Auckland Philharmonia at the Auckland Town Hall

By WILLIAM DART

A flashy romp through von Suppe's Light Cavalry Overture opened the gates of the city. Conductor Miguel Harth-Bedoya was at his most frenetic, the brass agreeably raffish, and the strings sometimes scampering about to keep up. This would be a fun evening, the man with the baton confided, but a little more sober and proper than last week's Spanish jaunt.

The selections from Johann Strauss II offered the most rewarding music. We were charmed by the orchestral ingenuity of Voices of Spring; the richly burnished canvas of the Emperor Waltz showcased sumptuous string playing and allowed for an elegantly soulful cello solo by Ashley Brown; the unbridled zest of the Die Fledermaus overture made it a winning finale.

When we ventured beyond three-quarter time there was a clutch of toe-tapping polkas - the Tritsch-Tratsch, the Pizzicato and a Thunder and Lightning Polka with appropriate din from a thundersheet and lightning flashing on the organ pipes.

Dame Malvina Major was the star turn. In a Strauss bracket, she was at her most engaging when she was able to draw on her theatrical nous.

Adele's Laughing Song, in particular, was a neatly sung, coquettish delight, whereas her Czardas did not have quite the fire displayed in a production of Die Fledermaus a few years back.

Later, songs by Lehar and Siecynski were less interesting musically, although Major was responsible for a moment of pure magic when she came on for an encore with the popular Vilia from Lehar's Merry Widow.

The voice was a creamy delight, and when she coaxed the audience to sing along, like a Viennese Vera Lynn, one wished that there had been a few more verses to prolong the enchantment.