Show r THE TWO OPERAS Abbotts Success Iu Lucretla Bor gia and Tie Itllkado I was not without some nervousness that a large and fashionable audience seated itself at the Theatre yesterday afternoon for after the disappointment of the evening before it was hard to believe that we were at last to be confronted by the great Abbott to listen to the grand music of Donizettis Lucretia Borgia But it was not long after the curtain had gone up that Abbott herself appeared upon the stage amid a storm of applause and the audience then settled down to a thorough appreciation of the piece The story of Lucrezia Borgia is an excellent theme for a grand opera and clothed in Donizettis music it becomes sublime All the horrors of the tale are brought out with wonderful effect and the interest is increased if anything by the musical interpretation Abbott was a a matter of course the feature of the performance but her success can be credited almost a much to her perfect acting as to the power of her wonderful voice In fact it is a question whether Abbotts voice is entirely equal t the severe test of this opera Her rendition of the role however gave general satisfaction and reaped a rich harvest of approbation Miss Annandale had a more pleasing part than that of the star and with her rich contralto voice and fine presence pres-ence she won many hearts The ladys voice is so strong and pure that it fills the entire building with tones which carry a wonderful charm Her drinking carr the air of which is familiar t every ear brought down the house and an encore was demanded Michelena the leading tenor has a fine presence and a very sweet voice which coupled with good acting make him a general favorite Bruette the baritone has an excellent voice which he uses t the best of advantage Allen had but little opportunity but what singing sing-ing he did was of a high order The opera a a whole was well received re-ceived though it would have been more highly appreciated had it been given at night THE MIKADO The Abbott company does not pretend to make a specialty of The Mikado but had they presented it a couple of years ago as they do now they could have well afforded to give it an honorary place in their repertoire Of course it is out of their line but as the music is so far above the average of that heard in light opera it is not entirely inconsistent for them t present it The merits of the piece need not be mentioned a it has already been done here nearly a score of times but it is still of interest to compare this performance with those that have been given here before The main differences are found in the characters of Katisha the Mikado and PooBab Annandales Katisha was a genuine treat and left even Seguins far behind Purettes Mikado soared far above anything we have seen and in fact this somewhat unpopular character was made one of the most pleasing features of the performance The PooBah of Broderick was entirely different from any we have Ben and took well Allen fairly shone a KoKo and though there is still a question as to whether Drew Ryley or he can claim the most honors it is certain that he made a great hit Yum Yuni gave Abbott but little opportunity and her make up was not altogether pleasing The chorus did good work in both operas and considering numbers its strength is wonderful I I Trovatore goes tonight |