Variety (June 1912)

VARIETY 17 a PARIS BY EDWAJtD O. KENDREW Paris, May 21. The Theatre de 1'Ely see is to be the name of the house now nearing completion in the Rue de La Boetle, of which Paul Franck, the pantomim- 1st, is to be manager. The new music hall, 66 Rue Rochechouart, will like- wise be opened in June. The mag- nificent concert hall and theatre, both under the same roof, in the Avenue Montaigne, being constructed in con- crete, of which O. Astruc and M. Poir- ier respectively will be directors, will not be ready until later in the year. The Moulin Rouge is again changing management, and Peter Carin, form- erly at the Vaudeville theatre, and now lessee of the Casino de Paris, is at the head of the new direction. Mile. Nicole Charlier, a promising young actress, who was appearing in "Le Coeur Dispose" at the Athenee theatre, Paris, committed suicide May 16. Although only aged 27 she was a victim of neurasthenia and melancholia. She shot herself through the heart with a small revolver. The latest show place here is the house where the motor car bandits were,, killed May 14. Last Sunday fully 100,000 people visited the villa, the local tradespeople doing a thriv- ing trade in "souvenirs," the supply of cartridge cases being replenished from a rlfle-'butt, while one enterpris- ing fellow sold pounds of macaroni (he had specially cooked that morn- ing) which he advertised as having been found on the fire when the police entered the kitchen. A Montmartre singer is trying to lease a neighboring villa, in which he proposes to open a real Cabaret decorated with trophies of the siege, where songs about the bandits will be heard over a glass of beer. For the international musical com- petition held in Paris during the Whitsun holidays, over 400 choirs, and 40,000 musicians took part in the fete. Special trains were run from London to accommodate the crowds, which comprised 4,000 Eng- lish bandsmen and their friends, and 600 London school-children. The Alcazar d'Ete opened tor ihe summer season with a good vaude- ville program May 16. The program comprises the Palmer Trio, a new acrobatic-dancing act created by Syd- ney, a former clown; a troupe of the Schwarz Brothers with "The Broken Mirror" sketch; Dranem, a local star whose talent consists in rendering extremely objectionable songs in the least objectionable manner (but the dirt Is there all the same); Sogar Brothers, two clever Japanese acro- bats, and Raggermann, the English juggler, whose act went with a bounce. Les Lora comic eccentrics, and the Sydney Girls, English dancers, with a dozen singing num- bers completed the entertainment. The Jardin de Paris likewise start- ed for the season May 14. There is little to be said about the show. The Trio Darto, Bottello and Virginia, Blanche de Marigny, Leona Troupe, Olms and Belly are the best acts, awaiting the appearance ot others. At the Ambassadeurs Corn and Hart, The Orpingtons, Polin, Boucot, F. Marty's Minstrels Parisiens, Alice Riviere and Yma constitute a better program than that given for the opening. Business is quite satisfac- tory here, now that the warm weather has set in. The Marigny show is playing to capacity nightly. Gaby Deslys and Harry Pilcer remain through June. The dancing Mado-Minty is remark- able in this revue, and has brought this girl to the front rank in less than a week. She may also be seen in New York next season. The thre<j vaude- vill acts engaged to open the show have been cut, and are nightly walk- ing about the house, just drawing their salary till other arrangements can be made. Grand opera will be presented at the Alhambra in June by an inde- pendent enterprise, to which the theatre has been leased for the month. The first work will be "Madame Pierre" (scenes of popular life), by Henri Cain and I. Marx, music by Edmond Malherbe, followed by "L'Emeute" and "Cleanthis" by G. Spltzmuller and the same composer. A splendid company has been en- gaged, comprising Jean Bourbon, Fabert, L. Tharaud, Lamber-Will- aume, Germaine Bailac, Beriza, Berthe Soyer and an orchestra of seventy-five under the control of Chadelne and G. Kiek. During the closing of the Alhambra in July and August, several altera- tions in the auditorium will be made. Paul Bourget, the novelist, and Lucien Guitry, the actor, are quarrel- ling over the play "L'Emigre," the latter claiming to be part authoi from the fact he touched up the work at rehearsals and even added an act which Bourget left when he sold the rights to an illustrated paper. The play has not yet been produced, and Bourget has now withdrawn it from the Theatre Sarah Bernhardt, wbere it was to have been given by Guitry next season. Bourget denied the col- laboration and submitted the case to the Society of Authors, but the actor declined to accept such arbitration. Manager Porel will mount next season at the Vaudeville a drama by d'Annunzlo, entitled "La Hache," in- tended for Mme. Simon's appearance here. BERLIN By E. A. LEVY 15 Karl Street Berlin, May 20. Always shortly before the winter season ends, rumors spread about dif- ferent houses. More or less there are generally the same houses chang- ing hands and also quite often their names. This year a new name is added to the list. The "Kurfursten Opera ' only opened this season, but Maximil- ian Moris does not seem to find it a profitable venture and so he did not renew his lease for the building. One thing is certain, the Kurfursten Opera was not a money making affair. And the cause? Three distinct ones loom out clearly: the situation of the house, the repertoire, and the cast. While the latter two can be remedied, and a new management may do so, the situation question is the most serious one. Five minutes wai* from the Kurfursten Opera, a new amuse- ment district is coming up. Kurfurs- tendamm is being invaded by a galore of "Cafe's" and Night Bars. The Kurfursten Opera will be taken over by Director Pain, who heretofore had the "Neues Operetten Theatre." He will not play only Opera but also cater operettes, hav- ing made a success in this particular line, especially with the "Count of Luxemburg." In October the new vaudeville house "Theater Gross-Berlin" will be opened near the Zoo. Hotels are also underway. Everything will be done to induce the people living near the Zoo to stay in the neighborhood. Komische Oper (which, after Gregor went to Vienna, was managed by Mrs. Aurelie Revy) is going to be "Neues Komodienhaus" next winter. Mrs. Revy had this house only for one season, but this short time was suffi- cient to make a joke of it. In the history of mismanagement, this sea- son ought to have a place of honor. As implied in the name, the new man- agement proposes to bring out com- edy but will not neglect drama and tragedy. a "definite" version of the national air, "La Marseillaise." It appears that Rouget de l'lsle's stirring song as played by military bands differs some- what to that sung by the French school children, and the object of the commission is to make one official standard for all. Giacomo Puccini's "Girl of the Far West" was given at the Paris Opera for the first time May 16, with Caruso, Titta Ruffo, Mellis and the troupe from the Monte Carlo Opera. This series of performances, in Italian, is special and for the benefit of aviation victims. giving "Egmont" as the opening per- formance. This play with the hard digesting name ("Five Frankfurters") has proven a big success. Its name sim- ply means The Five Men From Frank- furt, giving a dramatised episode of the Rothschild family. The succass might partly be due to the interest people take in the life of the leader* of finance as in royalty. In England, where a branch of the Rothschilds is a very influential factor of finance to-day, the names have been altered as to hide the identity of the Roths- childs. Not the "Metropol theatre" but the other amusement places of the Met- ropol Palace, consisting of the Palais de Danse, Mascotte, Metropole Bier Cabaret and the Concert Hall, have been taken over by an English com- pany. The management howsoever remains the same. When the management of the Cafe Kerkau refused to negotiate with the waiters union during a strike, the J. A. L. (called 'upon by the waiters) tried to induce the management to do so. This failing and also not treated the way the committee of the J. A. L. should have been, it was de- cided to select the Residenz Cafe, Un- ter den Linden 21, as official assem- bly place of the J. A. L. The Amer- ican artists frequent mostly the Ad- mirals Cafe, Frledrlch Str. As mentioned in my last letter, Alice Els and Bert French, the crea- tors of the "Vampire Dance," came out with a new dancing act "Rouge and Noir" at the Wintergarten, Ber- lin. When the curtain goes up, the Goddess of Chance (Alice Eis) stands on a golden pedestal, refusing the gifts of all her worshippers but one. To him she gives everything, money, jewels and also herself. But cruel as the Goddess of Chance is, she soon grows tired of him and takes away all she gave him. Ruined, his clothes reduced to rags, his pleas re- fused, he stabs himself, while over his body, she does a wild dance of gloating. Miss Els Is an exceptionally good dramatic dancer, and French Is an equal partner. They well de- served their big success. Vlrgie Rlsbee, who made her last stage appearance with Vernle Ved- ders and prior to that time was a member of the Ripley and Risbee vaudeville team, after a long illness with tuberculosis, died May 28 at White Plains, N. Y. For several years she had not done any stage work owing to ill health. A special commission of French musicians has been appointed to fix The Neues Operetten theatre will open next Reason as Deutsches Seliau- spielhaus, cultivating drama mainly, London, May 22. A. W. Uascombe's presentation of a sketch called "The Nightblrds" at the Tivoli discloses a remarkable resemblance in some points to Charles Grapewin's "The Awakening of Mr. Pipp"