A CROWDED HOUSE.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLIII, Issue 119, 18 May 1909, Page 5

A CROWDED HOUSE.

The coming of the Perennial Pol- j lards to Blenheim is a circumstance] which engenders in the mmds ot those of the public not given to. attend entertainments a question of ways and means. Pollards they must see and hear, whatever of home comforts they go wanting, and this is why Blenheim greets with such a hearty welcome the operatic combination. One can almost fancy that the management have been keeping, in touch with the trend of local politics; hence we have the very appropriate ooening in Planquette's tuneful work, "Rip van Winkle.'.' Blenheim has been asleep so long, and the grand awakening has taken place so recently that one may be pardoned for imagining there is something analogous in the stories of our municipality and the hero of the Katskills. However this may be, Rip was put to sleep last night in the presence of aver ylarge audience. There were few vacant seats in any part of the auditorium when the curtain rose upon the opening scene of Sleepy Jlollow. Of late years the taste of the play-going section of the public has veered toward the lighter form of' musical comedy and extravaganza, of which "The Gay Hussar" and "Bong-Bong" are types, but there is now a noticeable tendency to return to legitimate opera-bouffe. Comic opera is hardly the term to apply to "Rip van Winkle." The piece is more of a musical dramatic story than anything else, and the tuneful and catchy music, with its old-world story, has a setting , which Mr Pollard's scenic artists have taken advantage of. "Rip van Winkle" -is well-known in Blenheim; the piece has been played here, professionally and by amateurs, perhaps a halfdozen times; therefore the audience were last night more disposed to be critical than would otherwise have been the case. Comparisons would intrude upon, the mind, even though; they are 'what Mrs Malaprop calls "odorous." , : . It could be seen from last night's performance that the present Pollard combination is stronger histrionically than, in, singing Of course, it is a juvenile, company, and the voices have yet to develop,,; and it may safely be conjectured.that in the fulness of time the 1909 Juveniles may eclipse all previous Pollard combinations. The- scenic settings were quite adequate to the oc-, casion:; this may be inferred from the Pollard hall-mark, and the orchestra were quite up" to the standard of the music. The "'cello accompaniment to "Good-night" was a treat, the instrumentalist producing a fine singing tone, and the accompaniment scored equal honours with the singer. The only dancing attempted., was the Rhine Fay's pas seul in the second act, and a heat little ,clbg bj Leedle Jan in the first act. The chorus,are not,- strong, and give one the impression of holding back. There are some good voices among them, and fuller use could be made of their singing capacity. Perhaps the best of the choir's efforts were the goblins' chorus, "Sleep, Mortal Sleep" in the Katskills scene, and the chorus to Gretchen's song "Good-night." Whilst on the chorus mention of one of their number must'be made. Miss Claricejßuckmann has quite the finest voice of the production, and her rendering of "My Pipe" was one of the i green spots of the opera. She was manifestly suffering from a cold, but her singing of the only v solo allotted to her gives: pleasurable anticipation of hearing her. in bigger work before the season closes. Coming to the principals, the part of Rip stands out by itself. It .'•requiresmore than usually careful handling. It is _a character 'within' a character, as 'it were, and the lighter phase of humour gives place at' times to a deep pathos and a dramatic fire which calls forth in no ordinary degree the histrionic ability of the representative of the character. Mr Charles Albert (not so long ago he was Master Albert on the programmes) was tlie Rip of .the occasions and it was at once seen that he is not the least cleverof the many of Pollard's clever yo.ungster&. One can remember when lie played the Goblin to Mr Alf. Stephens' Rip. %ir Albert has in many ways a method of: his own, but in some instances it can be seen that I his old colleague and:Ms methods have not faeen forigotien.. His acting was consistent throughout, and never was there the sliglitest suspicion of straining for effect. What was' lacking musically was fully compensated for by nis fine acting. He was especially forceful in the return to the village, after his long sleep, and one of his best solos was "Who could this foretell." Quite a feature of the musical portion of the piece was the trio between Rip, Hans (little Trixie Ireland) and Alice |i(little Alma Aldous), /'Three Little Heads." The children iboth acted well and sang their music with pre.eision and in tune. For such youngsters their voices are remarkably well developed. -After the trio the audience roused itself to give some wellmerited applause. Mr J. Willis was the villain Derrick, and his acting j and singing were good throughout. He gave a stirring rendering of "The Ninepins " song, and next in order of merit was his -singing of "Blow high, blow low."; Mr Ernest Schatz brought his knowledge of stage rwork to bear in the, impersonation o| JMynheer Peter, but the Knickerbocker of Mr Edwards was father stiff, ? The best-played comedy character, of the night was the Nick Vedder of the first act and; the Jan Redder of the last act, both played by Master" Bert Nicholson. This lad has great possibilities before him, and if he■ • can,; sing as lie, can act he is booked) for/ the front rank' in the near future.'! Miss Minnie Topping was Gretchen, j and acquitted herself admirably as j far as the action was concerned. At the outset there was just a suspicion of want of tune, but she gave a fine rendering of the mountain legend,, "Oh! Beware." She was heard ; also to great advantage in "Good-night," the 'cello accompaniment sharing the honours. An appreciated item was the trio, "Mine Alone," in which Rip, Derrick and Gretchen took part, the audience "again expressing pleasures Miss Cissy ' O'Keefe has_ imp(rbyedi since here last, and hersinging; and acting were quite up to the P<plFai'dv standard. She will do sojne; gpod;. work yet. The host of; mihor: charac^ ters were adequately filled, arid:'the dressing deserves a word of merit, <,