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plays; the wood scene we thought very effective and true to nature". This is one of the few times that at least some slight attention is paid to the staging of a piece. (NCH 8.5.1858).
28.9.1858 (Tue)
R.B. SHERIDAN: "The Rivals” (1775)
T: Comedy (prologue, 5 acts, epilogue), and two other, unnamed, light pieces
C: Officers of H.M.S. Retribution
Th: On board ship
R: This must have been a long night for in addition to Sheridan's The Rivals (a full-length five-act comedy in which Mrs. Malaprop was played by "Mrs. Taylor") there were two other light pieces of which the titles have not been recorded. Small wonder then that "our reporter did not wait to see as the hour was late and he had to rise early to see the comet" — which had first been observed on September 15. (NCH 2.10.1858)
2.10.1858 (Sat) and
6.10.1858 (Wedn)
Concerts by Mr. Martin Simonsen, violin, and some local amateurs.
Programme:
Charles Auguste DE BERIOT (1802-1870): Seventh air with variations, Martin SIMONSEN: "Sounds from Home", Heinrich Wilhelm ERNST (1814-1865): **Andante” (= Elegie?), N. PAGANINI: "Carnival of Venice", Some German songs.
Th: Theatre Royal (C)
R: That the scarce recitals by professional musicians did not draw the same public attention as the amateur actors has already been pointed out in the Survey. On October 2 the attendance was not large, but for the sixth "a considerable improvement" was observed and it was hoped there would be a full house on the 12th so that the artist would not be left **with cause to regret his visit to this remote place”. The critic, "'T.", gave himself an air of the specialist when he wrote that "though we do not find any attempt at the dignity and breadth of style which are the characteristics of the greatest performers of the age, we are glad to recognise an execution at once brilliant and lively and in some respects really astonishing"; and he regarded Mr. SIMONSEN as "a worthy member of that particular school of which De Bériot was one of the brightest ornaments (De Bériot was a famous violinist who had been forced by illness to end his career in 1852). It must be assumed that the writer had heard other musicians in Europe — where else? — with whom he could draw a comparison. These were the days without radio, gramophone or compact disc! He was apparently a lover of more serious music, for he added wrily: "We presume it is necessary occasionally to introduce pieces of a light and striking character, but for our own part we deprecate the production of such solos as 'Life on the ocean' **. As to those who assisted Mr. SIMONSEN "T." found it **creditable to this small Settlement that it can produce so able and numerous a body of amateurs who evidently study music for its own sake. We venture to ask them to persevere — it is a science which will amply reward its followers, which will repay a thousandfold its earnest students". (NCH 9.10.1858). In well-to-do circles in Britain a musical education was considered a mark of good breeding and probably a number of residents had acquired their instrumental skill in youth. Others could profit from the piano lessons that were advertised in December 1858: they were given "at moderate charges" and persons interested should apply to "D.D. at Mr. W.H. Moore's, Hongkew". Why all would-be artists in Shanghai were so mysterious about their true names remains an enigma. The initials D.D. do not suit any of the residents in the *Shanghai Almanac for 1858'. W.H. Moore is listed in it as a pilot.
T