The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1909-07-12

a recent writer on stage topics-he
was a college president flying into the
unknown-said that he had no fear
that corruption of the drama would
arise from the miasma of vaudeville's
lowIands He declared In effect that
the. line of demarcation between legiti-
mate and variety performers was be-
coming more clearly established every
year and that the patronage each allured
was becoming more decidedly different
In short the thought was that vaude-
Vile was going one wsy and the legiti-
mate drama the other, with the as
sumption that, the former was going
down and the latter going up. He was
wrong.
Perhaps he was doubIy wrong. for it
may be that the drama is drowning in
sensationalism and is downward bent;
but it is certain that vaudeville is
climbing upward.
NEW FORM OF DRAMATIC APPEAL
While still retaining a tendency to
the merely hilarious, vaudeville is bid
ding for the favor of the thoughtful.
AS the short story done with first sue
cess by our own Poe and developed by
and throng of others, has become an
established form, large enough for the
measure of any genius gifts, the
sketch-or the play in brief-has be-
come in vaudeville fits literary proto-
type and the best writers have plenty
Of scope for their talents in the new
form of dramatic appeal which has
grown out Of vaudeville.
Now-and this is the fact to which
the above is introductory-grand opera
has come to the Orpheum. The in
stitution whose former rule was that
nothing with an unhappy ending should
be permitted on any of its multiplying
stages, is now devoting itself to tragic
sketches. such as Zangwilfs Never
Never Land" and to make it's intention
of Improvement palmer, has recently
introduced a tragic subject done tune
fully and in the form that writer's from
Peri to Strauss have INDUCED their
tone fancies with.
EXPERIMENT A SUCCESS
! While the music of the little grand op-
era at the Orpheum will never flash as
genius stuff compared with Mascagni' S
or Leoncavello short operas, and while
the company presenting The Patriot
at the Orpheum is not particularly re-
markable, the experiment is huge
success and was received with patri-
] OIlC interest NtStcIQdg ana dppldudeG
enthusiastically for tue art that was
in it.
Julian Edwards wrote the music,
which subscribes in form TO the music
| of any grand opera-and / say IT advis-
edly because it is not of any school OF
composition. Stanisiaus STANCE wrote
the book, which is coherent and well
told story of the times of 1875 Some
excellent effects are wrought out OF
Ia L Il do
the subject of which he had to treat
would challenge the pen of Puccini tc
handle.
PLOT AGAINST WASHINGTON
Washington arrives AT a lonely inr
seeking shelter from a storm. He is
surrounded by British 1oyalists. Marion
the daughter of Mannheim, tory
farmer. realizing that the purpose o.
her father and his associates is Il
murder the general, places him in hel
room while she seeks the apartment
to which she is supposed TO lead him
Her father is chosen by lot to commi
the murder. In the darkness of tn.
room he kills his daughter. The storm
passes as the conspirators are con
graduating themselves on the achieve
ment and figuring on spending tn,
money which the British government
has offered for the body of Washington
dead or alive.
A striking scene ensues when tn,
general steps from his apartment int,
the room to which have just com,
his officers. AS he is thanking hi
hosts for what he thinks has beef
their hospitality Marion staggers in
The end is climax of much emo
tional intensity. sustained by vigor
Gus orchestration in a considerable rio
of tone.
PIONEER TO GREATER THINGS
There are several effective musica
episodes in the piece and it stands a.
a pioneer on the way to even greater
things in vaudeville.
Now let some American COMPOSER
try their hands at little grand operas
For so years the complaint has been
and more than justly. too--that ever
IL a native music writer penned al
operate masterpiece he would have n,
place to put 1t and no hearers-mana
gerial or otherwise-to hear it,
I'd like to hear a one act TRACED,
opera by Edgar StiIlman Kelley o
George w Chadwick or John Philil
Sousa or Homer A. Norris. with hi
French proclivities, or any one of :
lot of other native music makers. Her,
is a new field, gentlemen. For, believ,