MUSICAL AND DRAMATIC.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIII, Issue 10037, 25 January 1896, Page 4 (Supplement)

MUSICAL AND DRAMATIC.

Ihe Opera House on Monday evening lasb j?as crowded by afashionableand musically jnthusiastic audience to welcome the advent of the Steinhauer Concert Company from Melbourne, and opinions were unanimous that it was one of the most enjoyable concerts that have been given in Auckland for some time, and the audience was plainly of this opinion, expressing tho fact in unmistakeable fashion. Aladauie St&inh&uor (Bahnson) is, of course, no stranger here, and her finished and artistic interpretations displayed a specimen of refined and cultivated vocalisation of which it would be bard to speak ton highly. Miss Regina ft age!, who certainly possesses one of tho most remarkable contralto voices heard here, shared tho honors with the prima donna, and the other members of the company all acquitted themselves in such a satisfactory manner that encores were tho order of the evening. The company give two extra concerts at the Opera House on Monday and Tuesday next. Mrs. T. N. Whyte, wife of a well-known Geelong solicitor, is the next aspirant for public vocal honours. It is her intention to procoed to Paris and place herself under Madame Marchesi. She has a soprano voice of groat power and range, and as a musician plays both the piano and harp. Sass has settled down permanently in Johannesburg, as general manager of the Gaiety Company syndicate, of South Africa, for which a superb new theatre has been built.

To be a director of the Paris Conservatory appears to be a guarantee of longevity, for that famous institution has had only three directors since IS22—Cherubini, Auber, and Ambrose Thomas.

No encores are allowed in the Dresden Court Theatre, and no actor is allowed to respond to a call until the closing act. Ladies are not allowed to wear a bonnet at any of the theatres.

It is singular to note (says The Era recently) the extreme fondness of many celebrated musicians for nature and a country life. Thalberg quitted the concert platform at a comparatively early age to purchase a farm and vineyard at Posilipo, near Naples, and an eminent composer who wished to hear Thalberg play one of his dispositions was astounded when ho replied, "1 have not a piano in the house. I have had enough of the piano in years past, and do not wish to play or to hear any more music." Madame Christine Nilsson recreated on a Swedish farm where she was born, and astonished the villagers by her knowledge of rural life. Madame l'atti enjoys herself immensely in the lovely grounds of Craig -y • Castle, where she spend.i most of her time in the open air. Perhaps that is one of the secrets of her preserving the strength and quality of her voice. The Brothers De Keszk6 are perfect enthusiasts for rustic ploasures, and Madatne Sarah Bernhardt has a castlo by the se'a. Madame Calve, when she takes a holiday, is to be found at a farm she lias purchased; and which she cultivates herself, showing no little knowledge of agriculture. Jenny Lind was also a great lever of country lite ; so was the renowned basso Signor Lablache. Balfe, when he became weary of opera composing, purchased in 186-1 a beautiful estate, Rowney Abbey, in Hertfordshire, whore he became a gentleman farmer until he died there in IS7O. Balfe would almost have forgotten bis own fame as a musician but that he frequently at Rowney Abbey received Barks of distinction foreign monarchs. Managers also came to his estate seeking to tempt him from his retirement, but in vain. He would show them round his charming property, and ask them, "If they sxpected him to quit such a place for the stuffy, gassy, operatic stage, and squabbles with the prima donna.'' Weber intensely loved tho country, so did Schubert. The pianist Liszt was never so happy as when wandering by the sad sea waves, and Wallace, the composer of " Maritana," had a positive passion for travelling amidst the most beautiful scenes of nature. Mendelssohn was an enthusiast for nature, as we see in bin exquisite "Scotch" and "Italian" symphonies, and his descriptive letters. Even Wagner frequently astonished his friends by his admiration for beautiful scenes. Beethoven's "Pastoral Symphony" is perhaps the strongest example we can give of a great musician's love of nature.

Messrs. Williamson and Musgrove's "Trilby" Company will come to Australia by the San Francisco mail steamer.

Mr. Fillis has erected a massive iron building at Capetown, seating 3000 persons, for his circus, which has been strengthened since it left Australia.

Mr. Charles Arnold's Company is reported to have enjoyed prosperous seasons at Capetown, Port Elizabeth, and Grahamstown, the pieces staged being "Hans," "My Sweetheart," and "Captain Fritz."

Mr. William Walshe, the Australian tenor, who was recently appearing in San Francisco, thinks of trying his luck in England in a month or two. In a letter, just received, he speaks of joining the Turner Opera Company, one of the best touring organisations in the English provinces.

Mr. Joseph Tapley is considering an offer from a London manager, and a second offer from Miss Nellie Stewart to play Vincent in her American production of Ma Mie Rosette." Mr. Tapley has postponed his departure from Australia for a fortnight.

There is a strong probability of Mr. Scott Fishe, the baritone of the Savoy Opera Company, coming out to Australia this year under contract to Messrs. Williamson and Musgrove. Mr. Fishe, in a letter to some friends, speaks of the engagement as almost settled. He possesses a fine voice, and is a good actor.

"Theatrical matters in Melbourne," says a private correspondent, "areatill somewhat stagnant, as we have only two houses running to anything like good business—J. C. Williamson's pantomime at the Princess, and Rickard's Minstrel and Variety Company at the Opera House. The former is a magnificent production, and J. C. is being rewarded for his enterprise in staging such a costly Christmas attraction. Rickards depends on the new people he has imported from London, and so far they have carried all before them and serve to fill his house nightly. Lohr is in Adelaide with mesmerist Kennedy, and I hear contemplates visiting New Zealand at an early date. Darrell is giving the Brisbanitos his 'Double Event,' and intends going west shortly to open a theatre in Perth. Phil Stuart) has just finished a Christmas Musical Festival at the Exhibition Building with our old friends Mrs. Palmer, Amos Beaumont, Harper, Barker, and a large gathering of vocal and instrumental celebrities."

Paderewßki possesses quito all his old cha.m for the public of Now York. The pianist's aureola of hair is, says the Musical Standard, now a flat and unprofitable subject for a joke—besides, it is shorter than it was; but a writer in an American contemporary calls attention to a new phase of Paddymania. He says:—"The Paderewski face is in town. All the girls who attend his piano recitals suffer from it. It is as distinctive as the bicycle face, but it is more interesting and poetic. Paddy had not been on the stage ten minutes when the face broke out all around me. Ae worn by a young, pretty maiden ib is rather effective. In expression it is a cross between a strabismic stare and tho anticipatory look one sees on the face of a person about to be seized by a cholic. Yet ib is spiritual, yearning, and it makes the eyespreternaturally sad. As donned, however, by fat, middle-aged matrons the Paderewski face is as becoming as a black dolman in July time. Besides, it is ridicule breeding. I really hope this facial epidemic will not become widespread. Paddymania is a dangerous disease. Once the habit is contracted, good-bye to all expectations of usefulness from the girl. She is doomed for the season, and she will babble of old gold touch and Chopin hair until the household writhes." '

. P.otosua, Tuesday. If the fact that travelling companies are attracted to this place in the course of their professional tours by a sign of increasing ■ prosperity, we have it plainly demonstrated at the present time, The Kennedy-Lucas Company opened with a full house last , night, and will play two nights more. Next week (race week) Miss Amy Vaughan and • her troup of Amazons will appear, to be closely followed by Mr. John Fuller and his r family. The short interval between " theses will be. filled by Mr. Bouet and his silvery-voiced pupil, Hubert James, and the iWackeußS Company are billed early in 'February.; - Musiqo-Bbamatious.