MUSICAL AND DRAMATIC.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 13497, 25 May 1907, Page 4 (Supplement)

MUSICAL AND DRAMATIC.

BOOKINGS. HIS MAJESTY'S THEATRE. Juno 10 to June. 15— Edwin Ocach's " Human Hearts"" Co. June 17 to June '"Kelly Gang Pictures," ' J. and N. Tait. June 24 to July 13—Julius Knight Dramatic Co. (Mr J. C. Williamson). July 15 to July 20— Frederick Shipman. July 22 to August 10—Grand Opera Co. August 12 to August 24—Mr. J. O. Williamson. September 16 to October s—Maud ' Hildyard • Dramatic Co. (Mr. Allan Hamilton). c October 7' to October MacMahon Eros.' Dramatic Co. November 4 to November 16— Edwin : ■ Geach. OPERA HOUSE. Jfiehtly—Fuller's Vaudeville Co. i July 9 to J July 12—St. Patrick's Operatic Society, "Maritana."

CHORAL HALL. July 4 to July s Andrew Black and, Leopold Prerayslat, Violinist. -

Mr. John Fuller announces changes at the Opera House this evening. Miss Doris Baker, a juvenile serio, makes her first appearance, and the Lewis Sisters and Slade Murray ■ renew acquaintance with old friends. " The Robing iof the Gods" will be withdrawn after to-night, but the clever trio from H.M.s. Powerful, Stewart, Bain, J and McKenzie, prove a strong draw, and | Merton and Mariton ; : also from H.M.s. Powerful, are strong features in a fine bill.

The Besses o' th' Barn work northward from Sydney through Newcastle and other important country centres to-day, en route to Brisbane and'various Queensland towns. The Lancashire, lads will be in Queensland during the best of the. winter weather, and will avoid the worst of the season in Melbourne. Adelaide ''■ arid' West Australia follow. ' . ■ - ," " -

The Auckland Shakespere Society has definitely fixed its first reading this season for June 12. The play will be '.' As You Like It," and an excellent cast has been : seI cured.

Mr. Andrew Mack leaves for Gisborne today, opening there on Monday thence he goes to Napier,' Christchurch, Timaru, Dunedin, Invercargill, and on to Australia,"-Mr: Richard Stewart managing the tour for Mr. Williamson. • ,

Mme. Albani and her new concert party, including the famous English tenor, Mr. William Green, has sailed for Australia. They will open their season during June. The preliminary programme of the National Eisteddfod :. of Australasia has just reached me. The cash prizes amount to £1400, and include £500 and the 50-guinea Boosey * cup for' the inter-State champion band contest ;■ £375 for the choral contests; £200 for vocal and instrumental •.■• music; I £175 for elocution, open-air scenes, comediettas, etc.;- and ; £25 ; for physical drill, calisthenics, etc. ; The Eisteddfod will be held at BaUarat in October next. .

It .' is gratifying to be able to announce that Mr. Maughan Barnett, the eminent organist, is to again visit Auckland. He will give. two . recitals at St. : Benedict's Church on Monday ,and Tuesday next. It is rare, indeed, that such an artistic player | of the organ is heard in. Auckland. One of the world's leading violinists, a pupil' of . that' great iand eminent virtuoso Seveik, with whom Kubelik completed his studies,-: Miss Marie Hall,: will open in Melbourne on June 1, with Professor Marshall I Hall's Orchestra, the season lasting about 'a fortnight, after which Sydney will follow,] commencing on- June 15 and finishing about! the, 25th, with .Brisbane to follow. .. Miss i Marie Hall will make her New Zealand debut at Auckland about the middle of July. Miss Jennie, Pollock, formerly of Auckland, continues to make excellent progress in her profession. Mrs. Bland Holt leaves for a trip to England in July, and during her ■ absence. Miss Pollock will p*ay her parts. " Mother Goose" is to be seen again in Melbourne after all. .Mindful of " its exceptional popularity, , and also of; the ' fact that it was . deprived of the hundred nights' record there just on the eve of its attainment, Mr. J. C. Williamson has arranged that the pantomime shall visit the scene of its, earliest triumphs at .the outset of the [long tour' upon Which it will enter on' the conclusion of its Sydney.season. at the end of the month. The pantomime is coming to v Auckland,' will" be the biggest show", ever sent on tour by Mr. Williamson. The performances will be restricted to the four cities of the colony, and begin; in Auckland in September. - .■•;■' Mr. Ernest ■ Leicester, who. appears in Mr. Edwin Geach's new company,, has had a long experience: on the" English- stage, : and has visited America, playing leading parts in the United States with Miss Olga Nethersole. He was with Mr. George Conquest at the Surrey Theatre, and had the unique experience of speaking the last lines recited from the stage _of that playhouse before it became a- music-hall. "_•'.. '■'■'"'' '* Nance O'Neil is playing in vaudeville in Boston.

Madame Clara Butt is having an enorm-1 ous time throughout England on her farewell tour, and wherever she goes the houses are sold out beforehand. She gives her farewell concert in the Albert Hall, London, on June 29, and it promises to be a gigantic affair. ; Her Australian lour will commence lin Melbourne on 'September 5, and Messrs; IJ, and N. Tait's plans are to commence the New Zealand tour some time in November. | Madame Butt will be accompanied by her [husband, Mr. Rumford. | . Mr. Ernest Toy, violinist, is to tour New j Zealand/

Miss Maud Hildyard, and a first-class lramatic company, with a repertoire of * four >v five pieces, will arrive from England in Australia, about the end of July, and after playing a season in Sydney, will come on to New; Zealand, under the direction of Mr. Allah Hamilton, .in conjunction with Messrs. Meynell and.Gunn. The tour will open in Hi's Majesty's Theatre, Auckland, on September 16, for three weeks, all the principal towns being afterwards visited. Mr. George Buller, will represent Mr. Hamiltoil. Mr. Allan Hamilton is sending another company to New Zealand in October, the personnel of which is not quite' determined upon at present, but most likely it will be first-class vaudeville, and remain two or three it onths. Mr Georgi Bulier informs me it will be one of the best shows that have been sent from Australia. ' The success of the Zancigs, who are coming to Australia and New. Zealand,, is responsible for the discovery of endless talent in the same line of business. A new turn to be seen at the* Hackney Empire has quite a romance attached to it. A Barnsley collier named Ritsellj who has recently been living in Sheffield, made such a hobby of thoughttransmitting tricks that he sought to tram each of his numerous children to join him in giving entertainments oh a small scale. However, hone of the little Ritsells took to i the notion save, M.vra, now a bonny York shire lass of 15. She proved to be so apt. a pupil that at the age of nine she mystified her schoolmates by doing business much on the lines of the Zancigs' turn, Her fame spread, and at length it reached thenars of | the showmen's auctioneer, Tom Norman. He was so impressed with the work of Myra and her father that he invited them to come to London, and somewhat in fear of so bold, a step, the Ritsells came, were seen, and have conquered. By the way, Mr. Harry! Rickards has arranged with the ■ Syengahs, in a similar line of business, to visit Aus-j tralia. : ' : ~,'., - ... | Miss Amy Miirphv, the Dunedin soprano, leaves her native city for Melbourne _ to, morrow, under engagement to Mr. Williamson. /'' ' , '•:'■' .'■; ' _,' ~ - , It is understood that Mr. Tom Pollard has succumbed to the well-known influence of the footlights, and , has arranged to go in for the production of juvenile opera, a line of business in which he achieved considerable success for some years. ; Mr. Pollard will leave shortly for Australia to collect the company, and it is on the cards that Christchurch will be the scene of the first appearance of the new company. There was not space last week to tell a little story that many musical people would like to hear. It is about the Exhibition Orchestra, and their last and never-to-be-forgotten performance. During the entr' acte ? in common'.with' other smokers. I was under the portico, and overheard the foh lowing: "What I.say is this," said a little man speaking with some emphasis. "You cannot coax people to a strictly classical concert. They want popular music like this—bright, catchy music." _ Now'the orchestra had already given two pieces from "Le Cid" and the • overtures : to "Tannhauser" and "William Tell,"' and Liszt's " Hungarian Rhapsody, No. 2," was to corned If these "are not classical numbers, what.is classical 1 music? • '"*. "* ",