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Orchestra who formed the opera orchestra. The Opera Company, which was in Australia, could not have come to New Zealand without the support of the Service, particularly in the provision of a suitable orchestra. The tour, which is still in progress at the date of this report, opened in Auckland in February, after the forty-six members of the National Orchestra engaged for the tour had spent a concentrated period of rehearsal under the conductor ship of Maestro Ghione and his two associate conductors, Signor Wolf-Ferrari and Signor Vedovelli. The company, which with orchestra and ballet totals two hundred people, is presenting the following operas : La Boheme, Rigoletto, Aida, La Tosca, Manon, Madame Butterfly, II Trovatore, Cavalleria Rusticana, Faust, I Pagliacci, and The Barber of Seville. A whole generation had neither seen nor heard Grand Opera presented on a professional scale in this country, and a season of marked success in Auckland was followed by short seasons in Hamilton, Palmerston North, Hastings, and Napier. By the end of March the first four performances of the Wellington season had been given. A feature of the opera seasons in each centre has been a broadcast of each opera in the repertoire. These broadcasts have aroused a great deal of interest, and the management of the company believes that they have added to box-office interest. So far the tour has been a decided success, and is continuing to create and sustain enthusiasm. In the South Island the company will visit Christchurch, Timaru, Dunedin, and Invercargill. On the first of. March Gladys Ripley, the English contralto, commenced a studio and public recital tour of the country, followed on the 15th March by the English tenor, Walter Midgeley, who, for a period, combined with Miss Ripley in joint public recitals. Individual concerts were also given by these artists in a number of smaller centres where the Broadcasting Service is not normally able to present artists of this calibre. A recital to students given by Gladys Ripley at Canterbury University College was also broadcast. SPECIAL SERVICES AND CO-OPERATION WITH OTHER GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS The Service continued its policy of supporting national campaigns, such as Aid for Britain, National Savings, Power Conservation, and the United Nations' Appeal for Children with a considerable amount of radio publicity from all stations. The work of Government Departments and charitable appeals by outside organizations were also assisted in this way. Announcements of public interest were broadcast for the Electoral Department, the Post and" Telegraph Department, the Railways and Transport Departments, and the Department of Labour and Employment; and 933 announcements about missing people and vehicles were broadcast at the request of the Police Department. Other bodies whose work was assisted with radio publicity included the State Forest Service, the Federated Mountain Clubs of New Zealand, the National Committee of Swimming and Life-saving, the Plunket Society, the St. John Ambulance Association, and the New Zealand Red Cross Society. In the field of community service, stations broadcast national and local weather reports, notices of school jubilees, reports of wool and stock market sales, marine and flood warnings, automobile association reports, slogans to encourage civic tidiness, and talks to assist the Anti-Cancer Campaign, and the recruitment of nurses. Commercial and service aircraft made frequent use of broadcasting stations as navigational aids. At the request of Air Department, arrangements were made for certain transmitters to be put into service for this purpose at times when they would otherwise be shut down.

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