ENTERTAINMENTS.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 929, 23 September 1910, Page 9

ENTERTAINMENTS.

CALVE. THE FINAL CONCERT. __ ' A splendid audience filled the big Town Hall last evening, when Madame Calve gave her final concert in New Zealand—the last of a memorable series; 'J'he concert was one of especial interest, inasmuch as. it included tho gems, of Uilve's repertoire,, with tho exception of the duet from "Cavalleria Busticana.", In its place, however, was substituted, to the delight'of all, the beautiful scena between. Faust and. Marguerite, from the. second- act of- Gounod's opera "Faust." It is hardly necessary to dilate upon the exquisite interpretation of the number given by the line artists. The purity and sweetness of Madame's voice, which embodies the whole gamut of tone colour, was .positively bewitching, and tho great audience accorded her and Signor Gasparri an v ovation for the effort. Madame's first number was, marred by a rather regrettable episode. She had. only x sung half a dozen bars of the beautiful "Mysoli," from "The Pearl of Brazil," when she stopped suddenly with a little gasp of distress, and left the stage. The manager (Mr. Frank Talbot) appeared two minutes later- to report that . Madame had been seized . with a passing indisposition, but hoped, to appear again in a few minutes. The gap was filled by .M.'Jacques Pinteland Signor Gasparri, who. sang with finished .art fosti's • delightful .romance, "Non t'aroo piu." To the relief of everyone; Madame then appeared, and sang the "Mysoli" air flawlessly, her mezzo voce blending superbly with Signor Truda's flute,. while, by cpntrast,-it-, showed a majestic dominance in tone over the,instrument. . Calve repeated .her beautiful interpretation .of .the "King ; of Thule" recitative, ■ and "Jewel Song" from! "Faust,"- which roused the audionce to a. high pitch of enthusiasm. She responded with i the "Habanera" from "Carmen," a number that will ever be associated with Calve in this, as-in other parti of: the .world. Signor Gasparri, who was in fine, voice,;sang the ballad "Fiorentina" (Terradini) with much vocal grace, and with it bracketed the dramatic aria, "On With the Motley," from "I Pagliacci" (Leoncavallo), in which the thoroughly convinced. He also sang tho recitative and , aria "Lunga da lei, from "La Traviata,", in which he appeared to be slightly, under, pitch- here and there. - M. Fintel. played, Rachmaninoff's fine, "Prelude, Mendelssohn's "Etude in- E," Saint-Saens' , "Etude en forme de-Taise," a. Gliick "Gavotte," particularly well played, a,nd the Schu-bert-Tausig ■ "Marche, Militaire." Calve, and the members of her. company leave for Sydney, to-day.

~' THEATRE ROYAL. .'.,.'•■" Vaudeville at the Theatro Royal this week, is---attracting .good audiences. .The, programme . is ' full -, of variety, and; the' star ■ items, are in, themselves a generous entertainment. /Scot Gibson, a comedian"frae the land 6' cakes," is-an irrepressible, jester of the Harry Lauder school. Professor Godfrey's,trained cockatoos and animals are another feature of the show— they will appear for .a few more nights only—arid are well worth'seeing. -The rest of the company; is strong /in various talented ways,. and the whole, provides a leally, good evening's entertainment. -.. KING'S THEATRE.-' Another large audience ; was- attracted to the lung's Theatre, last evening,. when the second,exhibition of this week's series of picturesj..was given. Que of the- best pictures shown was "A Regatta, on the Mekong." Big canoes aro x depicted with Annamcse boatmen propelling them along at what is, apparently' a/great rate.' ;A very: interesting portrayal, of, military manoeuvres, is "Territorials in, Camp." The programme will be repeated to-night, and a matinee performance is announced for to-morrow afternoon. ■ HIS MAJESTY'S. : '".'yy The demand for seats at. His Majesty's Theatre last night was very large, there being a crowded house before the ■performance began. Among the, pictures which are being shown in the latest gramme is. one' entitled "The Martyrdom of Adolf Beck." This picture shows how Beck was wrongly convicted and sen-, tenced ; for fraud, and how, after he. had served his sentence, the :real culprit'was discovered. - It is a dramatic story, and well worth seeing, as told on the screen. The programme will be repeated ajain this evening. ; STAR PICTURES., ~■•■'■". This week's Star Picture programme'at St. Thomas's Hall is ■ attractive.' in' its variety, and-of high artistic merit. .The, series is .particularly, strong in drama and burlesque; while, scenic and indus-trial-studies are : worthily represented. The programme will be repeated to-night and. to-morrow. '""■■''■■ OLYMPIA RINK; Though' spring, with its; more genialtemperature, is now fairly well advanced; the enthusiasm of devotees ■of the exuberant sport .of roller-skating, is. unV abated. All three sessions at the Olympia Rink aro well patronised, and the merry throng at the,evening session is as dense' as ,it was in mid-winter. The floor is in excellent condition, the skates-are well looked after, and the 'music of the Olympia Band completes-the enjoyment of the sport. ■ ~ ,-'■■!'. '

JOHNSONJvETCHELL PICTURES ; Probably one of'the greatest pugilistic contests, in which Johnson, the champion of the world, ever took part, was that' with Stanley Ketchell,. known- as the "Michigan Terror." This: encounter is recorded by mahy qualified to judgeas one of the most brilliant expositions of. the fistic art. that .'the.American ling has seen for many years. ,- A faithful reproduction of this contest will bo shown at the Opera House next Saturday night by the Messrs. MacMahon, who hold the sole Australasian rights of, this expensive film. From the entrance of Johnson, who/precedes'his white opponent into the ring, till the knock-out in the 12th round nothing is-missed.,. The of the gloves,, the' usual /preliminaries, the contest in detail, the eager and excited throng, the commercial exchanges, everything is accurately'depicted. ,In, addition to this picture, special illustrations',of the Johnson-Jeffries fight, taken ,-at the ringside, will be shown/The first .porr tion of the ' programme will be devoted to a fine series of new. subjects, including the latest- success, "The King ,of the Ring." ... ■■.'..;-;. ■.'■ "THE ,■' . The box plan, for the -coming performance by the Mountebank Dramatic Club is now open, at the Dresden; and it is expected by. the management that there will bo a-great demand for seats'.. "The Snowball",is a bright little comedy, and admirably suited to the capabilities of the Mountebanks, who are now well khbwn to the Wellington; public, ..having previously produced the following plays: —"Jane," "Our Regiment," and "Our Boys," with credit to themselves and pleasure to their audiences. . A- number of leading citizens 'have notified their intention to be present, and the; management - aro doing their best to bring the undertaking-to a successful issue.