Liebelei
5.— box 11/4
Telephon 12.801.
pagennt.
— „OBSERVER“
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I. österr. behördl. konz. Unternehmen für Zeitungs-Ausschnitte
·IIGHT O LOVE.
Wien, I., Concordiaplatz 4.
VIENNA PLAY AT THE AFTERNOON
Vertretungen
THEATRE.
in Berlin, Budapest, Chicago, Christiania, Genf, Kopen¬
Frits Vobheimer #m. Mr. Henry Ainley.
hagen, London, Madrid, Mailand, Minneapolis, New-Vork,
Hunring. Mr. H. R. Hignett.
Paris, Rom, San Francisco, Stockholm, St. Petersburg.
Theaiser Mr. Charles Mande.
A Gesmeman Mr. Jamcs Hearn.
(Quellenangabe ehne Gewähr).
ChristineMies Margaret Halstan.
Mizi Schlager Miss Margaret Bussé.
Lina Miss Hotty Kenyon.
Ausschnitt aus:
Katherine Binder Miss Sydney Fairbrother.
1000
15
Daily News, London
* Liebelei,“ many yeare ago now, made
vom:
— —.—
Arthur Schnitzler famons. As“ Light o'
Love“ it was produced by the Afternoon
Theatre at His Majesty’s gesterday. Its
AFTERNOON TIIEATRE.
atmosphere is intensely Viennese, the joy,
the irresponsibility, the mutability of
youthful love, biended with the pathos and
SCHNTTZLERS“ LIEBELET‘ AT
poetio eontiment of tears, which are never
very far away from all love.
IIIS MAJESTT'S
In its way it is a little cameo tragedy
of contrast. There is the romantie Fritz,
half in love with romantie Christine, but
The title of“ Light o’ Lovo“ given to the
really in love with a married woman. And
English version of Arthé Schnitzler’s“ Lie¬
there is his friend, the typical vouth of
belei' is soarcely applicable to it. Fritz
love’s fairyland, the debonair Viennese
Lobheimer is a philanderer of à semftimental
guter Kerl (as they call him) who wiles
German type, and Christine Weiring is the
away delicions hours with Mizi, who is
a characteristio Viennese.
young daughter of an orchestral musioian
The play opens in Fritz’s rooms. Two
who falls in love with him. Neither is a
delicions Viennese girls ought to amuse
light o’ love'’ which, I may be permitted
two fervent young Vienneso men, and they
to point out, has à spécial menning. The
do: supping, dancing, kissing, and frivol¬
play ds cenbred round tlie tragedy of a girl
ling, and were it not that Fritz ie un¬
usually pensive a reallv conducive evening
of ühie lower middle classes whose love is ac¬
they would have had. But the party is in¬
cepted lightly by a man above her in rank.
terrupted. In an admirably written scene
IIe has a serious love affair with a married
the gentleman who entens returns the
woman, is dalled out and shot, and the girl
letters Fritz wrote to his wife and exucts
finds that she has had no place in his life.
the customary satisfaction, which, of
course, in Austria is a duel.
He has not even sant her a message of any
sort, and sho has no right to have a last
NATIONAL STUDV.
look at his dead body. Scoial convention
The two remaining acts reflect the
counts his love as nothing but a pastime.
light o' love.“ Fritz visite Christine in
Perhaps in Germany, where class distine¬
her father’s house and takes farewell, and
we get a characteristically national study
tions are more rigid ühan here, so that it is
jef a Viennese musiclan such as Vienna
asocial crime for à military oflicer to marry
loves. Then, in the last act, comes the
bemeath km, the play may have a more
tragedy. Fritz is shot. When Christine
poignart reality, but in no case can“ Lie¬
hears of it, hears from Hans that he was
beloi be called an interesting drama. For
buried that morning and that she will never
even see hie face again, the soul of despair
one thing, as Mr. Ainley played the part of
possesses her, and she leaves her old father,
the philanderer, it was not clear that he
fallen on his knees to the floor erying oul
did not care for Chrisbine. Possibly Mr.
that she will never come back to him.
Ainley was too sericus, und Lobheimer’s
It is very sad and tender, conceived with
protestations of love should have been con¬
areal charm and poetic feeling. Its great
ventional, lip proteshations, uttcred merely
success in Austria and Germany is due to
to socühe the girl. Even so that would not
its
inherent realism and sentimental
have made us undorstand whether he did or
handling of the eternal theme. Here the
did not love the wife of ühe nameless“ gen¬
atmosphere, as thething itself, is somewhat
tleman?’ who shot him. I fancy Herr
alien to our national life. The sentiment
Schnitzler meant to show how a young mili¬
of Fritz appears to us overdrawn, nor have
tary officer thinks it fair game to play with
wethe poctic passion of these youths and
the love of a giri whom etiquette would not
maidens in Vienna, to whom love is as the
allow him to marry. An illicit love affair
light of day.
with a woman of his own class costs him his
STRAUSSIAN WALTZ.
Vlife; a love affair with a girl beneath him
About the production vesterday this must
does not connt. To give point to this moral
Lobheinner is supposed to be rather a decent
be said. First, it was played far too slowly,
sort. It 's social convention that is at fault
especially the first act, which shouki go
and not the mon. But to English eyes thei
with boisterons rapiditv. Then Miss Mar¬
hero secms several sorts of a bounder.
garet Halstan has not the physique for the
The same story differentlv treated might!t#
part, though she rendered the pathos of
the girl with admirable charm and deli¬
Chave been interesting, but the characterisa-s!
cacy. The fact is she is too much what we
tion is too flunsy. It was impossible to under¬
would call a lady'too refined, too
stand Lobheimer and his love affairs, and
English; nor was Mr. Ainiey in the picture.
ie does not seenrtruetolifeto make Christine
He, too, was over-refined, too slow and dig¬
imagine she could have had a serions place in
nified, too pompons.
his existence. Her old father, with his vague
Mr. Charles Mauer really had the spirit
iden that tlie remembrance of past happiness
of tho thing, and danced quite a Straussian
is better than no happiness at all, was the
waltz, and Miss Margaret Bussé; but far
most interesting character in the piece, and
more ought to be made of the first act, far
was well acted H. R. Hignett. Ifthe
more point and bustle. Mr. Hearn had a
serious, romane“ Lobheimer of Mr.
fine moment, but to hear Miss Sydney Fair¬
Amley was right, the voung actor was verg###
brother (that most clever character actress)
successful, but there could be no doubt con¬
asa Viennese bourgeoise was droll for any¬
Ccerning the, teutonic, agrecable rattle of Mr.
one who has lived in Vienna. None the#
Charles Mande. He was well matched by
less it was a very interesting afterncon, and
Miss Margaret Bussé’s Mizi, a common, flip¬
pant foilto the lachrymese Christine, whom
best theatrical things in London. A. H.
Miss Margaret Halstan made too iadylike and
superior. The qmieter love passages were
well done, but Miss Halstan did not get a
mronw—
grip of the scene when Christine hears of
the death of her lover, and realises how little
her love has ronnted. But tiie scene is not
well written. As a maliclous and gossiping
neighbour Miss Sydney Fairbrother gave us
one of her elever littie sketches.“ Liebelei
was hardig worth producing. E. A. B.


THE AFTERNOON THEATRE.
R— LIGHT O' LOVE.“
(Liebelel) by Arren Scaz#n
Tran lnted I ASEE WTTETTNS
Fritz Lobheimer
Nr. HExny AISLEY
Hans Weiring
Mr. H. R. HIoNErr
Theodor Kaiser
Mr. CHARLES MAUDE
A Gentlem. n
Mr. JAMzs HEARN
Christine
Miss ManoanEr HALsTAN
Miss MAnoaner Busst
Mizi Schlager
Miss Hurry KENvoN
Katherine Binder
Miss SypNEY FAIRBROrHER
*
This play, which, as we understand, is very success¬
ful in Austria and Germany, has a simple story.
Fritz Lobheimer, an offlcer in an Austrian Dragoon
regiment, has been carrying on an intrigue with a
married woman, and another at the same tirne with
Christine, the daughter of old Hans Weiring, a
violinist in a theatre orchestra, The husband of
the married woman challenges him and kills him;
and Christine, on learning the news, rushes out in
despair, to commit, as we are led to believe, suiclde.
That is the skeleton—simple, and strong enough to
bear a body of genuine tragedy. Towards clothing
it with gennine tragedy the author has gone a good
way. We learn very early in the play that Christine
is not like her friend Mizi Schlager, a mere light¬
o’-love, despising all men, but equally rendy to take
any lover she can get and to bid him a cheerful
good-bye when she can kcep him no longer. Christine
takes the affair very seriously. She has in her a pretty
strong dose of the will to keep. Fritz is her first
lover—for hitherto she has been quite respectable—
and he will be her last. Fritz looks at the matter
in atotally different light. Even at t#e merry supper¬
party in the first act his bead is at least as full of
the married woman as of Christine. And after that
party (Fritz is entertaining his friend Theodor Kaiser
and Theodor’s“ friend Mizi, and Christine, and they
have been drinking Bruderschaff and doing all sorts
of amusing Austrian things) has been interrupted by
the enraged husband with his challenge, he has, of
course, an additional reason for insisting to Christine
that this sort of thing is only temporary. It
is all no use. The will to keep in Christine is only#
intensified in the second act by Fritz’s very charming
way of saying what he knows, but Christine does not
know, to be probably a last farewell, vowing (what
was doubtless true at the moment) that he really did
love her. And so it happens that in the third act,
when the news is brought to the girl that her lover is
not only dead, but has been shot in a duel about
another woman, she is driven practically mad by her
loss.
Madness, it has been said, is only exaggerated
selfishness. It may be so; in any case the
madness—that is, the character—of Christine is just
what, in our opinion, has prevented this play from
becoming a genuine tragedy. It has affected it in
two ways. The first, and least important, is this
Christine has been, all along, a negative person.
She appeared te have only one positive quality—
that pretty strong dose of the will to keep. And so,
when this negative, inarticulate creature suddenly
breaks into eloquence and pours out, disjointedly
but with acute point, rage and scorn and grief, we
feel that this is not Christine herself speaking, but
the author. The girl herself—at any rate, as we saw
her yesterday—might feel these things dimly, but
she never could say them. It is the author who feels
them acutely for her, and uses her inappropriate
mouth forthe expression of them. A more important
matter is this, that we see in Christine no trace of
regret for the man who is dead. Not a single“ Poor