MUSIC AND DRAMA.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XXXV, Issue 5, 5 August 1905, Page 22

MUSIC AND DRAMA.

Nance O'Neil’s pet is a Persian cat with the Christian name of Magda. Already it has travelled the world three times. Mr. Waiter Kirby jgaug recently at a reception given by Lord Carrington, at which H.IJJJ. the Princes Henry of Batten burg wa* present. A concert arranged by Mr Percy Denton takes place in Auckland Choral Hall on Thursday. August 3. An excellent programme will be set before patrons. Directeur Webb, late of the Olympia Kink, Auckland, is now in Adelaide, and is busy devising new and entirely original carnivals. This latest idea was a fruit, bower, and vegetable evening. .Miss Rose Musgrove, who has lieen suffering from a very severe attack of typhoid fever in Sydney, has now recovered sufficiently to be pronounced out of danger. The Pope is reported jo be about to construct a grand hall in the Vatican for the performance of the oratories of Don Lorenzo Pevosi, who is to write a new oratorio, to be performed for '(he first time at the opening of the hall. v* At Herr Johann Wielaert has been apyminted conductor of the Auckland Orchestral Society in succession to Mr. Alfred Hill.,who has resigned, and Mr. H. Bloy has been appointed leader of the orchestra. - Mdme. Sarah Bernhardt, it is announced. will shortly produce in London a new version of her old play. Lecouvreur,” which she has herself gone over and completely revised, making it, in fart, an original play. Mr. John Prouse, the well-known Wi llington baritone, who went Home with Madame Trebelli, had just finished a delightful English tour with Kubelik, the famous violinist, when the last mail left. He hopes to return to New Zealand at the end of this concert season. V* Mr. Henry Ludlow, who i« touring throughout Australasia, as leading man and business manager for M. Augusto Van Biene, will he back in London at the end of the year, when he will produce a farcical comedy of his own. entitled “What Brown Saw.”

A company in one of the Australian States playing “East Lynne” advertises the we.epfu! play thusly: .“Mothers, bring y<n.i children to see Little Willie go to Heaven. 3/, 2/, and 1/; eariy doors, Gd extra,” “This,” writes “Hamlet” in “Dryblower’s, Journal,” “recalls Dan Barry, who one night in Adelaide announced from the .stage that lie was producing 'East Lyune’ next evening. "No one,’ 1-e said, ‘should miss seeing the angels taking Willie to Heaven.’ Then lie grew pathetic. ‘He felt it his duty,’ he urged, ‘to produce the play in Adelaide, because only in that city could real angels be found.’ ”

The moat popular Russian dramatist to day is M. TehekoH', wlto.seiplays are in coHstanUdeniand at lite Artistic Theatre, in Moscow, which was founded a few years ago by a band of enthusiasts to produce liigh-elass dramas onlyForeign authors represented at this theatre include Shakespeare, Hauptman, Maeterlinck, and Ibsen. J* .« The colonies are to be favoured with a visit from Mr. Edwin 11. Lemare, the eminent English organist, towards the end of the year. lie is coining out to Australia at the invitation of the Melbourne civic authorities to give a series of recitals on the Town Hull organ on the occasion of its re-opening, and he will subsequently come over to New Zealand. •S ,* The Princess ('hinquilla. of the Cheyenne nation, who is the “star" of the Curtis Variety Company, which opens in Auckland on August 5, at His Majesty’s Theatre, should provide an exceedingly novel turn. In native costume she sings the weird song of rhe highblooded North American Indian. A good company are said Io support her. at An interesting innovation was made at the St. Janies' Theatre recently in M. Harry Melvill's adaptation of M.

Alf. C'apus’ French play, “L’Ad vci saire.” In the English version, called “The M:ttt oi the Moinent,” the part of Madeleine, the erring wife, is taken in English by Mthne. Jkirgy, who created the part in Paris. Aldine. Bargv’s English is said to he perfect. -.4 ** On page two of this issue wo give a set of four very characteristic studies of Miss Tit tel - Brune, whose progress through the colony has been of the nature of a triumph. Everywhere she ha* scored phenomenal successes, and all the present indications point to a record season in Auckland, where expectation is on tip-toe to welcome the young tragedienne. It is many years s>inc.e the writer hereof has seen such anticipatory excitement over a coming dramatic event. ■U The second May number of ’ Die Musik” is devoted to “Music in America.*’ Henry T. Finck treats of famous American composers, including •John Knowles Paine, Edward Alacdowell. Edgar S. Kelly, George \V. Chadwick, Horatio Parker. and Arthur Foote. Arthur Lassen writes on •'Musical Life in America”: Felix Weinga rtner utters what he entitles “Eine Zwanglose Plauderei” on the country of the Stars and Stripes, and Dr. Darkow writes an interesting article on Ihe American folk-songs. The same number contains a critical summary of music in Melbourne during the last six months of last year, from the pen of Air. Hjalmar Joseph i. Wellington musical circles are glad to welcome back Mr Alfred Hill after his long absence. When he first returned after his long cotire of study at Leipsic. Mr Hill settled down in Wellington and proceeded to advance the cause of music with great enthusiasm- His sudden departure for Australia a few years after took his pupils and the pubJic by surprise. llis success in Sydney is well known, and Wellinglonians are proud of the future which now seems assured to their fol low-citizen.-The Hill family are well-known in Wellington’ for aTtisfic as well as musical talent, ami Miss •‘.Mabel Hill.” who has been married for some years and lives in Dunedin, is a frequent contributor to art exhibitions. ..where her yvorks lind many admirers (writes my Wellington correspondent). J* The manager of <nr of the leading Paris theatres had “words’’ with that useful but frequently abused functionary. the prompter. During the exchange of doubtless polite language an actor interposed’, and. chancing to drop a remark flitch sounded personal to the manager, be promptly challenged the player to mortal combat. But no sooner had the disputants drawn weapons than their seconds found it necessary to adjust matters between themselves. A second sot of seconds having been appointed.* these also insulted one another, with the customary result. So far, therefore. ton little affairs have resulted, and if matters continue to progress in this ‘•snowball” fashion, half Paris may before long ho meeting, glaring, drawing swords, and—embracing and adjourning to dejeuner.

There can Im* ho denying the success of Mr. (liarFcs Froh ma tin's ret ent experiment of alternating companies Iwtwecn find New York. That same -w - cess is of more than passing interest to Australians, in that the two plays eon* certvd ’•The Dictator'* and “The Freedom of Suzanne” will both be eventually seen out here under Mr. J. (*. Williamson’s management. It was at first intended to run both for four weeks, but ’•The Dictator” was so well ivcidvcd in Loudon that it* season has been indefinitely extended there, and the same story of pronounced success is told of “The Freedom of Suzanne” in New York. Mr. Frohmann, so he writes to Mr. Williamson, is at present making every endeavour Io arrange an Australian tour for Mr Willie (‘oilier and his company in “The Dictator?' and the prospects of his lM*ing able so to do arc certainly encouraging. & Though last week's concert by Hie Auckland Liedertafel did not. perhaps, equal the very best the society has given us in the past, it was an exceedingly good and most enjoyable affair. I’nqim*tionably the ''hit” of the evening was the highly original and grotesquely humorous satire on the advertisement craze, namely. “Quibble’s Cocoa.” This was given with all due solemnity, and proved quite irresistible, some of the audience becoming almost helpless from mirth. Il was. of course, loudly encored. and a portion of the part-song was good-naturedly repeated. ‘'The Moon,” with the solo by Mr A-piuall, was a very delightful number, that gentleman singing most delicately and beau tifully. “The Anvil” was well done, and the instrumental trios greatly appreciated. Mr Percy Denton filled the gap left by the indisposition of Mis* Madoline Knight, who was suffering from a severely relaxed throat. Mr Denton was most warmly received, and sang charm t ugly. dt A< Little Miss Addie Lurking, who made a very notable success in the title-role of “Little Lord Fauntleroy’* when the Hawtrey Company toured with that play through New Zealand, made a brief re-appearance in Auckland last week as Eva in “Ihide Tom’s Cabin” under the management of Miss Fitzmaurice Gill and very favourably impressed both the public and the critics. As a childart ress, Miss Lurking, who is being brought up in Auckland, is certainly ex-’ icedingly clever, and gives promise of attaining prominence in a profession for which it is understood she is anxious to qualify. W hen last in Auckland Miss Ncllii* Stewart very kindly took an interest in this little lady, and besides giving most excellent advice as to training, was also very enrouraging. Infortuiiatcly many of the methods suggested by Miss Stewart are expensive— fencing lessons being. for example. an essential to secure grace of movement and the financial dilliculty stands therefore in the way to some extent. Il has been suggested some means might be devised of enabling so promising a native-born actress to obtain the educative advantages referred to by Miss Stewart. Talking of the stage, a red-hot discussion is now raging in Paris concerning the all-important .question of long skirts versus short skirts for the ladies

<»f the billet. rhe <rouble ha* reactiM tin* law marls already, and- it woii'ft he long now Iwfore Kaiser Killy, of Germam, offer* himself a- aHiitraior o« this delicate subject. In Ihr e<»uri ♦ lawyer* got a deal of fun oil! <d the skirts ex- . .ted; and one iitlere-I ing revelation leaked out when- an-expert wit m*ss told th<* judge that -the short miinlin skirt which tin* prima b.illPiina wears, and reveals in full bloom when she spins wildly round on her toes, i« called the “tutu.” It’s quite a “too too” little garment altogether. a<id I’d like to have a photo of Kaiser Billy as hr i* examining it closely fo» the fn*t time.