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LOCAL AUDIENCE ENJOYED FINE OPERADELIGHTFUL SINGING WARMLY APPLAUDEDAlthough the audience at the Crown Theatre on Friday evening last was not as large as the organisers would have liked, those present thoroughly enjoyed the polished per-* formance and warmly applauded the delightful singing in acts from Barber of Saville, Faust and the one-act opera The Devil Take Her.”For many in the audience or a|proximarefy 300 II waa Ifteir Aralexperience of opera and they showed tfielr appreciation in the ext*** nf their applause.The opera was presented under the misploM of ihe local branch of the Arts Council of Auatralla and the ilalt of Australia's own quickly growing opera company marks animportant mllaatcne In the cultural development of Crookwell. It ranked with the Bodenwlesaer Ballet n;the finest entertainment seen locally.The acts from Rossini's Barber of SavIUe and Oounod'a Faust included many of the famous nri»» previously heard on the radio by many of .those who took the oppor-tuntty to hear them in relation lothe operas themselves.They Included the rollickingLargo Al Factotum. the brilliant Peace and Joy. Fare You Well »nd the Last Rose of Summer from the Barber of Seville and O' Hall Thou Dwelling, Oentle Klow'ra in the Dew. Jewel Bong4’ and He Lome Me from Fault.Peace and Joy aung by Bar-do (Frank Lisle) and the disguised lover. Count Almavlva. (Robert O'Donnell) Is considered lo be superb in its polite sarcasm.Tha Devil Take Her was an opera In one act with music written by Australian composer. Arthur Benjamin. It will be played before Her Majesty during her visit tc Sydney nsxt year.atari of the night were Figaro played by Geoffrey Chard. Baaitlo Played by Alan Light. Mephlstoph-eles, played by Nell Easton, the wife, ployed by Jacqueline Talbot, the poet, played by Eric Sterling and the devil played by Frank Lisle.The rich character of Figaro gave Geoffrey Chard a line opportunity 1o display his talents. He played Ihe effervescent barber with dash And made an exciting rise In opera. He is a young baritone who readily appeals to the audience.Alan Light was brilliant as the music teacher, Bassillo, caught un-.warea by (he plot of the lovers. A well-known baritone who ha* Ire-ipiently been heard over the A.B.C. he lived his comedy while his voice possessed delightful quality.Mephlstopheles was 0 hard-working role for cricketer. Nell Easton, who possesses a rich, vigorous baas hurl tone voice, and he waa really striking In the scene when he was illuminated by the crimson flame? of hell.Also difficult wan the pari of the wife In The Devil Take Her for Jacqueline Talbot, a meieo-soprano who has many operatic perfomances lo her credit. U dumb until an operation restores her voice. She W •hen required to change from simple domesticity to loquacity and stilt sustain her ahrewMh performance. She handled this demanding role with grent credit to herself.The poet who yields to the Devil escape his wife’s outbursts, pro* vlded Krlc* Sterling with a role which enabled him to show lo ad-Mintage his undoubted talents.Stage limitations necessarily re-'•ricted the presentations but thoee present enjoyed „ good Indication of what full opera with ult;l facilitieswould be like. Stage settings. however. were colourful and the cos-turning brilliant.Orchestral llmllutloru also detracted from a full appreciation, Ihesole accompaniment being a piano. The brilliance of the planlet. Henri Penn, wua. however, one of the highlight* of the evening. He curried through hla heavy task od-mlrably and the applause he received was well merited.The singing was a real treat and everyone of the nrtlsts was in particularly fine voice. They were heard without difficulty In all sections of Ihe theatre and overcame accoustlc-ul restrictions.While the local branch will lose money due 10 the high guarantees necessary to bring this fine opera to Crookwell the result could be called very successful from the more Important points of view. Members of the Arts Council have done a kreat Job in bringing class entertainment to Crookwell and Friday’s evening vlalt by the National Opera of Australia is Ibelr crowning achievement to date. The appreciation displayed by the audience indicated thal further opems would be well received II only more people would sublimate ihetr natural prejudice against all things cultural and participate :n entertainment which they would thoroughly enjoy If they would once attend.Folio win r the conclusion of the presentation members of the local branch of the Arts Council entertained Ihe cast at an Informal supper and the president. Mr. O. Morrow. Introduced the Artistic Director. Mr. Dlmu Oallungl. and the tour director. Mr. Vic Carrall.He thunkeil them for the excellent performance and added Che hope tliai the coat was happy with Ihe manner In which Ibeir present 11 ton had been received. Mr. Morrow remarked that he considered Ihe spontaneous and prolonged applause waa it recommendation In Itself and a sure indication that ihe audience was moat appreciativeIn rea ponding. Mr. Cnrrll complimented |he members of the local branch on the organisation of the evening and added his appreciation of the oupper.He said thnt both hr and the player* were very happy with the reception and auch enthusiastic applause hod the effect of Inducing Ihe players lo give of their very beat and being aeen and heard to the beat advantage.Confirmation At St. Bartholomew'sOn Sunday next the Bishop o» Canberra Goulburn, Bishop E. H. Burqmann. M.A.. wlH visit St. Bartholomew's Church, Crookwell. when eome 30 candidate* trom Crookwell and district will bo presented to him for Confirmation,In the course of his loier sermon •he Bishop will address 11 special metoegr tlt;» Ihe confirmer;!. The service will commence at It n.m nnd a large congregation D expected to pack the church.Local Opera Intercat EncouragingLocal Interest In the Bret opera to be brought to Crookwell was quite encouraging and compsirse more than favourably with many of the larger country centre#.The eesimated attendance of approximately 300 at last Friday evening's performance was almost on a par with 0 Oooiburn — a city of upwards of 0.000 Inhabitants, was greater than that reported from Young and w*is almost comparable with the estimated attendance at Temora —a town three times the e'le of Crookwell.Local members of the Arts Council have every reason to feel satisfied with the response to their effort.Valuation Discrepancy UnexplainedThe wide margin of difference In the former valuation of two adjoining tenement* in Wade Street still remains unexplained deaplte Council's ondeav-oura to clarify the discrepancy.At an earlier meeting of 2 Council the discrepancy waH e mentioned by Cr. Spackman, tvho told the meeting that the two blocks were of equal site lt;1 nnd adjoined each other. The * valuation fixed by Mr. Tegg lor one was £324 and for ihe 1 other £75. yyThe Shire Clerk was asked to contact Mr. Tegg and re- f port on the matter and at r Iasi month’s meeting he in- u formed Councillors that prior £ to Mr. Tegg's valuation In 1951 the respective unimprov- r ed valuations were £27 and £25. These had boen in- fi creased to £324 and £75. The 1* new valuations by the Valuer- p General were £337 and £325. b 1 have received a letter vt from Mr. Tegg in which he w states that be cannot account f for the difference In his valu- h atlon but would probably be (l able to do so if sent, a sketch h of the land, but that 1 doubt. * added Mr. Grantham. • f, Cr. Clements remarked that c It whs apparent that a mis- „ take had been made by Mr. e Tegg. It could be that the c mistake was in valuing the p second block at such a low vt figure. oCr. Spackman explained n that the owner of the more lt;• highly valued block had only j complained about the com- v parison. It could be that his « block wus correctly valued ]' while the other one was un- „ dcr valued. cThe meeting agreed with q Cr. Seaman that nothing could : be gained by approaching Mr. fl Tegg further and the letter was received. r
Newspaper Details
Crookwell Gazette
Crookwell, New South Wales, AU
Wed, Dec 09, 1953
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
AU 07 Aug 2021
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