A TRIBUTE TO MADAME WIELAERT.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Issue 1294, 11 February 1915, Page 36

A TRIBUTE TO MADAME WIELAERT.

Madame Wielaert holds a pleasing remembrance of her recent visit to England, in the shape of a letter from Mr. Redgewell Dansie, F.R.G.0., of the Ffrangcon-Davies School of binging, London, where Madame devoted herself to a course of study. The writer, after expressing enjoyment at teaching her, emphasises the fact that Madame’s wide experience and exceptional natural gifts of temperament and voice made a rapid assimilation of ideas easy for her. Regret was conveyed at Madame’s return to New Zealand, “as I am convinced that m more propitious times you could take your place among operatic artists of the front rank both on the Continent and in this country.”

Chatting to a “Review” representative, Mr. Wielaert said their idea in going Home was to brush themselves generally up, and to enlarge their knowledge by meet.ng the best known in the Old Country. They were offered a splendid engagement by M. de Hondt, director of the Italian opera in Holland, and went over to England with a view of perfecting themselves.

Madame had lessons in Italian opera—in “Aida,” Mimi in “La Boheme,” Santuzza in “Cavalleria Rusticana,” “Carmen,” “Faust,” “11 Pagliacci,” etc., and was specially trained by Martinelli, principal tenor of Covent Garden, in Italian opera style. For dramatic art, Madame studied under Mr. Fairbairn, stage manager at Drury Lane for Sir Joseph Beecham’s operatic season, while for the development of voice and oratorio work she took a course at the Davies school. “While working up for the Holland engagement, war broke out. Of course that settled everything,” said Mr. Wielaert. “We were terribly disappointed. But we learnt much of new methods and systems, and we hope to utilise our experience in New Zealand.”

It was fifteen years since Mr. Wielaert had been in Holland. He arrived home just in time to see his mother, who was then on her death bed. Only sheer force of will had kept her alive in the hope of seeing her son, and she died just four weeks after his return.

A real “matinee” performance of “Seven Little Australians” was given in Sydney. It began at 11 in the morning and filled the theatre even at that early hour. The usual afternoon matinee followed.