Opera Scotland

Patience 1904D'Oyly Carte Principal Repertoire Company

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A Dundee Review

Dundee Courier & Argus: Friday, November 18 1904

Her Majesty’s Theatre - The D’Oyly Carte Opera Company - Patience

'Another excellent, although not overflowing, audience attended in Her Majesty’s Theatre last night, when an extremely bright and vivacious performance of Patience was presented.  The characteristics of freshness and crispness which have prevailed all the week are still the outstanding features of the performance; and it is doubtful if we ever had a rendering of Patience in Dundee more entirely enjoyable or more perfect in ensemble.  The audience manifested their delight and appreciation by demanding frequent encores, the numbers thus honoured being the Colonel’s song, “When I first put this uniform on,” the melodious duet, “Oh, Willow Waly”; the famous sextette, “I hear the soft note”; Lady Jane’s beautiful; “Silvered is the raven hair”; Archibald’s clever and catching “The Magnet and the Churn”; Patience’s “Love is a plaintive song”; the great duet for Lady Jane and Reginald, “Sing hey to you” - doubly encored; the quintette in the second act; and the duet for Reginald and Archibald, “A most intense young man.”

'Miss Maguire was as brilliant as ever as Patience.  Miss Rose was a bewitching Lady Angela, and Miss Mabel Burnege a charming Lady Saphir.  Miss Rassam was magnificent as Lady Jane, and sang the exquisite “Silver’d is the raven hair” with splendid quality of voice and rare appreciation of the vocal beauties of the song.

'Mr Billington and Mr Workman revelled in the strongly contrasted eccentricities of Archibald Grosvenor, the idyllic, and Reginald Bunthorne, the fleshly poet.  The singing and dancing duet in the second act was delightfully given, with immense humour.  Mr Billington brings it up to date by substituting the “tuppeny tube” for the more orthodox “tuppeny bus.”  Mr Kavanagh sang grandly as the Colonel, and he and Mr Ripple, as the Duke, and Mr White as the Major, were responsible for much merriment.  The choruses and concerted music were given with all the precision and variety of expression which has made this week’s performances so enjoyable.

'To-night The Mikado will be repeated.  At to-morrow’s matinee The Gondoliers will be played, and the final performance to-morrow evening will be of The Yeomen of the Guard, strongest and most dramatic of all the operas.  At the interval between the two acts of The Yeomen, Mr Montefiore will say a few farewell words and introduce the new manager to the audience.  He will also be presented with a testimonial.'