ANTONIA DOLORES.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1081, 21 March 1911, Page 6

ANTONIA DOLORES.

■ SONG RECITAL., Mdllc. Antonia Dolores has come again to charm us with song in the realm ofwliich' she must bo accounted a high priestess. As a singeivof lieder, we have in the last decade only had one artist that could compare with Dolores, that altogether charming artist Alida Loman. 51(11 le. Dolores has a dulcet mezzo-soprano voicß which, when not exerted to its full power,, is delightfully mellow and meaningful, but when so extended it has a tendency to harden, and takes the beginning of au edge jivhich disturbs the tonal charm to a certain degree. . ..This "one could hardly fail lo perceive when, after her first three bracketed numbers, she sang the recitative, and aria "Angels Ever Bright and Fair," from Handel's "Theodora." But the old charm was present in tlio artistic treatment of the old ballad of woe, "0 AVillo, AVillo, AVillo," which was ever so wailingly, mournfully sad. Then it was a girl of vivacious seventeen, it. seemed, who sang with simple archness "My Mother Bids ire Bind My Ilair" (llaydn). The clever contrast disclosed the artist, and served up a lesson in interpretation to all budding aspirants in the art. of song. Another attractive song—l ho third of the fir&t' bracket—was "Echo, Tell Me," a pretty fancy in which the mezza voce, in Mademoiselle a tiling of beauty, was used captivatingly; The encore number, sung with delicious archness, was "I've Beein Roaming" (Horn). The Haydn aria lacked the essential degree of vocal inspiration that the invocation demands. The "bis" which followed was worth while, as it produced the charming old Neapolitan ballad, "0 Sanctissima Virginc Maria" (Gordigiani), which has been translated into the English undet- the. quaint title "Every Saturday Night Shall a Lamp be Lighted." )t has tile lilt of a barcarolle, and though most pleasingly Riven, lost a little of its rhythmic charm by the tempo in which it was sung. Returning to lieder proper. Dolores succeeded entirely in capturing i the oar and the intelligence in Schumann's melodious idyll, "Mondaeht," and in the prettiest of pastorales, "Der Nussbaum," a number which was interpreted with fine atmospheric feeling. The oncore number Was tlio merry little German laughing song, "In der. Mar Nacht" (Taubert), in which Mademoiselle's musical laugh, most perfectly attuned, delighted the audience, which insisted on its repetition. Donizetti's "0 Luce di Quest Anima," from "Linda di Chamounis," was much better suited to the singer than was the Haydn number. The recitative was splendidly phrased, and the uria 'ras sung, with brightness and verve, but without tlio brilliancy 01 sparkle whieli it lends itself to. The number, though admirably sung, only served to emphasise tlio fact that operatic arias are not her truo metier, and that shs, is, perhaps,unwise to venture into tlio higher flights, of florid music, when she holds sovereignty in a kingdom of song in its simpler form. Other songs of dainty conception which Mdllc. Dolores interpreted perfectly were: "Tes Yeux lileus" (l'ierne), a rambling rivulet of tranquil melody, "Crepuscule," a pearl of a song by Massenet, and "Marquise," a tenderly arch little love song by the same tuneful composer. The encore was "The Mermaid's Song" (Haydn). During the evening Mdlle. Dolores received several handsome lioral tributes. Mr. John I'rouse, an old ; platform comrade of Mademoiselle's, assisted. Tn good voice, he s«mg "The Pilgrim's Song" (Tschaikowsky) capably, and. as an encore, "My Realm of Love" (Landon Ronald). He was at his best in Honchell's ".Morning Hymn," an extremely beautiful song, which' the singer treated most artistically, and in his old favourite, "The Queen of Connemara" (Alicia Needham), sung with fine spirit. In response to an encore, Mr. Prouso sang "1 Cannot Help Loving Thee" (Johns) expressively. Mr. Selwyn Shrimplin, as an accompanist, left notliing lacking. He played as a solo Schutt's "Capriee n attractively, and was accorded an encore. The full programme for this evening's concert is advertised elsewhere in this bsue.