Newbury-Spada Company.

Feilding Star, Volume XVII, Issue 185, 8 February 1896, Page 2

Newbury- Spada Company.

o • Last evening the Assembly Rooms were well filled with a fashionable audience to greet the Newbury- Spada Concert Company on their first appearance in Feilding. The fame pf the Company had preceded them, and the audience were only disappointed in one respect, namely, owing to the nonappearance of the famous tenor, Mr Phillip Newbury, who took ill suddenly in Marton the previous evening, from an attack of sciatica, -and had to be left there. However ,|a first-class program me was provided by the remaining members of the Company, and the audience were not slow to recognise the ability of the performers, almost every item being encored. Madame Spada possesses a beantifnl soprano voice, exciting much enthusiasm in her first solo, "Angels ever bright and fair," giving " No, sir " as an encore ; she, also, sang " Within a mile of Edinboro' toun," and the ever* green " Killarney " as an encore in a very pleasing style ; in the second part Madame sang " Robin Adair," and " Comin' thro' the rye '•' as an encore, each of her items being well received. Miss Kitty Grindley possesses a remark, ably fine contralto voice, which she displayed to advantage in tbe solo " Out on the rocks," giving, in response to an encore, tbe Scottish song, " Whistle and I'll come tae ye my lad." In the second part she sang " Daddy " and " Jem " as an encore, each of which she was very successful in. Mr Frederick Hobbs sang •• Yeoman's wedding song " and " Love's sorrow " as an encore, " Hybrian the Cretan," and received a well-deserved encore for the song " Off T to Philadelphia," giving in response the pathetic song, " The heart bowed down" with taste and feeline*. Tbis gentlemen possesses a very fine baritone voice, and created a most favorable im* . pression with the audience. Miss Grindley and Mr Hobbs sang the dnet " May* ing." Last, but by no means least, is Madame Herbert^ who played several pianoforte solos and the accompaniments to all the solos. She is, in fact, one of the best pianistes we have ever heard. and she was very successful with her rendition of Moskowski's valse "Brilliante," but when she played " Scotch airs " in the second part she fairly cap* tiyated the audience and scored a triumph few piano soloists have been successful in attaining in Feilding, being loudly recalled. A concert con. party to equal .the Newbury-Spada Company has not visited Feilding for many a long day, and tbose who were present last evening were loud in their praises of the members. The company -will give a sacred concert in the Assembly Rooms tomorrow (Sunday) evening, commencing at 8.15, and, although Mr Newbury will not be able to attend owing to ill health, a treat may be looked forward to. The programme will be found in our advertising columns.