"IOLANTHE."

Press, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20494, 12 March 1932, Page 16

"IOLANTHE."

FAIRIES AND FOOLS. GILBERT AND SULLIVAN REVIVAL. Just as "A Midsummer Night's Dream" is unique among Shakespeare's plays by its grotesquo mingling of mortals and fairies, so "lolanthe" is unique among the operas oi ! Gilbert anil Sullivan. None is lighter or more fanciful; none has more truly captured the fresh vigour of the English countryside; and in none is the music more graciously attuned to Gilbert's whimsical libretto. Whimsical is, indeed, the very word to describe the spirit which creates these fantastic scenes and inconsequential songs, and gives them topical point by many spirited assaults on the British House of Lords. And, as in "A Midsummer Night's Dream," it is their very contrast with the fairies that makes the lords appear such clumsy fools, for ever indulging in legal arguments over nothing and protesting "their ancestral dignity. Here is whatever satire there is in the opera; the rest is given over to a happy tale of rustic love and its consequences for a highly susceptible Lord Chancellor. Though differing from our own shepherds and shepherdesses to some extent, tlicy made a truly charming picture, this graceful Strephon and his saucy Phyllis, in the bright frame of last night's staging of "lolanthe" at the Theatre .Royal. Phyllis, tho traditional English country lass, was played to tho life by Miss Mario Bremner just as you would have her; —daijity, vivacious, and only a little petulant. She acted well and sang —especially her share -in tho duet, "None Shall Part Us"—very charmingly. Her voice is light, but Mclbas and Carusos arc rarely to be found in comic opera. This, by the way, is an exquisite lyric, far too little •known, with the words, "Thou the tree and I the flower," ending: "Thou the sculptor, I the clay, Thou the sunrise, I the da)'." Mr Gregory Stroud, as Strephon, moved and recited exceedingly well and was in good voice, though he sang sometimes a little heavily for his partner. Mr Ivan Mcuzies, as the Lord Chancellor, sketched this legal luminary a little more sober and mattcr-oP-fact than we arc accustomed to. His patter song, "When You're Laying Awake with a Dismal Headache," was a fine sample of rapid enunciation ending in a prestissimo, and most effective ho was in saving the doomed fairies when they appropriated the peers bv their surpassing legal acumen. Miss Evelyn Gardiner, who was the Fairy Queen, has an unusually rich voice, and her solo with chorus, "O Foolish Fay, ; ' was in many respects the best performance of the evening. An impressive monster in red and black, Mr John Ralston, the soldiernian, sang, "When All Night Long a Chap Remains" with befitting dignity. Finally there must bo mentioned Miss Mary Hotham (lolanthe) and Mr Bernard Manning and Mr Leo. Darnton as the two lords. "Tripping Hither, Tripping Thither" is one of Sullivan's sprightliest melodies and "When Britain Really Ruled the Waves," given in swinging style by Mr Manning and the male chorus, one of his most stirring. The music of "lolanthe" indicates yet no determined brcaking-away from Sullivan's earlier leanings; it is mostly very serious indeed and sometimes too heavily serious for a comic opera. The players mastered it easily- and Mr Gustavo §?aipoffsld, as every? acted most, efficiently as the medium between stage, orchestra, and audience. "lolanthe" will be repeated this afternoon and again this evening. "THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE" AND "TRIAL BY JURY." ■ Oil Monday, at 2.30 and 8 o'clock, also on Tuesday night, the company will stagfl "The Pirates of Penzance," which will be preceded by the popular musical farce, "Trial by Jury." Mr Ivan Monzies was described in Sydney as being tho "very pattern of a modern major-general" in "Tho Pirates," and he causes much-fun in "Trial by Jury" as the judge who in his youth fell in love with the rich attorney's ugly daughter. "Not for many years,';' wrote a Sydney Critic, "has there been'such a'good Bet of principals in "The Pirates of Penzance,' while the fresh and well-trained choruS gives highly effective support. The', unaccompanied singing of the ensemble toward the close of the first act, the vigor, and drpU spirit given to the pirates'' entry, 'with catlike tread,* were notable features of the performance."- Miss Maisie Ramsay's beautiful soprano voice,' which was trained under the direction of Came Nellie Melba, is .heard to great advantage in tho. well-known number, "P#or Wand'ring One," and in the duet .with Leo Darnton, "leave Me Not to Pine." Bernard Manning will once again delight with his impersonation of the Pirafe King, and Mr John Ealston will entertain as the Sergeant of Police. Miss Evelyn Gardiner will appear as Ruth, and Miss Mary Hotham as Edith. The cast of "Trial by Jury'' includes Marie Bremner as the plaintiff, Gregory Stroud as counsel for the plaintiff, and Bernard Manning ,as the usher. On Wednesday afternoon and /night next arid on Thursday and Friday evenings the beautiful English opera, "The Yeomen of the Guard" will be staged, and on Saturday afternoon and evening "H.M.S. Pinafore," preceded by "Cox and Box," will.be produced. On Monday afternoon and evening, March 21st "Patience" will be staged, and the season will closo with a gala performance of "The Gondoliers."