WELLINGTON WING WHISPERS

Otago Witness, Issue 2520, 2 July 1902, Page 69

WELLINGTON WING WHISPERS

By T. Romptkk.

June 27. Dear Pasquin, —"The Yeomen of the Guard" are now doing 1 their brief strut upon the stage of the Opera House, and it is generally agreed that the members of our Amateur Operatic Society are seen at their very bsst m this Gilbert and Sullivan opera. It is ten years since "The Yeomen" were with us bafore. Here is the present cast. — Sir Richard Cholmondeley .. A. S. Ballance Colonel Fairfax E. J. Hill Seargean^ Meryll W. Parsons Leonard Meryll E. Woodward Jack Point " W. P. Bastin Wilfrid Shadbolt W. D. Lyon Elsie Maynard Miss Amy Murphy Phoebe Meryll Miss Annie Sime Dame Carruthers M:ss L. White Kata Miss Toohill Great interest centred in the first appearances here of Misses Murphy and Sime, and admirers of these southern ladies were justified in their anticipatory praise. They have proved- a decided acquisition to the cast. As many readers of the Witness must be in terested in the debut of these ladies, I have culled the opinions of the Wellington, critics. The New Zealand Times sayß: —"Two of the leading parts, El&ie Maynard and Phoebe, were assigned to Miss Amy Murphy and Miss Annie Sinie, of Dunedin, who were both conspicuously successful. Each of these ladies is gifted with a good voice and handsome presence, and each showed herself at home upon the stage. Miss Murphy, whose reputation as a singer had preceded her from Dunedin, fully justified the good opinions formed regarding her work. Her voice, a eoprano of sweet quality, is full and cultivated, and her singing is notable for its artistic judgment. This was shown in the lovely solo, " 'Tis done! I »m a bride,' sung by Elsie alter her marriage with the unknown prisoner Fairfax. In this melodious song Miss Murphy captured the eudience, who twice recalled her. Though Miss Murphy's enunciation was not invariably distinct, her performance throughout, as has been said, was very successful. Miss Sime achieved an instant success by her piquant acting, and by the clever manner in which she made every point of the dialogue tell. Her two a&Ios were encored —the firEt, the one which opens the opera, ' When Maiden Loves,' and the other tha charming 'Were I Thy Brido, which Phoebe sings to the grim Shadbolt whilst she wheedles away the keys from him that Fairfax may escape. The 'business' in this song was well carried out, the serious wooing of Phoebe and the exaggerated confidence with which the gaoler received her caresses keeping the audience highly amused. Miss Sime has a well-trained contralto voice, smga distinctly, and speaks her lines with admirable modulation. '

The Evening Post critic makes these remarks: — "The debut of Miss Amy Murphy, of Dimedin, m the leading soprano part, that of Elsie Maynard, had been, awaited with considerable curiosity and interest. Her concert experience in the southern city, where she- is a great favourite, had prepared tho audience — a large one — for a, musical treat. This, however, was understood to be her first essay in opera. The result justifies the prediction that she has gifts worth cultivating in this direction. Her singing was altogether admirable, her voice being sweet and pure, expressively modulated, and clear, with a little lisp that is not un pleasing. Her first important solo, ' 'Tis done! I am a bride,' won her a double encoie and a handsome floral acknowledgment, and other vocal successes followed as the opera proceeded. She has also vivacity and resource, which experience will teach her how to use, and a graceful style and comely appearance speedily won the audience to her side. Another newcomer, also from Dunedin, Miss Annie Sime, appeared in the part of Phoebe Meryll. She, too, made an excellent impression aa a beginner in operatic work, exhibiting herself as the possessor of a tuneful mezzo-Bopra.no vo'ce (heard effectively in the opening solo, 'When maiden loves '), a well-cultivated method of using her words, and a bright and pleasing manner, that was seen at its best in the scene where she wheedles the keys from the lugubrious gaoler, Wilfrid Shadbolt. A floral trophy also came her way." Ihu9 the Free Lance critic —Among the principals in the cast, Miss Amy Murphy, Miss Annie Sime, Mr E. J. Hill, and Mr W. D. Lyon fairly divide the honours. Their several parts are sustained with signal success. Miss .. Amy Murphy playo the part of Elsie Maynard very prettily. She betrays no self-consciousness whatever, but merges herself in her part. Her shiging voice is clear ard sweet and flexible, even in its quality, and charmingly fresh and full in the upper register, while her method proclaims skilled training. More than that she sings with great aptness of expression, and makea her point 3 with good judgment. Her recitative and ballad ' 'Tis done! I am a bride,' is one of the chief "hits' in tho performance, and she also appears to striking advantage in the final ensemble, as well aB in the duet with Jack Point, "I have a song to sing, O." The trio, "How sny you, maiden " (M 193 Murphy, Mr Bastin, and Mr Ballance) is one of the best of the concerted numbers. The trio, "A man who would woo a fair maid" (Miss Murphy, Mr E J. Hill, and Mies Sime) 18 another gem, and so, too, is the quartet "When a wooer goes a-wooing," in which Mr Bastin joins the above. Miss Sime's Phoebe is a worthy companion picture to Misa Murphy's Elsie. Both are entirely charming. From her opening spinning song (by the way, why doesn't someone oil the wheels of that squeaking wheel). Miss Sime captured her audience, and held it in thrall. She acts with composed self-posses-sion, speaks distinctly, and sings sweetly in a voice of agreeable timbre, and good \olume. She gave the ballad, "Were I thy bnde," with an archness that was keenly relished, while her amorous make-believe with Shadbolt was capitally carried out. In the trio vitn Mr Lyon and Mr Hill, "To thy fiaternal care, she was also heard to advantage, and, m fac*, she acquitted herself admirably throughout. ' It 13 about time that I stopped clipping and put in a word of my own. I haven't much to say, because there is very little in the performance to cavil at. The choius work 19 good, and the whole performance bears evidence of the careful training to which thi singers ar-e subjected by the conductor, .Mr Mpughan Barnott. A fino souvenii book of words for the opera season lias been got out by Messrs Linley and Co.. of Wellington. The souvenir contains a liumber of photographs of the principal per-

St. Hill and! his bioscope are with us on.cc more, having taken up their quarters in the Federal Hall. The Neilson Bros., of Auckland, are showing an exhibition of kauri sum in a shop in. Willis street.

Sivroni, of the Dix circuit, who left us on the 12th en route tor England, is yet another member of the profession who is casting eyes upon New Zealand as a field for the operations of a company under his own management. Before leaving he intimated to his friends that he would return to the colony at no distant date with a. musical comedy company.

The latest thing at the Theatre Royal is the In- ing Sayles novelty— a squad of comely, khaki-clad Amazons, who go through a, series of military evolutions in a smart and taking "manxiah," as Irving would say. The Amazons sing and whistle all right, too, their "pucker" for the whistle being "real fetching" for the boys in front. Pope and Sayles are Sayhng along as Popelarly as ever. Gallando, the latest addition to the Gaiety Company, can. do rrore things in a short space of time with a lump of clay than people thought possible. His rapid modelling of well-known features is a thing to be seen to be piopevly appreciated.

The Free Lance this week gives us some interesting personal notes concerning your own Amy Murphy, " the handsome soprano who is at present playing Elsie in ' The Yeomen of the Guard' at the Opera House-" with our amateurs. It appears that this is Miss Murphy's first appearance in opera. The Lance says . — She comes of a musical family, for, before her mother went to Dunedin, she was one of Melbourne's most prominent teachers, and is probably the best known Dunedin teach sr at the present time. It is another injustice to ould Ireland that the Murphys under review are Scotch. Miss Amy was born in Dunedin when that city was about 20 years younger, and she showed no greater signs of coming vocal talent than any other child. She did not commence learning the piano until she wrs 14, and then ghe was kept at it with the intention of making her a teacher of that instrument. Herr Schott, R.A.M., Miss Murphy's grandfather, who was conductor of the Auckland Choral Society about 20 years ago, asked the parents why they did not cultivate Miss Amy's voice. They didn't know she hnd a voice to cultivate, but took his advice only three and a-half years ago. It was a very small affair that voice, but Miss Murphy was frightened someone might hear it, and used to sing behind closed windows and locked doors, which was kind of her. If only other ladies we know would follow her example! She was extremely nervous, although no one believes it now. Out of the small material at her disposal, she has produced the fine voice that has charmed so many ears. She sang at the concerts given by Signor Squarise, and took the soprano solos in Haydn' 3 "Creation," given in Dunedin two years ago. Gerardy's manager, too, retained her services for the virtuoso's recitals, and at Madame Belle Cole's concerts she sang successfully. She was in Wellington two years ago, singing at the Rev. Charles Clark's concerts. Her favourite ballad is Tosti's "Good-bye," and the "Jewel song" her favourite operatic item. Miss Annie Sime, who is also in ''The Yeomen," and is ft Dunedinite— though she has now adopted Wellington as her home— has also made her debut in opera with us this wesk. Of the fair Annie the Lance says:— Miss Annie Sime, tlie chaiming contralto who plays Phajbo in "The Yeomen of the Guard," is siot quite a stranger in Wellington, for she has resided here for nine months. She also is a Dunedin girl, and is Scotch on both sides. Sh<? has shone more as au elocutionist than as a singer, although she has appeared on the Dunedin conceit platform. She was a clever member of the Dur.edin Dramatic Amateurs, and made quite a "hit" as Tina 111 "My Sweetheart," besides playing the lead in "Caste" and Violet Melrose in "Our Boys. The other day I mentioned in my notes that Pi-ofes«or Powell, of the World's Entertainers, who were with us the other dry, would goon to Australia after the^ completion of the fcew Zcplard tour. I clso mentioned that he might vndertake a toui of his own on the completion of his piesent engagement, which closes in February next. fn an interesting chat the piofcssov told me that Ins peraia.isnt home 13 in Chester, a subuib of Philadelphia, but that hia business headquarters were in New xork. He took to his present profession when a lad, and gave his first public exhibition (as an amataur) in his sixteenth year. lie earned enough at the profession to allow him to graduate in the Pennsylvania Military Academy, where he attained th* rank of lieutenant, and took a civil engineering diploma. Then the academy engaged h:m ns instructor of mathematics This position he had to resign, alter three years, owing to ill-he.-Uh. After trying (several branches of mercantile life, he went back to the stage, and soon organised a company of his own. He won much fame throughout the States as an illu&ionist, and was the originator and constructor of the apparatus for his illusions. He cannot show his best illusions whilst with a vaudeville company because there are too many people behind the ecenea. Should he organise ? company for a colonial tour, ho will make a feature of his illusions.