" IL TROVATORE."

Otago Witness, Issue 2003, 14 July 1892, Page 35

" IL TROVATORE."

There can be no room for diversity of opinion as to the merits of the performance of Verdi's grand opeia " II Trovatore," which the Mon-tague-Turner Company produced before a large audience at the Princess Theatre on Tuesday e^ ening. Though the representtaion was a trifle uneven, the company undoubtedly achieved a pronounced success in it, and the principals are especially entitled to very high praise for the eminently satisfactory manner in which they discharged the arduous task that the performance of this opera imposed upon them. The strain upon the impersonators of Leonora, Azucena, Count di Luna, and Manrico is almost continuous, but Miss Annis Montague, Miss E. A. Lambert, Mr E. Farley, and Mr Charles Turner, who appeared in those respective parts, were equal to the occasion, and the result was that the production was quite a notable one— and that it was regarded as such by the audience was fairly well attested by the enthusiasm which it produced. Miss Montague's impersonation of Leonora was an exceedingly fine one. The prima donna sang throughout the opera with remarkable power and purity of tone, and not only in her solos but more conspicuously even in the concerted music did she give proof that she retains her vocal forces unimpaired. In her first recitative and aria did she impress her audience with the feeling that her rendering of the part would be an admirable one ; but it was the trio, ' ' Traitress, where art thou ? " by Miss Montague, Messrs Turner and Farley, at the close of the first act, which first aroused the enthusiasm of the house, and this, splendidly sung as it was, was followed by a storm of applauso that did not subside until the curtain had been twice raised. The finale to the second act was hardly less effective, the honours again belonging to Miss Montague, whose chief success came, however, in the fourth act, when, in the aria sung by Leonora outside her lover's cell, and in the duet, immediately succeeding, between Leonora and Manrico, she scored a great artistic triumph. The plaudits which were raised at the conclusion of the duct testified strongly to the delight of the audience, who were not satisfied until Mr Turner left the troubadour's dungeon to acknowledge, with Mies Montague, the compliment implied. In the duet, " Here, at thy feet a suppliant," Miss Montague was also very successful, and the trio, "No word or sign," in which Miss Lambert and Mr Turner took part with her, was sung with delicacy and finish. To Miss Lambert also must be allotted great credit for her artistic representation of the part of Azucena. It the second act, Miss Lambert responded with considerable success to the heavy demands which were made upon her. The canzone, " Fierce flames are soaring," was given with precision, and in the recitative and narrative, which follow, though it was not without an effort that Miss Lambert sang one or two of the top notes, she acquitted herself wonderfully well, and suited the action to the word most commendably. Her share of the duet, in the same act, between Azucena and Manrico was well sustained ; ' and in the scene with the gipsy's captors in the next act she was exceedingly effective. The duet with Mr Turner, "Yes, I will rest, for my soul is weary," leading into " Home to our mountains," by which title it is probably better known, also showed Miss Lambert to advantage. Mr Turner's impersonation of Manrico was worthy to be ranked with the successful performances of the other principals. Appreciative reference has been already made to different duets and trios in which Mr Turner was engaged, and it is unnecessary to again particularise them, but mention must be made of the well-known tenor solo at the close of the third act, which Mr Turner sang in finished style and with great power, securing for himself a richly merited recall. Mr Farley was in excellent voice, and his faithful and forcible singing of the music that falls to the lot of the representative of Count di Luna contributed in large measure to the success as a whole of the production. The famous aria, " In the light of her sweet glances " (II balen) was a most effective piece of vocalism, being rendered with admirable expression and faultless intonation. In the concerted music, too, Mr Farley's fine voice was of great service, aud he is to be congratulated altogether upon a first-rate performance. Miss Linda Beresford sang nicely as Inez ; Mr England was the Ferrando ; Mr Craig, the first gipsy ; and Mr Cassicr, the Ruiz. The choruses went generally well, that at the beginning of the second act, " See how the darkness of night dissolves " (the Anvil Chorus) being about the best of them ; and the orchestra gave useful assistance. " Maritana " was to be produced on Wednesnay night.