On November 6th of the same year followed “Old China,” a delightful ballet, invented and designed by Mr. C. Wilhelm, associated, as usual, with Mme. Lanner and Mons. Wenzel, and with Mlle. Génée as première danseuse. The opening scene showed a mantelpiece, backed by a great mirror, in which the actions of a little Dresden China Shepherdess (Mlle. Génée) and her two troublesome lovers, were exactly repeated in the looking-glass, through which finally the indignant damsel stepped—to the chagrin of her disconsolate lovers—right into Willow Pattern Land, which formed the second scene, and into which some particularly rich and beautiful effects were introduced. “Old China” ran for some months, and on May 28th of the following year was succeeded by another “topical” ballet, “Our Crown,” again the work of the accomplished trio, who had so long contributed to the success of the Empire productions, and were now receiving the brilliant assistance of the Danish première, who had thoroughly established herself in popular favour. It was, of course in celebration of that crowning of the late King Edward which had been so unhappily postponed, through his late Majesty’s illness on the very eve of what should have been his Coronation. This, again, was a most brilliant production, and the final tableau, practically a “Staircase” scene, in which the great stage was built up with groups representative of the jewelled products of the various British colonies, rubies, emeralds, diamonds, pearls, was magnificent. As in the case of the Victorian Jubilee ballet of five years before, this was a conspicuous triumph in the particularly difficult sphere of ballets d’occasion.
The first production of 1903 was also the first of what may be called essentially the Génée ballets—ballets, that is, which seemed more particularly than before, infused with the personality of this accomplished dancer. Since her London début in 1897 she had played the leading part, certainly, but now it seemed almost as if her personality coloured the whole ballet itself, even as unquestionably her supreme technique set an example and had its influence in raising the already high standard of technique throughout the corps de ballet. The scenario and staging of “The Milliner Duchess” were by Mr. Wilhelm, and the story was specially designed to give Mlle. Génée an opportunity of further exhibiting her gifts as an actress. Into a fashionable throng frequenting the establishment of an up-to-date duchess who was running a milliner’s business was introduced her demure little niece, impersonated, of course, by Mlle. Génée; and her first entrance, in a gown of primitively early-Victorian simplicity, was charming in its hesitancy, and one realised that she was something more even than a finished dancer, namely, a born mime with a fine artistic appreciation of the nuances of comedy.
In her dance descriptive of the charms of country life, so clever and so perfect was the combination of mime and dance that a positive illusion was created; and only at the close did one realise, suddenly, that it was veritably a song without words. A step, a gesture, a little glance, and one could have sworn one heard a poet’s lines! Popular as the dancer had already made herself, her work in this particularly charming ballet confirmed the growing opinion that here was a dancer who was supreme in her art as a dancer-mime; one to be reckoned among any gallery of the great artists of the past.
In the autumn of the same year was staged a ballet by the same experienced trio, Wilhelm, Lanner and Wenzel, entitled “Vineland,” which introduced to us some novel and sumptuous colour schemes and gave us the sensation of Mlle. Génée’s “champagne” dance, a piece of terpsichorean music as sparkling as the most glittering of Offenbach’s operatic melodies. Early next year there followed the lively, up-to-date divertissement, “High Jinks,” in which the leading parts were played by Mlle. Génée, Mlle. Zanfretta, Miss Dorothy Craske, and Mr. Fred Farren.
An adaptation by Mr. Wilhelm from the popular Viennese ballet, “Die Puppenfee,” under the English title of “The Dancing Doll,” was produced on January 3rd, 1905, and was notable, among other things, for Mlle. Génée’s impersonation of an automaton in situations not very dissimilar from those of “La Poupée,” and a notable point in the production was a delightful eccentric dance by Miss Elise Clerc and Mr. W. Vokes, as a pair of Dutch dolls. This very successful ballet went into a second edition on April 3rd, and on June 30th the theatre was closed for redecoration.
When it reopened on October 9th of that year the habitués found considerable alterations had taken place under the direction of Mr. Frank Verity, F.R.I.B.A., all designed for their increased comfort, while the decorative style, representative of the true Empire period, had a note of distinction hitherto lacking in some of the London vaudeville houses, a note more in keeping with the demands of modern times. The opening ballet, by Mr. C. Wilhelm and Mr. Sidney Jones, was “The Bugle Call,” which had a well defined plot, and in which Mlle. Génée played the part of a French bugler boy of the late eighteenth century.
On the afternoon of January 6th (1906) a version of “Cinderella,” one of the most charming of Mr. Wilhelm’s creations, was staged, originally with a view only to matinée performances, but it proved so successful that it went into the evening bill on February 5th. The creator of the ballet had treated the age-long legend of Cinderella with that respect for its mingled poetry and pathos which an artist of sympathy must always feel for one of childhood’s most appealing legends; and he provided Mlle. Génée once more with an opportunity for proving her remarkable gifts as an actress, fully in sympathy with the character and sufferings of the little heroine she impersonated.
On May 14th, Delibes’ classic example of Ballet in its ideal form, namely, “Coppélia,” was produced specially for Mlle. Génée, and gave her, as the heroine, Swanilda, fresh opportunity for further revelations of her amazing accomplishments as a dancer and for her expressive acting; in which, by the way, she was admirably supported by Mr. Fred Farren in the character of the old doll-maker, Coppélia; and by Miss Dorothy Craske as Coppélia’s somewhat wavering lover. The production was a great success. How should it have been otherwise? Perfectly staged and perfectly performed, it is, with its haunting Slav rhythms and flowing valse melodies, one of the most charming, and musically, one of the most expressive ballets in the world’s répertoire.
This was followed on August 6th by one of the most exquisite productions the Empire had yet seen, a ballet by Mr. C. Wilhelm, entitled “Fête Galante,” which had been expanded from the opening scene of “Cinderella.”
To see the “Fête Galante” was itself a liberal education in the art of stage effect. It was an ideal realisation of the art of Watteau, Lancret, and Fragonard. The very spirit of the period was caught, and it was as if all that one had learnt at secondhand of the people, the dress, the manners, dances, arts and music of the “Grand Century” in France had suddenly awakened into life, and become a living reality of which one was a living part. Yet, paradoxically, it was strangely dream-like still, even as are Watteau’s pictures.