MIMES AND MUSIC

Southland Times, Issue 19477, 29 March 1922, Page 7

MIMES AND MUSIC

“Call Boy” of the Dunedin Star says that the daughter of a well-known South Island magnate may, in the near future, be seen before the footlights as a member of a vaudeville company appearing in another part of the Dominion.

Sir Benjamin Fuller’s candidature for the New South Wales State Parliament reminds the Daily Telegraph that the first theatrical manager to stand for Parliament in Australia was Mark Last King, silk mercer, actor, auctioneer, and M.P. Mr King, who had been a draper in London, arrived in Melbourne about 1844, and took to the stage. He was accounted a good representative of the tragic roles of Shakespeare, and for two years managed the old Queen’s Theatre in Melbourne. He was elected a member for West Bourke in the Victorian Parliament of 1859, and sat in the Legislative Assembly for some years. Mr George Coppin was elected to the Victorian Legislative Council in 1858, and later was a member for East Melbourne in the Legislative Assembly. He was subsequently returned to the Council as a representative of the Melbourne Province. He left his mark on the Statute Book as the founder of the Post Office Savings Bank. In signing his nomination paper he always wrote “George Coppin, comedian.” He was proud of his profession, and his profession had every reason to be proud of him.

Henry A. Lytton in his “The Secrets of a Savoyard” reveals that when he was 17 years of age he played truant from school—for the purpose of getting married. The bride was Miss Louie Hendi, a goung operabouffe actress by whom he had been enslaved while she was appearing at the Old Avenue Theatre. The married couple’s capital was eighteen pence and the honeymoon ride in a hansom-cab left them stumped. Mrs Lytton returned to the theatre that evening and her husband stole back to his school. He was caught and the headmaster was proceeding to exact reparations for the truancy when Lytton yelled out: “Stop it! You can’t thrash me like this. Do you know what you are doing? You’re thrashing a married man!” Lytton’s school days ended and he went on tour with his wife in a company playing “Princess Ida.” After that tour there came a grim period of starving and then in 1887 Lytton got a chance at the Savoy as understudy to Grossmith in “Ruddigore.” Grossmith took ill and Lytton acquitted himself with great credit in the role of Robin Oakapple. It was Lytton who killed Jack Point in the last act of “The Yeomen of the Guard,” Gilbert agreeing that the opera should close on a tragic note.

The reorganised “Lilac Domino” Company return to Melbourne at Easter, and give the first production in Australia of a rather unique musical play entitled “The Little Dutch Girt”

Thomas Quinlan, a director of the Quinlan Opera Company, is coming out with the Sistine Choir.

The Committee of the French Jockey Club is sore perplexed. It has received an application for a jockey’s licence from a lady, and the lady is no less a person than “Etoile,” Mlle. Fanny Heldy, whose voice is one of the charms of the Opera and the Opera Conique. Mlle. Fanny Heldy is not thinking of quitting opera, but she is an excellent horsewoman, riding with the crouch seat and Chantilly trainers have such a high opinion of her skill that they allow her to ride their horses in training.

Lulla Fanning principal boy in the McKay Pantomime to be seen here for a brief season beginning on April 10, is a daughter of Maude Fanning so well known in vaudeville in this country and in Australia. Lulla Fanning was one of the two piccaninnies who used to appear with Maude Fanning in those days.

''The Wild Cat,” an operetta, raeched its 50th performance in New York early in January, thereby beating the rceord for an opera or operetta held by “Madame Butterfly,” which ten years ago ran for 47 nights.

At an auction of autographs held in Berlin the highest price was brought by a musical manuscript by Mozart of fifteen pages, 146,000 marks. Another of two pages brought 71,000 marks. Two by Mendelssohn, one being an unpublished youthful work, brought. 51,000 marks each. These and numerous others less costly went into the hands of a collector named Dr Schwarz. Brahms autographs went for high prices, a letter for 5100 marks, an album leaf for 4100 marks. Liszt brought low figures, a few hundred marks for single items. But it might be recalled that 146,000 marks is now less than £l5O, which is a low price for fifteen pages of Mozart’s musical autograph.

An appeal is made from Eisenach (Germany) for funds to restore the house in which Johann Sebastian Bach was bom. There is fear that it may be necessary to pull it down unless money is subscribed immediately. The house, built in the seventeenth century, contains the Bach museum and many priceless treasures.

In the mere matter of noise nad fury and discord, says Ernest Newman, speaking of a concert conducted in London by Ernest Ansennot. Arthur Honegger’s “Horatius Triumphant,” made the wildest outbursts of Stravinsky seem quite shadowy. Honegger is a member of the French group of “Six,” now only five. Honegger’s “Horace” the London Tinies describes as a tonepoem, with cacophonies placed with skill and variety where concords usually are. “Perhaps that was what he meant by calling it ‘Symphonic Mimee.’ We found it possible to pretend that they were concords and go on as if nothing particular had happened. Whatever they really are, and no mortal ear could tell at a single hearing, the music lies behind them. It is in the rhythms, which are truly felt and set one anothe- in clear relief, in the wellgraduated climaxes without extravagance, and a few picturesque orchestral moments—in particular one fugato with a theme distinctly resembling ‘Let their celestial angels’ (no Frenchman would or could borrow that!), with three entries, the basses and cellos in their half-dozenth position, with, between them, violas on the C string. A ‘freak’ busness on the whole.”

The reduction of the French “Six’* occurred late last year owing to the defection of one of them, Louis Durey. Why he left them, or what he left* or what he has changed to, does not as yet appear. The remaining ones are Georges Auric, Arthur Honegger, Francis Poulene, Germaine Taitleferre and Darius Millhand. The lastnamed is the one who has been most played in America and Britain. The chief doings of the Six, as a Six, have been to meet at a restaurant in the Place de la Madeleine and declare war against conservatism and tradition.

Doris Keane, who for nine years appeared as Gavalieri in “Romance,” is now playing the lead in “The Czarina,” a play by Melchior Lengyel and Lajos Biro, which is a satirical representation of the life of Catherine the Great, whom G. 8.5., took for his principal figure in “Great Cather-

To-day, says Andre Banes in the Figaro, Francis Casadesus is the only French conductor who remembers poor Mendelssohn. He played this season the Italian Symphony and has now given the Scotch, with the Orchestra de Paris. If M. Casadesus did not exist, concludes Mr Banes, it would be necessary to invent him.

Talbot O’Farrell, now on the way out from England, and shortly to open his Australian season at the Tivoli in Melbourne, is to the vaudeville stage what John McCormack is to the operatic or the concert platform (says the Daily Telegraph). Both possess the same liquid voices with the clear high nates. Both have the gift or going straight to the heart with their singing. OTarrell is a big nxan in the prime

of youth. He is coming to us at the very zenith of his career. His winning personality described by many who have listened to him on the other side is sure to make for him here a host of friends, both before and behind the curtain.

A Mozart opera-buffe, “La Finta Simplice,” written when the composer was twelve years old, has just had its premiere at Karlsruhe, after 153 years.

The Ella Shields in Invercargill was cancelled because the railway timetable made the visit impossible from a financial viewpoint.

“Parsifal” has been given in Rio de Janeiro, with great success. German interests are working enthusiastically to further all German art matters in Latin American countries. “Parsifal” will also be given in Havana this season.

“The Bat” is to be presented at the Theatre Royal, Sydney, on May 6, Ralph Lumley and Mayne Lynton are bbth on their way here from the United States to dppear in it. The London Referee, discussing the English production, observes that “Undoubtedly there is much to thrill beholders of ‘The Bat,’ as was abundantly proved by the attitude of the audience at the first performance. The mystery surrounding ‘the Long Island home’ of the channing spinster, Miss Cornelia van Gorder; the growing idea as to whether a million dollars stolen from a certain bank have, or have not, been hidden in the house; the feverish search for ‘plans’ of the residence in order to trace whether it contains or not an awful secret chamber; also as to what is the reason of eerie bat-like Hittings and flutterings in and around certain windows, and whether the house is haunted, and why all sorts of strange and other characters creep in and out of it to ‘make mad the guilty and appall the free/ as Hamlet says—all this thusness tenos to arouse the excitement of kind frienos In front up to concert pitch.” Mr Victor Prince, who returned to Williamson musical productions recently after some years in other forms of acting, has been appearing in Gilbert and Sullivan opera in Sydney. One of his parts is the Grand Inquisitor in “The Gondoliers,” first played in Australia by his father, Mr Howard Vernon. This part, was misplayed here recently by one Kavanagh. THE NEW THEATRICAL FIRM. The sensation of the week has, of course, been the secession of Mr Hugh J. Ward from the directorate of J. C. Williamson, (Ltd., and his joining up with Sir Benjamin and Mr John Fuller. Mr Ward was a passenger by the Makura for America and England in search of attractions. To an Auckland interviewer he said: “The new firm is to be known as the Hugh Ward Theatres, Ltd., and it has been formed for the purpose of producing high-class attractions, ranging from farce to grand opera. There are three members of the firm—Sir Benjamin Fuller, Mr John Fuller, and myself. The two former will continue to devote their chief attention to their large vaudeville interests, while I, as managing director, will give all my time to the enterprise, my partners from time to time giving me assistance in the direction of business advice.” Mr Ward made it clear that the Fuller firm and the new one would be completely separate entities, with himself as chairman of directors of the latter. “We have taken over the Princess and Palace Theatres in Melbourne,” he continued, “and intend to spend at least £30,000 in redecorating and beautifying them, a little architectural reconstruction being necessary. In Sydney we take over the Grand Opera house, where we wall play spectacular pieces, such as pantomimes, etc. We also intend to build in that city two of the finest theatres in Australia, and a site for one of them has already been secured. Fullers have also placed at the disposal of the new firm two theatres (His Majesty’s and the Royal) in Perth, one (the Empire) in Brisbane, one (the Victorian) in Newcastle, and one (the Prince of Wales) in Adelaide. So far as New Zealand was concerned the new been given a call for the presentation of attractions on the Opera-house, Auckland (in which city also a site had been suggested for a new theatre); on Her Majesty’s Wellington; on the Opera-house and another theatre to be built in Christchurch ; and on His Majesty’s and the Princess, Dunedin. It is rumoured in Sydney musical circles that one of the early attractions oi the new venture will be the Melba Opera Company.