Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), Saturday 13 March 1937, page 12


MUSIC AND DRAMA.

"THE MERRY WIDOW."

The J. C. Williamson management rcpoits that Miss Gladys Moncrieffs season continues to draw large audiences at the Theatre Royal. To-day will see a restoration of that thirty

year-old favourite, "The Merry Widow." Since Carrie Moore, Andrew Higginson, and others first presented Lehar's gay music to Australia In 1908, there have been many revivals, in-cluding some in which Miss Moncrieff has appeared. The screen has also played its part. In the silent days, Mae Murray and John Gilbert were the Widow and Prince Danllo. Last year, Jeanette MacDonald sang in a more elaborate dialogue version. The Danilo this afternoon and evening will be Mr. Frank Leighton. Mr. Leighton was bitten by a spider while on location recently for the Cinesound film, "Tall Timber," and in conse-quence he has been more or less on the sick list for some weeks. The part of Natalie will be played by Miss Rene Maxwell. This singer has appeared in Melbourne from time to time during the last year or two; but she has not had a role under the J. C. Williamson banner in Sydney for a number of years. Her reemergence will bring back memories of such pleasant plays as "The Lilac Domino," in which she made her first big success. Mr. Cecil Kellaway will be Baron Popoff; Mr. Don Nicol, Nlsch; and Mr. Arthur Clarke, the Vicomte de Jolldon.

BAUET IN AUCKLAND.

The ballet has Just completed a two weeks' season in Auckland. II arrival there was attended by a good deal of excitement. Through various delays, the Wanganella did not berth until half past six on the evening of the first performance. The members of the company had to spize their suitcases ai.d rush madly to tile theatre. The curtain managed to rise on "Les Sylphides," which opened the programme. But all the dancers still felt the motion of the ship, and they

seem to have done themselves less than Justice, When "Les Sylphides" was nearly over, the scenery for "Scheherazade," which was to follow, had still not arrived from the boat. Everyone thought that this ballet would have to be danced In front of black curtains. But at the last minute the decor arrived, and, amid a wild scramble, was hustled onto the stage.

COMING CONCERTS.

The Broadcasting Commission is gratified at the extent of the booking for Miss Essie Ack-lands concert at the Town Hall this evening. The contralto will include in her programme tile song "There is no Death," in memory of those who lost Iheir lives in the recent aero-plane crash, and more especially of Iles ilo.vde who was a personal friend of Miss Ack-land. Mr. Reginald Morphew will travel through Australia with his wife. He has con-tracted with the Commission lo give three studio broadcasts a week.

Mr. Edmund Kurtz, .who appeared here as 'cellist with the Spivakovsky-Kurtz Trio, has been engaged to play in the Chicago Sym-phony Oí diestra. Before the next season begins, however, he will come back to Austra-lia for three months. Arriving In June, he vi play as soloist with the Broadcasting Commission's orchestras in all States except Tasmania. These will be concert-hall per-formances. He will also broadcast from Mel-bourne in a temporary revival of the Spiva-kovsky-Kurtz Trio.

Mr. Robert McCall has been appointed Con-troller of Celebrity Concerts for the Broad-casting Commission. He thus advances an-other step in his recent rapid series of pro-motions. On Monday he will go to Melbourne in order to hold conferences about the coming

season.

Referring to Madame Lotte Lehmann's Aus-tralian tour, Mr, McCall said yesterday that he was delighted with the sample programmes which the singer had sent from America. They showed that Madame Lehmann would cover the whole field of German Heder. This will provide a rich experience, for which the musical public should feel duly grateful.

SIBELIUS AND OTHERS.

Next Wednesday night's recital by the Con-servatorium Orchestra will bring forward four interesting works. The principal among them Is the Second Symphony by Jean Sibelius, of which this will be the first performance in Australia. Tile first of Sibelius's symphonies, heard here two or three years ago under the baton of Dr. Arundel Orchard, lay well within the nineteenth-century tradition in its pic-turesque and romantic style. The second strikes out along new paths. In outward shape it conforms to the old four-movement formula. But the internal organisation of the movements-and especially of the first-is so unusual that It establishes a fresh principle in symphonic form. Before Sibelius, writers of symphonies had presented their thematic material in an exposition, then dissected and analysed it in a development section, and finally put it together again in a recapitula-tion. But Sibelius, in his second symphony, first presents a handful of seemingly dis-connected and meaningless scraps of melody, and then brings all these themes into organic relationship with each other, so that they become an orderly system. The programme will include, also, the overture to "Idomcneo," Mozart's "Haifner" symphony, and the same composer's Two-Piano Concerto in E Flat Major. The players in the concerto will be Miss Dorthy Gibbes and Miss Elizabeth Cole-man. Miss Coleman has recently returned from a long tour of Europe. While there, she

played some accompaniments for the famous soprano, Elizabeth Schumann. On Wednesday week, she will be heard again in the pro-gramme to be given by the Conservatorium Quartet.

THE PHILHARMONIC SOCIETY.

The Royal Philharmonic Society has decided on the music which It will sing during 1937. The first subscription concert on April 21 will bring forward Handel pastoral, "Acls and Galatea." On July 14 the society will give a concert version of one of two operas-either "Carmen" or "Lohengrin." The third work will be Mendelssohn's "Elijah" in dramatised form, modelled on the performances during the past year or two in the Albert Hall, Lon-don. The society lays special stress on this transmuted "Elijah." It« members intended to present a dramatised "Hiawatha" last year, but the project had to be abandoned owing to the heavy cost of production. The main item of expense would have been the costumes for the large chorus.

"TOVARICH."

At tho Savoy Theatre next Friday, M. Henri Segaerfc will present a performance in French of Jacques Deval's comedy, "Tovarich." Having run for 400 performances at its original season in Paris, this play appeared in London two years ago, with Sir Cedric Hardwicke and Eugenie Leontovltch In the leading roles. There, its success was immediate. Madame Leontovltch, making her English debut, found herself established as one of the most admired actresses of the day. Unfortunately for her, Komlsarjevsky brought her out a few months ago as Cleopatra In Shakespeare's drama. Her foreign accent was so strong that most of her lines last all meaning, and the play had to be swiftly withdrawn. The plot of "Tovarich" centres round a Russian Grand Duke nnd Grand Duchess who, after the Revolution, take positions as butler and maid in a French

household.

MISS BEATRICE TANGE.

Miss Beatrice Tange, having recovered from her recent Illness, will set out on her tour for the Broadcasting Commission on April l8. She will give her first broadcast in Brisbane. In Perth, she Is to play Beethoven's "Emperor" Concerto under the baton of Georg Schnee-voigt Her studio programmes include such music as the Choral Preludes and the Chaconne of Bach; Beethoven's E Flat Sonata ("Les Adieux"); and Cesar Franck. Prelude, Chorale and Fugue. There will also be a first performance of three Miniatures by a Dutch composer, Voormolen. Miss Tange recently made some piano recordings, including one of Thomas Pltfield's "Prelude, Minuet and Reel," which she introduced to Australia two

or three years ago.

CITY OF SYDNEY EISTEDDFOD.

Although the next City of Sydney Eistedd-fod will not begin until April 9 of next year, the syllabus will be issued within a week or iwn Three committees are working hard on

th?" .¿.Mon-one for general put poses one /or mukle; and one tor prizes and

publicity. '