THE GISBORNE OPERATIC SOCIETY.

Gisborne Times, Volume X, Issue 1033, 28 October 1903, Page 2

THE GISBORNE OPERATIC SOCIETY.

“ lOLANTHE,”

A MOST SUCCESSFUL PRODUCTION,;

Last night- the much-anticipated intia.i periormunce of ‘‘ iolantnc wa ! celebrated at the Theatre Koyal be fore a recoid bumper house. The staging of the opera may. no said to ce on a scale of elaboration far excelling any of the .Society s efforts hitherto attempted. On the rising 01 the curtain, the stage presented a” Charmingly rustic woodland glen with a quaint nridge crossing tne nymph-iiKe pond from whence lolanihc emerges—certainly the most effective tauleau in the opera. Suddenly, tne scene is alive with tripping and singing fairies and sylph-like sprites, decked in flowing draperies of liiinsy texture and dencate coloring of e-.ery line. The story of “ iolanthe, or the Leer of the Peri," written by Sir ft'. S. Gilbert, is familiar to all our readers, and the music, being by the late Sir Arthur Sullivan, is of tne best. The plot, shortly toid, is as follows : Tne chief fairies—Celia, Leila, and Flcta —are lamenting over the difference in fairy revels since lolanthe had been banished. Twenty-live years ago lolanthe had committed one of tne most awful crimes in the laws of .the realm—she had married a mortal. The punisnment for this ollence was deatn, but the Queen, who loved iolanthe above all her companions, commuted her sentence to banishment for life. While they are discussing the sad affair, the .Queen appears and joins in the conversation, and the pleading of the fairies, combined with her own great love, at last persuade her to pardon the ’sinner. To sad, sweet music, the Queen calls lolanthe, who rises slowly from the pond of water-lilies and bows at the feet of her Queen, bhe is hidden to risp, and is welcomed joyfully by tne whole band, ller' son Strephon, an Arcadian shepherd, who loves Phyllis, a ward in Chancery, then comes to tell i his mother of his wedding, which is to take place that day. Strephon is half a fairy—t.iat, is, his legs are mortal, but his half is pure fairy. This mixture causes him much' trouble all through life, hut the fairies tell him that whenever he is in troujble to call on them and they will help him. Phyllis lives near by, and being very beautiful and charming, has more than half the House of Lords at her feet ; but she loves her shepherd lad, and when the Peers gather together to decide which is to offer her liis liand and heart, she horrifies them by telling of her engagement. The Lord Chancellor is very angry, and when Strephon rushes boldly, forward and claims his bride, the Chancellor refuses his consent, and separates them. lolanthe comes to comfort her son in his trouble. Phyllis, who is looking on at the meeting, aim sees how loving they, are, rushes in and renounces Strephon. He tries to explain that the lady is his mother, but as lolanthe is a fairy, .she never grows old, and looks years younger her syjn. In the face of'this Phyllis and the Peers laugh him to scorn, and in her anger and pique, Phyllis offers herself to the wealthiest and noblest of the Lords Mountararafc and Tolloller arc the lucky, couple, but they find it very hard to decide which is to retire in favor of tlic other, and leave it to the lady herself to choose. Strephon in despair calls on his fairy friends for help. They quickly apnear and to punish the presuming mortals declare their intention of sending strephon into Parliament, where he will upset all their ancient rights and privileges. The linale of the first act .is most effective. _ “ With Strephon for Your Foe is a stirring enorus, and the tanleau where_ tlic peers drop to their knees in fright at the fairies’ threats is very fine ■The second act is in Westminster Palace yard, where a sentry keeps, guard and sings on the vagaries 01 nature. Strephon has already upset the House of Parliament with ins Radical ideas, one of which is to throw the peerage open to competitive examination, and the Peers implore the fairies to stop him before ne goes any further. But tjjo fairies declare that it is too late to do anything now, and the Peers go oh in a rage. Mountararat and Tolloller have been unable to decide which .is to have Phyllis, and at last decide to allow the Lord Chancellor, who is violently in love with her, to marry her himself. Strephon is heart-broken, and miserable at tne loss of his love, and she finds him alone and upraiding himself. He explains all, and they, make it up, and all they, need now, is the Chancellor’s consent to their marriage.] They persuade lolanthe to plead to the Chancellor for them, and she has to tell them that the Lord Chancellor is her hutband, and Strepbon’s father, and she is under a death penalty not to disclose herself to him. She veils herself and does her best for the lovers, but the Chancellor announces his intention of marrying Phyllis himself, and as a last resource she resolves to give her life for her son, by telling her husband who she is. The Queen is very angry and condemns her to death, but finds that all the fairies have fallen in love with and married the different peers’. As she cannot slaughter the lot, she forgives them all, and in the * end the party, dance away, to fairyland.' . . The opening chorus of the fairies, headed by. their leaders, Celia, Leila, and Fleta respectively, taken by Mrs K. D. Smith, Mrs H. M. Porter, and Miss Grey, assured the audience that ■a musical treat was in store. Mrs H. D. Smith, as Celia, gave a charming rendering of the part of the fairy, and being in her usual excellent voice, charmed her auditors with the opening solo of the opera, “We Are Dainty Little Fairies.” Mrs Smith is a well-known vocalist in Gisborne, and is remarkable for her energy and hard work exercised in amateur operatic productions. The representation of the second fairy, Leila, gave Mrs Porter ample scope to display her fine contralto voice, and Miss Grey, who is a well-known .Gisborne amateur, makes the most of her minor part, as Fleta. Mrs Buckeridge was the recipient ot quite a prolonged ovation on making her first appearance on a Gisborne platform as Queen of the Fairies. This lady has perfect elocutionary powers and stage deportment, com- j bined with that chief requisite toj success on the stage—personal magnetism —which stamps her as an artist of much culture. Her singing throughout the performance was one of its chief features, and her rendering of that lovely ballad, Oh, Foolish Fay ” (one of the choice items of the opera) being vociferously encored, Her rich contralto, notes stirring the audience to enthusiasm. In the title role,. Mrs A- F. Kennedy proved that she has lost none of the sweetness and charm oi manner since she last acted the part eleven years ago. Her mezzo-sop-rano voice is as mellow as ever, and in the many parts that we have seen Mrs Kennedy perform in amateur opera we are certain “ lolanthe .= most becoming to her charming individuality. She acts the part wi cn perfect ease of manner, her conception of the part being idealistic. In the precatory solo, “ Plead lor My Boy, He Loves,” Mrs Kennedy won the hearts of all present, and well merited the enthusiastic encore> ac corded her. Much interest centred in the interpretation of Phyllis by Mrs Ernest Davis, of Auckland, who has a recorded career on the operatic stage of unequalled successes. Mrs Davis was accorded a tremendous’ reception. Her fine and flexible soprano voice duly and fully supplied the musical requirements in the role of Phyllis, the charming Arcadian shepherdess. We are sorry this lady’s part is minus solo work,winch

is her forte, and we would suggest that a solo should be introduced, enabling her to display her well-known capabilities in that direction. Her charmingly capricious acting and dancing with Btrephon is one of the most attractive items of the opera, whilst their duets, “ None Shall Part' Us” and “If We're Weak Enough to Tarry,” were most artistically rendered. Undoubtedly, the success of the production is in every measure due to i\lr A. F._ Kennedy, the organiser of the present Society, who has distinguished himself throughout the colony as an amateur oLexccptional merit. He is energetic, devoted to the work, and gifted with talents which without doubt make, pleasure of the work, and from the outset he has proved a zealous and painstaking manager. * Certainly, without Mr Kennedy the utmost difficulty would be experienced in this district in placing before the public a show of such excellent staging, mounting, and production as that uf iusi evening. A-, mu L'jtd High Chancellor Mr Kennedy had a congenial part a id acted with distinct aplomb. liis first entrance was the sigtml for hearty rounds of applause, and throughout the evening he carried tho audience with him. In his singing of “ A Rather Susceptibio Chancellor ” with the chorus of Peers Mr Kennedy fully sustained his reputation as a comedian of high order, whilst in his patter song “ When you’re Lying Awake,” ue fairly brought tho house down, both numbers being enthusiastically encored. His dancing in the trio with Lord Tolloler and Lord Mountararat was executed with much agility. The characters of the Lords mentioned wore ably impersonated by Messrs Mitchell and Teat respectively. Mr Mitchell, who is well-known iu Gisborne, did good, work, in which ho displayed his fine tenor voice, his solo “ Blue Blood " being excellently rendered, and a real treat. He appeared to have made a perfect study of his part. Mr Teat is a vocalist of much esteem, and last evening he added fresh laurals to bis long list of successes. “ When Britons Really Ruled the Waves,” was sung with much vim und spirit, hud tho audience marked tlu-ir appreciation of his rich baritone voice by demanding an undeniabio encore. Dr Buekeridge, who has becotno eminontly popular iu Gisborno, made his first ap pearance, arid created a must favorable impression by his impersonation of Sterphon. Ho possesses a very pleasing baritone voice, which he uses to good advantage, his articulation and enunciation being particularly clear. In his dauciug items he displayed great activity, and throughout showed that ho possessed a truly intelligent conception of tbo semi-immortal character. Gaptuin Whitoly makes an admirable 11 Privato Willis,” and missoß no point in this part. His vocal abilities are shown to advantage in the second act opening, “ When all night long a chap remains,” and in the quartett, “ In Friend ship’s name,” with Phyllis and Lords Tollollcr and Mountararat his fine bass voice added greatly to the effect. The fairies aro a fot of charming young ladies, who for the past few mouths have been most assiduous iu obtaining perfection in 1 tripping and singing. Thoso who took part included tho following:—Leila, Mrs Porter; Celia, Mrs Smith ; Fiota, Miss Grey; Mrs A. Seymour, Mrs M. Foster, Mrs Eliott, Misses Williams, Redstone, E. Bright, D. Bright, D. Chrisp, F. Cox, W. Adair, Campbell, McOredie, McGuirlr, Ford, Honan, Boylan, Power, Adams, ' Sweet, N. Sampson, F. Sampson, and Boyle, A. Honan.

The Peers aro a representative band of stalwart youDg fellows, who display excellent stage drill, their intricate march being a feature of the opera, especially in the ensemble figure which terminates with tho formation of a cros3, tho aid of the brilliant limelight greatly enhancing the stage effect. Tho Peers were represented by the following gentlemen :—Lord Tol ioller, Mr Milcbell; Lord Mountararat, Mr F. Teat; Messrs W. Chrisp, Seymour, I StriDger, Nolan, E. D. Smith, B. Smilh, L. Sherriff, E. Adair, P. Adair, Barlow, Zachariab, J. Doyio, P. Doyle, Campbell, Hill and Gollinge. Tho operatic society are assisted by tho Gisborne Orchestral Society, both being under tho conductership of MrE. N. Sidebottom, whose musical fame is well-known in this district. Much of the success of [ the opero is attributed to this gentleman, who has been most untiring iu his efforts to ensure success. The members of the Orchestral Society assisting wereMr Sideboltom, conductor; Mossrs A. J. Mussey, A. Lang, Mrs Faram, Miss Orr, Ist violins; Misses Neill, Larsen, Hyett, dud violins ; Messrs Browne and Carter, violas ; Mr Parnell, 'cello ; Mr C. Adair, doublo bass ;Mr B. Barton, clarionet; Mr Foster, flute; Mr J. Chrisp, cornet; Mr Douglas, 2nd cornet; Mr James, trombone; Mr Gittos, piano. Mr B. Barton also plays the saxophone, a very fine instrument. Besides tho flute Mr Fosterplays some piccolo parts, and also manages tho drum, and kettle drum, and Mr J. Chrisp plays all tho horn parts on his cornet. Much of the success of the opera is due to Mr T. Dalrymple, who, ulthough refusing to take a leading part, neverthe less has rendered most invaluable assistance in coaching others and understudying several purts in case of contingencies. The lime and electric light effects were under the able supervision of Mr Nicholson, who was assisted by Messrs L. F. Williams, W. A. Heany, J. S. Allan, Ralph Skoet, Bedford Sherrill, P. Milne, and Reg. Skeet. Mr G. Darton manipulated the floral effects, and Messrs H. E. Dodd, W. McUredie, A. W. Adair, H. Miller, E. Sargisson, O. H. Butler, and H, E. Hill in many ways rendered assistance. Tho secretarial work was capably discharged by Mr H. G. Watson, whilst Mr W. Miller acted as □usines3 manager in his usual successful style. In fine the company as a total deserve every felicitation. lolanthe will again bo staged this evening, and on Thursday and Friday.