MUSIC

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 700, 27 June 1929, Page 16

MUSIC

(By

F.1.R.)

The Royal Sydney Philharmonic So- ; < iety finished its 1928 season with a credit balance of =£l 9s 3d. According to an Auckland musician just returned 1 rom a visit to Sydney, things musical are not too bright in that city. Instead of giving its concerts in the Town Hall j the Philharmonic Society now*gives its! concerts in a hall at the Conserva- ' torium. It is said that attendances have greatly fallen off. Big Money

A discussion in the columns of the “Musical Courier” reveals the fact that Enrico Caruso holds the record for box office receipts at a solo recital. In Montreal, September 27, 1920, he drew £6.000.

Octogenarian Vocalist An octogenarian peer sang two songs at the Queen's Hall recently for gramophone records. The Marquis of Aberdeen, who will be 82 in August, accomplished the task in the H.M.V. studio. The songs, which were given with excellent effect, were: “Drink to Me Only with Thine Eyes,” and “Will Ye No Come Back to Me?" and Lord Aberdeen was able, before he left the j studio, to hear his voice as recorded on the wax. Lord Aberdeen, who was accompanied by his own pianist from Scotland, said he was making the records privately “for a family affair. • • » It is definitely stated that the two Australians,

William Murdoch (pianist) and Harold Williams (baritone), will visit New Zealand at the end of their present Austral ia n tour. Brailowsky will probably tour the Dominion next month, and Dusolina Giannini is

due here in August or September. • * * O’Shea in America Alfred O’Shea appeared last month in San Francisco in a series of concerts. One programme, which differs somewhat from those given here, was as follows: —“Amarilli” (Caccini); “Ideale” (Tosti); “Che Gelida Manina” (Puccini); "My Lagan Love” (Harty); “Have You Seen But a White Lily Grow?” (Ben Johnson); “Deeper and Deeper Still,” from “Jeptha” (Handel); “Les Cloches” (Handel) ; “Le Miroir” (Debussy); “Le Reve.” from “Manon” (Massenet); “At the Mid Hour of Night” (Cowan); “The Low-Backed Car” (Hughes); “My Snowy-Breasted Pearl” (Robinson). TWILIGHT OF GODS OPERA STARTS AT 4.30 DAYTIME DISPLAY "Men and women waiting in the gallery queue at the Lyceum Theatre were astonished to see, about halfpast six, a procession of j'ewelled women in radiant dresses,” says the “Daily Chronicle.” These lovely women, with glistening wreaths round their heads, and in cloaks of ermine or gold brocade, hurried along Wellington Street in their tinsel slippers. This glittering procession came from Covent Garden Opera House, where “Gotterdammerung” began at 4.30. The first act ended just before 6.30, and those who had sat in boxes and in stalls for two hours went quickly out to get a hasty dinner at nearby restaurants. It was easier to walk to the Strand than to wait for cars or taxis. Women were wrapped in lovely cloaks, but most of the men had left their overcoats in the opera house, and those in the streets near Covent Garden Market saw innumerable white waistcoats and tails. Waiting for the traffic to stop, about 50 men and women stood at a refuge in the Strand. Women hastening home from work paused to look at the gorgeous dresses, and to admire the sparkling jewels of these elegant women, silhouetted against the moving traffic. Then the policeman’s hand moved, and the gay company of opera-lovers came rapidly across the street, and, mingling with the surprised crowds, found their way to the famous restaurants of the Strand. The second act of the opera began at eight o’clock, and, a little before, the procession of lovely women, with their perfectly dressed escorts, returned to the theatre. Elisabeth Rethberg, the creator of the role of Helen in Strauss' opera, is at the age of 34, the subject of a biography. privately printed by the Municipal Historical Society of her native city, Schwarzenberg, in Saxony. This artist has been called Germany’s musi

cal ambassador. Rethberg’s debut for H.M.V. was a great coup. Her records so tar include: Aida—“O patrio mia,” Aida —“Ritorna vincitor,” D 1451; Lohengrin—“ Elsa's Dream” (in German), Tannhauser—"Elizabeth’s Greeting” (in German), D 1420.