The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-03-25
IRVING AND MANSFIELD ALIKE
BIZ FRANKLIN FYLEs.

ture. Thus the productions had a GER
tain interest as exploiting amateurs Of
social standing And for the same rea-
son, not much was expected of them.
So there is little disappointment.
The error that Mrs. Root fell into
is one that, to give recent instances,
has been committed by such veteran
playwrights as Augustus Thomas,
Madeleine Lueette Ryley and Paul
Potter. THE Greater Love" is a drama
about Mozart form of misguided
composition that results from emotion
al reading of incidents in the Lives of
Great Artists" Usually ii is a poet
who is torn from the pages of fact
full encyclopedias and anecdotal biOg-
raphies, eurried of his sins and groomed
with morality and sentimental repre-
sentatiOn. In that case he is made to
glibly extempoTize II could not love
thee, dear, so much, loved I not honor
more" to his landlady's daughter, or
bursting forth with 1.-The light that lies
in wOman's eyes for a theatric exit.
The life Of Mozart was OverhUng with
a melancholy that makes a haze of
mystery and romanee-at a distance.
But Mrs. Root aceentuates the musi-
clans own fault Of fuctuating his af-
fections amongst several young women:
and although Inconsistency in love may
NC a ApA SiNablc ldult III real ill., II II
fatal always in play. Mozart as
written by the niece of Secretary Root
and acted by Mary Kyle Dallas son,
Howard Kyle. lacks every quality nee
essary TO the respect of an audience,
including manly strength and resolu-
ton in personal conduct, besides loyal
ty in love. AS to whether Mozart is
Illegally libeled. the opinion of Secre-
tary Root would be interesting.
no IN nd - &c
shown I'm the play as the shifting lover
of the three Weber sisters, historically
associated with his life, and an indefi-
mite figure known as La Mendini. whose
favOrite exploit is the familiar one
in fiction-of rushing in on the first
night of an opera, taking up a great
role that the prepared pTima donna has
thrown down and carrying it to ire
mendOus success. What a boon she
would be to Herr Direktar Conried in
these NoTdica and Calve days. After
two acts-the first devoted to details
of nastry- making in the Weber house
hold, and the second to illustration of
biographical anecdotes. clumsiIy irrev-
elant-the question Of which really is
'the greater love" is reached. Aloysia
Weber, from whom Mozart is credited
by his biOgrapheTs with a true and
hopeless love, has here scOrned him in
his waning fortunes, and. so to put it,
deserted the Independents for a bigger
salary and better bookings with the
syndicate. That concern is after La
Mendini the great Johnny
prima donna.
That is the situation, with the fact of
Mozart having really married the good
pie-making Constance Weber left out
Of the story. The passionate AIendini
is brought to the front center, bursting
with love for Mozart. and pursued by
a symbOlical figure of the syndicate in
the person of Schikaneder, who wrote
the librettO of 1.-The Magic Flute" and
therefore is presented as a villain
Opera-gOeTs who have endeavOred to
follow the Flute" plot of birds of
plumage and queens of night will not
dispute this estimate of Schikaneder
Mozart and Mendini discuss their
mighty love in feVered terms and they
conclude that the greater love" tran
sends the emotion aroused in the Mo-
Fart heart by the hOusewifely excel
lence of Constance sentimental post
ure or problem, that has melted Ibsen,
Hauptmann. Sudermann and other dis
tinguished Europeans to write one to
six dramas apiece They have dis
cussed the subject more illumina lively
than Mrs. Root. The lady makes Mo-
Fart decide that his greater love" is
far too holy to indulge, and that any
concession to it would so consume his