Mimes and Music

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 39, 14 August 1926, Page 25

Mimes and Music

■i ; .': the snows. Opera House— Muriel Starr Company, In season. Town: Haii—" Backbaus, 17th, ISth, 20th August. Hit Majesty's—Fuller's Vaudeville. D« Luxe Theatre—Pictures. King's Theatre—Pictures. Artoraft—Pictures. (Jjir Theatre—Pictures. Empress Theatre—Pictures. Shortt's Theatre—Pictures. Strand Theatre—Pictures. . Britannia Theatre—Pictures. Queen* Theatre—Pictures: Princess Theatre—Pictures

Mr, Seymour Hicks, who was in New Zealand lasf year, revived "Sleeping Partners" in London this month. Later ho will be seen in a new play. Gauter's famous dogs are the topKnera with the latest company of international vaudeville artists, who open their "Wellington season at the Grand Opera House ou Monday night week. The dogs perform a playlet, "The Bricklayers of .Dogville,". and apparently without human aid enact a little comedy-drama. There's Mike, the'foreman, and Bert, the contractor, and Fido and Co., the employees, and a score or so of others. Erie Edgley and Clem Dawe, the $wo comedians seen in Wellington some years past in pantomime, are leading a Bew rovue company, the "Midnight Frolics," appearing on the Fuller eir«uit. in Australia. "The Best People," a comedy-drama in which ■ the author, A very Hopwood, would have us befievo that the best people come from the United States, is due in Sydney on 21st August, after a successful season in Melbourne. A •New Zealand tour will follow later. The company will show us many new faces, most of them.from America. It is an E. J. Carroll production. A play entitled "Veronique" is to be staged by the Masterton Amateur Dramatic Society on 23rd August. Tljij .Orchestral Association of Minneapolis announces that Henri Verbrugghen, last director of the New South Wales Conservatorium, who conducted the State Orchestra during ite tour, of New Zealand, has been re-erigaged' as conductor of the Minneapolis . Symphony Orchestra for a period of three yearff beginning with the season 1526-27? and extending through the season! 0f.1928----29. ■• This action was taken as a result of a-unanimous vote of the board of directors at a recent meeting.

Wilhelm, Backans, the great pianist now in' New Zealand, says! '-'Bpsina Buckman, the New Zealand soprano, and her husband, Maurice D-Oysley, are very great friends of ours. I think Bosina Buckman one of the most charming and one of the most gifted artists I have known. She has a great reputation,\at Home, both in.opera and concert "work. .Half jokingly, half in earnest, we have suggested a tour together—who knows, it may come to pass.''.' ■ Tfeore are two classes of singing that tiavda place on the concert platform s and the operatic stage. One is the bel .fcinto style, which sacrifices everything in mellifluousness of tone, while tha other is the realistic style, in which the truth of the lyrics is expressed dramatically or otherwise without such regard for more prettiness of tone. There are singers who have magnificent tone and the power to interpret dramatically. "Such- & one is Chaliapin. But do not rank him among the bel canto singers of the day. -He is -something immeasurably beyond that stilted scBool; He rises in the majesty of heroic form' and tone, and strips every song bare of ought save the poet's or the dramatists' meaning. He is essentially- a truth-teller. One of Chaliapin's most famous numbers is "The Song of the Flea," really a political skit on the privileges that are enjoyed by favourites at court. "When such, a flea bites, any one of the, courtiers.they are not even permitted to scratch lest they annoy His Majesty.- The Great Bust 'sian is < inimitable in this grotesque number. The concerts in Australia have' been attracting record houses overy where, the plans being well booked up weeks ahead. To-night Melbourne will see "Katja," the musical play which broke all records in Sydney. The cast will be of exceptional interest. It will include Marie Burke, who is making rapid progress towards recovery from the effects of her injuries in the recent railway accident while the company was on its way to Brisbane, Claude Clemming, who will play Warde. Morgan's parti Cecil .Kellaway, • Thelma Burness, Babette Odeal, Charles Z.oli, Frank Hawthorne, Paul Plunket, -and the well-known English, comedian,. E. Barrett-Lennard, who. will make • his first appearance in Melbourne. ■ Benno Moiseiwitch,. the/pianist, who two yeais ago gave a series of lecitals in New Zealand, has been appointed a professor of pianoforte in the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia. . Mr. Bonald Chamberlain, 8.A., Mus. Baa, who is conducting the .Trinity College examinations in music m New Zealand this year, was recently a pianoforte recitalist in London Concert nans and is also a composer of pianoforte and chamber music. ' . . There are two dancing turns with Williamson's International Vaudeville Company which opens at tho Grand Opera House on Monday, 23rd August. They are'Katrina and Jones, who are said to be great favourites at the London Coliseum, and Miss Peggy Mouat, a finalist in the "Miss Australia" beauty contest,, who is a demonstrator of the Charleston.- Musical items are provided for by Masim Brodie, a Bussian . tenor, and Dechelette, a pianist, while Miss Marie Moore's songs at thepiano, under the title, "Jazz Snapshots at the Piano," sound attractive. The reports that the voice of Madame Galli-Curci had lost it 3 golden tint are evidently without foundation. She recently interrupted:a successful concert tour to appear with the New York Metropolitan Opera Company for a week's season at Cleveland. On tho night that Galli-Curci appeared as Gilda in "Eigoletto," no fewer than 8600 people crowded into the hall, and the takings were- £6000 —said to bo a record for opera.

It is said that a local music teacher, known ta be Bomewhat "classical" in taste, recently opened up a pupil's satchel, prior to giving the young lady a lesson. The bright hues on the covers of the pieces were reflected on his countenance;: His discoveries were "Oh! Katherina," "Moonlight and Boses," U'Lon't Bring Lulu," and "The Ukulete Lady." Of course, the pupil _ explained, how the music came to bo mixed up, but the teacher only sighed.

On the last night of his six-months' season :m Sydney, Jim Gerald, the popular comedian, signed the ten-year contract with the Fuller management upon' the stage. It ia stated that the total amount of the contract ia the highest, ever signed by an Australian artist in : any part of the world., Jim Gerald started as a "knockabout" boy in a liush circus.

The number of New Zealanders going abroad for study shows a steady increase. The latest probabilities in this connection are Mr. Jenkins, of New 'Plymouth, a pianiat whom I had the pleasure of hearing recently, and Miss t Hughson, of Eahotu. writes "C Sharp" in the "WanKanui Chronicle." The latter, who passed the advanced grade examination of the Associated Board 3ast year, has been offered a scholarship for study in London. Mr. Jenkins is a

fluent and thoughtful player, already sufficiently well advanced to take full advantage of what "Home tuition" has to offer. Both of these students are pupils of Mr. B. Neville Benaud, of New Plymouth, and their musical development is a feather in the cap of this capable teacher, who has had previous success in the field of scholarships. Hawera is shortly to stage a concert performance of Weber's "Oberon." Hawera has always shown creditable enterprise in musical matters. It is said that on •■ of the professors at the Boyal Academy ia London expressed great curiosity regarding Hawera. "Where is thjs Hawera?" he asked. "It must be a great place. First of all we had Frank Hutchens from there, then his brother, then Miss Maida Hooker, then Mr. Walter Fennell, and now Miss Sturrock. I must go to. Hawera when I go to New Zealand!" He might have added that the Misses Daisy and Constance Beilly, and, I believe, some of. the newer teachers, have-also had the benofit of European tuition and experience. So it is not surprising to find the musical bodies in the Taranaki town manifesting signs of vigour: and healthy development. 1 "It would be difficult to say which of the British Dominions is definitely entitled to the honour of being the most musical, but certainly Australia is one oi ■ the most musical. The people of that country arc interested in music to an extent that is hardly creditable here," writes Miss Gertrude Johnson, the Australian soprano, in an English magazine. "If any part of the British Empire ever follows the example of Continental countries in subsidising operaj I should not be surprised if' Australia is found leading the way.'?

Melba lays emphasis on the fact'that to achieve success a singer rimst not rely on voice alone. '' There are three essentials, "• she says. " First, j you must have brains; second, good health; and third, a. Voice." The great art of singing,, as Melba explains it—and all exports agree with her—is to sing as you speak, with just the same naturalness and lack of contortion either of the throat !or . anything else.. Melba also insists Upon correct breathing, of which she has been such a master herself.

Miss Frances Morrison, the wellknown Blenheim contralto, who has been pursuing her musical career with great success in Chicago, has left Vancouver by the Niagara, and will arrive in Auckland 'about the middle of this month. Miss Morrison intends to remain in New Zealand indefinitely, and after a aeries of concerts she will settle in Wellington.

Mrs. Patrick Campbell recently returned to the London stage after an absence of throe-years, appearing in H.. F. Maltby 'a new play '' What Might Happen, 1' produced at the Savoy. It is a satire of the "new-rich versus tho new-poor."

A Now Zealand singer, Mrs. Daisy Broad, is to make her debut in grand opera at Palermo, one of the most famous theatres in the world. Mrs. Broad, who hails from Dunedin, has made wonderful progress since she went to Italy last year, and in the sunny land of song she is building up a roputation for herself and for New Zealand. In a recent letter to friends in the Dominion, the. famous composer and singing master . under whom Mrs. ■ Broad is studying, said:—"Mrs. Broad's sin,g-. ing has improved far past my expectations. Once more, it proves the superiority of the Italian method coupled with the advantage of singing in Italian. Her voice has gained 50 per cent, more volume, and with the perfect pronunciation of her Italian, her voice is sweeter than ever. She has been hard at work studying operatic scores, and has' sung the difficult "II Valver," from "Borneo and Juliet," with such purity and technique that I feel sure she will become probably the best soprano of the day. Eecently a bouquet was given in honour of the New Zealand prima donna by the most prominent people in Palermo, when some nice things were said about her talent and the New Zealand people generally." William Backhaus, the pianist who opens his season at Wellington on Tuesday night, holds pronounced views concerning the ultra-modern composers "Experiments! That is the best word to. use in describing them," h6 said. "In Beethoven, Chopin and Schumann, every note is in ita place, and no one could change anything without upsetting the whole scheme. But in the music' of the ultra-modern men you might play si hundred notes differently, and the effect would not be materially altered. Music has developed through form and harmonic structure upon principles established through _ the ages. But these new propositions of quarter-tones and the rest seem to me to mean, not progress, but a retrograde movement. It is perfectly legitimate to introduce discords into music, and resolve them harmoniously; but if you build up chords ons on top of another in continual discords what becomes of art? Where is music if you take no more notice of harmony?"

The present attitude of the Church of Scotland towards instrumental music and its attitude in the past were constructed by the Bey. Lauehlan M'Lean, D.D., Glasgow Cathedral, in dedicating the new organ of" St. John's (Cross) Parish Church, Dundee. Dr. Watt said that the introduction of music to the Church of Scotland was received with something like bated breath. In his student days an old minister told him that he was the assistant preacher at Greyfriars in Edinburgh the day that an instrument was introduced. Bobert Lee was the great innovator, and the things that he brought into the service of the Church were looked upon as absolutely disruptive and very much akin to the Scarlet Woman. Bobert Leo was a man of gentle heart and kind character,.but that day his friend could not understand why he was so cross. The •: assistant swallowed his offended dignity, and went up to the pulpit and gave out -the opening Psalm, when, to his astonishment, a voice he had never heard before joined in the singing. It was a harmonium behind a draughtscreen, lest the sight of it might make tho congregation believe that, the Popo was coming to take a share in the service. Those days were past.

. Dame Ethel,Smyth recently made an appeal through tho British Press for

Hundreds and hundreds of unfortunate people are at present in hospitals throughout New Zealand —wrecks of their former solves —enduring untold agony and awaiting serious and costly operations, all because they neglected what in the first place was simple indigestion.

What happens? Immediately the digestive organs begin to slacken in their work the food lies in tho stomach in a sour-half-digested condition. Gases and acids of a poisonous nature are thereby caused, resulting in inteuse pain and suffering. In • time the walls of the stomach are completely eaten away. Then comes the hospital. Life itself is endangered.

more productions of the "non-grand" opera. After declaring that it is neither operas of the "Maritana" and "Bohemian Girl" type, nor the Gilbert and Sullivan group to which sho refers, the Dame goes on to say:—"lt is a gradually evolving school of modern English opera writers that this scheme would be partly designed to benefit; and in this connection I remember a day last summer whon Sir Hugh Allen and I, meeting in a passage, each duo elsewhere, jotted down ou the spur of the moment the names of about fifteen operas of which the public havo never heard, written by people still alive—in fact, most of them young!" The writer adds: "I may add that, without touching the genus Offenbach, Suppe, Leccqo, etc., there are, besides Mozart's operas, which are all 'nongrand,' and admirably translated, hundreds of operas of the same calibre; ■ : t on this level, of course, but real works of art. Handel himself heads the list with his output, and- these works of his art now being 'discovered' in Germany, much as, thanks to the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith, we are now discovering our own eighteenth century opera writers. I wish English people could get rid of the idea that 'non-grand' opera is less 'noble'art than the grand variety; vide Mr. Sherson's .remark that the present writer, by composing two tragic music dramas, has shown she can 'do better' than 'The Boatswain's

Mate.' To mo this is the equivalent^of saying Big Bertha is a finer creation than a pocket pistol. Surely what matters is that the metal be, in both cases, as flawless as you can make it, and the firearm so constructed that with it you can hit your target. I think the Press could do a great deal to wean the public from rather provincial ultra-solemn-ity on these themes. After all, in a Beethoven Symphony the Scherzo is just as 'noble' art as the slow movement." A new Mozart symphony is reported to have been found in the archives of the Benedictine Monastery at Labach, Upper Silesia, and to have been performed for the first time at Vienna, by the Institute of Historic Music on 20th April. The symphony is in G- minor, has three movements, and was presented by Mozart to the abbot of the monastery on 4th January, 1769, when the composer was but thirteen years old. Of Iniito, a member of the J. C. Williamson Vaudeville Company that opens in Wellington on Monday night week, it is said that his powers of mimicry deceive even the birds that appear with him in his act. A close and attentive study of birds in every clime has developed his imitative sense, and it seems as if all birdland is let loose when he chirps and trills.