THEATRICAL GOSSIP.

Evening Star, Issue 3458, 23 March 1874, Page 2

THEATRICAL GOSSIP.

Wilkie Collms’b ‘‘New Magdalen” has possession 'of the Rpyal stage, ver y .acceptable' to the Melbourne public. It has been temporarily withdrawn, for Mr Fairclough, who .plays a short engagement. 1 * Usee that 'Mr'liizar.h'as been successful in picking up a company in .Melbourne for the Adelaide theatre, It includes Mr J. B. Steele 'and Miss' Flora Anstead.

THe • Italian opera' rtaaoh ifr Melbourne opened on .March 16,. The new singers; who arrived by the Nubia, ac’co’mpahiedby Signot and Signora Oagliy and 'dgoor Poiripei, arc Sl iPto*’ Palmier!, -. 'assoMtaAUca prinxa donds* legiera asaolilfca , t Signora Magi,-' inntralta;Sighbrt, Baldassare, 1 i°J ai ?b b? ss r ° > .Signor r Baldassa-e, • baritone cotiQlc ; and tsignor : PaTolla; tendr. "••■Wlt& ; Zeuoni-Gainboa, the Coys, Posdate-jStwini, a ™J. -Lucy ; Chambers', in’ addition; 'thete’ wilt be change' J erfougli; Mr 'Lyster tried* hard to make the Melbourne peoplk 'adopt the-Euglish and Calcutta plan of taking sub- ; tickets. A Id London weSknow the aubsctiption at the opera-honafe w for two ..nights a week—other nights are extra performances, .and of,.,course,amake sure of .attending on tuose two nights. But in (Melbbnme' a . qqbacriber to.get .vaiue* for his money would have, .tq .attendl. every night or get a substitute j.. the market isn’t l big enough. As the ‘Argus’put if' ‘‘Smith’s flxpd sittings ar,e ; of no, use to. Jones'yvho wants to escort his married' sister and"another is ; Vfayr wish to sic together, of add Smith’s two tickqtij dqn’t,.permit sa£j! .ijoweW se,t their facc»Ababluselyi against the new plan,' and Messrs Lyster ami Cagh.-.Tyere oWiged .to .revert, to the oid system of selling packets of tickets, . That' littl© difficulty settled, there proa » pect of a brilliant' season.—! see thftt ft recent concert by Signor Giprza, and Madame Stembaek (an EngUsh Iftdy .who .has taken; a.^o_inconsiderable part in the Birmingham, musical festivals) made her first appearance before the Melbourne public, and was Well .received by .a very critical .audience. Musi•calpeople J ttre I&kifig r fdrwkrd wiih interest to Mr David Miranda’s next concert, as rumor

, s P ea £®. highly of S3veral of his pupils, who ate to Bing in public- the firaii’time. Mr G.R. Ireland, the well known comedjanfrbaß been figuring in the-law courts - 'He brought an action against the * Licensed

| Gazette* for libel Wow the l ‘ Gazette ’ is a rather obscure journal, which ,m consequence of Mr Ireland s proceedings, jfinds itself lifted into considerable notoriety, ihe libel consisted-in criticism on, Mr Ireland's acting in the' paftTof “ Faust 1 ” on the of Mr JDampier s first appearance at ithe Theatre Royal. - The article described • • j a3 a careless, slovenly actor; (Saidf jthat: he ( was vety taijae in the performance of the charater, and' 'that his dress Was I not suitable. There was no plea of justification ; the defence was simply that it was ; a fair criticism without, any malice ; that as !an expression of bpihioh on a dramatic per- ; formauce it was privileged, whether it was true or untrue; and that as a matter of fact, in most respects, it was true, and was con oborated .by the r opinions.. of other ..critics., Mr Justice Williams told' the jury that the , truth of the criticism did not affect the case ; it they thought it was written fairly, : honestly and justly, and from conscientious j*?®tiveß, thp verdict should be for the djefenIdants. The jury deliberated three-quarters ; of an hour, and then returned a verdict "for ;the plaintiff, damages LIOO. “Much ado about nothing” may fairly be i .*&•'*** Bandmann, the. actor, 1 of whom’ it was' recently - telegraphed' I that he had .been “arrested for assaulting .an actress.” The cause is thus briefly stated ma . Ho “ e paper;’ At Plymouth, recently, a Miss Montaigpe wasplaying Marquise de Pompadour to , £err, iSandipann’s W arciase. ■ and she coniplaitfed that Wljeh ; slie' did hot ' Blt down quickly enough in the third act, he ; pushed hgr violently on. to the seat: and that afterwards,Wljeh she died in his arms, he pinched her violently in the side. The defence was that he did not use more violence than was, required for the playing of his part, and that his action was to cover the lady’s bad* acting. The-"magis-trates dismissed the case.

The theatrical sensation of London at the .representation of Hwnplieu iby • Mr American geiitleman. This is Mr Irving’s second appearance in London,. L or , eight years ago he appeared at one of the metropolitan theatres, and was $ dead failure—hissed off the stage. Npw he returns with his powers matured, apd storm. Uu the first night of his appearance at the Lyceum in September,last, the papers said that the pit was packed, the gallery crammed, and the fashionable parts equally well patronised, ,J and that “ Mr Irving's impersonation” was grand in the extreme, dis vast audience was crazy with delight, and he received a welcome as is seldom accorded to any actor. And on the 102 ad night of the. play the ‘ European Mad 1 (Writes “ Kichelieu” has now been played'upwards of TOO.nights, .and, yet so great is the, charm it exercises over the minds of those who witnessed the play that one has to make early application to secure a seat. Mr Irving’s remarkable rendering of. the Cardinal is all that could be wished—mind and matter being so identical that we cannot draw a lino between the twp.” His audiences are warmed into ,grhat excitement, for wg read that the walls fairly * ecEo with' their applause, and the performance is frequently interrupted in consequence, But the enthusiasm of a British audicnep is as nothing compared with the reception accorded in the Eliasian capital to the Queens of Song. Alboni, on her reappear*

ances in December, was called before the curtain forty timbstyand btmqueta.raiued on the diva unf.il she liad 't(K be earried. away lest she should be buried beneath avalanche. Adeline ■Patta : v»mfßt havq. felt it\a trying ;tlmes buVyhat'iwfll ot thb;r66ep\ •tion of Christine Willson? “They rushed ‘upon the stage in squads, appr printed her gloves, handkerchief, bouquet and fan, and almost tore the dress off her body. The students improvised themselves into a pavement, over; which-she was compelled to walk in order to get to her carriage. On her benefit night, when the opera'was over, the audience made her sing Russian songs with her hair all down, and altogether the e was such an uproar as is seldom beheld anywhere else among, civilized people on the face of the earth,”

j Paris produced Miss Jenny Claus: it has now turned out a female orchestra. The company consists of forty-five pi avers, of hges varying, apparently, frpm 15, t <l 35 ; all intelligent-looking and pleasing, and several of them exceedingly pretty. They all wear amber-colored dresses with black bodies—the skirts trimmed with black, the bodies trimmed with amber ; and all wear a .yellow rose in, their hair,'on the left side, of ,the. hoad. Their leader, Madame AmannVTemHch. who is also the manager of the affair, a.-.-black velvet dress with an amber scarfj And the. regulation-rose in her, hair —‘ the' Auarriah colors, indicative of the nationality of the band Madame Wienlich is pleasing and graceful, looks to be about' five-’ and-twenty, leads , admirably, and" is adU mirably seconded by her lady-executan■ s, "who seem.to be on the beat terms -with her and with each other ; and she is evidently a good .musician, as she accoiripihissf.oii the piano all the soli, and a charming .Jriralt'z of her own composition figures atfiong'the other pieces they play.',; A few nights; since they .perfonnahcp for.;thc„leading musicians and amateurs of this capital, and with great success. Mademoiselle Pauline Jewe performed a violin solo on ‘Der Preysqhutz’ with a spirit and delicacy that manyprofessed violinists of. the other sex might! envy ; Mademoiselle Elise Wienjich obtained' the warmest applause by her performance of a fantasia’ for > the 1 violincello on. ‘ Guillaume Tell/ A new polka, in pizzicato, by Strauss, of Vienna, was a great success, and was encored. : 1 : •; ; ■

One «f the Parisian papers says : -“All the leaders of orchestras in coits and trousers are going to listen to these performers in .petticoats, and coming away, with the conviction that the* former will havetb )ook to their laurels.;’’ v ' ; > , s./•••-■ One of tb.e sensatipnsih Paris just 'noW is an Eas.tep juggler, who, with-the assiststncW of a beautiful young.'ladyi . furnishes 1 his audjencea, with a , yery wonderful, .illusion;! The young lady, attired in a rich dress With flowing sleeves,, stands on a dais resting on, hjbrpad,square t of Turkish carpet.' TwosujK ports are placed under her elbows, and'.the magician, makes a, seriesof strange passes over her with his watid’ wheh ; slib ; gradually, closes her eves, and apparently falls Asleep.; Then thordais and one of, the elbow supports' are^empyed,. and: the lithe; and 6ph'itueUe figure is seen suspended in mid air, r . n Capriciously still, | Like the lone albatross ihcumbept.on night, She does not remain .stiffly poised, rin ,»ne‘ Tuition, .bnt. jthe, juggler .gives her ,bo,dy the 1 most graceful and poetical attitudes, .culminating at the close with wstrijang representation of an angel;.in.flight..; White ■wurgp, ar,e . tq her, shoulders, a,, golden* trumpet is placsd in her right hand |l ,the .lights in the theatrejare tumed low, a halo : of pale gold streams ,qpuu the fair girl, .and, as the spectators gaza glorified,face; a breathless silence falls upon them, Jand they • watch the beautiful picture as; it.fades away with an emotion that is. akin to awe. ...., ;/ Arabella Goddard was a failure in India, if we,.may judge by the following* extract* WW * Englishman *:.W« We have read With a feeling of humiliation that Madame dft not .being well Bupportedv and. that on subscription nights the' music, of Verdi, Donizetti,. and;Go.uuod ,is played to* almost empty chairs.:,|,;|fow;. Madftme God--dard, one of t)se;:firßt.mnnbiaoa m'thp'.tiforld; ‘ |d are not come toßpmbay lest heractual-’ .expenses should not be covered*- Her tour Sn India cannot have impressed herfavofablyv jit began at Bangalore, where, dm thW night; for which her first performance was . announced; so fjsw people, camethat. > Goddard declined and begged the few who. had; come to Hoar her to their money at the .door,’’. She has announced her 1 intention to return to Australia; * ;‘‘9allE o yB:’ Vudgct, : frum California, in*:; eludes the following The .Ualton; ’ Opera' Bouffo Troupe, which includes Messrs Ar,-v, ,nold, Kellehfer, John tibwsoa* Miss Kller-; -man, Miss Gal ton , and others of lesser note,, after & tour of the Western' States, sail,fo? Australia.' Madame Marie t)uret, with Mr* Lc^ey,; fa.aye. been. doing >.Japk Sheppard to. the great delight of tlmßesidents, of‘Los Angelps. t Mr and Mrs Darrell art now playing in New York. , f l ' ' | ;;