"MERRIE ENGLAND"

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21906, 15 September 1934, Page 10 (Supplement)

"MERRIE ENGLAND"

AUCKLAND CHORAL SOCIETY BALLET TO BE USED The Auckland Choral Society, which gave such a successful performance of Sir Edward German's light opera, " Merrie England," in August last year, is to repeat the work in the Town Hall on October 4, under the direction of Mr. Colin Muston. A feature of the presentation this year is to be its semioperatic atmosphere and an innovation will be the use of a ballet under the control of Miss Cecil Hall for the many delightful dance measures included in the score of the opera. Thiß compromise between the concert hall and the operatic stage has been a noticeable development among English choral sc leties in recent years. There will be a chorus of 160 voices and an orchestra of approximately 30 instruments. The full cast of soloists has not yet been decided upon, but among the principal parts will be the following:—Miss It. J. Fish, soprano, as Bessie; Miss Reta MacCullay, soprano, as the May Queen; Madame Irene Ainslie, contralto, as Queen Elizabeth and Jill; Mr. S. Duncan, tenor, a recent arrival from Wellington, who will make his Town Hall debut as Sir Walter Raleigh; Mr. Len Barnes, baritone, as the Earl of Essex; Mr. Ernest Thomas, bass, as Long Tom; and Mr. J Brookes, bass, as Big Tom.