MUSIC and DRAMA

Star (Christchurch), Issue 19258, 20 December 1930, Page 26 (Supplement)

MUSIC and DRAMA

Galli-Curci’s Choice. As a singer, I love the great arias and songs; as musician, foremost in appeal to me are the orchestral works of Brahms, Cesar Franck, Beethoven, and Bach, wrote Amelita Galli-Curci, the great prima donna, who returned to England recently. And with them I include orchestral arrangements of certain Bach pipe organ compositions made by Leopold Stokowiski, born in England, but proudly adopted by America as a superlative conductor. The producing medium that I have for them, both in my New York home and at my summer place, Sul Monte, in the Catskill Mountains, enables me to hear at close range performances by full orchestra under noted conductors. During a busy musical season I cannot, of course, avail myself of an opportunity open to others, but in the summer every night I celebrate. a feast of listening and of studying their beauties.. I cannot put opera with these Rembrands and Angelos of music. Opera does not stand on this plane of art. It is too artificial. As a young girl I revelled in it, but it did not take me long to wake up to the truth. Fifteen Years’ Non-stop Run. The Humphrey Bishop Musical Comedy Company, now at the Theatre Royal, hold the world's record 'for a long run. For fifteen 3'ears this famous company have toured England, India, Burma, Malay States, China, Japan, the Philippines, South Africa, Rhodesia, East Africa, Australia and New Zealand, and, on an average, have missed playing on only ten days in a year, except, of course, for the time spent on sea voyages. Anyone who knows the difficulty of keeping a company happy and contented under these circumstances will appreciate Mr Humphrey Bishop’s task. He must possess infinite patience and tact and be a diplomat of the first order. Ironic Comedy. An ironic comedy by Mr C. K. Munro, “Mr Eno,” was produced at the Arts Theatre, London, recently, and made an instant success. Eno is a character to be laughed at, but also loved; Mr Munro has made him a bit of humanity witjh soaring aspirations and funny performances. Mr Roy Graham’s interpretation of the name part blended humour and pathos in a well-judged manner. Mr John Fernakl produced the play, and handled a large cast, which included Mr Fewlass Llewellyn, Miss Buena Bent, Mr Percy Walsh, Miss Clare Harris, Mr Alfred Clark, Miss Pamela Willins (as Phoebe, the girl Eno is to marry), and Mr Esmond Knight. Thumb-nail sketches

were interspersed; Messrs Rodney Millington and Richard Goolden contributing. True Story About Kubelik. Mr Sheard, of the Humphrey Bishop Musical Comedy Company, tells : a funny but true story about Kubelik. A few weeks ago, having to wait for a connecting train, Mr Sheard was sitting in a little country restaurant attacking a hasty meal, when in walked the great violinist evidently bent upon the same business. Mr Sheard called the waitress with whom he had been discussing the Humphrey Bishop Company, and whispered, “That’s Kubelik, the violinist, over there.*’ Judge his surprise when the girl said. “And is he in your orchestra, too?” Going to Hollywood. Benita Hume, the twenty-four-year-old English actress, has succumbed to the Hollywood temptation, and is to figure in pictures at a salary reported to be something like £3OO a week—to begin p She has been playing in the New York stage presentation of “Symphony in Two Flats,” with the author, Ivor Novel Lo. Mario Bremner. Marie Bremner is at present enjoying a holiday in S3'dney, though much of each day is occupied in studying the various roles she is to play in the Gilbert and Sullivan operas, a season of which is to be given at the Theatre Royal, Melbourne, at Easter. “ This is my first experience of Gilbert and Sullivan,” said Miss Bremner, “ and I am already finding it very interesting. It has always been my ambition to sing those lovely parts, and I am looking forward to the coming season with the keenest interest.” Pantomime For Melbourne. This evening jF. C. Williamson, Ltd., will present their pantomime, “ The House That Jack Built,” at Melbourne Theatre Royal, with a cast including the following:—Arthur Stigant as Dame Barleycorn, Roy Rene as Sammy, Sadie Gale as Jack Bilder, Nell Taylor as Princess Susetta, Kal Fallow as Prince Regent, Nick Morton as Farmer Barleycorn, John Fernside as Policeman, Kathleen Goodall as Fairy Industria, Ellen Percival as Madge, Arthur Stigant. jun.as Lord of Misrule; Edna Moncrieff as Fairy Sunbeam, Phil Smith as Gregory, the farmhand, and others will include the Fallow Twins, Paulasto Brothers, together with a big chorus and ballet. William Quintrell will be musical director; the ballets, dances, etc., by Minnie Hooper, assisted by Sheila Taunton; and the

whole will be produced by Charles A. Wenman. “ The First Mrs Fraser.” A notable production to be presented by J. C. Williamson, Ltd., as their phristmas attraction at the Comedy Theatre, Melbourne, will be the famous comedy, “ The First Mrs Fraser,” which will be staged for the first time in Australia on Boxing Day. “ Thp First Mrs Fraser” was written by St John

Ervine, the famous playwright and critic, and has been running m London for two years, and is still the outstanding comedy success, with Marie Tempest in.the leading role. J. C. Williamson, Ltd., have secured a strong cast for their production, including .Ethel • Morrison, J. B. Rowe, Noel Loyd, ; Roger Barry, Leslie Victor, Mary Macgregor, Eileen Morris, John Wood. The play will be produced by George D. Parker. Golden Farce. “It’s a Boy,” the Strand (London) farce, with Leslie Henson and Sydney Howard, has established a remarkable financial record by repaying—within two and a half weeks of the beginning of the run—their entire capital to the shareholders in the small company backing it (writes an English correspondent). The whole cost of the production, and all preliminary expenses, have already been earned: and “ It’s a Bov ” is making a profit of £ISOO a .week. Gordon Craig’s Theatre. Charles B. Cochran is to give Gordon Craig his wished-for theatre in London, and so en,d the long exile of this brilliant son of -Ellen Terry. Craig, who lives in Ital}'-, has refused to make single productions in London, although he has been invited to do so by many of the managers there. He wanted a theatre where he might make a series of productions so that his work could be valuated as a whole and not by piecemeal. Cochran proposes to turn over to him the new and handsome Phoenix Theatre,, and back him financially. Plans have gone so far that three productions are already mentioned. Should everything go well, the Craig season will begin with a revival of Dr Henry Purcell’s opera, “ Fairy Queen.” This will probably be followed by “ Macbeth ” with Edith Evans as the Thane of Cawdor’s ambitious wife and then would come a production of August Strindberg’s '‘The Father’ "with < Colonel Robert Loraine in the title role 1 Such a season would be interesting; j perhaps revolutionary, for Craig has ! great ideas of the theatre, which, put < into execution, might overthrow entire- ! lv present methods of production. 1 Pianists in London. Piano recitalists in London during ■ recent weeks were Benno Moiseiwitsch, who charmed New Zealanders with his pianistic art. a year or two back, and Miss Myra Iless. Moiseiwitsch had a

warm reception, playing at one recital Medtner, Stravinsky, Rachmaninoff, Balakire, Debussy, Ravel, and others. Miss Hess played more heroic stuff She played Bach’s Italian Concerto. Brahms’s F Minor Sonata, a Nocturne and six Etudes of Chopin. Miss Hess may visit the Antipodes later. She is a pianist of rare charm and refinement. Taste in Morals. Taste in morals as tested by dramatic production is a tricky thing. Recently an American move was made to gauge by University students’ standards what is fitting and what is harmful in plays. ‘ The result was staggering. Fifty-nine members of a class were asked to say if they had seen in the past two years any plays that had been harmful to their morals. Fiftytwo said they had not found any harm at all: seven said they had seen harmful plays, and each of the seven named a different production. There was no ethical principle that applied to all seven, and the conclusion was forced that taste is just as personal a thing in drama as in anything else in this life. The New York “Sun” commented: “If this is the outcome of an unplanned, informal, and therefore perfectly sincere survey, the results of any official efforts to sort out moral and immoral for the public must come to ludicrous wreck upon issues of temperament and training.” Bad Stage Tragedy. A bad stage casualty ... _„ndort during recent months was “Knave and Queen,” a play put on at the Ambassadors by Alec Rea. It dealt with Jonathan Wilde and the humours of the 18th century. It had a long run in New York and other American cities, but egregiously failed in London. All critics condemned it, so its doom was practically sealed from the opening night. Fiftieth Trip. Sir George Henschel, who is in his eighty-first year, has made his fiftieth trip across the Atlantic, to conduct a special performance of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, which commemorated the fiftieth year of its existence. Sir George conducted the orchestra’s first performance in ISSO, and the commemoration programme wa» identical, save one exception, with that given at the opening concert. Shaw's Next Play. It is reported that George Bernard Shaw and Mrs Shaw arc to visit South

Africa for Christmas. The famous dramatist is fond of travel, but the African trip will be the longest voyage he has yet made. The greatest mystery surrounds his next play—Martin Luther is reported to be the subject of his new work—but there are all sorts of rumours concerning his literary plans. Her Sixtieth Role. Charlotte Granville, one of the featured players in “ Dancing Partner,’* now running in New York, is rounding out for fortieth year before the footlights. She made her first appearance at the Avenue Theatre in London on September 25, 1890, as Madame de Quincompoix in “ The Struggle for Life.** Her role in “ Dancing Partner” is the sixtieth she has portrayed. , Manless Comedy. Among stage novelties may be included “Nine Till Six,” by Aimee and Philip Stuart, at the Ritz Theatre, New York, the first all-female play to reach London and New York. This manless comedy is now in its eleventh month in London, at the Criterion. It was imported to America by Lee Shubert. It would seem natural that playwrights who compose a stage piece without male characters must have set out with that definite purpose, but the * facts in this case are just the opposite. Mrs Stuart’s mother is Mercie M’Hardy, owner of a fashionable dressmaking establishment in Regent Street, London. Having passed many months in her mother's shop, Mrs Stuart suggested to her husband that the inside knowledge she had acquired be turned into a play. When they had completed the first draft of the piece it became apparent that there was no way in which a male character could be fitted into the plot. Thus, through a coincidence, they had written a comedy which was the reverse of “ Journey's End,” a play without women. Having written their novel comedy, they studied the list of active London managers. This disclosed the interesting information that two men were among them, Mrs Charles B. Cochran and Gladys Cooper. Copies of the manuscript were shown them under the presumption that female produ£ers would take a more Immediate interest in a comedy dealing their own sex. This bit of StT psychology worked to perfection. lor Mrs Cochran accepted the work two days after it was received.