The Washington herald., 1912-02-20
THE BELASCo.

Gilbert and SulIivan's "PInafOre."
The theatrical clock was moved back
more than thirty years last night at
The BeIasco Theater, when "Pinsfore,"
which is perhaps the most spontaneous
product Of Glbertian satire. and the
most characteristic example OF Sulli-
vans melodis felicity, was presented.
There was an impressive array OF odd
timers" present, and also. strange to say,
an impressive array Of youngsters,
those to whom Gilbert and Sullivan be-
long not so much 10 the realm Of dead
ana forgotten things as to the realm OF
things that never were.
The line between so-called comic opera
and the vaudeville Is so thin in, these
DAYS as TO be almost nonexistent The
Viennese school of composers and u
hrettists is almost alone in its ad-
herence to the elder opera comique stan
dards. "Pinafohe" belongs to some
what archaic type OF operate method
which we would all wish into being again
II We could. Even its more common-'
place virtues, such as the precise and
clever blending of lyrics and score, its
abundance Of brilliant interpretative mu-
sic which is neither barren ensemble
nor meaningless tunes the literary
flavor of its wit, have become utterly
auction to-day. g.
In a word, 'Pinafore'' Is a delightful
blending of satirical filings and quiet
Joyous melody, which gains much In
meaning to the theatergoers Of wash
Ington because it Is brilliantly and
vivaciously performed at the Belasco.
Certainly no opera Of the season, unless
Il be Baron Trenck," has been sung
better. Nor has any piece been inter
preted with more decisive, unerring ef-
fcctiveness. "'Pinafore," in its multi
tude Of melodic shadings. in its quaint
II rather out-moded satire on British
pomposity, as revealed in the admiralty
pfice Of the 'TO's, requires ''interpreta-
uon" as few of its alleged progeny do.
De Wolf Hopper played Dick Deadeye
with all the wealth of grotesquerie at
his command, heavily underscored the
burlesque Of misanthropy, which fairly
romps I'm the lines, and arrived nearer
at his full stature as a comedian than
he has in many seasons. No: he did
not sing and his role is not Of the
monopolistic species known TO stardom;
he has but a few little bits to do,
but these he does supremely well, in
Guiding a brand-new 'blasphemous'' cur
:ain speech, which is a gem.
II was a delight to hear Viola Gillette
sing the Dear Little Buttercup" song.
known tn even the tyro among theater-
RoerG She sang il Unctuously from the
1rst lifting strain to the last. Fay Tenn
pleton, who played Buttercup in the New
York revival, is not missed. And not for
a long time has any vocalist received a
more fattering recognition than did Eu-
gene Cowles. cast as Bill Bobstay, when
he sang those lines
He Is an EngIishman,
For he himself has ssid II.
And it's greatly TO his credit,
That he S an EnElisllman.
But in spite of an tsmpations
To belong 10 other nations,
He remains EnGiishmsn.
The suave and polished Dick Temple,
whom Washington saw few weeks ago
in "Jacinta," is now playing the Right
Hon. Sir Joseph Porter, K c. B.. first
lord Of the admiralty, and he scored
heavily in that facile ,princeps OF all
topical songs IN English-T am the mon
arch of the sea, the ruIeR Of the Queens
navee." Here is another familiar stsnza
from the sparkling GIIbertian lyric:
When vas a lad 1 srrTed a term
A. Office boy in attorneys finn.
] cleaned the windows and l swept the hcor
And polished up the handle Of the big front door
! polished up that handle carfules
That nov l am the ruler Of the Queens naTee!
George J. MacFarlane sang the role
Of Capt. COrcoran in a manner which
left little to be desired, and Arthur Al
dridgeS pleasingly Saccharlne tenor
was heard to good advantage in the
role of Ralph Rackstraw. Elsa Won
Bostel, as the captains daughter, Jose
phine. was the only member of the cast
who was deficient vocally.
Every twist and turn of the lyrics
could be followed because OF the dis
tinctness and the precision with which
they were sung, and hardly a word of
the smooth and fluent lyrics was lost.
How many lyric writers OF the present
day care for such a test? The pungency
of the British satire on bureaucracy
was not lost; indeed, it seemed applica-
ble to many conditions 'in our midst"
so to speak.
To sum up, all the vivacity and effer-
vescent drollery of this comic opera
classic is retained in the present re-
vival. and it furnished one of the most
delightful entertainments of the sea-
son. A. NJ. ].