THE OPERA.

Auckland Star, Volume V, Issue 1378, 10 July 1874, Page 3

THE OPERA.

THB GRAND DTTCHESS. .-. : .j, When Offenbach originated the opera buffe lie made a very lucky hit in the direction of popularity. Good judges of music are not as plentiful as blackberries, and it stands to reason that the largest audiences would be attracted by'an operatic performance which; combined music of a high class with the additional attractions of airiness in the style, j and sparkling wit in the libretto. It will not do to say that opera buffe bears the same relation to opera proper as burlesque to high class comedy. Burlesque is to many objectionable. There are numbers who feel themselves guilty, of participating in sacrilege when they go to a theatre and see some great author's best work distorted into absurdity. Put this objection does«nqt hold with opera buffe. Tho tone in this is lofty, and, with all its fun, there is no holding up to ddicule, no desecration of a holy fame. We are led insensibly, in spite of the incongruity, of the^things compared, to distinguish between opera buffe and burlesque in the same manner that Charles Lamb distinguished between the sweet oleaginous juice of crackling and vulgar fat. The Grand Duchess was the first production in this new style, and our readers will not require to be reminded of the run which the * 'opera had both 'in Paris and London. With Schneider as the central figure the piece became the rage of both cities, and the legitimate opera was for the time placed in the back ground. Since then Opera buffe has taken its proper Ksition. Attractive, as it ever will be, it s not the solid satisfying powers of the older and more weighty Bchool. It is an admirable divertissement and ■;, gains by its juxtaposition witn more solid fare. A programme^ all buffe would be equivalent to 1 that *prbv«rbial, insipidity ionjour* perdrtx. The argument, as the older play-writers term the plotjis "shortly this :—The Grand of Gerolstein (Miss Alice May) falls in love with a private of her guards named Fritz (Mr Vernon), . and by the exercise of her royal prerogative raises Him ta the rank of commander-in-chief and count by a rapid course of promotions extending overthe space of about five minutes. His elevation has of course the effect of raising Fritz plenty of enemies. Among these are General Boom, the former commander-in-chief (Mr Rainford), * Prince Paul (Mr Templetpn) a, fop dangling after the Grand Duchess, Baron 7*'^ (Mr Wilkinson) her highness's tutor, *^ , T -rßafon Grog. They combine for his ' {Htion, but are at first powerless against v ..'r^hirite, oniacebUnb of the partiality of \ Kj^ifehe3«|. Fritz, previous to his eleva\^T has a sweethaart named Wanda,(Miss Lambert). To - her-he adheres with; the icost *exeitnp:lary. fideiifcy^ after his good fortune an ; spite?;- of the 'undisguised, love advance* r-iaf iiie Grand Duohess. The plot conveys an exceedingly badmoral, for poor Fritz's constancy proves his ruin. His fickle royal mistress is piqued to think she cannot rob the "little chit" Wanda of,her lover, and finally joins in the conspirady against him; With lingering affeetiori she at first stipulates that the intending assaasins. ■half not hurt his"" dear beautiful face,' and then,' with her obaraCtenstw flckk.atMlforbids' th^re „ b«ing any "killing^ at all* taking faw raveajie i»/another way oy iUowing Fritz to be decoyed into the olutoh«

j of a jealous httßband, who gives him atremen* j dous thrashing, totally destroying hia beauty. She then deprives him of all hia dignities just as quickly aa she had bestowed them, and accepts the foppish Prince Paul. The Biraonification of the rollicking Grand uchess was a splendid success on the part of Miss Alice May. The vivacity and sparkling humour which the character demands ■were present in their full measure. In ,fact we should from our small experience pronounce that this is Miss May's forte. The j j freedom from all constraint, the absolute i I ease and grace of'her movements', her expressive archness of feature and voice were all i calculated to set off the chavacter to perfrction. Her costume was elegant and costly. 4 In this she did not imitate the bravado of i Schneider, but with the spirit of a true artiste, : and we think with finer conception of the part trusted entirely to her action and tones to giving true effect to the raciness of the rdle. ,In the Grand Duchess of Miss May the tone is ever dignified. There is never the slightest approach to any of that equivocality which was in London and Paris associated with the grande dame. In the opera presented last night there is less music and more dialogue than in the other works we have lately witnessed. The well-known rondo, "Ah, I dote on the military," was the opening eolo of Mi3s May, and it was given with all the dash and spirit it requires. ; Her piquant acting with the-insensible Fritz, from the moment of her calling him from the ranks to her revulsion of feeling, was charming in the extreme. Mr Yernon bore his part in these love passages with a naivete and seriousness which had a ebod effect, and was in good keeping with the conception of a private soldier aw el by the familiarity of his royal mistress. The "Regimental Song," was sun? with plenty of fire by the strangely assorted couple. The popular song, " Lo, here the sabre," evoked general enthusiasm, while the rondo, "Say to him an impress he's made," which in its fervour ..and. beautiful cadences approaches more nearly to serious passion than any passage of the opera, was the success of the evening, and called forth loud and continued acclamations. Mias May's rendering of this was superb. In the drinking ballad and chorus in the last act the audience were persistent in their shouts for an encore, and Mias May complied with the demand. The effect of this characteristic melange was very much intensified by the jingle of glasses which accompanied the performance. Miss May's fine range of voice told splendidly. The continuous showers of bouquets which fell at the fair prima donna's .feet were conclusive evidence of the satisfaction, which the people of Auckland are deriving from her fine artistic efforts. Mr Kainford, as General Boom, was "immense." His get-up was admirable, and his power of depicting a comic character is evidently very great. He and Mr Wilkinson, as Baron Puck, kept the crowded house in a constant state of merriment. Of Mr Vernor's Fritz -we must say that it possessed merit, though had we space- "we could point out a few which however did not prevent him from being loudly applauded. Sir Templeton's . Prince Paul was a great contrast to his r&le of Danny Mann in the lily of Killarney.: This gentleman; is very intelligent a3 well as comprehensive iv his acting, and his fine voice tells well. Miss Lambert took the part of Wanda with her usual pleasantness of manner. She looked the village matden to perfection, and was in very good voice. The maids of honor were fairly represented by four ladies of the company. ' In their scene with the love4etteis there was a slightly promijnent haste -to bow to the audience; other-j^ej^_djfferent_is^i«sa-n'«»a g^d. The. enoruses went as a rule well. The SaDre Chorus and the Frantic Chorus were perhaps the best. - The orchestra were most efficient, and their readiness at following any of the performers when-they skipped a passage was noticeable on one or two occasions. Mr Allen seems. ■; to be thorpughly at home as con-; ductor, and the way he plays the piano with one hand and beats time with the other is very clever. " Maritana" is to be repeated-to-night. ■-■ '' ■ : *'* ' *