FOOTLIGHT FLASHES.

Observer, Volume 6, Issue 146, 30 June 1883, Page 236

FOOTLIGHT FLASHES.

— ♦— _t_ — Banclmann not a financial success at Grympiß« — Lynch Family coining money in Western ' Australia. .., . , —Love had nearly £60 in tlie house -on the occasion of bis benefit.' — Archibald Eorbes 'scooping in; coin in Northern Queensland. Sinythe radiant., — When Johnny Hall landed in Adelaide lie declared that he bad "thrown up everything but his engagement." Heard that before. — The "Black Diamonds," being unable to stand the Onelrunga test, have dissolved. Frank P., , tbe manager, turned quite white when the Barber apologised . for his failure, and on his attempting to ■ repeat the last, with the help of the box from Wanganui, fell down in a fit when be saw the ponderous fist of the . niigkty Mac. waving- in tlxo pit. The Barber says tbe". orchestra pitched in the wrong key, but the Piaster man avers that the Barber was pitched through the curtain. , " , ' — Mr P. Doran's Combination Company have held tho boards at the Opera House during the past week, and filled a gap in the dearth of amusements. • The entertainment is varied, not devoid of merit, and replete with comicalities more effectual in dispelling . melancholia than any physic. A very large number of genuine gifts of considerable . value have been fairly distributed among the audiences-. 'Mr Doran's enterprise and pluck are deserving of public support, and we trust that the seaseix has been profitable to Lira, As one who has ever been foremost in freely devoting his services to the cause of charity, he deserves well of the Auckland public. — We hail -with pleasure the announcement df a season of Saturday Popular Concerts, which !» , Pooley, the organist of. St. Mathew's Church, iuaiJK-^, rates' to-morrow evening at the Theatre Royal. , I^s . v admitted that there is a great want of regular and in» . structive enterfcainmeuts in the City, and indeed at tinaesi all the houses of amusement are without occu« pation. Mr Pooley has stepped in to meet this want, by promising us one enjoyable evening eaoh week for . the next three months, and we are sure the public of Aupk-". land will show their appreciation of his efforts by giving hip bumper houses at each concert. The prices of ad« mission are such as to bring these concerts within the reach of everybody, tiie entire ground-floor being thrown open at one shilling. From the prograrniueof to-morrow evening's concert we anticipate a treat of no mean order, and those to .follow, will, doubtless, in Mr Pooley'B. hands, be equally attractive! His Worship the Mayor',., has favoured these soncerts withhis patronage/ wbiob, ' ' he always cheerfully accords to anything calculated to .; benefit the people of Auckland. -" " v . ' . ' — Mra White (Myra Kemble) is now on. a visit to Auckland in company with her hosband, having retired from the boards 'after a long an* distinguished • career. She hns, however, authorised the dramntid 1 critic of th« Obswbjweb to. state that iX the amateurs of , Auokland arc desirous of giving a ' performance for any" benevolent or public object she will be willing to giv« her gerviceß' gratuitously. , This, atar-actreaa J - her early tuition under that famous trajedion Hr Orietl* : ,* wick, aud baa iuliilled his prophesy that she would ;>

sp&edily develope into one of the leading artistes' of the" Colonial stage. One of the most" interesting reminiscences of her early career was a critiefsm of;'one';!bf her first performances, written by a m'einber of <bur staff In one of the Melbourne papers many years" agoj whioh tlie , lady still treasures :• up among .the many testimonies to her histrionic genius. The writer expressed a hope that he would one day see her name on the walls in-big letters > as a leading star actress, and' this hope' has since been more than realized. . Mrs, White unites with . a .prep.os^ . sessing physique and pleasing address, 'a ladylike dejneanour, and what is so rare a quality amongst leading actresses, an unassuming and modest appreciation of own undoubted talents; <We^ trust, our-: local ■amateurs will avail themselves of her, '.generous oifer, Mi afford an Auckland audience an 'opportunity of HfßtftSismg her histrionic talent. 'fi »\ t < ,; ; ; " j H^Bj-On Tuesday evening la3t a concert in aid of MHB building fund of the Catholic jChurch -at Mount HHnrt was given hi Abbo'tt's OperfiHouse. f The direcof the entertainment lay witfr Mr Gordon Gboch, w\o added his own valuable vocal abilities, to those of too other singers engaged. The' pianoffrrte pieces were rendered by Miss Mariebel Greenwood, and Mr Slater played the accompaniments. The programme was a large one of twenty items, and the grea'tea.t praise which ' dan be accorded to the concert is that r the' interest and enthusiasm of the audience never flagged throughout, its performance. Miss Greenwood enjoyed .the lion's share of the programme, playing in all four pianoforte solos. It is not saying too much to assert that Miss Greenwood has' considerable precocity, both of person and performance.. . She has.phy.sica} graces, confidence, and musical powers in excess of her, age, and with more retirement and a more suitable choice of pieces, she may in half-a-doxen years have escaped the dangers of too premature a development. Such good natural gifts as hers should be preserved to the community, ,uirim: ■paired,' if possible. Miss Greenwood is playing pieces too heavy for her young wrists, and, as an inevitable result, she is falling into the defect of supplementing the lack of power at the wrist by usingthe whole arm . f up to the shoulder. ...Until brilliant concert pioces are „ laid aside this defect must 'continue to increase, and a -:, good player will be spoilt. Her instructors should put her to Scarlatti, Bach, Mozart, and Haydn, and bid her abjure Beethoven, Liszt, Schumann, and Chopin, if they wish to make the most of her powers. Miss Greenwood's rendering of the : "Moonlight Sonata" was in every respect an admirable exhibition for one so young. Her composure and deliberation in those andante passages where there is always a tendency to iturry, her strict observance- of' time, and a certain amount of feeling, were quite 'remarkably apparent. Her other pieces did fstrAnge to say) riot become her s6 well as that crucial composition of Beethoven's ; while for her own sake, as well as that of the audienco, she might have choseu some other piece than the " Galop Cromatique" of Liszt. Even with. Liszt to interpret it, that composition is only fit for a hee-sit: arming. It is unmitigated noise. -In the other portions of the programme the singing of Mr Gooch was conspicuous, whether as soloist or in part-3ongs. In the latter his voice was almost too obtrusive, its rich quality running through all the others. While very successful in "The Fireman," Mr Gooch showed' to greatest advantage in his duet with Mr Hanna, ," Love and War," and earned well-merited applause in- the "Sea Rover." Of the parfc-siuginfr, the "I Navigariti" of Kandegger, rendered by Hiss Stephen&on, Mr Hanna and Mr Gooch, wna the in«st noteworthy feature. It would carry us beyond reasonable limits to comment particularly upon each of the other vocal soloists who were all most cordially received and almost invariably encored. Mrs Revitt, in "Auntie," Miss Tapper, in " The Kerry Dance," and Miss Stephenson, in " Waiting," each received exceptional recognition. Mr Edwards, in "Sweet Madoline," and Mr Hanna, in "Little Footsteps" gave respectively a sufficiently pleasing rendering of those somewhat namb,y-pamby compositions, and were recalled. Mr Sinter throughout showed 'himself a y raosfc painstaking and judicious accompaai3t, and in ilia.:. uso.'y:vi> c Lvo Cvpa./Ifcy coufribiited m«oh more to thf- s.i.-:'C-GS : : of tiit.-. evening thiij. -.j.-rhaps oth->r-= v,-j-,o tool; B.^-.vo proirsnidut ;;oip--5. 'l'lie iiou'^v was very n--nl! . fttteiv^i'TijrSW tlie j-esu I.*'1 .*' could pcarwiv pil to sliow ,i c^r,'.;^.^-,-«^_-,;--s-;3ir)j; to t.Us fiiTia v,-}-.icli th-. 1 ooncei'v