THEATRICAL AND MUSICAL NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2211, 16 July 1896, Page 39

THEATRICAL AND MUSICAL NOTES.

By. PAsauiN. Tuesday, July 14-.

• . * The City Hall was crowded in all parts on Saturday night, when the AIS. Lawton Company gave another of their enjoyable performanpes. The, programme was received with frequent and hesrky maoifc stations of approval. The singing of Mv-Fitzmaurioe. was an ebjoyable phase of the perform&uce, aud his contributions were so much appreciated that he was compelled to submit to persistent demands for encores! Tho Udy membeca of the company likewise acquitted themselves with credit, while. a good de-il of nu-mrnent was provoked by the negro minstrel specialties. On Wednesday night the company will vacate the City Hall to make room for the Pcu'try and Pigeon Show, and open instead iv the Princess Theatre.

• . • A matinee was given in the Princess Theatre oa the Bth iusb. by the Bernard Circus, The management very kindly invlted the children of the Industrial Sohool, who .apparently spent a very pl'aasanfc af cernoon. A subscription set on foot by Mr J.A. X. Riedlo resulted' ia a sum being raised to provide the children with refreshment?. In the evenirg, when theiM wai a fair-sized audience, the season was brought to a close.

* . ' The report recently current that Mr J. A. Montgomery, theatrical agent;, had died in the south is incorrect. He has just recovered from & severe illne's. He has jast received au offer fora toar of India and China, which he will probably accept.- *. • Dalohery, Jamen Oraydoa, and Edward Holland, of tha Elite Miosfcrelu, were charged with having a child four years of age performing forprolit. Ignorance of tbelaw wa* pleaded, and a nominal due of 5s vr&s iufticted, with 33s ccsts.

* . * Misi OJga Nethersole's fnvt stage triumph, such as ib was, was won, curiously enough, in a farce g'von at Coloey H» l ch Asylum. At the time sbe was only 14, and at firab she was so terribly frglitened, owing to a lunatic. fixing his eyes ou her, that she could not utter' a word. She conquered her. fright, hpwevar, and 'carried' off soaio of the, chief honours of the "occasion, amply vindicating the judgment of ► the dqc'or friend who'hidTaet his b,et*ve on peeing Iser^play the part;.. Her first .considerable part wat played, at". Brighton, ■ ' .. .•.•Albert ~ Chevalier &nd his coster songs continue to hold ,^ the spirit of New, York :ia plsassiib thrall. . Tee . lidger saj s heroes not think it possible that ha can ever exhaust the cockney character as material for stage purpoaes. He,hu written upwards oE a hundred songi about the variations of that character, and believes there will be impu'sa and inspiration nifch him for as many more as may be needed.

* * . ' Joseph Jefferson, the veteran Amerioanactor, tells of a curious experience in Springfield when he reached it with his father's itinerant players many years og}. "When they were about to opea there, they found that a religious revival was taking place, and such was the wave of religion that their prrformanoe was about to be prohiljitiedv But a young lawyer came forward, and, by a good-humoured and witty speech which he made, succeeded in getting the prohibition removed. This lawyer lies buried near the town of Springfield, while upon hie monument are the words • Abraham

Lincoln.' " • * . • Mr W. S. Gilbert told a good story against Sir Arthur Sullivan and himself at a recent Barage Olub dinner. While "The Mikado" was in process of incubation the coilaborateui'3 decided that it would be an excellent thing to herald the entry of the Japanese monarch by % suitable Japanese tune set to real Japarieie Words ; and" they appealed to a gentleman learned in matters concerning the Far East to- help them ia their difficulty. The result was the chorus in the second act;, " Miya sama, miya s&ma," the strains of which, are also heard with Such singular effect^ in the overture. Until quite recently~Mr Gilbert and . Sir Arthur Sullivan were under the.impression that this, air belonged 'to something |in the National Anihem ; bub ife now seems .that they -have been badly sold.- A- friend oJ Mr Gilbert's, who saw " The Milittdo" the other day for the first time, has written a letter complimenting the author and composer upon the -general scheme of their local colour, but expressing astonishment at the introduction of the "Miya. &&ma" chorus, the tune of whioh ho declares- to to thftt of 6 semg lung only ia ttw ioweit fcev

bouses of Yokohama, and calculated to make I the Lord Chambarlain's h*ir staad on end. I • • The Italiau musical critio oan dip h'S pen in gall, as i 3i 3 shown by the followi jg comment that appear in the FAnfuUa :-" Signora Canvfa sang Lucia on Wednesday evening The results were not very serious ercept to hot friends. It was an admirable object lesson to young y studeuts who may have baon present for her singing iliustrited every vice that it is imperative to avoid in loc&l art. ~But who is ti> p»y the dentists' bills of those who made their teeth loose by the vigour of th~ eir hissing ? "

•.* Those Who' from long reading may suhpecbMr Olemenfe Scott's new book, " From ' The Bolls ' to • King Arthur,' " to consist of one long •tream of adulation of Mr Irving and the Ljoeutn productions will ba pleasantly disappoiuted, and possibly surprised. Mr Sootb complain* thai Mr .Irving fails to convey tlie genial side of the charaoter of Matthias, v did Ooquelin when ho phyed it at the Royally. In the notice of Richelieu ho finds " the delivery of the verse by Me Irving was monotonous- and stilted," and that «♦ the monotony of Mr Irving'a general manner, in« creased ?ery much," and in the Roma speech "voice, streng f b, and energ/ ware overtaxei— a. speech delivered so incohereutly that few could' follow one syllable." In Macbeth" Mr Soote, fiads "there are certain sad faults of intonar tion and curious views of elocution whioh turn us away dishearted from the 'actor's design: . . . Point after point is los& and- idea after idea squandered by the actor's extraordinary method of delivery. .* . . When a mannerism, from beirg objectionable, becomes 'a chronic disfigurement, it is t ; me that every eff jrb should be made to remove it." Of course, it is not all like this,, but there is more than you would think, for Mr Scott finds Mr Irving'a Othello •'in soldi-arty bearing without 1 dignity, ia presence .destitute of command, ia the expression of love singularly undemonstrative: We scarcely think of. him either as a soldier or a lover." . • . • Me Toolo once sent a packei of chocolates to a small boy in a ebtge-bjx who was disturbing hi) performance by uproariom laughter. " Wi\h Mr Toole's compliments," aaid the ottendaut, "and would the young gentleman kindly eat these durlug the play." ' . * The London newspaper critics killed "True Blue," and the play had to be withdrawn from the Olympic after costing the syndicate which floated it £8000. • . ' " Lorgnette," ia the New Zealand Mail, says :— "I am glad to hear from a private^ letter received from Messrs Wiliamson and' ! Musgrove>that the Brown-Potfcer-Bjllew Comp&ny will visit New Zealaud during the course |of tbe year. The exact datej are not yet : arranged." , - ' > . ' Miss Ethel Beningfield has stirred the enthnsiasm of a wxiter in Sb. Paul's. Mfcs BeniogQald, who is well known aj the .organiser lof the quartette which bears -her name, is de- ! scribed as the Lady Halle" of the mandoline. | It is claimed' -that »he has no superior—that- ' "pogsibly she ha»noequil in .England. Arisfco^ oratio parties like the Benmgfkld'quwtette— in' faof, tp.'use the writer's phraee, it has ». '•• solid reputation." .. - ,

• • MA&AME MELBA > ' ■' - AND HEB AUTOGRAPH BOOK. Madame Melbi'a remarkable autograph book is about the size of * regular octavo volume, is beautifully bound in tree calf, and exquisitely decorated by the hand o! a skilled worker. Half the leaves are pecfecbly blank, bub the others, in tbje opinion of the owner, are of untold value. On the very first page is a bat of muß ! c from "Romeo and Juliet," and underneath it, in illegible character!, two lines, beneath which the name of Charles Gounod is written. There is a page with a part of the acore oS " Hamlet," written by Ambi-oige Thomas. Later on comes:— "To tho most charming of women, to the most delicious of artist j, and to a voice of pare crystal, my keenest sympathy. Sarah - .Bebnhardt." And what would nob the adorers of the divine Paddy give, to have the following in their autograph albums ?— " To Madame Melba, with

HIS ENHKE HOMAGE, both of the artist and of the friend. Pade* bewski." After many others comes the tribute of the man who has divided applause with Melbs on many au occasion, and from whom praise of the kind he gives is inestimably valuable. He gaya :—" Nature has endowed you with a voice of gold,' positively the most adorable voice of our time. You are a musician ; you are a charming woman. . All of these qualities may be .appreciated by the public, bub what I know— l— is that you are the best of ' comrades, and ' that I shall keep an everlasting recollection of our relations, artistio and friendly; Always count upon your devoted J. de Resscke." Rußenateio, Nordica, and the Kendala follow. Fluuket Greene asks her to remember

A JOLLY. DAY ON THB THAMES. "I belitve in the returreotion of the deafly" s>ys Marion. Crawford in Latin, bub does not odd, rrltft ii impltod, tUat MelbVe ftogeuft

singing makes him beli«ve it. There is a page with the name of Ellen Terry, and on the nejfc o«8 is the line :— " To the incomparable Melba, Hbnky Irving." On the > same page ate the names of Adehna Patti-Nicohoi and Nioohm. But perhaps ai interesting as any of the «tt«» is th « by Calve :- M Like an angel you oing with your voice divine. Emma Calve."