Miss Annie Pollard.
Girl. Miss Maya Manserch. lower Mise Maud Thompson.
The Lyceum Theatre was extremely well filled on Saturday night when the juveniles ph Boccaccio for the first time in Shanghai. Indeed the stalls, pit, and gallery were packed and there were only vacant seats to be found in the dress circle.
Suppé's tuneful opera has been thoroughly studied by Pollard's clever troupe of youngsters, so that not only were the principal songs given but much of the concerted music, many of the numbers being extremely well rendered, allowing for the difficulty of filling the musical parts by children's voices only. In this respect the finale of the Ist Act and also that of the 2nd Act were particularly noticeable, and the happy result of these and several other dificult numbers that were given during the evening reflects not only the Ott on the care and. sicll that must have reatest credit on the juvenile performers,
been.devoted to their instruction by the conductor, Mr. W. Robinson. In the trio in the Ist Act, the opportunity was taken of introducing some topical verses with very good effect, the requisite point having een given by Masters Alf. Goulding, Willie Stewart and James Pollard who took the parts of Lambertuccio, Lotteringhi, and. Scalza, respectively. Miss Elsie Norwood, in the title role, was as successful as ever in the songs which fell to her lot, in which her nice voice was heard to great advantage, and so indeed were Miss Connie Pollard as Fiametta, Miss Ina Pollard as Isabella, Miss Jessie Ford as the Prince, Miss Lily Stewart as Leonetto, Master Willie Stewart as the Cooper, and Master named brought down' the house with a comic song he introduced.
In the second Act the cooper's song was all the music which fell to their Tot in throughly artistic manner, particularly the Glouwglou duet. Little Miss Ina Pol. particularly good, the chorus of workmen lard charmed everyone by her render. hammering at the casks -having been done ing of the part of Lament's wilful in excellent time and style. It is a very daughter, and Miss Connie Pollard play-noticeable and creditable fact, that all the ed Fritellini with much spirit. Rocco children on the stage sing in tune and in is one of Master Alf. Goulding's strong ood time, though. there are, of course, characters, and he kept the fun going with-various degrees of excellence in the voices. out stint, winning rapturous applause by Throughout the evening the musical the interpolated song in the first act, "Can't rendering was a complete success and!
Stop." Master Willie Stewart was also ex-called for continual hearty and well-deceedingly good as Laurent, while all the served applause from the audience, though minor parts were most effectively filled. encores were not insisted on too frequently.
In addition to the musical attractions of In the Daily News of Thursday we Boccaccio, the opera was so splendidly wrote dressed and the grouping of characters on The representation of the Mikado Inst the stage was so well managed, that apart night by the Lilliputians before a from the music there was a succession of very full and anything but cold house charming pictures. Few of the operas was a triumphant success. The scenery presented by the Company are well staged was very pretty, the dresses splendid and according to modern ideas, but this can accurate, and the acting and singing would hardly be expected under the circum-have done credit to a travelling Savoy stances, so that it says much for the stage Company. management that in the absence of striking And we give the following notice in this scenic effects such as are usually morning's Daily News von, the opera could have been made so ortive as was the case. ing of the remarkable performance of We prs short notice yesterday morn-'The acting all round was very good, and Gilbert and Sullivan's Mikado at nearly all the children engaged in the Lyceum on Wednesday by Pollard's Lil piece showed a knowledge of stage b putians; but it is unfair to let that perness and an easy, graceful way of carrying formance and the repetition last night, when themselves that proved how entirely suf-the house was again crowded with' a deficient must be the instructions of the stage manager, Mr. Harry Hall. There lighted audience, "pass without a few more words of praise." The following was the was not one of the principals with whom cast any fault could be found, and there were many ihe commanded the admiration of the The Mikado of Japan. Master Willie Stewart, audience. Foremost amongst these were Nanki-Poo (His Son). Miss Elsie Norwood. -|Master Alf. Goulding, as Lambertuccio, Ko-Ko (Lord High and Miss Annie Moore as "his considerably better half," Peronella. Each of them "Master Alf. Goulding.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.