Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-09-28
DIPPEL INTRODUCES
CHARMING OPERETTA
"The Lilac Domino" at Lyric,
Displays Delightful Score
and Admirable Production

TIE LILAC poMINo--By charles cuyinier.
Smith. Syncopations by Malvin NJ. Franklin.
Manasement, Andreas Dippei.
Nicomte de Brissac. c............G George Curzon
Georgine, his daughter ....,,.., ,Heiene Morrill,
Elledon. his nephew....... bradford Kirkbride
Count Andre ds ST. Amand. .RS .Humbird pansy irs
rrsossper' = friend '''''........ Joseph Carey
Baroness de viiilers' oeeTElnos soSefnSss' S'"''
- Harry Hermsen
Pierret ...,...,.,...............w Willis Maxeii
FieIIotte ss..s..ss.s .s.............ls l.. Broderick
Act I. BAH Masque at the casino. Nice. Act
~ exterior OF Nicomte de Brssac's residence.
In Nice. Vi f'eie''ufs
age must have its fling" That is not
Oscar Wilde, but Harry b. Smith, via
eomebody or other. in "The Lilac DOM
mo, and the person II applies to is not
that somebody or other, but Andreas Din.
pei, sometime operatic impresario Of Phil
adelphia, Chicago and New York ana
now expert fancier of operetta. some
years back he accepted the pleasant re-
sponsioility Of discovering THE Spring
MAID : now he has gone the whole hog
ana produced one of his discoveries II
Is The Lilac Domino OF Charles CuvIl-
her, and the audience at the Lyric last
mght had reason to bless both composer
and impresario. "The Lilac DOMINO has
charming music TO balance against a
passable libretto, and Il has a cast and
production that make up for any dis
Srepancies among the r. Smith Brothers.
Harry and Robert.
Mr. Dippel has imported something
more than score. He has tmported n
method. In THE Lilac Domino" America
gets about as close to the standards of
Nlennese production as Il is likely to get
IIenty OF movement. but not the St
Nltus complaints of Broadway; vivaclous
heroines, but women who can sing; good
voices, though not such good looks for
the men; tasteful, appropriate and lively
costumes, the same sort of scenery, and
general impression of doing n worthy
commendable thing as 1t ought to
done.
r. Dippel imported his taste and his
nagerial talent a good many years
X. They enable him to discover"
brilliant singer after another while
routine managers stand around with
llr checkbooks waiting to gobble up
! results of other peoples enterprise
d judgment In New York Mr.. Dippel
esented Eleanor Painter as his prin-
pal discovery in THE Lilac Domino
lth Wilfrid Douhitt and Rene Detling
close seconds. All three have left the
cast. and Mr.. Dippel has replaced them
Miss Painter twice-wth singers hardly
less acceptable.
In Amparito Farrar he found a sue
eessor to Miss Detling who not only sings
prettily and wears the only good-looking
forehead hllet on record, but who is an
utterly charming personality, fresh, ca.
pricious and beautiful. AS the principal
male singer he has found a sort of second
Arthur Aldridge, of Gilbert and Sullivan
memory. Mr.. Duffey sings as well as MT
Aldridge, he acts quite n little better, but
he has that same choir singer air. The
rest of the cast fill in nicely and ex.
pertly, while the chorus sings as we'll as
1t dances and the whole thing runs of
smoothly and expertly, even down to th'
fluent Mr. Roder. who conducts the fluent
music of Mr.. Cuvlllier quite as much with
his fluent hair as with his baton.
The music Is, after all, the main thing
The book is no more than inoffensive
the old tale OF the impecunious noblemsI
falling in love with disguised lady, WHIT
turns out to be the heiress whom HI
has to marry to recoup his fortunes Blu
in most places 1t is more amusing thar
"The Princess Pat" and 1t all goes of
with the air Of knowing its place. ant
keeping It. But the music!
What an endless variety there Is 4
these Continental composers! Spirit
bravado, tenderness, passion, humor, ro
nance. When they don't excel in SOM
one of these they excel in ALL Like Mr.
Cuvillier, they all know the art the.
practice. Like Mr.. Cuvillier, they cal
build long sustained lyric scenes that ris
to the finale's climax only after the.
have characterized .personages and ad
venced the plot. Like Mr.. Cuvillier, the,
have an infinite variety of rhythm at thei
command, and they can put more thai
a couple of kinds of 1t into the choru
of any song they may write. Like MI
Cuvillier. they can take lifting songs
such as Let the Music Play and 9Th
Lilac Domino" and weave them in an
out through the succeeding scenes. And
like Mr.. Cuvillier. they are always a
dramatic as they are fresh, charming an
musicianly. X. M.