Special mention must be made of the very excellent rendering of the Spanish Gypsy dance by the Misses Nina Antaris and Helene Bobinina in Act Ul. It is very rare indeed to sec accomplished dancers on Shanghai's stages and their exhibition was something which more than merited the applause that was given when they were through.
Whilst, as already mentioned, Monday's production was by far one of the most outstanding ever seen in Shanghai, there are two or three things which—if done away with—should make today's repeat performance still better.
The prompter doubtlessly forgot that an attentive audience was sit ti gi in the auditorium and spoiled man a sequence by his far too loud assistance to the stars, whilst the director of production should bear in mind that it is not always very pleasant to see the shadow of his hand against the scenery, when he is giving his artists manual indications as to where they should stand. With the exception of a set of ultra-modern furniture which badly fitted into the otherwise perfect Louis XIV setting, the scenery and costumes were in every way what one would expect. although the electric bed-lamp and the metal bed-stand in Act IV, somehow washed away the illusion that! one may have had.
Maestro A. Sloutsky must also be complimented on the performance of his orchestra although somehow one usually expects a perfect evening when he yields the baton.
1t must again be repeated that if the Grand Opera Company keeps to the same excellent standard of production throughout the season, there is likely to be no reason for any lack of support on the part of Shanghai music lovers.—A6.1
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.