AUSTRALIAN HAPPENINGS.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume XX, Issue 1122, 12 October 1911, Page 19

AUSTRALIAN HAPPENINGS.

(From Our Melbourne and Sydney Correspondents.' New Zealand can plume itself on its output of vocalists just now. Miss Rosina Buckman is with The Grand Opera, singing the second soprano roles, while in “The Chocolate Soldier,” both Miss Amy Murphy, who relieves Miss Winifred O’Connor in the role of “Nadina,” and Mr Leslie Gaze, can claim the Dominion, if not as their birth, as their abiding place during a considerable portion of their existence.

Mr Andrew MacCunn has again this year written the ballet music for the J. C. Williamson pantomime. He has also done the chorus music to the words. “Wagner,” he said, talking on the subject of his lyrics, “wrote his libretto as well as composed the music for his operas.” Mr MacCunn has taken a house at Rose Bay, installed a grand piano, and he finds he

can best court the music between midnight and 2 a.m., during which hours he works.

The new Governor-General, Lord Denman and suite, occupied two boxes at a Melba night in Sydney last week. The opera was “La Boheme.” His Excellency remarked to the business manager (Mr G. L. Goodman) that before leaving for Australia he had seen the same opera at Covent Garden, and the Sydney production did not suffer in the least by the comparison.

Last month in London, “Kismet,” with which Mr Oscar Asche has scored such a triumphant success, reached its 150th performance at the Garrick Theatre, while a few days afterwards “The Chocolate Soldier” celebrated its anniversary with a special souvenir performance at the Lyric Theatre.

“The Spring Maid,” a delightful American lyrical piece, recently secured by J. C. Williamson, Ltd., is to have its London introduction very shortly. It has already run 10 months in New York, where the recent heat had very little effect on it, according to advice's by the last mail.

“The Lyons Mail,” with which Mr H. B. Irving has scored so heavily at Her Majesty’s Theatre, Melbourne, was the first one of his father’s plays which the young actor essayed after the death of Sir Henry. It was done by him for the first time at the Prince’s Theatre, Manchester, in August, 1906, while it had its London premiere a little over two years later in 1908.

The booking for the Melba Grand Opera season for race week in Sydney represents in itself more money than has ever before been taken in an Australian Theatre over a similar period. There has been no slacker, ing of interest in the Opera since the season, now in its fifth week, began. The gallery tickets are placed on sale every morning at 10 o’clock, and before noon the accommodation for that portion of the Theatre is invariably sold out. So far seven operas have been given out of the list of twelve promised. The operas presented to date are “La Traviata,” “La Boheme,” “Sansone and Dalila,” “Faust,” “Madame Butterfly,” “Carmen,” and “Lohengrin.” The last named opera was given last Saturday night, when Mr Marshall Hall conducted. It is the only Wagnerian work in the programme, and consequently excited great interest. The operas yet to be heard are “Romeo an z Juliet,” “Lucia de Lammermoor,”