E Company in Colchester
("Iolanthe" No. 2 Company)

The Essex Standard, West Suffolk Gazette, and Eastern Counties' Advertiser (Colchester, England), Saturday, February 09, 1884; pg. 5; Issue 2774.

IOLANTHE. — Mr. D'Oyly Carte's Opera Company opened at the Theatre on Monday evening for three nights. The house was crowded on each occasion, and, judging by the applause, the audience were delighted with the performance.

The opera, Iolanthe, is so well known, it is hardly necessary to give a detail of its plot; it will suffice to say it is written in Mr. Gilbert's best style, and the music is as good, if not better than any of its predecessors; the mounting and costumes were excellent, and the orchestra fairly good, considering the difficulties under which local orchestras labour.

Mr. Wilkinson, as the Lord Chancellor, was the life and soul of the whole opera, his patter songs were encored over and over again. The half-fairy and half-mortal Strephon was safe in the hands of Mr. D'Egville. Mr. J. Duncan Young made a handsome Lord Tolloller; the solo, "Spurn not the nobly born," was given in capital style, and his dance with the Lord Chancellor and Mountararat met with a storm of applause. The Earl of Mountararat was done justice to by Mr. Fairbanks, and a word of praise is due to the Private Willis, whose sentry's song was deservedly encored.

Of the ladies, first place is undoubtedly due to Miss Isabelle Muncey, whose portrayal of the Fairy Queen was excellent; her pretty solo, "O, Captain Shaw," being one of the hits of the evening. Miss Findlay, as Phyllis, sang very prettily, whilst special mention is deserved by Miss Millie Vere, who played Iolanthe.

Although the chorus was rather weak, the performance, taken as a whole, was very satisfactory, as is generally the case with Mr. Carte's Company. The Manager, Mr. Herbert Brook, is to be congratulated on the success of the visit, and should he steer the Company to Colchester again, [it] would certainly be welcomed.

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