“THE ROSE AND THE DAGGER”
A Fantastic Pantomime in One Act.
A terrible storm is raging ‘round a solitary hut, where a bandit is sitting alone. A dancer (Guerrero), returning from a ball, begs him to afford her shelter during the storm. The bandit is churlish enough to refuse her this trifling service and drivers her out. She prays him to give her but a drink of water, and the bandit, relenting, pours her out a glass of wine. While in the act of drinking she unfortunately permits him to catch a glimpse of her diamond ring.
The storm having now abated, the lady essays to continue her journey, but the cupidity of the bandit has been aroused and he bars her exit. She is greatly alarmed and offers the man money which he rejects and demands her ring.
She sees now that she has been trapped and gives way to despair. Suddenly and idea strikes her. At the instant the bandit draws his dagger to stab her, she releases her cloak and the susceptible bandit is bewitched by the sight of so much loveliness and stays his hand. The woman now wields all her arts of coquetry and flattery. She tells him that she loves him and, as proof, is willing to dance purely for his amusement. The bandit is now thoroughly in the toils and is easily persuaded to exchange his dagger for her rose by the slender pretext that the knife frightens her. The dagger secured, she attempts flight, and then begins a struggle between them for mastery, ending by the woman stabbing the bandit to the heart and escaping.
The sensation that was promised to come with the performance of Rosario Guerrero materialized at the Oakland Orpheum yesterday. Guerrero is a Spanish woman. They call her the greatest pantomime artist in the world. She is more than that. She is a dancer of extraordinary skilled and possessed of a temperament that would make her, one might fancy, an ideal Carmen.
When the curtain went up on the scene which showed a woodcutter's hut where the dancer was supposed to have taken refuge from a storm outside the crowd held its breath, expecting something strenuous. The anticipation was realized.
When Guerrero burst into the room, a dazzling vision of sensuous loveliness, there were involuntary exclamations and when the dancer, in pantomime, went through her performance with the brigand in whose hut she had sought shelter, the crowd simply held its breath.
An intensely thrilling story is contained in the play of “The Rose and the Dagger,” which Guerrero tells altogether in pantomime. The finish of her performance, where she lures the murderous brigand into giving her his dagger for her rose, so that she is mistress of the situation, came as a splendid climax to the highly diverting drama. Others have attempted to imitate this bit of pantomime but the imitations were feeble distortions of the splendid original.
Oakland Tribune ( Oakland, California), October 4, 1909
Rosario Guerrero, the Spanish dancer and pantomime artist, is creating a veritable sensation at the Orpheum these days. In Europe the name of Rosario Guerrero is said to be almost a household word, her fame being of the sort that is achieved only by international celebrities. She was imported by the Orpheum Company for a tour of its theaters, presenting her musical pantomime, “The Rose and the Dagger,” a classic with which her name has been identified for several years. Oakland audiences are now seeing the pantomime and Mlle. Rosario for the first time. Oakland Tribune ( Oakland, California), October 7, 1909
. . .When Rosario Guerrero finished with her wonderful pantomimic play, she got a “hand” that stopped the intermission. . .Guerrero comes a stranger, but well heralded. . .
But the wonderful pantomimic powers of both performers startled and gripped all who saw them. She cajoled that bandit, won him in spite of himself, and danced for him in the voluptuous measures of old Castille. This was no parlour Spanish terpsichorean excercise; it was real, palpitating, fascinating. Guerrero is a thorough artiste, whether she dance or act, and Paglieri, her assistant, is not less so. The act is a novelty, and well worth of high honors. Los Angeles review of “The Rose and the Bandit” 10/19/09
“Rosario Guerrero, who has not played in Paris for four years, opened at the Marigny August 16, in a sketch “Le Couteau el La Rose” which has been introduced into the revue. The main interest in the new act is the Tango Dance by Guerrero. This pretty woman, however, has become quite plump, and resembled somewhat Otero’s appearance two years ago. She was ably supported by her husband, and the “oriental” sketch went fairly well. ... ”
Variety, September 2, 1911
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