MR MUSGROVE'S OPERA COMPANY.

Evening Star, Issue 11657, 18 September 1901, Page 4

MR MUSGROVE'S OPERA COMPANY.

The production of 'Faust' last night was marked by the completeness and attention to detail that were the characteristics of the previous evening's performance, and the alternative cast proved to bo quite strong enough to give a highly creditable rendering of" : the principals' music, whilst as the subordinate members of the company did good work, individually, and the stage management kept up to its reputation, and the ■ champion orchestra conducted by Herr Slapoffskl were in good form, it can be safely said That in most respects it was a very fine presentation of Gounod's masterpiece that the audience were treated to. The only weak department was the chorus. As on the. opening night* the chorus did not raise the volume of sound that might have been expected in consideration . of Jheir numerical strength. 'Trovatore' begat a doubt as to the vocal efficiency of this section of the company; •Faust' makes it pretty plain that there must be some weak voices in the ranks. This opinion was forced upon one after hearing the soldiers' chorus. That the orchestra overpowered the singers was not a matter for surprise. No chorus ever heard here could top such a brilliant and powerful combination of instrumentalists with both going forte. But after making all fair allowances the fact remains that the volume" of the chorus was disappointing. The encore of the soldiers' chorus was the reward of the stage arrangements and the insp'riting orchestra 1 , playing. To be fair, however, it must be added—and we gladly make the admission—that the chorus know their <stago work thoroughly, and never take up the attitude of idlers, and somo of their contributions, particularly those in ■n hich force ; s not demanded, were neat and effective—as, for instance, the chorus of laborers in the first act and the religious choruses, also the support to Mephistopheles in the golden calf song. These were all nicely done, and it did not escape notice that the singing in the wings was well np to the pitch. Herr Slapoffskl deserves grea credit for bis success in training the subordinates so as to enable them to help in the ensemble. Another preliminary observation which it is our duty to make is in respect to an annoyance that the management ought to prevent at other performances. 'Faust' students adore the introduction to this opera, and, being aware that it would be played by an exceptionally fine orchestra, many made a point of attending early so as to have the rustling oyer and get settled in timo to drink in every note. It was provoking to find late arrivals tramping in and making a bustle when the playing was going on . The doors ought to be closed while the introduction is being given. The related nuisance of talking during the overture and while intermezzos are on is perhaps beyond the reach of the management, but the matter of late entry can be grappled with, and we ask the management to do their duty iu the interests of musiclovers. Those persons present who were far enough away from tho disturbers to get a fair hearing of the introduction enjoyed a great treat. It is a rare pleasure to hear an orchestra that can play softly. Last, night-there was not a rebellious instrument in the party. Tho lovely coloring supplied by the wood-wind, and the smoothness of the brasses, and the tenderness of the violins, and the piquancy of the harp in the chromatic run may be mentioned as effects that linger in the ear, but. after all th? bpauty of the introduction, and, indeed, of all the instrumentation, was not so much the standing out of any features as the glorious per f ection of the orchestral work as i whole. We take it that the removal of the barrier has helped cons : derably to make the opera orchestration enjoyable, and the lesson may be taken as a puide in future. It is to be hoped that the barrier will not be re-erected, unless on occasions when it is dpsirable to bury the orchestra. Coming to a consideration of the singing principals, we are not prepared to contradict the opinion pretty generally expressed, that the merits of the performance were evenness and reliability rather than individual glitter. This is quite true in a sense. That is to say, the company do not rely on one or two stars, and give them all the chances and all the glory. It was not so with the ' Trovatore' cast, and it was not so with the ' Faust' quintet. Nevertheless, it would be unfair and ludicrously wrong to say that the company's leaders are lustreless. On the opening n:ght we had an impersonation of Azucena that can be classed amongst the best of the day. ' Faust' produced for our edification and"entertainment a remarkably fine Mephistopheles and a Marguerite so abundant in promise that any height in the profession is possible to her. Miss Lilian Coomber, the Marguerite of the evenin;.', is certainly very young—barely out of her teens, we are told—and for her age she is a wonder. It is only once in a while that wo come across a young artist with so much dramatic power and with a voice so fully developed in regard to tone and quality. A point in her favor was that she really looked the part; and the bluishgrey and white dress not only suited her, but seemed to harmonise with the general idea of the surroundings, which is that Marguerite should come on at first not as a person of importance but one of the crowd coming out of church. The favorable impression formed on her first entrance was confirmed when later on she began to sing 'The King of Thule.' This, however, was not a fair exposition of her style. .The npinning-wheel was inclined to jib, and Miss Coomber appeared to be dissatisfied withi its ■position, and evidently she was not happy till she came to the jewel song. Here we began to find out the merits of her vocalisation, and if the young singer was still a triflo uneasy, as evidenced by her haste to start singing about the jewels when she had merely bestowed upon them the briefest glance, the rendering of the famous allegretto air was such as to thoroughly please the audience. The love scenes with Faust found Marguerite singing even better, putting more warmth and greater strength into her delivery, and when, at the end of a taxing and prolonged scene, Marguerite opens her window and permits Faust to embrace her, Miss Coomber surpassed her previous efforts, giving a very fine display of forceful singing, in which the high music seemed no difficulty at all. It was in the last act, however, that we really heard the young Marguerite at her best. The 'seasoned sopranos seen here have seldom done better work than Miss Coomber gave us. Her voice strengthened with the demand put upon it, and never for a note grew rough or course, but came out with splendid quality and perfect enunciation. We consider this act a great success for the prima donna, and she well deserved her recall. Miss Lilian Boanas, the Siebel of the occasion, has a clear and true voice of fair strength, and her singing of the flower song, the appendix romanra, (' When o'er thy joying'), and other parts of her music, though somewhat lacking in warmth and feeling, was distinctly creditable. Miss Enriqueta Crichton is also to be thanked, since she made something of the part of Martha, and thus considerably helped the dramatic action of the garden scene. Herr Barron Berthald, the tenor, has a light but musical and flexible voice, and, if not a brilliant actor, his' impersonation of Faust was dramatically at least equal to the average of Fausts, which, by the way, is not a very high standard, most Fausts that we have seen being devotees of the semaphore style. One of Herr Berthald's best contributions was 'All hail! Thou dwelling,' but we take him to be an artist who goes in for conscientious work ail through rather than a series of surprise efforts, and he is to be judged not by any particular number but by general results. Regarded in this way, Herr Berthald comes out very,well If he never startled his audience he .'never disappointed them. The Valentine of Mr Lawrence Mooney may be classed as a decided success. His enunciation might be better, but, bar this, no fault could be, % found with his impersonation from any po;nt of view, We may safely go a. step further and say that it was affirmatively replete with merit. The combat scene, the cavatina 'Even bra-vest heart,' the curse scene—these were amongst the principal, of Mr Mooney's successes, and he is fixed in our esteem as a fine ' singer, with a remarkably sympathetic voice. As for Mi- Lampriere Pringle's presentation of Mephistopheles, it was a great surprise. Mr Eringle possesses

a splendid voice, aid uses it without'the least effort; one can easily trace every word he says; he is a born cotnedian, and not wjthqufc tragic power; and! in a word he filled the part'magnificently.! We could not say more in a co.umn notice. The costumes and scenery were quite up to expectations, and the performance as a whole is one that will be* remembered.Special mention should be ; made of the apotheosis scene. ! This evening ' Carmen' ijs to be produced, and ' Mignon' is announced for next Tuesdav. ■ "