J. C. WILLIAMSON OPERA CO.

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 1, 2 January 1937, Page 4

J. C. WILLIAMSON OPERA CO.

Provincial Tour. The J. C. Williamson, Ltd., Comic Opera Company, which is.headed by the two brilliant artists. Miss Strella Wilson and Mr. Ivan Menzies, and which is attracting record audiences in Auckland in a series of Gilbert and Sullivan operas and in "Lilac Time" and "Paul Jones," will begin a provincial tour at Hamilton on Thursday, January 14, in Franz Schubert's lovely musical romance "Lilac Time." This opera will be staged at' New Plymouth on Friday, January 15, and at Wanganui on Saturday, January 16. The company will present "Lilac Time" and "Paul Jones" at Palmerston North on Monday and Tuesday, January 18 and 19, and at Hastings on January 20 and 21 The company will then produce "Lilac Time" at Masterton on Friday, January 22, and a brief season will be inaugurated at the Opera Effuse, Wellington, with a production of "Tho Gondoliers" on Saturday, January 23, The season is to be limited to eleven nights, but during that period the company will stage no less than nine operas, namely "Princess Ida," "The Mikado," "Ruddigore," "The Pirates of Penzance," "lolanthe," "The Yeomen of the Guard," and "Lilac Time" In addition to Strella Wilson and Ivan Menzies the organisation includes Gregory Stroud, Godfrey Stirling, Bernard Manning, Evelyn Hall, who will make her first, appearance as the Duchess of Plaza Toro, Eileen Kelly, Helen Langton, Tommy Jay, Vincent McMurray, Clifford Cowley, and other notable artists. The company includes ja full operatic chorus and orchestra.