AMUSEMENTS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14776, 8 March 1910, Page 6

AMUSEMENTS.

WILLIAMSON'S OPERA COMPANY. " The Kixc of Caoo:;u." ; A very large audience welcomed the appearance.'of Mr. if (V Williamson's new comic opera .-ompany at His Majesty's Theatre .last evening,'when "The King "of Cadonia "•'• was presented for the first time on the _ local stage. " The King of Cadonia," summed up, is brightness and colour materialised... Spectacularly considered it is a triumph of gorgeousness. It presents the well-k.iown elements of musical comedy cleverly, and artistically mingled. Its humour is buoyant and breezy, its sentiment is of gossamer-like airiness, its characters arc as romantic as unworldly, and its action never goes at less than a hand-gallop An equal essential, however, to.the,success of the piece is the fact that tho whole is set to music of very bright and effective order, for which Messrs Sidney Jones and Adrian Ross, composers whose woik is well-known, are jointly, responsible The libretto is generally smart and never dull, what is serious being cut ■down to an artistic minimum. Kings and princesses and generals are characters of priceless worth to tho writers of opera and musical comedy. The atmosphere- of earthly splendou.- that surrounds them in- the popular imagination is an invaluable . providing pretext and opportunity for tho introduction of the brilliant pageants which arc the strongest feature af musical comedy, which .give it ample justification to tho ravished eye of the public, and permit stage management to claim some of its greatest triumphs. From a spectacular standpoint tho second act 0? "The Kin" of Cadonia" has probably not been mvpassed in. a locally-staged production. If presents the regal palace, and tho fine harmonious proportions of the interior depicted cbrnbino with the brilliant uniforms of tho soldiery, tho bewildering toilets of the court dames, and tho glowing pageant that culminates with the King's entrance, to contribute a rare visual feast. Tho plot on which ' the piece pivots is of entertaining and whimsical description. Cadonia is one of those out-of-the-world principalities, of which Ruritaniii stands a type, in which royalty is as pompous as it is ridiculous. Many Cadotiian sovereigns having paid the penalty of their exalted position through the solicitude of the Anti-King League, young Alexis, the hero of the comedy; remains intact, thanks to his close confine, mfnt in the palace. Ho wears a beard and moustaches because nobody can bo trusted to remove them. Over : the neighbouring Duchy of Alasia presides an eccentric duke, whose mortal fear is that, boiiig heir to the throne of Cadonia, he may any minuto learn that' Alexis has met a tragic end.'.and that he will be summoned to wear, the crown and inherit the consequences. The Duke having a daughter, arrangements are made that she shall marry .Alexis, whom slk has never seen. Being a young man of spirit, the King is not more taken ■, with, tk idea than the Princess, and seeks a way o,it of the difficulty. A trustworthy barber being found, the King is at once transformed and improved in appearanco, and being unrecognisable, curries out a scheme he has formed of escaping from his overattentive advisers and protectors, and mixing with the peopta' especially ,with a band of Anti-kingites, of whom a desperado, Laborde by name, is chief, in order -to liiid out what kind of a king his subjects really want. While thus masquerading he encounters the Princess,. and each finds at once an affinity in the other. On the disappearance of Alexis the Duke is made Regent of Cadonia, with the'terrible prospect 'of being crowned, at a certain • hour, if the King has not then been found. In the interval Alexi3 has appealed to his comrade Laborde as just the' type of sovereign Cadonia should- have, and Laborde _ undertakes. to shoot the real King in tho p'alacs-when he does make his promised apearanoe. Th'o climax of the comedy is reached when, at the appointed hour, Alexis, no longer masquerad- 1 ing, appears before an expectant assemblage in all regal dignity. Laborde drops his weapon, recognising that Cadonia has-at la'-t got a king worthy of the name. The Princess is not more delighted- than the Duke, who has bee.i living on the roof of thei palace. ;u> the safest place for a'mar. onus expectations, and.all ends happily. • The company.is a strong all-round organisation, and .the leading parts are in'very capable hands. It is always a strong merit ill a musical comedy that it presents not one bit several characters which stand out by_vii'tue of personality or eccentricity; and The King of, Cadonia" has this recom.mendation. Mr Herbert Clayton thoroughly suits the part of Alexis, which' he impersonated admirably throughout. There was alwajs an excellent vitality about his'work ana his stage presence war, a material asset to his presentment. Mr Clayton was hearu to advantage vocally, moreover, in-two takiii" duets with Miss Dorothy Court (as Princess Marie), and used his baritone voiie with particularly good results in a most effective rendering of one of the best numbers it- -the piece,' th* patriotic ■' song, '[There's a .king in the land to-day." As second baritone Mr Frank'Greene made a very • favourable impression ■ by his easy treatmenUof the part of .Captain Laski, the King's enterprising satellite, and san" his numbers with zest, although handicapped as were most of flie soloists in the first act by too robust an accompaniment. The comedian par excellence of the produc jtion is Mr Bert Gilbert. To attempt to describe Mr Gilbert's achievement-Of .the humorous would be pathetic and -undeserved It suffices to say that the Duke of Alasia is the very froth and■ champagne of "The King of Cadonia" bouillabaisse. Mr Gilbert is the most infectious of comedians, and made much capital out of his songs, " Don't forgot to shoot" and "Things I know I could do,' besides participating with Miss Lottie Sargent, in a most humorous duet Disguises," which culminated in the rendering of tho Apache' Dance, a weird, realistic, and very clever' performance,' which is quite a feature of the piece. Miss Sargent s acting-in this Parisian reminiscence was noticeably effective, and throughout her part of Malta, maid to the Princess she showed • herself a uarticularly bright comedienne and vocalist 'and dainty dancer.- Of her songs "Situations" 'was perhaps' the most effective. As the Princess, Miss Dorothy Court appealed to the audience at once as a graceful and very natural actios, her stage work gainingartistic effect by its very restraint. Possessing a light but flexible and pleasing soprano voice her singing ~-as a h vays acceptable . the ballads "The wind of love" and Innco Charming" (by Madame Liza Lehmann) being perhaps her best efforts. JiXCCllcilt comedy of the ponderous order contrasting well with that of Mr Gilbert was provided by Mr Victor Prince as Bran a soldier servant, whose brains and courage lia-vernn to girth. The role is a most amusing one, and Mr Prince made canital use of his oportunities, which were mostly .provided 111 association with Miss Sargent and Mr Gilbert Mr P. Balhurst as Laborde Mr G. Beettam as tho pompous General Bonski, Mr A. Lissant as the Duke's secretary Panix, and Miss Ada Stirling as the Duchess all sustained ' roles of some prominence satisfactorily. The members of a capable and well-balanced chorus santheir music - with welcome zest, bavin" several good numbers to render, and an effective ballet was introduced in the first act. the orchestra, under Mr Fritz Hart gave the production very capable assistance, though not always subduing its accompaiii-ment-s sufficiently. The comedy had a most appreciative reception throughout. "The King of Cadonia" will be staged again this evening.

EMPIRE VAUDEVILLE COMPANY! Messrs Fuller and Sons, per medium of tuo Aew Empire combination, continue to provide- the. Dunedin public with an acceptable vaudeville entertainment. The manage-, ment has striven, with a considerable measure ot success, to eliminate all coarseness, vulgarity, and suggestivoness from the weedy programme, and- to engage only those performers '.vhose' specialties' contain something original, something instructive; something novel, and something amusing— to, in so many words, make available that class of untainted vaudeville wliioh will afford a couple of hours' relaxation to any member of the community. The-.company which at present makes a nightly appearance at the Alhambra Theatre, and which last evening submitted a new programme, is quite deserving of public support. Xo now performers made their debut last oven, ing, and the management, considering tlio marked success of those who have pro . vidod the entertainment during the past two weeks, was justified in retaining' them.' Yet the change of items was not invariably for the better. The turn of Charles Faniii''. with and'.without his partner, was an in', stance of this. He did not properly <ret to grips with hi.? subject or ratoh the" sympathy of the audionco. though.his performance, of course, contained much that was meritorious. ' His work compared poorly with his opening' week—but that introductory matter was so excellent tliat he could afford to go down the hill a little. .Hassan, tho Hindu magician, -introduced many new tricks aid .idded them' to those which he made familiar !n.=t. week.

and his "turn,"' thus extended and flavoured' with mystery and' a suggestion of Orientalism, was one of the most interestjng of the programme. Hassan, in .full view of the audience, produced, a dove, eur its Jicrcl' off, allowed its gore- to bespatter and stain a .white cloth, made ' a couple of passes, and, behold! the bird, which a moment boforo apparently struggled in its death agony, talked in iu surprised way' across the stage, with its load uninjured and in the orthodox .posiiqn. The magician also did some weird lungs with a bowl of water, and, : again, villi an empty flower pot, into which there sprang seemingly from nothingness, a inagniliecut bunch of flowers. That- born comedian Tom Armstrong, arid his partner,i nspilla Verne, were ' altogether successiu! 111-0116 of their farcical sketches,'into which some most amusing nonsense is introduced. Business" which in the hands 01. any other man would bo absolute bathos becomes invested with all the-elements of leal comedy when treated by Armstrong and he makes calls at all times, and seem mgly at random, on a vast store of ordinal puns, witticisms, and catch phrases-nono of which 'jail to raise a- laugh. Ho «i n^s pleasingly, and is one of the most expert and vivacious mule daneors the local vaudeville stage has known. Daintiness best describes the performance .of tho Tlireo Starrs, expert dancers and singers of no mean order, ami the eccentric dancing .alone of little Charlotla makes her also well worthy of a place in high-class vaudeville. The marvellously pure.' resonant voices of Messrs Heath ■ and Lamb, the Newcastle singers (Mr Fuller's most recent diseoverv) ensure to lliem enthusiastic recalls every evening,- and they encountered last 11 Wit no exception to the rule. Tho National Duo (two clover little acrobats from Sydney), Jcs ' Charles (comic singer). Mi--s Merle Laurence (balladist), arid 'Samson and Juno (weight-lifters) are the other members of this exceptionally strong company. The advertised programme will be the order of the entertainment every evening this week.

FULLERS' PICTURES. The Princess Theatre is still a popular resort with great numbers who desire a couplo of hours' reasonable relaxation, and are not' adverse to a little instruction thrown in, while- they are always ready to laugh' at the absurdities which the cinematbgraphcr has made so natural. The nature of the' current 'programme is such as to meet this demand, and last night's performance was testimony to the fact As there are now only two more nights on which this programme can be presented, those who have not yet 6een it should do so. Those who have seen it do not require any recommendation to make them see" it again.