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OLD CHELSEA (JULY 1951) |
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The lovely haunting melodies of Richard Tauber's music, combined with the beautiful white wigs and glamorous dresses, made this show one of the prettiest we had ever staged. |
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Despite the narrowness of the stage, the dancing was simple and effective, and the general decor gave great delight to the audiences. Particularly memorable was the way in which Jose Harry (as Mistress Murphy) sustained her Irish brogue throughout, and also the dainty winsomeness of Mary James (who was later relegated to Mrs Kenneth Newell) who took the part of Christine. There are so many lovely tunes to remember - the reprise at the finale of Act I "My Heart And I" and that most intriguing quartet "Just A Little Gossip" |
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In one scene, as the lamplighter went his rounds with his long pole, he failed to synchronise touching the lamp with the light being switched off in the wings so that the lamp was already out befor he reached it with his pole. Another small faux pas was when the Company was assembled to rehearse the new opera, some were holding their music upside-down and the inverted titles were clearly visible to the audience. |
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DORIS SEAMAN |
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EXTRACTS FROM PRESS REVIEWS |
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Hatton Choral and Operatic Society chose “Old Chelsea” for its contribution towards the Feltham Festival programme and a vastly improved company performed this colourful musical romance on Thursday, Friday and Saturday at the Playhouse Cinema. |
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At the previous production, also at the cinema, the cast seemed to be lost in the spacious hall and consequently a lack of confidence pulled the production down to the level of average. There was a change on Friday night. The nervousness was gone; the words could be plainly heard in all parts of the auditorium; there was better liaison between singers and orchestra. These things combined raised the classification to excellent. A large audience on Friday created a better atmosphere. It was certainly more heartening for the players to see people out in front instead of empty seats and this probably had a lot to do with their light-hearted gaiety throughout the three acts of this Walter Ellis opera. |
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...The habit of taking the front centre of the stage for a solo or chorus became irritating. Nine out of ten of the cast who had a solo to sing and also the small groups up to about six automatically moved down towards the orchestra conductor as if to sing their party piece. It would be more natural if some of the cast at least could sing from other positions of the stage. This could be done without unnatural alteration of movement and positioning. |
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. . . . The plot is slight and as the dialogue and music are equally undistinguished, a successful production depends on the ability of the singers and players to make something of the mediocre material, and more especially is this the case when an inadequate stage such as that of the Feltham Playhouse limits opportunities for dancing and making the show spectacular. It is to the credit of Hatton Operatic Society that their production held the interest throughout. Chief reasons for this were the good standard of singing and acting, pleasing decor, simple but skilful dancing and the excellent use made of the small stage. |