THE RUSSIAN SINGER.

Taranaki Daily News, 6 January 1917, Page 8

THE RUSSIAN SINGER.

A UNIQUE PERFORMANCE. A brilliant performance was given by Mr. Eugene Ossipoff and his talented company in the Good Templar Hall last evening, when a two .night season was opened before a fair and intensely appreciative audience. Good humor is one of the characteristics of this Russian singer. His interpretation of the songs greatly assisted the audience to understand the numbers. Mr. Ossipoff has a rich baritone voice of considerable volume, and he infuses great impressiveness into llis songs. His opening .lumber -was a dramatic solo from I'ube;.stein's opera "Nero," am! this was followed by the ever-popular "Toreador s Song" from Carmen, which he gave in fine declamatory style. In response to the vociferous applause which lollowed thesf. numbers, Mr. Ossipoff sang in English, "Till of' the Desert grow Cold. - ' Quite the gem of the ovem::;! was the Russian vocalist's rendition of delightfully quaint Russian folk soaps. He sang three of these—a typical Russian melody, a song of labor sun;; by Russian peasants when working legs on the river Volga, and a folks' s:ong dance. The enthusiasm of the audience was intense, and Mr. Ossipoff responded four times to the insistent encores. He was supported by a talented vocalist in the person of Miss Ethall Clegg, who possesses a musical mezzo-soprano voice of good range and plefisant quality. Miss Cleg;, sang "A Song o£ Thanksgiving" (F. Allitsen), an excellent and inspiring numbei appropriate to this time of war. She joined Mr. Ossipoff in a. sprightly kissing duet from Leoncavallo's "Zaza." In response to the enthusiastic recall, the vocalists gave the popular number, "Somewhere, a Voice is Calling." They were also associated in rendering Mazzoni's tuneful work, "Come, Let Us Sail." Miss Bessie Rogers, an elocutionist, contributed a nun.bei of amusing monologues, including "Army Biscuits", (Beatty Buiton) and "Betsy Trotwood" (Charles Dickens). Miss Sylvia Roberts is a clever pianist, who opened the performance with a pianoforte splo. A unique and delightful performance concluded with the singing by Mr. Ossipoff and Miss Clegg of the Russian National Anthem and "God Save the King." Mr. Ossipoff and his company will again appear in the Good Templar Hall tiiis evening, when a change of programme will be submitted.