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Volume 1. No.4. APRIL, 1958. Price 4d. ------------------------~----------------------

OREf'I~

CALDERONI'S CARNIVAL CAROUSAL -- By A.LBERT M. CASSOLA, F'.l.L.

On t hei r return from T ripoli where the Company mad e a huge success, Elvio Cald'eroni 's troupe pro­duced five rriore operettas (two of t hem repeat per­formances) at the R adio City Opera House.

In Kalman's "La Contessa Mar'itza" there was a lack of confidence on t he part of some of t he cast, and soprano Franca Diani was t h is time really voice­less. How'ever, t he scarce public closed an eye (though vainly opened t heir ears!) and accepted bene­volently t he actress's sympathet ic performance in the name part. Tenor Cecchini in the exhausting role of the Fattore was good throughout the three acts and gained warm applause. Calderani was very outstand­ing in t he first act and Sollazzo enlivened the last. Kalman's music is of course del ightful, especially the t une "Maschel'e", but the orchestra suffered from under-rehearsal..

Goliardic, nostalgic "Arlrlio Giovinezza!" by G. Pi etI·i offers a good opportunity to the Company with not too many m em bers, but with a sense of acting. In essence it is r ather a play set to music than a genuine operetta . Again in the presence of a scanty audience but in an intimate atmosphere, the show had a good deal of pulling together. Elena di Fiore sang in t une and kept strict control of time and breath. Innocenti also kept good control of the tone, and his d·elivery of the dialogue was much better than on some other occasion. Teldi as Dorina was as lovely as ever and in the silent scene of the second act she moved thoe audience to tears. Calderoni entertained the publi c with some very apt, clean humour. Mro. Scarpa again obtained mastery over orchestra and sing'ers . " Viva: T01-ino. cittit di belle donne" and "Di canti eli gio i(L" are familiar tunes with university students; the duet "Cioccolatini" is also catchy.

Based on the confusion caused by gross misunder­standings , Lombardo' s "Crema Ji Chic" was probably the most hilarious of all the operettas in Calderoni's repertoire. Of the pochade style, it gave ample scope to the comedians to delight the public (numerous that night) with mimicry and with paradoxical situations.

~. The score abounds in charming melodies, among them the leit motiv "PasciuH" and the comic duets " Tu mi piaci" and " Abat-iour" . For Tilde Teldi and Elvio Calderoni it was a veritable triumph, for the supporting cast a veritable success, for the audience a veritable night of mirth and laughter, a night of Carnival gaiety. Mro . Scarpa had Httle difficulty in keeping the musicians together, and in spite of

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the small vOIce displayed by Calderoni, encores were very generous. The se ttings were colourful.

Calde110ni's troupe were present at the Radio City also during the Carnival Balls and entertained everyone with dancing, singing and buffoonery.

* * * NOTE - "La Principessa rlella; CZQ'l'rla" by Kal­

man, which was performed prior to the Company's tournee of Triooli and which was inadvertently omitted from th~ March issue, was very satisfactorily produced. Franca Diani and L. Solari were aPlong the best performers.. So much for the sake of a complete chronicle .

~~tJ~

SCHOOL PLA Y S -- by JOHN CONSIGLIO

No keen follower of the stage can r eally be termed so, if he does not take a certain amount of interest in school play productions. Here in Malta we aTe constantly being regaled with school p·roduc­tions part icularly Shakespearian plays - some are good, others not so good.

"The Criti c" I am positive, would 'nt want t o re­frain from providing some space to the productions, as it is sure that much talent may be found in these prodnctions, and it is as keen a s ever to encourage this de lightful form of stage entertainment .

Secondary Schools lead the way in these produc­tions and in February this year we saw three produc­t ion s which are wor th speaking about. St. Edward ' s College produced Shakespeare's "Macbeth" a nd though the faults of clothes unadapted to the period and fan Ity mcssa-in-scena were very eviden t , th€ production was very well redeemed by th e first -rate acting of C. Dunkerley, D . Colombo, and J. Camilleri aq the Witches, both individually and as a group, and M. Gialanze's interpretation of Macduff.

The Royal Na.val School gave us their idea of "H..M.S. Pinafore", by Gilbert and Sullivan. The stag'e , lighting and costumes were good and Shirley Hicks, Bryn Richards, and John Corby singled them ­selves out. A very delightful production indeed .

O. Goldsmith' s "She Stoops to Conquer" was pro­duced by St. Aloysius' College and it was mark ed by good diction and first-class costumes. At times how­eve r dialogue seemed to drag. John Gatt Rutter and Pet'er Apap Bologna get the honours for their natural acti ng.

We sincerely hope t.hat these suee-esses will press these amateur producers nad actors to still greater efforts, which somehow or other are always amply rewarded at the taking of the last curtain call.