DRAMATIC GOSSIP.

Press, Volume XLVI, Issue 7357, 9 July 1889, Page 2

DRAMATIC GOSSIP.

By Oephbus.

"The Pointsman" is drawing well at the Royal, Melbourne. "The Bells of Haselmere"wili be the next production. "Fanchon," by Miss Kate Putnam, at the Opera House, is not a magnificent success. "Madame Midas," at the Alexandra, appeals to the sympathies of the Melo-dramatically-minded and IVIr Beck as the villain, is nightly the recipientof prolonged bowls and groans from the gallery. Williamson, Garner and Musgrove s company at tbe Princess's have been appearing in " Patience " and " Pinafore " with not undiluted success, Rickards has fbeen fined for overcrowding the St. George s Hall, so he's all right, and Maccabe is at the Athenaeum. Mr Miln commenced his provincial tour on Monday at the Princess's Theatre, Sandhurst, with "Richard IIL." and was received with acclamation. Mr Kennedy Has been this week giving his mesmeric exhibition in Ballarat. In Brisbane " Sinbad the Sailor " continues to be moderately attractive at the Opera house; and the Minstrel 'Company at the Gaiety, with Miss Ada Walker as the chief attraction, have concluded their season. .jt. _ The Fisksh'li** been lately at the Centennial hall. " _' In Adelaide, at the Theatre Royal, Mr Warner has been fairly successful with "Hands Across the Sea." At Garners rooms in the same city, .the Hudson company continue. . Mr Verdi has appeared with the Lus-combe-Searelle Opera at Kimberley, bouth Africa, in "Maritana." Miss Blanche Fenton continues to maintain her popularity in connection with this company. There are said to be doubfcs as to whether the Bijou will be really re-builfc. Tbe authorities insist upon the theatre being built on the ground floor, and not as before one story above, and as Mr Wilson considers this would be the reverse of advantageous it is believed that he will probably take the vacant space caused by the fire into the Palace Hotel. The gigantic nature of the proposal to erect a theatre in Russell-street is creating a flutter in artistic circles. No better site in the city could be selected for the purpose. Mr Miln is said to have engaged the Opera House for 12 months following the Silbone. , , ■ „ In Sydney "The Union Jack," after a two week's run, has been withdrawn in favour of "A Run of Luck." George Rignold has revived *' My Partner, or Mates on a Goldfield." The part of Joe Saunders is generally considered one of Rignold's finest impersonations. " The Beggar Student" is still the attraction at the Opera House, but on Friday Kowal skin's opera-'•-Monstique" was to be staged. The Silbon-Stork combination are at the Ejuhibitiou building. TheMillardSheridan Company are playing "Two Lovely Black Eyes," a sort of "Black Eyed Susan.'* Mr George Rfgnold, says a Sydney paper, has added many new characters to his repertoire during his stay in Australia, and by some of these he has at the same time increased his fame. It is, however, doubtful whether he has done anything better than the original creations for which he is widely known at Home, and of these—"Henry V.," "Clancarty," William in "Black Eyed Susan," &c.— there still remains one with which Australians are unfamiliar. This fact will sive additional interest to the production next Saturday of "Amos Clarke," the name-part in which was (the first leading p n gßgf»mpnfe. r fpiflnpfl by the then, young actor. won name andfefame as AmoslClarlse, at the Queen's. Theatre," London, in 1872, when Miss Wallis, now a Shakesperian actress with a great prorepotation, then still studying under iHx.Jolin r !Ry|fer, played the~i>rlhcipal female character as Mildred Faughan. Miss Braybrooke Henderson (Mrs Rignold) afterwards' became identified with this character, making her first appearance in It with Mr Rtgnold in America, at a benefit ' performance at the New York Abademy of Music, in aid of the Central City Despeneary. This waaduririg Mr Rfgnold's first season in America, when *he opened in Booth's Theatre, and he afterwards played the drama throughout Canada and the States on the occasion of his second visit in the autumn of the same year. Tbe play which has been dramatised by the fate Watts Phillips from one of hTs own novels, is a costume piece and will he very picturesquelystaged on its production at Her Majesty's Theatre. The following pars are from the Bulletin .—The *■ much-travelled" R. S, Smythe writes from Rockhampton (Q.):—"Dfear Bulletin, —Lovely weather up here. Bracing mornings, glorious sunsets. If you like to run up and ' go on* at night as a Pharisee, or a hypocrite, or a walking gentleman, or a Solomon in all his glory of wives and concubines, I will pay your expenses. Salutations I—R.S.S.

The gold scene alone in the comedy of "Money," at Sydney Criterion, cost B rough and Boucicault £260. / Some years ago a Sydney amateur club, composed chiefly of young Hebrews, had the usual amateur audicityto essay * performance, of "Money." Mβ who played Alfred Evelyn was a stumpy person with bow legs and guiltless of aspirates. Next morning he met an acquaintance and asked him " .What did you think of our performance f" The other who was a Philistine, replied that the comedy was beyond the power of amateurs. " What!" said the amateur, Evelyn, "we made quite an 'it; the ptece Went off. withpiitati 'itch. "I told youyoa. couldn't play.' it,*' Quietly remarked the other, But the jibe was lost on"Hevelyn«" ' Speaking of the " Union Jack" the same paper says that if it were not a foregone to nclusion that virtue would get last -kick, nQ-wnJUence with any sense of right could have been found to stand the strainNow that the largest organ in tshe.world has been built for Sydney, the people of that town, says an exchange, are much exercised as to who shall open the instpment, and also as to who shall be selected for the post of city organist. It has been suggested that the enterprise of Melbourne in matters of art, as evidenced in connection with the Centennial SxhibttiOQ* 8& onld be emulated, arid that just as the services of Mr Co wen were obtained* at a cost of £5000, to conduct the Centennial Orchestra and Choir, so Mr Best, the greatest English organist, should »t a fifth of, that exnenditure, be engaged to give tKe - openina recitals, \ and also to aid in the selection of a suitable organist to. preside at the grand instrument permanently. The idea Is*, gocd one, but there does not seem much probability of its being carried put. A motion has been tabled in the Sydney City Council |o th*a effect that a first-class organist should be advertised forfri England as well as the Australian colonies, at a salary not exceeding £450 per annum, and that applications in the old country should be referred to Sir Saul Samuel, the Agent-General; Dr J. F. Bridge, the organist at\yestminster Abbey; and the builders of' the organ, for approval. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, whetherthi3 is carried or not, the probabilities are in favour of the selection of a local organist, both for the opening reckala and the office of city organist. As Mr Santley is definitely seen to be coming to sing here, the following wUI doubtless prove interesting to my readers. It Iβ from the Sydney TeUgraph:—Me Chas. Santley may be fairly considered as the greatest singer who has yet visited Australia. He might be called the " Sims Reeves "" of baritones, being by reputation and length of service as thoroughly representative of niacl**eof voice as the famous English tenor. The great tenor s appearanoeeiapublicare, however, so .fitful and irregular that he may almost be classed as \ he favourite of the fast generation, whilst Air SantteyiWhoU 12 years yemnger, was ixi full work up to the very day he set sail tor Australia, and in him we find a link between concert-goers of every age between first and second childhood. Mr Santley has been preeminently the bantone- singer of stage and platform now fo* thiry ye"* a He was born at fciWPOOI on February 23,1834, and steadied singiug, first under Gsetano Najaac the Milan Conservatoire in 1850, and then, two 2ofi£fc£oe»?ae fealsaremariaWefor the

phenomenal range of his voice. When he made'las first appearance with ithe Sacred Harmonic Society in January, 1&», he actually sang the heavy bass part of Adam in Haydn's "Creation." It is also wellknown that during his first season in Italian opera at Covent Garden te-1865 he sang the bass setting of fMepwsto in Gounod's "Faust," and also the baritone music ol Valentine. A ringing blenG from the chest herein sealed hia fate, settled the true range hie voice, and placed him on the operatic stage as the first English baritone singer of the day. In 1871 Mr Santley headed a concert company which was conducted through the United States by Mr George Dolby, and this has hitherto constituted his only absence from England. Thus during 2o years he has held his unrivalled position in London concert - rooms against all comers, and the parts in oratorio and cantata "created* , by him are consequently too numerous to narrate. It ia, indeed scarcely possible to take up a book dealing with the muaie or musicians of the day in which his name dees not sooner or later recur. Thus, casually reading the well-known "Life of John Hullah,"' we yesterday came across the following interesting reference:—" Shelley next inspired Dr. Hullah. and'l arise from drearer of thee * was the fruit. Sung by Mr Santley at one of the orchestral concerts it produced in ISoS. as it cannot fail to produce when efficiently sung, a deep impression. This song require* in addition to great compass and flexibility of voice and much technical skill a dedicate and cultured intelligence ; not often, therefore, can it be adequately rendered. This passing criticism by Mrs Hullah sums up the qualities which have made Santley famous. He has not lately done much on the operatic stage, where in years past his triumphs have been won chietly in " Hamlet " (Arabroise Thomas), " The Flying Dutchman" (Wagner), Lies Hugnenots" (Meyeibeer) and "Faust (Gounod). Mr Santley is not only a singer but, like Mr W. H. Cummings, the tenor, and some few other artists, he hae a very thorough knowledge of harmony. During his season in Melbourne he scored a Handelian air for full orchestra, and in Mr W. H. Husk's sketch of his career it is stated that "he has adapted the opera ' Joconde ' to the English stage? and is an enthusiastic amateur painter." Mr Santley comes of a musical family. His father was a first-rate organist, and two of his sisters were celebrated in amateur circles for their fine voices. In 1859 Mr Santley married a grand-daughter of the famous Charles Kemble and a then well-known singer. Their daughter, Miss Edith Santley, made a successful debut in London some ten years ago, but almost immediately married and retired into piivate life." Since his first wife's death Mr Santley has married again. _ Signor Luigi Lencioni, the buffo singer, recently left Sydney for Genoa by the German steamer Hohenzollera. Signor Lencioni has been commissioned by a wellknown theatrical speculator to secure novelties in Italy for the Australian market. He will spend some time at Milan and will return early next December.

Miss Genevieve Ward's last appearance in>" Forget Mc Not," her rights in which, acquired ten year ago, expire in August, has more than a purely domestic interest. Miss Ward has made " Forget Mc Not" an Imperial work. She has carried it and her matchless interpretation of its.chief figure into the farthest corners of the British dominions. It is estimated, says the Home News, that she has travelled with it over 50,000 miles, and the fact that privileges in regard to it havecome to end will create something in the nature of a regret among those who have seen it and her in Australasia, in the Sandwich Islands, in India, and in America. "Forget Mc Not" is an injunction which the play of the name will have rendered it unnecessary that Miss Ward should ever have uttered in any place where she has produced it. She has played Stephanie no less than 2000 times, and she declares that the part has as much interest for her now as in the early days. Miss Ward would do well to record the history of her association with this famous piece. It would make highly Interesting reading. "Forget Mβ Not" came to her hot- as a climax of a series of successes, but as a break in a sharp period of practical failure. It has brought her triumph always, and even in her lawsuit with Lester Wallack, of which it was the cause, she won the day. Among other incidents connected with the production of the play is the fact that after she had .pertormed in it at least five hundred times Ime frequently forgot her wqrde, and was obliged for a while to trust to the vigilance of the prompter. In. the following matter, cays "Rapier,,*' if Mrs Kendai's intention* are correctly indicated, I am bound to say that I think she is perfectly right. On the subject of hor approaching tour the New York Spirit of the Times says. " Mrs Kendal seems to have very wrong notions about America. .She is preparing to act upon the defensive; to refuse to be interviewed; to play the strictly private lady off the stage. This will be very hard upon her managers, and, ultimately, upon her bank account. Actresses are regarded as public characters, like queens and princesses, in this country, and, if they refuse to gratify the natural curiosity of the public, are let alone severely." I sincerely trust that the writer does not express the views of the better class of Americans, for if he does the actor's will be a profession barred to many ladies and gentlemen who have every capacity"for brilliant success on the stage except that for satisfying interviewers. The "curiosity of the public " as to the private life of an actor or actress is not" natural," but is on the other hand, vulgar, Impertinent, and offensive. If actresses are regarded as public characters in America, actresses who respect themselves and their art must avoid that country. With the actress off the stage, the public, I maintain, in the most direct opposition to the critic of the Spit-it of the Times, has nothing whatever to do. The only qnestion about her in which ths public has the least right to concern itself is the manner in which she interprets the characters of the play. Mr Augustus Harris , second season'at Covent Garden, opened on May 18th., with a performance of " L Peecatorf dlPerie," an Italian adaptation of " Les Pecheurs dcs Perles." There was a tremendous hou°e, including the Prince and Princess of Wales, and several other royalties. Gounod's " Faust" was the next production, Miss Macintyre taking the part of Margarita, and Mdme Scalchi that of Siebel. " Carmen " followed, with Marie Koyl in the title rsle, and Miss Maclntye as Micaela. The choruses in all the operas are said to have been as near perfection as possible, and there is every prospect of a splendid season.

ProfessorF. Nicholls-the veteran composer, and author of "Kathleen Mavourneen, in the course of some reminiscences which he has written, gives the following account of a well-known singer of the past:—" Brahanv was not an artist, not even ia the abstract; but as a public singer, perhaps no man ever equalled him in popularity. It was the effect of his mighty voice and a certain clap-trap, hau-fellow-well-met style, which specially addressed itself to the gallery gods. It was for them also that he produced his long A winded, - unmeaning cadences, and a shake which never had an ending. This cadence and shake pervaded everything he sang. To the vulgar he pandered his ability, and from the gallery his encores were always secured. Both Braham and Incledon were possessed of superhuman voices, both sang for the masees, both were declaimers, and both shone to great advantage in national ballads of the type exemplified in ''Tom Bowling" and " The Bay of Biscay." But there was this difference, Incledon was a sailor before the mast, transferred from the line-of-battle-ship to the stage. Braham was a composer, scored hie own effects, and practically knew what he was doing. The former depicted life as he saw it aboard ship. The latter sang of it. Braham's genius on the stage was his voice. As an actor not a spark was ignitable in his body, but put the same man on a concert platform, hand him the score of the 'Messiah.' and 10,000 mem stood hushed, their hair bristling erect as that superhuman voice of his declaimed, 'Comfort Ye, My People! , You looked upon the man and questioned hfi mortality. He had the characteristic of his race. Money was his passion, and without the understood fee (£SO) he neyer sang, not even for charity." TheArffus says that a new banjo has come into the market. It ta the invention of Mr Harry Shadwell, who makes ttw body of the instrument from the half of a calabash gourd. Hence the name, " Calabash, Banjolin." It recommends itself not only by exceeding lightness, which fits it forthe use ofladiee, but by a singularly musical and sympathetic tone*