ENTERTAINMENTS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 278, 17 August 1908, Page 3

ENTERTAINMENTS.

• "HUMPTY-DUMPTY" Mr. J. C. Williamson's pantomime com- ■ pany concluded a record three; weeks' season at Auckland on Saturday night, and yesterday, morning embarked by-special boat for New Plymouth with which a; special train connected at midnight to land them in. Wellington at noon to-day for to-night's performance of " Humpty-Dumpty." To : enable their jump tp be accomplished "Mother Goose. " was staged for tho last few nights, and the heavy scenic accessories for " Hump-ty-Dumpty" were'sent on-ahead. All day and Saturday a staff of • mechanics. and lighting experts were.at-work at the Opera House, preparing, for tho production, which has been - generally pronounced the finest spectacular display the management has yet achieved. The popularity of the pan- 1 tOmimo won in Melbourne and Sydney was repeated in Auckland, where it showed to ' consistently good business.' The pahtomimo has'como forward in its entirety from Sydney. One of its most attractivo features is; said to ; be its troop of . clever children, who illustrate the characters of nursery literature by the ' medium of a ballet. In their, revels, under ■ the sea ,the„ clever littlo Austi alians; will ap- . pear as denizens of the deep—the more 1 diminutive, kind, , naturally, such as shrimps, i lobsters, and ; other - crustacea. The comedians, Mr. Bert Gilbert and Mr. Victor Loy- : dall,. also make a submarino descent in a ' diving bell. Other comedians aro Mr. Harry' : Shino and Messrs. Queen.and Le■ Brun- as 1 Brie and Brae. The music.of "HumptyDumpty" is unceasing, : and it is said to bo full of bright orchestral. effects, in addition to tuneful numbers; solo and concerted.. Miss Mabcllo Morgan is principal boy,. Miss Beatrice English fairy • queen, and among the specialities aro imitations of well-known artists by Miss Olga." Grey, who makes her first Wellington appearance, and whirlwind ! dancing by Miss Irene Dillon. Tho box-plan t is now on view at Ac Dresden, and . by rea- : son of tho booking being well distributed over tho eight plans made available, first-' i nighters are advised tLat thero remain plenty ; of good seats. Thero will bo matinees on 1 Wednesday and Saturday. THEATRE ROYAL. Business boomed at tho Theatre Royal on i Saturday evening. There was a "boom" 1 house and a " boom" .programme. Prido ' of place, of course, must bo given to the i really magnificent moving picture of tho "Great Whito Armada" which dropped anchor in Auckland Harbour a week ago, and gavo the inhabitants of tho "Queen City'" tboir long anticipated Fleet Week Carnival. The films were produced from photographs of tho fleet taken while tho squadron was at San Francisco, and, as shown by Messrs. Fuller on Saturday evening,, were an instant ana complete success. Everyono should see thnm. lor tho rest, tho new programme is quite up to tho usual standard. Mr. Bob Lloyd, who is reappearing befor clovers of . good vaudeville, was in first-class form, and ' with nis comody songs scored av great suecess. Miss Nellie Power, ivho is an established favourite on tho boards of tho Theatre Royal, also made a successful reappearher vivacious charm and sparlfling • ''business securing her a great reception. The Swifts, a comedy trio, who would bo hard to. beat,_ were scon at their best, and delighted their audienco. , Tlio above stars woro supported by an excellent programmo of "turns" by the Fuller Vaudeville Company, every member of which was in good form and up to date. There was nothing stalo from tho overture to the final fall of tho curtain. The programme will bo repeated this evening. HIS MAJESTY'S THEATRE. There was a largo number of children at the Royal Pictures matinee on Saturday afternoon, and in the evening tho theatro was crowded. " Quo vadis," and tho largo number' of other subjects, were received with much applause, and the comic pictures raised hearty laughter. The present programme wilj only be given for two more •performances, a change being made oil Wednesday. \ L

THE. MERRYMAKERS. Tho Merrymakers gavo their final performance in tho Opera House last evening. Ono missed the 'French chansons, which their clover singer was not well enough to give, but tho other members of tho company did their best to mako up for tho deficiency,' and tho entertainment, wasj.a. thoroughly delightful ono. OLYMPIA RINK. Skating goes on merrily at the Olympia Rink, morning, afternoon, and evening seeing ono busy whirl of ceaseless gliding skaters, some doing fancy and intricate movements, and others not being able to stand upright. To-night tho final polo tournament gamo will be played botween Kia Ora and Poncke, and should provide an exciting match. To-morrow evening tho prizes won at the last carnival will be pre- ' sonted to the' successful competitors, and ! on Wednesday evening a girls' race will bo ; held for a trophy donated by Mr.-Pulley. POPULAR CONCERT. MR. CHARLES SAUNDERS UNABLE TO APPEAR. There was genuine disappointment felt by the large audienco that assombled in the Town Hall on Saturday evening ..when Mr. Robert Parker announced with regret that owing to Mr. Charles Saunders being at that momont in bed suffering from a highly inflamed throat, his appearanco was out of tho question. In soliciting the indulgenco of the audience Mr. Parker mentioned that Miss Rosina Buckmann and Mr. Hamilton Hodges had kindly consented to fill tho gaps caused by the tenor's absence. It was a bad start, which, togother with the fact that tho temperature of tho big hall was the reverse ofgenial, created an atmosphere of reserve on the part of the half-chilled audienco. On Saturday evening,the Town Hall was a passable understudy for a refrigerating chamber. The concert opened with Handel's stately "Largo," .played on a raro combination of instruments —the big organ, violin, and harp. The fine old measure was suited to the novel amalgamation, and gave' Miss Arline Thackeray an opportunity of emphasising the fact that'in that young _lady Wellington-has. secured a high-grade violinist who has learned in a good school. Mrs. .Murdoch was the harpist, and Mr. R. Parker presided at the organ. Miss Rosina Buckmann sang Gounod's "Ave Maria" really well, despite tho fact that, she' was recovering from an attack of influenza. She had the. valuable assistance of Miss Thackeray (violin), Mrs. Murdoch (harp), and Mr. Parker (organ). Later in tho programmo Miss Buckmann sang tho exacting scena from Wober's ."Der Frerschutz" . (1821), without shirking any of her vocal responsibility, and in response to an encore, trilled Mr. Alfred Hill's "Waiata Poi" prettily to her own accompaniment. Mr. Hamilton Hodges selected Allitsen's "Song of Thanksgiving," in' which he was handicapped by a somewhat laboured accompaniment. Recalled, the Auckland singer sang "Beloved it is Morn." No one will deny that Mr. Hodges's treatment. of his songs largely accounts for bis success, but "treatment", can be carried too far, and on several. occasions, on Saturday evening his pianissimo was quite, inaudible and the inordinately long silent intervals introduced were more affected than effective. He was muchi happier in Wallace's Freebooter songs, singing tho entire portfolio (four),"his dramatic stylo being well suited to the rugged strength of theso splendid songs. The sickly sentimentality of his encore.song "Dolly's Garden" is just' the kind of thing Mr. Hodges should avoid.' The same singer showed an imperfect-know-ledge of Braham's "The Death of Nelson," omitting two words (and two notes) from tho recitative, and sturring several phrases to get over 'wliat were evidently : vocal difficulties caused presumably- by the song being takon in too high a key. Miss Clara Robson's full-bodied contralto was heard in tho aria "He Shall Wipe Away All Tears" from Sullivan's "Light of tho World.", For an encore . she ! sang.""Sleep, My Pretty-One'.',' .Sho'also sang del Riego's "Come,' Sweet 'Morning," and "A Land of Roses,"'and 1 when encored sang "My Own Good Man," perhaps bettor than anything' elso. For their madrigals Mr. : Parker's, choir dipped into tho, mists of music and'secured "Fire, firo my Heart" written by T. Morley in 1595, and "Matona, lovely Maiden," by Lassus composed about 1560. There was nothing distinctive about the ','Fa-la-la" of the former, but tho latter: was quite pleasing and gavo scope for somo. nice vocal shading. Similarly the colouring: of Macfarrep'-s "You Stolo My - Love" was much in advance of "What Saith My Dainty Darling" (of the sixteenth century). : In: tho second part of the programme no number was better appreciated than Miss Thackeray's bracketed soli by the Hungarian Hubdy, "Priere" and "Scena de laCzarda," which compositions constitute a strong contrast'in colourature work. Miss Thackeray's strong and graceful bowing, good tone, and fine execution leave no doubt as ta the position she must take up in our littlo musical world. Mrs. E.-D. Cacnmailla and Mr. Robert ' Parker were efficient accompanists. I wo ■ GARRISON BAND-CONCERT. A most successful concert was given by the i Garrison Band, .under Lieut. T. Herd, at the Town Hall last evening. There was a large' audience, and tho collection taken .up should result in a very substantial contribution to the Band's instrument fund.- The, selections by the full band included Greenwood's'imposing "Umpire" march,, "Memories of Bellini," an enjoyable operatic'number, thooverturo to " Veronica," Lilian Rayinond'3 intermezzo "Rose Garland," and a striking march "Rajamabendri" (Humo), played ...in the < Oriental style, tho bizarre, almost barbarian strains being, most effectively produced. Another lino selection was Rimmcr's arrangement of the sacred aid "Sandon," with variations. Corporal Goodall gave a successful rendering of tho cornet solo "Lo Reve d 1 Amour," with band accompaniment. ORGAN RECITAL. To-morrow evening ■ Mr.- Maughan Barnett will give his 'weekly recital on the Town Hall organ. He will play "March Celebre," by Lachner, ono of tho most important of modern composers, a melody in, D. Fiat, by. St. Clair, a distinguished organist, "Hum- ' ouresquc, by . Dvorak, Guilmant's funeral.. march and hvmn'of the seraphs, and other pieces l by Bach, Wely, and Smart. A very delightful recital is . assured., Tho .admission prices are sixpence and one shilling. LECTURE. To-night Mr. A. Gray will deliver a lec- ' turo in tho Town Hall on the subject " Cooperation To-day" (the Rochdale system). Ine lecture, which is one of the Public Library series, will be. illustrated with 100 slides. Admission will be free. Mr. Wynne .Jones, representing Messrs. Meynell and Gunn, is in town arranging for the visit of Mr. Albert Mallinson, the famous English song writer, and Madame Anna Steinhauer, the . celebrated Danish soprano. ■ These two artists will givo two song recitals in tho Town Hall on Wednesday and Friday, September 2 and 4. The other members qf, tho company include Miss Rebe Kussmann, a young Russian violinist, Mr. William Robyus, tho well-known Australian basso, and Miss Evelyn Wyman, pianist.

An interesting entertainment is promised this evening by tho Sunday school children and friends in tho largo Sunday School Hall of St. Thomas's, Ncwt.own. Tho proceeds aro for tho benefit of tho school,, after extinguishing a small liability.