Miss Irene Ainsley

New Zealand Tablet, 29 October 1908, Page 24

Miss Irene Ainsley

It is not often that the people of Dunedin have an oppor- x tunity of hearing a young New Zealander who has made her mark as a vocalisl in Great Britain, a*hd consequently expectation ran high on Monday evening when Miss Irene Ainsley, an Auckland young lady and a protegee of Madame Melba, made her debut' in Dunedin at His Majesty's Theatre. No one could come away from- that concert .without feeling convinced that Miss Ainsley has a bright future before her. She has a rich and melodious contralto voice of great- power and range, and she sings with much taste and fine expression, and witlv that artistic sympathy which is so necessary in the interpretation of certain

songs. Monday night's programme was of such a character as to give Miss Ainslcy an opportunity of displaying to great advantage her undoubted talent. The outstanding features of her singing were her naturalness, the.flexibility of her voice, and the fulness of her upper register. Her programme on that occasion was apparently selected with the object of showing the wide range of 'her voic f e, and in this she was distinctly successful. Her first" item was''Mon coeur s'ouvrc a ta voix,' which was given with taste and expression, although -many of the audience might have preferred her encore number, 'Annie Laurie,' as one which gave her a better opportunity of displaying more warmth in its interpretation. The bracketed items, ' Souvenance,' 'The night has a thousand eyes,' 'Absent/ and 'Invitation,' were charmingly sung, and the inevitable encores followed. In the second part she contributed ' Out on the rocks ' in a finished and sympathetic manner, and here again the audience insisted on an encore, in which she was even more successful than in her programme item. Miss Ainsley's final contribution was Sullivan's ' Lost Chord,' which was sung with that fervor and pathos necessary to its proper interpretation. Mr. Hamilton Hodges was heard to great advantage, and some of his items reached a very high level of excellence. ' Sirs, your toast ' was" given with fine expression, and a double encore followed. ' Thy foe ' in the-sccond part was an item that suited his voice in a remarkable degree, and he did it full justice. In the bracketed items, ' Hcatherbud,' 'Ever so far away,' 'My song is of the sturdy north,' he scored a distinct success, and was most artistic in his interpretation. In addition to acting as accompanist Mrs. Qucree played with much - success ' A concert study ' (Rubinstein) and ' Gavotte de concert,' both of which were received with much favor. She was recalled for each item. On the whole the concert was a very fine one, and Miss Ainsley should be well pleased with her reception. _ On Tuesday evening Miss Ainsley and her concert party made their second appearance in Dunedin. "A very good'programme was presented, and Miss Ainsley again got a very fine reception, and all were agreed as to the beautiful quality of her voice.