"SAMSON & DELILAH"

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2259, 19 September 1914, Page 10

"SAMSON & DELILAH"

A GOOD PERFORMANCE There is no more distinguished French composer-living ito-day than Charles Camille Saint-Saens,- who, now in his seventy-ninth year, can fairly claim to be one of/the''most eminent composera , and musicians of the present generation/ - Although as a performer ho may now have: lost some of > tho elan or his younger days, ■it -is. but a few years ... since : -he. was held in regard as one of the, ablest, organists and pianists of France, and his talent as a composer of rare distinction; if not genius, long ago placed him among.the complete intellectuals m the sphere of'music. Much of his' music for the pianoforte, organ, ■'and orchestra ie fairly well known, but with tie exception of a few arias, SaintSaens's operatic music has been a closed book-to t-he public-of Now Zealand. It v stands to the credit of the Boyal Wellington Choral Society, that the tome 'has been opened at last, and 1 in the performance of "Samson and Delilah" V at the Town Hall last evening, pages of fair enchantment wore revealed to a Icrgo' audience that was held charmed and prisoner by the wealth of golden melody that the work' encompasses. ' "Samson-and Delilah'* is, of course, an ' opera, founded on the familiar-Biblical -story, a story which is-'told-, with, en-j ■■ ncbling reverence and truth, and ; it confounds one's comprehension to know -.'.'that though given'to the world at Weimar as far back' as 1877, it was banned by the. English censor from performance in operatic form up till some eight } yearsi'ago. Since then it has been listed for annual performance' at Covent Garden to the abiding joy of the musical public. vSome three years ■ ago-.it 'was played'by"the Melba Opera Company ;in Sydney and Melbourne, where it created 1 tile same unbounded enthusiasm las .in London. Admitting that the, ope'ra ; enffers somewhat from being .; lifted~frqm"its stage frame, it lends itself readily to performance on the plat- : form, as was':'.:demonstrated last evening, and once, more-it satisfied completely. .The ■■Ch'oral;.-Society and its new conductor;:. ; : 'Mr;: Herbert Bloy, 'deserve everyone's £ for -the courageous enterprise, shown in eelecting sucshiuwbrEand for the Teally onjoyab.leTperformance Flaw-lessnesß?.-cannot: ;f be-..expected—allow-. , ances niust'i be inade : for- conditions—• and taking up tolerant attitude.^there:waS''much more, to praise than to ;■ blame -in- last-evening's per- . formarice'.''.'.Saint-Saens has built up his score round;s£■•'orchestra,', arid: as a gifted cqntrapundist, he-has created a . work of. absorbing' beauty and enormous difficulty:', :To. say, that Saint-Saens was not done ■ justice to in- this? all-impor-tant department' is but the bare truth. It commenced weakly,':; haltingly, and out of t-unejrbufc was with an effort palled togeJKeifby Mr. Bloy. , There were .other weak7spots,umore than, suspicious and. vfaulty* tone, bnt" the performers-* stuck to their work doggedly, and i'at least gave ihe public a , good general idea of "the possibilities'of tho a;glimpse.of,.the terturo ■of the brilliant orchestration., .Vocally tho openilis fairly straigh'tfo'rward, but a perfeiit.''.knowledge'of the score is de-: manded.: of- the artists employed. Fortunately the Choral Society had made a good notably good' in some instances;' The : highest honours were carried bff by Miss Mina Caldow, who sang thejjole of Delilah with an abandon, dramatic intelligence;; and musical .soundness that was-delighttiil to note. It is auXarduous role in the extreme, and calls; for some dramatic expression and subtlety to encompass th'e'.cnarac*F 'rf&lp* Jezebel of the Philistines. She w6o) : the mightV Samson.to his destruction in song, and must simu-; .late herloa.thing for him even as he' y?elds ,up secret; of >hi s God-given, strength in the camphor of her cruel' , caresses-. The demand is a big one and though , Miss Caldow- just ~Jacks that elusive magnetisTi which is so valuable an asset both on tie ' concert,, and; .the -lyric stage, ;.'her 'performance' was quite admirable, land was one that, surprised even her,,, warmest "admirers. Her rich rounded -contralto-was heard with fine effect in\tho aria."Fair Spring is Returning, and' in ■ the' long scene between Delilah, the High Priest, andfaamson. which .constitutes-the. second act of .the opera, her .singing was a pure delight. It is in this act that the familiar ana,- "Softly Awakes - My Heart; is sung. Miss Caldow sang it with a warmth .of, alluring expression that was-'aftistic, arid in the exhilarating dramatic climax of the duet with' Samson, ;rhich closes the scene, was fairly convincing. .' Mr. Walter Kirby, , who was • entrusted with; the ■ role or Samson, more than suggested that he was not ve"ry : seoure in'his-knowledge of the score. :He Jias a charming lyric tenor voice of singularly pure and musical quality, and in places sang with an ease'and' torial grace that was pleasbut Samson"is "essentially a dramatic role' that calls for a dramatic tenor with a sense of climax that wasI'ajdly .realised by the visitor. Mr. Kirby sang with splendid effect in the prison scene where Samson prays to his God in the anguish-of his humiliation, and is galled by the wailing chant of the people Ihe has betrayed. _ This scene showed Mr. Kirby's capacity for fine work away from the strenuous dramatic storms with which .the role is studded. The High Priest was in the capable hands of Mr. Barry Coney, whose " robust, rather coarse, bass voice and forceful temperament conveyed the manner of the proud, domineering, > intriguing priest with .peculiar conviction. Mr. Coney sang the duet with Delilah in the second the fino rhythmic duet in the final act very well indeed. Mr. F. G. Twiss sang exceptionally well the music of Abimelech,'.and Messrs. F. Young and P. Cutforth ■ filled in the narts. of. : an as;ed Hebrew and two Philistines' of minor; importance. There is. noV very-much work ;;for,the-chorus. What there was, ■however, .was' admirably; done, and Mr. Bloy i'may take credit for handling the ■big choir most ably. -.:?.-■ ..<-.-,.,