THE OPERA SEASON.

Auckland Star, Volume XXVI, Issue 74, 28 March 1895, Page 2

THE OPERA SEASON.

"LA CIGALE*"

"La Cigale ""is a spectacular- triumph. None of the operas yeb produced during the present season can compare < with i 6 in the picturesque beauty or the scenery, or, the magnificence of the dresses. Each time the curtain rises it discloses a masterpiece of ecenic art. The first scene, a delightful rural picture, and the last,; the interior of the Ducal Palace,' aro in: Mr Goatcher's best style, while the second scene of the Market Place at Bruges, ia a Bptendid piece of set-v ting by Mr Goudon. The characters who people" these fair places are more numerous than in QDy of the previous operas, andthey bring with them on to the stage a wealth of form and colour that almost bewilders oric. The fact that the scene of the opera is laid in Flanders gives excuse for much that'is quaintly picturesque in the coßtamea, and the license allowed to opera in dressing aa: well as .in other things, is taken full advantage of to enrich the attire of the company which":, throngs the stage. Some of the groupings and tableaux are magnificent affairs. On several occasions the stage has no less than 60 or 70 persons on it, from litbla toddling mites, dressed in all the colours of the rainbow, to crowds of flower girls, opera dancers, peasants, courtiers, and- mountebanks aB diversely and gaily attired. When this gay army is in motion And in voice to some swinging chorus, the effect) is as striking as anything we are likely to witness in Auckland for many a day. Il) is in .the magnificent display of colour and graceful motion that the chief charm of "La Cigale" lies. The plot of the piece is slight, and .though coherent enough, seldom arrests one's attention and never evokes much interest. It is entirely a subservient affairlind poeps out now, and again from amid its rich surroundings merely to remind us of its existence. In the same way the characters have only a present interest for us. When they leave the stage we are little concerned as to what they are doing or what becomes of them. This ia even the case with "La Cigale" (Miss Stewart) herself. She charms our ears and eyes when she is before us, but we never eater into her Btdry. Wo take her sweet smiles and sweet songs and pay her with our loudest applause, but her history, the course of her love, her future wellfare, hardly give us a thought. This is surely a most decided though a not uncommon fault in an opera, and one we should not expect to ccc in a production that has Mr Burnand, the versatile editor of *' Punch," for its translator. Bub it is the fault of "La Cigale." Of the music one can Bpeak highly. Ib is briehb, although nob so catchy as the general run of light opera, to which " La Cigale " certainly belongs, although it has an unmisbakeable dash of grand opera in it now and again. The airs ar.e somewhat evanescent, but while one hears them they are decided ly pleasing. Some of those which were sung by Mies Stewarb, especially that one she eings to the Duko in tho firsb act, descriptive of a rescue from the river, drew down immense applause. The part of "La Cigale " did nob givo the prima dmna quite the same opportunity for displaying her wonderful versatility as an actress as she has had in somo of the previous pieces ; bub she mado tho very moso of it. Mr Howard Vernon shone in tho Duke, reminding us of bin Grand Inquisitor, while Mr Lauri^ out of the scantiest material made lobs of quiet fun. ' Miss Florence Young's handsome .figure was displayed to great advantage in the part of the Duchoase, and Mies May Pollard was charming as the wife of William, a part capably enacted by Mr Rosevear. Mr Tapley's • voice—be was the,lover —was more musical than in the previous opera, and his enunciation much clearer. The poor rustic swain Vinconb, who goes a-pining and a-eighing after the butterfly, "Cigale," ant}, never seemingly wins her—a piece of injustice one never expects to see perpetrated on the otage—was efficiently pourtrayed by Mr Sydney Deano. Bub the opera will hardly bear analytical criticism. It is not bo be considered in detail. Ita beauty and success lie in the many occasions where it resolves itself into a broad brilliant picture full of life and melody. "La Cigate " will be repeated to-night.