COMIC OPERAS

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 4, 20 January 1937, Page 4

COMIC OPERAS

TO-NIGHT "LILAO TIME" This evening, beginning at 8 o'clock, the J. O. Williamson Comic , Opera Company, numbering ..over 100 artists headed by Ivan Menzies, will appear in a superb reproduction of Franz Hchurbert's glorious musieal romance •'Lilao Timo", the revival of which created a perfect furore of enthusiasm recently in Auckland where it attraeted such large audiences that its season had to be considerably extended. Tomorrow evening "Paul Jones" is to be staged, aud tomorrow afternoon "lolanthe" will be revived. Ivan Menzies is, tremendously popular with local playgoers, and he is certain of a royal welcome when he appears in the character of Franz Schurbert. Miss Helen Langton has acliieved an outstanding triumph in the role of Lilli in Schurbert' s charming opera. Gregory Stroudj the distinguished Gilbert and Sullivan baritone is heard and seen at his best as Baron Schober,"and Messrs Richard Watson (basso) and Bernard Manning both have very congenial cliaracters in Count Scharntoroff and Christian Veit respectively. Miss Evelyn Hallj a brilliant young contralto, will make her debut here to-night in the JM

important part of Mary Veit, ^ and Elieen Kelly will appear as Demoiselle Flammetta. Tommy Jay, as Novotny, Vincent McMurray as Mortix and Clifford Cowley as Johann Michael create much laughter in these roles. When "Paul Jones," which is to be staged to-morrow evening, was first staged in London it ran for over three consecutive years, which was a record up to that time, and it also proved an outstanding success in Sydney and Melbourne, where in each city it held the boards for over 20 weeks. It owes its remarkable succesSj and its continued popularity to the fact that it contains the melodious type of music that ^ is always appreciated by lovers of genuine comic opera. To-morro.w. afternoon the company will present Gilbert and Sullivan' s fantastic fairy opera 'Iolanthe" which is one of the hest and most popular of the works of the beloved collaborators, and it has proved one of the most successful operas in the present company's fine repertoire.