIS Legs.
Hail Muse, ct oe,ea' Thus Byron be- |
gins one of The most interesting Of the |
cantos Of his frisky ~Don Juan So let |
us exclaim after the brief silence OF the
suIlen dogdays. Hail Music et ceteral
Tina, ceremony having been performed
and the cur, ain rung up on new season.
let us at once proceed To the business oil
review ing the deeds and misdeeds Of the
musical world The leaves have not all
fallen yet in the crannies of the olive val
levs, and all the human song birds and
pipers have not yet left their aul umn re-
treats to glad us with their roundelays
Yet music OF some sort or another we have
always with us. II is like the poor, ana
it needs much charity to sust ain it.
In the early autumn the comic opera
comes upon the stage. 1t is thing OF
rarest make, that comic opera One
wonders from what limbo OF forgotten IN
sanities most Of the stories were dragged
And with that wonder comes another,
greater STILL which is that man can be
~ wtless. "l.ibrettos' they call these
fieshless skelet ons OF verbiage, these rat
thing bones OF dried and mumnlfleu speec,.
Breat hes there a man who has not Thought
that he could fall asleep and dream better
librettos than those he meets IN the Via
Sacra of theatrical Romey
Doubtless any man who would take
thought could write the text OF comic
opera. But it requires person OF extra
ordinary ingenuity to construct one 50
inane. 80 foolish 50 devoid Of intelligent
humor that il can pass all the managers
The typical manager sits like lion in the
path Of originality. He welcomes ne
aged. the lame, the halt and the BIND
il hey but bear the hall mark OF some
English theatre, but fer budding youth.
breat hing sweet merriment and sen'i-
ment of gentle fashion he has not place
lie gees nothing that some one else has
not seen before him Thank bene mem
Fortune for George EdwarCos and all ms
kind
There was a time when New York boosted
| the possession of some managers with conr-
age TO produce operettas not already known
| to Europe. John A. McCaull, for instance,
| gave Smith and De Kovpn their first chance,
| when he brought forward at the Fifth Ave
nue. Theatre their operetta called mo
| Begun And. compared with the things
! dubbed "Comic operas" in these days, II
F, also dug ont Of the then obscurity of Ger
many such delightful things as The Black
| Iiussar," "Clover" and Lorraine
| Once upon a time, also. there was man
named James G. Duff, who, TO be- sure, did
not bring out operetas Of local manufacture
10 any great extent, but who discovered
| "Pinafore" and a few other little trifles like
! thai and nro,l,,ced them when other man
ayers sent them begging from their doors.
| But the fashion of this limp and cheerleSs
| time is to watch the British market ana
| get what can be got out OF it, or else hire
| the American composer and llbrettist 10
/, s.ldnm maj ono is asked now to regard
! ~, ,ou, orarat,, ~ tho feature of the prO-
! dnotion Er;,,; Scbos In her WOW operetta
o ~ Er,nl, nanials in hs"that is the trump
card NJ vn,r .comic opera" manager OF
tnldav trha onera,to is like a gauge wra D
! i y.o,, sta,na j., ~, 1;na
'iTS'.Ia "a ~, ~, ,'i,oa ,hat Canroe Ed.
IT. =, l ~ ~ .,rbraa ;,tlo Maids .
IT, n',;j Eroh,na,' hrnu,h, !, 10 ns il of
Ina i',a' ;n'nn,.,naa If Le had NOT done II
s eHn 'n nps nlse would have achieved the
n0s NJ. 10 sTbree little Maids. .
ph;pS r,,s m.da In EnoIond and ia acted MT
| nai,..s- nth the truo Fnclsh accent really
I Da5 f'S. - 70 -, ,,La+-isri<2---~'-
IN Ioino -" ~, .nswa,. A., that will
| Inc ief','eI ~ 70 !. = nm;mSt o,,d cbaor.
De, VINO oaie1' 30 !. 1t,,, ,"oo,r,,,;sh
! i,li una ali1S,isi w, .ia "',rnn.a n lynod
ns purp9ee: am " .',I ."; f"II,,n. In.
! one, h,i,i'', wa Wv -'s" an =, I,,. for
We Na'uN Ilh9 ~, -. -, oal,,,,,,, /, rn-
atkho" ie'e'ie1. ;n ~, ,,,aL,ot;,r
oelV'h !, VIC ''I'' nv, ,':'' w., =. ~ a. =.
| Vlnl' "ut'a !" ,', ; i ,,t, la, ,,ar,,
HiiRite.tn 'omn u o", ,I'',' a. T., ,,n
are s'hRi,'H, u''n,'Is, a,'' a." ,ra ,,r.,,a,.ed
are E"Cu n'eI. ',u w VIA i,o";nns no
10 demons, raIe ,na' " u .;,i'L IL,
(eihihe.' ~ N'' CIV" i,',n, I'D T.,
o!era' tids,' ~ pi;",,' La, IS 81 nr,s
nig o''e' 70 IN w., TX uso his avs
NO man MIo n'i. , .'a9 ,I,,,,a of cantlatir,
cti'' cen! inG g., ~ o. i'rn .Le n,sainy navi.
s"enS Mt't r,, p d. sao
sa,o' o.' w ~, ". a"n,;c nrar, r.hv mot
M his,', ~ N, ;'is", In'i ,,,t ,,a,s
'le ..'l'r ,;,,,, s,'.,';,;on tho, H. d,int,
fislSi q nntS,', = n,.;rai ,om.d,'
Ih'nS seq a' ~ 49,, o., .', 10 dirar.,,C r.,
l. 'S haiu " ,e'; 49, a., ',,,a .' ri'a r,,,.';,
iiss' b"' " W. J,o. ,na -, .,,nli ;,''',nrt
OF me pe'e - un NV aiaI,n,aIn ansam,tl az
ahce' "hlan,a nv VIC NV ;,nnr,.n -,
no w '"" .' II i. Inst S;nnIa iiveIy
pleasant, t'Itn,,,,r ;a,c ,hs a,d;,o,i,,n,
g''ch music serve. itsuurpose and. in spi,
of all the hullabaIloo that some pots crit 10
raise about it, does lao particular harm.
does not mar the taste Of the really musica
The man who loves Beethoven and Bacl
does not love them any the less beCalise IA
finds an occasional bit or candy IN The con
feet toner's tissue Of ivan cary. On IN
other hand, the man who sturdlyahd stead
tasty refuses TO have ahylhlhF 10 90 VIZ
Wagner or Brahms or even TO listen TO III
; soft, seductive accents OF CHOPIN VIII no
20 to the Boston symphony concerts jus
= because there are no comic operas III town.