AMUSEMENTS.

Press, Volume LVII, Issue 17207, 26 July 1921, Page 9

AMUSEMENTS.

. "THE GCOT>OLIERS" TO-STTGHT. OPENING OP GILBEBT XSD SULLIVAN; SEASON. ■ It is evident that publio anticipation fa keyed -to the highest in the appearance to-' night of tho J. C. Williamson Gilbert andl Sullivan Company at tho Theatre- Royal, ia tho immortal comic opera, "The Gondoliers," upon which the curtain will rise at 8 o'clock. A notable critic writes of this charming) work:—"Lilce the majority of the opera* in the famous Savoy eeries, 'The Gondoliers,' offers the individual artist many opportunities of making a marked personal success.The performance was one in which gen* eral strength of tho company was most happily Remonstrated. Success' was attained by the general excellence of ensemble, and also by tho brilliant work of several popular artist?. In Tho Gondoliers' it would'almost seem eg if Gilbert had deliberately cast his> play in a form which- would offer Sullivan more opportunities than himself. If this wero so* he certainly succeeded. In no other Savoy opera is thore such a wealth of haunting, graceful music. ■Sullivan caught, tho very spirit of Italy—the land ofsongl and sunshine—in his settings of Gilbert's! polished, poetical verses. The opening) chorus, the duets, the finale of dot 1. 'Take el Pair of Sparkling Eyes,' the Cachuca, and! Gavotte of act. 2, are numbers which are) perhaps unequalled in the whole realm ofi light opera. Tho staging of this opera is beautiful—each two sets being a cheer de>l li?ht to the eye, while tho dressing is most) picturesque. 'The Gondoliers' is essentially a chorus opera. Fortunately tho chorud of the present company ia fully equal to its' important duties, vocally and histrionically.* Their work reflected great credit upon the) producer and the conductor. The Cachuca) was danced with such stimulating precision and spirit that it gained ono of the biggest encores of tho evening.' The opera to-night will be interpreted by probably the strongest cast' of principals' that has besn associated with Gilbert andl Sullivan works for -a decado or more. Such! p-cknowledsed exponents of the various Gilbert and Sullivan roles as Messrs James Hay, Frederick-Hobbs, Albert Kavanagh, Chailea R. "Welenn, and Cissio Vaughan have isot been seen here, for many years. The company is strengthened by Messrs John Halston, Charles Mettam, Tom Minogue, Thomas KinsonT and Misses Patti Russell, Thelma Carter, Molly Tyrell—all of whom) are prominently cast. Sullivan's glonou* music will be certain of perfect interpretation by the hands- of Gusta-ve SlaponVki. "The Gondoliers" will be played till Thuvsdav inclusive, and will be followed by Tn« Mikado" on Friday and Saturday, next, andl "The Yeoman of the Guard" Monday andl Tuesday next. The be* plans lor thesd operas, are now open at The Bristol I'ian-T Company.

EVERYBODY'S THEATRE. The proposition made at the civic reception to the South African football team yesterday that the finest picture theatres in tho world were located in Christchurch will find full ■proof by anybody that li!«ra to attend Everybody's Theatre Always an attractive house, this theatre has since its recent renovation taken to itself many new charms. Old travellers accustomed to the- picture- houses in tho big English and Continental cities "are the first and foremost to exercise a judgment highly favourable to Everybody's. Even tho leading picture theatre, in London, that controlled by Sir Oswald Stoll in Kiragsway—"onco the London Opera Houso, an, ill-fated enterprise—lacks many of the attractionspossessed by vlie one under review. And whatever else the picture houses of the Old World may possess they have nothing like tho musical offering, Nvhich is, so to speak, deennted out to epell-bound listeners by the grand orchestra which inakes each nightly session at Everybody's so notable. Before a crowded house last night two- new programmes were presented, one by tho orchestra and the other by the picture machine/ The musical programme waa a-a entertainment in itself, and to many the chief enjoyment of tho evening. The overture was a dashing military number, 'Light Cavalry," by that master of music, Suppe, and itsvirile tempo and descriptive powers found noble exponents in the- orchestra. Mr Ernest Jamieson, a, -flute,, soloist of wide renown, played on tho piccolo "The Deep Blue •Sea.; I ',, a . full .of i breadth and atmosphere'.. A trio ''Serenade" (Gondolfo) waa (riven" with alj its 'sweet tenderness- by "Florence-' Miller', Francis Bate, and Dorothio Bellingham:- For the entr'act J Wolstc-nholme's "The Answer"- waa played, by the full orchestra. This wa3 composed by a blind musician, and • oonta-ins one of the most ethereal and haunting melodies to come by inspiration to a mortal brain. The final movement, dying-away in a prolonged pianissimo, cast a spellof enchantment over the audfcnoe. This selection waa 'specially arranged by the conductor, Mr W. J. Bellingham, for orchestral presentation—it was original!}- written for the organ—and the now arrangement was itself a'work of high merit. The. orchestral suites, "Impressions Hustiques" (Razigardi), and "La liaison D'Or," were outstanding features of the programme, and the 1 grand operatic selections from "Herodiade" (Massenejb) were splendidly played and thoroughly enjoyed. The evergreen Sulliva-n music, more popular than ever just at present, -by reason of the advent of the Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Company, was well represented, selections . being played froin"H;M.S. Pinafore" and "The Mikado." ■ The picture programme : contained two star films, "The Ghost in the Garret,'" a comedy, and' "The ' Kentuokians,' 1 »» drama. In! "The- Ghost in the. Garret" dainty Miss Dorothy Gish takes the leading part. The ; story is that of-a young girl who goes to live ! with a rich uncle and aunt, and while there falls in love, quite naturally, of course, with the-uncle's secretary. A valuable necklace, to the aunt, disappears, having Tjeen burgled from.a wall safe, and there is a, greait to do about it. Tho girl, falls under suspicion, but she. is cleared, whereupon sho sets out,. to, detect the real thief. This is J where the comedy comes in. She conducts a search in a haunted mansion used as their -headquarters by; a, criminal gang, and disguises herself, as a ghost to prosecute her enquiries.' The inmates are terified at the weird'apparition's'which, from time to time .confront, them, notably a nigger cook, whoso eyes Maze, out like diamonds in the ecstasy of his terror A bulldog, the inseparable ! companion of the .girl, also causes ■unbounded ■•' amusement. The story goes along with a swing from start to finish, and there is not a dull moment in tho picture. The dramatio star, "The Kentuckians," was ■ a quasi-political study, dealing - with the conflict between the highland and grassland communities of the State of' Kentucky. In this Monte 'Blue, a characteristic film actor, has a. characteristic part as Boone the political. mouthpiece of the rough highcountry party.' Interesting scenes were shown of the State Parliament of Kentucky, likewise many fine mountain views and logging on the; livers. A-strong .love element , is'introduced, and a most attractive girl appears as the daughter of tho State Governor, who is held in admiration by the leader of the cultured grassland' people,, ns well as by j ■the. political chief of the. menntarosors. This produces a rivalry which leads to many episodes. Some good supporting' pictures were also shown. The programme will be repeated torQUgnont_&e- present week. ■ -GRAND THEATRE. There is.a fine programme at the Grand Theatre this' week, the two chief films, "My Other Wife" and "The House o{ Intrigue," featuring Sylvia Breamer and Peggy May respectively, being dramatic subjects of, a- more than usually interesting character; Both are remarkable for highclass acting and excellent photography. A number of entertaining pictures of ft varies! nature are included in the programme which will be repeated to-day. » I STRAND. THEATRE. A fasciri&ting Pqx drama, "The Cheater Reformed," heads the present strong programme at the Strand Theatre. Tho picture, e, strange but gripping etory of fraud and romance, haa William Russell as its star. Louise Lovely in "While the Devil Laughs, a "Mutt and Jeff" cartoon, a "Gazette," and a. "World's News" all heip to make up ■» very entertaining programme, BLIND SOLDIERS' "BENEFIT. The Commercial Travellers' Association, which did so much during the w*r in the way of giving high-class concerts ior patriotic purposes, will give an entertainment on Saturday, evening nest in -the Choral Hall in aid o* the blind soldiers. The Travellers' may «1" ;waye be relied upon to provide a programme ■ at once, original and 1 meritorious, ana frou* -all reports, their concert on Saturday should , eclipse all their previous efforts. Tickets, for which only 3s and 2s are the charges, may be obtained from all travellers and ware*, housemen, or from Messrs Webley, Sons, and Goftort, where Beats may be reserved without

GREATER CRYSTAL'PALACE. In conjunction with a really excellont programme of moving pictures, patrons of Greater Crystal Palace last night were delighted with an excellent and unique eelection of orchestral music, which, in itself, constituted an evening's, entertainment of the highest order. The weekly change of programme attracted an audience that practically monopolised,, the whole of the available accommodation, and the programme, both as regards picture* and music, avos unequalled by any hitherto given at Greater Crystal Palace, and added- further laxirela to Manager. Beebe's already lengthy list of successes. Greater Crystal "Palace audiences have not been slow to appreciate the heightened pleasure conveyed by the masterpieces oi Ilia motion' picture studios when- accompanied by music of the character provided' by tho Symphony Orchestra;, under the baton of Mr Alfred Bunz, and- last night's programmes of music end' pictures exemplified this very strikingly. The outstanding item in tho oxcellently eslected musical programme was, without doubt, Sir Arthur Sullivan's incidental musio 'for "Henry Till." The talented composer, whose operatic music- is iSo well 1 known, h-as caught the spirit of jollity tha.il is a prominent feature of Shakcspsare's play, ami in the incidental mueic embodies the characteristics of the' "Merry Monarch's" court. The Greater Crystal Palace Symphony Orchestra.was able to do full justice to the selection owing to the inclusion in'its ranks of .talented cornet players—a difficulty, that many orchestras find impossible to'surmount. The most critical could find no fault with last night's interpretation of this selection, th»\ spirit of which wa« admirably given. The orchestral .•eleciooas included several not previously heard in this city,, notably Cuvil-lier'a "The Naughty Princess" and Finck's "Passing ohow, 1915." The overtuie was Rossini's- charming "Semiramide," and other selections given were:—Schubert's Unfinished Symphony, the prelude to Act 111. of "Lohengrin" (Wagner), and the grand opera selection' "Hamlet" (Ambroise' Thomas)*. The two principal pictuie3, the Fox production, "The Skyway-man" and the- Universal feature, "The Silk Lined Burglar," were loth Examples- or the highest standard of motion pictcres. In-"The Skywayman" Lieutenant Ormer Looklear, with .whom Greater Crystal Palace patrons became- first acquainted- in "The Air Robbery," was featured as a dashing, fearless performer of daredevil stunts that hold the audience breathlessi .and,, alas, j led to the untimely ending of the aviator's career. Tho story is one that, without goitg beyond the realms of the possible, thrills by its rapid .succession of sensational incidents. Not only doe 3 the aviator land with his machine oh the roof of a big hotel, but' he performs the astounding feat of dropping from' his 'plane on to a- train going al express speed'. Then, after an exciting tussle with a tough criminal on the train,, he fuccessfully transfers- himse-lf, from the express to his 'plane. These and similar "stunts" keep the audience keenly interested, and with the many humorous incidents nwko the j film a thoroughly enjoyable one. "The Silk Lined Burglar" presents an opportunity, of renewing acquaintance with an old favourite of Greater Crystal Palace audiences- in the j heroine, Pr-isciHa Dean. It also presents that specimen of the modern "crook, - "Boston Blackie," who is familiar to all readers of modern fiction. Lined Burglar" ie a story of the days prior \o the United States entering the Great yW»r and the principal ''ncident has to do with the tacking of a- dangerous German' epty, the head of a body of spies who are responsible for explosions in munition -factories and other ; conspiracies having for their object the crippling of the Allies by interfering with their supplies w-hetewith to carry on their operations. Boston Blackie is. admirably portrayed by Sam de Gras'sa, with whose excellent acting patrons of Greater Crystal Paliico are well acquainted and who, by a singular j coincidence, has a part also in "The Skywayman." The cool, calm, calculating character of the master criminal is conveyed with striking reality and with startling, fidelity. Priscilla Dean, with her wonderfully penetrating eyes, her piquant beauty, end her hish courage, makes an excellent herohjo, and when dißguised as a boy her charm is greatly heightened. The story is on admirably constructed one and- the manner in which the German spv is brought to justice is highly ingenious. There was also screened the Century comedy,. "Her. Circus Man," a picture which kept the audience' in a continuous ripple of laughter. The 'latest "International" News" contained many inteve*tin* pictures of notable events in different parts of the world. Tho same programme wi.l be given during the remainder of. the week.

THEATHE EOYAL. The Chrietohurch Amateu'i Operatic Company concluded the most sufcfceßsful season of ita career last night, when "A Country Girl" was presented for tho lost time. The theatre was packed, and tho company was' accorded a, most hearty reception, dozens of bouquets and boxes of chocolates being handed on to tho .stage for the lady performers at the final curtain- call. The season has feftected the greatest credit on. tho producer, Mr Tom ' bollard, the . musical director, Mr Sidney Williamson, and tho company, and the public is already looking forward to the next production of the Society. , ' ~ OPEBA HOUSE. There wts » full attendance at the Opera House last night, vrhen the Australian. Smart Set Diggers repeated their new programme, every Hem being Tecoived with flattering enthusiasm. Brull and Hemaley presented their laughable sketch "The Knut, the Girl, And the Egg," while a first appearance was made by Clivo Clivalli, who possesses a team of dogs, almost human in their • intelligence. The turn immediately sprang into popularity. Biajkrogrammo Wili -be repeated to-nightt

I LIBEETY THEATRE. 1 Heading an excellent bill at the Liberty Theatre this week is charming and everpopular Constance Talmadgo in "His Temperamental Wife,'.' while "The Sportsman," featuring the irresistible Larry Semon, i& «. sample of the high standard of. the big supporting programme. Special interest centred last night roundj the remarkably graphic pictures of the South African-Wanganui match, the "Springboks" first game in New Zealand. The xnu6ic of the Liberty Orchestra, with Miss Gladys Vincent as solo violiniste, was » feature of the evening session. The programme will be repeated to-day.