AUSTRALIAN SOCIAL NOTES.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 7583, 23 December 1902, Page 4

AUSTRALIAN SOCIAL NOTES.

A LADY'S LETTER FROM MELBOURNE. , Dec. 11. ; The Melba opera season, wltich has just come to a /close, -seems to have effectually deposed of the widespread delusion that the great diva is a poor actress. It has been one of those rumours which travel from mouth to mouth, no one exactly knows why, but it certainly appears to be quite a fallacy, and it is interesting to notice that most of those fortunate ones who heard Melba in opera seem almost as much, delighted with her excellent acting as with her incomparable singing.. Perhaps it is because the former came upon them, with the chana. of surprise. lam told, however, that some years back it certainly was a- fact not to be disputed 1 that Melba's acting was stiff and l|feless, and the reason given for her extraordinary improvement is quite good enough to- account for any amount of change for the better. It appears tbitt Melba 'and Sarah Bernbardt are great friends, and that- the ; famous actress undertook to coach' the famous singer in. her own art,- stayed with her for six weeks, and spent the time in working every day and all day. Doubtless, Melba being a woman with plenty of, brains and a strong personality, would not be- slow to take advantage of such a golden opportunity. That the threei nights of opera were played to enormous houses goes without saying, although the extravagant charge of three guineas for seats very soon, broke down. Not more than thirty tickets were sold at that price. The rest were guinea and half-guinea seats as at the concerts, and one even heard of superlatively ■ lucky persons squeezed into nooks where it was quite possible to hear for five shillings. The postponement of the last performance was inevitable, as Melba found these evenings harder work even than; singing through one ordinary opera, but it caused a good\ deal of disappointment,' especially to country people, some oi wnoni had come a long wav to hear the great prima donna. There is "a funny little story of a father who brought his three daughters to town for' the final Saturday performance, and when, thafe was postponed to the following Wednesday, found himself obliged to give it up and go home again. He applied to Mr Musgrove not only for the money paid for his tickets, which, of course, was a reasonable request, but for the train fares for himself and his family as well. Mr Musgrove wrote to him and explained that he himself had lately gone t& England to see the Coronation, which had been postponed on account of the King's illness 1 , and when the British Government refunded him his pas« sage money he would ba most happy to pay the train fares in question. Melba's dressing for all her various parts was, of course, exquisite. • -In "Traviata," she wore, not a few jewels, as she had done at her concerts and on . private occasions, but a perfect blaze of diamonds, showered over neck, shoulders, arms, liair and the bodice of her filmy dress of lace and embossed pink roses. As Marguerite in. the ■spinning scene of " Faust " her costume was quite original. She eschewed the two conventional flaxen tails, and wore her own dark hair, with a dear little, close-fit/feing Dutch cap, and a quaint, short cloalk over her bronze gown, in which she looked! wonderfully girlish. Melba is a woman whose photographs never do her justice. They give an impression of heaviness, both in face asnd figure* which is certainly very far from the truth. With the early ihot weather this year social dulness seems to lave already settled upon us. "Many people are beginning to leave towjn, and the era of school speech days and Christmas shows at the shops is close at hand,, heralds of. the glare, dust and emptiness of January and February. Happy are they who can s«© a long vacation before tfliem in som©' cooler climate, or in the depths of the bush. This season promises to be an extraordinarily hot one amd'a sad time for housekeepers, as evidently more than we can spare of our fruifr and vegetables is going to the dry districts. All sorts of gruesome prophecies are abroad as to the scarcity and high price of food next year., Some people say that we are eating up ou!r future supply of meat, aaid soon there will be no animals left. It seems a curious thing that, in spite of this '.scarcity., for some reason ■which no seems able to fathom,, fish is still an expensive article of diet aoidi j

difficult to obtain. The ono ray of hops on the general situation is shed by Mr Clement Wragge, ivho 'has been lecturing here to most interested audiences during the past week. Mr Wragge gives solid? reasons for his belief thai, the worst of the drought is now over, that gradual relief is atliand, and that we arc very shortly to expect a succession of the best seasons that? Australia has ever known. What ai curious world it will be when men learxu not only to forecast wifch certainty, bub also to control the weather, as they surely will be in time to come. If the wish is father 1 to the thought, and the thought pairent ofl the fact, as some hold, government of climate will not be very long delayed, in this country at all events. OLIVIA.