LAWRENCE TIBBETT

Waikato Times, Volume 122, Issue 20492, 7 May 1938, Page 17 (Supplement)

LAWRENCE TIBBETT

A TRIUMPH IN SYDNEY VARIED PROGRAMME DELIGHTS A premiere in the ample style of pre-depression years set the Town Hall buzzing for the Lawrence Tibbett opening last night; a celebrity, the turning away done by none but the management, and an audience settling down to make a night of It and give the singer no rest, says the Sydney Sun. Mr Tibbett began delicately with Lully's classic "Bols epais,” the mastersong of a king's musician. Though it was suavely 6ung, there was no furore. The characteristic quality of Ids voice is not best displayed in such reposeful airs. It is when the volume rises and the dramatic tension grows that it begins to thrill with its resonance and beauty. This was brilliantly demonstrated in the "I pray for Death alone" of Handel's "Hear Me! Ye Winds and Waves.” Drama and Wit This pleasure the operatic songs especially provided- The "Pagliacci” prologue, lifted out of the hackneyed and given new life by the operatic baritone, roused the audience to clamors for more. After the Intermission, Mr Tibbett subdued himself to a group including Vaughan Williams’s “The Water Mill,” a negro spiritual, and Jacques Wolfe’s "The Hand-Organ Man.” In dynamic contrast was Loewe’s great ballad, "Edward.” Here the moods of anguish and terror were expressed with tragic Intensity. After the dramatics of "Edward,” Mr Tibbett, by way of contrast, offered a piece of musical wit, "Old Mother Hubbard,” recreated by- an American musician in the style of Handel, complete with cantabile and roulades. It was an exquisite bit of parody. A Skilful Pianist v Stewart Wille is a skilful aooompanlst. lie is also an agreeable soloist, and played works by Bach and Chopin.