Concert.

Manawatu Herald, 19 March 1898, Page 2

Concert.

The concert on Thursday evenly J. 1 given in aid of the Roman %_4feolflr * , Church building fund, at the _?üblic Hall, was a success in' almost every way. The day had been anything but pleasant, heavy showers and a gale being its prominent features, aad bat shortly before the hour for the doors to open rain fell in What looked a determined way for the resfe of the night, but it kindly ckared away. It would not have therefore been surprising to have seen bnt a poor attendance whereas the 'numbers who sallied out to the hall were sufficient to pack every seat itit as well as a number of extra seats which were brought in, whilst 50 or 60 were standing at the back aU the evening. We heartily congratulate our Catholic friends on the success they achieved and deseWid. PROGRAMME. Tha concert opened with an entertainment by the members of the Boy 'B Institute. The curtain roso to tbtt usual " set " of eight little Nigger boys, sandwiched withTambo, Bones, and Mr Johnson. The perf. >rm.rs were : Johnson, Mr Alf. Fra=er ; Bones, Mr Hatfield ; Tambo, Mr Young ; Masters E. Dudson, A. Shadbolt, E. Osborne, H. & E. Collins, G. Rhodes, A. & E. Cook, B. Wilson and W. O'Brien. There was a special orchestral accompaniment which was supplied by Mrs F. Young, pianiste, Miss P. Collins and Mr C. Austin, violinists, and Mr B, Betty, trombone. The boys sang well, showing a marked improvement on their* previous, efforts, and the usual " stage fright " is fast wearing off. The following items were given :— Masters E. Dudson "Good Old Jeff"; A. Shadbolt " Only to see her face " ; E. Osborne " There's a lock on the chicken coop door" and "The Bogie Man " ; H. Collins and G. Rhodes, a duet " Be kind to mother fond and true " ; A. Cook " Poor I Old Joe " ; and B. Wilßon " Always take mother's advice." Sambo also sang " The_grass widower." The concert proper was opened by a very sweetly sung duet " Go pretty Rose " by Mrs J. Symons and Miss CoUin3. This duet and the one sung later on by the Misses Wallace wera the g~ms cf the evening. Mr Cimino played two violin solo's in which he displayed his thorough mastery of a difficult instrument, the ifems heing "The Irish Girl" and " St. Patrick's Diy." Misa Wallace pltv(d the piano accampaniment____H| Mr Elkington caught the tastes of a msj -irity of tha audience by his comic make-ups and recitations and pinging. Ho his the gift of the com'qae very strong and places hia words clearly and pointedly before his audience. Tha fic.t item " I was never so surprised in all my life " was very good, and on recall he gave a bri'.f recitation on the Emperor Napoleon's farewell to bis troops. In the seoond part he gave a good comic song with a certain amount of " tag," given well marked, .. and he closed the performance by obligingly filling tbe gap caused by in absentee, by singing ;" Oh where where did you get that hat." Miss McGee, of Levin, sang . two pretty . songs " Dublin Bay " and " Only once more," in a pleasant manner. Miss A. Wallace sang " Gounod's Serenade " excellently and gave the audience very muoh pleasure. Mr D'4th had two items " The Bandit's Life" and "The Brid^" wbich wero nicely sung. " Off to Philadelphia " sung by Mr Stansell met with hearty appreciation ' and in response to an encore he sang " Paddy's dream." The second portion of the performance was opened by a pianoforte duet by the Misses Purcell and Harris for which they were duly applauded. The best item on tbe programme was undoubtedly the vocal duct by the Misses A. & M. Wallace " Maoriland." These young ladies possess \ very sweet voices which blended most pleasingly together, and with the cultivated manner they rendered the item they gave very great pleasure and were most enthusiastically app'auded. Miss M. Wallace later on sang " The Irish Emigrant " and in response to an encore gave. " Kathleen Mavourneen." Miss Marion Wallace gained the hearts of tho J audience by her rendering of this piece. This is the first time this young has sung a solo in public. Mr F. Young sang " Blow the candle out " and was in accord with his ! audience throughout who demanded ! a repetition which he kindly obliged • i them with. To avoid constant repetition we have omitted after en u mer* I ating the songs, the mention of the applause, as every performer received a very fair share of approbation. They are to be 4 * thanked for the trouble they took in such a good cause and we understand the financial results will best prove the value of their efforts. The concert is likely to i-palise betwoen £19 a_HL-_ £20. Mr J..R. Stansell wa S tl!e * master of the ceremonies and announced the different items besides attending to the pianistes and tbe very many other duties falling to tbe holder of this position. Mrs Youn^ ; and the Misses D'Atb^^i^^gßHflj Stanstll played the «|^^|^H

for the singers. The Rev. Father De Lac was present and Mr Stansell ptt his behalf thanked the audience for their support, and the performers for their valuable assistance. Mr McDermott was a very genial secretary and doorkeeper, and amongst others who helped to secure the satisfactory issue of all these preparations, was Mr P. Hennessy. THE TABLEAUX. During the evening three tableaux were given : — 11 MABY STEWABT'S FABEWELL " in which the characters were represented by the Miesas O'Brien, Purcell, Guerin and G. O'Brien. The posing was particularly good. MABY STEWABTS EXECUTION. This scene represented the unfortunate Queen of Scots on her knees before the headman's block, with the stiff figure of that awful officer awaiting the time to strike hia fatat blow. The other characters were the Queen's attendants. The performers were Miss O'Brien and Messrs J. O'Brien and W. Purcell. THE SHAMBOCK. Six small damseh attired iv green and yellow dresses, and all in red hoods and capos were grouped in front, palling into pieces the " dear little shamrock" whilst tbey sanp this ever favourite song. Over them towered two guardian angels. Th> angels were the Misses Purcell, and the children were K. & M. Hennessy, B. & R. Dudson, I. O'Brien and A. Tompsitt. TWO STBINGS FO HEB BOW. This was an allegorical picture, which represented a young lady on whom two" mashers of the period attended and whom she led along by each hand. Miss G. O'Brien and the Messrs J. O'Brien and W. Purcell were the actors. We desire to give every credit to the designers of these pictures, and every praise likewise to those who took part in them, aa they were given a great test to their powers ol endurance by the length ot time the curtain was up.