THEATRICAL & MUSICAL NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2117, 20 September 1894, Page 37

THEATRICAL & MUSICAL NOTES.

Contribution! from the Fro(««Ion ohronlollng their msrementa *od doings are iDrltcrt. All communication* to bo uddresied t* "Pua.nln," Ot*£o Witness Office.

The opera company which, headed by Miss Annis Mont ague, appeared at the Princess Theatre last week having decided to remain in Ducedinandplayaseriesof comicoperatiowork?, pened their seasesi on Monday evening with a , roduction of Lecocq's opera-bouffe "Girofle"Gtrofla." In the noithern cities the alternation of these works with the heavier operas afforded a much-needed rest to Mis* Montague, for she did not appear in the lighter composi"ions, aad thus although the prima donna has akeu her departure for Australia the company -re no less able to pre»eut the works which it i their purpose to produce in the season hat has now been inaugurated than they were in the north, where their performances were received with much favour. •• Girofl6-Girofla " is a work which distinctly possesses the elements of popularity, for it has a well-devised dot and abounds with humorous incident, and 'he music, moreover, is essentially bright and sparkling. Hiss Ada Colley, who was making her first appearance in Dunedin, filled very acceptably the dual part of Girofle-Girofla, the twin daughters of Don Bolero and Aurore. ■She is young and vivacious, and her acting last night was sufficiently spirited. Her voice, though not strong, is pleasant and flexible, and quite equal to the rendering of he music which will fall to the lot of the leadjg soprano in the operas to be produced during he season. Her vocal efforts in " GirofleGirofla " met with ■ cordial recognition, the encore she received for " See how it sparkles" being particularly emphatic. Miss Cicely Staunton, whose reappearance after her illness was greeted with hearty applause, made a "Terming and altogether effective, representative Ptdro, and Miss Maud Lite and Miss E. j-iyslie did good service respectively in the parts of P*quit» and Aurore. Mr Edward Farley is the original impersonator of Mourzouk bo far as this colony is concerned, and his representation of th» ferocious Moor has always Ween counted among his most succesu! performances. His treatment of the »r. upon the present occasion was as artistic and as highly praiseworthy as ever, and Mr W. j Walshe gave a very creditable rendering of the j part of Marasquin, both singing and acting with such vigour as to suggest that he h&s regained his true form. ' Mr F. England made a. very amusing representative of Bolero, and the other characters were rendered more or less satisfactorily. The piece was suitably mounted, and the performance as a whole s^emr d tn»ff >r<l genuine satisfaction to the audieuce ••Girofle-Girofia" was repeated on Tuesday evening, and "Fatinitza" was to replace it on Wednesday and Thursday. The farewelj concert of the Belle Cole season Attracted a large audience to the Garrison Hall on Monday evening. This is sot surprising coi - idering the merits of the company anr? the rcr need charge for admission. Madame Bell*-. Cole. - ho, as on previous occasions, was accorded a •nost enthusiastic reception, appeared no less uhan six' times' during the evening, so imperative vrere the audience in their demands for encores. Madame's first number, one of Gounod's devotional hymm, entitled "Easter eve" — with organ, violin, and piano accompaniment — was rendered in a highly artistic manner, her magnificent voice being heard to full advantage, the sympathetic passages being rendered with exquisite delicacy and feeling, which' called forth an outburst of applause as its conclusion. Finding it impossible to escape the ordeal of an encore she generously reappeared in the favourite song " The Lost Chord." So enthusiastic was the applause which greeted her splendid effort that, after bowing her acknowledgments, amidst a shower of beautiful bouquets, she was compelled to reappear in response to an undeniable encore, and gave a delightfully pathetic rendering of the everpopular '• Home, sweet home." The audience were still reluctant to take their leave, and Madame was obliging enongh to sing still another song. Mr M'Gratb, who was {so well received, contributed no leßB nan* four solos — "The Monk," "Bedouin love song," " Father O'Flynn." and " Hybrias the Cretan," the latter two of which were given in response to encores. Miss Gwen Davieß waß in fine voice, and charmed the audience with her finished rendering of "By the fountain" and "In sweet September," as well as in Mendelsohn's pretty duet " I would that my love," in which she took parb with Mr M' Grata. Mr T. M. Jackson's tenor voice was eminently suited for his first item, "The Holy City," for ■which he was encored, " Tom Bowling " being given in response. His other contribution, "Good night, beloved," also met with much favour by the audience, and " My sweetheart when a boy " was given as an encore number. Mias Henriette Murkens's violin solos — "Andante religioso," " Berceuse," Pierne's "Serenade," and Murkens's "Mazurka" — were a pleasing feature of the entertainment. The singing of the quartet "Sweet and low," in which Madame Belle Cole, Miss Davies, and Messrs M'Grath and Jackson took part, concluded a most enjoyable entertainment. Misfortunes still pursue Miss Leila Adair. ▲luKfixrambeiof neraoni Mnembled at the Gale-

donian ground on Thursday evening to witness, her balloon ascenb and parachute leap. Unfortunately, however, owing probably to the strong wind which was blowing during the evening, the balloon, when about half inflated, burst, rendering the ascent impossible, much to the disappointment of those present and the chagrin of Miss Adair. Mr Adair, on behalf of Miss Adair, expressed regret for the disappointment occasioned by the accident, and announced that an ascent would be made as soon as possible, for which passes would be given to those present as they passed out/ During the evening the Naval Band played several selections, and the ground was brilliantly lighted by the electric light. Another young Dunedinite is about to take his departure for the Home country to undergo a musical training. Mr Gerald Eeenan, who has been a member of St. Joseph's choir for some time past, was so encouraged by the opinion pronounced by Madame Belle Cole as to the quality of his voice, that, despite the many difficulties in the way, he has resolved on proceeding to England with the object of cultivating his voice. On Sunday evening be sang •• The Holy City" at Ss Joseph's Cathedral, and those who heard him predict that if he perseveres he will yet make a name for himself. He is the possessor of a sweet tenor voice, and of good range. The next vocalist to be introduced to New Zealand by the syndicate under engagement to whom Madame Belle Cole has appeared here will be the boy soprano, .Master Cyril Tyler, who is already in Australia. Other attractions which are promised include visits from the South African Choir, embracing representatives from seven distinct tribes ; a conrert company, beaded by Madame Estey ; and the celebrated Meister Singers. Of young Tyler, Mr W. H. Poole, m-nager of the syn^i<ate writes : — " This youth is only 13 years of age. He is, I believe, of American parents, although he was born in f he city of Na. les, in It*ly. lr is stated that wh^n he was three years old ! c could sing parti" of grand arias with true intonation and surprising appreciation of 'he composers' ideas. At seven Tears of age he began to study music in earnest, «nd at. nine years old entered a cathedral choir and sang t-uch difficult solos as • Rejoice greatly,' • I know that my redeemer liveth,' aud even the ' Inflammatus ' from Rossini's ' Stab*t Mater.' He is quite abrautiful boy, and stands up to his work like an artist " Mr Newbury having been seized with illness in Wellington, it has been found necessary to postpone his retnrn concert in Chri»tchnrch Mr John Lemmone, who is by every right and title "the Australian flautisj;," has reached! London. While not i entered with engagements, ' he experienced little difficulty in discovering two or three good opening", of which he promptly avuile'l himself New Zealand is (says an exchange) kept wonderfully well supplied with travelling shows. At the present time the following companies, amongst others, ar<« in the colony : — The Belle Cole and Newbury-Spada Co' cert Conn anies, tfee Walter Bentl-y Divm^tic Company (Wei- ' lington). Poll-ird's Liliputian Oiera Company j (Auckland), Montague- Turner 0 ..era OompHny, Kennedy Dramatic Comoany, and St. John's Burlesque Company. Besides the-e there are a perfect host of small variety and concert companies -"aquatic wonders," "queens of the! air," "phonoar*ph exhihi'ors," &c -travelling \ the colony, and it. would he in«eresting to know j how much njon-y per month is at present being i-pe-nt by rvew Zealand»-rs in the way of supporting professional ententainers. Whilst { we aie referring to this subject we might men- | tion that Mr Bland Holt is cont mplating ; another visit to *he colony that the Brough and ! Boucicaul- Comedy Company will be in New Zaaland again shortly, and that Mr William Elton, so lorn? leading comedian -with the Royal Comic Opera C-m a will ba round in Novemb-r with a strong company, who will produce the latest London success — "Morocco Bound." A drama in five acts entitled " The Friend of the People," based on the fovel of tbatnam«», has been written by the anthoress (Mary C. Rowsell") in eonjunct'on with Mr H. A Saintsbury, and produced at the Haym«rket Theatre for copyright purposes It is by arrangement with the author's collaborator that the novel appears under the same title. Speaking of his attempt to secure Mr Edward Lloyd for a colonial tour, Mr W. H. Poole says :—": — " I am in every hope that I shall some day induce bim to come ; in faot Mr Lloyd promised a few months ago that he would at some time or anot'ner come *o Australia, but he cou d not possibly afford at the present t'me to leave Europe for, say, lOOgs a concert, notrven with the prospect of 50 concerts before him. Mr Lloyd is still in full work, and can command any terms he likes. Every American tour be bas taken has been attended vrith tremendous success. I was present at Mr Lloyd's silver werlding not long hefore I left England. ; He had just returned from America, where he had made a lot of money, an* 3 , was in magnificent form." It is reported that Mi=s Hilda Spong has b*en engaged as leading lady of the Bland Holt Company, and will assume that position on the departure of Miss Henrietta Watson for England. Colonial playgoers will regret to hear of the death of Mr Haml'on J. Magee, late of the Sydney Criterion, which occurred at Belfast on j July 4. During Messrs Brough and Boucicault's j term of management, Mr Magee was for four i years their representative at that theatre. Tn ! December 1891 he sailed with his wife for | Ireland, where he had inherited property by the ', death of a near relative, and it, had always been j his intention to organise a theatrical company j with which to return to Australia. It is under- ! stood that he leaves behind him a fortune of about £700 a year. Pettit r .'s royalties for the last year of his life amounted to £4-500. This sum represented the mere earnings of his phys in representation, »s j distit-ct from their capital value. "A Life of j Pleasure"' produced near'y £1000, and "A ' Woman's Kevenge " moiv than £1200 At this t rate the drama will soon be as respectable as , biewiog, or the bar. But rewing and tbe bar ' were always profitable, while, within living ; memory, the other calliDg yielded authors hardly more in guineas than it now yields in ; 100-pound note. \ Mr W. H. Ju.ie has recently b*en tbe cau°e of some controversy respecting the appointment of O'ganist of St. George* Hall Liverpo >1. A writer on the subject remarks that " the popular votG would favour Mr Jude, but the musical community prefer one who would provide p-o-grammes of a more severely classical and le=s •popular' character" Evidently the ctfchy organ solos with which the gentleman attracted crowds in the colonies do not find favour amongst the musical connoisseurs of the old country. A London manager recently wrote to a rising artist inquiring her terms for a leading part in a new piece. She replied, accepting his proposal on the following conditions :— Her salary was to be £100 a week ; a brougham and pair was to fetch' her from her residence in St John's Wood ; no lady was to be engaged for the cast without her (the leading actress's) content and _approvalj; andshew*s to be allowed to cancel

her engagement and go on tour when she pleased. The manager did not accept the terms.