Life — February 9, 1899 — page 12: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

GEYATOR RAINES. proposes to stiffen up his liquor law so as to prohibit all traffic in drinks on Sunday in New York. It is, or was, the rule in Philadelphia that even hotels could sell no drinks on Sundaysexcept tonctual guests. If such a law wes enforced in New York, our fashionable friends who like. just now, to dine at rests would ance be Very li their food. at home. New York. An Original Opera by Mr. de Koven. BEAUTIFUL extravagance is ono of the chief ch ro popular th duced at tho court of which is deemed necessary to concillate the local voting element; this one recklessly has two—Mr. O'Mara with a natural brogue,and Mr. Carroll with an assumed one. A fraction of a plot is ordinarily considered enough to justify the perpetration of a comic opera. ‘Tho Three Dragoons ” has several, and those hopelessly mi up. But in light opera as sho is operated to-day everything is allowable pro- general result is agreeable, and that is certainly so with * The Th: r. do Koven’s music two things are noticeable, First he has broken away from his leading strings and has appar- gained the courage of his own convictions, he has evidently written solely with’ the idea to please, Therefore his music is less reminiscent, but it is also on a lower plane than his earlier works, This does not mean that it is not mus: but that the composer is getting closer to the a » taste of light opera patrons, and is writinyt down to their level, Here and there the ear det that are very like something else; but Mr. de Koven’s memory is not so good as it was, and we get less of the unconscious cere- bration which marked some of his other efforts. The Three Dragoons,” is tunefal and brilliant, and, musically, {8 likely to be- popular, It comprises every movement from waltz le, from march to Irish j 4, with the exception of the lullaby, no musical feature is missing that is to be found in any light opera of the past quarter century, Dragoons.” cond, a few bars on Sunday evening, have to water and other tempe vrages ly it would do them good if they tried it, but they would not try it. They would dine Jokers call Philadelphia a standstill place, but, after all, some s go there that wouldn't go in A DEVICE FOR THR PROTECTION OF RETURN! The book is not so good. ‘Thero is sucha wealth of plot that it becomes hi: and at tho end gets away from its author entirely. The fun is very uneven, and the general originality of the lines is blemished by two or three glaring chest- nuts, for whose uso Mr. Smith should be sen- tenced to some such awful punishment as the daily perusal of the Sun's dramatic column on an empty stomach. One scene—in which tho drunken Bamboula and Larry talk about their respective dogs—is uniquely humorous and would stand amplification, The cast is,in the main,a good one. Mr. O'Mara’s voice is entirely up to the requirements of the part, although a few lessons in Delsarte would not make him less graceful, and his self- appreciation is also in a littlo bit too good train- ing. Mr. Jerome Sykes has a congenial part, and ent example of a comedian who fs y, just as Mr, Carroll is of a comedian ng hard to be funny. ykes is to be commended for his performance, and Mr. take with IN CASE OF FUTURE WARS. <@ ANTI-KISSING NAVAL HEROES, Carroll for his perseverance in a hopeless task. Miss Marguerite Lemon is not likely to create a great sensation as Jnez, but sings and acts the part adequately, That most important adjunct of comic opera, the female chorus, is both numerous and very It is sprightly,and has been trained out of the wooden- ness which marks most such aggregations of loveliness of form and feature, The mounting of the opera, both in costumes and stage settings, {s brilliant und effective,even for the Broadway Theatre, Tho piece will stand cutting—especially in some of Mr. Carroll's