The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1910-06-05

thng also must Ne SGT down 70 the glory
II the operetta itself
There u a theory. Il Is said. among
theatrical managers that fashions IN
comic opera change with great rapidity
and that for this reason the works u the
Gilbert and Sullivan type No longer arouse
the same amount Of public interest a.
they did twenty-five OF thirty wears ago.
The obvious answer 10 tlfis IL that there
are not any works ~ the Gilbert and
Sullivan type except the Gilbert and
Sullivan works themselves.
Of cOurse II Is hardly % he expected
that -IOlanthe' will excite a. much popular
interest now a. Il did in the early 'ala'
nor can Patience he revived with
much hope 81 Success az a time when the
world knows naughi % the apostles Of
tstheticism. What care ne about =
Young man who may choose ~ walk
down Piccadlly with a poppy Or a LILY
In his msdiryal hand-' We know nothing
u such matters.
The exquisite satire d 0ilbsrt's lines
wuuld mean nothing to an audience Of
to-day The Mikado- has thia advan-
iage over the other operettas by These
two men, that it does not deal with a topic
limited by an era.
Il Is Of course a fac, that the gentlemen
o. Japan vino are 10 he seen on every
screen and ian. in what the deleotAble
BuRtAOrHs would have called stained
glass attitudes are becoming aoAroer
and soarcer and that the sword Of the
Samurai has given preoedenos 10 the
rihed gun but few Americans know any
thing Of this. japan "a 10 them stall the
country 81 the Oriental goods shop; and
a papier mache house. a long rObsd man
and a pointed mountain In the bach ground
constitute a perieCt Japanese landscape.
~ We can still en- 10Y The Mikado'
Suppose s0ne one should write q new
operetla in the same style and that this
some one could discover a manager who
would have Intelligence enough % pro-
duoe H. What would he the outcomel
The managers will probably tell you
Failure Tor Il seems 20 be their be-
lief that the time for this variety Of Ops-
retia has gone Very well.s then. lee ~
turn - something else.
Long years age there was q COMPOSER
named Suppe. who wrote operettas in an
individual style. Ne composed such
works a. 'FatinitHa- and 'Boocaccio
These operettas had an immense vogue
in Europe and fairly large measure Of
suece-s here They brought American
theatre EOeFs 10 an acquaintance with
the German touch IN the field Of light and
humorous musical play
Presently the managers who had their
eyes on Europe beRah 20 So a great light
in the works u Johann and EduArd
Strauss John McCaull. who put the first
company into tbs Casino. pinned his
faith on the works II the Strauss brothers.
he had begun with French operetta. for
Il was he who produced -Olivetts' and
The Mascotte'. but now he took up the
German works. and presented one after
another Of them % New York, not only
AZ the Casino but later az Wallaok's
Theatre
In that day every oneowas humming
mr. whisiling the catching phrases Of
Strauss waltzsa and polkas In the
course of time the horseplay II comedians
and the butchery Of the lines Of the H.
brettos in order n furnish the local color
which the managers thought essential
10 the success Of thsss works carried the
lperetta form OF entertainment down
10 a low level. and finally out Of the un
,ertain conditions vas evolved that type
II musical comedy lately known 10 Broad
Way. a thing indeacihable and utterly
iistas,eful % all persons Of discrimina-
ion
Suddenly an American man&Eer learned
hat al the old home Of the Strauss
opersttas q new composer had sprung into
Inc light and that the ThsateF an der Wien
vas IN a blaze ~ glory with something
nalled The Merry Widow When he
it he learned that II was
nothing in the vorld hut a purely yienness
1pereita Huilt on the lines Of the Strauss
works and ieaning for No principal SUCCESS
on a waltz.
Nevertheless he obi aimed the American
ri ghis to the work for be- Suspected that
something might be done with h. Nov
the popularity 1t The Merry widow 10
history. ~ 10 that Of IN immediate SUE
rsssors, down 10 The Dollar Princes.
Il has been proved beyond question that
the obi fashioned style Of Strauss opeFetta
has just AZ much vitality to-day a. II had
thirty years ago All that was required
was that some oneshould write q new ope- ]
rata that was really good and that a man
lger should be- found Who was willing 10
give the public a chance 20 hear IT,
Without doubt the same result could he
brought about with operettas Of the Oil
iert and sullivan school. provided some
ine could write them. but something
slse has been shown by the success Of the
iainty and captivating Viennese works
and the renewed popularity Of The Nj
xado Il IL THE Il ia sssuredly not
lecsssary 70 produce comic operas d
xh.ch the only attractions are vulgar
Jlo.s Indecent suggestions In every fourth
ir hfth speech and aggressive displays
lf disrobed women
Operstta u an art form and u II capable
n giving pleasure 20 PEOPLE NJ taste aud
Il may or may not he the
1elei Of amusement puTvsyOrs that
people ~ taste and refinement do not e.
10 the theatre Sometimes you might
iancy that this vas a profound conviction
u managers but such people would
l.. IN mn IN fba fhsatra n II urara aon.