OCR Text |
Show DRAMATIC ilEYlEW. Salt Lake City, May 17. :7. Zitlors ili..d: Before eL-ierig in'.o an analysis oi the performances given since the puhl'ca'.iju of cur last article, let ns uke a retrospective ciance at ev;nls antedating the subjects of the former ci'uicism v z: the opera season in .Salt Like and the triumphant stage i run of "H. M.S. Pinafore." That this uo"qie sensation should have bscoase popular in a fun and mutic-lovifcg mutic-lovifcg comraubity hke this, is no m&r.er of wonder, wheu we contem-pfote contem-pfote the series of triumphs with wiji. h us advent has been greeted in ail the,p;iuc"p .1 cities of the country. But the enthusiasm attending its presentation Lure, though due, citar-urably, to its being playtd by a home company, certainly epeaks weii for the tci.deucy of the public mind tj appreciate and fnccure the loc-1 progress of the diriuc art of music; nu art so chastely pVaFiuj to tl-e bt nsfs, an icfUu-uce sj ilcva.ing to ih'j toul, tuat nu spirit comt-e in Ciu-tact Ciu-tact wiUi lis inspiring Uecinaiion, without being ban.tfilttd by the aao-cialioj. aao-cialioj. Tue discrepancies in tne plot of the "Pinafore" burlelta, not being iuconsisttfut with the cfoirna of a comic opera, shall not be dwell on, since w are confident the keeu willed Gilbert was as wide awake as anyone to the incongruities ot his libretto, and because in opera boufle, it is not strictly necessary that the propriety should be observed, which is an iudispeusible ingredient to literary conceptions ot a hightr order. We are quite as willing for Little Buttercup to marry her god-son in "H. M. S. Pinafore," as for the Lone Fisherman in "Evangeline" to make bis mysterious and unexplained appearance ap-pearance in every scene, and in uvery quarter of the globe where tbe whim of the author sees fit to convey him. Vo havs but to do iu this case with the manner of its presentation. The PnilharrnonicSccieiy, to whom belong the harvest ot credit reaped by i is unparalleled un-paralleled success, being a local institution, insti-tution, composed of representatives from every quarter of the city, had the sympathy and assured support of the community in their enterprise, but the surprisingly excellent etylo in which they enacted the piece, aside from any other consideration, was in itislf sufficient recommendation for Ihe popularity it achieved, it is the verdict of several who have seen it played in other large cities, that its production here surpassed in various ways the performances they had before be-fore witnessed. Its right to n thorough criticism, therefore, should be considered as established beyond question. Protestor George Careless, for the inlerejt given to the training of the auiateure, and his orchestra, for the spleudid music discoursed at the several entertainments, aro deserving of the large share of credit which has been accorded them, but the energetic labors ol Mes:rs. H. G. Whitney and J. D. White, should not be forgotten, either. With regard to the dramatis per-sonae, per-sonae, the five principal characters were of course tne cynosures of interest, though "Ccusin Hebe" and "Deadoye" also came in for a gocd share ol notice; and if Ibis was not tbe case with tho "Boatswaio," it was assuredly no fauli of his own. We are as willing as the chorus to concede the point that "a British tar ia a soaring soul," nor would we for a moment entertaio a eciutilla oi dubiety as lo his being "as free as a mountain bird," but we do seriously question the propriety of bis being constantly on the wing, flapping about the slsge like a wounded penguin pen-guin "now lighted on a heaven kia-dii'g kia-dii'g hill." We recommend to the gentleman who personated the ' Boatswain " the earnest study of "Thoughts on Private Life." But let us Like up the characters in their proper order. Mr. Y'oung's " Captain Corcoran," though wanting the vein of burleequ-.' evidently intended by the author, was a good conception, well suited to the' gentleman's natural dignity, who1 showed his gocd sense by maintaining maintain-ing it, instead of descending to the level ol bufl'ojnery, in which attempt ho would have most 8'gually failed. His spleudid voico, too, palliated the faults, if there were any, iu bis acting, act-ing, and he became a popular favorite favor-ite from hia first appearance. Mr. White's "Sir Joseph Porter," though not the bluff old Bombas'.us we expected, was probably the nearest near-est correct of any portrayal iu the piece. Hia acting compensated for the inferiority ot his voice. Not lli.il the ctutieman has no ability aa a singer one who bus arctiidtd the social ecalo as high a K. C. B. be-ins entitled to some rank in the gamut but wo do n ;t apprehend any s'-'ricuis exceptions to the assertion thnt, com pared with the rich contralto of his gifted sister, bis voice ia in nowise a remarkable one. His dancing (an original interpolation) ws as the Latest Parisian importation iu point ot graco aud elegance, while bin "make up" we will venture, "shiv ered the timbers" of every feminine heart within the radius of a Ihealrfoal mile. As we have started, contrary tu rule and intention, with ti e "fltcriif-r ehetls" in tin ua;'.:"l p'irtfo!ii", wq wid n-jw a. Mini;-.' by placing -Mr. MoAh-SM-r benatn the iens of criticism. With hia "R.lph" we find no fault, to far as bis sieging ia concerned, as it certainly "was excellent, ex-cellent, consideriTig Ins iuexreiinci and lack of voctl cnlMrc. H i tonur is swet, mci('"ioup, ciL'arnnd ringing, and of a ijurtiiiy, il traitud, lo make iis li.rluuute p,-c;?or tne envii d cl the cnviuu.. BjI it ia bis dra-nalic1 bu-iuers, !:--eiure and facnl cnu, tiuii or raliRr U;e absence (d thr e;(-r.t;.tl ft alurtf in ir.s aetini; :h.i ovist be observed. Aw ml u! cit u fpirit wan tr 'tic able iu all hi? move ment-, and hta focr, that in.)' X to ti c workings of tne s' ni, whrtiwr the m ir.(i b-neato was b -i r g ir.U'' ) by the (-1 q i-'-nt cm .ifou of a adin lor, ?iiri'Ud"d by tbe cor. If rn,i'..itiwi ol P'.nci.li', r I.. J with tne trium;.') an kov pt d fn'.or. d pre-' d Ij; t;,n df iir of a d fL'-'-ccJ eiibn: iii.u'.c, cr tirf.i with tne pnde o! mai'-i.iy n.c qnirf d p ui'nii, w -rc i;((J 11:11 ftohJ, uucnaijg? d expri,!i-i;-n. It wits ik m.rror. a? il f!. .'.iid have for-M, t ,r li.p re : 1 - ct.cn nf pi;., us U"e w.-.u.d kin ily a i v i -c t..e cen! t iir.n It. study a manual rif li:r., w.jirr, he wi . find r.iih fa ;a! f XiT--i -n. a-w, a-w, j: hi 1.. 1 c'.:ifcr nr v.' fnenl iW ti.' b iy. I: t:.i;' b r'nd-d rj 1. ;.!...: If: c,'. ,'in k ::,iir v. 1 1 I. ( v r.ly 0'ir r.;..y :o r. .'( --.Mi i., bul w ,; a rr.-.i'-r ;'::;."-f t:.e t- ti' O'. . ' O'j C "t ' :i : '. .- f t.i Tf .. : :. n !, I it ;f. : 1-: p-.i : t' - i t-. , ;.. 5 .? t.-.r ;v ' ?' ' ' ' ' lz 5--J. v- 1 ': i!- :.i it 1 -1 |