THEATRICAL GOSSIP.

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXI, Issue 4301, 9 March 1901, Page 1 (Supplement)

THEATRICAL GOSSIP.

(BY " LORGNETTE.”) From a reliable source I now learn that the Ladies’ Musical Association, the conductorship of which Herr Max Hoppe has accepted, is an entirely new organisation. Pull particulars will shortly be made public. Lady Douglas, I understand, is taking an active part in the formation of the society The first rehearsal of Mr Maughan Barnett’s Canterbury Jubilee ode took place on Thursday night at St. John’s schoolroom. It was successful from every point of view. Miss Aland Fanning, a sister* of Chas Fanning, by the way, is a big success at the Choral Hall. Bluett appears to be as groat a favourite as ever at fuller’s popular house. That charming vocalist. Miss Katie Lynn, will be replaced to-night by miss Lena Young, a contralto, of whom great things are expected. The music halls have both been doing great business lately. The programme at tho Theatre Royal (Dix’s Gaiety Company) is especially good this week—the Tylers,-Frank Clark, Arthur Hahn, Olive Lenton, and Eileen Boyd all contributing to an entertainment of exceptional merit. • Miss Kate Connell’s farewell concert will take place at tbe Opera House on tbe 14th inst. Miss Connell, as a young singer of brilliant promise and one who is likely tp do us credit in the Old World, whither she goes shortly to complete her musical education, is worthy of the warm support of all lovefrs of music in Wellington.

Among the novelties in Fitzgerald Bros.’ Circus, at present showing with great success at Dunedin, may be mentioned the Dunbar trio (from' Bahnum’s World’s Greatest Show), Mdlle Rhodesia, the astonishing lady society juggler—the only rival to Paul Oinquevalli; the Jandaschovsky Family: clowns, pantomimists, dancers, comedians, equestriennes, etc., fx-om the Grand Cirque, Russe; La Belle Rose, thfi. swirl dancer, on the rolling globe; Madame Adeline Antonio, direct from the London Aquarium —the greatest aerialist the world has even seen; Mdlle Katie, the charming lady rider; Mdlle: Millie Dagmar, the faumous “Haute Ecolo” equestrienne; the brothers Karl, the world-famed horizontal bar artists; Mdlle. Margaretta, the daring' hurdle rider, direct from Cirque Raney, Boulogne, France; Guilliume and Aougust, the French clowns, in their great sketch, “The Toreadors”—the whole forming a vast array of the greatest arenio talent on the face of the earth.

Wallace King, tlie favourite tenor, will shortly leave for New Zealand under engagement to Mr P. R. Dix. Miss Irene Franklin, a clever variety artiste, is also expected to join Mr Dix’s Company in a month or two. Mr Charles ; Arnold is considered in New Zealand":the hotel-keepers’ masootte. Wherever he goes with his company (writes a correspondent) the hotels are crowded with country people, .who come in from -miles aVound to see ‘What .Happened to Jones” and “Why Smith Left Homo.”

I understand that Madame Carlton, Miss Violet Mount, Miss Ethel Magirinity, and Miss Vartlia, Messrs E. J. Hill and Pape have been engaged for the St. Patrick’s Day concert. Little Irene Morris, on eight-year-old violiniste, who is described-as a wonder, will play at Miss Hollander’s return concert on the 11th inst.

The improvement in the tastes of the frequenters of English concert halls is indicated by the enormous popularity enjoyed by such really first-class actresses as Mrs Brown-Potter ,_ Miss Elliott Page and others. Speaking of Mrs Brown-Potter’s engagement at the Palace Theatre of Varieties an exchange says it has been a highly successful one in all ways, the gifted actress’s recital of T. P. Itidgwoil’s poem, entiled “What says England?” particularly nailing for praise. So many young New Zealanders-- are directing their steps to Europe in search, of musical honours that a glimpse behind that far-away curtain will be of interest to many of my readers. The following , gratifying criticism appeared in a Liege newspaper— “La Meuse” : “Miss Nora McKay, a young Australian, surpassed all others. She is quite a young pupil of M. Musin’s, who prophesies for her a bright future. She showed great ability and knowledge of high-class music in' her rendering of •La Folia’ (Corelli), with a cadenza by Leonard, and Ernst’s Fantasia and March on ‘Otello’—full of the greatest technical difficulties. f The enraptured audience demanded a third appearance of this talented virtuoso, and Miss McKay then surpassed herself, playing the Spanish airs of Sarasate, in which there is plenty of scope for true elegance of phrasing and complete mechanism of the violin.” This promising debutante, who, we are told, succeeded in carrying off at the annual examination in July last, the first prize with distinction, after two years study (a success that had not previously been achieved for 25 years), is under engagement for several concerts in Paris and London. She will, in all probability, arrive in Melbourne on her way to Queensland early in April, and purposes giving one or two recitals here.

An interesting discussion has been troing on in a Condon paper lately on the sub.iect of pianoforte playing and its rivals. An interview was sought with Dr Cummings, the principal of the Guildhall School of Music, and the questions were put: “Are women forsaking the pianoforte, and, if they are, to what other musical work do they give most attention P” Said Dr Cummings at.once in reply; “I do not think there are fewer women than formerly studying the pianoforte. On the contrary, I think there has been an increase of late; but it is certain that the number of women violinists has increased' to a remarkable -degree; there are probably ten times more than there were ten years ago. That fact, perhaps, it may be that has caused the sounding of the alarmist note to which you refer as to the alleged abandoning of the pianoforte. The mandoline has made no difference in the proportion of pianoforte students, the taste for that instrument —-the mandoline —being, like the wea'ther, somewhat fickle. We have a considerable number of mandoline students, and a few who study the guitar, and personally I am sorry that this latter instrument has been most unduly neglected of late years. To prove to you that the pianoforte is very far indeed. | from being out in the cold, I may meni tion that in this building we have no I fewer than 140 pianos constantly in I use. Of lessons of all sorts we give 80 at a time, in 80 different class rooms.

Noise? You l ran hear very little soiuwl indeed, even, if you stand with your ear close to the organ room. The secret la that all the rooms have double glass doors. , , irrT , A Sydney paper declares that Harry! Roberts is making great progress ur America, and is now fulfilling a firstclass engagement. “These vague allegations suggest that the young man will soon return to Australia. Boberte_ is a bright actor who ought to make headway anywhere, but if he has done anything important in America, why not furnish some details? ' . Mr Snazello is working industriously at the Melbourne Athenaeum Hall with two performances daily of “Our Navy. Ill© pictures are so good that they jnay he seen ■ several times without losing their-freshness, and “Drake”s Dram, as sung by the entertainer, is always good for an encore. “The Great Ruby” -s still a muohdbught jewel at the Melbourne Royal, and further consideration compels one to award the palm for sensational effect to the balloon ascent in the third act. Since the sub-marine fight of divers, nothing so hair-raising has been presented to playgoers. Mr Baker is now. several shades darker as Prince Kassim than he was on the opening night, and the altered make-up is a decided improvment. As Lady Garnett, the wife of a “nouveau riche,” Mrs Bland Holt has made a palpable hit. She enjoys a monopoly of the comedy business, and she uses her power wisely and beneficiently. . . ■ , . , Mr Budyard Kipling has completed the dramatisation or “The Jungle Book, and it will bo produced before the end of the year in London, under the title of “The Jungle Play."

The disposition shown by some musicians of Anglo-Saxon parentage to masquerade under foreign names, _ in order to disguise their nationality, is a mat. ter that has often given rise to comment. Mr Foley became Signor Foil; Signor Campobello, the husband, of Madame Simoo, in reality belonged to the clan which owns the Duke of Argyll as its head. William Green was once well-known -to Melbourne theatregoers —but under the style and title of Guglielmo Verdi, a literal Italian translation of his proper patronymic; and of course 'our own Madame Melba is another instance in point. But surely the name of John Dunn. one_ of the very best of modern English violinists, ought to be sufficiently familiar in America, (remarks Melbourne Age ) to render such a process superfluous in his case. Mr Dunn, however, evidently thinks otherwise. He says that the ■ average American prefers artists with . foreign names. This contention may be true or false; tbere is room, perhaps, for doubt on that score. But none can conveniently arise as to tin® completeness of the method Mr Dunn selected during his recent tour in the States, in order to fall in with this supposed preference. Plain John Dunn blossoms forth before an amazed _ trans'Atlantic public' 1 as Ivan Donoiowski! There is nothing like doing athing thorouglily while you axe about it. signor Raffelewski, who recently visited Wellington,* is another example- His family name, I understand, is King. : Mr Harry Conor, who recently travelled through New Zealand, is supporting Miss Edna May in the new play, “The Girl from Up,” in which she is starring under Charles Frohmann s management in New York. , , " “Banjo” Paterson’s Queensland tour, includes visits to all the principal coastal towns as far north as Charters Towers. . . , . After the termination of their season with Mr Williamson Miss Crane and Mr Power intend to form a company of their own, and at present are negotiating for a theatre. 1 ... ~ ■- “Here it is again! Froin “Cassell s , on .Melba: —“There are colonials who ignore theix - own colony. Bub Madame Molha, wise woman, is proud of hers. It is*her wish, as soon as circumstances permit, to pay a visit to the country, and tossing, first of all, at Melbourne, , from which town, hy the way, she took her name of Melba. The very, finest artists available she will engage to accompany her on her tour. Australia, must have only the best,’ she declares. This concert-party, it is understood, has booked its passage for Ist April, 1987. —(“Bulletin.”) . , . There’s on song in “Cinderella —-the ballroom song—says the “Bulletin,’ which “gives away” the cruel truth re Nellie /Stewart’s voice. If she could sit in front of the house for once and hear herself sing it Nellie would either abandon the song altogether or have the music altered. All the ravages of time are recorded in Nellie’s treatment of that monotonous ditty. . American actress Nance O Neill is said to be a sister to Frank Lawton, the clever ’Murkan whistler who was here with the Chinatown crowd. Bub the yarn dioesn’t look over-probable. Lawton was mostly skin and bone. Veteran R. 8. Smythe on spry young manager Geaoh: “Ah, it is a good thing to he so young- and «,to know so much.”—“Bulletin.” , . '

Snazelle’s , remarks on _ Johannesburg in his new book of reminiscences, are a warning to ■ would-be contingents—“We here struck our first illness on our tour, all the five of our party being down with fever. I managed to get np after four days in bed and, to cheer* myself, walked to the cemetery to see the graves of six actor friends who had died in the town. I met many of our good Australian mechanic friends who had sailed with us to Africa, each of them longing to get hack. I invited them into our entertainment .on the first night when it was possible to give it, and sjhowed them some of the perpetual green forest scenery of their native land, taking care to remind them that- they had often grumbled at' its monotony, and how much better it was than the monotony of the barren veldt —a country in which you travel for hundreds of miles without seeing a smgl& tree. Before I had done with them T saw some of these Australians wiping away the furtive tear.”—"Bulletin.”, Re Kelly Gang piece, produced by the Henry Company in New Zealand last year, Kate Kelly (married) resides in a suburb of Perth, W.A. , The original Kate Kelly of the drama (Miss Ada Grantleigh), an Adelaide girl, is now living in Wellington, New Zealand. The original Father Gibney of the drama is Mr Fred Grantleigh, now in business in Adelaide,—“Quiz.” “What Happened tr Johnson” is the name of a new farcical comedy to be produced in America. If the prefix “What Happened to” is to run the gamut of the whole directory of names, a veritable comedy of error' imminent.