The Royal Grand Opera.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXXIV, Issue 9656, 9 October 1907, Page 1

The Royal Grand Opera.

FAUST. It is pleasingly fitting, -and a compli-n-out alike to the public of Oamaru the management, first company • of .entertainers to test- the -potentialities • 1 of Oamaru'e Municipal Opera House should have been Musgrove's Grand Opera Comi pany; and not- only is this so owing to j the fact that the appearance of the comI pauy 'enhances, greatly the value of the ; ; opening, but also because the erection of ' I what is described as .being one of the most up-to-date theatres in the southern . hemisphere has made possible to Oamaru playgoers .an element ,of enjoyment that • has hitherto been denied them. This being so, . there is little wonder that- the I audience .last night- was laTge and ap- i .preciativie, .when the company opened their short season with the production 'of Gounod's popular and - famous opera; J " Faust." And for the reason that they .; public are v indebted to -Messrs ' Musgrov*! 1 for: the privilege of listening to' an opera, -i which has hitherto .been the enjoyment only of those centres possessing the facili- ] ties for its production, we are not con- 1 strained to enter into too minute a crfti- '. cism. ! Let it 'be said that there was not 1 a dull moment from the time the curtain ( Tose in- the first act 'and revealed Faust i in his study, "after a life of meditation ■and laborious research," bewailing his inability to unravel the nothingness of human knowledge, till its fall at the conclusion of the sixth act, when the Angel ( Chorus declared' "A!l "who have sinned! here f may Repent' the. sin by their holy living; tet earth be severe, Heaven is forgiving." "Faust," the story of which has already been told in these columns, is generally recognised as. Gounod's masterpiece, and v there are few operas of which the niiusic s is tetter known and appreciated. Ofit-.it c may fee said that'its dramatic effect is; t subdued and softened by the mysticism of C the story and by its lyrical interpretation, e The cast was a capable, one, and of 1 the principals it can be said, generally that d their work was highly artistic. The n opera was well staged, and the scenic t" effects were, locally, a revelation. Specially ri may this be eaidi of the vision scene b in the first act, alnd of the death scene, t revealing the Angel Chorus, in the sixth act. The orchestra was full and effi- p cient, and the chorus well versed v in its work, and Herr Slapoffski, j: the conductor, had his forces well t under command. Altogether, Oamaru- r vians have reason to feel grateful for this p their first opportunity to participate in v the enjoyment- of a- grand' operatic pro- s duction. As Faust Herr Oeser gave a good impersonation, and his strong appeal to the affections of* Marguerite undoubtedly constituted the third act the triumph of s the piece. Possessed of a fine rich voice I he .gave to the part an interpretation that, c was altogether devoid of ostentation, and n though subservient throughout- to the- will j of Mephistopheles, at no time did he « allow the part, to be lost in the necessarily 1 iheavy pourtrayal of I Terr .Hunger's impcr- ! sonation of the author's creation. Herr ( Hunger's impersonation of' Mephistopheles t was somewhat different to what we ) have seen, but there was an abundahce of .reasoning which gave to the ( character a true sense of the author's 1 ideal. In the part- of Marguerite Fraulein JCa Barckow was eminently successful, her impersonation -being natural aind graceful. Her sweet voice 'was probably heard to the ( beist advantage in the third act, and f especially in her duet passages with Herr Oeser. To Fraulein; Barckow's lot fell the heavier acting of the piece, and for this she proved herself admirably adapted, her natural emotion and grief when' listening to .the demmciating curse of Kupp, and her own death scene, being a lemarka.bly heavy, but weU-rendened ex- f .position of dramatic skill.' :• Her artistic representation of . her . part Tepeatedly re- s ceived merited: approval from the audience. As Vafenitahe, Herr Fritz Rupp was * likewise responsible for some heavy drama- "! tic effect-, and, with tlie others, proved £ ■himself a capable exponent of his part-, his k fine baritone, contributing in a large . .degree to 'the' all-round excellence of the , melody. o-Miss Elizabeth Knhnke impersonated -Siebel gracefully, and though en- * trusted with a somewhat lighter part-than the other principals. she presented' a character that - was. exceedingly . inspiriting, while her singing was rich and effective. P Berr Kaii Foller filled the Tole of Wagner, and though at no time was his work heavy,' > he put into am amount- of skill and .execu- ' tioxf which gained for ham the. appreciation 11 of the audience. : - Miss Sara Verner, as Martlia', was well cast, her work in the ® •garden scene' being particularly noticeable. * Added to the* artistic work of the prin- >- cipals. was the spirited -rendering of the C many choruses- with which the work » abounds. . " . .' r The company will appear to-night in Wagner's great work Lohengrin. In this connection the management desire us to ® state that to-day being a holiday, the box _ office' has been removed to the new Towtj. Ha.ll; where bookings.' may be made. . d •' STARTLING EVIDENCE' ; L is daily advanced of -the. curative power o ofDr SHELDON'S NEW DISCOVERY p for COUGHS, COLDS, and CONSUMPHON. :1s 6d and 3s. Fot sale by A. J., S. Headland and J. R. Sewell, agents. q V Library, Catalogues and all classes of book work - Printed- and Finished in a G Bret-class- - manner ? at- The Oamaru « Mail 8. Office:" _ M ' < . F