CAPELLI’S CONCERTS.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Issue 1473, 18 July 1918, Page 34

CAPELLI’S CONCERTS.

A RARE MUSICAL TREAT. With the beauty of Signor Capelli’s voice still fresh in their memories, there was a large and enthusiastic audience at the Town Hall Concert Chamber on Saturday night to renew acquaintance with the brilliant Italian tenor of the recent Gonsalez Grand Opera Company on his opening concert tour of the Dominion. Capqlli has a voice of rare quality, robust and virile and engagingly sweet, evidence of its power and flexibility being given in his opening number, “O, Paradiso” (Meyerbeer). Vividly sung was “On With the Motley” from “11 Pagliacci,” and no one could listen unmoved as he visualised the sufferings of the unfortunate Pagliccio making merry for the public while his heart is torn with jealousy. A delightful piece of vocalisation was the Spanish serenade “Lolita,” while dramatic fervour and artistry marked the Romanza “O tu che in seno agli Angeli.” After each effort the great singer aroused his audience to almost a frenzy of enthusiasm, and he generously yielded to all the demands made, Verdi’s popular “La Donna e Mobile” being included in the encores. Even at the closing number the audience remained in their seats until Capelli gave them an additional song. Besides Capelli there was Lucien Cesaroni, with a bass voice of good range and splendid enunciatbry powers that found expression in the “Prologue” from “Pagliacci,” and Verdi’s “Infelice e tu Credevi,” his hearers showing their approbation in no uncertain, style. With such sincerity and intensity of style did he sing the “Marseillaise” that he had to repeat his performance. Miss Veronica Bedford disclosed herself as a brilliant soprano singer with a keen appreciation of dramatic colour, her songs being “Vissi D’arte” (Puccini), “Carmena” (Wilson), “Ichabod” (Tschaikowsky), and “Serenade” (Gounod). The latter was artistically supplemented with a flute obligato by Mr. John Amadio. The flautist, Mr. Amadio, made an easy capture with his facile playing, his numbers covering Schubert’s entrancing “Cradle Song,” Chopin’s famous “Valse, Op. 64,” Moskowski’s “Serenata,” 'a fantasia and a study embodying the effects of two flutes. Mr. Harold Whittle accompanied with unerring judgment, showing artistic co-opera-tion with the artists. The concluding concert of the Auckland season will be given on Thursday (July 18). No true music lover should miss these fine artists.

In “The Deemster” every situation has been sandled with the consummate art of a director who understands his work thoroughly, keeping the action in a continuous flow of interest and bringing out the dominant notes of the story in sharp relief. The picture is crowded with impressive scenes, and all these dramatic apexes have been linked together without any break in continuity or suspension of interest. Derwent Hall Caine’s work as Dan Mylrea places him at once in the front rank of our screen portrayers. “The Deemster” will be shown in Auckland shortly under E. J. Carroll’s direction. sis -k -1Miss Margaret Wycherley paid a happy compliment to the Australian artists associated with her in the production of “The Thirteenth Chair” in Sydney, when she said, in the cou.se of her speech of thanks at the end of the first-night performance: “I have seen five productions of this play, including my original production in New York. I would like to say this, that I had to come to Australia to meet the best all-round cast I have ever played with.” As Miss Wycherley is the wife of Bayard Veiller, the author of the play, she may be as a competent authority on the subject.

For gorgeousness of setting no stage spectacle has eclipsed the “Chu Chin Chow” scene in “The Bing Boys” backed as it is with ladders of girls.