MR. JOHN M'CORMACK

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1955, 12 January 1914, Page 6

MR. JOHN M'CORMACK

|; fISATURDAY'S CONCERT.-^ 5 ! £'f tho> itlistiiir ■^g«isliFd^]nslf;Jyrio-'.'tenor,*., and. his ifcfrfcphVt>;,- r !*c!'CHterf 'suclr- a favourable occasion ' of ■.■ tlieir |jni)emnj;*c6hceff^b'n'''l i, ridtt}'. evening last •Hhat[tior; ! tlib t " second .and final .concert /.iitTtlic: Opera. 1 House"on Saturday even-jiyg'^tlio-public; atteiidod en masse, and fmany-fpeopio were. unable to .got seats, need liardly.be said, whs Mr." M'Curnmck, VwhiloUho supporting artists—Miss May ; Huxley v'* (soprano) and Sir. Donald' ■ M.'Beath (violinist) created a much bet;.teriiinprcssi6n'jtlian- they did the preiyiousjovenuig.'' The programme, morc':o,ycrS\va3" an excellent one, and the ielamou'rVorUt-lio' great gathering which filleditho.Opera House must hare boon ■ ii ; 'severe tax on the patience of the sing-.' ■ : crs,":iyvho wore generous in their re■sonsbs to demands that, in the ease of the principal artist, at all events, were :just, a little' inconsiderate. A caso in point; On.his final appearance, Mr. Mi'Cormack, srfng Leoncavallo's great aria;.:"\ r esti. ia Uoibba," from tho opera ■'.'I Pagliacci," au exacting piece .of work which made tremendous call upon the powers of tliO'smgur. The air, in-its. proper setting,on tho operatic ; stage,;-gives point .to': a situation of great dramatic intensity, and it would be impossible for a singer of Mr. M'Cormaek's temperament to subordinate, his imagination, even, if he could discipline his gestures and movements, to suit the calmer atmosphere of tho concert platform. It was a line piece of work, and the audience clamoured for more. Its clamour'was hot stilled until a second and yet a' third encoro item —the last •'■with manifest reluctance—had been added to the programme number. Such is fame!.. Previously, tho genial Irishman had sung tho tender appeal of ■the lover, in Lum Lehmann's "Persian Gardon"--"Ah, Moou.of My Delight" —and had indulgently conceded to requests for more. Later he sang a bracket ■ of throe delightful songs— "Love's Quarrel" (Cyril Scott), Fauro's "Rencontre" (in French), and Coleridge Taylor's "Eloanoro"—and again , good-naturedly added some more, Some regret was heard that Mr. M'Oormack did not include "Molly Brannigau" amongst his encoro numbers, although many were grateful to hear over again "Tho Minstrel Boy," sung with all tho fire and abandon of this master of Irish, song.

Miss May Husky, who improved on further acquaintance—though one saw no reason to vary one's original judg* went with regard to the quality of her voice,. which ■is a little hard and unsympathetic— gaw> a really fine interpretation of Donizetti's aria "0 Luce do quest a' anirna." In "Micacla's Song," from the Bizet opera of "Car-, men,"'a-.difficult air to sing with a satisfactory degree of eloquence—;which is a matter of temperament.—she was not so good. -. Ivor- . Xovello's "Up There," a charming little song, was excellently sung, but 'Wilieby's "Lilac Time," rather a featureless production of that talented young song-writer, somehow failed to impress one. Mr. Donald M'Beath, the violinist, was distinctly better in his work than on tho previous evening. MoszkoWski's bright and rippling ''Spanish Dance," one of thoso irrepressible airs which survive oven a mediocre player, was quite successful, and was encored, tho item being repeated. Later, • Beethoven's elegant . "Minuet" (with variations), a "Liobslied" from Kreisler," and a "Romance" from Svendson, woro added. The Beethoven number was worflry of moro eloquent expression and more delibcrato performance. The musician's inability to phrase expressively obscured tho innate beauty of tho minuet. Mr. Vincent O'Brien played the accompaniments.