THEATRICAL AND MUSICAL NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2849, 21 October 1908, Page 68

THEATRICAL AND MUSICAL NOTES.

Bx Pasqtjix. TUESDAY, October 20. 1908. The Enjrli-h comedian. Mr J. M.. Campbell, who created something of a furore whon through these parts recently with "The Merrymakers," and who is at present in Dunedin under engagement to the Messrs

J. and N Tait, has received an important appointment in one of Mr J. C. Williamson's -companies, and will join that management at an early date. Mr Campbell is under orders to rehearse for the next hit; pantomime which is to be staged in Aus- , tralia, and will take up rehearsals the first week m December. It is understood that Mr Campbell is to play the dame in "Jack and Jill." and from what he has 6hown us here the English comedian should make I a biff success of the part. Mr Joe MacMahon, one of the enterprising MacMahon Eros., arrived in Dunedin by the Maheno on Saturday morning to j herald the coming- of the much-talked-of cinematograph film of the Burns-Squires fig-ht. Wherever this picture has been shown it has created enormous interest, and the business has been in proportion. I jL* Macilahon lost no time on his arrival, and very quickly had the town "painted red " and various other_colours with posI rers illustrating the picture show. The j public rarely tire of a erood picture show, . and from v.-hnt 1 know the iateefc enterprise . of the MacMahon Bros, is particularly , striking. By the same boat as brought Mr MacMahon another theatrical celebrity, in the person of Johnny Fuller, was a passenger. The young New Zealand theatrical manatfor is <lov. n on one of IIL3 flying visits in the interests of the firm. He reports that busine£3 is excellent everywhere with the picture shows which they are runinng in the various centres. Ask.cd when the '"firm" purposed resuming vaudeville, Johnny was reticent— indeed, he did not know, and explained that such an arrangement was at present indefinite, as it greatly depended upon the boom in the -picfcxire world and the slum-p in the vaudeville. So my readers may take it that so long as the picture shows are in the ascendant, just so long will the Fuller firm be associated with the venture. Ir respect to the rumours n£ » wealthy Australian syndicate making inquiries for sites in New Zealand to build theatres, it will come as no great surprise to know •that th.3 negotiations get no further than, making inquiries concerning sites. So far as Dunedin is concerned, we cannot stand another theatre — that is, to make it pay, — and syndicates, however wealthy, do not purpose building theatres for sentimental reasons. We have already three theatres in the town, and another would certainly not show a profit. Ghristchuroh has just had a new theatre built ; in additior. that city has His Majesty's, the old Theatre Royal, and the Onera Hous-2. which is bsing done up with a view to sub-letting 'o outside companies. Truth to tell. :ho Opera House has already b^n sub-let to one enterprising Australian management ; likewise the Princess Theatre in this city and the Oppra House, in Auckland—which all points to the fact that for Mmo time at leasi little will he heard of n^>w theatres in each of the four centres. We may, however, be pr^nared for developments in connection with new theatre*, in Auckland and Wellington — the two best show 1,-iwns in the Dominion. — but so far as Cliristchur,"h and Dunedin are concorn°<l, there is scarcely a possibility of another thcatro being erected for some years. On Monday and Tucsdav next, at His Maicsfv's ThVah'*», Dunedinites will have an opportunity of hearing one of the few of what are regarded as the world's "groaf voices. There are so many "\oiros" and so very few that are even worthy of being clashed as "good," and of the many "good" called the percentage of "groat"* cho-x»n is wofully small. Miss Ainsloy is ct the beginning of her career, but if she. makes good all that has be^n prophesied for her by iuch authorities o« Madaire Melba, then we may be as proud of her as Australians are of Melba or of— 1 to use a better analogv — their own contralto, Ada Crossley, for. be it Tomembcred. that though Australia ha« produced a Melba and a Orosslev, and earlier a Sherwin, New Zealand has hitherto not produced 0110 -.inger to whom the prefix "creat" could be legitimately attached. Mi"s Ain?l°v, we are assured by the authorities alroarly mentioned, is to fill this gan. and so thorn ought to be special interest in hearing her and supporting her concerts. Madame M<-!ba once more acted the fairy godmother to ,1 gifted student, this time thr> New Zealand contralto Miss Irene Ainsl-»v. *who«e debut concert at the Bcehsfein Hall wa<= honoured by the presence of the Prince and Princess of Wales and other notable personalitea. Madame Melba, who ( has had this young singer musically educated, defrayed the entire cost of the concert, and, further, played some of her protegee's accompaniments. Miss Ainsley s voice is said to ba of remarkable beauty, especially in the middle reerister. In London she" wa« trained by Madame Minna , TTUcher. and in Paris by Madame Mathildc Marches!. Dear Pa^quin, — Just got back from the Wnikatc district, where we did <»xoel!ent u "*ine». In che north, every 20 miles

!we teavcllcd we ran across some company. When we first arrived, just after the great fleet celebrations, we had it all our own way. Then came J. F. Sheridan, Tait's Merrymakers, the Bioscope Company, H'Dermott's Bio. Company, Dominion Bio. Company, Coleman's Entertainers, Philip . Walsh Company, and Howard Vernon, and • a couple of smaller companies, and they I n.re all making ends meet. We stayed jin the Waikato foi six weeks. 1 and did awfully well. We leave , , Wellington on Tuesday for Lyttelton, and ] j are due in Dunedin on October 2?. Our , new members are Mr Frank Devonport, ; from Sydney, and Miss Lavinia M'Kenzie. Regards from all.->-HoBACE Nightingale (Keegan-Nightingale Dramatic Company). Eketahuna, October 11, 1908. Mme. Tctrazzini, speaking recently in reference to girls who are anxious io study singing as a profession, said: "There aro : many points which must be considered carefully by ihe girl who is anxious to make - a special study of singing. In the first place, she must have a voice, end a : good voice. We can all talk — 6ome of us I can sing, — but the student must sing well i before she decides to adopt the profession. Sscendlv. she must have an aptitude for her w>rk. Sh# must be' filled with the enthusiasm which in Italy we call 'holy fire.* The third point is that she must' have a rea.l love for the stage. The wo A is very different to what people imagine it tt> be. It is not so easy'as it looks. The artist must make up her mind to sacrifice herself for her work. During ihe first years of i her training she has many things to -fight against, and has to stTUjrgle to induce people to give' hex work, so that she may become known. The singer's life is a very hard one, and the student must reelise this before she begins. With regard to where to study, I 'say ' study in every country. It is not like learning to play the piano. The voice must be ■ absolutely natural. It is not with the teacher that you make the most progress." )• " # Apropos of Margaret Angim s intensely convincing emotional power as Marguerite^ Gautier in " CamiUe, ' Mr G. &. Titheradge, who played the part of the eldet Duval some years ago witih her in America,' tells tin? following story:— lt was the scene where tha falhez goes to plead with the woman who has such a hold upon. hi 3 sons affections for that son's release. Mr Tithoradge was playi*** th'a. part of the father, and tha- next day the critics complimented him upon ih» excellence cf hie ■acting. " But," remarked he in response to tbe encomiums which greeted him, "it rwa.3 not good acting: it wa. the real thing." The popular actor bad to acknowledge that for the first and only time in 1113 life toe- was so carried away by the manifestation of poignant grief and passionate pleading of Camille on behalf of the love which existed between net and Arinand that genuine tears coursed down his cheeks, s\nd it was only with difficulty that ihe was able to speak his lines. And the packed audience which gathered together at Her Majesty's Theatre -on Saturday woek to witness the revival of Dumas tils' powerful play, with Margaret Anghn m the nam-s-parfc, could not but endorse Mr Titberadge's sentiments with regard to ■thd power and r^thos of her acting. The • Bums-Squires fistic encounter, which wUI he re-enacted, per medium of the British biograph, by Messrs Qeeoh, MacMahbn, and Carroll at the JPrincesa Theatre, commencing Thursday evening n«xt, is meeting with an extraordinary measure of success throughout th« iDominkrn, in nearly every instance the ihaUs or theatres being far too small to accommodate the expectant crowds who throng to witness this altogether startling and unique event. 1 "Behind tb<» scenes" is a place that almost every theatre-attender burns to explore. Ifte dividing line of footlights in-dos the commission of a multitude of stage sins, but of all nuen who see ajid .have to atone for those sin 3, whether he commit fhom or not, the prompter is the most harassed. One of taese gentlemen was interviewed recently, and the 'following plaint was made by him: „ "I, prompter, had been kept very busy throughout the piece. In addition to keeping tho actors on their lines, it was my duty to make all the outside noises. I bad ■screamed ' Help ' I had ehouted ' Kill him !' I had dropped planks to cover up deficient pntol reports. I had thundered, lightninged, (hailed! rained, sung like a woman, marched luce an army, and howled like an infuriated rabble inflated by drink. The last ptraw was when tho hero, pursued by ■hounds, sidled to the wings and hissed, Bark, you fool, bark! Whj the dickens ■don't you bark?'" Mr Harry Lauder, the Scotch comedian, interviewed recently with, reference to his I visit to America,, was asked if the extrava- ! gant figures which had been mentioned in, ! some newspapers as to his salary were true. Mr Lauder remarked : " I only wish they were. As a matter of fact I shall get very little out of the visit. I have had to break

any Glasgow engagement, and to do so ■bag cost me a very laTg<? sum of money." "I suppose you. Will bring a few thou«ands y baek, all the same?." I ventured fo query, but he assured me that the visit •was intended more to enhance his reputation than anything eke; and then he observed, with a_ twinkle" in his eye: '."l shall go back next year in the expectation of bringing bacjc a. few; of the Yankee dollars." Speaking of -his tour, Mr Lauder said: "I shall take all the large centres in. the States in turn, - and then visit Chicago and a few of the leading places in Canada. I shall ba away 20 weeks." ittefore going on to the stage Mr Lauder said: "D o contradict tJie eilly statements *hat are being made about the fabulous «vms of money I am going to net over the business." "Isn't it a thousand pounds a week?' I modestly Ventured to ask, to wbioh he promptly replied : " No, nor •anything- lifce it. I assure you that With the indemnity I have to pay at Glasgow A have not got a fat thing at all."