THEATRICAL & MUSICAL NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2055, 13 July 1893, Page 37

THEATRICAL & MUSICAL NOTES.

Oottriiititli *o» lh« Prtif Mln ohrMlellßf «h«fr WkTMuate ■»i itiap v* IBTiUd. All MnmaiioatltM to k* «4ir«aMd I* "r«iqiU," 0U»« Tntmwn OBk.

Owing to the sad bereavement which has overtaken Madame Antoinette Sterling in the death at Adelaide of hor husband, it has been decided to abandon the remainder of the New Zealand tour, and the management announce their regret that the great contralto will not appear in Dunedin. Mr M'Kinlay, the husband of Madame Sterling, news of whose death in Adelaide was received on Saturday, had been in failing health for some years, and it was partly in the hope that he might be benefited by the sea voyage that the present concert tour was undertaken by Madame Sterling. The party arrived in Adelaide on May 17, and Mr M'Kinlay appeared to have considerably improved during the voyage. On tho same afternoon, however, while walking on the North terrace with Mr Hudson, the deceased gentleman was taken suddenly ill, and fell into Mr Hudson's arms. He was at once taken to his hotel, and medical assistance summoned, when it was found that he was suffering from peritonitis, from which he partially recovered, but became worse during his wife's stay in Sydney. Madame Sterling at once proposed to cut short her tour and return to him, offering to pay all expenses which would thereby be incurred by the syndicate by whom she was engaged ; but after receiving telegrams from both her husband and the .medical man in attendance, urging her to proceed, she agreed to come on to New Zealand and complete her engagements. Arrangements were then made to hurry through this colony, so that the lady might rejoin her husband at the earliest possible moment. Before leaving Wellington Madame Sterling received a telegram from Dr Martin, in whose hands the patient was, to the effect that Mr M'Kinlay was convalescent, and was recovering rapidly. On arriving, in Christchurch next day news was received that peritonitis had again set in, and advising Madame's immediate return. This was followed on Saturday by news of his death. Mr M'Kinlay was born in New York in 1850, of Scottish parents. He was intensely fond of music, and his love for the art brought him in contact with Madame Sterling, whom he married in tho Chapel Royal, Savoy, about 19 years ago. He was a man of independent means, but in common with many others, he lost heavily in the South American nitrate mines, as well as being involved in the Baring failure. He leaves three 'children, two boys and a girl, the eldest of whom is now being educated at Eton. During Sunday the bereaved lady received telegrams of sympathy from all parts of v the Australasian colonies, including one from the Countess Glasgow and others from the Auckland, Wellington, and Dunedin branches of the Temperance Union. In replying to a vote of sympathy tendered her at a temperance meeting in Christchurch, Madame Sterling intimated that she found her greatest consolation in her bereavement in the fact that sbe had trained herself to look upon death from a theosophioal point of view. She, however, evidently over estimated her strength, aB she was completely overcome on her appearance on Monday night, and * had to retire from the stage. Madame Sterling, who made her first appearance in Wellington on the 3rd inst. before a very large and critical assembly in the Opera House, has created a most favourable impression (writes a correspondent), in the minds of competent judges. Although a great deal was expected from a vocalist with so high a reputation, the audience became thoroughly enthusiastic, and encores were demanded time after time amid general and prolonged applause. Probably no more trustworthy or complimentary criticism of Madame Sterling has appeared than that of Sir George Grove in " The Dictionary of Music." In this valuable work Madame Antoinette Sterling is described as a "contralto of great richness and volume, with a compass from E fiat in the bass stave to the top F in the treble one," and the writer adds : "She is essentially a ballad singer, her voice is one of great beauty and attractiveness ; but it is her earnestness and intention, the force which she throws into Che atory — especially if it be weird or grim, 6uch as • The three fishers,' 'The sands of Dee,' or 'The three ravens ' — and probably more than all the distinctness with which she declaims the words, whether they be German or English, that forms the real secret of her success." No items given by Madame Sterling were more successful or more popular than her Scotch ballads, the rendering of which was simply inimitable, and she should fairly take an Otago audience by storm. The Pollard Juvenile Opera Company openin Dunedin for a season of a little over three weeks on the 26th inst.

Fitzgerald Bros.' Circus and Menagerie will shortly make their bow to a New Zealand audience. The owner, Messrs Dan and Tom Fitzgerald, are Australians. After doing a 28 weeks' season in Melbourne the circus is now showiDg in Sydney. Mr Salvini intends giving a national concert in the Princess Theatre this (Thursday) eveniDg under the pitronage of the Gaelic Society and the Burns Club. The concert is to conclude with the comic operetta "Box and Cox." A very large number of tickets have been disposed of. Both of Mr W. J. Holloway's daughters have adopted a stage career, and have made a beginning with Willie Edouin's London Comedy Company. * Mr Edouin has been long known in London as a successful comedian and theatrical manager, and his new comedy company, formed to tour the suburban and provincial theatres, is reproducing " Modem Wives," one of the many farcical comedies with which he has been identified. The new company is headed by Miss Ro?e Edouin (Mrs G. B. W. Lewis), and includes Mrs Corden (Mrs W. J. Holloway), Miss Dora Paull (Miss Theodore HoUoway), and Miss J. Sidney (Miss Juliet Holloway). Edward Terry to an Adelaide Advertiser reporter :—"I: — "I played with Brooke in his last engagement prior to hie leaving for Australia, and a peculiar incident occurred. On the prompt side of the stage was posted a bill, announcing in large letters, ' The last appearance of G. V. Brooke,' and as I was reading it he came up, and, looking at the notice, said, ' Doesn't it seem like sounding a fellow's death knell ? ' Poor fellow, the prophecy was fulfilled. It was his last appearance in the old country."

By P. Rompter.