MADAME PATH.

Lyttelton Times, Volume LXXV, Issue 9446, 22 June 1891, Page 6

MADAME PATH.

FINAL CONCERT, On Saturday night the last concert of the Patey season was given at the Theatre Royal; Though that season had begun on Tuesday, the Christchurch public seemed by no means tired of hearing the several members of the Company. Encores were, as usual, the rule, and in most cases the enthusiasm of the audience was gratified. Madame Patey has, throughout the season, fully sustained the high reputation she has won in the old country. Whether in selections from oratorios, or in lighter compositions, she has proved herself an artist of the very highest rank. No one who waa privileged to hear her last week will ever forget the extraordinary power she possesses of exciting the best feelings of our nature, but she is by no means always an exponent of religious or serious subjects. She has a hearty appreciation of the humorous, and her singing of some old songs, in which satire and fun were the motive, invariably roused in the minds of her listeners the appropriate sentiments. Nature has given Madame Patey a grand voice, but hard work and a cultivated taste enable her to make the best possible use of the gift. The company which has supported the greatest English contralto has done much to contribute to the success of the season. Mr Patey himself is a highly-finished vocalist, with a sympathetic stylo and a voice of good range. His selections have varied from grave to gay, but those of the latter character have predominated. He is equally at home in classical compositions and in less pretentious songs, and has given his hearers much to admire in his always correct and well - considered phrasing. Miss Bertha Eossow has won golden opinions by her admirable management of a remarkably fine and flexible voice. The most florid selections from grand opera, and the most simple ballads, she gives with correct emphasis, and a liberal use of the resources of her art. Evidently she has been exceedingly well trained, and has known how to profit by her training. Mr C. R. Jones has done his share throughout the season. His style is very unaffected, and his ear is perfect, while his voice is always pleasing, because it is never strained. Whatever composition he has had to sing, he has invariably given it his best effort, and his best has bean very good. By no means the least promising artist in the Company is Miss Emilia Wood, who has displayed marked proficiency in pianoforte music. Night after night has she given fresh proof of her astonishing memory and technical skill; so that she must, it is to be feared, have caused many a young lady, listening to her rapid runs and marvellous trills, to feel utterly hopeless of ever being able to approach, much less to equal, such brilliancy of execution. Last but by no means of least importance is Mr Hermann Morris, who is a very model of what an accompanist should be. Never too loud, he was always in exact sympathy with the vocalist, and really assisted, while his assistance was noticeable only by those who watched him. On the whole the Patey concert season has probably been the most successful ever known in Christchurch, The Theatre Royal is a very large building for a concert company, yet it was on several nights too small to accommodate the audience, and the season was unusually long, having been extended from the three nights originally announced to nearly double the number.