The San Francisco call., 1904-04-14
TlVOLI BEATS
GOOD RECORDS
IN NEW PLAY

Tack on the De Koven label and
advertise "The Beggar Student" as the
latest New York success, and the Tivoli
would be crowded this week. 1t would
be more crowded next. as every auditor
would become it's press agent. Unfor-
tunately the crowd seems to be any
where else this week. Even the enthu-
siast could hardly dub the house
fair one last night There were rows
on rows of empty seats echoing to
Roma's mellow note and Russo's love-
ly lingo.
The conditions would have dampened
anything but a Tivoli cast in a Mil
locker opera. But the combination is
impregnable. The singers and Ferris
Hartman sparkled, lifted and laughed
through a performance that is one of
the best in their record. If you want
fun, plenty of it, a good story and
some rafting good singing, go to see 1t
for yourself.
Piece and production alike are ex-
cellent. 1t takes singing does THE
Beggar Student" and they sing 1t at
the Tivoli-Russo, Roma, De F'ilippe,
BrCwnlow, Cunningham-and what a
pleasant, unforced note Bessie Tame
hills isl They act it well, too, and
the opera is staged and coStumed
charmingly.
Russos mercurial genius is expended
on the part of Symon, the beggar stu
dent, who to free himself from prison
consents to impersonate prince. His
other duties are to WOO and wed a
naughty countess, who has rejected the
general who bribes SymOn. Russo gilt
ters in the part. His tenor spreads
like cream oyer the songs and he
brings buoyancy, an earnestness, a
frolicsome lightness to the role that
give one quite its best. His partner
in sin Mr.. Brownlow, who is Jan, who
apes the princes secretary, is almost
equally we'll suited. In particularly
good form is Mr.. Brownlow's barytone,
that is especially enjoyable in the
pretty duet with Bronislava in the sec
ond act.
Bessie Tannehill, Caro- Roma and
Dora de Filippe-there are sixteen ways
of spelling that wrong, where's the
programme!-are, respectively, the
Countess Palmatica and her daughters
Laura and Bronislava. They are very
funny as the shabby genteel family,
with their jewels and one "mouchoir''
between them. There is, when one
comes to think of 1.-THE "mouchoir"
reminds-a serious objection to labelling
1.-The Beggar Student" with De Ko-
ven's or any other of the modern
names. 1t is too funny. To return,
L
lively sense of humor to the exposition
of their roles, and the music is effec-
lively exploited. Milloecker does not
excuse his character" woman from
singing duty, and the Laura is almost
as exacting as a Lucia 1t is a little
over-lyrical for the Roma voice.
Miss de Filippe is the enfant terrible,
Bronislava, and is almost too much
"enfant" She is a sprightly little soul,
a dainty little figure in her Polish furs
and sings charmingly, and when she
has gained something of repose will
be even more effective than she now is.
She has her audience already, though.
Ferris Hartman is the general in his
usual funny wise, with some good and
medium gags and rather iIl-fitting
martial chest. Webb is comical as the
jailer, and Algernon Aspland, William
Schuster, Fogarty, Formes, Perron,
Miss King and Miss Deglow are reck-
lessly flung over the rest of the cast
The chorus should be mentioned. 1t
got several hands for itself alone
Altogether. you will distinctly miss
it if you do not hear THE Beggar Stu
dent" BLANCHE PARTINGTON.