H.M.S. PINAFORE.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXIX, Issue 3151, 3 September 1892, Page 2

H.M.S. PINAFORE.

The last two performances of " Pinafore" fully deserve a more extended criticism than that which we gave iu our last issue. The first rendering, in many instances, showed want of sufficient practice, and the last being so much superior went far to prove that with a little more rehearsing the performance would have gene off without a hitch. On Wednesday night everything was rendered in exceptionally good form, and the undoubted appreciation of the audience, who so vociferously showed their applanso, re-acted upon the performers, and had the tendency to encourage thein in their efforts to please. The performance I on Wednesday night was characterised by an extremely spirited representation of the piece. Thn cast was the same. The overture rendered by tho orchestra was the best of either performance, the opening chorus taken up with precision and good intonation, followed by the hornpipe, which again showed considerable improvement. Little Buttercup evidently showed that the worry and excitement had told upon her, for her hair showed ample streaks of silvery grey. She had aged wonderfully during the interval between the second and third performances, her singing and acting were very I good throughout. The aria, " A Maiden Fair to See," by Ralph Rackstraw, was very nicely rendered with piano accompaniment. We may here observe that the orchestra could have been introduced and produced much greater effect had the whole of the music been arranged tor orchestral accompaniments as tho sostonnutu character of the string instruments have a great supporting effect, both upon soloists and chorus, and some of the more salient points are brought out with much greater effect. However, this may be remedied by the management on any future occasion. Tho recitative. "MyGallant Crew, Good Morning," by Captain Corcoran, followed by "I am the Captain of the Pinafore," and recitative, "Sir, You are Sad," batween Buttercup and the Captain, were very good. The song, " Sorry her Lot who Loves too Well," wa« sung with much greater spirit by Josephine. The chorus of ladies behind the scenes was slightly flat but the chorus, " We Sail the Ocean Blue," was characterised by precision and got! intonation. The Fong and chorus, " I ain the Monarch of the Sea," and " When I wasa Lai)," by Sir Joseph, were exceptionally good. We may say the same of the following :—Duet, by Josephine and Ralph, "Refrain, Audacious Tar;" choruses, "O Joy. O Rapture," "This Very Night We Steal Ashore," "Let's Give Three Cheers for a Sailor's Bride," and the finale of the first act, " For a British Tar is a Soaring Soul." The entro act win played by the orchestra,in which a solo by the cornet caine out with very good effect. The seranado by the Captain, " Oh, Moon," with piano and pizzicato movement for violin, imitating the guittv, was sung very nicely and with good effect. The trio, '• Ring the Merry Bells on Board Ship," rendered so well the previous nights, was still more perfect on the last night. The duet between the Captain and Deadeye was a very good rendering. The company were particularly fortunate in having so especially good a representative of the character of Deadeye, who throughout acted •tod sang his part well. The opera was carried through to the end with equally good effect as in the tir«t part, and with the final solo and chorus, " He is an Englishman," was brought to a termination one of the most enjoyable performances it has ever been our lot t> witness. Of course there were many faults, when compared with representations in larger centres of population; but the whole affair must be studied and criticised with a knowledge of the limited means the district has at command.

The ladies of the company were entertained at a supper given by the gentlemen at the Royal Hotel, when Hoot Buxton provided an ample and excellent supper. The Commandant of the New Zealand Forces (Colonel Fox) and Colonel Goring were present. The Company were duty toasted and after a suitable reply on their behalf given by Mr Swarbrick, "God Save the Queen" was sung and the Company dispersed, thoroughly pleased that they had been the means of giving some amusement to the inhabitants of the district.

The best proof of the popularity of the entertainment was the fact that the bulk of the audience caine again and again, many of them from a considerable d'stance. The totil attendance was about 1200, and the total receipts mount up to the respectable sum of £74 8s (id.

In addition to the above we have been favoured with the following critique from a musical point of view from Arisiarehus :— " The whole absorbing topic of the week, the lion of the hour, that which has been cheerily ringing in our ears within the last few days has been the ever popular and never tiring airs of "Pinafore." I must own to the fact that I went to the opera with a somewhat biased mind, imagining that the performers had evidently not been weighing well in their minds the "Horatian" precept " Quid ferre vecusent, quid valeant humeri " —in plain English, that it was a case of vaulting ambition overreaching itself. Labouring under this impression, 1 threw down my shilling at the door, with a loud bang and with very bad grace and asked for a ticket. The Hall was literally packed. I took my seat and had not to wait long before the small orchestra struck up the overture. By the time that was over my doubts as to the final success of the opera were beginning to dissipate. But when the drop scene rose and revealed to my astonished eyes the quarter-deck of " H.M.S. Pinafore," with its great iniz'n mast, gun batteries, sailors busily engaged in the discharge of their sundry duties, then my doubts flew like the wind, giving place to a cheerful glow, nnd I would have willingly paid a pound rather than not to have been present. The opening chorus, " We sail the ocean blue," was brezzy, martial, and well rondered, though seemly pitched too low for the lingers. The sailors' hornpipe was neither here nor there, yet it took wondrously with the audience, who cheered it till it was repeated. " Little Buttercup " was all there. Her acting was perfect and the rendering of the aria " I'm little Buttercup," was sweet and charming, winnine instant favour for her. Her voice lacks fullness and compass. In spite of this, she must be acknowledged the " facile princepo " of the company and no unbiased rival should grudge her this distinction. In "Thingß are seldom what they seem." she displayed finished elocutiouary endowments, and her " Baby Farming" was most feeling and effective, Ralph Rashstraw possesses the best voice of the singer—full, voluminous, fiery, and of considerable compass; the very voice one would expect to hear from an able-bodied seaman. At times, in fact, it was too fiery and loud, and then it lacked expression and moderation. His rendition of the air, " A Maiden Fair to See" was telling and effective, while his "Farewell My Own" in the second act was sung with ineffable pathos. Captain Corcoran, with his fine tall figure, looked splendid in "full rig," and ranks high as an actor. He would make a better singer if his intonatiou were more correct. Fur all that, he did credit to his song '*1 am the Captain of the Pinafore." Josephine improves on acquaintance, as we all do. She has a sweet voice, yet bardly strong enough for the concert room. Her high notes are the best—round, full and ringing—but she lacks confidence and style. That she did her best, and was appreciated, was shown to a demonstration by the floral offerings lavishly strewn at her feet, Her song, "Sorry Her Lot That Loves Too Well" was creditably given. The chorus of women behind the scenes was weak, and decidedly nut of tune. Sir Joseph Porter looked and acted like an admiral. He is a portly person, with a _ fine stage appearance, a pleasing voice, a correct enunciation, a perfect self - possession, and played his part as becometh the "Ruler of the Queen's Navee"; except perhaps in the matter of voice. We expect a thundering voice like the captain's to proceed from such a personage. Dick Deadeye was very good, and that gentleman may well repose on his own laurels and the well-merited applause unstintedly given him. The final choruses of tho first act were decidedly the best and most effective of the whole opera. In the second act I was woefully disappointed on hearing the hackneyed strains of Mozart's " Don Giovanni " serenading his lady-love, instead of Captain Coicoranapostrophising the moon in Sullivan's charming song, " Fair Moon to Thee I Sing.'' This is the gem of the opera—l meau the music. Its omission cannot be viewed in any other light than that of a deplorable mistake, and the' substitution a veritable plagiarism. TJie chorus, "Carefully on Tip-too Stealing," was faultless. Tho singing of the trio was faultless and the acting good. The contralto, however, wtu the best of the three. Her voice is most bell-like in tone, and a little cultivation would help in bringing it out in all its richness. The old gentleman who kept in the back ground when singing the solos to the chorus, "He is an Englishman," showed his judgment in doing so, this part would

have been dono justice to had it been piloted to the "Tar that PI m.'h# the Water," whose rich baritone voice would havo been hoard to even creator advantage in thin grand song than tt was in tho trio. The last choruses of all were excellent and glorious and cousin Hebe added a chann to them by the graceful manner in which she acted her part. It would bo ungallunt indeed if after meting out a meed of praise to .i'l, 1 was not to apportion tho lion's share to the fair conductress for the tikill and energy displayed in evolving bo much good out of the material at her dispor.il. She had to contend against the lack of voices and of instruments, tho very essentials of an opera. She seemed to have been fortunate in securing the services of two able performers at least, a pianist and a violinist. I shuddered at tho sight of a cornet figuring in so small an orchestra, knowing how much out of place a brass instrument was in such cases. But the gentleman who played it dissipated my fear* by the careful, soft use ho made of it. Ho is undoubtedly an excellent player, producing notes as soft and sweet ns a Should the success of " Pinafore " embolden the stage manager to undertake something oven more pretentious, I would advise him to make a more judicious and sparing use of the clipping scissors. Man vof the more classical parts of "Pinafore," I notice, hud been excised. My task is done, but before I finish altogether I might as well state that my object of taking up tho role of a critic has not been simply that of lavishing fulsome and indiscriminate praise, nor unduly indulging in too severe a criticism, but by pointing out weak points t i rouse the possessors t > a riddance of them. Kueour.iged and emboldened by the success of their first attempt at an open, I would say to one and all : Dire m ire, soar higher—" Excelsior."