208 PUNCH, OR THE LONDON CHARIVARI. [Mat 2, 1885.

NOTES ON NADESHDA.

The Second Performance of Nadeshda. Delighted to meet people
coming out because they couldn’t find room in the house. Good sign
this. I am in time to look round before Opera commences. House
full. I have also leisure to examine the libretto, which I see is by
Mr. Julian Sturgis. “ Julian Sturgis,” let me see, don’t I know

Carl Rosa Omnibus Company. Conductor, Alberto Kandegger.

his name as a novelist, or a draughtsman on wood, and a drawer of
horses ? If all these, he is Julian The Accomplished. But I fancy
I am wrong. The music is by Arthur Goring Thomas, of whom
there was once a sketch in these pages, with a horn accompaniment
suggestive of the “Goring.” On this his latest work I make
him my sincere compliments. It was “ written and composed,” the
title-page informs me, “for the Carl Rosa Company,” which was
a plucky speculation on the part of Carl Rosa. In the next page of
the book is given a list of the Dramatis Personce, which, _ besides
the principals and the “ Serfs, Armed Servants, Pages,” &c., includes
the names of—

Conductor.Mr. Alberto Randeggee.

Mise-en-Scene .... Mr. Augustus Harris.

The latter name being put in as if it were that, of the Good Fairy
of the piece—the deus ex machina,—th.6 machine being the practi-
cable ’bus, who will put everything to-rights, and make everybody

happy ever afterwards.
At this point of my fore-
casting I am suddenly
interrupted by loud ap-
plause, and, looking up, I
see some one standing up
in the orchestra, and.
bowing.

At first sight I feel in-
clined to exclaim, “ Hullo !
why that’s Lord Gran-
ville ! what on earth is
he doing here P ” when, by
the aid of mj[ opera-
glasses, I ascertain that it
is Mr. Alberto Randeg-
ger, whose appearance is
hailed with delight, for
now we know that the
Show is “just a-goin’ to
begin.” It does begin, in
the politest way, with an
Nadeshda, or No-Duster, Housemaid in the Introduction. This is as
service of Yoldemar. it should be between

strangers. The Introduction is most successful. In fact, it goes a
very great way towards promoting the harmony of the evening.
Up goes Curtain, and here we are in Russia !

The Poetic'Librettist thus describes the scene in his book, “ Mid-
summer in Russia—a smiling sunny land, through',which a river
flows.” What a pity it is, and what a number of commentators
would have been thrown out of employment, had Shakspeare only
been half as communicatively descriptive as Julian the Accomplished!
He tells us, as he must have previously told the good Fairy, Augustus
Mise-en-Scene, “ There is a bridge over the river. Beyond the river
is a ripening wheat-field,”—yes, 1 watched it, it was “ a-ripening ”
all the time, and no doubt is still going on beautifully, so that in

another night or two it will be full harvest-time,—“ and beyond the
wheat, in the distance, is a castle.” Yes, there it was, sure enough.
Serfs, both men and girls, are making merry.”

These are something like stage-directions. Evidently Julian the
Accomplished contrived to get
the Genius Mise-en-Scene
under his thumb, much as the
Fisherman did with the Genie
in the Arabian Nights' Story.

“ Look here,” says Julian,
sternly, and not to be trifled
with, “mind you have a river
flowing, a bridge over it, a
ripening wheat-field, and every-
thing I want; because, if you “ The Two Noses.”

do not, I shall have the whole Triumph of Art. Mr. MeGuekin as

description printed in the book, himself and George the Third,
and the audience will know

whom to blame if everything isn’t in its proper place. See ? ”

Poor Mr. Mise-en-Scene promised it should all be there—and there
it is. And “the Serfs, men and girls,” are “making merry” in the way
a Chorus always will make merry, whether they be Serfs or Nobles.

The music is very spirited, and
Mr. Mise-en-Scene’s action
good. Then in comes a black-
looking rascal, whose name the
well-informed person next me
says is Podsnap. This I re-
ceive with incredulity, and
refer to the book, where I find
that the Villain of the deepest
dyed black wig and willany is
called Ostap,—which name has
in it a combination of the
stable and public-house,—both
very natural, he being a Serf,
and employed in some menial
office or other. He makes some
apparently rude remarks,—and
here, without reference to the
book, I cannot help observing
that it is difficult to distin-
guish the difference between
Mr. Leslie Crotty supposed to be Ivan, Opera in English and one in
but as Mr. Weller’s song says, “ This Italian, at all events, at some
here’s the bold Tur-pin !” distance oil.

From the "book by Julian
the Accomplished I gather that Podsnap is telling us in song that—

“ The wolf she has fled away
And has left her whelp for our annoy.”

Which is probably some Russian idiom, for which I take Julian’s
word. But Podsnap only gets
laughed at, and then in comes
Nadeshda, and when Podsnap,
who is her ruffianly adorer, and
the merry-making Chorus leave
her a minute to herself, she
takes advantage of it to sing a
charmingly orchestrated song,

“ O River, dear River ! ”

After this song, which is, I
venture to think, the gem of the
Opera, and given by Madame
Alwina Valleria in her very
best style, Nadeshda runs off to
join the merry-makers,—they
are still at it outside, some-
where in among the ripening
wheat, or all among the barley,—
and enter two personages whom
at first sight I take to be George
the Third in his younger days,
and Dice; Turpin the celebrated
highwayman.

I can scarcely realise the fact,
but there they are, both of ’em,
in Russia, travelling together as The Princess Natalia. No pocket to
comfortably as possible on foot put her handkerchief in. Mustcarry

without any luggage or servants, one. Got such a bad cold.

—and I am not going to disturb

the illusion by consulting the book or the programme, where, I am
bound to say, I subsequently find that these two gentleman are
respectively Voldemar, and Ivan, bis bad brother. I am overrunning
my limits, so must dismiss the story, briefly, keeping as I have got
accustomed to them, my own nomenclature for the characters.