SIGHTS OF SYDNEY.

Otago Witness, Issue 2427, 19 September 1900, Page 69

SIGHTS OF SYDNEY.

BiT OIGrAEETTB.

" TRS ROSE OV PERSIA." SULLIVAN'S NEW OPERA,

Who ha.- not lead the Arabian Xighls and not longed to be liai-.«rorted for a while into thot fairyland of Eastern magnificence? Sir Arlhtu Suilivpn. with his magic wand, has made thib possible— ju?t enter the portals of Her Majesty's Theatre in Sydnej r , and theie you arc.

Septod in the couuj'ard of his hou«e, surrounded by his wise.--, v. p .see the jovial Ha«f Ail (I. mi 1) -irtokmg a liubble-bvibble ; the moon chine* thiouj'i tho Oriental aiches and otars twinkle lsah^ticplly c\erLsad. The whe-j, clad Iv glowing Egyptisu rceib and cle-lieiou-ly t^tliciie bitten and giveu,-:. all gloilou- with gold iliio:.cl ana tp rum^ galore, itit to and fio, -L-:\mg t\eii- lord and nu^tpi ■, it 1 ! lcii.^hnien;-, aau entertaining hi? gue-ts nitli mn '-.<• and d-uieuig. The=e same guestare tiie rifi-rjlt ol the city, lor liaspaa is a ph:lau,thro]j-=l, and prefers ihe ",-ocietj r of beg^ar^," to tiie "beggais of society." Anior^, the gae^i;- ..- or.s "lu^-ui," a proiessicrs.tU story-tsllsr, w"Po, au!Ci.g:t hir, repertoire, ha^ "&tori<.% ~-o ■-I. )ic toull rcyeat them, and 'jihcri, -0 hro.x 1 that 3011 eau'r." Xemmigha'u J u'U.'s rii^ tuiit ur.d smgs and acts eit.•ghtfuliy. tin are tlio SulLum, who, mciLilging In a ni.icl iieak, lias escaped 11 cm the paiaec vit'i thiee oi her ilavej in the gui-j oi u.aici.-.g girl- : so Hassan, ta'dn^ tlieni for wlim ihsy *eeif. encourages them to -m^ yiid ela:ios lor tho enierlainment of tl.e i.igjj=el compai-.y '. T x . hat v Fcene is tM.- ! — the o\(iUi-i f o coioa.-, tho entrancing mu'iC, ILo wacu^.ouiid or beggar-. th» nioonlil coariyard, ai.el Joey C laoil:^, like an incarnate daffodil, ?"'. 53/0.113 in the bi eeze, as she gracefully donee- n pa^ seV.l. -But soon all is cgiifusi'on, for Abualit'h, s priest,, appears v.'itli order; to avrcsn, ai.d bring before the Sultan c-.i.nnpl- of the quests who hold their ro\elejeh i.igi>t m i he Ut use of eccentric Ha.-san. Batativjl, wlio taLe.j the p?rt of tlie priest aiivt !u..s a fine \ oice yve, \ant to it in a gi'and f-on;; 1 . Ti.cn fias&on, fearing the Sultan'? wruth, takes, a dore of bhang to drown his LOirj-iV-j in forgetfulne.^?. Yubsttf remarkb : ■'1 never heard of a single man who was really hyppier lor eoting bhang," and Hassan lephei: "My dear *■'&, that't, just it, lam not j single man. Wl en you have been mai-ried 25 tiiii«.'% you will s-ee the charm of this drug, believe me. It you eat erough ot it you will bp-atl= to fit out the nio^b lengthy and complicated ehoiu-i.-5 of feminine complainings :uid imagi"e } r ou are li«t3nlng to a promenade eoi.esrt. ]\e tried it oiten — twice a clay, for year-. ' At this point the Sultan and .suite s.rri* c, tlisgui'od as riar-innj dpi-vi-hes: tiio mv-ic grows ine-qsieobibly weird, and anofch' r triumph i= scored in thia niopt uncanny perform mte of whirling, leaping, pi rouetting, pctiicotted male creature 1 -. The weird fa->cination ol th.& danca eclipses every other m the opera. The Htiltan, r. ho^e part i« taken bj r Wallace Brownlow, that l-lass'in, under the in■f'uei.ce of bhang, imagines himsslf to be .Sultan, iiidulgjs: the whim and orders him to be borne, <i'<i to the PaUce, i-o that Le himsolf oan lor a time be tieated as an ordinary mortal. The libretti^. Basil Ifoocl, makes full u<a heie of tho c cope for "fun," and George L'fiii-i is =üblimeJy ridiculoufc. Tlie Palace hcene is gorgeous ; in the staging of the "Rose ot Persia" lYlv J. C. Williamson has excelled him-olf, tile lr.o-t livKh expeiviiliue, coupled with reiineel iu~.tj, bas produced a lesult moafc gratifying to the artistic eye. With so much glitter oi gold and gems and sequin?, there is nothing bizarre or crude, no jarring nolo or iiritating eirctim-tpiiee to detract irorn the one great picture-qua harmonious effect. The prima donna. Mi>-s "Winston Weir, who takes the part of t-'uitai.a, has a fine -\oice and good i-tage pre^ti-cu, but lacks ppiiglitline^s, and to -\ii:-s Caivie Moore falls the higher honour 3 for her charming impeiFonation ot "P call's, Desire,' the Sultana's ta\ourito &la-»e. Slio it i= who, when things grow s-siious, and e\e.-yone begins to tremble for lii~ hetivi, comes to the re'cua and tells the Sultan that ii, wa c . plie who went, to Easpan'-s hou^e 'o Jicar a =tory to tell to the Sultana. Then Ea<. a :i:i, who i^ mirier seittence of death, is caller! upon to finish the story, buc the Sultan cieii.aiids that it sliall tiaie a happy enclir.g. Then the crt'fty ijas^an, by a brilliano mspliiulon., hits upon the idea of telling tho "toi'y of li& oun life, and fo secures his safetj". This is the plot ot the play, and it iiiakes 1 capit'il peg to hang some fine fooling on. "TtifoufV and '"Heart's Desire's" love af aii'a form a pretty side i?nue, and the execur .oJ)er is <i g'c'.ofquelv-atlired character, as played by Albert "Wlielan. Theie is a very con-.ic duet between tlie Sultan and Sultana, in whi^li he tells her that she would lo^e her head :

If i"3 silly ickle wife Ju%t foi oace m all her Ufa "Weje to foolnhly forget Oiientat etiqvette. Another f.ong the Sultan sings has for its re-

And cynics may coiiiplain That society is mixed ; But I yalber v the main Its ingredients aie fi^scl; And s-ocie'i/j- has always been A sort oi cmger pop ; Tho cliegs aie at tLe bottom, A:id the fiotli is at the top.