MR CHARLES HACKETT.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19251, 15 August 1924, Page 4

MR CHARLES HACKETT.

ENTERTAINED BY ROTAEIANS. Mr Hackett and the other members of his company were the chief guests of honour at the weekly luncheon of the Rotary Chrb yesterday, when Botarian J. A. Roberts occupied the chair at the request of the president (Botarian Solomon). The Chairman, in introducing Mr Hackett, mentioned that ho had heard him in London, and had been very loth to leave the theatre at the conclusion of his performance. He added that he would a!s» like to hear Mr Hackett’s views on Sunday concerts. In London there was a society which ran these concerts, and they were greatly appreciated by people who wanted something to do on Sunday afternoons. People should be encouraged to attend, and he thought the idea was a very good one. Mr Hackett, in prefacing his remarks, mentioned that one of the worst duties he had to face was “having to got ud and say something.” It was quite a different matter in a theatre, where the audience was hidden in darkness, so that, if the man on the stage was not making good he fortunately did not know it. Again, he had the advantage of a handsome costume and bright scenery on the stage, and, being a (enor, very often a. pretty woman to make love to.—(Laughter.) He was not going to tell them what they were doing “in my country,” because, Mr Hackelt explained, his hearers would probably put him out of doors. He would, however, make some reference to music in America. There it was studied by children right in the elementary grades, and by the time they reached what was known here os the high school they had a complete knowledge of music and had developed a real Jove for it. It was going to do a great deal for culture in that country. Speaking of S”nday concerts, he said that they had 'r ig been in vogue in America, and were practised to a groat extent in England at the lowest possible cost to the public; and yet they were of an exceptionally high standard. Personally, he did not think a. Sunday afternoon could bo spent in a better way. They would find the “last people on earth” there—youngsters of 15 or 18 years of ago who would in the ordinary course of events be frequenting street corners.

Continuing; he said that a great many people were under the impression that opera singers and actors were the chosen and gifted of God. They were not. He thought that really it had been "put across them." “If only you saw the inner workings of the life,’’ he added, “you would much prefer to be surgeons, or lawyers, or business men.” —(Laughter.) Changing the (Subject, Mr Haokctt said that some of the finest theatres he had seen were in South America. When they were not holding revolutions they were securing money for national opera houses, with the result that there were some very beautiful buildings. The one at Bnenes Aires was an immense and magnificent building, three-quarters of a mile round, though it would hold only 3200 people. The wealthy Argentine, however, liked luxury and comfort, and everything was well spaced out. In Rio do Janeiro the o]iera house was made of white marble, with a green copper roof which could be seen miles., and miles away in the hills. This theatre possessed one of the largest stages he had ever seen, and no scenes were bung from overhead. Instead, the floor was divided into fwoyard strips, which were rolled away, leaving spaces for the scenes to be hoisted up. Rotation Forsyth Johnston moved a hearty vote of thanks to the speaker, who, he said, had a happy knack of gripping his audience. The motion was carried w'th acclamation, and the function concluded with the singing of the National Anthem.