French Opera Bouffe: La Fille de Madame Angot

No performance on Thursday evening.

“A change of programme at the Park Theatre, last evening, caused ‘La Fille de Madame Angot’ to take the place of ‘Le Voyage en Chine.’ Lecocq’s opera is always welcome; its story is full of amusing incident, and the light and sparkling music illustrating it has about it a refinement which no other opera bouffe score possesses. The familiar libretto was acted with the vivacity inseparable from French performers, and the familiar songs were sung expressively, though with something less than the usual precision. We were disappointed in Mlle. Berthe Girardin, who appears to be an intelligent and experienced comédienne, but lacks voice. Mlle. Girardin was a pretty and lively Clairette, but prettiness and liveliness are not the only requisites of the part, and it was plain from the first that the lady was overtaxed. Mlle. Minelly bore off the honors of the representation as Mlle. Lange; M. De Quercy dealt easily and successfully with Ange Pitou; M. Duplan contributed his funny sketch of Louchard to the entertainment, and the remaining roles were filled respectively by [see above]. Liberal applause and several encores indicated that ‘La Fille de Madame Angot’ may be depended upon to keep the boards, with satisfaction to all concerned, until ‘Giroflé Girofla’ is ready for production.”

“At the Park Theatre, where for a time opera bouffe is making itself at home, the redoubtable ‘La Fille de Madame Angot’ made her reappearance last evening, being personated by Mlle. Berthe Girardin, a young, slight, pale, and pretty actress from the Porte St. Martin Theatre in Paris. The opera was brought out summer before last at Daly’s Broadway Theatre, with Mlle. Aimée’s excellent company, and [illegible] achieved, by its sprightliness and its pleasant music, a considerable popularity.

The cast with which it is now played is essentially a different one, M. Duplan being the only artist who took a conspicuous part in that performance, who is in the present one. Mlle. Girardin, the débutante, [illegible] great wealth of voice, but what she has she [illegible], and her singing was greeted with great favor.

M. De Quercy, an excellent actor and singer, appeared as Ange Pitou, and in all the minor characters the distribution was commendably good.”

Brief; “…the performance gave great satisfaction, and was enthusiastically cheered.” 

“The company gave a fair interpretation to the opera, Mlle. Girardin, the debutante, a petite brunette, with a handsome and expressive face, conveying a most pleasing impression by her simple and ingenuous style; but while giving a clever vocal rendering to the role of Clairette, she lacked the power to successfully portray the most pronounced peculiarities of the daughter of Mme. Angot, wanting that dash and abandon, which made several of the numbers, notably the quarrel duet, tame in comparison with her predecessor in this role, Mlle. Aimée. Mlle. Minelly was, as on former occasions, most acceptable, while the vocalization and acting of M. De Quercy proved him to be the equal, if not the superior, of any of the French tenors who have appeared before us, he possessing a most admirable voice, combined with an excellent method. The remainder of the cast and chorus were fair, and the latter might be considerably strengthened, especially in the conspirators’ chorus, and one or two other scenes, to produce the best effect. The company has in its ranks some of the best material for successfully producing the works of the opera-bouffe composers, and we shall look to the production of ‘Girofle-Girofla,’ which is announced, to give us a stronger interpretation of Lecocq’s musical ideas.”