... . Held by the Enemy is a drama that has steadily grown in public favour since Mr. Warner first produced it at a tentative matinee early in the season. It is not of course, in any sense of the word, a great play, least of all so far as literary quality it concerned nor has it such striking sketches of character as are found in The Silver Finy, and the best melodramas of the day. But it has a ...

... THREE ITALIAN OPE IAS. London is the only oity in which at any time three great theatres have simultaneously given performances of Italian Opera. The competition of managers has in some instances led to the payment of preposterous salaries, and in this manner has had an injurious effect on the true interests of art. Enor mous gums cannot b3 nightly paid to two or three leading vocalists ...

... . Victor Hugo s Mart n de Lorme, hue drama though it is, has generally been recognised even by the hungriest of adapters as an impossible dish to cook for the palate of English playgoers. Thus Mr. Richard Davey's version, as produced on Tuesday afierroon at the Princess's, might fairly cl-itn attention for iis novelty and courage if for nothirg else. As a matter of fact, however, the bold ...

... _ . nave ?.e of the Royal College of Musio on Monday last s a creditable performance of Her Freischiitz at the Savoy ci.rn Un,der ths direction of Mr. C. Y. Stanford. To criti- it m,,? the efforts of students would be ungenerous, and Borne v vi' 6 t° 3ay that all were note and letter perfect, and Kilbv Jif promising. Miss Annie Roberts (Anna), Mr. and Mil -and ^r' i>rice (Caspar) fairly earned ...

... I OUR CAPTIOUS CRITIC AND THE DOCTOR. PHYSICIAN, heal thyself. Such, I believe, was the verdict originally pronounced by many with regard to a new farcical comedy in three acts by Mr. F. C. Burnand, adapted from La Doctoresse, entitled The Doctor, and pro duced at the Globe Theatre. I have since seen the piece in question, and find the verdict a correct one. The self-healing process has, ...

... THE ITALIAN OPERAS.-- Over-competition has, we fear, not been productive of profit to every operatic entrepreneur. With three Separate enterprises to select from, the public, save ill exceptional Gase ...

... THE PAST SEASON.-- The musical season is now over, and it is probable that very few will regret the fact. That season has been one of the longest and busiest on record, but otherwise there is comparat ...

... IF we could know exactly who is responsible for Mrs. Brown Potter's choice of parts, it would be less difficult to apportion the blame of her partial disappointment at the GAIETY on Monday evening. Th ...

... IN Anchorage (2 vols.: Sampson Low) Mrs. Horace Field has given her readers an exceedingly pleasant and well-written novel. Her amiable characters are one and all sympathetic, and Olga, her heroine, ...

... The Rcian of Queen Victoria a Surra/ of Fiftv V,.„ ..r Prog ran. Edited by Thomas Humphrey Ward, M.A. In Two Volumes. London: Smith, Elder, and Co., 15, Waterloo- nlace. 1887. THESE volumes are a fitting contribution to the literature of the Jubilee year, and Mr. Ward has performed his difficult duty with excellent judgment. He himself has undertaken and very efficiently carried out several of ...

... . Bv Sir W. G. Simpson. Bart. Edinburgh D .via Doue-las. 188 SEVERAL excellent books have lately been written about golf, a proof of the popularity of the royal and ancient game, but we have not come across a better than the present volume. That the author is an enthusiast goes without saying for two reasons: all golfers are enthusiasts, and one who writes a book about the game must be ...

... . We have this week had a surfeit of Italian opera in London, No other capital oity in the world has ever exhibited the re markable spectacle of three opera houses simultaneously occupied in the performance of Italian operas at the rate of seventeen per week. We are inclined to believe that this state of things is likely to prove injurious rather than beneficial to the best interests of ...