MUSIC NOTES

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 7319, 24 December 1910, Page 8

MUSIC NOTES

(By "A Flat")

It is seldom that a company with a finer repertoire and a stronger cast has been despatched for the Dominion than the Now C'omio Opera Company, and playgoers will have an excellent feast of theatrical fare provided for them. Tho repertoire will include “The Merry Vvulow," "The Waltz Drehm," "The Dollar Princess," and "A Knight for a Day." In order that . the two firstnamed operas may receive full justice tho new comics' company has been augmented by tho inclusion of Mr Reginald, Roberts and Miss iTorenc© Young, whoj will play their original parts, with the' •extra attraction of Mr Beit Gilbert as Popoff and Lother in the respective, operas. Miss Florence Young will also appear in tho part of Olga, the lion-* tamer, in "The Dollar Princess," with 1 'M-ss Olivo Godwin (who is tho best exponent of tho part so far in Australia) as Alice Conder, daughter rof the multimillionaire, Harry Q. Gouder, which latter role, of course, will be taken by (Mr Bert Gilbert. Mr Frank Greene will tappear as Danilo in "The Merry' [Widow," and of his interpretation of. the part it may be said that he is con-, -sidored on© of the best exponents in England...

Madame Ada Crossley, who sang the contralto part in Each’s "St. Matthew ’Passion" music at tho recent Leeds festival, has relinquished singing as she, wanted a rest. She will resume her professional engagements at Manchester on; [Tuesday. In March of next year Madame Crossley goes to Africa for a lengthy tour.

According to the Melbourne "Argus" M. Ossipcfi, who accompanies Lawrence Campbell on his Dominion tour and who will make his first appearance in Wellington at the Opera House *on Christmas night, "has a voice of remark.ablo compass, and can. take an A in alt or a D below with equal ease and vigour. Ho is remarkably unconventional in his style, and always intensely ■emotional and dramatic." , .

The chief topic in English musical j circles, when the last mail left London, twas the. appointment of Air London

Ronald (who takes tho placet of tho late Dr Cum lugs) as Principal of tho Guildhall School of Music, which is universally approved of, though many are a little alarmed at tho boldness of the experiment in putting at the head of a large teaching staff a musician who lias never himself bean a teacher. Mr Ronald has been so closely in touch, however, with every branch of music, and. above ail, with tho public, that ho will doubtless be better able .to gauge the needs of the school than on® who has spent most of his days in the not always blueing atmosphere of tho classroom. In comparison with other conservatoires tho Guildhall School _ bi Music has always suffered from the idea which has become firmly tooted in, the public mind that tho former students of tho Guildhall School had not as good a chance in after life as tho pupils of the Other colleges. This belief induced many of tho most promising students and scholars of the Guildhall School to avail themselves of tho rule which permits former students to take scholarships at the Acaacmy or College, a,nd thus tae Guildhall School was deprived of muon of tho credit which was duo to it and also ov those wnom it would have boon easiest To help in their professional career. No one has over pretended that tuc teaching per se was inferior at tho Guildhall school, because, as; a matter of fact, there is a considerable number of professois working at more than one of cue coU.tges. 'J'no presence of amateur Students at tho Guildhall School lias also affected public opinion, though it -s u.Uicu.t 10 s-o now uuf can afKdt those wno are studying for the profession by tho metre fact of their working iu tho sumo building. It is the same with regard to the rule which makes the stuny of theory of music optional there, whereas it is compulsory at tho Royal College'and the Koval Academy, for that vuie did not affect those who wishud to study it and could obtain the hoot teaching. Mr Ronald will no doubt Know how to raise the school to the level of its fellows, and certainly tne met that ho will, in tho natural course of things, bo the conductor' of the students' orchestra, shou.d in itself servo to attract many woukl-bo orchestial players.

There arc rumours of a series of performances of •••xne mug,” under tne dtrecuou of Mr Beecnam, at Covent Garden in January and rduruary.

Miss Era Mylott, the Sydney contralto, lias signed a three years" con tract with D. lii. dotmstou, the American impresario. Her concert lour will emurace all the principal western cities, extending as far as me r'aciiic coast, it is staled vuat m January, of nest year Miss Myiutt will muse her debut in grand opciu at the Chicago Opera arouse. That indefatigable traveller. Mile. An* lonia. Dolores, who knows oy tms time more a-vout Australia tnau many of tno Australians themselves, returned to Sydney uus ween irom one of those comprehensive conceit toms which ©ne and nor companion. Mile. Vanaour, carry tmougn witn so much light-h-eartedness, though the dimcuiues to be faced might bo -expected to daxuic any ordinary son. Tins journey proven more uonsive Urau any undertaken before in Australia, and emerged an enormous territory, as lar as and Aiareoua, in tno north, and ivaigCtoriie in tne west, From Brisbane tno sweet singer vvcuc to tiympie, juaryoorough, Bundi> berg, Rockhampton, ana jiouui muagaa; fivni Gladstone to Townsville by steamer, tnen by rail to Charters Towers, back to Townsville, then by steamer to Cairns, and incidentally ■to see the famous Barwon Pails. Tno country towns of New South Wales 011 the western lino were visited before her departure ibr Victoria, wnero i-he tang in.' Ballarat;' Goeiong, and many otner places, before setting out for tae west. At the* time or her visit to Kulgoome, Mile. Dolores found tne town so t-seiuxl over the Bullfinch discoveries that the people could talk of nothing else, and it was graveiy proposed to ner tnat conceits at tne town at tuat crisis in its history would have proven quite memorable. The ptiojne, arcer searching tor nuggets all aay, would have rejo-icud in. tae chance of having their excited souls by fcito cuarm of sweet music in the evening, sue was told; but as the only available concert hall appeared to be “a Un isnantj/' or something of the kind, the proposal was not accepted. Another inteicbCiiirg feature of tno trip in West Australia was the visit to the New Norcia Mission, where Mile. Dolores and Mile. Vandour were shown over tho schools and the extensive farm and Vineyard, and heard a choir of native children sing part songs in English, Latin, and Spauisn remarkably well. Mile. Dolores wild leave for New Zealand on January 21st, and begin the conoertioiu* of the Dominion in Invercargill on • February 6th. In travelling, northward, she will visit new territory, including the West Coast district of the South Island. From Wellington she will travel to Auckland by way of Palmerston, Wanganui, and New Plymouth, singing also at many other places on the way, and from Auckland she will return to ■Wellington by way of Gisborne. Miss Dorothy Penfold, daughter of Dr Ponfold, of Bendigo, Victoria, who has gained her diploma in London for singing, is having a satisfactory tour in the English provinces. ’