PEAMATIC AND MUSICAL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXVI, Issue 9307, 9 March 1889, Page 4 (Supplement)

PEAMATIC AND MUSICAL.

TUB company which Mr. Abbotfe has secured for a season of four weeks at the Auckland. Opera.Honseis Vivian's Dramatic Troupe. They open on Saturday next with "Current Cash," and their repertoire. includes "Missing ab Lloyds," " Neck for Neck," "Queen's Evidence," etc. The company-will arrive on Tuesday next. Haverly sends over word that he will visit Australia early next year with his mammoth minstrel combination, consisting of about forty performers all told. Billy Emerson is about to make- another trip to Australia. Billy, by-the-way, does all his correspondence now with the aid of a. type-writing machine. An exceedingly interesting biographical sketch of Madame Christian appears in the Melbourne Table Talk. The writer, who, if 1 mistake not his inimitable style, i? no other than Mr. Smythe, tells for the first time the true story of " tho elopement of Madame Goddard" from Sydney, which filled so much newspaper space at the tune. She and Madame Christian were in the city of the beautiful harbour together, when the o-TOat pianisto was threatened with an action claiming very heavy damages, and, to save her from being detained when her work was done, and held to bail for a very large amount, Mr. Smythe advised her to execute an instantaneous retreat. -Madame Christian, although her relations with Madame Goddard were not of the most friendly nature, consented to assist in the escape. It was accordingly announced m tiie morning papers that Madame Christian would leave that day for Melbourne, and berths for her and her maid were booked by "Messrs. Howard Smith and Son's steamer. A lot of people went down to the wharf to bid the popular singer good-bye, and, as the steamer moved away from tho wharf there was great weeping and wailing and waving of pocket handkerchiefs. But, when the vesso.l got into tho stream and stopped tocnablotho shipping clerk to check the passage-tickets, a little bout might have been seen putting oil from tho watermen's stairs at the foot of King-street. Besides the waterman the boat contained two persons : one was a lady thickly veiled, and the other was a short sunburnt man, whose face wore a smiling but rather determined expression. As soon as the boat gob alongbide the steamer, the lady ascended. the pilot's steps, followed by the gentleman, •when another lady, not thickly veiled, descended into the boat. \\ hen the steamer arrived at the Sandridgo Pier the list of passengers included the names of Madame Goddard and Mr. Suiythe, while the lady whose departure had caused so many tears to flow was still in Sydney. < Mr. Charles Harding's Operatic Com-

«uiv, comprising himself, Miss C.racio i'lawted, and Mr. Barry O'Neill, have been performing at Singapore. They have been giving concert entertainments with scenes from various operas. Mr. Locke-Richardson, who, some time uo-o gave such genuinely successful bhakesporian recitals in these colonics is now in the United States, and is everywhere received with enthusiasm. # V The Majeronis are playing at the Ineatre Roval, Adelaide. The company also j include Mi.-* Maggie Knight, Mrs. Gordon, and Miss Maud Appleton. In Brisbane at the present, time are the Eickards Company, and the ColbourncBaber Company. Marvellous Melbourne,' ab the Alexandra is more and moro marvellous in the potency of its attraction. At the Princess's, Melbourne, "Pepita, , with its glitter, its colour, it? grouping?, and -with the central figure, Miss Nellie Stewart, who dwarfs every other item, is in steady favour. The Italian Opera Company continues its performances at the Sydney Opera House, and is receiving a fair amount of support. The principal productions, so far, have been "II Trovatore," "Carmen," and "Faust." One of the most popular members of the company i≤ Mile. Lablache. The Sydney Philharmonic Society gave their fourteenth concert on Saturday, when they performed Dvorak's cantata, " The Spectre Bride.'" , The solo singers were Miss France; Saville, Sigrior Dimitresco (of the Italian Opera Company), and Mr. Sidney De&ce: the leader of the orchestra, Mr. Rivers Allpress, and the conductor, ii. Kovraisii The performance was a success- " Capwda Swift" is attracting large audiences at tl*e Theatre Royal ; at Her Majesty's Theatre a new version (by a. local author) of "Mr. Barnes of New York" i.-: being played ; arid Messrs. Brough and Boucicault art entertaining large audiences at the Criterion wit the comedy, " Forbidden Fruit." Mr. Leitch : Company, in Hobart, after playing " His Natural Life" with Ktiec&isful results" finished thy s-oason with '" Held by the Enemy." "Sweet Lavender" has .scored a euccesß abthe Melbourne Bijou, although the company has suffered by the withdrawal of Miss Gilmore, and consequent modifications of the ca.st. The pi&ce seems to have cacght on to the public, arid it will possibly have a longer run than was at first anticipated. . The Gaiety Company is having a high time in New York, if what follows is correct. The details are taken from the Now York "World :—" Nellie Fan-en is the prime favourite, and as she comes out and crosses the pavement to her brougham there are cries of ' Good night, Nellie ! from every sde. 'Good night, boys, she calls out, as the brougham drives away.' Of course we have nothing of this sort o: thing here at all. Is one of our theatre' •are patronised by every night contingents and the stage doors after the performanc< . are marked only by a few stragglers, th< majority of whom are waiting for actor:

and actresses whom they intimately know. The cases where personal relations exist between people in the audience and people on the stage are isolated cases, and •if the facts happen to leak out they ■are considered and "discussed with considerable curiosity. "The Gaiety girls had no fcooner established thurnselvcsftttheStandard Theatre here than a delegation of ' Johnnies : arrived from England, and the two great divisions of the Gaiety army, -which Lad been separated by reason of the cruel necessity for the company's tour around the "world, clasped .hands on the American soil. There are about 20 of these representatives now in town ; they're to be seen nightly, •arid are readily distinguished in the lobbies of Mr. Duffs house, filling the atmosphere ■with cigarette smoke and their characteristic accent. They appear invariably in full dress, and seem to have nothing in the ■world to do except to smoke the cigarettes and patronise the neighbouring cafes." Mr. Hamish McCunn, the young Scotchman, the great value of whose compositions has rapidly brought him to the front as one of the native composers most richly endowed with real talent, has just completed a, cantata, "The Lay of the Last Minstrel." Ib was performed for the first time just before Christmas, and contains many splendid descriptive choruses and dramatic •writings for the orchestra. Mr. McCunn, who is but just out of his teens, appears to have a grand future before him. The American actor now seriously puts in liis claim for protection. Under the alien contract law, foreign actors are specially exempted from the tines and penalties imposed for making a contract abroad to perform work or labour in the United States nnd it has also been decided by the Treasury Department that the costumes actually used in tl>e production of a piece must be admitted free as "tools of the trade." It has become the usage, therefore, for most managers to go to Europe and engage not only "stars" (for whoso benefit the Having clause in the law was exclusively passed), but stock actors and chorus and ballet girls, together with all the dresses .and paraphernalia necessary for mounting a piece upon the stage. In former times (writes a New York correspondent) European "stars" rarely brought more than one or two supporting actors with them, but now they came out, as Irving did, with a fully-equipped company. The native actor has necessarily suffered, and Congress has been memorialised to change the law so as to give him the same protection as is enjoyed by the members of all Dther crafts. Jefferson, Booth, and Barrett have all signed this petition, and practically the only serious opposition comes from the managers, who say frankly that they hire English actors because, in what have been dubbed " drees coat" plays, they ■ cannot find American actors who wear their clothes as well, and look as much like gentlemen as their English cousins. Most of the critics side with the managers in this view of the matter, and loud and bitter have : t»een the patriotic complaints of the native actors at the implied slight. Even the JaftYe tftkfiD pact,in Vhe,.d.isc,VlSSion,

and an English actor when playing on the East side has to be extremely careful not to awaken the sleeping patriotism of the gallery, though on the West side a playful reference to his nationality generally ehcita a round of good-natured applause. The joke of the matter is that more than a majority of the signers of the petition are of foreign birth, though of course they have becouio°naturalised since they came here. A very significant indication of the same Chauvinistic spirit, that grows stronger and stronger every year, is the insertion in the constitution of* the new Players' Club of a provision that none but a citizen of the United States shall under any circumstances be admitted to membership. Not a few of tho very men who have _ made this law aro members of the Garrick in London. An American paper says:—" Lomso Davenport Sheridan is living in retirement at her beautiful home in the outskirts of Sydney, Australia. Having been left quite wealthy by the death of a relative in England recently, Mrs. Sheridan is in no hurry to appear upon the boards, notwithstanding the fact that she is in constant receipt of°the most flattering offers from Australian managers. A recent letter from the antipodes intimates that tho handsome- widow of' the late distinguished tragedian may return this way en route to England and the Continent) at no distant date.' JUcsico-Dramaticus. * * All communications intended for this column should bemldressed "Musico-Dnuiwticus," Herald Office, Auckland, ami should bo forwarded as early as possible. »