HIS MAJESTY’S THEATRE.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume XIII, Issue 800, 6 July 1905, Page 18

HIS MAJESTY’S THEATRE.

“ A MOORISH MAID.”

The week’s run of “A Moorish Maid” came to a close on Saturday, and proved remarkably successful, there being overflowing audiences as the season progressed, and I understand that the production resulted in a very considerable profit to Messrs. Hill and Birch. This will be good news to the friends and admirers of the two talented authors, and I should also like to add my own congratulations. The piece went much more smoothly as the season progressed, some of the principals losing much of the nervousness which characterised their performance on the opening night. I have been taken to task for attempting to indicate one or two points in which the opera is susceptible of improvement. Now there is such a.thing as over-praise, and, although no one doubts the good intentions of the writers, the way this has been “ laid on with a trowel” by certain of the newspapers makes such comments worthless as criticism, and is rather unfair both to the authors or to the performers. I ventured to point out that even the very greatest of London successes are altered and re-altered after their initial production, and therefore it was unreasonable to expect perfection for the new opera at the outset. That a

talented writer like Air. Birch can improve upon certain parts of the libretto I am certain, while, although Air. Hill’s music is exceedingly fine, being at times simply magnificent, it is not always in accord with the spirit of the words. It is pointed out that the box office receipts are the only indications of success, and this is perfectly true with a professional company, but with amateurs the personal popularity of the performers count for much. At the same time I think that when “ A Afoorish Alaid” is touched up a little it will take high rank as an opera, and if it achieves a very big success in the future no one will be more pleased than the writer.