Jimmy Glover, His Book

urn:iso:std:iso:639:ed-3:eng

70

text excerpt

It was during this opera that, its fortunes waning, the services of the late Lord Alfred Paget were requisitioned to induce the then Prince of Wales (King Edward VII.) to visit the Empire. The Alhambra had passed through a thorny licensing session on its application for a music-hall license, and the songs of Arthur Roberts were hotly criticized. The night the Alhambra re-opened, Roberts sang a great ditty there called " I'm a "highly respectable Singer." This publicity raised a doubt as to the class of performance that was anticipated at the newer house. It first opened with "Chilperic" by Herve a revival, then followed "Polly," by Edward Solomon and "Jimmy" Mortimer, the once Editor of "The London Figaro," a paper subventioned to keep alive the Bonapartist spirit of Napoleon III. Transferred from the Novelty, “Polly" shared the programme, with the first, performance in England of the "Coppelia" ballet, and it took us later on into "Pocohontas," by Sydney Grundy and Edward Solomon, in which Mr. Hayden Coffin made his first professional appearance on any stage. It was agreed that, if the Prince of Wales came, a sort of matchwood tunnel should be built to his box to ensure what we were told was much needed privacy; this was intimated to us by Lord Alfred Paget. This was accordingly done, much to the annoyance of the Royal visitor, who showed his usual consideration and tact by not using it, but by mixing among the audience, and during the interval visiting the golden upstairs foyer (the first specimen of the new extravagance in decorative music-hall art), and enjoying a cigarette with Mr. Henry Osborn O'Hagan, the financier of the concern, the lately-deceased manager, Mr. H. J. Kitchens, and the late Lord Alfred Paget.

excerpt from 'Jimmy Glover, His Book' pp. 70 (292 words)

1437028092146:

1437028092146