SOUTHERN STAGE NOTES.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Issue 1204, 8 May 1913, Page 22

SOUTHERN STAGE NOTES.

“Lorgnette.”)

Wl£ ISLINGTON-

(By

WELLINGTON, May 6. It was originally intended to open th e Wellington season of the George Marlow Dramatic Company on Saturday evening, but the difelocatipn of the ferry, service, through the boisterous weather, compelled the management to postpone the opening until Monday night. The Opera House was, however, packed to the doors last evening to witness the first performance of Frederick, Melville’s romantic drama, “The Monk and the Woman,” and judging from th e hearty reception given to both play and players, a firstclass season is assured. The story of the* play is one of conflict between the Cloister and the Court. The curtain rises upon the first of several picturesque tableaux, showing. the refrectory of an old French monastery, with gracefully-grained roof, and stone-flagged floor, where the brethren eat their joints and pasties out of pewter dishes at stoutly-timb-ered tables. Th e brothers file in in their cassocks ■■■ and hempen girdles, full of gossip about Brother John (a lovable young monk), who has been ordered six days’ cells on bread and water for speaking to a woman. The general belief is that John is bewitched by unholy spells. Peter, the paunch-bellied glutton of the establishment, a harmless, joker, with red hair,, exclaims “By St. Paul, this woman-malady is a dangerous complaint.” This is one of many similar sentiments which the large audience greeted with shouts of laughter. Liane, “the Pearl of the Court,” with her friend, Vernet, have fled to the monastery, where they are pursued by Prince Henri de Montrale, with orders from the King to capture them at all costs. The libertine King is anxious to secure Liane for himself, as a preliminary to which the youthful beauty is to be forced

into a marriage with Henri, whom she does not fear as a companion, but dislikes as a husband. Henri takes possession of the monastery with an armed guard, overawes the monks, and before returning to the capital leaves Liane in the custody of the venerable prior, Father Ignatius. The prior hands the key of her cell to the steadiest young monk he knows, Brother Paul, who falls in love with her in ten minutes. The play is interpreted by one of the strongest combinations that the Marlow management has ever sent to New Zealand, whilst the scenery, from the brush of Mr J. S. Mann, is simply splendid. The Wellington Professional Orchestra gave the fifth of this season’s series of concerts in His Majesty’s Theatre on Sunday evening, and notwithstanding the boisterous weather prevailing the theatre was filled to the doors with a most appreciative audience. The programme submitted was a very fine one. Mr Herbert Bloy conducted in his usual efficient style. Th e Royal Wellington Choral Society is contemplating the production of Saint Saen’s “Samson and Delilah,” ■ and it has already got a Delilah in view. They have also in view a musical festival at which “ The Creation” and “Elijah” will be pro drh ed. So it will easily be seen that the Society is full of life.” Mr Christian Hellemann gave the secor. ' of his series of organ recitals in the Town Hall last night to a fairly large - audience. Amongst the items on the programme require special mention were Strauss’s “Reverie,” Wagner’s “Ride of the Walkures,” Bach’s “Fugue in B Minor,” and Mascagni’s Intermezzo from “Cavaliera Rusticania.” The vocalist of the evening was Madame Brainsby, who was in fine voice. Mr John Fuller, jun., was third on the list in the recent contest for seats on the City Council. Judging from the. amount of interest that is being shown already, Mr Horace Hunt’s farewell concert in the Town Hall on Tuesday, the 13th inst., should turn out an unqualified success. A splendid programme has been prepared for the occasion, and as popular prices are to be charged the large hall ought to be packed to the doors. The Skating Rink in Vivian Street, is being well patronised at all sessions by the lovers of the exhilarating pastime of roller skating. Continuing, the Prime Minister said he was prepared to consider the request for the specification of the private bars, taking the control of the matter out of the hands of the licensing committees. He could not make a definite promise, but he would promise to do the right thing. (Hear, hear). The proposal to bring hotels under the half-holiday regulations was very far reaching. (A voice: “We only want ‘a square deal’ for all hands,” and laughter). There would, Mr. Massey continued, be a provision In the next Shops and Offices Bill to deal with hotels, though not in the direction now suggested. He hoped that when the Liquor Bill came in it would give a “square deal” to all parties. A Voice: ‘,AII right, Mr. Square Deal.” Another: “Is that a forecast of intention to bring in the democratic principle of the bare majority?” (Laughter). Mr. French said that he understood that a number of members were prepared to vote for the bare majority only on condition that a Bill was brought down as a Government measure. Mr. Massey: I am not aware of that.

MUSIC NOTES.

(By “G” String.) An English paper writes as follows regarding the forthcoming voyage of the Quinlan Grand Opera Company:—“An extraordinary long and ambitious tour will be begun by the Quinlan English Opera Company at Newcastle-on-Tyne in the third week In April. After visits to Birmingham, Liverpool, and Dublin, the company «ail on May 19th for South Africa, and in July proceed to Australia. The company includes many of the best English-singing opera artistes of the day, with Miss Perceval Allen at the head of. the sopranos and Mr. Maclennan as the chieF' tenor, and the repertoire contains twenty-seven -operas, including all the works of

Wagner’s maturity, excepting “Parsifal,” “The Ring” of Wagner will be produced in its entirety at each town visited —eight in all—at none of which has the work so far been heard.” Are the poor cities of New Zealand included in the eight to be visited? When the curtain went up in the theatre at Boudry, near Neuchatel, for the final act of “The Chocolate Soldier” at a recent performance, the actors and actresses were astonished to find that the crowded audience had disappeared during the interval, and that they were playing to an empty “house.” As the audience had not been unappreciative during the first three acts, this sudden and wholesale desertion was inexplicable. After making , inquiries it was found that a printer’s error was the cause of the mystery. On the programme it was stated the opera was in three acts, instead of four, and the audience, who had never seen the piece before, left the theatre dissatisfied with such an abrupt ending. As there was nobody but the employees—who were also surprised to see the curtain rise again—in the theatre for the last act, the play was stopped, and all the company gathered on the stage to discuss the strange affair. The account of this incident is taken from an American paper: At a recent auction sale of musical autographs in Berlin, some unusually high prices were paid. The list was headed with a manuscript by Handel —a voc,al trio with figured bass, composed at Naples in 1708 —which brought over £l4OO. Something over £2 00 was paid for a fragment of a quartette by Beethoven. A mazurka by Chopin changed hands at £32; Liszt’s “Rigoletto” paraphrase, was sold for £2l: sketches for Haydn’s Symphony in D Major went for £25. Two letters of Mozart’s addressed to his father, were acquired by the Musikhistorisches Museum at Cologne for £8 5. / According to accounts, the stage antics, in which Caruso sometimes indulges, do not altogether meet with the approval of some of the New York critics. Referring to his performance of Rudolph in “La Boheme,” one writer said that “Caruso was out of bounds. He danced and grimaced and mimicked like a schoolboy, in addition to jamming the trumpet over Amator’s head in th e cafe scene,” and at a performance of “Aida” Caruso, it is stated, thought it was funny to tickle Madame Destinn with a chrysanthemum, so that she was forced to express her emotion in a most inartistic sneeze.” If there is any singer who is really loved by American people, it is Lillian Nordica. She is looked upon as one of the greatest living artistes, and the ideal type of American womanhood. Nordica, whose family name was plain Norton, was born in a little town in Maine, and at an early age went to Boston to study. Her first tour was as soloist with Pat Gilmore’s band. It happened that Colonel Mapleson heard the young girl sing, and immediately arranged for her to join his company at Covent Garden. Mapleson was at that time the foremost of the impressarios, and had managed all the big Patti towns. Nordica made an instantaneous success, and since th e night of her debut, has played no small part in the world’s music history. She was the first American to be invited to participate in the Wagner festivals at Bayreuth, and in many of the roles she has never been equalled. Nordica has devoted the last few years principally to concert towns, but occasionally makes operatic appearances, and always creates a furore. Only last year she astonished the music lovers of London and Paris by appearing at their leading opera houses in “Tristan and Isolde” and “Die Walkurie,” and made them “situp and take notice.” Such singing and acting was, it is said, a revelation to them. A rather good operatic anecdote comes from France. A certain circus manager, having become director of a small provincial opera house, found one day that he required the services of a tenor for a special performance. He applied to an agency, who recommended to him an artist at a salary of eight pounds per night. “Eight pounds,” exclaimed the indignant director, “for a man who only sings! Why, in my circus, I had an acrobat for two pounds per week, who risked breaking his neck every time that he appeared.” ......