Oncerts Here and There

Something to look forward to is the [unclear: perrmance] this Saturday of Beethoven's Mass D, Missa Solemnis. Erich Bergel conducts [unclear: e] NZSO and the Orpheus choir. Difficult, [unclear: ellectually] powerful, the Mass is [unclear: Beethov-'s] most considerable single achievement.

The Poly-Vic Orchestra is playing [unclear: Shost-ovich'] Symphony No. 1 on Wednesday [unclear: ne] 14th at 1.10 pm. The Symphony was [unclear: emiered] in Moscow in 1925 when the [unclear: mposer] was only nineteen, and for many [unclear: ars] Shostakovich was regarded as the [unclear: mposer]-laureate' of the Soviet Union. [unclear: ss] Harris will conduct the symphony [unclear: ich] includes the piano as an orchestral [unclear: trument], and exploits a wide range of [unclear: trumental] sonority. Influences of Tch-aikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov and Prokofief are all apparent in the work.

Lunchtime concert this Thursday will feature Berio's Sequenza for solo flute played by Richard Giese, plus Bridget O' Megan (cello) and Fiona Steedman (piano) performing Brahms' Sonata op. 38.

Opera Again

Suddenly after months of drought, the opera monsoon is here. In the last week of May the de la Tour Opera presented a double bill, Opera Technique is staging La Belle Helene from 7th-10th June and next week The Reformed Drunkard will be performed in the Memorial Theatre. What a pity they are all fairly lightweight works. With so much enthusiasm and talent waiting to be utilized let's hope it won't be long before we see something more substantial.

Though originating from two different centuries, do la Tour's one-act operas, Rita or the Battered Husband by Donizetti and Menotti's The Old Maid and the Thief, are alike in use of operatic convention and contrivance. First on the programme, Rita was written in 1840 and first performed at the Paris Opera Comique after the composer's death. Donizetti composed very quickly and his works tend to suffer from this facility. Rita is no exception, but the characteristically slick technique is none the [unclear: ess] entertaining for all that. The English [unclear: ranslation] jarred at times.

The singers were admirably cast. Les Dorizel (memorable as Albert Herring) made the most of his part as the battered husband, Anne Langston as Rita looked and performed charmingly as the part required and Roger Wilson's fine baritone enriched the ensembles.

The Old Maid and the Thief was originally written for radio in 1 939 and is Menotti's second opera. A period piece without a trace of modernity in music or drama, it was brought off by good production and casting: not a hitch anywhere. Both Marion Gray as Miss Todd and Frances Green as Laetitia were excellent.

Despite the unconvivial atmosphere of the Wellington College Little Theatre, no doubt necessitated by a shoe-string budget, the de la Tour Opera deserves high praise for their evening of opera.

Offenbach's La Belle Helene was first performed in 1864 and is typical of that prolific composer's work - the ultimate in 19th century Parisienne light entertainment. Frivolity with a touch of satire, Offenbach's music lacks the genuine wit of Sullivan and occasionally lapses into maudlin sentimentality. Apart from reservations about the work itself, with producer Peter Coates and musical director Peter Zwartz we can be confident of a high standard of production. Student concessions are available.

Julia Millen