Aim�e Opera Bouffe: La Fille de Madame Angot

“Mlle. Aimee came forward again in New-York last night, beginning a farewell engagement, which is to last two weeks. She emerged at the Lyceum Theater, which was densely crowded, and she acted and sang as Clairette, in ‘La Fille de Madame Angot.’ The welcome accorded to her was exceedingly cordial; and, though the audience was not very demonstrative, she was several times recalled, as also were several of her vocal hits. The well-known duet with Lange—Mlle. Rosini Stani—in which feminine spite is so adroitly and amusingly manifested, awoke the especial delight of the house. Mlle. Aimee was in fine voice and spirits, and she exerted all her powers with the utmost sincerity, and with well-directed zeal and fine effect. Her company is much the same as it was when last she appeared in New-York—at the Broadway Theater. The opera was carefully set upon the Lyceum stage, and there was, in every part of the performance, an earnest, thorough, and competent skill. Here and there the vocalism was weak and defective; but, in the main, the singing afforded no flaw. A more even performance of Opera Bouffe has seldom been greeted in this city. There was a large foreign element in the auditory. The cast of parts, here given, will show how the company is composed [see above].”

“‘La Fille de Madame Angot’ was brought out at the Lyceum Theatre last evening. The public had certainly not underrated the attractive character of the entertainment, for the house was crowded in every part, and by an audience both fashionable and thoroughly au fait, musically and linguistically, of the merits of the piece. As done at the Lyceum, M. Lecocq’s work has exactly the same ‘cast’ as when produced at the Broadway Theatre [see performer listing above], while the minor parts are all intrusted to efficient performers. A mention of these names is assurance that the music was sung and the dialogue spoken with unflagging spirit, and it need scarcely be said that a company whose ranks have so long been kept unbroken offered a representation conspicuous by its ensemble. It passed off, we have but to note, amid continuous merriment and with frequent interruptions, which took the flattering shape of applause. Mlle. Aimée, of course, bore off the honors of the night, but M. Juteau was also complimented, and M. Lécuyer really caused more hilarity than anyone else. We are glad to have to mention that the interpolations, yesterday, were few—in so bustling and droll a work. The additional pleasantries suggested by an actor’s experience are not required—we further have to cite the mise en scène as capital. The bill remains unaltered until further notice, and the pretty aspect of the theatre, brightly lighted and filled with elegant toilettes, is not likely either, to undergo any change for some evenings to come.”

“‘La Fille de Madame Angot’ was the attraction last evening that drew a very large audience to the pretty little Lyceum to welcome back Mlle. Aimée and her company from their extensive travels in Southern climes. Since the first production of this opera on August 25, 1873, at Daly’s Broadway Theatre, it has proved the most popular in Mlle. Aimée’s extensive repértoire. It may not be of equal musical value to the ‘Fleur de Thé’ of the same composer, Lecocq, which Grau brought out a few years ago, but it has witty dialogue, constant action, champagne-like music and ‘go’ in it from beginning to end that cannot fail to please the general public. As the cast differs in no respect from that which marked its former representations in this city, and as the artists of the company have not deteriorated from their former excellence, it is unnecessary to enter into details regarding last evening’s performance.”