POLLARD'S OPERA COMPANY.

Taranaki Herald, Volume XLVII, Issue 11317, 8 September 1898, Page 2

POLLARD'S OPERA COMPANY.

Fatinitza -is ,;epsent^lly/ an opera- for,' good scenic^EeM# bright) jand [attractive" music, and sparkliug, it though not i deli*j jcipuslyf .mirthj-pro voli^g-* situations, and - •Iks staged by the Pollard, Up^r^. Qpmpany! "in theN 1 Theatr^, .Royalj or^.' .Wednesday" n'ght it loßt,^nonja~>'of,''i|a ,'manj- charms,/ perforrap^et^SA/a' success. jFr.ojn'.nrsijrp^j^s^p^eryjiiing' went with pleasiDg" sraod(nneßßj^an~d 'ihe spontaneous outbursts of, applause spoke of the pleasure 'jJerived'by "the fairly flarge audience ( presenk Briefly stated the plot of the opera is as follows : & young officer of agcavalry rogiment in the Kuspiao army, v ', Vladimir Samoiloff, ■whilst masquerading in girl's attire as Fatiuitza, is seen aud , failezi violently! in love with by a tire-eating but honest old general. Count Timofey Kaotcbuckoft ."^ladimir manages to t! get, out of Jiia embarrassing j predicament without 'disclosing himself, andi '\ 'subsequently is ,smitten with tbe charm's of the general'^ fniecej, PrinjcessLyd^a. r When acqpainied,', 'wn&^thia'fact the^general' has' the'young, ' officer sent $o' ; an outpost of the army 'on ' thai blank of a ' 'Uanubel , Here" one" Julian Hafdy, , at newspaper ' ( ' reporter^, makes or rather renews, an acquaintance; with J Vlaßimi'r, and fr!6m7that' hericefjbrth' he acts as a' guardian 'angel to' the ''hero' and heroine. The General appears sud^ denly on| spme private theatrioHs^among the^dldiersy and' noticing '^lrfdimir ihagirl's 'dress, thinus 'he has regained his 4 lost love. ' " Awkward incidents 1 o'onse-' 1 quently arise, for the old General will' persist in making love. v Hpwe,v^ Princess Lydia, from .a desire or adventure, °alsb happens : on^h^c^nepwaftd^jß^g^jmd,, Vladimir, who is still attired as a girl, are captured and taken to, the harem.of Izzefc PashaVwho is seized with a violent desire to make the Princess one of his favourites. The two are eventually rescued, and Vladimir, assuming his. proper cob* tume, is passed off on the old\Q eneral a3 v< tb •'•"brother of themythical Fatihitza'y anu as the result of the ingenuity of Julian, the Press representative, his union with Lydia ja arranged and sanctioned by the bid General, who is made to believe that th^,real[Fatinitza died from grief through being 1 -, separated from him. ( As^'stited before the piece affords a large scope for display, and *£$>me f of ;}thej. scenes .darling in their "splendour." The rich mounting, gorgeous surrounding- 1 , and magnificent drea'ses wortji by some 1 of the .performers — particularly ' the harem scene ,-r helped ivivjdlyj impress the audience. Miss Maud 'Beatty representedKatinitza, and the strong expressions of approbation afforded conclusive Evidence] of .her? undiminished popularity. She acte^l " throughoat'^ splendidly,, andvher singiiig was good. u Her- singing "bf5 -the a,01p. " Dreaming " was her best effort. ,'MisSyMarion Mitchell also scored a dis"tincfc.success for ( her,, artistic portrayal of tho L par,s of $rihdeisa£LydiV'the .character furnishing her with many opportunities forthe display of her 'clear, rich voice, and she received' several horticultural tributes. The duets sung by Miss Mitchell and Miss Beutty were a feature of the performance, and several had to be repeated. Miss Nellie Wilson impersonated Captain Slaravieff and Miss M. Motcalf g Lieutenant Ivau, while the Pasha's were represented by Misses M. Beatiy, W. Karkeek, M. Hewson, A. Smith, B. Stevens, J. Ramsay, N. Foorde, and B. H arrison,who looked and acted their parts to a nicety. The dancing and sing ing of the girls iv the harem scene pleased the audience greatly. Mr E. Fitts, as the crusty old General, appeared to considerI able advantage, his commanding presence setting off the part well. He was also distinctly successful in his singing, the solo, " I can but trust," being vociferously encored. He was equally effective id the part singing. Mr A. Stephens made an excellent Julian Hardy, and that inimitable actor, Mr W. Percy, made the part of Sergeant Steipan go for all it was worth, provoking many ripples of merriment by his natural f unnyisms. The part of Vuika, a Bulgarian spy, found a good exponent, in Mr E . Nable, and he was well assisted by Mr G. " Young (Hassen Bey). Master A. Stevens also assisted largely in the 'fun of the evening by his antics when iv charge of the harem.

TO-NIGHT Gilbert and Sullivan's masterpiece, " The Mikado, ' will be produced.