THE NORDIC A CONCERTS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 15892, 11 October 1913, Page 10

THE NORDIC A CONCERTS.

-.The audience at the second concert given Hy Madame Nordica and thoso associated with her in the Garrison Hall last evening .was large and enthusiastic—in fact, eirtlins.astic (a:ls to describe the atti-, itu'de assumed. by the audience towards the gifted soprano, Mr Dufault, and Mr Holding; .Mr Simmons does not appear in the role of soloist, but the audience could scarcely fail to notice the exceptionally high order of his accompanying, and therefore a good share of the cont:nuous marks of approval would bo intended for him. It .is,very seldom such aocompanying i 6 heard, 'and it produced a desire to hear Mr Simmons in solo work, He is evidently quite a brilliant pianist, and it would seem that, he has made a special study of accompanying, or it may bo that accompaniment playing is an instinct with him. Madame Nordica sang superbly throughout the evening, and there wa3 plenty of scope for her faients in the extensively varied music she selected for her second concert. She is intensely dramatic, and lias a style, on the stage peculiarly' her own. It would seem that'she is so stirred by the sentiment of the song she sings, whatever direction it may take, that she is quito unable to keep .a calin, unruffled exterior, but must tall into use modes of expressing it other than those merely vocal. And in this she is singularly successful, and most effective. Gesture is an acquired art with many, but in. the case of Madame Nordica is appears to emanate from an artistio and dramatic temperament, that will not be suppressed. Midline Nordica's songs were" Arietto " (iVidal), "But lately in dance" (Arensk). "Serenade" (Richard Strauss), "ho Nil" (Leroux), "By Manzanares" (Jensen), Mattinata" (Leoncavallo), and ''The Licbcstod," from Wagner's " Tristan and Isolde," but theso only constituted about half, of what,she was really called upon to sing. Amongst her encore numbers was '•'."Will o' the wisp," which' was very .daintily sung, and ''Damon," wherein Madame Nordica- exhibited to perfection .the fine results attained by voice cultivation. "Comin' through the rye" also found a place among tne reoall items, and was applauded even more vociferously than usual. A finer tenor than Mr Dufault has perhaps never been heard in Dunedin. Nearly all his music required refined and artistic treatment, and this it received. But there was one instance in which he thoroughly demonstrated his ability to sing dramatic music. Mr Dufault's selections were an aria from " Migiion," "Si je pouvais moufi" (Barbirolli), "Answer" (Robyn), "At the mid-hour of night" (Cowen), "Le sais tu?" (Massenet), and "The secret" (Scott). Recalls were in his case just as frequent and imperative is in tho case of Madame _ Nordica. The v.olin playing of Mr Holding was intensely enjoyed. He played on three occasions, besides supplying some artistio obligator to madame's songs, and each time the audience clamoured until he returned to the stage and acceded to the strongly-expressed desire to hear him again. It was announced that an additional concert will be given on the 18th inst.