New-Yorker Stadt-Theater Opera: La Grande Duchess de G�rolstein

States that Herr Schönwolf will sing General Boum.

States that Herr Witt will sing General Boum, but advertisement and review confirm it was Herr Schönwolf.

“Despite the big production made for the first performance this season of ‘Die Großherzogin von Gerolstein’ at the Stadt-Theater, the house was empty. The operetta ranks among Offenbach’s best and was performed by Neuendorff’s group in a really satisfactory way. Thus it surprised us all the more that the theater was so poorly attended last night. The only explanation for this situation is that for more than five weeks, the public has had to make do with Offenbach operas exclusively, and the public is simply sick of them. Fräulein Lina Mayr appeared yesterday for the first time as the ‘Großherzogin.’ She understands how to give this grateful part [dankbaren Partie] the right coloring, which we should call a Viennese-French one. Keen, fresh humor informs her entire performance; she is equally good as the young country mother fraternizing with her soldiers as she is the pining lover who falls troublingly in love with Grenadier Fritz, or even as the angry conspirator. Fräulein Mayr sings the couplets and other numbers of the part extremely well, with an almost French, light piquancy. Vocally superb, even masterly, was the singing of the beautiful love song ‘Sage ihm’ in the second act. The small audience present did not hold back applause for the excellent performances of the guest artists. Herr Schütz’s ‘Fritz’ is one of the best roles of our hardworking and usable [capable? verwendbaren] tenor buffo. Herr Schönwolf as ‘General Boum’ lacks the necessary humor for this highly comic role. The smaller roles were passably cast.”

“Yesterday’s presentation of Offenbach’s operetta ‘Die Großherzogin von Gerolstein’ was pretty well attended. The performance, on the whole, was excellent. The ‘Großherzogin’ of Lina Mayr surpasses those previous interpeters of the role on the French, English, and German stages; apart from Mayr’s vocality (which is of a high order), her interpretation is a character of such chic, piquant and yet understated humor, that she instinctively captivates her audience. The other parts are well filled, and the ensemble last night was entirely excellent.”