With their appearance on Saturday night ina three-act burlesque entitled Lalla Kookh, the Stanley Opera Company brought ty jose their three weeks' stay in Shanghai, That this stay has not been an unqualitied success, there can be no denying. With one or tivo exceptions, the members of the company are not by nature gifted for success og vocalists, and in other respects their work has been open to criticism, But Lit is only fair that something more than this should be borne in mind. "The expense of transporting a company of fifty performers, with scenery and dresses fur dozens of stage pieces, over the long distances Twhich separate' the various centres of amusement in the Enst, is 80 great that he ust indeed be an enterprising manager who is willing to undertake it, Again, itis really impossible under such circumstances for actors and singers, be they nf the first classer the twenty-first to do themselves ju: tice. People who go to seea play at Shanghai are often in the habit of comparing its rendering with that which they would expect to see in a West End theatre at home, to the manifest disadvantage of the Shanghai version. Itis evident that this style of criticism is unfair. Playing one piece night after night, in a temperate climate, and with none of the distractions of travelling, is very different from appearing, in the intervals between loud sea voyages, in a fresh part night after night, to say nothing of the [hard work of rehearsals in the morning.
therefore apparent that a great many allowances ought to be made fur'a compan; such us the one which has just left this settlement for Japan, and is, we under. stand, to return in October. At the same time, it is equally apparent, to those who have attended the theatre regularly during the past three weeks, that many of the faults observable at the beginning of the series of performances had not been remedied at the end On Saturday night there was a nearly full house, and, as was only to be expected a farewell performance, the audience were more enthusiastic than usual. In fact, some of them were a little too enthusiastic; and the manner in which song after song was encored, until the singers. were to all appearance utterly wearied, was certainly inconsiderate though perhaps gratifying. Lalla Rukh proved to be simply a peg upon which to hang a rich collection of songs comic, songs sentimental, and songs topical, interspersed with dances and atrocious puus of the pantomime order. Tue main personages appeared to be Mr. Pyne as a comic vizier, Miss Amy Childs as a troubadour in tights, Miss Scblerika
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.