PRINCESS CHRYSANTHEMUM.

Kaipara and Waitemata Echo, 2 October 1912, Page 3

PRINCESS CHRYSANTHEMUM.

II Away by the lands of the Japanee "Where the paper lanterns glow. 1'

The operatic stage is part of the great kingdom of make-believe. It is the aim of every actormanager to reproduce a scene or an incident as if it were the reality; and it is likewise the endeavour of every actor to makebelieve he is actually for the time being the real person he represents ; and so well was this understood and carried out by the local amateur operatic company, that the characters, scenes, and incidents pourtrayed on Friday evening last were true to the life, and the performance was a very realistic presentation of the story. The. play is a burlesque, as it depicts the customs of the dark ages when men believed in wizards and fairies, and when the Emperor held absolute power over his- subjects; and then refers most incongruous to the modern and up-to-date scorching motorist. The audience which filled the hall almost to overflowing, were intensely interested throughout the piece, and the infrequency of recalls was undoubtedly due to fear of missing anything, but not to any lack of appreciation; in fact at the finish, after the curtain had been twice raised in response to most emphatic demands, the audience heartily cheered the performers —a very unusual enthusiasm.

The stage effect was exceptionally good. The first scene is a garden, showing a green lawn surrounded and overhung with verdure and bright coloured blossoms. In the second scene all this had disappeared, and in its place was the black yawning mouth of the Cave of Inky Night. The garden scene as in Act I. is reproduced for the finale. The whole arrangement showed considerable knowledge of stagecraft combined with close attention to detail.

Of the principals, all were good, which is not generally the case with amateur companies, and the acting throughouWwas very consistent. Miss Little, as the Princess, filled the part to perfection, and gave proof of undoubted ability. Mr Harvey's representation of the officious Court Chamberlain, who has to order the' royal household, also left nothing to be desired. The part of Fairy Moonbeam was taken by Miss F. Donovan, whose song in the cave scene was one of the successes of the evening. Mr C. S. White made a very good and pompous Emperor, at times ostentatiously indifferent to his surroundings, and anon striding up and down in excitement, looking tile absolute arbiter of the fate of millions as the character is evidently intended. Saucer-Eyes, the Magician, was very ably represented by Mr J. Lambert. The Magician is the person who, at the command of So-sli, kidnaps the Princess and carries her off to his cave. Messrs Drower and Lowe took the parts of the Princes So-tru and So-sli respectively, the rival suitors for the hand of the Princess who smiles on the former and leaves the latter furious and desperate. The Princess' four attendants were Misses Simcock, Ganley, Wilson and Lempriere, who contributed a very pretty dance ; this and the dance by the Princess after her first song were real poetry of motion, and the figures were the embodiment of grace. Master V. White,, impersonated the Magician's cat, and drew several laughs at his antics. The fairies and the Magician's sprites were distinctly good ; the latter, with their impish gestures and appropriate costumes, being warm favourites with the audience. Both fairies and sprites gave dances that showed the result of painstaking care and capable tuition. The Court attendants went through their movements with a precision that could only have been attained with constant practice. The dresses were of true oriental gorgeousness; the Emperor's being the sacred imperial yellow of Japan, with the mythical dragon beautifully embroidered on it. The choruses were very well rendered, mostly to the accompaniment of appropriate actions. With Miss Rimmer as pianist, the soloists were able to depend on the best of accompaniments, and the choruses were also afforded valuable assistance in this respect. The stage management was in the capable hands of Mr Stringer, and the musical part of the performance was under the direction of Mr Page, whose office appeared to be a sinecure, as everything went'so smoothly.

We understand the management is considering the question of repeating the performance at an early date ; and we are certain that a good number of those who attended on Friday evening last would welcome the opportunity of seeing the play again. Also any similar performance would be certain of a good'reception and we hope the same company will see its way to produce some other work of the same class in the near future.