Los Angeles herald., 1910-08-28
BY SHIRLEY OLYMPUS
NTHEY appeal to the eyes,
1 not the ears.

and he was discussing the dlt-
ference between former and pres
ent day musical offerings. ! say
musical offerings advisedly be-
cause the comic operas of twenty
years ago are not to be compared
exactly with the musical comedies
of today.
Peter Lang has full right to
express an opinion of the differ
ence between musical offerings Of
years ago and those of today. He
has played in both. Though but
a twelvemonth past the half-cen-
tury mark he has been on the
stage for something like thirty
five, years. He has played in
grand, standard or light-grand
comic opera and the past two
weeks has been playing an i'm
portant role in a most modern
musical comedy.
Not long ago a Los Angeles
publication declared through ig-
norance that Mr.. Lang was not
one of the original Bostonians,
the greatest musical organization
which has ever graced the stage.
| asked him about the knock. !"
Either Mr.. Lang was member
OF that famous musical aggrega-
ton or he has a most wonderful
memory. He repeated the names
of the cast which presented
"Robin Hood" for the first time
with the Same assurance that a
mature man might say his alpha
bet. robin Hood" was produced
in Chicago on June 10, 1890, ac-
cording to Mr.. Lang. In the pro-
duction he played Sir Guy, and if
history IS not at fault made most
wonderful success of the role. In
fact it was the Interpretation of
Sir Guy that caused the manage
1nent of the Bostonians to engage
Mr.. Lang for several seasons.
Those who claim to be pioneers
of Los Angeles and who have
been more or less constant the
atergoers for some years will re-
member that robin Hood" was
presented in Los Angeles some
seventeen years ago and that Mr..
Lang was the tenor comedian of
the production.
There are three principal rea-
sons why the present day musical
comedy is not as worthy as the
comic operas of years gone by"
said Mr.. Lang, while sitting in
his dressing room the other after
noon. "The first is that the the
atergoer of today wants to have
his eyes and not his ears delight
ed. He wants to see pretty girls,
fancy dances and bizarre scenery.
The second is that there are few
if any composers who write
music equal to that of the hey
dey of Sullivan, Gilbert, Herbert
and DeKoven. The third is that
there are no tenor comedians.
"When a man develops a good
tenor voice he refuses to be
identified with the lighter forms
of musical entertainment. He
wants to get into grand opera.
Off he goes to Europe and re-
turns after a few years a full
fledged grand opera star. He
gets more money and has less
work as a grand opera singer.
Also he has greater opportunities
from musical standpoint.
"The present-day audience be-
lieveS hlggeldey-piggeldy music
is best. Ragtime has become a
disease. To treat the disease,
composers have written thou
sands of scores of trash. When
the public comes to realize there
is something more enjoyable in
real harmony than in tin-pan
melodies, we will have good light
operas. There is no incentive for
an ambitious or worthy COM
poser to spend his time writing
music which, appeals to the ear.
His work will be cast aside for
trash, called by some popular
music.
"The development of musical
comedy has kept pace with that
of commerce. We used to be
willing to work and wait for re-
suits. Now we want the results
without effort. Everything is on
the surface. Nothing is done for
permanent effect. Please today