The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-01-01
HOCH, SCHOENE FATINITzA /!
EVEN FRITZ SCHEFF CAN'T SPOIL
YOU.

anu II OUlDaHl VI NhhtNhlh pI'ie
Comedians Trying 10 Present Real
Operetta--Sorrowfu State OF Town
which Has No school for such shows.
And now what rests but tha, we spend the time
with stately triumphs. mirlhtul comic shows
Such as beat the pleasures OF the courH
When man begins to think often OF
the better things which he knew twenty
Gre ya6fs ago It behooves him to be wary
In his Judgments. Let him reconsider
his conclusions in the light Of the correction
of Brutus: Il said an elder soldier not
better" When. however, one longs for the
revival Of some play which filled the days
OF his youth with the sunlight OF pure
delight. and unexpectedly that play Is
brought forward once more and he finds
that it is still grit about with the garments
OF glory, he has reason 10 rejoice and 70 DO
proud.
1t has been the melancholy duty of THE
SUNS chronicler of musical incidents
to say often in recent seasons that comic
operetta has gone to the dogs. Many
persons, whose lines had not been cast
in the pleasant places of the Standard
Theatre and Walack's in the days when
real operettas we're performed, saw no rea-
son why this form Of entertainment
wretched in so far as they knew it, should
not go 10 the bow-wows Such an attitude
IS not at all remarkable in period in which
Wang is becomea classic.
II the truth we're known 1t would proba-
bly, be learned that less than half the per-
sons who 90 to so-called comic opera
shows in these days have any definite notion
OF what "comic opera or a comic operetta
Is. To most Of them any farcical play with
singing in it is a comic opera. They make
no distinction between a piece like THE
School Girl and one like 4Erninie.' They
put sThe Mkado- and -Pifi PAT, Pouf'
in the same class, and the chances are that
most OF them prefer thelatter.
To such base use has comic operetta
come at last Yet this is a form of enter
tainment which is capable Of reaching
a high artistic level. For demonstrations
OF this fact see almost any one OF the Gilbert
and Sullivan works, Smith and De koven's
robin Hood" or Strauss Die Fielder
maus.- The chasm which separates such
musical plays from The School Girl' and
'The Yankee Consul" is quite as wide as
achurch door and "a deepas we'll
One OF the examples of Artistic excel
lence In tho field Of comic operetta often
quoted by this writer is Franz Won Suppe's
-Fatinitza.- For years 1t has been per-
mitted to slumber in dust and silence
For years the luxurious melody Of its ad-
mirahle score has been an unsung song
and tho bright comedy of its book a sealed
letter. SO long has It been neglected that
in the mind Of THE Suns music observer
1t rose to the position of beautiful dream
half remembered half forgot
Suddenly it was announced that this
comic operetta vas to be brought forward
again The cause OF this was dapper
dainty FRITZ Schcfi, sometime Cherubino
and Musettd Of grand opera soubretteville
and now would-be prima donna assoluta
of comic operettaland. II was expected
by certain experienced puVeyors OF public
amusements that Mime Schef Tor Is she
only Miss" nowO would be a star OF the
first magnitude in the oper, tia Armament,
So trained operetta carpenters were set 70
work to build her home.
The failure Of -Babette' ia on record
THE Two Roses was equally unsuccessful
Both OF these pieces were attempts at gem
uine operetta but they were misdirected.
The former at any rate had a score worthy
Of consideration. but the book was dull
and the part prepared for the soubrette
was one ingeniously contrived to prevent
the exhibition of her best qualities as a
comedienne.
Why have not the astute managers per-
ceived that the animated FRITZ is at her
best when she enacts a saucy mink? Cherh-
bino-a boy, 10 be sure but saucy never
theless--M uscttd, and similar pers.nages
are exactly in her line. Sentimental and
anliable maidens are not And in "Babette,
OF all things, they asked FRITZ to dancel
She knows no more about dancing than
Broadway sandwich man.
Possibly some one suggested 10 the clever
managers that when a woman was built
on the FRITZ ScheT plnn the smartcst thing
to do was to gct her OUT Of skirts as quickly
ms possible Lieutenant vladimir in Fat
initsd- afforded opportunities for tho dis
play Of curves. So -Fatin.tza' It was
and a good thing too. The plant FRITZ
has not been nceardly in the revelation Of
curves But one female form divine can
not make whole oper tia
The production Of -Fatinitza' has given
much JOY to many whose memories have
been repeating 10 them that it was good in
its kind II u.s. there l. no denying that.
n Ia lust a. good now az IL was in the by
gone years and the "reminiscences Of 1t
we're not the chronic eumblings Of dis
contented odsters. But Frit2i-was she
aught but curves2 Well, that Ia another
story. At any rate it was on Monday
night.
Perhaps in few days she viii penetrate
beneath the isle thread surface Of her r6lc.
II may be that she win realize that while
there ia divinity that diyinely shapes
our limbs. that is for some Of u.s. thus ena-
bling va TO dazzle the vision Of man and
command the eecret sympathy Of woman,
It ia still needrul to rcve a happy counte-
nance and cheerful heart But possibly
the amiablc Frtzi was distTaueht with
anxiety on Monday night
For the moment LEI TINT matter rect.
Let us briefly con ide7 the opc-etta and
try to be wiae. The story OF "tatinitza'
is improbable of course, hut the mprota-
hility is chiear In the promises, which you
accept checrfuily'as you accept all premises
In theareland. Iiout Vladimir 10 enacted
By a woman in order that when he dis
g,iises himself "a a girl he may be tho real
thing In thcsc DAYS boys are usually
performed by women. In Shakcspeare's
H. ,-a a ~ ,r'd r-c-rnD pc~o rnac-o6 nv