GRAND OPERA FOR AUCKLAND

New Zealand Times, Volume LIII, Issue 12394, 13 March 1926, Page 14

GRAND OPERA FOR AUCKLAND

Madame Irene Ainsley, who has returned to Auckland, is now engaged in the formation of a grand opera choir. This will consist oi some twenty-five voices, And will support the various productions which Madame Ainsley proposes to produce during the ensuing year.. , • • • • Included will be the singing lesson from' the “Daughter of the Regiment," the famous duets from "Lohengrin" and "Cayalleria ' Kusticana,". quartet from "Bigoletto,” kitchen scene from "Martha," gabden scene from "Faust," and the prison scene from "II Trovatore.” ' • • • ' • CARUSO AND RECORDS "ft is not generally known,” says an offioial of 4he H.M.V. Co., "that Caruso s whole career was very largely influenced by 10 gramophone records which he made for the company at the fee (then the largest ever paid) of .£IOO for the loti These were heard by. the directors of the Metropolitan Opera, New York, who cabled for Caruso to appear at the Metropolitan, which ha continued to do until the time of his death. Nowadays there is something ; in the. gramophone record lists for everyone—from the lowest or pegroid .browed to the most impressive of^elevations J—save only for the. deaf. The most able thing 'about recent developments of record-making is undoubtedly the' attention to the masterpieces of music. It is, curious that this is peculiarly a, British development,, not paralleled in. America. The symphonies and quartettes, the concertos, and the excerpts from Wagnerian operas, which now pour from the factories, are a credit both to the enterprise of the firms /and to. the tadte of their customers. /Uncle Charlies' Album'' will ,• keep children amused for hours. These records include "The Pixie Fiddler,” "Stars and Moonbeams,” "The "Cuckoo Clock,” "Miss Priscilla Pris,” "Are th# Blue Moon Fair,” "Bubble Land,” and 'The Brown Family.” There is also a duet recorded by -Unole Charlie and Aunt Agnes, called "General Jack.” , ..What is it about the pipes that causes the pulse to quicken at the sound of them P The charm of tho country dance wiU never die, and the Scotch Country 1 Dance Orchestra (conducted by j. Michael Diak) contributes "Triumph” and "The Haymakers,” two Gaelic reels that will be accorded a warm welcome, and "Highland. Fling” and "Grand Old •Duke,' _two other fine traditional tunes. The Varaldi band gives us a further lot of tango records—" Sunny Havana.” La Mantilla,” andf others—with marked accents* and even more interesting are the performances of the Rio Grande Tango Band, which apparently uses the pig-toned concertina to give the music its characteristic timbre, *■ - * The. "His Master's Voice” .. concern, which recently celebrated its silver jubilee, has been a benefactor to the making of cartoons. > The. dog design had been adopted by. cartoonists in ovary European and most other countries; the dog itself has masqueraded as Mr Joseph Chamberlain, Mr Asquith, Mr A. J. Balfour, Mr /Lloyd George, Mr Ramsay MacDonald, and many; others. Its latest incarnation occurred during the Australian shipping trouble. ■ “• ' . • ■ 9

■ *1 Miss my Swiss" is pretty wellknown by this time, but it is extraordinary what 4 a strong demand continues for it, according to correspondence from distributors. Fresh supplies have, just arrived from the Columbia ateliers, and more are on the way. Ted Lewis and his band give a rousing fox-trot version of this latest craie. Vocally Ernest Hare and Billy Jones are recorded in a duet about this missing Swiss.

Charles Rasher, who photographed Mary Bickford in all her pictures for over seven years, "shot” from high trestles;, over roaring: streams, and in many other dangerous places, without injury,-' only to meet his Waterloo in a peaceful Berlin taxi-cab. As he ©topped from the Vehicle in the German capital recently, Bosher fell and dislocated his shoulder.