Evening journal., 1915-12-31
ENJOY DOUBLE TREAT
OF OPERA AND BALLET
Boston Opera Company IN
terpretS Puccini'S Madame
Butterfly in Splendid Style
PAVLOWA CHARMS IN
'SNOWFLAKES' DANCE

Wilmington enjoyed a musical treat
last night in the presentation of Puc-
cinis dainty opera. Madame Butter
fly" by members of the Boston Grand
Opera Company in conjunction with
the Interpretation of the spectacular
ballet "Snowfakes' by members of
the Pavlowa Imperial Ballet Russo at
The Playhouse. While the audience
that attended was not as large as had
been expected, it nevertheless accord
ed the singers and dancers a hearty
reception at the production which was
on a metropolitan scale.
Society was largely represented in
the audience. There were several
box parties.
Guests in Mrs. Francis !. duPont's
box party, in addition to Mr.. DUPONT
were Mr.. and Mrs. Alfred !. dupont,
Mr.. and Mrs. Ernest DUPONT and S.
Hillen McSherry.
Guests in Mrs. f. G. duPont's box
party were Mr.. and Mrs. E. Paul
4 DUPONT, Mrs. George Foulk, Willing
Foulk and Howard Deas.
The presentation of the opera came
first With Tamaki Miura, the noted
little Japanese prima donna, as
Madame Butterfly" Riccardo Martin,
the foremost American tenor, as Lieu
tenant Pinkerton, Thomas. Chalmers.
the equally noted baritone, as Sharp
I less, and Elvira Leveroni, noted con-
traltO, as Suzuki, the Boston Grand
I Opera Company gave a finished and
highly artistic production of the
Puccini masterpiece
Being a Japanese herself, the role
of Cio-Cio-San, as taken by Tamaki
Miura, was given IN an exceptionally
realistic manner Miss Miura pos
] sesses a lyric soprano voice of rare
quality and her acting. as well as her
singing, delighted the audience and
made profound impression. She was
particularly effective in singing that
pathetic aria, "One Fine Day" and
many of her auditors could not fail TO
associate her splendid Interpretation
OF her part with that of the famed
Geraldine Farrar, with whom modern
Cio-CiO Sans are measured.
As Lieutenant Pinkerton, Riccardo
Martin, who has played the role many
times under the management Of the
Metropolitan opera Company, OF
which he is still a member, sang that
role beautifully His voice is a golden
tenor Of wide range, and in the role
Of Pinkerton he was at his best. As
an actor as well as a singer Mr.. Mar
tin excelled.
Nine. Elvira Leveroni whose voice
} a pure, deep. rich contralto, has gain
, ed for-her a big reputation. sang and
acted the part of Susuki with artistic
grace.
The part of the American consul,
Sharpless, was splendidly taken, both
J vocally and historically, by Thomas
Chalmers, whose baritone voice and
; excellent acting have made him one
p of the best artists in the company. All
= the other parts in the opera were
beautifully sung and well acted
The orchestra composed OF about
so pieces. was under the capable di-
rection of Agide Jacchia.
The opera was followed by the pre-
sentation by members Of the Pavlowa
Imperial Ballet Russo. of "Snow-
flakes" which is from Tchaikovsky's
"Nut Cracker" Ballet and arranged by
Ivan Clustine. Wilmingtonians are
familiar with Pavlowa's wonderfully
graceful and artistic dancing. Last
night in "Snowhakes" she excelled.
Her dancing was greeted with much
, enthusiasm by the audience. She
was ably assisted by Alexandra
Volinine. who is equally as well
, known in the art Of dancing, and by
: a complete ballet. The stage setting
: for "Snowfiakes" was especially effec-
! tive. A snow storm was represented
, while the background represented a
grotto. All the time the dancers
:. were on the stage snow fell and the
y white costumes of the dancers car
4 ried out the general effect OF Snow
. fakes"