Location:
Theater:
Date:
Type:
“The Enchanted Rose” is an operatic pantomime, dance novelty in which Tojetti does some very clever work. The offering is of legendary construction, Simla (Tojettl) doing a graceful dance before the Queen and presenting her with the enchanted rose which entraps Simla's lover in the affections of Her Majesty. Ramswanee, a wandering prince, is the only male principal. His love for the Queen enrages Simla, who not only recovers her rose, but ends her lover's life with a dagger. The finale shows the suicide of Simla over her victim's body. Two men stand as silent sentinels upstage. The Queen’s dancing retinue consists of six girls.
One of the dances, a hand cymbal affair, failed to create a ripple of applause at the Academy Sunday night.
The act has been cut down considerably since its first out-of-town offering, but still drags with Tojetti off the stage. The Prince and Queen have considerable singing; her voice is strong and clear, but she lacks dramatic forte and he looks foreign enough, but does not have the fire, dash and abandon American audiences think necessary. He weakens the dance with Tojetti with his indifferent inanimation. Tojetti, a finished little artiste, even to her Oriental makeup, is the dynamic force which keeps the act from falling into the discard. A change of supporting principals would help materially in making a better impression. Another arrangement of ensemble dances would also aid.
Source:
Variety 22:6 (04/15/1911)