DAME CLARA BUTT

Dominion, Volume 15, Issue 70, 15 December 1921, Page 5

DAME CLARA BUTT

HUNDREDS TURNED AWAY LAST EVENING. % Dame Clara Butt’s concert season in Wellington has been a gradual crescendo as far as audiences are concerned. At the first there were empty seats for 800 or 900 people. There were vacant chairs at the second, and at the third the hall was snugly filled. But last evening there was a rush, and probably 500 or 600 people had to be turned away after the hall was packed from the back wall to the organ pipes. The scene was one of great enthusiasm, and the concert given was a delightful one from every standpoint. The diva gave of her very best. Her opening bracket included a beautiful song, new tq Wellington, "L’Heure Exquise” (Poldowski), sung in French, and even more striking in structure and melody was Rachmaninoff’s "In the Silence of the Night," which Dame Butt sang in Russian. Then, with a full orchestral ensemble, which included violin, piano, and grand organ, she gave a telling rendering of "Ombra Mai Tu” (Handel’s "Largo"), which noble number was rapturously received. Tho encores were “The Home-coming of an Unknown Warrior” and “Down Here.” Later she sang with fine artistry "My Laddie O’er the Sea” (Lemon), a simple Scotch ballad, and convulsed the audience with a quaintly comio reading of "I Know My Love” (an old Irish melody), which she repeated to the people in the choir seats, after "excusing her back" to the main audience. This was followed by “Have You News of My Boy Tack?” (Ed. German), most dramatically interpreted, and as encores "A Fairy Went a-Marketing” and "Yonder." Mr. Kennerley Rumford sang artistically “Silent Moon” (Williams), “When Childher Play” (Davies). “I Love the Jocund Dance” (Davies), "How Do I Love Thee” (White), "Over Here" (a weird old Irish famine song), and “The Yeomen of England” (from German’s opera, "Merrie England”). His encores were “The Sea Volunteer” (Grace Torrens) and "Gentle Maiden.” Together Dame Butt and Mr. Rumford sang "The Keys of Heaven" and the National Anthem. Mr. Daniel Melsa, violinist, made a deep impression in Wieniawski’s brilliant fantasia on Gounod’s “Faust, w’hich he played with consummate artistry. The same author’s "Valse Caprice" gave him the opportunity of displaying his rare verve and delicacy in intricate harmonics, which were played as clearly and surely as full notes. The rhythmical "Lapateado” of Sarasate was also superbly played. Miss Torrens accompanied with rare artistry throughout. ANOTHER CONCERT. At the end of the concert, after tumultuous applause, Mr. Rumford came forward to announce that as they had heard that many hundreds of people had 'been unable to obtain admission the management had, with the coiwent of his wife, decided to return to Wellington and give another concert at popular prices on Thursday, December 29. The announcement was received with a further burst of delighted applause.