On May 8th of the following year, 1899, “Round the Town Again,” by
Mme. Lanner, Mr. Wilhelm and Mons. Wenzel, was produced. This was
entirely different from the original “Round the Town,” and with a
second edition, also further altered, in January, 1900, ran until the
end of August, 1900, that is, for fifteen months! Mlle. Génée, Mlle.
Zanfretta and Mr. Will Bishop were the leading dancers, with a change
of cast for a time when Mlle. Edvige Gantenberg took up Mlle. Génée’s
part of Lisette, a French maid, during the latter’s absence on a
brief holiday. A revised edition of “By the Sea,” under the title
of “Seaside,” came on in September, 1900, the cast including Mlle.
Génée, Signor Santini, Mr. Will Bishop and also Mr. Frank Lawton,
whose whistling had so long been one of the attractions, elsewhere,
of the “Belle of New York.”
Next came a fascinating ballet “Les Papillons,” the scenario and
staging of which were by Mr. Wilhelm. Of this an enthusiastic critic
declared: “It is, indeed, a beautiful butterfly ballet that the
Empire Theatre is just now able to boast. With it the management
draws crowded houses, and sends them away delighted--delighted with
the colour, exhilarated by the movement, charmed by the fancy, and
ready to sing the praises of all concerned in a truly marvellous
production, and particularly of Mr. Wilhelm, whose designs have given
further proof of the taste which governs his fertile imagination
and invention, and of Mme. Katti Lanner, for whom the dances and
evolutions mean another veritable triumph.” Mlle. Adeline Génée,
as lead, played “Vanessa Imperialis,” the Butterfly Queen, who
was “discovered” at the opening of the ballet fast asleep in the
lovely realm over which she reigned. A glow-worm patrol guarded her
slumbers, which ended with the coming of dawn, when she joined her
subjects and the flower-fays in dances, and the revels of a fairy
midsummer’s day dream.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account