NOTES BY PASQUIN.

Otago Witness, Issue 1713, 20 September 1884, Page 23

NOTES BY PASQUIN.

Contributions Jrom the Pro/csticn curonicli-rig their movements and doings are invited. All communications to be addressed to " Paaquin," Otago Witnes Odlce.) Mr Dunning has at last achieved what tho earnestness of hia efforts entitled him to achieve a long time ago. He has hit the taste , of the Dunedin public. After producing in j succession works strange to the audiencoo of this town, by such composers as BuccaiosH, Lecoq, Yon Suppe", he has scored almost hia first remunerative run with Planquette's " Rip Van Winkle." I have expressed regret more than onco that this opera was not produoed here during the first season. However, if it had been played then results might not have been materially altered. Tho shadow of a second opera bouffo company was at that time hanging heavy over every city in New Zealand, and that shadow, without doubt, fall blackost upon 'the Dunning troupe. The distinction made was scarcely just, as I have bef ora stated, but it waa made nevertheless. The first night of the Dunning return season gave indications that a more adequate measure of patronage was this time to be extended to the company, but this premise was not fairly fulfilled until the production of "Rip Van Winkle" on Friday laat. Then it was spen that people had been busy at the booking places, the house was crowded above and below, and in spite of a few blots upon _ the picture, the performance as a whole received the stamp of general approval. It is not necessary for mo to enter into any minute detail of the superstructure which has been built upon the Washington Irving sketch published in 1819. "Rip Van Winkle" has been subjected to at least half a dozen dramatic adaptations, and the best of them has been immortalised by its association with Joseph Jefferson— Joseph Jofferson, who mounted like other successful men slop by step, and only essayed the part of Rip after he had made a distinct hit as Nick Vedder in tho same piece. But in its operatic form the piece is new to us. Briefly, then, the music is pleasant, tuneful, and descriptive, but in tho libretto Messrs Farnie, Gillo, and Meilhac have ventured to cut up the old ground a good deal. Gretcbon is no longer Gretchon. That is,' she ia no longer the comely virago who by a hasty word spurns her husband from his home out into the black storm, and who in tjhe last aot leads, unknowingly, tho same man, tattered, aged, broken, back across the self- same threshold— to ■low music of course ; tmch things must be done td slow music. On the contrary, tho operatic Gretchen is as nearly an angel as the exigencies of opera permit. She is a devoted wife, not too indignant to be loving, and upon the expulsion of Rip from his native, village (by other agency than hers) she heads a picturesque j expedition with many-coloured lanterns in search of him, even to the precincts of the dreaded' Kaatskill Mountains. The conception of the last act, where Gretchen is dead and the consolation of the wanderer is left solely to his daughter, is not very satisfactory ; but'let that pass. Mr Appleby was previously known not to be a low: comedian pure and simple. His forcible, and at times, pathetic acting in the part of Rip, ia almost calculated to cast a reflection upon his Lambertuccio and his Dromez. People may begin after this to view his humour askance, and entertain suspicions as to his aptneHß for what are conventionally known as the higher walks. I hope not, for Mr Appleby, despite the serious force he does undoubtedly possess, is seen at his bast in light, or — if it is pleased to call it so — "low" comedy. He is too goed a comedian to be lost to the stage in that capacity. His impersonation of Rip, notwithstanding certain vocal disadvantages has been a distinct success, but •in view of these - disadvantages it must bo described as a strictly histrionic success. As regards singing, Mr Appleby on the opening night sang well — as well as I have ever heard him— and he showed hia skill most in concealing nis points of weakness. The Gretchen and Alice of Miss Ivanova ara susceptible of little improvement. The music of both parts is such as she can sing with eaye — almost with brilliancy, and her make-up and acting was charming. Miss Loaf wanted no better part than that of Katarina for the display of thinly-veiled coquetry — delicate and amußing ; and if Mr Dean did not do all that it was possible to do with the part of Nick Vedder ha at least did very well. The fun ho provoked was not fast and furious — it wa3 not intended to be, but his performance wae, nevertheless, a quaint bit of " character acting "—the best he has given here. Mr Knight ABton's fine voice raised the musical level of the performance just where it needed raising, viz., in the admirably staged and admirably played second act ; and concerning the remainder of the company it is only necessary to fay that they each did what waa required of thorn well, On Saturday night an untoward incident occurred, which gave the denizens of the pit an opportunity for a rather ungenerous demonstration. Miss Ivanova fainted shortly before she had to appear on the stage for the last time in the third act, and Mr Dunning on intimating that the curtain would have to be lowered wbb met by a storm of most uncalled-for hisses. The matter was not improved by Mr Dean bursting bofore the footlights, and at the close of a somewhat injudicious oration, exclaiming, "You have Mr Dunning to thank forthLs."' Possibly if Mr Dean, as stage manager, had been at the wings at the time the necessity for lowering the curtain might have been avoided, but as it was his announcement had only the effect of creating a very uncomfortable impreseion. The contretemps occurred just after Mr Appleby had 'finished singing " Truth in the well." He wailed patiently to bo recognised by his daughter until further waiting became impossible, and then walked quietly off the Btage. Miss Ivanova, fortunately wholly recovered from her indisposition, and her benefit on Tuesday evening was in every way satisfactory. Numbers of floral offerings passed or thrown across the footlights attested her popularity. On the Bame evening came the welcome intelligence that Mr Dunning had succeeded in arranging for an extension of the season. He travelled down to Invercargill on Monday for that express purpose, and effected his object at some considerable sacrifice. The company will, therefore, play on into the coming week. On Friday night " Mdme Angot " was to bo presented. Theatrical matters will now bg lively in New Zealand for some time. In addition to Misa Genevieve Ward's expected arrival .next month, there will be Messrs J. B. Lewis' Dramatic company, who open in Ghristchurch on November 3, an 3 the Pollard Juveniles, who revisit this Colony at the beginning of the year. Negotiations by which Mr Dunning was to assume the management of the Clark and Ry-

' man's Minstrels have fallen through. The ' company are nevertheless to continue their tour of Now Zealand, Mr A. Hallifax (late business manager of tho Dunning Opera Company) writes me from Mudgee, New South Wales, that ho has organised an opera company of his own with Mi-s O'Neill as prima donna and Sigaor Bianci as leading tenor. In Napier a company has boeu formed for the building of a second theatre to be called the Prinouas of Wales. £4509, half the required capital, has beon subscribed already. Tbe now venture has aroused the proprietors of the old Theatre Royal, a-nd a company is being floated to take over the latter hoiwo, .and effect improvements to tho tune of fiISOO or £2000. Miss Kate Bishop is on hoc way to Adelaide, where she will support Mr George Rignold in that ill-judged adaptation "Adam Bede." Tha King of Italy has conform! tha dignity of -a Cavalier dolla Corona d' Italia upon Signor Bevignani, conductor at the Royal Italian Opera. According to the London Figaro it is under the auspices of Mr George Rignold that Mr G. A. Sala will pursuo his lecturing tour in tho Colonies. Mr Sala is to nail in January. The play " Priest or Painter," recently produced at the Olympic, has been secured for tho Madison Squaro Theatre, New York, A novel experiment has been made lately at Coomba Hous3, formerly tho residence of Lord Liverpool,- by performing in the open air those scenes of "AqYou Like It" which are supposed to take place in the Forest of Ardennes. From the top of the stand tiara of seats descended to Lho footlights, which in this theatre were a bank of ferny, by which a deep trench was hidden, in which, at a given signal, tha cuitain tuily fell. On the back and sides oC the auditorium was stretched a ncreen of olive coloured stuff, which harmonised with the surrounding tints, and answered the double purpose of hiding anything save the stage from tho audience, and also prevented the voices of the actors from being lost. The spectators might have been in the forest itself, as the rugged trunks of the trees, their leafy boughs, and tho temporary hixt. v/hich the exiled nobleman had entered, were before them, whilo beyond stretched glades which might have led far away from the haunts of men. And here the story of the escape of Rosalind and Oolia was taken up. The cast of the play on the bill prepared the audience for good acting, a3 Mr Hermann Vezin took the part of Jaques, the melancholy lord iv b?nishmont. Mies Caihoun. and other well-known artistes took part. Mr Henry Abbey, it appears, had a partner ia his latest American operatic venture, and this partner, Mr SohoefFol, statos that tho losses 'wera from. £1000 to £2000 a week during the whole season. "In the first piece " he says, "Mr Abbey had to deposit £10,000 as a guarantee for Mdme Nilsson, and £4000 for Mdme Sembrich. Thafc was tioci up all the season. Then we ran an expensive company. Wo opened to £2976, and that was the enly paying house we had. 'Don Giovanni' was one of the most costly operas we gave, and drew tho least money. We played that opera one night to only £140 3s, and yet we had to pay Mdme Nilaaon alone for that night £260, about £120 more than the entire rrofipts. Wo played to a great many £160, £180, and £200 houses, which of course did not anywhere near reach our expenses." The United States have established an Amorican College of Musicians, one of the principal duties of which will be to grant diplomas to musical teacherg. The highest dh^ree, after the stiffeet examination, is that of " Master of Musical Art." Mdrco. Sarah Earnhardt has closed her London season, which has been scarcely so successful as usual. " Macbeth " proved somewhat of a failure. The French actreee has since appeared at Birmingham. In the new version of " Black Eyed Susan " I at the Alhambra, Mr W. H. Lingard has been engaged as Captain Crosstree. One London manager, Mr Alexander Henderson, who is interested in various theatres, has adopted the plan of refusing to accept money for pit or gallery on firat night ; although freely selling reserved seats. This precaution is intended to exclude the antagonistic "first; nighters " who have made their presanco so unpleasantly felt on ono or two occasions lately. Mr Walter Besanfc hiis tried bis hand at play writing in collaboration with Mr W. H. Pollock, but their joint effort— a comedietta entitled " Tho Charm " — does not seem destined to lasting fame. The piece is a sketch of high life in France under the old regime during the reign of the Grand Monarque, but it unfortunfttoly lacks dramatic power notwithstanding the literary skill with which it is treated. America is certainly now-a-days the happy hunting ground for professionals of any repute. The salary at which Mdme Judic is engaged by Mr Maurice Grau for her 1885-6 season is about 10 times what she would receive in France, viz., £200 per night. The artist is mot-cover guaranteed £42,000 for 210 nights certain, and £10,500 is to be deposited in a Parisian bank before she sails, A novel sensation ie just now being caused in New York by the exhibition given by Mias Lulu Hurst, known as the " Georgian Electric I Girl." On the first night Wallack's Theatre was crowded, and the following is. a description j of the feats performed. A dozen gentlemen from among the spectators stepped on to the stage, and upoti them Miss Hurst operated. She has a habit on the stage of continually I placing her fingers to her eyes and brushing them along her face, much as a mesmerist operates on a person he is trying to entrance. It was noticed that whenever her experiments seemed to halt she reverted to this action, and some of the spectators assumed that she in some way reinforced her power by means of it. Her first experiment was with a common umbrella. A gentleman seized it firmly in both hands by the stick and tried to hold it still. Miss Hurst laid tho palm of her hands on the Btick, and the umbrella at once began to jerk and make violent efforts, apparently, to escape from the holder. The man was driven all over the stage in bis efforts to hold the umbrella still, and finally retired, perspiring and panting, to his seat. ' Tho experiment was repeated with three other men with the same success, and one of them, a vory strong, able-bodied gentleman, was driven clear through the door of the set Bcene in his struggle to resist the girl's pov/er, A walking-cano and a billiard-cue wero experimented on in the same way, and Mr Laflin, the athlete, expended all his strength in vain in an attempt to force the end of the billiard- cue to the floor, while Miss Hurst simply held her hand on ono side of it. In no. case did she grasp the articles in her hand or exert any muscular power, so far as could be detected. Her feats were literally accomplished by the laying on of handß. The most remarkable part of the performance wan the experiments made upon a common wooden chair. Four strong men failed to hold this still or to force it to tho floor when the Georgian girl laid her hands on it. Ou the other hand, Major Pond, a very large and heavy man, was unable to keep the chair on the floor by sitting on it, Miss Hurst raising him and the chair bodily six inches from tho Btage, and moving them three fact, simply by

placing the palms of her hands on the sides of the posts. Mr M'Caull, tha well-known Now York manager, has indulged in fisticuffs with bis managing director 1 , Mr Rudolph Aronson, and tha diffioulty is eventually to be settled in a court of law. , Mi?s Lingard lately appeared at tho Globe Theatre in a fivo act historical play entitled " The Lost Cause." Mr Maccabo's rotuvn season at St James' Hall did not provo a very great euccess. He unfortunately opened just at >he commoiicement of the dull season. A n9w lease of Drury Lane Theatre for five years haa been taken by Mr Augustus Harris, at the same rent as ho has hitherto been paying, viz., £6000 per annum with an extra £10 per night for every performance over a stipulated number. The promised appearance of Miss Mary Anderson as Cyinbeliue next season is curioußly looked forward to by her admirers aa being the first occasion on which she has beon seen on the London stage in male habiliments. A curious slip in stage management occurred at a recent performance of "Sigurd" in London Tho apotheosis y waa disclosod aome minutes before the proper time, and long before Sigurd bad been killed. After all present hud fully admired tho beautiful spectacle of tbe glovified forms of hero and ITeroino, surrounded by angels and Walkyries, perched on a property rainbow in mid-heaven, Sigurd, gazing Bavagely at his ghost aloft, came forward to sing his dying song. Mr Wilson Barrett has now definitely stated that " Hamlet" will be his next production at the Princess' Theatre. The Bulwer Lytton play, upon which Mr Barrett also has designs, is a posthumous one written for Phelps, and entitled " Brut.us." Miss Ellen Torry was taken seriously ill soon after the ♦' Twelfth Night " revival, and on July '27 tho Lycoum Theatre was closed in consequence. Miss Torry \va3 recently vaccinated, and by some mischance the' virua from the inoisious found its way through a slight flesh wound into tho thumb of the right hand, causing violent inflammation aud pain. Mia3 Terry played one night with her aim in a sli«g, but had to give in next day. Sinca then the part of Viola has beon filled by Miss Marian Terry, who although not absolutely equalling her aister'a performance, has managed to prevent the revival suffering materially. Irving Bishop, tho " mind-reader "— Mr Labouchere's particular foe — has evidently boon completed eclipsed by Mr Stuart Cumberlaud. The latter gentleman has not only experimented successfully with the editor of Truth, and Mi- Gladstone, but he haa lately had an opportunity of trying his hand upon the heir apparent to the English throne. Mr Cumberland was amongst the distinguished gneißts who roconliy accompanied the Prince of Walea to Baron Rothochild's new seat at Waddeadon. After dinnor, at the express desire of his Royal Highness, Mr Cumberland gave some remarkable illustrations of thought-reading. With tho Prince of Wales he immediately succeeded, The test was to find a medal on the breast of tho Earl of Airlie, unpin it, and hand it to Lady Mandeville. Mr Cumberland was successful in telling tho number of a bank-noto with the Italian ambassador, and in various other experiments with Lord Castleroagh, Lady Mandeville, and Mr Chaplin, M.P. Tbo most remarkable experiment performed waa the fin&l test with the Prince of Wales; who elected to picture an animal which be desired Mr Cumberland to describe. Taking the Prince by the band, Mr Cumberland in a few moments succeeded in tracicg out on a piece of papor a rough outline of an elephant, which it turned out was the animal his Royal Highness had in his mind. An oxtraordinary hallel d'action is to bo produced at the La Scala Theatre, Milan, in December next. It ia entitled " Amor," and iB a dramatic representation of a poem by tho celobrated Italian poet Manzoth. " Amor "is intended to portray divine love, and commences with tho creation of tho world. The first scene will represent chaos, the bursting forth of light from heaven, the formation of tbo world, the appearance of man, animals, fruits, and flowers, and the ballet will go on to exemplify tho divine love in vouchsafing to man the talents and powers of invention neceasary to perfect hin own well being, and to carry on tho scheme of creation. Great scope is given to artists and coHlumiera, aa scenes are supposed to occur in Greece, Egypt, Rome, and other classic regions.