The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1903-11-27
HENRY IRVING IN
SAHDOU'S DANTE
a Great Spectacle Presented
With a Great Master at
the Head.
THE PLAY is NOT STRONG
Long and Disconnected, Ii Yet Portrays
The Italian Poet With Subtle
SkiIl-Applause for Irving,
Not Sardou.

A<S" ioih SGi. al tIkS dS
u,eater Monday night, Henry. Irving,
the famous English actor. began a
three weeks engagement in Sardou
and Moreau's four-act play entitled.
Dante" The book has been turned
II excellent English by Laurence lrV-
tng-who was in the cast; the Incident
al music is by Xavier LeTouX, 4 well
known French composer. Mr.. 1rving's
triumph was a personal one; for. de-
spite the g~orgeousness of the produce
ton, the piece is disconnected, while
the character of the Italian card and
patriot is almost SnlOthercd in the
press Of subsidiary incident.
Irving, not Sardou, was the hero of
last evening.
Readers of the sun need hardly be
reminded of the details OF Dante" 1t
was written by the celebrated French
dramatist and his able disciple, NJ. Mo-
reau, evidently with an eye more to the
histrionic capabilities OF Henry Irving
than on historic accuracy. Sardou has
been accused of making history in this
case, Of theatricaliy serving up Il new
and not very plausible character. He
insists that it is not the Dante of the
Divine Comedy" he wishes to present,
but the moral Dante"-whatever that
phrase may mean. AS Il psychologist
Sardou has never sEOne; rather is he
the lineal descendant of Scribe, q Gun
e. thAi6 ~ q i.ttStS ~ LIZ CO.
semblage OF situations, highly emo
tional, yet always suggestive OF the
stcic a%rtificc.
He gives us Dante as lover. father,
patriot, poet, warrior, q scorner Of
princes, an arraisner Of crimes, spirit
ual and political, Il forerunner of Lu-
ther-which is slightly disconcerting-
and a being who sums UP in himself all
the potential forces of mediaevai Chris
tianity. That is NJ. Sardou's program.
its execution falls far below the de-
sign.
No Play is Possible.
To begin with, there is no play il the
life of Dante. His existence, notWith-
standing it's external struggles and mis-
cries, was an interior one. He we'd
more in the spirit han the flesh. Sardou
foresaw this, yet in his prologue he il
ludes us with the hope OF q really
strong play. We are surprised by the
dramatic power of the gloomy Tower
Of Hunger episode. Ugo!ino for his in
famous crimes is condemned to Starva-
ton by the Archbishop .Rug3iero. With
the miserable wretch are his innocent
sons and nephews. Dante comes to the
rescue, led thereto by Helen Of Swabia,
married to one of ugolino's %
1t is a capital situation. Suspense is
in the air. Conflict enSueS. Dante is
communicated for touching the cross.
His bitter defiance is a superb climax.
In this scene he has me- Pia del To-
lome, by whom he is supposed to have
had an illegitimGte daughter, GeInnla
by name. Irving swept some surprising
chords of pity and love in this inter
view. One wished that the play would
continue on the same lines. 1t did not.
Act l., a charningly painted scene,
shows us Florence on a festal morning
You are given no clue of what is to
follow; you must obliterate from the
tablets Of you memory all that has
gon before, and this confusing opera
ton may be repeated after each act OF
scene. There is no continuity of Incl
dent. Dante as a father seeking his
daughter is portrayed with tenderness
by Irving. Then the story of Paola anC
Francesca is entangled i'll the web OF
circumstance. Dante saves Comma
but sees the murder of Francesca.
The Play an Ellirsis.
So does the wondering audience. Pia
The wife Of a villain, is dying in act IL
from marsh fever. She launches & curse
On her husband and acknowledges that he
daughter, Comma, Is fathcred by Dante
He is there to catch her last words. Yol
feel for the missing clues in vain; the pla.
Is an ellipsis.
When, in scene 9, we find ourselves 4
the convent of San Pietro We feel SaftI
Tor we know then Theodore" was in Sar
1ou's mind when he contriVed this episode
1t is effective.
Again Dante rescucs Comma from tn
clutches of her father and from a Yer,
sinister abbess. There is plenty of actio.
now; melodrama, if sou will. Dante hide
with Comma behind an altar and j
stabbed. "She is saved; all else is moth
tng!" he exclaimed and falls to earth. blu
appears in act III, in the best Of health
though given to visions. The act is Gale
''Dante's Vision and is supposed to pic
ture the Inferno.
We see some exquisitely devised tai
leaux; the Campo Santo, Florence: tn
Door of He'll, the Bark of Charon, III
Fiery Graves, the Circle of ice, the Bridg
of Rocks, the Valley of Asphodels. Thes
scenes are designed by Eugene Ronsin n?
Emile Berlin. Some are very artistic
some clap-trap of the pantolni1nic orde
The Dore p.cturcs-falling flakes of cris
are, the frozen lake. the hot tombs-eFoke
much applause.
In the fiery gravcs-Canto Xix. of II
sInferno'-Pope Nicholas III. await
Boniface VIII, but they are called card
nails by Mr.. Irving, for fear OF giving o
Tense. Rather d curious straining of
gnat after swallowing such a preposterol
camel as the alleged history OF Dante
career act " is, as was the prologue,
separate play. We are at Avignon. 1t
a scene OF massive marbles, u castellate
fortress and a palace OF splendid plea
ures.
Cardinal Colonna. : debauched pap
legate, according to Sardou and Morea
has had q hideous dream, in which he SCI
all hell preparing for his reception. Dant
as a prophet of woe, Il very deDouncer
the stern Biblical mold. enters and i
terprets the dream. III fifteen minute Il
cardinals soul will roast. He points to
huge pendulum on the stage. 1t d2pic
Time with his scythe. The clccliWol
ticks. The cardinal WritheS.
The audience recalls Poe's 'Pit and i
Pendulum" Dante in the role OF q /
ligious reformer, ~denounces the abus
of the church. He also prophcsies. I
gets from the dying ca~rdinal-really
~pope-the release from the InQuisition
his daughter GeTrna pray for the Ca
dinai Colonial; he IS dying and su
rounded by his courtesanS, rerelcl
monks, faIliliars and minstrels, painte
-Giotto is there-the cardinal gives up /
wicked soul.
Despite the history, which has not go
unchallenged. the scene is Il hauntil