Grau French Opera Bouffe: Fleur-de-Thé

“Saturday night is the best in the week for this theatre in regard to the audience, therefore there was a pretty full house last evening.  ‘Fleur de The’ has wonderfully improved since its first representation, and it would be difficult to match it now in completeness of cast, mise en scene, chorus and action.  Madame Rose-Bell appeared for the first time in the rôle of Césarine in place of Mlle. Desclauzas.  She was in splendid voice and acted with her accustomed vivacity, but decidedly failed to come up to the standard of her predecessor in the same rôle.  There was a winning grace and archness about Descualzas which made her deservedly popular as the jealous wife of Pinsonnet.  Rose-Bell takes a different and perhaps truer interpretation of the character, making it that of an unmitigated termagant.  However this may be in accordance with the rôle, it is scarcely as attractive as the grace, piquancy and lightsome vivacity of Desclauzas.  Another very interesting feature was a new Chinese ballet, introduced in the second act in place of the dreary, foolish one of the first night.  The music, composed by Mr. Stoepel, is characteristic and excellent.  The dashing finale, in which the praises of Cliquot are sung in strains as sparkling as itself, is still the most popular feature in the opera.”

“Bad Business at the French Theatre compels manager Grau to change his programme, his last production of ‘Fleur de Thé,’ having failed to attract remunerative audiences. Rosa Bell, who has been on the sick list for some time, made her rentree on the 13^th, as Cesarine, in ‘Fleur de The.’”