M. OSSIPOFF, THE RUSSIAN BARITONE.

Taihape Daily Times, Issue 219, 16 January 1917, Page 4

M. OSSIPOFF, THE RUSSIAN BARITONE.

M. Eugene Ossipoff, the famous Eussian baritone, and his concert party met with very little encouragement at the Town Hall last evening. It docs seem a little surprising that the greatest exponents of vocal and instrumental music in the world do not meet with better patronage from Taihapc people. If there is no real love of the art, it might be thought that there would bo some desire to hear the artists that the press of the world has raved about. Never before has high-class, instructive entertainment been shown such indifference ns on the occasion of the Se-linsky-Amadio and Ossipoff visits. So pronounced is it that a wave of disregard for anything of a high-class musical character seems to be passing over the district. The very highest-class touring combinations have commenced to include Taihapc in their places of call. Such encouragement as accorded on the two recent visits is calculated to destroy the good name that Taihapc has earned as a patron of the best class of entertainment. The few people present at the Town Hall last night had the pleasure of hearing one of tlie best of Russia’s baritones interpret the works of various noted writers. M. Ossipoff has a voice of remarkable range and evenness of power, and every one of his numbers, although obviously chosen from among those in his repertoire most likely to please a cosmopolitan audience, proved most interesting. Too much cannot be said of the part Miss Ethncc Clegg took in the programme. She possesses a voice of great power and exceptional quality, and her renditions disclosed a cultured control that must create a demand for her presence on the best concert platforms. Taihapc music lovers could have learned a good deal to their advantage, musically, by being present.