"The two Shakespearian birds of prey were served us yesterday as a
dish which was neither fish nor flesh, concocted by our great actor
Mr. Bischoff, and accompanied by a _sauce anglaise_ prepared at a
Worcestershire (or is it a Yorkshire?) manufacture by a certain
Patrick Cooper, who has--unfortunately--nothing in common with
Fennimore. But he has a wealthy father, a London shopkeeper in the
City, and a mother who advertised yesterday her descent from a
jeweller's family.
"There is not much to say about the insignificant Cooperian music,
except perhaps that no other living composer would have conceived
and written such a score. As for the libretto, it is the mistake of
an intelligent man who has treated the subject not from the immortal
poet's dramatic point of view, but shortsightedly from that of the
actor. Mr. Bischoff only forgot that Shakespeare, too, was somebody,
after all.
"Mr. Hetmann was a pale, voiceless Macbeth, and had it not been for
the débutante of the evening, Miss Amizia Dobanelli, the performance
would have been a total fiasco. She played and sang the Lady with
charm as well as with energy. But we think that a part as _La Belle
Hélène_ would suit her particular talent better than the ambitious
Lady."
Is it not a blessing that dad is an Englishman educated on such
thoroughly English lines that he knows no foreign language? Blessed are
the poor in education, for theirs is the kingdom of ignorance.