MUSICAL AND DRAMATIC.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LI, Issue 15748, 24 October 1914, Page 3 (Supplement)

MUSICAL AND DRAMATIC.

BOOKINGS.

HIS MAJESTY'S THEATRE. rte«ml»r r ? 1° }l-l C - Williamson, Ltd. (ftrift.V 0 - I ?T J - C - Willi ™' Ltd. (Julius Knight).

TOWN HALL. October 22-Liedertafel. November 5-Orchosh-al Society

Another Australian singer is said to bo rising into fame, in the person of Miss Ara Fitzgerald, who made her debut on the lyric stage of Italy on July 18. last at the Teatro Politenma, Volterra, near Florence. The fact that she was favourably reviewed on all sides will interest many people, observes the' Sydney Morning Herald, as it represents the result of a considerable period of study under M. Bouhy, tho French baritone in Paris, and then in Milan under tho Italian baritone Giuseppe Borghi—both .celebrated singers in their day. The young artist made her debut as " Signorina Ara," and sang four nights a week throughout the month of August with great and increasing success. Her debut was as Violetta in " La Traviata," and the Volterra Scintilla speaks of her winning and sympathetic presence, with a voice delicate and harmonious, and scenic bearing expressive and correct; born in Australia, she is still young, and has now taken tho first step upon art's highway, along which we are certain she will ruin swiftly and brilliantly, as she well merits to do."

Mrae. Sarah Bernhardt, in a letter addressed to the Petit Parisien anent the war, said: "This is a holy war, the holiest of all the wars that have ever afflicted humanity. It is not for tho sake of a flag, but for all humanity, that the soldiers are fighting and falling. It is to secure the end once for all of all wars; it is for the sake of universal peace. When I learned that our tricolour was floating over the soil of Alsace, so great was my joy that I fainted from emotion. Ah! how I regret that I ara not a man, so that I might devote myself to the great task of fighting the barbarians who for too long have been the scourge of the whole world."

Miss Gertie Millar was, when the last mail left London, making a great hit at the Coliseum in selections from her greatest musical comedy successes. This is Miss Millar's first appearance on the variety stage.

Mr. Hugh J. Ward has taken a great interest in the production of "Seven Keys to Baldpate," at the Sydney Criterion, by the Fred Niblo Company, having seen it in New York last year. " He also was the guest of the author, George M. Cohan, in that city. One night they went together to a well-known cabaret, Mr. Ward being the playwright's guest. They settled down to supper in a private room. During the progress of the meal all the artists of the cabaret, together with the orchestra, entertained them. Mr. Ward subsequently discovered that Mr. Cohan had contracted with the proprietor of the cabaret for all his talent to contribute solely to his guesf's entertainment.

Mr. David Belasco, the well-known New York producer, is shortly to produce, in association with Mr. Andrew Carnegie, an elaborate spectacle drama employing about one thousand persons, and called " The Prince of Peace." The play will contain a plea, for universal peace and the brotherhood of man, and will mark an innovation in Mr. Carnegie's world-wide propaganda and in Mr. Belasco's operations.

In " The Prince of Peace " a history of the world will be epitomised and unfolded in a series of stage pictures of cruel tyranny, of selfishness and of the tragic misery and devastation following in the train of war. The drama shows Christ as the first apostle of peace, and is woven together and made appealingly human by the use of the character in legendary lore. Cartaphilus, the Roman doorkeeper for Pilate, who struck Jesus as he came out of the Hall of Judgment. Therefore this grim character is made the Dante who wanders with majestic sadness through the world, the philosophic observer of all that transpires in the centuries down which he travels.

Mr. Matheson Lang, acting on his doctor's advice, had been taking a holiday after playing " Mr. Wu " for nearly three hundred performances at the London Strand. Recognising, however, the great hardship it would inflict on the staff if the theatre closed, he wired to Mr. Louis Meyer offering to return at a purely nominal salary, and. according to the Era, is reappearing in his famous creation.

Miss Florence Young has formed a small company of well-known players to tour the country towns of New South Wales, and afterwards of other States, in "The Climax." The piece is by Edward Locke, and is concerned with a girl studying for a vocal career, Adelina (played by Miss Young) ; a young doctor, John Raymond (Reginald Roberts); an old teacher of singing. Luigi Golfanti (Claude Bantock); and his son, Pietro (Edmund Sherras). The action takes place in New York. Dr. Raymond is in love with Adelina, and as he does not wish her ever to sing in public, he causes her to think that by using her voice at all for some time she will be in danger of losing it, and finally that it has really gone. The deceit is detected, and all ends happily. The play is said to have both humour and pathos.

Mr. Charles Frohman has decided to extend the engagement of " The Beautiful AdvesjLure " at the Lyceum Thealre, London, indefinitely. Mr. Edward Sheldon's new play The Song of Songs," which was to open there in November, will continue un tour.

An experiment to determine the effect of the human singing voice upon the various strains of canaries was made recently by Miss Rene Dietrich, who is singing at the Tivoli Theatre, Sydney. The experiment was at the aviary of the Ornithological Society in New Yorh. Miss Dietrich says the Belgian birds, with their stork-like legs, appeared delighted ; the Scotch birds were not responsive ; the pepper-fed Nnrwiehs simply took notice ; but the German birds, singers by nature, listened attentively, their heads cocked amusingly, and finally burst into song on their own account.

Tho Little Theatre in London is the home of a new play, " A Pair of Silk Stockings," by Cyril Harcourt. The effect of the war in England upon the theatrical profession was summarised by the Stage on August 20, in the. following terms : —" It is, of course, too early to say how far tho autumn season mid tours will be affected by the war; hut we are glad to note that so far as , l>ondon productions already announced are concerned, managers are not cancelling their arrangements, though later dates I have been chosen in some cases. In the provinces there is a considerable steadying from the rather panic-stricken attitude some managers were inclined to adopt last week, and the general feeling, apart from the few managers who have cancelled or suspended their tours, seems to he to 'carry en' as long as possible. We con-: foss we have little sympathy with Umtse ] managers who have abruptly abandoned . their tours without giving the artists under their control some alternative to the ' finish on Saturday.' The public generally throughout the country, as our reports show, are not forsaking the theatres altogether, though, of course, seaside resort* nave suffered considerably through the curtailment- of holidays. Actors and actresses in many of the disbanded companies would have been content to struggle along on reduced salaries until the reaction set in. Many managers have made arrangements with their companies on some such basis." 1 "Sweet Nell of Old Prury," Paul Rotor's romantic play of Neil Gwynne. and Charles 11.. was revived at the Theatre Rmal, Sydney, recently Miss Nellie. Swart gave a fine tendering of the principal character. I Mcsico-Dkasiaticcs.