LINDA’S LETTER TO HER COUNTRY COUSIN.

Southern Cross, Volume 7, Issue 26, 8 October 1898, Page 11

LINDA’S LETTER TO HER COUNTRY COUSIN.

My dear Elsie, —As I told you in a letter written some weeks ago, the local Amateur Operatic Society have been for some time devoting their energies to the staging of Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic opera ‘ Ruddigore.’ No trouble was spared to make the production the brilliant success it has proved to be. We braved the wild wintry weather of Tuesday, the opening night, and thoroughly enjoyed our evening’s entertainment. The performance ran smoothly from start to finish, and reflected great credit upon the management. The Orchestra consisted of eleven performers, two of whom were ladies, and was ably conducted by Mr W. Y. Siddall. At the commencement of the first scene a gay throng of flower-be-decked maidens, led by Zorah (Miss Organ), sang the praises of Rose Maybud (Mrs Blue) and lamented the fact that their business as professional bridesmaids would be gone unless someone married, concluding by requesting Dame Hanna (Miss Hisbon) to marry old Adam (Mr G. Stevens). Dame Hanna, who was quaintly dressed in red and yellow flowered material, opening in the front over a yellow quilted petticoat, sang sweetly and evenly a song descriptive of the witch’s curse upon the Baronets of Ruddigore. Then Rose Maybud appeared upon the scene looking ‘ as fair as a maid could be ’ in a dainty frock of grey, with bat, stockings, and slippers of the same shade, and bows and streamers of pink ribbon effectively arranged. She made a good deal of fun by, in all her difficulties, referring,to a book on etiquette, and she sang her first solo, ‘ If somebody there chanced to be,’ very distinctly and well ; but her fine voice had a better chance of exhibiting its capabilities in the duet, ‘ Poor little man, poor little maid,’ which she sang with Robin Oakapple (Mr A. Grenfell). The audience demanded an encore, and an admirer threw the fair Rose a beautiful bouquet. Mr Grenfell looked and acted the part of the shy young farmer to perfection, and when he sang ‘ I’m diffident, modest and shy,’ the applause was loud and long. Mr W. D. Smith (as Richard Dauntless) made an excellent Jack Tar. His song 1 The Parley-voo,’ was very well received, and all through the performance his gesticulations provoked a

great deal of amusement. A pleasing variationwas a hornpipe, which was very well danced by Mr H. Geddas. A very difficult part, that of Mad Margaret was impersonated by Miss A. Smith, and she represented it in a way very few could have done ; the effect of her weird appearance and acting was greatly enhanced by skilfully manipulated lights, and her song, ‘To a garden full of roses,’ was greeted with much applause. In the second scene, too, Miss Smith proved herself a favourite with the audience when she and Mr McKay danced and sang together, and she was the recipient of a large bouquet of spring flowers. In the first scene Mr E. B, McKay took the part of Sir Despard Mnrgatroyd, and his get-up and tragic demeanour were all that could be desired, while his duet with Richard Dauntless (Mr Smith), ‘ To shirk the task were fiddle-de-dee,’ was emphatically encored. When Sir Despard and Robin had changed places, and the latter was declared by Dick Dauntless to be the elder brother and therefore the Bad Baronet, Mr Grenfell’s acting was of a very high order, and his expression while Rose sang the solo, ‘Farewell,’ was pathetic in the extreme. He also added to the favourable impression he had already produced by his rendering of ‘ When I’m a bad baronet ’ and ‘ Whose head there’s a curse on.’ All through the performance the bridesmaids brightened the scene by appearing every now and then and singing pleasing choruses. They also. with an equal number of smart-looking young swains, went through a gavotte and, as coloured lights were used with very good judgment, this scene was very effective. The opera abounds in mirthprovoking changes from pathos to bathos, as, for instance, when Dick Dauntless with great earnestness informs Sir Despard that his brother still lives, and then says, ‘ What I want to know is whether I ought to tell you this,’ and also when the Bad Baronet talks quite familiarly with the ghosts of his ancestors. A very effective scene was where the Bad Baronet was foiled by the Union Jack of Old England and a tableau of Britannia appeared in the back ground. A charming little ballad, ‘ There grew a little flower ’neath a great oak tree,’ was sung by Dame Hanna (Miss Hishon) and Sir Rodric (Mr Gladstone). Their voices blended sweetly, and the demure little dame and courtly old gentleman made a pretty pictu re. All who witnessed the performance and listened to the excellent music must feel that • the Invercargill amateurs possess talent of no mean order, and I feel sure that as he looked upon them the president, Mr Woodward, must have fel£ very proud of his society. Your affectionate cousin, Linda,