THEATRICAL AND MUSICAL NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2215, 13 August 1896, Page 39

THEATRICAL AND MUSICAL NOTES.

By Pasquin.

Tuesday, August 11. I • , • Tho " Trilby " craze has been in full swing in Dunedin during the week, crowded houses being the role after the fir*t night. Mr Reuben Fax's powerful and indeed masterly ; portrayal ol v the character of Svengaii was alone well worth seeing. It is one of the most fascinating and -impressive performances ever pfe;. . icnted w pn^,the.. colonial. . stage, .and the merits of ib were duly recognised each night at) the close of tho "third act— the . great aot of the play—when - Mr- F« and • Mil* Crane were accorded a 'special ovation ' after the" other principals^ had received their call. Miss Crane's Trilby is' also an exceedingly able' and arti&tto representation — equally convincing whether as the reckless model with all the virtues bub one, " bearing herself with easy, unembarrassed grace," or as the repentant girl upon whom the shamef ulness of her past had been flashed, or as the hypnotited diva, with her lustreless" expression and her mocking laiijh, or as the dying woman with her friends gathered round her. Misj Jennie Roiffuith, JMf ,G. H. Trader, Mr H Carr, Mr B. W. Morrison, and the other members of the company all' ably assisted in a production which wan acknowledged to be all round one of exceptional exiellenoe. The company appeared at O&maru on Tuesday evening and at Timaru on Wednesday evening, and. there is no doubt that throughout the colony the audiences m\\ be large aud enthusiastic. ' - • . • The Royal Burhtque and Gaiety Company, who have recently been touring the North Island, -will commence a short farewell season 'of four nights at the Princess Theatre on ' Wednesday evening, when they will stage a " double bill comprising a vocal first part and a burlesque. Mr Will Stevets, the popular vocal comedian, who has always been a favourite with Dunediu audiences, will mtlce his reappearance, in conjunction with some oew artistes and several of the original members of the company. As the company are undoubted favouiitcs with local audiences, and as the season is a short -one, go id houses are confidently Ipoked for. Popular prices are announced. • v Mr Collie, advance agent for the Delohery, • . Oraydon, aud Holland Variety. Company,\ has ' arrived in Dunedin to niak&arrangeinentsfor » 68»igbu~of that ' combination in the Princess Theatre, conim^icing on Tuesday, 18th. .. .•'.*' M. ,Abosaleh, the Turkish gun spinner, whoseclever feats were to favourably received when be appeared- here, is to, be tendered a Compliment ary benefit; at the City Hall onFriday next. <■ • . * We shall, says the Tasmanian Mail, be having that favourite comedian, Mr Frank Thornton, round again shortly, Mr, L. J Lohr having concluded arrangements with him for another colonial lour. In addition to "Charley's Aunt," now completing its fourth year at the Globe Theatre, London, Mr Thornton will bririg three new plays (including " The Strange Adventures of Miss Brown," in which Mr Thornton will appear during two acts disguised as a girl) aud a complete company. ' . •■ Miss Lilla Wilde, afcer five years leading work on the Australian stage, chiefly under the management of Mr George Rignold and Mr Bland Holt, and also with Messrs Williamson and Mu!gtove in musical comedy, has sailed for London. • . • Miss Eleanor Chapman, the newlyappointed contralto of the Melbourne Australian Churoh choir, is. said by Mr Newbury t:> possess the fiuest contrast j voice he has heard in Australia. .Miss Caapraau is a native of Melbourne.' . - - .'. ' Miss Rcgina Nagel does not go to South Africa with the American Trilby Company, but returns to Melbourne at the end of the New Zealand' season, which terminate! early in ' September. • . * " Brownlovr the beautiful " has taken a lease of the' Inttitute Building at Kalgoorlie, Westralia, where he intends to run a Bhow " on • his own." He has made- all arra.pgement3 for *\ I twelvemonths' supply of talent. . )' "•• ,/Madaijie Melba Wade .her , nntre'e at CoTent Garden Royal Opsra this summer f season in the role of Juliet, supported by Jeau ■ and Bdouard de Reiszke • The' distinguishtd Australian received a tremendous welcoma from the audience, which included several parties of colonists. For the occasion the • price of the stalls had been raised to 25s each. • . • An interesting debut is promised in Londoa for thii month, that of Mdlle Marie Mm«

chesi, daughter cf fche-Jamoui oinging teacher nt Queeu'e Hall. Jladama Marchesi herself wm, i before her marriage— that is to say, ia the forties— as Mias Qrautuann, a favourite mezzosoprano conoerb 7ocalisu in London, and ona of tho best pupil* of the veteran Manuel Garcia. * • .' • The Lee family were well represented at Drnry Lane la*b moath daring the three weeks' "Jo" season. Jennie Lee played Jo, of course ; Ada Lee played Hortense; Katie Lac, Gusfca ; the latter's daughter (K»tie Gordon), Rjsa; Katie Lee's hu»b»nd (p. Stewart), Guppy ; Jannio Lee's daughter (Joan Burnett), Esther ; and J. P. Burnett (Mr Lee) was stage manager.1'; •Mr Cl»rle» Wyndh&m is fond of telling bow he made his first appeßrance on the stage. "I reraem'ier I b*d to «vy the line, 'I am drunk with leva and enthusiasm,'" he say«, " but I was so frightened that I simply blurted out, 'I am drunk,' ifcapped, and rushed off , amid roars of laughter. ; •.• It hai been rumoured, snd is still a somewhat general idea, that Mr Jutfcin McCarthy was greatly opposed- to his son's marriage with' •Miss Oissy Loftus, but that thi» is not the case is abundantly shown-. - His' daughter-in-law's portraits are to be seen everywhere at his pleasant house in Eiton Terra cs, : and one notices with interest that ono of tho largo portraits consists of '» family group, wherein the figure of the politician and litterateur is strikingly contrasted with the lissom form and ingenuous faca of the delightful young aetrees, who, by the way, is a pretty frequent' visitor to her father-ia-law's house. * . • The Franlz Family created a genuine furore in Melbourne. Three ladias and four gentlemen make out the combination. Young ladies in trailing <skirts lean forward- «s if .to bow, then suddenly dive under themselves, so -to speak, and reappear right side up in an astounding fashion; also, they carry heavy men who have doublo-somersanltsd da to their shoulders " Ground and high tumbling of the most appalling kiud are among the things done by this peculiar family.