ENTERTAINMENTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18468, 3 August 1923, Page 12

ENTERTAINMENTS.

. '.■'■ ...—', •'••••>! ;.■".■''./ : ::'■;: ',y '•,! AUCKLAND CHORAL SOCIETY. - , j The 'attention of the large audience j attending the second concert of the season by the Auckland Choral Society \ at .'; the | Town Hall last evening was principally centred upon' the; performance .Qf ; Mozart's masterly and always-?' popular "Twelfth Mass." The. passing -of the years/ causes no wavering of the affections of tile aver age : listener or its many/ fine phrases and massive harmonies. Both voices : and orchestra, are r employed to the fullest advantage 'i ,while in the solo /department .the-utmost is demanded of the exponents. The continual recurrence; .''.•of;-high notes for the sopranos, y and Indeed for most of the. choral departments, frequely'■;proves,' as was the case' last evening, a severe tax upon ; the singers; : A considerable; • depletion of the performing was noticed at this function, the reason, of; course, being ■*•the;'. prevailing' influenza epidemic. Owin£ to - this, the miscellaneous gramme which preceded the performance of the "Twelfth Mass" had to undergo some amendment. Mr. A. H. Ripley, who j was .suffering from a bad cold, was ex-j cused from his share in. the tenor music of the Prelude from Maseagni's "Cavaiieria! Rusticana/' though later he valiantly did : his best in the solo lines allotted to :him in /• Mozart's , work. Mrs. '< Herbert Bloy, solo pianiste, wp,s indisposed 'end Unable to appear, her place being ■-, taken at the last moment by : Miss Evelyn 'Wy man, < who gave a highly artistic performance of Liszt's "Concert EfrUde,'' following with a dainty rendering of Beethoven's /"Coimhy / Dance," tin response to an insistent recall. Mrs. ; C. G. Alcorn (soprano) was not; uniformly; interesting "; in %_.;Majiirison's "Sing! Break Into Song," which also suffered • ■ from ! too much vibrate in the higher : register. many' beauties of the score of ; Massenet's" Prelude, "Dernier 1 Sommeil de la Vierge," , as interpreted ';. by the string orchestra, were apparent to all, and' the item was 1 warmly redemanded. .Handfel, would : probably have been distressed at the almost hurricane pace at which Mr. A, 6 Colledge's solo, "Why Do the Nations from "The Messiah," was taken but it gained v a recall? nevertheless. . Vigorous "■ indeed was the rendering of the basso, who nearly always voiced his chains of triplets with,, distinctness. Considering the prevailing' conditions, Mozart's "Twelfth Mass" received an adequate rendering. , Several sections, "particularly; the "Gloria," with its / ultimate development ..complicated frugal writing, and the/} "Credo" and ; expressive "Benedictns, by soloists and choir, rose to a high standard ■of interpretation. .'-The principals .were ;■ V Mrs. ' /•; C. /' G. " Alcorn (soprano). Miss Muriel Barr ' (contralto), Mr. AH.: Ripley (tenor), and Mr. A. G. Colledge (bass). " Though they lacked some unanimity in their Latin pronuncia- j tion, all sang'with certainty, particularly in the involved measures, and to Mr. i Ripley must be given the ; credit of i rising | superior to the disabilities of a heavy cold; I ; The choir gave frequent evidence of careful training, and never did anything better than the difficult fugal ; pari; beginning, "Gum Sancto \ Spiritu." The /more! rousing .numbers -were' given; with;,: well- j intoned'; volume, while the quieter move-;] ments were'not lost sight '.of. ;';'■ A numerous orchestra had-much to do in setting I out the many beauties of the frequently--complicated and descriptive instrumentation, -and mostly good account of itself . Mr. Colin conducted'-with' his usual skill,;v Miss Edith .Whitelaw" was highly efficient as orchestral leader, while Mr. Cyril Towsey provided tasteful piano accompaniments. ALBERT ORCHESTRA. 1 " * / A most successful concert was given by the Albert .Symphony Orchestra in ; the Town Hall concert chamber last evening, before an appreciative ; audience. Mr., G. i. Harold i Hardey was the i conductor, and assisting, artists were Miss I. C. Walker, and: Messrs. ' K. 1 Impett ; and .; At' McElw.ajm Some of the most appreciated ~of i'the' orchestral " items were Mendelssohn's ;"War ' March of the Priests " (Athalie),' which was ; played with fine effect, a medley '7 by ,Dix -; entitled " The Musical 1 Critic's , Dream,"; andv;Beethoyeii|a: overture, ;''The Men of Prometheus. Other .orchestral items were, Kussner's;';"'Even-'■'. ; ing Hour," a suite of ; three 'dances frdm: " NellxGwyn,''."by German,., and the "Beautiful Blue Danube," at waltz by; 'Strauss. ■, Miss Walker was heard to. advantage '.': in two ,itemo, ,■'.;■". Still as the Night" (Bohm), and Yonder (Oliver). Mr. Kenneth Impettt who was accompanied by Miss E. Craig, sang, v with fine /effect,; " All ; Must Bow to the Call of ' Gold," : from ; Faust ,(Gounod .tan old. Welsh air; as well as AH: Thro' the Night," and "To Anthrea-*>' (Hatton). An f unusually? fine programme wastcbii7p. ,pleted*with an interlude of humour given by Mr. A. '/'McElwain ':';■; ■■■'. ; ; _ ■7[;'■ ';■/: '/;j;; : t'J. LYRIC THEATRE, "Wildfire." by \ Zanb Grey,: one ■. of / the most ; popular -of'writer's, has been used as; trieibasis for the Gfoldwyn picture, , 'When Romance Rides," which "will be the chief attraction/ at the Lyric Theatre-this evning and for the following week. Thematically it is an animal "story; at ; least two •thirds.of -;■; tha ;| picture ■ 'bniidingtup the spectators' interest in the doings ofijjat wonderful horse. When the horse in' question, Wildfire, i has ';. won bis .exciting race, the. interest is cleverly - transferred ,to the ■ girl, Lury Bostil, splayed by ] Claire Adams, and there "follow scenes of further :excitement and suspense. The three principal equines used in : the picture are; saidtto-'J>e : .superb animals, and there is' also a:remarkably ; fine dog.. r The story tellsi how Lucy finds that a rascally neighbour of" her father's, in , Colorado,- has; stolen Buckles, the fleetest colt ; ever bred on her ranch, and has entered him in the {annual; horse race under; another, name. She knows that this means t that her own horse, Sago King, will be beaten.' ""Sho is led by Rin-tin-tin,<;; a-t Belgian t police dog, to his; master, ; Lin Sloane,/who' has fallen exhausted 1 after having ';: captured a marvellous wild / horse, Wilifire. ; t After; she.-has broken-in this-steed ' she enters him in the t racO without telling her father. Sago King is "doped'.' by the villain, but Lucy rides Wildfire" to victory. ;tr- Lucy is .then kidnapped f and tied -to her . horse back, but, through the'dog, she is saved; I"; • t'r .--■ ■~ r ~~ .-. - V -:■ j # GRAND THEATRE. A new Paramount programme will be I screened ■.", at X the * Grand ■ Theatre t to-day ■ and ; or; the -ensuing week. ; : ■ The chief picture will % be, t *'. Nice t People," featuring Wallace /Reid and Bebe Daniels. The story.' concerns Theodora Gloucester, who belongs to a group of "nice people" who drink, t- smoke, t gamble, and ; flirt. ;-1 She fancies herself to be/in love with Scotty ;Wilbur, the best dancer in ; her set, - and despite i the objections ;* of her t father and aunt she goes 'to a road-house '.parity with' ScbttytThere- she meets Billy; Wade (Wallace Reid) just back from ; service abroad, and the //whole course of the girl'atlife; is altered. ■■ The. second ; feature will bo';' thei Harold t; Lloyd comedy, "Now or Never;" This is said to be crammed /with thrills / and hearty laughs./1 A/ small | girl of four or five years old is the mo. , five .of the plot. She *is being kid- ■ napped* by a■. maid, and when ;■ the train is met by the latter's young man she hands over the child and Harold'st'adt ventures begin. Little Anna Mav Bilson is very winning in the little girl role, and Lloyd is as entertaining as,ever. - • PRINCESS THEATRE. , The new, programme to . be screened at the Princess /Theatre to-day i and for t the following week twill be : headed .tbyt' the picture, "What Woman Will Do," in which Anna Q. Nilssdn plays the lead- 1 ing /role,;.- that ;; of girl who has been the victim of environment in "her youth, but, who is iidopted by r a rich woman tand brought ;;fo see the error of her ways. The drama ;is said to be tense and the emo-tional-note a /powerful; s ;one.f ; Allan 'Forrest will be seen opposite the star,; A further episode iin t the / exciting >vs serial, The Timber Queen,", will also be shown , with Ruth Roland ax the-heroine of many adventures. A now^Pathel Review, and a comedy, "Hot off the Press," will'com-' ;plele the list of attractions. -

■i :. _< i(i ii':i'i •'". i ',li i" '"■ ''hi. n •'imt 't, , 11YOLI THEATRE. ■' A: Spaninh-Americah sporting romance is Gloria Swanson's new Paramount pic- v ture, "My''Jimerican Wife," which is to '. be .the principal feature of the new. pro- : :,.;.', gramme to; be screened at the Tivoli Theatre this evening and for IW& week to ' follow. It is described as a love drama , set in a tropical land, where passions and politics are the favourite sports. In' the ;/ :t: supporting cast are Antonio Moreno, as a t / fiery Spanish lover, > Walter Long ..as a -•'.•- picturesque /I'aridit, and host of othor - favourites, v The story tellu how Natalie Chester, the beautiful daughter o? a Ken- t'ttucky racing stable:' owner, finds hcrsc'.l! in the Argentine, where she is to entoi: ■■'■'-■'"if her horse, Scarnpaway, in a race on this : r Speedway. The entry is an unknown quantity, and the favourite is Rivadavia,. ■ - owned by : Manuel La Tassa, a young man k ■■:' of good family, but ; little interested in the ■• politics of v his country;"'/the dominant-; '1 powers in which are powerful and un- f scrupulous-conspirators,- headed by Carlos ~.U. de Grossa/ Manuel's mother selects as a- {[, wife for her son,' Horten&ia, a young and ' ' •■/■' beautiful Castiiliart girl. , Manuel, how- ' ''■ over, treats the affair with indifference, '" and seems to be devoted only to his horso ' and racing. , When Natalie's horse wins ' . i the race he seeks an introduction to her, and she ■ accepts an 'invitation to a party at hi.* studio that evening. There Pedro ■ '■)■ de Grossa, son '~ of ; the : political/ leader, forces his attention upon "the girl, and Manuel rushes to her rescue. - Pedro thai- ' i lefiges him to a duel, Natalie has escaped, and. later , learns of the pending duel. She i goes to the duelling ground, and arrives iust • as Manuel falls wounded. She nurses him "- book to health, and, after eliciting epi- /'. ' ; ■Phn*"'.." % are united. "The Fatal' Photo will provide the comedy ele- , ' «*-■ -i $*V wiU -> good supporting Lf d T mg , °T °. f B * edal educational interest. The latter is the New -Zealand ' government picture, "Samoa," £"* comprehensive serial, in four e3 l s , S„ with life and rndustry at Samoa anrf-w «?*'■'" ' New Zealand administration. . This i»„f' has been taken especially. f or v'tfKi. * the British Empire Exhibition. g ' lfc