Sir Arthur Sullivan’s Ivanhoe was revived on Friday night at the theatre in Cambridge-circus. It is intended to be heard on alternate nights with the delightful Basoche, the run of which will pretty certainly be a long one.

The performance of the English work differs but little from the original production, though it is apparently not to be given with any regular change of cast, as was necessarily the case at first. Miss Thudichum and Mr. Oudin retain the parts of Rebecca and the Templar, and the minor parts are still filled by the artists who appeared in the original cast. As Miss Palliser and Miss Hill are engaged in important parts in M. Messager’s work, the part of Rowena is now sung by Miss Medora Henson, whose clear voice gradually lost, on Friday night, the rather hard quality noticed in the earlier scenes. Her shy reserve of manner is no doubt in keeping with the character of the Princess, but it is not, in the ordinary sense, particularly effective.

Mr. Barton M’Guckin made a very successful first appearance at this theatre in the part of Ivanhoe. His manly bearing is of good service, and his singing of the invocation to sleep at the beginning of the third act was exceedingly good. On a very few occasions he seemed not to have quite got over the unfortunate habit of rising slightly in pitch upon a long note, but in this respect he has made such improvement in the past that his complete recovery can only be a matter of time.

So rare is any hitch under Mr. D’Oyly Carte’s management that the slight accident which delayed the setting of the tournament scene and caused it to lack something of perfection when it appeared, was quite an event. An apology was offered, which hardly seemed necessary.

Page modified 15 January 2010