"BOCCACCIO."

Colonist, Volume LIV, Issue 13277, 30 November 1911, Page 5

"BOCCACCIO."

A SUCCESSFUL PERFORMANCE,

The. Nelson ".Amateur Operatic aiitl j Dramatic Society are to be congratu- ! lilted upon their presentation of ! Franz Suppe's Charming comic opera, I "Boccaccio." It was an; ambitious .effort, for. the', music is not only ■ ; difn'« cult, but the representation of:rfche various characters exacts more from the performers than the "ordinary run of comic operaa. The amateurs^ howover, acquitted themselves creditably, and "Boccaccio" can be added to %h« many successes already achieved Oy the .'Society, There was a fairly large audience at the Theatre Itoyal last evening on the occasion of the dpeiN ing performance, and as tho opera proeeedod that coldness that was at first apparent gradually melted away, and in the third act they were most enthusiastic, warmly applauding the solos, choruses, marches and dances. As usual with ilio Society the opera was produced with a completeness and attention to detail seldom seen hi professional companies, and the scenery, dresses, mounting and stage effects left little to be desired. In the third act, a. grand march by the lady members of tho Society, was introduced, and won rounds of applause. The movements were exeeutod with skill and precision, the effect being heightened by the striking black and yellow military costumes of me performors. A ballet dance by the Misses G. Bolton, C. Bolton and A. Millington was gracefully executed, and received a hearty encore. "Boccaccio" is an opera that is little known, but it contains some very pretty solos and choruses, and several very fine concerted. numbers. The choruses on the whole went splendidly, the finale of tho first act "So Perish Slanders," and the cooper's chorus in the second ant being perhaps the best. The story of "Boccaccio" is that Pietro, the Prince of Palermo, goes to Florence, in accordance with the wishes of his father, to marry Fiametta, the daughter of th© Duke of Tuscany. Fiametta when a child had been adopted by Lambertuccio, a grocer, who was not aware of her noble birth. The Duke had caused her to bo reared in this humble manner for reasons of his own, intending to wed her to Piotro, to whom she had been in infancy betrothed. Upon Pietro's arrival in Florence, beforw presenting himself to tho Duke and Fiametta, he joins in several adventures with tho students, Boccaccio, the novelist, and poot, who is hated by the men of Florence for having ridiculed them in his novels, is deeply in love with Fiametta. Piotro is mistaken for Boccaccio and is severely beaten by the indignant Florentines. As Pietro is j -about to be solemnly betrothed to Fiametta, for considerations of State (although ho docs not love her, and she dislikes him) Boccaccio, knowing that his affection for her is reciprocated, plays his cards so well that Piotro surrenders the hand of Fiametta to Boccaccio. Miss Marie Fraser as "Fiametta" acted with dainty grace throughout, and her vocnl numhers were charmingly rendered. .With Boccaccio (Mr W. Smith) she was hoard to ereat advantage in the duets: "The Alms of Love," "Young Love," and "When First, {liose Eyes," all of which were encored. Miss Frasei niso received flnrnl tributes. Miss H. Reeves as "Isabella," the cooper's I wife., neted the part splendidly, and j in addition to being encored for her solo "Flirt°+ion." also received a bouquet. Miss Cohen as "Peronella" fTinm.hertucci'n's wife), and Miss A. Stevens ns "Pentriee" fScalza's daughter) filler! their resnectivo parts successfully, and the minor parts were well sustained. Mr W. Smith as "Boccaccio" had a heavy part, and was successful in his vocnl numbers, riorp n.iriiowlnriv in the duets with "FinnWtn," Mr T). Bnnnv as "Leonottn" ("Bocenncio's friend) . was in snlondid voice, and scored a success ■■vi+h t-.iio introduced serenade "Estudflantina." being compelled to repeat thr> Inst verse. Mr F. MeCabe as "Piet.ro" (the Prince of Palermo) was distinctly successful. He ncted with freedom and there was nothing stilted about his performance, while in theconcerted numbers, especially "Onery, Twocry" with "Boccaccio" and "Loonotto" he was excellent. The fun of the pieco was provided by Mr E. Jackson (Lambertuccio, an olive grower), Mr J. E. Allan (Letteringhi, a bibulous cooper), and Mr A. G. Thompson "Scaka" (a timid barber), nil of whom did exceptionally well. Mr Chas. Hamilton as "Chapman"_(a hook hawker), and later as the Major Domo, filled tho parts satisfactorily, as did Mr F. Kitching as "Marco" (a student), Mr H. Savage as "Lorenzo" (a student), and "Checco" (a beggar), Mr A. Oldersbaw. The scenory for the production, which was specially painted by Mr C. M. Mario, of Sydney, was very elaborate, and the effect was considerably enhanced by the mechanical effects by Mr H. A. Hobbs. Much credit is due to Mrs Geo. Bush, who arranged the dances and marshes, and the orchestra, under Herr Lemmer, consisting.of Mrs Dyson (pianiste), Misses Fell, Rowe, Ward, Jacobs, Messrs W. Ward, R. Fell, F. Clark, F. Aydon, G. Jacobs and J. 11. Walker, rendered efficient service. To-night "Boccaccio" will be repeated, when the nervousness generally felt by amateurs on a first night will have wern off, and another successful performance may be anticipated.