MUSIC.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 199, 16 May 1908, Page 12

MUSIC.

[BT .Tuedi.E Clef.] ■

Tho Covent Carden Season.

A London correspondent, wrote on March' 20-The management of the Grand Opera Syndicate have the prospectus for the forthcoming 'season at Covent Garden, which opens oii April ,30, and will extend over's thirteen weeks until July 30., The arrangement! are of greater interest than usual, owing l , to tho fact that more/operas are to bo produced than has been tho case in any previous -period at this house. Tho roportoiro consists of 22 works, to be sung in Italian, and poven to be given in Gorman, the French language being neglected ' this year by a coincidence tho more striking as there is every possibility of a "command" performance in honour of the visit to London of President Falliores. The only absolute novelty will,'.bo an opera by a British composer, this being Dr.' Edward Woodall Naylor's "Tho Ajigelus," the libretto or which was written'; by Mr. Wilfrid Thornaby, of Trinity Hall, Cambridge. This was the . work which, by t£o way, won the prizo of £500 in tho competition organised by Messrs. llicordi;' ' * ■ ' ' ' For the singers .during the season, th« management have bsen'fortunate in securing the most noted of tho'world's operatic stars, all the artists coming! from .the leading opera, houses, excepting, oi'l course, some of tho British vocalists, whose engagement,, by the way, will win approvsl. of ( all interested in furthering .native art. Among th 6 sopranos are Mme. Melba and. Mme. Tetrazzlni, Mdllo. Borghild BryhiC. Mdlle. Lina'Caaliere, the renowned Parisian , singer Misa Lalla Miranda, Mdllo.. Jfel.v De'reyne, Frau-. lain Emily Dostum, Fraa "Ellon Gulbranson, Miss Caroline Hatchari t ' Frau 1 Khupfer-r Egli, Mme. Osborne-Hanriah, an American Who recently has met irith.'.much success in Germany; Mme/ Edyth talker and'' Miss Leonora Sparkes. Withsthle 'oxception of Senora Gay, all the mezzo-.sopranos and contraltos are English singers VM'esda.mes Kirkby Lunn, Edna Thornton, Phillis Archibald, Dilys Jones, Maud Florence Wickham. ; • Signor Caruso is not singing?£his season at Covent Garden, but some eSdellent tenors have been secured. "< W " •■■■ '■ The World's Cain. ' , 1 1,, M. Ganz has arranged to giveifi '"diamond jubilee concert" at Queen's Hall'foii May 26, to celebrate the sixtieth year 1 ofMiis' musical careor in England, and the Quocit 'and the Prince and Princess of Waliss ihave graciously given their patronage W ( what promises to be the event of the seasolf, thanks to the fact that Mme. Adelina iPfftti has promised to sing. Sinoe 1855 Mr..'Ganz has : been giving concerts in England, and' liasintroduced many now famous ariists, Tivlio have reason to be grateful to him •for vhis valuable advice. It was this vetgi'jiii (ho was born in 1833), who first 'recogms&l the charm of Molba's voice.. In 1886-.sW 1 Sang • at one of his conccrts under : the hajti'oqof Mrs. Nellie Armstrong, at -■ Mr. Ganz tells this with great prid&-. Ai-Lv spoko to Carl Rosa about her,■!.' $&id, ; >- ' and begged him to hear her. cilled an appointment on his shirt cuff, I 'Jfor;/, the following Tuesday afternoon 'at s inyji' house. Mrs. Armstrong was punctual,'b,u«C Rosa, forgetting his appointment, did riot oome. Had ho heard her, lam obtain he I would have engaged her for his opera company for a term of years. Rosa's loss happened, to bo of advantage to the musical world,' for Molba then yront to Paris 1 to study undor Marchesi."

Notes, t Messrs. J. and E. Tait received a farewell wire from Madame Clara Butt, lodged at Fremantle i the day the Mongolia '' left there,. and ■ couched in. these terms, "Farewell Australia and New Zealand. We shall never forget your kindness,' and we hope to renew the friendship again some day." Some aspiring amateurs need to take to honrt very seriously _ the dictum of Mark Hambourg that no important piece should ever be added , to a pianist's repertoire for platform performances,until at least a year has been 'spent, on its preparation'. Mr. and Mrs. Albert Mallinson will shortly pay a visit to the Dominion, with the view of giving a sories of historical recitals of standard songs.- Mrs. Mallinson was formerly known in Now Zealand as Madame Bahnson. V • . Kubelik will give the first concert of his Australian tour m the Sydney Town Hall on May 19. Til© problem of- the automatic violin has been solved by Mr. H. IC. Sandell, a native of Denmark, who, with the financial assist-: ance of Mr- Mills, an American, has constructed .an instrument; callcxl the "Mills automatic virtuoso." It' is worked entirely by electricity,; and" it is certainly most ingoniousl' It can perform with consummate ease any feats of which the' human fingers are capable, and a great, many 'of. which they are not. . It : can play any ordinary .violin, the only change being that a metal tail-piece is substituted for the ordinary one. , ' ■ ■ ■ • • ' -