SWEET BOY VOICES

Wairarapa Times-Age, 27 May 1939, Page 6

SWEET BOY VOICES

VIENNA MOZART BOYS’ CHOIR. PERFORMANCE IN OPERA HOUSE LAST NIGHT. It would be difficult to imagine sweeter and more tuneful singing than that heard last night in the Masterton Opera House, when the Vienna Mozart Boys’ Choir entertained a large audience to a feast of song. Although the boys were the sole contributors to the evening’s programme there was no suggestion of monotony. The' performance throughout was delightfully refreshing and varied. Under the masterly conducting of Dr Georg Gruber, the many melodious items were a revelation of the art of choral singing. The voices of the boys were as sweet as honey and the audience could do no more than listen in rapt attention, to break into sudden and enthusiastic applause when the spell had broken. Among the many melodious items presented were hymns, madrigals, folk songs, a fugue and one or two popular compositions such as “The Last Rose of Summer” and “The Blue Danube” waltz. The same delicacy of treatment was apparent in every class of song, whether it was vibrant with gay spirit, as in a Rhineland marching song; expressive of the sorrows of loneliness, as in an Austrian composition by Koschat, or full of humorous byplay as in the “Nightingale and the Frog.” The singers’ eyes -were rivetted on their conductor who was seated at a piano, which he seldom played. By movements of the arms, hands, fingers, head ■ and body—as if his whole being responded to music from an unseen source —Dr Gruber had an almost uncanny command over his choir. Not once during the whole of the evening did the conductor or the choir use a musical score. Singing was not the only accomplishment of these talented boys. A delightful little opera, “The Deceived Cadi,” performed in costume, raised many a laugh. It was hard to imagine that the “girls” were not -girls, so perfectly did they fill their roles in action and song. The Cadi, who paid £lOOO to secure a beautiful wife and in return was presented with the ugliest girl in the city, was a clever characterisation. The entertainment was an excellent one in every respect and those who attended last night’s performance will long cherish memories of a charming feast of song. The boys . won golden opinions from their auditors.