THEATRICAL AND MUSICAL NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2251, 22 April 1897, Page 39

THEATRICAL AND MUSICAL NOTES.

Br Pasquin.

Tuesbat, April 20. • . • A large audience at the Princess Theatre on Saturday night extended a hearty greeting to Ml- Carl Hertz on his reappearance in Dunedin, after an interval of several years, and the celebrated illusionist on his part afforded those present a couple of hours' genuine entertainment with the variety of a distinct sensation that provided an engrossing theme for conversation. The opening part of the programme consisted of a remarkably elevpr exhibition of card-shuffling by Mr Hertz, who whether in the transference of a fixed number of cards from the pocket of one gentleman in the audience to the pocket of another or in the restoring of a card which had been cut into 16 parts was equally successful. These feats were sufficiently mystifying, and even more co was his execution of th,e cage trick, whioh will be remembered as ono of the moat effective performed by him when he was last here. In the present case nob only did he bewilder the gentleman from the stalls who responded to his calU for an assistant by the suddenness and completeness with which the cage and the canary that occupied it vanished ' from between the gentleman's hands and out of : sight, but he also elicited roars of laughter by i producing the bird immediately afterwards from within the amazed assistant's coat. With all his marvellous dexterity, which enables him (o perform his feats of prestidigitation with * cleanness that creates no feeling so much as one of astonishment on the part of the audience, . Mr Hertz combines a brisk flow of bright talk — , occasionally at his own expense, more fre- j quently at the expense of others, — which helps the entertainment along so thoroughly that the interest in it is never allowed to flag.^ The presentation of a number of scenes by the cinematographe — which was, after a couple of pleasiDgly auDg ballads by Mdlle. D'Alton, to have comprised the etcond part of the programme — unfortunately could not bo given owing to to the accidental occurrence of a fire (under circumstances elsewhere described), which formed the sensation previously alluded to. Me Hertz thereafter proceeded with tlia balance of his own portion of tbe entertainment, and, though the audience never gave themselves up to enjoyment ia the same way as thsy did before the scare which they received, he extorted their admiration by the singular cleverness with whioh he presented a number of clever illusion*, the most remarkable i of them— and it is distinctly marvellous— being ( the concluding ono entitled Dy him "Vanity Fair." For the purpose of this a large mirror mounted on a stand was wheeled on the stage and, a frame having been fitted on in front, a thick" plate-glass square was placed on this, and on this glass Mdlle. D'Alton took up her stand. An ordinary screen was held for a moment or . two before her, concoaling her from tho view of ' the audience, and on this being removed she had disappeared — whither or how no one could | gee or even, perhaps, suggest — only to reappear j at the back of the stalls. The music incidental to the entertainment was given under tho conductorehip of Mr C. W. Taylor. On Monday night the oinematographe, which •was exhibited by Carl Hertz here for the fleet time, afforded a great deal of pleasure. The machine appeared to ba ia perfect working order, and a number of life-like aceues were presented with great clearness. It. may, indeod, be said that no exhibition of a similar kind given here was equal to that of on Monday night. So delighted were the audience with the views that a considerable number of them had to be shown twice. One of the best of the views was % representation of the French Boulevards, showing the street traffic : and tones representing children playing on the baath at Brighton, a ' serpentine skirt dance, a sea cave on the coast of Galicia, and the Paris txprens train ooming into the station wero also remarktbly good. Some of the views shown were very comical, the repre- , sentation of a lightning caricaturist, and a ', scene in % negro farce, entitled " A Terrible ■ Night," convulsing the audience with laughter. • . " The D'Orsay Ogden Dramitic Company reproduced tho comedy "On ' Change" at the City H»ll en Saturday evening to a rather limited attendance, the smallness of tha audience being no doubt largely due to counter i a'.tractiors. Those who were present gave ! every indication of being well satisfied with the i performance, which was certainly a meritorious one. Mr Barrie Marschel was particularly happy as the learned professor who dabbles in Btockn rather indiscriminately. Mr Ogden played effectively as the b inker, and the same remark applies to Miss' Carlyon (Mrs Peck) and Mrs ,Dunba» (Mis Bnrnetb). The Misßes Richardson and Oskdece filled their parts in a satisfactory manner, as did also Mr M ana ing. The matinee, at which " Baby " Ogden appeared in her old familiar part of Jo. proved very successful On Monday night Bret • Hart's Spanish-American drama "Manuella" was produced. ' • . • Despite counter attractions the G*rrison Hall wa6 well filled en Saturday night, when the ' Fuller Company gave another of their highlyenjoyable entertainments. The programme comprised electrinoptic views interspersed with musical items. The former embraced tbe picturesque gems of England, Ireland and Scotland. The audience were conducted in spirit on a highly interesting aud instructive ; tour throughout the United Kingdom, and nit only were the "beauty spots" displayed, but ' all the places of historical interest were pointed j out. All these were displayed with the utnicst ! clearness, and were received with general favour. The vocal numbers were v all rendered with admirable effect, and were co much appreciated that; eueoreo wpre demanded in every instance, al hovgh t'ae rejuest was not always acceded to. • . • Owing to the detention of tbe Rotomabana at Cape Campbell Pollard* company were unable to open at Christchurch on Satur- '■ day night, as the music, properties, and portion of the company were aborad her. * . The Wellington Opera House Company declare a dividend of 5 per cent. The income j for the year was £2365, inelading £1731 for rent The liabilities are £20,330, and the assets £21,323. • i • . • The Pollarda' 15 months' sojourn in New Zealand terminates with the Dune Jin season at the end of this montb, but so satisfied arc the ! management with the results of fcheir -prolonged j tour that an early retHrn from Australia ia intended. The company will reappear in Wellington on Boxing night, and in Bunedin in May 1898. The feature of next year's tour will be either "Matßa"or " Djin-Bjia." To

secure one of these spectacular pieces Mr Duval is now en his way to Sydney by the Taluue. • . • Mr Wm. D'Easem, who, for the past ..three years has been connected with Mr Rickards's company in Sydney, is about to leave for England, and recently Mr Charles Godfrey, on behalf of the' artistes, presented him with a cheque for £127. • . • The Collett-Dobson company were to pro- [ duce " Trilby " at Christchutch on Tuesday night with Mi?s Idrene Thornton as Trilby and Mr Collett-Dobsou as Svengali. • . • The oldest actor in the world is Henry Doel. He will be 93 on his next birthday, aud was an actor for 65 years. As a child he was rjowed out to Plymouth Sound, and saw Napoleon walking the quarterdeck of the Bellerophon. • . • Mr Henry Betty's death robs the theatrical profession of a very kind and generous friend. Mr Betty inherited a large fortune from his father, ence famous as Young Roscius, and seemed aB though he regarded it as a sort of benevolent fund. His gifts to theatrical charities were enormous, and so, doubtless, his bequests will appear. * . • A manager haviDg offered Signor S»lvini a large sum lo come out of his retirement, the great tragedian declined the effer in » lebter which has been published in the Italian papers. After declaring his determination to refuse aU such invitations. Signor Salviui fliys, " I am no longer young ; I have ceased to have at command my old means, either physical or vocal. In these circumstances I believe that it is better for me to preserve my reputation as it ifc than to risk damaging if; by imprudently reappearing before the public." • . • Max O'Rell'B farcical comedy, "On the Continong ! !: is now booked in the leading theatres of all the principal towns, and will start on tour early in the spring. Max O'Rell has engaged a company of selected artistes, and J will play the principal part himself. - . • Madame Patti's concerts at Monte Carlo and N'Cs have drawn large and fashionable audiences thU year. It is stated that her vo.'co | is showing markfd »igns of wear ' . " Paderewski, the distinguished pianist, has recovered from his attack of nervous insomnia. He will reappear in London in June. I • . • It is said that not even her immediate i friends knew the exscfc whereabouts of Miss Marie Corelli when her play "came out" in London. She resolved to be as far away as possible from London when the dramatic version of "The Sorrows of Satan" was producad, and her friends of course cay she anticipated the i reception ifc reoeived from tbe press. Three versions of "The Sorrows of Satan " have been put on tha stage in England, and none seem j to have been received with any especial favour. • . • Sir Henry Irving has juab boon pronounced completely cured of the sprain to his knee which cut short the run of " Richard 111 " after the first night. He has now resumed hifl part of Richerd Duke of Gloster. The B*roness Burdett-Coutta has presented Sir Henry with the identical ring worn by David Garrick when he played the part of Richard • . • A Paris correspondent tells tho following story about Madame Duse :—": — " Twenty years ago Madame Duse, who had not the •lightest idea of ever going on the stage, heard that Sarah Bernhardt was going to give a few representations afc Turin, aud she decided to go and see her. Bat she was takea very ill, and en the evening of the representation her parents — for she was then" only about 18 — started without her. They were scarcely off, however, bei'ore Madame Dase felb an intenso and irresistible desire to go in spite of everything. She was in a high fever, it was snowing hard, icy gusts of wind wtra whistling round all thfl corners, but, nothing dauuted, she ordered a carriage, which the frighteued servant only brought after having clearly seen that the girl would simply walk out, and, muffled and wrapped, uhe arrived in the b>x juat as the curtain was rising. No entreaties from htr mother could make her return home to her bed, and she remained to the end, drinking in the words which f«ll from the lips of the Dame aux Camelias, which always was and still is the greatest of Sarah Bsrnhardt's successes. The day after Mndame Duse was iv danger of death. She became delirious, and, to the great astonishment of her parents, she went on for hours reciting long bits of the French play she had so much admired. She recovered at last, and from that day the began to work for the stage, becoming finally the world-wide celebrity she now is. " Curiously enough, she never endeavoured to imitate the woman who had decided her career." • . •." A Pierrot's Life," a musical pl*y without words, is at present being produced at matinees ab the Princo of Wales's Theatre, London. Three years ago the new dumb show began its Parisian career. Although pantom;me is more akin to southern racss, for us it has an interest of curiosity as well as of dr*matic sympathy. Pierrot is such a shy lover that he is in daDger of being cut out in his pretensions to Louisette by his rival, Julot. : Bub an old wine merchant, Pochinefc, teaches I him how to make love. -When married he i twice gambles heavily, losing to Julot, and I then bteals his wife's money to give to a factory girl. After some years he plays tha mandoline before Fochinet J s door, having become a starving vagrant. His own child wins back his place in his wife'a heart, after the conventionnl j manner that always seems to touch the homely hearts of good women all the world over. Mounieur P. M. Costa hss set the story lo very ' engaging music, more ose being made of tbe orchestra and lei 3of the piano, now employed i for illustrative expression, than in " L'Enfanl Prodigue." Perhapß there is less fun in the score, bufc plenty of engaging melodies, and much deftness ia the employment of a very Fulfill band. The two serenades are pretty, so is the air cf the love-lcsEon. The waltz in the second &ct. is delicious, and the mendoiine phrases m the final scene make agreeable variety. •.■ "A B?ga of the times" indeed waa the gathering of music-hall artistes a"; the Hotel ! Cecil one day recently. Some hundreds of ! diitinguiahed-looking ladi-.s and gentlemen ! dined together, the company ineludiug Mr Dan Leno and Miss Marie Lloyd, the most ernineut parsons, without doubt, in their profession. The object of the gathering was to establish a home for decayed professionals, and a subscription aggregating three hundred and odd pounds w«s announced. • . ' Yielding to the wishes of his son Mirko, who has a passiou for the theatre, Prince '- Nicholas of Montenegro has had a theatre erected in his capital. Up to the present moment concerts hive beea the only amusement there*. At Prince Mirko'd requtst a real } theatrical piece, " The Grandmother* Lover," was recently interpreted iuto a patois by a Venetian troop of actorp. Tne success was enormous, although few persons understood the Venetian patois, it was the first time that most of the audience had ever attended a theatre, i ' . •" A Pierrot's Story," the pantomime play j done at the Prince of Wales's Theatre, is one of J the most exquisitely beautifu 1 - and pathetic } things ever eeen on the stage. Every playeosr 1 who thought ie worth while to support . " L'Eufant Prodigue "' during its lopg and prosperous career ought to extend the same fiieud-

ship to " The Story of a Pierrot," which would mean a run, say, of 250 nights.

• . ■ Tho children of Mr and Mrs Benjamin Terry all took to the stage. Miss Kate Terry (Mrs Arfahur Lewis), the eldest daughter, was afc one time considered the leading emotional actress of the day, but retired previous to her marriage in 1867. Miss Ellen Terry is the second daughter. The third, Mies Marion Tirry, most closely resembles her sister Ellen. The late Miss Florence Terry, the youngest sister, made her dobut in 1870 at the Adelphi and bade her farewell to the stige in 1882, on the occasiou of her marriage to Mr Morris, of the legal firm of Ashurst", Morris, and Co. The sons of the family are represented by Messrs Oharles aud Fred Terry. The former is a provincial actor-manager and the father of Misb Minnie Terry, ths child actr'sa. Mr Fred Terry is well lcoosvn in London, and is the husband of Miss Julia Neilson.

* . * Miss Julie Opp, who is playing Hymen in "As You Like It" at the St. James's Theatre, is an American girl who was born in New York, where her father was in business. She is tall, and has a beautiful figure, and her brown hair and dark eyes give no suggestion of her German descent, for though her lather was born in New York he came of German parentage. When she first thought of going on the stage some years ago she attracted the attsntiou of a well-known acSor in New York, who prophesied great things for her. Sh 1 * did no 1 ", however, at first take up acting, bub writing. Finally, however, she decided to return to her old love, the stage, and it is said that tbe late Mr dv M&urier. who met her at luncheon, was to struck with her resemblance of hix idea of Trilby that he wanted her to create thifc pare. Whether this is so or not is not of very great importance, though it serves as a pretty tribute to Mis? Opp'B physical attractiveness. If it is true, it is interesting to note that the Trilby that might have been and the Trilby that was are both at present members of Mr Alexander's company.