Los Angeles herald., 1910-11-22
STORY OF AZY|ADE
TOLD. BY DANCERS
Ocular Opera as 1t Is Played by
ExponentS of New Art
from Russia

There has been so much curiosity
expressed concerning just what ocular
opera" means that the management re-
sponsible for bringing to this country
the exponents of the new art-Mlie.
Anna Pavlowa, NJ. Mil1ial Mordkin and
their supporting ballet from the I'M
perial opera house Of St. Petersburg
and Mascow-has issued advance sheets
of the libretto of the piece de resistance
THE Arabian Nights"
This ballet requires some fifty min
utes for presentation, and relates to the
legend of Azyiade. 1t was composed
by M MordlIin, who drew on the musi-
| cal works of Glazournow, Chaminade,
Rimski- Korsakoff, Rubinstein, Poro-
dine and Bourgault-Ducondray for the
music.
| A tragic note underlies the prepara-
ton of this ballet, in view of the fact
| that the great Bourgault-Ducondra
died four days after having made for
NAL arrangements for the embodiment
of the fruits of his long musical re-
search in Persia and Turkey In this
ballet He passed ten years of his life
in Asia. studying Oriental music, and
was, perhaps, the greatest authority on
this subject. On July 2, last, he turned
over his manuscripts to Mordktn, just
before he died. The actual contracts
were signed by his executors on July
9, under authority expressed in his dy-
ing moments.
Mordkin's great ballet may be called
drama for lack of any other term
properly describing 1t. 1t relates TO an
incident In the life of a son of the des-
ert-a powerful tribal chieftain, Schah-
Rahman, strongly given to maraudlng.
He is discovered lounging on the dais
In the assembly hall, where his vassals
III, ThaV return from a
brave exploit, laden with plunder which
they proudly lay at the feet of their
liege lord Three fair maids form part
of the booty. The deSpot eyes them
critically. He smiles with pleasure at
the accounting his retainers give or
themselves.
CONCEALED IN RUG
Descending from the dais, he is about
to express himself, when one of the
leaders halts him, while others lay at
his feet, the richest of the spoils, a rug
of fabulous value. 1t has been reserved
as a special surprise for him. The
chieftain orders 1t unrolled for inspec-
ton. and the fulflllment of his order
discioses within a beautiful captive,
fair as the lilies that deck the banks OF
the Euphrates. Indeed, it was while
engaged in the pleasant past1me or
gathering blossoms at a distant river
bank Cnat Lne ueTc0 uOIuS SWSPI WV "A
upon her and carried her away, a g1ft
for this chieftain who now con1ronts
her
There is something about this fair
slave vastly different from the attitude
of the three Other captives, huddled In
fear before their masters, pitifully ex-
ercising the wiles of their sex to soften
the hearts of their captors and their
own fate at the same tmie. The young
woman whom the rug concealed is more
than cold; she is dlsdainful and haugh-
tv. One of the other slaves, Sett Pour
hour, the little handmaiden to the
queen recognizes in the figure that
emerges from the rug her royal mis-
tress. Azyaide. Sett Pourbour would
make obeissance before the queen, but
by quick gesture Azyiade stops her,
and her identity remains a secret.
Azyiade. despite her beauty, has
nroved a disappointment to her captors
because she has made little or no I'M
preston upon Schah- -Rahman. To d1-
vert him, the leader of the bandits calls
upon the captives to entertain him.
Three dance, but Azyiade stands aloor.
At the conclusion of the dance the
chieftain turns to the cold and naughty
Azyiade and demands If she cannot
also do something for the entertain
ment of the company. In mute re-
sponse she thrusts forward her hands,
which are tightly bound, lndlcatlng
that in such a condition she can do
nothing.
DANCE WINS .CHIEFTAIN
merry humor creeps over Schah-
Rahman, who signals Abou- Malek, who
in turn makes known to Azyiade that
it is the pleasure of the chieftain that
she should dance, and unless his wish
IS complied with her head shall be the
1rtca Struggling against her will and
against the physical handicap Of her
bonds, Azyiade dances, to the great
diversion of the despot, who enjoys
keenly her evident discomfort But the
spirit of the dance grows upon her,
and, throwing aside all reserve, she
dances with a dash that is contagious
and sweeps the chieftain from his feet.
Pausing a moment in her Wild whirl,
she catches the eye of the chieftain,
and with keen feminine discernment
reads the story OF his fascination. ABB