THE OLD CORPORAL.

Oamaru Mail, Volume II, Issue 463, 23 October 1877, Page 2

THE OLD CORPORAL.

We have seen Signor Majeroni play the OU Corporal, and have not been disappo ntcd in regard to the greatness of the representation. We had been prepared to expcet something really g_ood by the utterances of our contemporaries in this and the neighbouring Colonics ; and we must say that our expectations have been realised to the fullest extent. Signor Majeroni's acting of the old corporal far outsttips anything we have previously seen. The piece is one which, like the majority of Italian dramas, appeals strongly to the emotional side of human nature. The plot may be thus briefly told ; The play opens with a scene on the tented fn Id in lSl)7, just previous to the battle of Jena, fought between tho a mies of Napoleon and those of Prussia. In this scene, Gunorul lloqncbort confides to the oaro of Corporal Simon his natural daughter, a child of some Bcven summers ; at tho same time forwarding the child's mo'.her, Mina d•; Itonitzbo-g. who, for her own safety, has followed the general on to the battle-field, to head-quarters under the eare of a friend, promising as soon as tho war is over to make her hi* wife, and give a name to his child. I'caring that he may fall in the battle which is then imminent, the general forwards his will and other papers to a notary in Franco. The packet containing these papers are only to be opened when demanded by the general in person, or when a messenger from linu shall pronounce certain passwords. The general immediat"ly afteiw.irds is fatally wounded, and in his dying nioinonfu confides to the trusty old corporal the passwords necessary to obtain tho papers proving tho identity of his child, and establishing her title to his wealth. Co-poral Simon is himself afterwards wounded and taken prisoner,, and remains in captivity for 11 years, during which time the sealed packet containing the general's will remains unopened, andaoonsin of the geti'tal, I'i rre Froehard, succeeds to the general's wealth. < n r< gaining his liberty, the old corporal at ouco turns hi* footstepi towards his native village of St. 1 aurlcnr, wlieie he arrives at lost a decrepit, broken-down old man. lie at om e proceeds t • find his son i.nd tho general'.-* daughter, in did r to fulfil the stored nmmon with which he was entrusted. Ho learns that F:o. hard had taken possession of tho general's estate, ami decline bo'o'e, Froehard himself to strio him oi the estate. Not knowing who Froehard is, h>< confides io him the secret of the g neral's \v 1 , but does not mention tlio words which a'c to act as "Open Sesame" to tho sea'od packet. Fro-cha'-'l is driven to desperation in order to. retail p >sscssioi» of the foruioe, and a sum of money happi niiy to be stolen at the tmio, he contiivos to have an equal sum plncod iu the knapsack of the old man. ana acousos him of the theft. At fir.-t 1 he old corporal ticats the chartc of theft with contempt; but on the. money being discovered in his knapsack, he is overcome with horror, and during lhc excitement which f Hows ho lo~cs his | owcr of speech. 'J bus lie is deprived of the power of utteiing the words so necessary to obtain the will of the general and establish his daughter's claim to the fortune, while he is also unable to write. A further series of inishapr follows. Tho only other person who could pronounce tho word a is one Ticatd, an old soldier, who, while. laying wounded on the battlo field at overheard the iu-trnctious given by tta general to the old corporal. At first Fieardl is restra ned from speaking the wordsi through Fioehatd threatening to expose hit son, who was llio real peipctrator of tlto robbery of which Simon was accused. At last Fioard determines to see justice done to an old comrade, even at the cost of branding his own son as a thief In his excitement, however, Picard accidental}* shoots himself. A number of thr lling incidents then tnko place, through, ut which the agony of tho faithful old soldier is iutens'ti d through seeing the villain revelling in the enjoyment of the woalth which belongs to tho girl Genevieve, who 1 ecomes home'essand ponni* less in consequence of the old m»n'i» inability to utter the words which would cstab* lull her claim to wealth. At length, through the dumb motions of the Old Corporal, themother of tho girl, who has been married to Taverncy, and who has endeavoured to find h'.r lost child, is made to understand that Genovievc is her daughter., Tho discovery is not tasteful to Taverncy„ who views tho prospoet of his name becoming tarnished with dishonour, to avoid wli'olu he prevails upon his mothc to persuade her daughter to marry Froehard. and so prevent; the true Btatc of things being made known to the world. 'I ho old corporal's son who 1 .ves Genevieve, and who is present, when the contract is about to bo signed, attempts to shoot himself. This he is prevented from doing by the timely intervention of tho Old Corporal. Tho shock to the old man's system is so great that ho regains his speech, and is at last able to fulfil his promise. Genevieve is inmlc wealthy, audi marries l.ucien, ami so the piico ends in virtue receiving its reward and vico it* punishment. As mav fairly be imagined* "The Old Corporal" affords the greatest, possible scope for acting, and of this those* who attended the Masonic Hall last evening had plenty. There was not a badly-played part in tho piece. Corporal Mining is, of course, the central figure in the drama, audi ou the representative of tho chat aclcr fall* the chief burden of tho piece. To say th*|

Signor Majeroni acted the part to the life is to convey but a poor idea of his acting. From, first to last he was thorougly natural, and .succeeded in r;veting the attention of the audieuce. He is a young man, and sptaks with a foreign accei.t, but not to such an extent as to mar the effect ot his acting, but just sufficiently to render the language more musical. As an actor, his equal h-s not appeared in Uamaru, and we doubt ve y much if he has ever been excelleu in the CoiOmes. Where the Old Corporal is deprived of speech, the act ng of the S gnor leached the acme of perfection. His facial expiessiou and gestuies were so painfully life-like as to send a quiver through the audience ; indeed his acting was so realistic as Xo become painful. Air. J. ±5. feteele looked every inch a jieiieral, and did what little he had to do as Geneial ±>oquebert well. Air. Jia grave made a capital Jj'i ochard, though his gtniallace was somewhat unsuitcd ior EO viilainous a character, but Mr. Musgrave is a very excellent actor, and succeeded in giving a good representation of the character. Mr. iJurfoid, as Tavemey, had not a part which gave .-cope for the display of his talents t« the fullest exttnt, but he made the most of the opportunity afforded him. Mr. Uraham is rapidly lising in his piofessit n, and his performance of the part ot Lucien would have done credit to an older actor; wh.le Mr. Stark did justice to the fcmail part of Picard. J\.rs. Walter Hill as Mina de Kouitzbeig gnve the audience a fair specimen of her a-.iiity as a fiui hed actress, and at once elicited their sympathies. Miss Lily May although somewhat •out of her element as G>nevieve, rendered ine part in a pltasing n anuer. 'J here was just a dash ot the con.oy ehment in the 3 nee, and this was made the most ot by Miss Hettie .Howard and Mr. Walter Hill, whose efforts did much to i elieve the sombieness of the drama. A word of praise must also be accoided to Aliss .Bessie Hid, who play, d the pait ol the child in a manner that took the audience by storm. To-night Stuait" will be presented, wimi Signora Majeroni will make her debiit before an Uamaru audience.