Music and Drama

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLI, Issue 9, 26 August 1908, Page 16

Music and Drama

It is a well-recognised fact amongst Wdll-seasoned professionals, aa wall as amateurs, that no audience is so trying to the artistic temperament as one composed of enthusiastic admirers, friends, •nd relatives gathered to welcome the artist ‘‘home” after a series of triumphs elsewhere. The experience occasionally results in stimulating the victim of nerves to excel him or herself, but it not unusually has an opposite effect, and so excites them that they fail to do absolute •justice to themselves. This was slightly, noticeable at Miss Irene Afnsley's first concert in Auckland, and those who only heard her on that occasion, and missed the second concert, are not in a position to judge of what the finest procurable Etlropeau training has done for the New Zealand contralto. The immense breadth and sonorous volume of Miss Alnsley’s .voice in the lower register, which was its most striking characteristic before •he left New Zealand, has probably been •lightly reduced by the rigorous schooling she has undergone, but as this has (resulted in an entire elimination of the element of coarseness and roughness Which heretofore detracted from that very power and breadth, the advantage is nil on the one side. At the first concert it appeared as if the extraordinary desire of all teachers of singing, from the great Marches! down, to gain high notes, whatever the sacrifice, had resulted in a weakening of the upper register of this truly remarkable voice, but the uncertainty and tendency to strain were not Observable on the second evening, and may be, therefore, set down to nervousness and the pleasure of home-coming. In sympathy and diction, as well as in stage presence and general artistio equipment. Miss Ainsley has improved out of all knowledge. That she is likely to assail the position held by Miss Ada Crossley artistically, or that of Miss Butt, as a purely popular singer, we do not think it would be wise to prophecy; but that she will take her place amongst singers of note cannot be doubted, and wo offer our congratulation io the Dominion contralto. wl J» Mr. Charles Saunders, the famous English tenor, who has had such a successful tour of the South Island towns, opens a season in Auckland at the Choral Hall on Friday night, August 28111. Speaking of a magnificent performance lie gave in “Judas Maccabaeus” at Wellington, the “Dominion” says: “Of the eolo work, the outstanding feature was, »s might have been expected, the singing of Mr. Saunders, whose reputation as tlio greatest Handelian tenor of the English musical world of to-day, does not seem io be an exaggerated estimate of his abilities, if one is to judge by his singing of the dramatic aria, ‘Sound an Alarm.’ Tie possesses a robust tenor voice of remarkable power and range of great sweetness and purity in tone, and his singing method is agreeably free from the races nnd mannerisms of less able but more pretentious singers. His voice is under perfect control, and, from its most undistinguishing characteristic, a clear ringing tone, it is easy to understand that the declamatory recitatives and arias of the great Handelian oratorios have in him a perfect exponent. ‘Sound an Alarm’ was the supreme effort of the evening. The opening bar, unaccompanied, rang out clear, vibrant, strikingly expressive of the note of alarm, and the spirited aria, with Ils dramatic accompaniment, was sung with fiery declamation. The second phase of tho aria, which gives the singer the widest •oope for the full display of his powers, was a veritable triumph for Mr. iSaunders, who was rewarded by a perfect Blorm of applause. The last part of the aria was then graciously repeated. Not less successful was his effort in the recitative, ‘Tis Well, My Friends,’ with its accompanying aria, ‘Call Forth Thy Powers,’ the recitatives, ‘So Will’d My Father,’ and ‘Haste, Thee, My Bretl**en.’ Tho recitative, ‘Thanks to My Brethren,’ with the aria, “How Vain is Man,* was a splendid effort, nnd was loudly applauded. Miss Robson was also very successful, her well-trained contralto voice being heard to advantage

in the incidental work of the oratorio. ‘Sound an Alarm’ is included in Mr. Saunders’ first Auckland programme. The box plan is fast filling up at Wildman and Arey’s, and the season promises to be an exceptionally successful one. The opportunity of hearing such a famous tenor, still in the hey-day of his fame, is so exceptional in this part of the world that all lovers of music arc sure to avail themselves of it. J* “Charley’s Aunt” attracted a large and wildly hilarious audience to His Majesty’s, Auckland, when revived on Saturday, and will continue to do ao till withdrawn to make room for the “ Private Secretary.” JX JX Both Mr. Thornton and the farces wear well, and the company in the main is clever in the support afforded to the central figure. Mr. Thornton is, if anything, a trifle over boisterous, and a shade too obvious in the real hard work he puts into his famous impersonation of Lord Babi, but it is quite impossible not to laugh consummedly at his extraordinary antics. The New Zealand season has, we understand, been exceedingly successful throughout. JX JX Twenty-five years ago there was established in Auckland the “ Parnell Shakespeare dub,” Parnell being at that time the most favoured Auckland suburb, and on Monday evening last it celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary with some natural pride at the residence of its reigning president, Mr. Thompson. The society has had its ups and down, its periods of depression, and of success. It has seen many similar clubs come into being, and not a few, alas, die out after careers of Various lengths. In a quiet, unostentatious way it has kept on working and reading, and will doubtless in good time complete its jubilee. The club lost a good and powerful friend in the late Bishop Cowie of Auckland, some time Primate of New Zealand, and! another in Mr. Ebenezer Waymouth, of Auckland, who was for years its secretary. JX jX So encouraging was the reception of “Peter Pan” by Parisians that Mr. Chas. Frohmah has set about arranging for its being staged in Berlin, so that the sphere of its sway is gradually being extended over the whole civilised world. Its hold upon English audiences remains as strong as ever, and even at the beginning of last month in London inquiries by the public and references by the Press were being made regarding its revival (for the sixth consecutive year) at the Duke of York’s Theatre next Christmas. The ever-vexed question as to whether an actress should, on the stage, be merely a mirror of emotions, or whether she should really feel the trouble and sorrows of the character she is portraying, was submitted to Margaret Anglin the other day by an interviewer. Her view' of the case is a modern one, for she believes in associating herself so thoroughly with the part she is playing that she forgets her own personality entirely and lives and moves and speaks as the woman she is representing. In other words, she must lose herself completely in the part; otherwise there will lie an air of superficiality unconvincing and artificial about her work which will keep ner from making the strong appeal to the audience which she sets out to do. In her case, she subconsciously absorbs the influence of the character she is playing for the time being into her own entity. J» J* Twenty-six tens, dinners, and so on, in a little over a month, was what Madame Ada Crossley was looking forward to when she last wrote from London five weeks before her departure for Australia in the Drontos. That does not mean, of course, the total of her meals in that period—one supposes she has three meals

a day at least—but the extras thrown in by all sorts and conditions of people anxious to eey good Pye in- proper form to the Australian contralto, who has made herself so popular in Great Britain. The Austral and the Lyceum, Clubs h«kt already organised special “At Homes” in her honour, while several other women’s cluos were following suit. Miss Marie Correlli, who boasts that she never gives away a photo to anybody but her nearest and dearest friends, had included Madame Crossley in that charmed circle, and had bidden her to Stratford-on-Avon, there to take a fond farewell. Then, again, Mr. and Mrs. Henniker Heaton entertained her at tea on the far-famed terrace of the House of Commons, with a debate in the Ilouse of Lords to finish up with. It is highly probable that by the time she sailed the twenty-six functiopa she wrote about had swelled to nearly double that number, and one can quite understand that now she is revelling in the enforced idleness of shipboard. JX JX Mark Hambourg is full of excellent stories about his experiences up and down the world in pursuit of his art. and ■he can keep his listeners amused for hours at a stretch with incidents occurring in one or other of his many tours. In South Africa, for instance, his itinerary took in a little country town the inhabitants of which, as events proved, had clearly had no opportunities for musical culture, though they assembled in great force for his recital. That recital embraced both a concerto and a sonata, which were named on the programme in tho usual way—that is, with the title and with the different movements mentioned in the centre of the sheet. But these movements were printed in small type, and were easily overlooked. Opening with the concerto, and pausing at the cud of each movement, then doing the same with tho sonata, Mark Hambourg was surprised to see his audience get up and file out after he had finished the third and fourth number of the programme. But he realised quickly that his hearers had been following the names of the pieces at the side, thinking each movement a separate item, and had arrived at the end of the programme when lie was really about half-way through the first part. So he sent his manager out to bring them back. The ultimate denouement was even funnier, for, determined not to be caught again, the audience remained patiently waiting after the concert had really come to an end, and the manager had again to come forward *hnd explain matters. Mr. John Harrison, the tenor of the Ada Crossley party, had a most romantic debut into solo work. He was a millhand in Colne, Lancashire, and a member of the local Philharmonic Society, when the defection of a well-known soloist, specially engaged for the “Messiah,” gave him his chance. So well did he take advantage of it that he was at once inundated with engagements, though it was not until some time after that he definitely decided to follow a musical career. They had a demonstrative scepe when the Royal Comic Opera Company said farewell to Meltourne on the Bth inst. Miss Carrie Moore will not be seen there again, and she was called before the curtain several times. Miss Young was also called, and Alfred Higginson, the Prince Danilo of the Widow. Said Higginson, when called on for a speech: “God bless Captain Cook and Australia.” The petition on behalf of poor old Cook is, if anything, a trifle belated. JI JX The first Australian performance of “Simple Simon,” one of the recent plays acquired by Mr. Herbert Flemming, is recorded as a great success in Adelaide. J» J* Miss Maud Allan, the daneer, makes her contribution to the perennial problem, “Should Actresses Marry?” She writes that whetv there is true sympathy and love between husband and wire neither need give nor receive “orders.” The ideal husband of my dreams would love me bo much, and I him, that it would be impossible for either of us to desecrate the affection of the other by . failing to observe those mutual obligations and duties which matrimony imposes on both. „ *

Like all stage favourites, Miss Ada Dwyer, who has made such a strong SMceess in Mot Wiggs, haw dartsg her stay iir MeHjonrme, bees the recipient of scores of letters. Some of them are worth quoting, especially one from a lady who presumably hailed from Ireland, and took care to express herself in the brogue of that country. She wrote—“l have took the iibertery to wroite an askt you for a photo t<J addorn the whoite walla of my ’umble home, and I wood be very thankful if you wood send me one. I bought a lovelly green frame for it the other day in the market," and signed herself “Your ’umble admirer.” JX JX Miss Carrie Moore is to be the Prince in a Christmas Pantomime production at the London Adelphi under the joint management of Mr. George Edwardes and Mr. Robert Courtneidge. Miss Phyllis Dare will be Cinderella. It is very evident from this t' at Miss Carrie Moore goes out of the “Merry Widow" caste after the Sydney season of Lehar’s work and will not be seen in Auckland at Christmas. JX J» Attired in handsome Pierrot costumes. “The Merrymakers,” whose Auckland season commences on August 31, are said to create a very artistic effect in their brightly arranged ensemble throughout' the South.