AMUSEMENTS

Auckland Star, Volume XL, Issue 122, 24 May 1909, Page 6

AMUSEMENTS

c - • s HIS MAJESTY'S THEATRE. . a " THE MERRY WIDOW," ' ] c , . Heralded by a success such as few playi - have achieved, •"The Merry Widow" ' c Saturday evening made her how to. &£ ' 3 Auckland audience. It is a remarkable J i coincidence that in New Zealand we hive ' t been only a few weeks behind Paris in ' lf the opportunity of seeing- and heariai ! r the most successful comic opera cf recent ' :- years. "The Merry Widow" had estabi ' 0 lished records in the principal cities of ' - Europe before it was produced in th| ' . French capital for the first time' last ' t month. And yet its scenes are laid in • k - Paris, and its atmosphere and morality t are w.hat is popularly —to a great extent c erroneously—regarded as Parisian. ' ''W ' x the general tone of the piece one cannot a fail to take serious exception, and this 1 1 undoubtedly is the one ground on whicft 1 1 "The Merry Widow" may justifiably b<) 1 i attacked. To return for a passing com: ] b ment on the presentation of the opera '. 3 in Paris; a curious feature of the ' t formance is the fact that the great s c tial figure of the play, the merry widoy I f herself, is a Scotch girl. *" ■ j Various criticisms were offered pn < 1 Saturday night, and some that we heard ( 3 were not over complimentary, but wjiere i I this was the case it must have arijgn j 1 from an exaggerated conception baSejt , , on so much that is extravagant from i i abroad. For no one has reasonable • 3 grounds for being disappointed with i ?, Saturday night's performance. "'l?he •■ t Merry Widow" is no hotch-potch of vanr ety " turns " strung together with a. "^aifl 1 story that it were a travesty to ajlow - to masquerade under the name plqt; it < I is a comic opera of some power— : if n.qt i genius. There is continuity about the ' 1 piece, and it develops evenly to bright ' i and sparkling music, and further does i not depend on ancient jokes resurrected - from unhonoured graves for its humour, i but on the quaintneas of its characters * - and their amusing adventures. There is, i ■ as far as we remember, only one joke ) that is obviously draggpd in, and it 'a j a feeble chestnut about'a'fowl which, arali- > ciously given brasij filings, laid a dpor--5 knob. It is a wretched piece of primif tive humour that could with advantage 1 be eliminated. 1 Franz Lehar's music is no doubt maiialy \ responsible for the success achieved. Ttje 1 • waltz tune, in connection with which tijg • writer has been accused of , • the sacred theme of a much moye eniin- j 5 ent composer, is not the single and gje- ' eminent attraction of the score. Cfir- r tainly it is sufficiently <-atehy to quickly < establish itself as a nuisance in any city „ upon which it descends; but the wfoqle t music is as far above that of the average , 1 musical comedy as is the librettp. 'JVj; t 1 dp not wish you to run away with any s ' mistaken idea that it is anything but ] f light music; there are no grand ] > flights, but there are at least half a dozen ' very delightful and tuneful jiumtiera, ' while the music throughout is plqasihg • and worthy of attention. And just here I a word of praise may be inserted for the ■ orchestra, under Mr. Howard Carr, yyhjjili 1 is thoroughly efficient. We have not space to describe the plqt ! »t length. Briefly, the play revolves ' round Spnia. Left the widow of a wealthy Marsovian, who conveniently 4ie* ■ after a week of married bliss, and is unable to take where he is bound his fortune of twenty millions, the "'Merry Widow", establishes herself in 6umptuous sur- ' rouudings on the outskirts of Paris, apd ' ; decides to see life. Her admirers, or possibly her Bullions' μ-dtoirers, iar«l legiqn, but the Marsovian ambassador ; decides to marry her to Prince Danilo, a scion of the house of jVlargoyia, W° 1 is ostensibly attached to the Embassy 1 The financial position of Marsovia is 1 1 desperate, and the ambassador wprka 1 ' hard at Jiis match-mak,ing, apparently t \ oblivioiis of the fact that there )»ayg c been earlier passages between the widow c 1 and the young prince that render his t ' strenuous exertions wholly superfhious. t There are some side issues, nptably the t desperate flirtation of the Ambassador's i wife with a young .French aristocrat, pf 1 which everyone is aware save the jady's t confiding tyusband. jhe dialogue iq ; smart, the development of the i4ea cpa- c tinuous, and the climax is steadily wprk- i ( ed up to achieved. I The action and success of the "Jferry t , Widow" depend largely upon three jjer- t . sons—-Sonia, Danilo, and Barfln Ponpff, t , the ambassador. Miss Florence Young . is not an ideal Merry Widow, but she j . acts brightly, and her singing wojfld f amply atone for a great many more j ! shortcomings than there are in her per- > , formance. Much of the best inusjc faJla t . to the lot of Sonia, and Miss Young j 1 singa it in a manner which has certainly t . not been approached in Australasia. The , . rendering of the beautiful "Vjlia," fnd 1 " The Cavalier" numbers, i\vo spngs s as widely divergent as the pples, t are alike artistic triumphs. The great , success of the caste is Mr. Andrew &ig- 1 ginson, one of the most capable t seen on the colonial stage in musical t comedy and light opera. His conception j of the character of Danilo is very' pps- { ' aibly modelled on that of Joseph Coyne, t who, at Daly's Theatre, London, has j achieved an international reputation in the part; but we believe that in any comparison that might be instituted Mr. 1 Higginson would not suffer. If a criti- £ eism may be made, it is that on Saturday night the actor did not avail himself as often as was desirable of the quite unusual powers of producing an intense effect which he undoubtedly possesses. Mr. Victor Gouriet as Baron Popoff c was really screamingly funny, 'but it is 8 a question whether he does not nrake c the Marsovian ambassador —well, just a little too much of a buffoon. Mr. W. a S. Percy as Nisch, messenger to the legation, achieves a character study which—if we may say so —is effective ° to almost the point of perfection, and is certainly the best thing that he has ' done. Miss Nellie Wilson is a satisfac- a tory Natalie, wife of the ambassador, t and sings her music pleasantly, while Mr. Reginald Roberts as Viscount Da Jolidon, her lover, also leaves no ropm for criticism. His encore for the singing of "The Romance" (with Natalie) was one of { the best-deserved honours of the evening. c Two minor characters that received satisfactory treatment were Mr. C. R. Bantock's Marquis de Cascade., and Mr. Ar- *■ thur Hunter's waiter at Maxim's; it is not too much to say that the latter, in- ' deed, is really a feature of the piece. 1 Besides the very effective dance at Maxim's in the last act for Fi-fi *nd * Nisch, a number has also' been interpolated for Miss Fanny Dango in the < second act. Her dancing is a delight £ in its gracefulness. Minor characters } are, as usual with this company, efficient- 8 ly taken, the ballet renders good service is .the. Maraorian dance, and later at <

Maxim's, and the costuming is gorgeous. The sceneFy of the Marsovian Embassy and the grounds of Spnja,'s House are really splendid,- but Maxim's is a disappointment. "The Merry Widow" will no doubt delight laFge audiences for a considerable time at His Majesty's.

, , . ~_ .... OPERA HOUSE. ,

CINDERELLA PANTOMIME. Messrs. Meynell and Qunn's Pantomime Company will open its Auckland season with "Cinderella" this evening at the Opera House. The booking tip to date has been unusually heavy. The plans for this evening and subsequent performances are, and will be, on view at the Opera House during the day. All the principals of the company are new to New Zealand, and as their fame lia= preceded them, a particularly fine interpretation may be expected. The cast includes: —Miss Meredith Meredrq as "Prinpe Caeimir," Miss Ruth Lincoln as "Cinderella," Miss Emmeline Orford as "Elvira," Miss Daisy Belmore as "Araminta," Miae Essie Perrin as "Rosie" (the fairy dancer), Miss Helene Rose as the Duke of Whistbridge, Miss Dqra ■Benton as "The Fairy Godmother," Mr. William Cromwell as "Baron Debtington" (otherwise "Hercules"), Mr. Edwin Brett as the "Baroness, alias Tiny, ,, Mr. Harold Thorley as "Dandini," Mr. Tom Payne as '-Capers," Mr. Phil Carlton as '•Joseph (the Royal flunkey)." The scenery, from the brushes of Messrs. Ooatcher, Vaughan and Grist, is stated to be a revelation. Particularly is this so in the case of the Fairy Boudoir of Cinderella, in which the wonderful electric motor appears. The songs and' music are of -the catchiest, character, and as there are quite a number of them, an evening of delightful music and fun-making may be anticipated. A large orchestra, under the baton of Mr. A'ictor Champion, will be in evidence, whilst the pantomime will be staged under the experienced direction of Mr. Charles Wenman. The first matinee of "Cinderella" is announced for Saturday next, and the performance ■will commence at 7.45 this evening.

THE TIVOLI.

There was' a large audience at the Tivoli on Saturday night. To-night "The Invasion of England" will be shown in pictures for the first time in New Zealand. PATHE PICTURES. A thoroughly enjoyable programme of moving pictures was presented at the Royal Albert Hall on Saturday night last, when there was a good attendance, despite the inclement weather. A wide range of subjects was embraced, all of them interesting in their way. "Love and Duty," "Palermo" (the scene of the recent earthquake), "The Planter's Wife," "The Xe,v Errand Boy." and "The Xonstop Bicycle," etc., make up a programme that i-i well worth seeing. The management announces that intending competitors for the beauty competition should send in their photos to the manager, Royal Albert Hall, not later than June Ist.