Music, Drama.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume IV, Issue 167, 5 October 1893, Page 3

Music, Drama.

[By

"Orpheus."]

Sftectatum admissi risum teneatis amici ? The Wednesday Pops. Last week’s programme, containing some attractive novelties, again filled the City Hall to repletion. Mr Hunter’s band contributed three excellent items, viz , Boniton’s ‘ Silver Star,’ Round’s waltz ‘ Lucky Stars,’ and a sparkling galop by Heller. Mr Edward Lees made a successful deiut with Mark’s ‘ On the Rolling Wave’ and Jude’s ‘ Plymouth Sound.’ The singer has a baritone voice of good quality and fair volume. His intonation is good, and with more confidence and training he will do very well indeed. Mrs Florence Anderson, another debutante, sang Millard’s ‘ Waiting’ with effective dash and passion, but her intonation was not always perfect. In response to an encore the lady gave a pleasing trifle, ‘ Ask me again and I will not say no.’ In the second part Mrs Anderson sang Millard’s * Say not Farewell.’ Mr John Fuller, in his best form, sang Bishop’s ‘ Pilgrim of Love,’ arousing a storm of applause. The encore was ‘ We don’t know how we love them.’ Wallace’s ‘ Let me like a soldier fall,’ proved another triumph, which brought Mr Fuller back with Blumenthal’s lovely song ‘ My Queen.’ More fresh talent appeared in the person of Mr Alexander Smith, whose recitations created a sensation. * Whaur’s ma Stockin’,’ given in pure Doric, took the house by storm, and Mr Smith received a double encore, giving ‘ A cure for a cold’ and ‘ A weight on his chest,’ with admirable humour. Later on ‘ The Labourer’s Complaint,’ won another encore —‘ Pat’s Love Letter.’ Another ‘ first appearance’ was that of Miss Birdie Butler, a very young lady who promises, with care and study, to make a good singer. ‘ The Blind Girl to her Harp’ showed considerable intelligence and correct intonation, but the voice-production requires further cultivation, and at the same time care not to overwork so young a voice. As an encore Miss Birdie sang ‘There’s no one like

mother.’ For Piccolomini’s ‘ Ora pro nobis’ the young lady won a hearty recall. Mr Elliott gave as a flute solo a fantasia on airs from the familiar ‘ Madame Angot,’ playing in good tune and with nice execution. One of the features of the concert was Cooke’s fine old duet ‘ Love and War,’ capitably rendered by Messrs Fuller and Alex. Reid, which those gentlemen had perforce to repeat. Mr Fuller also sang Braham's duet ‘ All’s Well’ with Mr Edward Lees. Miss Clarice Brabazon played all the accompaniments with characteristic sensibility and care. Her solo was Gotschalk’s exquisite ‘ Dying Poet,’ and as a matter of course an encore brought Miss Brabazon back with ‘ The Brook.’ Last night, owing to the City Hal] being otherwise engaged Mr Fuller was to give the Onehunga people a treat, which I feel sure will be appreciated. For next Wednesday Mr Fuller has secured the Opera House. I would suggest that the substitution of the fine concert grand piano which Mr Hoffman supplied for the Albu concerts, instead of the very ordinary instrument now used, would be a great improvement, and an especial boon to Miss Brabazon, whose splendid solos deserve a better pianoforte.

Auckland Choral Society. — Cowen’s ‘ St. John’s Eve., A packed house thoroughly appreciated the excellent performance of a very charming idyll on Tuesday, the 26th ult. The music is mainly pastoral in character, but dashing and vigorous writing is not wanting, while the orchestration throughis alike charming and masterly. The band showed marked improvement in delicacy, light and shade, tune and precision. The chorus displayed the same qualities, and sang efficiently throughout. All the four soloists did well. Mis O’Sullivan as Nancy fulfilled my expectations, displaying good attack, faultless intonation, and a marked advance on the rehearsals in the matter of phrasing. So promising a soprano has only to continue careful practice, with severe self-critic-ism, to improve still more. A slight tendency to force the upper register, thereby producing just a soup<;on of shrillness, should be restrained. But Miss O’Sullivan’s intelligence, smoothness and contrasts of pathos and passion deserved all the applause she won. Mrs Gus Coates as Margaret sang the contralto music very effectively. Nervousness slightly detracted from the merit of a fine performance. Her great sensibility and finished taste in the cantabile would have been more effective for the infusion of increased dash and vigour in dramatic contrast. Mr W. Martin (tenor) as the young squire came out well, his rendering of the fine song (with chorus accompaniment) ‘ O Zephyr,’ with its exquisite minor, being tender and graceful, Mr A. Stewart sang with dramatic force the bass part of Robert, and barring an occasional lapse in intonation conquered a very difficult part with great credit. In the interval the band played Mendelssohn’s splendid overture ‘ Son and Stranger ’ very well indeed. I heartly congratulate Herr Carl Schmitt and the Society on a capital performance of a lovely theme.

The Auckland Orchestral Union. On Friday evening last the third concert of the fourth season of this flourishing society proved a thorough success and a genuine musical treat. The band, in full strength and in its best form, played an exquisitely written overture, ‘ Nord and Sud,’ by Bauer, with brilliant precision and tune; a ‘ Norwegian Rhapsody,’ written in Svendsen’s happiest vein, proved equally delightful ; Schubert’s magnificent overture, in E Minor deserved even higher praise, and at its conclusion Mr Towsey was presented with an enormous bouquet. Mozart’s famous overture to the Marriage of Figaro was negoticiated in 3min 27sec by Orpheus’ stop watch, and considering the pace, was fairly well played, but perhaps it would have been better to allow another 20 seconds or so. A symphony by Goetz (allegro moderate in F Major) proved to be a fine piece of orchestral writing, and was played with refinement and delicacy, the pianissimos and crescendos being capitally rendered. Mr Clough’s scoring of Miss Wilson’s ‘ Fidelite Gavotte ’ for full orchestra was fairly good, but perhaps the ‘ linked sweetness long drawn out ’ was a trifle overdone. The selection from Verdi’s ‘ Trovatore ’ has been noticed before in these columns. It was well rendered. The Auckland Liedertafel contributed, including encores, five excellent numbers, of which the last, ‘ Rest, dearest, rest,’

was the gem. In the ‘ Image of the Rose’ Mr F. Wright took the solo very creditably. Miss Warren sang a charming song, ‘ Whisper and I shall hear,’ by Piccolomini, with a violin obligato nicely played by Mr Cooke, and was re-called. Mrs Gus Coates has never been heard to greater advantage than in Molloy’s ‘ Home, Dearie, Home.’ Barring that the tempo was perhaps a trifle fast, it would be difficult to find a blemish in a rendering so full of sensibility and correct vocalisation, of exquisite taste and wellmarked contrasts, in response to an imperative encore the singer gave ‘ The Murmur of the Shell,’ with equal success. Mr Towsey played the accompaniments with taste and discretion and conducted the orchestral numbers with characteristic aplomb.

The Holloway Farewell Season. So rapid are the changes of programme given by Mr Chas. Holloway and his compact band of sterling actors that it becomes quite impossible for the critic to keep pace with the embarras des richesses. Capital plays excellently staged and acted with unflagging spirit and versatility of course mean constant rehearsals and unremitting study. Harvey’s fine melodrama ‘ The Land of the Living ’ was replaced on Friday evening by an exquisite little comedy ‘ The Broken Idol,’ which so pleased the audience that numerous requests for its repetition have been conveyed to Mr Holloway. I trust that he will see his way to play it once more before the season terminates on Saturday evening. On Saturday last that powerful drama ‘ The Wages of Sin ’ replaced ‘ The Broken Idol,’ and was enthusiastically applauded by a large audience. But on Monday the production of ‘ The Shamrock and the Rose,’ a strong melodrama of the transpontine class, drew a crowded house, and made the hit of the season. In all the foregoing pieces roles were excellently sustained by Messrs Chas. Holloway, Henry Willard Oily Deering, G. R. Melville, E. G. Couglan, Andrew Money, etc., etc., and among the ladies by the Misses Linda Raymond, Alice Deorwyn, M. Medway, Eva Jackson, Maggie Masters, and her talented little sister Florence, but space will not permit me to notice in detail the individual performances of a company which invariably does capital work however difficult the cast. The ‘ Shamrock and Rose ’ will be staged to-night (Thursday) and to-morrow night, but will be replaced on Saturday evening by the celebrated Adelphi drama, ‘ Woman’s Sacrifice.’

Mr John Fuller gives his next Wednesday Pop at the Opera House on Octo 1 er Uth. A specially attractive programme has been prepared. It would be well for visitors to purchase their tickets beforehand at Hoffman’s or Williamson’s, as a big crowd is expected.

I wish to remind readers of the Sporting Review that the performance for the benefit of the Auckland Polo Club takes place on Monday evening at Abbott’s Opera House. Last week I mentioned that ‘ O’Callaghan ’ and ‘ Written in Sand ’ would be acted by the pick of our local amateurs. Additional attractions will be solos on the violin by Mr Alister Maclean, whose proficiency on that instrument is well known to musicians, and some of the Auckland Liedertafel’s best selections. I shall expect to see a bumper house.