The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, January 26, 1896, Page 22

THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, SUNDAY, JANUARY 26, 1896. [GH ART in the musical and | iramatic departments languished To be sure, there were nings, and one ors latterly known as “piano rec * during which trembl in gorgeous costumes stumbl gems of classic music in & manner which might well make the bones of old composers rattle in their coi- fins, but as for music worthy the name | where could it be found? At the Tivoli, to be sure, “Ixion” proved a drawing card, but the music In itis not h, and what there is worth hearing 1sists of songs good enough in their | way, but having no connection with the | The factis that “Ixion’s’” success st be attributed to the admirable spec- ar features and its liberal display of v veiled female loveliness. But this is not high art. Drama has done a little better. The F¥rawleys in “The Ensign” at the Colum- bia b ve shown some really good d at the Califor has proved quite The Wolves of New York” at the is what onem it has its good are ht call “peculiar, atures. Some funny, but the pathetic scenes are isk usque ad nauseam. cO Man Without a Coun- v’ has been holding forth at great length on his troubles, kee| uditory his wing uncert stment, which, The Orpheum gives a good vaudev: entertainment, and presented some new features last week and promises more for t Indeed, all the theaters are mak rezt promises for the future, and app y intend to make them good. In this conne is interesting to note how miserably deceptive some of the most bombastic theatrical advertisements are. They say that children and fools speak the truth. However that may be, at one oi the luridly advertised plays last week a little miss of five summers or so was heard to observe: “Well, if folkses | come here to have a good time they’d bet- | ter go home.” But a better week is said to be coming. In view of the flatulent tiascos of the im- mediate past one cannot help wondering what tke new departure will be like. At the Baldwin, Those who appreciate music of a high 1d their name in San Francisco is re on the qui vive to see what the Tavary Opera Company can do in that | line. The company’s engagement will | open at the Baldwin on the 3d of February, | and will be a brilliant success i ises of the advance ag tially kept. bination numbers, at least among its | principals, several thorough artists, whose | bigh standing in the musical and dramatic | world is beyond ail cavil. | Marie Tavary herself is a very fortunate | woman. The voice which has made her fortune is a magnificent soprano in which | brilliancy and vpathos, silvery clearness | and a sympathetic vel quality are | strangely and beautifully combined. Her method exemplifies all the accurate precision of the German school, idealized | and enaowed with a richness and color | distinctly Italian. Without her voice | Mme. Tavary would be a fine actress and | doubtless make her mark in the history of | the stage; but when her sparkling notes | leap, like fairies at play, from vault to | vauit and from pit to dome,it 1s the | i singer, after all, to whom the invariable tribute of tumultuous applause is paid. But Mme. Tavary is wise enough not to appear desirous of shining alone. Hence she has surrounded herself with a com- pany which serves her rather as a support than esa foil. The prima donna mezzo- soprano, Mme. Thea Dorre, is an artist of no ordinary ability. E3 Perhaps never in America has the title role in *‘Carmen” been equaled by her fin- ished and vivid rendering, its most exact- ing features being brought put with an ap- preciative, masterly ability which has earned the gifted songstress many laurels. Sophie Romani and Madame Lichter are both gifted with voices and dramatic ability of a high order, while the leading contralto, Bella Tomlins, is mistress of tones so deep, so rich and mellow that her audiences never fail to succumb in glad recognition of the potent charm whose abiding place lies hidden deep within the lady’s snowy throat. Among the men, Albert L. Guille, Patti’s favorite in the role of Edgardo in “Lucia,” is perhaps the best. His Euro- pean career and his elevation to the knightly rank at the court of Spain are well-known matters of dramatic history. Payne Clarke, said to be the best English tenorat presenton the operaticstage, is one of the company’s later acquisitions, while Max Eugene, the well-known English barytone, who sang with Carl Rosa in London and with Augustus Harris at Covent Garden, will make his first appear- ance with the company in this Gity. Signor Abramoff, a favorite basso at more than one court theater in Europe, William Stephens, who was Emma Juch’s star tenor, and Willian Schuster, the hand- some basso cantante, are also in’ the com- pany, besides a chorus of unexceptional ability and power. A feature of the company is the grand orchestra, which is said to be unsurpassed in the excellence of its productions. The entire organization is under the able management of Charles H. Pratt, who was manager for Marie Roze, Clara se Kellogg and the late Emnma Abbott. rl Mertens is director of the chorus and orchestra, and the stage settings are said to be superb. The company has about concluded a brilliant and very successful tour in Mexico, meeting with much favor from the press and people of the neigh- boring republic. During the company'’s first week in this City the repertoire wili be as follows: Monday, “Aida"; Tuesday, “Carmen’; Wednesday, matinee “The Bohemian Girl,” evening “Les Huguenots”; Thurs- day, “Mignon”: Friday, “Cavalleria Rus- ticana” and *“1 Pagliacci” ; Saturday, mati- nee ‘Martha,” evening ‘‘Lohengrin.’ The sale of seats will open on Tuesday morning. At the California. Jacob Litt’s vivid picture of ante-bellum Southern life, “In Old Kentucky,” begins its second and last week to-morrow night. The play has been phenomenally success- ful, both from the graceful, lively style in which it is written and the able manner in which it has been presented. The scenic artists and staze carpenters had a rare op- portunity to disolay their skill, and critics say the view of the racetrack wasone of the most realistic specimens of mechanical art work ever seen on a local stage. The com:- | pany has distinguished itself by careful, artistic work, Miss Laura Burt, who created the part of charming Maude Brierly, having made a name for herself as a first- class character soubrette. The Kimball Opera Comiaue will open at the California next Monday in *“‘Hen- drick Hudson Jr., or the Discovery of Columbus.” The bright operatic extrava- ganza comes from the able pens of Wil- liam Gill and Robert Frazier, and is said to be well worthy of their combined skill. The cast is said to include over forty clever people, at the head of whom is Corinne, the well-known singer and dancer, whose success latterly in Jondon was verv marked. The piece closes with PIERCE KINGSLEY AS JOE LOREY “IN OLD KENTUCKY” AT THE CALI- ;i QaNia THEATER. a transformation scene, ‘‘The BSanta Maria, or Columbus in Sight of Land,” which is said to be a marvel in its way. At the Tivoli. “Ixion” still holds sway at this popular opera-house, and the management has decided to keep it on the-boards for an- other week. Some striking new features are to be introduced, which wiil render the last week of this popular production in all probability more brilliant than any of the preceding five weeks of ‘‘Ixion’s” suc- cessful run. *‘A Gentle Savage’” will be the attraction during the week opening on February 3. The piece is a satirical opera, in which Indians, cowboys and gentle folks, both Mexican and American, figure in a strangely complicated plot. The ‘‘savage” himself is a full-blooded Indian chief, yelept “Howling Swell,” who has made a tour of the world in order to study the ways of civilized people. As a result of his researches he comes to the conelusion that civilization as a whole is a failure, and since virtue loves the middle course he decides to become semi- civilized only in the hope of escaping the uncouthness of barbarism on the one hand and the corruptions of civilization on the other. The scene is laid on the frontier between the United States and Mexico, and gives opportunities for a number of striking and novel stage effects. The libretto is the joint product of Miss Estelle Clayton and Nym Crinkle, the well-known dramatic critic. The music is called melodious and catching, and is a posthumous work of E. J. Darling, a young composer whose brilliant career was cut off by an untimely death in the East, SCENE FROM “THE EDITOR” AT MOROSCO’S GRAND OPERA - HOUSE. been led to expect. Shewill sing a num- ber of new selections during the coming week, and establish yet more strongly her position as a general fovorite. The De Witt and De Van sisters are still popu'ar in their specialties, as are also the Fonte Boni_brothers and Messrs. Hawley and Doyle. Next week the programmes will be varied and interesting. Monsieur Bes- sell, a lightning modeler in clay from the Paris Casino, and the well-known Eastern comedy specialists, Heely and Marba, promise some new features in their re- spective lines. At the Opera- Harry W. Morosco, business manager of the Grand Opera-house, has seclected a popular attraction for next week in Vin- cent & Aldrich’s sparkling comedy-drama, “The Editor.” The plot centers about a most engaging hero, whose social and financial ruin is attempted by an unsuc- cessful rival in love’'s warfare. The vil- lain’s intrigues lead through devious, Meilhac and Halevy’s “Le Petit Duc,” is vapid and witless.” Even Lecocq’s pretty music cannot aid the opera, and, with due regard for Miss Russell’s superb stage presence, she is scarcely a “little”” Duke. The opera, in short, is a very small affair, but Miss Russellis still a large success. Fay Templeton’s royalties on the sale of her song, I Want Yer, Ma Honey,” have already exceeded, it is said, those received by the authors of ““A Bicycle Built for Two” and ‘'Sliding Down My Cellar Door.” Eleanor Carey, who is announced to go with Richard Mansfield. played the Baroness in *‘A Parisian Romance” thir- teen years ago, when Mansfield made his first appearance at the Union Square in New York. Princess Christian of Schleswig-Hol- stein, who is Queen Victoria’s daughter Helena, and her daughter, Princess Vie- toria, sang solo parts in *“The Messiah' at a church concert at Slough recently. Hubert Herkomer, the distingnished English artist, suggests that the proscen- ium of the stage be made contractible. so Four Stars in the Tavary Opera Company, Which Opens at the Baldwin on Monday Night. where his compositions were recognized as having merit far above the average. ‘“‘Der Freischutz,” Von Weber’s master- iece, will follow ‘“The Gentle Savage.” ehearsais have already been in progress for some weeks, and the presentation promises to be a magnificent one. The in- cantation scene will be given with a num- ber of startling spectacular effects. The oFerp is a rather ambitious attempt, but the management seems confident that the pieces will be presented in a manner never before equaled in this City. At the Columbia. The Frawley Company is still winning laurels and ducats with its powerful plays and finished histrionic methods. The next production at the Columbia will be De Mille and Belasco's drama, “Men and Women.” The play is notable for its vivid portrayal of varying human emo- tions. Ignorance, jealousy, love in all shades and degrees, persecution, repent- ance and intrigue, all have a part in the intricate plot of this powerful play. The third act is said to be’a very dramatic one, & mysterious midnight meeting of bank directors being one of its strongest features. At the Alcazar. The successor to ““The Wolves of New York” at this Moorish temple of the drama will be & portraiture of some phases of San Francisco life entitled ‘A Canting Scoundrel, or Wearing the Livery of Heaven to Serve the Devil In.” 1t is said a certain individual is aimed at in the character of the scoundrel, but who he is will be left to the public decision. The plot deals with a wealthy retired actress, who is entrapped into marrying a mer- cenary hypocrite. Two other people sup- ply the personnel of a pretty love ator{, which runs through the piece, and an_old actor is the one who sets everything right 1n the last act. There is little in the play that is new, and the management appears to rely chiefly ‘upon its local coloring as an at- traction with the theater-going public. The company has been augmented by the re-engagement of Hereward Hoyt and the acquisition of Miss Margaret Marshall, both of whom are well known for their able, painstaking work. There wili be matinees on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday afternoons, and a successful week or two is anticipated. At the Orpheum. Music, particularly the music of a sym- pathetic, well-trained voice, is always a great attraction to all lovers of legitimate -| amusement, and people of this sort have found much to admire in Rachel Walker's fine work at the Orpheum. The lady was well advertised, but her voice and method far surpass what the management had darksome ways to the usual satisfactory conclusion, giving opportunity meanwhile for many bits of interesting side play and counter-plot. The editor himself is supposed to hail from Arizona, and during a visit to East- ern friends details his menner of conduet- ing the American Eagle, his{mper. Among other things he says events are reporte: and printed in his journal before they take place, or frequently without their taking place at all—a state of things by no means unfamiliar to the readers of some San Francisco sheets. Among the other char- acters are a tearful but sesigning widow, a cockney dandy and an eccentric janitor. The piece will be well staged and entirely new scenery emvloyed Band Concerts. Messrs. Friedlander, Gottlob & Co. have made arrangements for a series of con- certs at the Mechanics’ Pavilion by John Philip Sousa’s famous band. The con- certs will commence on the evening of Friday, the 28th of February, and will continue tie Saturday and Sunday follow- ing, with matinees and evening perform- ances on both days. Some original novel- ties will be introduced, among others ““The Carnival of Nations,” which will be partly spectacular. Elaborate preparations for the affair are in progress, but it is unp}urstood that popular prices will pre- vail. ECHOES FROM THE STAGE What Well-Known Singers and Actors Are Doing and Where They Are. Nat Goodwin will play a short engage- ment in this City during the summer and then leave for an engagement in Australia and the colonies. The Native Son is coming to the front, on the stage as everywhere else. One of Frederick Warde’s most efficient sup- porters in his present company is J. Lan- ders Stevens, a S8an Francisco boy. James O'Neil has a new play entitled “The Dream of Matthew Wayne,”” which he thinks of bringing out in the near future. It issaid to be a powerful compo- sition. Mme. Lichter, the new soprano of the Tavary company, made a great hit in Mexico, where the press went into raptures over her high notes. Carl Mertens, the veteran conductor, 18 traveling with the Tavary company. . Thomas Keane is thinking of appearing in the role of King Lear during his com- m& engagement at the California. The programme for Paderewski’s first piano recital will be announced shortly. Lillian Russell is as pretty as ever, and as fat, but her adaptation of the revived opera *‘The Little Duke,” as adapted from that there may be a different sized frame for a scene representing a garret from that used for an out-of-door picture. In the big spectacular melodrama, “The Sporting Duchess,” there are over twenty horse actors. They are ridden by profes- sional jockeys in the Derby race, with which the melodrama closes, and they strive with hoof and sinew to win the race, running with the same earnestness an fire as if they were in the real Derby course. “The Sporting Duchess” has passed its two hundredth performance at the Academy of Music, New York, where it is playing to enormous receipts. Iiis a tremendous play, with a wonderful cast, and represents, it is said, an outlay by the management of nearl{ $80,000, the pro- duction having cost fully that much before the curtain went up on the first night. It NEW TO-DAY—AMUSEMENTS. OPERA oo |BALDWIN THEATER--EXTRA.| The Fashionable Musical A Season of Event of the Year! Grand Opera, D s T e S e e ] SEATS ON SALE TUESDAY, Jan. 28 MO_NDAY, FEBRUARY 3—For Three Weeks Only! o) THE FAMOUS MARIE TAVARY GRAND OPERA CO, Under the direction of CHARLES H. PRATT. 85~ A large and powerful organization, com- plete in every detail, presenting GRAND OPERA in English, at the regular theater prices, in a man- ner never before equaled. OPERA SEASON Sopranos. Contraltos. . 1. S. DUDLEY and WM. SCH cal Director....HERR C ARL MARTENS GRAND OPERA ORCHESTRA. GRAND CHORUS. L&~ A COMPLETE AND PERF D s TICAN MIAN GIRL’ | Tuesday.. ; HUGUENOTS" | Wed. Matin “MIGNON" RUSTI IPiGLIA MAR' Saturday Night... LOH. On account of the great demand WEEKS WILL BEGIN 581 # and Front Balcony, $1 50; Balco R THE FIRST TWO Orchestra, Dress Circle RNIA/:%: TO-NIGHT! TMEATRE e 25 OLD KENTUCKY The Funny Pickaninnies! The Thrilling ETorsec X2ace! Final Weels gr the Big Shovwvor?' MOXDAY. FEBRUARY 3¢ —CORINNE in “HENBRICK HUDSON JR.” A F'ond Colonel, Uncle Neb, Joo, Barbara And Eor Pa. ko Shealie, FRICDLANDER.GOTTLOD & co- 125585 AMD MANAGLRS -~ ANOTHER SENSATION! ANOTHER GREAT PLAY! FOR ONE WEEK ONLY. First Production Here by the S e S S FRAWLEY COMPANY'! A A A A P De Mille and Belasco’s Masterpiece, “MEN AND WOMEN" A MAGN ENT PRESENTATION. TWENTY-FIVE PECPLE IN THE CAST! Commencing Monday, January 27. PHOSA MCALLISTER. 94 MATINEE TO-DAY AT 2 P. M. ALCAZAR LAST TIME OF THE WOLVES OF NEW YORK! TO-MORROW—FIrst Performance of the New Comedy of San Francisco Llife, “A CANTING SCOUNDREL!” THE LIVERY OF HEAVEN TO SERVE THE DEVIL. An ldeal Cast Superbly Staged. You will all Want to see this Comedy. t1s a New Departure. 1l0c, 15c, Night Prices 2oc, 25Sc and 50e, MOROSCO’S GRAND OPERA-HOUSE. The Handsomest Family Theater in America. WALTER MOROSCO -...Sole Lessee and Managar ANOTHER TREAT FOR ALL, —COMMENCING— TO-MORROW EVENING:.--..ot --MONDAY, JANUARY 27, VINCENT & ALDRICH'S GREAT COMEDY-DRAMA, will be produced at the Walnut Theaterin Philadeiphia some time in March. “The Great Diamond Robbery” played in Pittsburg on Christmas day to $2679. The melodrama is doing a remarkably great business on the road. Fanny Davenport has by no means for- otten her scheme for a home for old and estitute actors. She recently had a con- ference with a real-estate firm, which offers her a magnificent piece of property in ‘Westchester County. Miss Davenport is willing to spend_ half a million dollars in building and endowing the home, and has already told her architect to go to work on the plans. The_Bostonians will begin their annual New York engagement at the Broadway Theater on the 10th of February. Fay Templeton has a valet to take care of the masculine raiment she wears in *‘Excelsior Jr.,” while Richard Harlow has a maid to take care of the dresses he wears in 1492." Herrmann, the m;glcian. made a run in a special train from San Francisco to Mil- waukee in ninety hours, in order to keep his engagement at the Davidson, begin- ning January 11. He left San Francisco at 7p. M. on Monday and arrived at Mil- waukee at 2 . M. on Friday. At the recent Covent Garden fancy dress ball in London Mrs. Langtry wore a dress emliroldered with writhing black and green snakes. NEW TO-DAY—AMUSEMENTS, ORPHEUM. O'Farrell Street, Between Stockton and PowelL. MATINEE TO-DAY (SUNDAY), JAN. 26. Parquet, any seat, 25¢; Balcony, seat, 10c; Children, any part, 10¢. ol e —OVERWHELMING SUCCESS OF— OUR BRILLIANT NEW COMPANY RACHEL WALKER, Tho Creole Nightingale—the Musical Sensation of the City. SISTERS DE VAN, l SISTERS DE WITT, Ef i THE EDITOR! | THE EDITOR! THE EDITOR! THE EDITOR! A CLEVER AND HUMOROUS STORY OF TO-DAY. NEW SCENHRY! RICH APPOINTMENTS | ~——AND— OUR USUAL POPULAR PRICES. TIVOLI OPERA-HOUSE | SHOOT THE CHUTES MEs. EENXSTINE KBELING Proprietor & Managa: ——EVERY EVENING— THIRD EDITION——THIRD EDITION Of the Beautitul Spectacle, “IXION!” «“IXION!” Or, THE MAN OF THE WHEEL, NEW SONGS! NEW DANCES! ~—NEW SPECIALTIES t— NEW LOCALISMS! AND—— TRIP THE TROLLEY T0-DAY, AT FOUR (°CLOCK, MISS MILLIE VIOLA, Empress of the Air, WILL MAKE A BALLOON ASCENSION AND PARACHUTE DROP. ADMISSION. 10 CENTS ——IN PREPARATION—— Children (including Mes Round Ride), 10c. “THE GENTLE SAVAGE!” |RACING! RACING! RACING! A New American Opera in Three Acts. Popular Prices—25c and 50c. CENTRAL PARK. SUNDAY..........._.........FEBRUARY 2 INTERNATIONAL BROADSWORD CONTESTS! Mounted and on Foot. . 81000 A SIDE. Baron Ivan Halohin—-;cllinpion of Russia Sergt. Owen Davis-—Champion of America CONTEST 2:50 P. M. Admission, 25c. Reserved Seats (extra), $3c. MACDONOUGH THEATER | (OAKLAND) CALIFORNIA JOCKEY CLUB. WINTER MEETING Beginning Thursday, January 23, BAY DISTRICT TRACK. Racing Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saurday. Rain or Shine, FIVE OR MORE RACES EACH DAY. Races start at 2:00 P. M. sharp, McAllister and Geary street cars pass the gate. R. B. MILROY. THOS. H. WILLIAMS SR Secretary. President. HGGS HOLS The Hotel * P, 5 | Ofthe National Capital. “Firerscilence”” 3 Irst 'S N < The best minstrel orsanization in America. Ame‘;lun plan, $3 per day and Becure seats—Popular prices. upward.