MUSICAL AND DRAMATIC.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LI, Issue 15718, 19 September 1914, Page 3 (Supplement)

MUSICAL AND DRAMATIC.

-«> ;— BOOKINGS. ; HIS MAJESTY'S THEATRE. In Season to September 21—Harry Lander. September 28 to October 3-J. 0. Williamson. Ltd, October 12 "to 20— J. C. Williamson, Ltd., . Bunty Pulls the Strings." October 21 to 22-Carlyle Smythe (pencilled). November 5 to 17-J.'c. Will .Ltd. TOWN HALL. September 10-Garrison Band (Fete of _ .Nations). September 21-St. Cocilia's Choir. ■"Ste &JSt 28L€ct,,rc8 b? Mr Oclot November (.-Orchestral Society (pencilled).

Origin-ALU the title of Graham Moffat's "Bunty Fulls the Strings" was "Tho Causeway Saint" (a hypocrite). Under that name the manscript was submitted to a London manager, who allowed it to he in his desk for months until Mr. Moffat secured its return, altered the title to its present form, and succeeded in getting it produced, It is stated that Graham Moffat has derived, to date, close upon £100,000 an royalties from the mimerous productions of the comedy in various countries.

Muriel Starr, who, when she returns to Melbourne, will appear in a new play, has been putting up .something of a record in bydney. In ten days she appeared at four benefit, performances, ana presented a special sketch at each.

Mess Florence Young, Mr. Reginald Roberts, and Mr. C. A. Bantcck have formed a little company, called the Florence Young Company. They intend opening a, tour through New South Wales early next month.

Mr. Laurence Irving, whose lamented death with his wife in tho ill-fated Empress of Ireland is fresh in the memory, left estate of tho gross value of £937 Lis 9d, with net personality nil. In his well he bequeathed all bis property "unto my dear wife, Mabel Lucy, whom I appoint solo executrix." Letters of administration have been granted to Mr. H. B. Irving.

Last night was the last night of " Bunty Pulls the Strings," after a successful season .at Melbourne King's Theatre. A season in Brisbane commences on September 23, and after a visit to Toowoomba and Newcastle "Bunty Pulls the Strings" will be transferred to New Zealand, opening at Auckland on October 12.

The average term of life of musicians is over 60 years, according to Herr Chailier, of Giessen, Germany. He has collected facts about the ages of no fewer than 4113 musicians whose deaths have been recorded since 1870. Of these, however, he was able to discover the exact age of only 3737. For these the average age at death was 61.11 years.

The relative popularity of Richard Strauss' operas is indicated by figures recently published regarding the perioralSlices of them at the Royal Opera in. Berlin. " Feuersnot" has obtained 20 performances, the first of which was in 1602; •' Salome," first staged there in 1906, 93; "Elektra," first given in 1909, 40; " Rosenka.valier," 1911, 89; and "Ariadne auf Naxos" 37 since the Berlin production nearly a year ago.

Sir Johnston Forbes-Robertson leaves England in the Empress of Britain on September 13, to start his farewell American tour, which opens at Detroit on September 28. Subsequently he goes to Chicago for a month, then to San Francisco, tack along the north-west of Canada, over the Rockies, then to certain cities ia _ the States, ending in Albany, N.Y. Sir Johnston's leading lady will be Miss Laura Cowie, Lady Forbes-Rob-ertson having decided to remain at home with tie children.

This story is going the rounds on Broadway regarding Sydney Rosenfeld, the New York playwright. It seems that Rosenfeld was met on the street one day several years ago by Maurice Barrymore, the actor wit. "What's the matter, Rosenfold? You're looking gloomy," remarked the actor. "Well," Rosenfeld is said to havo answered, "I've had a piece of bad luck. You know that play I just finished? My little boy cot hold of it at home this morning and tore it up." Barrymore looked surprised. "Why, I didn't know the child could read,"'he replied.

According to Denis Florence MoSweeney, the Now Yorker, who was manager for John McCormack in Australia last year, the Irish tenor has been enjoying a gold-rush in America. It is said that the tenor gave 47 concerts in three months, and that the gross receipts for them were £33,000. McCormack was ina train accident during the tour between Ithaca and New York, but sang the same night to 7000-people in Paterson, New Jersey, with his arm in a sling.

A falling off in business and general dislocation of arrangements brought about the closing of the Opera House m Christchurch by the Brennan-Fuller proprietary a fortnight ago, while the Princess Theatre an Dunedin was to close down last Saturday. So far the business in Wellington and Auckland has not been so unsatisfactory as in the South, and it is not intended to suspend operations in these two cities for the present. If, however, the returns fall much below their present level, the management will certainly have to reconsider the question as to whether it is not advisable to " rest" until things are in a more settled state.

In the recollections of the first performance of Verdi's "Otello" (February 5, 1887), presented in Monaldi's biography, there is given a luminous account of now Verdi taught the leading role of "Otello," says the Neue Zeitscnrift fur Musik, of Leipzig. Up to this time the great tenor Tainagno had only been known as a singer with a golden voice. In this performance he became distinguished as an actor. It was first noticed in the scene when Otello commits suicide. It all reverts to the genius of Verdi. In all the rehearsals Verdi had done his best to improve the acting of Tamagno. The great tenor came more and more up to Verdi's ideals., but in the suicide scene he seemed to fail to please the great master. One day Verdi lost his patience. Countless suggestions had failed to move the singer. Then Verdi took it upon himself to act the scene. Those who were present were amazed at the 75-year-old Verdi acting the leading role in his greatest opera. Standing at the bed of Desdemona lie suddenly fell and rolled backward down three steps. All those present were so surprised that they thought that he had an attack of heart disease caused by overexcitement, but Verdi was only acting. It was then that Tamagno got the spirit of the scene which made him more famous than any other of his achievements.

Miss Nellie Stewart has made her reappearance on the stage in Sydney, and is presenting tho heroine in Belasco s play " Madame Dubarry.''

It is said that Mr. Seymour Hicks has triumphed in a long-cherished desire to secure Mrs. Kendal for his production of "La Belle Adventure."

It is stated that the tour of the Dominion by Mr. Beaumont Smith's Company in '"Mr. Wu" and "The Barrier" has "been cancelled.

The well-known English dramatist, Henrv Arthur Jones, has been secured for motion pictures, and the Famous Players are at work on several of his plays, including "Tho Silver King."

A professor in a Chicago university offers an original excuse for Ibsen s "loom In a recent lecture he told nrst how the influence of * Ibsen's ancestors made him morose, taciturn, and generally disagreeable. "You all know, he said, "that a good euro for a bad cold is to take two grains of quinine| every two hours. But the quinine does not act at once; it waits until there are some 20 grains in reserve, then acts all together. In the same way Henrik Ibsen was the unfortunate victim of a concert of sour dispositions that had hung fire." MUSICO-DBAMMICW.