QUEUE FOR OPERA

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 79, Issue 197, 23 August 1935, Page 10

QUEUE FOR OPERA

WAITING FOR 36 HOURS. CROWD OF 1200 PEOPLE LONDON, June 11 While a queue was waiting to enter the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, lor last night’s performance uf the Russian ballet, the extraordinary spectacle was witnessed of a second queue, comprising nearly 1,200 persons, waiting in the hope of obtaining a gallery seat for to-night’s La Boheme. Miss Grace Moore, the American opera and film star, is to sing, and the King and Queen are expected to attend. Nearly half the people who were queuing a night and a day in advance will be disappointed, as there are only 6UO seats available in the gallery. Women began to form in the queue at mid-day, 32 hours before the performance was due to begin. When the police attempted to move them away a deputation of the women went to Bow-street Police Station to try to secure official permission to remain.

Last night extra police were called out from Bow-street to control the crowd, which extended almost three parts of Lhe way round the Opera House before the doors opened for

the evening’s performance. The queues for the two performances were kept rigorously separated by the police aud after the first group had moved inside, the first of the would-be occupants of the gallery for to-night’s opera were shepherded from Marl street into Floral-street, where the gallery entrance is situated. Six hundred stools were placed in position and at once occupied. Nearly 600 more people, however, remained in a queue for hours after commissionaires and police had assured them that tihere would only be standing room, nearly 24 hours hence, for but a fraction of their number. Cries of ”Are we downhearted?'' and unanimous replies of “No!” rose from time to time from the waiting hundreds, and they even tried to while away the time with singing. Part of the time, however, they had the consolation of being able to hear plainly the vociferous rehearsing of the chorus inside the Opera House for a future presentation.

Cecil B. de Mille, who is now filming his sixty-first >ieiure, “The Crusades. ’ at Paramount, nas a print of every pie« lure he has male in the past 21 yean. Leo Carrillo, leading man in Grace Moore’s coming Columbia production, “Love Me Forever,” is a member of an American aristocracy which dates back to before the landing of the Pilgrim Fathers and John Smith. ‘ • Cardinal Richelieu. ’ ’ Between Rome. Italy and Hollywood, California there travelled recently a small wooden box, the contents’ «of which were insured for 1,000 dollars. The box contained a gold cloth cap*-, especially made by a firm of ecclesias Heal vestment makers. Its destination was the 20th Century Studios and it was made for George Arliss to wear in the titl’d role cf “Cardinal KivS. elieu.” The garment is an exact replica of a ceremonial cloak worn by the prelate who became a power be hind the throne of France. It w:b Darryl Zanuek’s determination to main tain the strictest accuracy in every de tail of bis spectacular production that

made him decide to send to the Eternal City to have the costly robe made by Italian artisans. Arliss wears the handsome piece of work in th. 1 final scene of the film, wdiich is released through United Artists.

World-wide Popularity of Robert Donat The legal action which Mr. Robert Donat won in the courts, London recently enables him to star immediately in a London Film production to be directed by Mr. Rene Clair and also serves to prove the keen competition there has been for this new star’s services. The case broug’ht to light the fact that in the past two years there has probably been no great ci competition for any player. Boulv; the wooing by Warner Bros., then nas also been a proposal from M.G.M that Robert Donat should play op posite Greta Garbo as m “Anna Karenina.” Darryl Zunuck and Max Reinhardt are among other pre incurs who have expressed their admiration lor Donat —Mr. Zanuck considering him to be the greatest ‘find’ since Ronald Coleman. During the recent ‘Radio ballot for the most popular in iTormance during 1931 Donat, who has appeared in only two pictures, ran close second to dark Gable in the final insult. The newspaper ballot organised by a great New York newspaper, lie received the largest numlier of votes ami was given the Prize Medal. ••' auders of the River.” London Film Productions’ new film, ••Sanders of the River” was recently presen icd at the Leicester Square I'heatre, (his Gala World Pre being in ai l uf the “Newspaper Press Fund.” 'l’he picture, which is magni ficintly acted by a great cast, which includes Leslie Banks and Paul Rubeson is remarkable for its unique African sequences. Zoltan Korda, the di rector, and his production unit flew in special pliyies in order to make thes» ” , quences. Some 11,0061 miles were covered by the unit, which consisted of fourteen Europeans , five lorries live private cars, and over forty porters with three cameras and complete soundiecording apparatus. Extra personnel, Him slock and equipmeut. was sent by air from Landon to Eufcbee, A long Irek, sonp'timis of oxer ouv hundred mile.', was nc't'ssary to bring them to the location where the unit was work ing. The strange customs aud dances uf lhe primitive unfix *-s have been re • nrdod. riu-y ar** a tribe of remark able phxsiqiie who wear little ci n<> . Inthes. These natixes understood wlial xvas required of them aud entered whole-heartedly into the spirit of these scenes. Altogether nearly 20,000 natixes were used on the xarious lo rations. “Sanders of the River” was directed by Zoltan Korda. The cast of this United Artists release, includes Leslie Banks, Paul Robeson, Nina Mac Kinney, Robert Cochran and Joan Gardner.’