THE POLLARDS.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1404, 13 December 1884, Page 2

THE POLLARDS.

Offenbach’s “ Princess of Trebizonde,” vhich was presented by the Pollard Com>any last evening, belongs to an altogether lifferent school from the operas given on ;he previous nights. Although the music s pretty throughout, the success of the aiece depends equally as much upon the jialogue and the comic situations as it Joes upon the singing, and therefore makes more demands upon the acting capabilities of the performers than does the generality of operas. ‘ ‘ The Princess of Trebizonde ” is in fact a broad farce sot to music,fand the audience last evening were kept in a continual toar of laughter from start to finish. What plot there is concerns the fortunes of a of strolling players, the head of which, Cabriolo, is lucky enough to win a baronial hall in a lottery. The new life these . . 1 .-11 »J ..MAM 4- n lnn/1 oca tlftt

people are called upon to lead does not suit them at all, and they are continually committing solecisms and relapsing into their former habits. A sort of underplot is provided in the love adventures of Prince Raphael, who becomes enamored of Oabriolo’s daughter, when the latter has taken the place of a wax figure of the Princess of Trebizonde, the nose of which has been accidently broken. The centre figure of the opera is ‘Cabriolo, a part originally played in London by the celebrated low comedian, J. L. Toole. Miss Amy Brooks undertakes this c aracter, and fairly brought down the house by her comic acting, especially in the second and third acta. Nothing could be more grotesque than this little lady s puzzled expression when Cabriolo is at a loss to know how to conduct himself when in the presence of nobility, and the performance of the part as a whole was not unworthy of comparison •with that of its original representative ; higher praise could not be accorded, Miss Flo de Lorma was excellent as Regina, specially in her singing, the introduced song of “The . ountebank” calling forth an enthusiastic encore. Miss Maud Pollard, as the strong woman of the troupe, looked and acted the character to tha life, and Mias Bella Stewart as Zmetta was equally successful. Miss May Pollard made a graceful Prince Raphael, and sang her music well, while Miss Ruth Wallace as his irate father infused the necessary force into the character, and created a very favorable impression. As Tremolino Miss Fva McOlements was quite equal to what was demanded of her, both as regards singing and acting, and Miss Lizzie Donelly fully sustained the reputation she had gained by her previous performanesa by her very comic representation of the Prince’s tutor. Dr Sparadrap. The admirable stage management of Mr Tom Pollard was apparent throughout, and the perfection to which 'the drilling of tha youngsters has been brought was shown in the march of the pages at the commencement of tha final act, of which tha audience insisted a repetition. The company’s season has, we are glad to say, been financially successful, and as there is a cha-ice of their returning to Ashburton before long, we feel sure they will receive a hearty welcome The members of the troupe left for Wellington this morning, where they open on Monday night, returning to Christchurch early in the new year.