SIMONSEN'S OPERA COMPANY.

Auckland Star, Volume XX, Issue 193, 15 August 1889, Page 4

SIMONSEN'S OPERA COMPANY.

"THE BOHEMIAN GIRL."

Simonsen's Opera Company gave their initial performance of Balfe's grand romantic three-act opera " The Bohemian Girl," in Abbott's Opera House last evening. Although the very unpleasant rainy weather which set in early in the evening militated considerably against a crowded attendance, still the dress circle was well filled, and the house was a packed one downstaire. The pretty opera was well staged, and throughout the performance the audience testified most enthusiastically their appreciation of the vocal and histrionic abilities of the Company taking part. The many very pretty airs and melodies interspersed in the opera constitute its chief charm, and these were in the main exceedingly well rendered.

The cast of characters was as follows :— Arline, Miss Elsa May; Queen of the Gipsies, MissF. Seymour ; Buda, Misa Ethel Mackay ; Zingara, Miss Lucy Cobb; Thaddeus, Mr William Walshe ; Count Arnheim, Mr Warwick Gainor; Devilshobf, Mr Fred England ; Florestein, Mr Percy Shannon ; Baptain of the Guard, Mr Daniels ; Officer, Mr Tom Pollard.

As Arline (the Bohemian girl), the title role, Miss Elsa May quite captivated the audience by her effective singingand anting, and although she was evidently suffering from a ver> bad cold she did full credit to the many musical gems which fail to hec lob. In the beginning of the second scene, where her part opens, she appeared a tri&e constrained in her role of Arline, but only for a very short while. Her beautiful solo, " I Dreamt That I Dwelt in Marble Halls," was splendidly given, considering the disadvantages under which she laboured, and the very hearty encore which she received necessitated the repetition of the last verse. Hue May's other eolos, including "Come With the Gipsy Bride," and "See at Your Feet a Suppliant," were equally well rendered, and throughout the opera she sustained her namo as vocalist and actress remarkably well. Especial mention should be made of the tasteful manner in which she dresses her part. Her costumes as the Gipey Girl aud as the Count's daughter were pretty and artistic in the extreme.

Mies Florence Seymour, ac Queen of the Gipsies, was perhaps the most successful of the members of the Company, hardly a flaw being discernible in her impersonation of the difficult character from beginning to end of the opera. The concerted piece in the gipsy Hceno, "Listen, While 1 Relate," in which she takes a prominent share, was one of the line£t numbers in the performance, and her solo, " Heed the Warning Voice," was very well rendered. Miss Seymour's costume, like Miss May's, was pretty and appropriate.

Mr Warrick Gainor's impersonation of Count Arnheim was a good one, and he dressed hia part extremely well. His interpretation of Balie'e exquisite air, " The Heart Bowed Down," was rewarded with a merited encore, although in the second verse of the beautiful solo he took some rather inexplicable liberties with the music. The first verse of the melody was, however, very faithfully rendered. The Count's solo, " A Soldier's Life," in the opening scene, was effectively sung.

The role of Thaddeuswassplendidly taken by Mr Walshe, and bis fine tenor voice was heard to very great advantage in the song " When Other Lips," which he was forced to repeat in response to an encore. Throughout the opera Mr Walshe sustained his part very well indeed, and his solo " When the Fair Land of Poland " was a most successful vocal effort.

Of the other characters much can bo said in the way of praise, but space precludes an extended notice. Miss Mackay as Buda, Mr Percy Shannon as the comical Florestein of "mashing" proclivities, and Mr Daniels as Captain of the Guard, took their part 6 with remarkable success. Mr Fred England made a most ferocious Devilshoot, and his by-play throughout the scenes was amusing and well sustained.

The gip3y scenes were certainly the most effective and telling of the whole opera, and the chorus, "In the Gipsy's Life You May," was most taking. In other choruses, however, taken part in by the gipsies and soldiers the voices were rather unpleasantly harsh and discordant.;

Altogether, making allowances for the drawbacks of a first performance, " The Bohemian Girl " is one of the most attractively staged operas in the Simonsen's repertoire, and the second performance tonight of the pretty piece should be largely attended.