COMIC OPERA.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXVII, Issue 33, 9 October 1913, Page 5

COMIC OPERA.

"PIRATES OF PE&ZAr, ; CS."

AN UNQUALIFIED SUCCESS

The Town Hall was crowded last night to witness the presentation of Gilbert and Sullivan's .bright opera i eomiquo. "The Pirate., of Penzance," j which has the alternative title "The .Slave of Duty." It is safe to'say that the performance was an unqualified success. The singing and acting of the principals was cf a uniform high standard, and the work of the chorus, the orchestra and the corps de ballet left nothing to be desired. The two scenes presented were excellent pieces, :md the very fullest use was made of the limelight, especially in the ballet and one or two of the ensembles. Taken altogether, the performance was well over the usual amateur standard: there was hardly j any of the "stiekish'ness" ordinarily to be looked for, and the prompter, usual! v a. conspicuous personage, had a very'.easy night. It is not necessary for the Post tb vouch for the music, and the libretto. The music in soots verges":on the'grand, and in others, while not descending to coarseness, is light and catchy in the extreme. Flowers were much in evidence, the. leading ladies receiving ■quite a plethora of bouquets. First and foremost among the principals was Mrs C. Massey in the ; character of Mabel, daughter of Major- : Genera! Stanley. She was in excellent voice and sang and acted with touch animation. Her first item was very fine, her appearance being signalised with a beautiful and difficult cadenza which was faultlessly sung. This served to introduce her sola "Poor Wandering One." a swinging melody in three-four time, which Is finished off with a particularly pleasant staccato head-note passage. She was also heard to advantage in "Oh here is Love and here is Truth;" and her scenes with Frederic (Mr W. H. Robinson) were among the best of the evening. Second place must be given to Miss Greenhalgh, who presented a perfect study of the. "piratical maid-of-all-work." Her clear enunciation was a particularly pleasing feature. •"When Frederic was a Little Lad" • she sang acceptably,' making clear the

lomcwhat delicate rioint of niis-hoa

ing which blighted Robinson's life. She'was particularly happy In the scene in which Frederic charges her'wit'h* deceit, the "shivery music" inseparable from the ten-e situations in

grand! opera being used to great vantage.' Another czrceileut scone f ih* wi.Leit •she is a chief actor is 'shVahd the Piirate King and Frederic ,wt> .associatediin the trio 't'A.-Intra- ' dox, ' slip (and''the ' ofliers " no- Tess) -rvaking the item go with a surprising degree of vim. -'diss G. Black (Kate). Miss King (Edith), and M'ies Cameron .Isobel;) iill.-d small paris : acceptably. the two forme; - skowirg .well in the "C?ne .following t"..°- first appearanea u ;tf t lit*'General's r. microns daughters. Vfv:>t'ch : ;\nvcter of G,en Vr?ph. Stanley is hot,■-'pOi'Knps. one. in wlrch tlio jparticular abilities of Mr F. H.".TVi'hie nr,e frcftpe f.o shine, but he'etr.Sam'y gave' a tine representation ct the orthodox type, of military hero stricken with years ahdHlattghtors.; His natter song "I am "tflio very Model of a Modern Major-Geherajlv'.'was excellently rendered, and 'the ''business" incidental thereto was just the stuff in wliich Mr Wilkie revels. Ho was fairly prominent throughout.. the seeon;! act, and his solo towards the end was well rendered. One of the pleasant surprises of the evening was the excellent showing cf Mr W. H. Robinson (Frederic), whose acting was of i high order throughout, though he had a very heavy bill to fill. In his items with thei other principals he sang and acted well, his spoken linos "at all times being especially well delivered. Mr if. W. Douglas made a success of the part of ■ the Pirate 'King, his solo "I am a Pirate King" being given with all the r?quisite spirit. His acting and sirging was good; hut if lie were to bear in mind that though a piper may be a pirat? kiug, every pirate king is not a pip; l ) - , .and that therefore it is not incumbent on a pirate- kijig to deliver himself of half his lines while marching from north to south and of the other half while marching from south to north

he would probably secure a larger share of applause than fell to his lot last night 1 . Mr Xocl Templer capably disposed of tee small part of Samuel. and, despite his missing eye, must be written down a.s one of the most presentable of a hard-faced, tough-looking lot of pirates. The other skull-and-crossbones men who wrestled with rum

in the early the police towards the end. and the choruses between times were Messrs \Y. L. Lawrence, A'. Crawshaw; J. East, W. O. .Tones, L. render. B. Kivell, J. Mercer, T. O'Loary, B. Hcv.son, P. Cramer To the chorus much of the success is due. They were well balanced and tuneful, particularly striking »n attack, and throughout showed evidence of careful training. ' r, ie lady members were: Soprani—Misses Butler. Anderson, Seigel, Camerrn, Proniis, Hignett, Pn*u), Burgess (2), Black, Stavely >'J\ Middle/on, Fitzgerald (2). Sullivan, Partridge; Contralti—Misses Middletnn, Hopkins, Irvine, Brayshaw, f!. Black. The police wots a happy lot, derpito their ditty to the contrary, and headed bv their t apt hi] sergeant, Mr W. Swan, their items : ppealed lo very many as the best of the evening. "Tarantara," especially, was well sing and acted, and. earned with the ''foorre's" other items some of the heartiest applause during the performance. Personnel of the ''fooi'e* l was

as- follows :—Messrs Geo Liddington, E. Kivell, X. F. Dunlop, T. Partridge, Kimberley,, G. W. Mills, W. S. Cato, G. W. Vaughan. A special word of praise is due to the orchestra for their very pleasing contribution to the evening's enjoyment. Under CcmduVrw Grubb's magic baton the members acquitted chemselves most creditably, their conception of light and shade being in line contrast, and time being well kept. The following were the Tuil list of members:—Violins—lfessrs Rd. Cottier, C. Penn, Will Hutchens; Misses B. Morison, M. Hopkins; cornet, Mr A. Kelly; 'cello, Mr W.,Everiss; double bass, Mr J. McAllister; French Horn, Mr H. Turmister; clarinet, Mr Syd. Cottier; flutes. Messrs A. O'Leary and 11. B. Anderson; trombones, Messrs A. Davis and T. Wilson • pianiyte, Miss F. Ross Mcrison, A.T.C.L. --•■ Tli9 ballet, led by Mrs' and Miss Mcßefch, which was introduced before the second act was a pleasurable iter.!,' fehp graceful -dancing ah little;. Rita. (being especially .admired, and for her a- beautiful bouquet. This..was.-one of the features;of -the evening, and earned a recall. A striking effect was introduced into the girls' chorus in the earlier part of the performance when a pretty trio of the Major-General's daughters—'Misses Betty and Winnie Fitzgerald and Milly PartiidgeY proved themselves ardent worshippers at the shrine of '•he ( 'goddess Terpsichore/ The limelight was used . with wexrellent 'llVc;., the . effects produced being a Other members of the corps were Jiissss Partridg?; Sullivan, Sheehan, Grenier, Stavelcy, Hendry Williarason. OTliver, Burgess, E. Staveloy. The dressing deserves a particular vord of commendation. The jerseys, jackets, neckwear, and headgear of the pirates included a'l tha olors of the rainbow, and these strong colors blended with the quieter tints if th? dainty gowns of the General's daughters provided some striking ensembles. Very special credit in this connection is due to Mrs R. H~>gg, who acted as Robe-mistress.

Captain Stevens acted as stage manager, and his services were much ap- • :>reciated. To Mr F. H. Willrie, how--1 jv'er, ifi his capacity of cssistant•;tage manager, the lion's share of Uie I i\ork fell, and in addition to his many hvties as hon. secretary, it k.pL him .as busy as the proverbial bee. But Mr Wilkie is a man of nr.auy parts, "nil of energy, and always ready to ivork— :,nd work well—in any good •ause, and accordingly caiKied his big load cheerfully and with very-great ;uecess. The scenic artists were Messrs Becj ;ett and Corlett, and they quite ,exI celled the artistic work previously done by them for the Society. Mr A. 1). Stanley, as property manager, render--led useful service, and every other worker filled his place with .credit. A ■ line feature of the production was the limelight effects by Messrs Duffill and | .Matthews, though the Temporary failure of the electric light was against them. This, however, is to lie remedied this evening, Sp.nial thanks are due to Mi- T. C. Grubb. who added to I his other many helpful acts, the loan of aiijoxeellent piano. The piece will In 1 presented again this evening.