Variety (December 1954)

60 CONCERTS-OPERA Wednesday, December 22, 1954 yAlOETT Met s 50G Ballet Proves Dud, But There’s Goltz in Them Thar Trills By ARTHUR BRONSON * A bravura evening at the Met- ropolitan Opera House, N.Y., last Wednesday night (15) had mixed results. Dimitri Mitropoulos, the N.Y. Philharmonic maestro, mak- ing his U.S. debut as an opera conductor, scored a huge triumph, leading a performance of Strauss’ '‘Salome" that sizzled and soared. Control over orchestra and score was paramount, and the dramatic music-melo blazed from start to finish. The maestro also led the varied Verdi music for the companion-piece, the ballet Vit- torio" with a vigor and vitality that the production didn’t warrant. Christel Goltz, a German so- prano making her Met debut in the title role of "Salome." also rang the top bell. One of the best Salomes ever to sing the tortuously difficult role at the Met, Miss Goltz brought a theatric intensity and a voice of power, range and color to match the assignment. She held her own against the heavy orches- tration, even when Mitropoulos laid it on a little too solidly sometimes. Dramatically, she made a vivid Salome. Not a venomously sear- ing sadist, as a Ljuba Welitch plays it. Miss Goltz offered a dif- ferent interpretation, acting like a woman possessed, completely demented. Only flaw in her per- formance was a frequent tendency to run around the stage in a circle. But she made the opera effective, and the last 15 minutes were sheer theatric tension and horror. Paul Schoeffler made a person- able, sonorous Jochanaan. and Blanche Thebom a satisfactory Herodias. ^ut Ramon Vinay was an inadequate Herod, sometimes inaudible or singing as if he had marbles in his mouth. The highly-touted "Vittorio," first ballet work at the Met in about eight years, proved a dullish dis appointment. Creation of Zacharj Solov, the Met’s ballet master, the ballet is a beautifully-dressed af- fair, lavishly costumed and hand- somely mounted, but with an old- fashioned style and dated libretto accompanying it. There is too much spectacle and story, involving the efforts of a middleaged princess to ensnare a young duke; a lot of posturing and running around, and too little individual dance. The corps has a couple of pleasant vari- ations, but the leads dance little until their solo bits in the third scene. Mia Slavenska was imperious as the princess and Solov, in one of his rare stage appearances, was at- tractive as the duke, Jean Lee Shoch made a strong impression as a witch; Adriano Vitale, as a gen- eral, showed he could dance if given the opportunity, and Judith* Younger was charming as the duke’s love. (Trade statisticians, figuring .at intermission time what this pretty bauble must cost the Met, adjucated $30,000 for the sets, $13,500 for costumes, $3,500 , for extra orch rehearsals and Beethoven: Fidelio (RCA Victor). $2,000 for the music, for about a Memorable radio performance, Hub Bassist Gets Post As Buff Orch Asst. Maestro Boston, Dec. 21. Willis Page, for the past 14 years bass violinist with the Boston Sym- phony Orchestra, has been named associate conductor of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orch and will take ovet Jan. 6. Page, a topnotch soloist, gradu- ated from the Eastman School in 1939, and began his'symph career under aegis of the late Serge Kous- sevitzky, also a bass viol virtuoso. Kosty’s $6,200 Sellouts Impress Mgt.; Series Now Upped to Four in ’55-’56 Andre Kostelanetz and the N. Y. Philharmonic will appear at the Westchester County Center. N. Y., Dec. 29, repeating the all-Gersh- win program being offered at Car- negie Hall. N. Y., Saturday night (25). The Conlin-Petrucci Asso- ciates is offering the orch, follow- ing the success of the special Kosty Saturday concerts he incepted last season. This marks the first time the maestro is taking the N. Y. orch out of town. Deal is on guar- antee and percentage. Kosty gave three SRO concerts last season, and has three this semester. All are on single, open sale, unlike the subscription setup for the regular Saturday night se- ries. The $6,200 sellouts of the four concerts thus far, plus the already soldout Gershwin program this coming Saturday, indicate a strong new pull at the b.o. to management. Management therefore has al- ready booked Kosty for a third season, and next year will augment Creation of Zachary ) his series to four programs. Open- ing concert of the series in ’55-’56 will be a gala New Year’s Eve date, Dec. 31. Ormandy’s Big 3 O’Seas Philadelphia, Dec. 21. Eugene Ormandy, music director of the Philadelphia Orchestra, will conduct three orchestras in Europe during his mid-winter recess. Maestro will baton the Conserva- toire Orch in Paris Jan. 16. Amster- dam Concertgebouw Jan. 19-20. and BBC Orchestra in London, Feb. 2. Local Concert Inside Stuff—Concerts v Concertmaster of a highly-regarded, new instrumental ensemble from overseas is out of his spot, on grounds of coin irregularities. The group’s unofficial company manager and paymaster, the musician allegedly appropriated some of the group’s money, shipping it back home for its own account. Part of this coin is return passage money for the group, which has upset the other instrumentalists. Consuls of the country involved are taking steps which they believe wjll get most of the coin back. Group is also currently looking for a new concertmaster, acquainted with the peculiar national flavor of the ensemble, for resumption of the U. S. tour (its second in America), which begins Jan. 2. American management which booked the out- fit is keeping hands off in the matter. Spiegel Named as Head Of St. Louis Symphony St. Louis, Dec. 21. Oscar Johnson has stepped aside as prez of the St. Louis Symphony Society, which he headed for 21 years, and has been succeeded by Edwin J. Spiegel, prez of a large industrial company here. Spiegel was drafted by Mayor Raymond R. Tucker to raise $60,- 000 for the orch’s continuance sev- eral months ago and accomplished the task. Johnson will remain as one of the six active veepees of the organization. Mgrs. Seeking Code of Ethics Home concert managers — local sponsors and buyers of music and legit attractions around the coun- try—want an effective code of ethics established, to improve con- ditions between themselves and the N.Y. bureaus and managements. Therefore, at the seventh annual convention of the National Assn, of Concert Mgrs., held in N.Y. last week (13-14), a special committee was picked to draw’ up such a code, for consideration by the board in June. (There is a vestige of one now. but it’s not considered effec- tive). With about 50 managers from all over the U.S. and Canada attend- ing, the group also discussed other problems, such as the effect of the current unrest in the organized audience movement on its own af- fairs, and business generally. Lo- cal managers reported biz down, a bit this fall. The new season got off to a comparatively slow start, but there’s hope for a pickup right after New Year’s. Some managers want the org to go into related fields, such as illustrated lectures, and a committee was set up to study inviting such people into the group. William K. Huff, of the Philadel- phia Forum, was reelected prez. Roland E. Chesley and S. E. Crowe were retained as veepees, and Julius Bloom, director of the Brooklyn Academy of Music, which is also national headquarters for the NACM, was again picked as secretary. Mrs. Lillian P. Bonney of Baltimore was picked as new treasurer. The Philadelphia Museum of Art has bought 50 photos of music personalities taken by Adrian Siegel, cellist in the Philadelphia Orches- tra who has gained a rep also as a photog. Museum plans to send these pix, mainly comprised of longhair celebs, around the country in ’59r’56 to other museums as a loan exhibit. Some of Siegel’s music pix were shown recently at N.Y.’s Grand Central Gallery by Eastman- Kodak, who are planning the same exhibit at the Clearwater (Fla.) Art Center in February. This Angel Didn’t Fear to Tread In U.S. Disk Market; Set Solid After Year Winnipeg Ballet Drive Winnipeg, Dec. 21. A $50,000 fund drive, to "put the Royal Winnipeg Ballet back on its toes," was opened here last week. If successful, 20 dancers will be put under contract and six new ballets choreographed. New h.q. and studios are neces- sary, too, because of the blaze that burned out their previous ones some months ago. Italian Opera Sked For 1955 Edinburgh Fest Edinburgh. Dec. 21. A season of Italian opera is lined up for the 1955 Edinburgh Inter- national Festival by the Glynde- bourne Opera Co. Repertory will consist of two operas by Verdi, “Falstaff" and "La Forza del Des- tino," and Rossini’s "Barber of Seville." Dr. Carl Ebert will return as ar- tistic director and as chief pro- ducer, Vittorio Gui as the chief conductor, while designers are to include Oliver Messel and Leslie Hurry. Glyndebourne team is com- pleted by its own Festival chorus and ballet, and by the Royal Phil- harmonic Orch. Classical Disk Reviews $50,000 job). ‘Cracker’ 271G In 7-Week N.Y. Run The N. Y. City Ballet wound up a seven-week run of "Nutcracker" at City Center, N. Y., Sunday night (19). garnering an impressive $271,- 000 for the 56 showings. Although costs aren’t all in, management fig- ures to make about $10,000 to $15,- 000 on the run. First full-evening work in the troupe’s repertoire, with many kids in the cast, the ballet sold out well in advance for all matinees. Fri- day and Saturday evenings were okay, with other evenings poor. Management moved the last two Sunday night performances up to 5:30 p. m., and they went SRO. Seven-week run of one ballet, for the first time in its history, was ad- mittedly a great risk by manage- ment, which feel lucky they came out of it all right. They won’t do such a long season again, but they regard "Nutcracker” as a great holiday draw, good for a two to three-week run at Xmas time for j Dwyer is an expressive performer, some seasons yet. 1 whether in the gentle, lyric back in 1944, by Arturo Toscanini, soloists, chorus and the \NBC Symphony Orch, of Beethoven’s only opera, is finally recorded and released, for a noteworthy occa- sion. Warming story and challeng- ing score scintillate under the maestro’s firm, propulsive beat, and the singers seem inspired. Jan Peerce, as Florestan, is espe- cially choice, and Rose Bampton makes a sturdy Leonore. Kay: Western Symphony & Thomson: Filling Station (Vox). Debut recording of the N. Y. City Ballet orch, under Leon Barzin, provides snappy performances of music to two City Center hits. Both, especially this season’s "Western Symphony” smash, are tuneful, rhythmic scores, but need a visual performance for choicest effect. Orch sounds firstrate. Homage to Diaghilev (Angel). Music of the famed impresario's prize productions (Afternon of a Faun, Daphnis & Chloe, Swan Lake. Petrouchka, etc.*’' played smartly by the Philharmonia under Igor Markevitch. Album is unusually handsome, with illustrat- ed brochure, descriptions, pix, for a most desirable acquisition. ProkofiefT: Sonata for Flute & (though also witty and original) Prokofieff Sonata, or in the im- pressionistic but somewhat exu- berant Roussel. Rich tone, as well as good balance, show’ throughout. Grieg: Sonata in E Minor & Ballade In C. Minor <MGM). At- tractive coupling of two Grieg piano works by gifted young Menahem Pressler, his vigorous approach to the Sonata in effective contrast to his gentle application towards the charming Ballade. Mozart: Concerto No. 3 in G & No. 4 in D (Epic). Tuneful, intri- cate, typical Mozart, well-played here by Arthur Grumiaux. young Belgian violinist who shows a limpid, lyric tone and excellent musicianship. Vienna Symphony under Bernhard Paumgartner as- sists. Turina Album (W’estminster). Varied, appetizing selections, ex- pertly rendered by the Orquestra Sinfonica de Madrid, under Pedro Branco. Lola Rodriguez de Aragon shows a fine soprano as soloist in the rhapsodical, moving mood- piece, “Canto a Sevilla.” "Danzas Fantasticas" has some flavorsome terp rhythms. Milhaud: Suite for Violin, Clari- net, Piano & Bartok: Contrasts (Decca). The Milhaud is a very ! attractive piece, pleasantly melodic. RCA Scores Again With 2d ‘Arias Sung & Acted’; King, Anderson Shine RCA Victor’s second set of "Arias Sung And Acted." like the first, presents acting or recited ver- sions of an opera aria or scene, done in English, to give the arias (sung in the original language) more meaning as well as add to the listener’s enjoyment. The lineup of actors here is as strong as the first disk, the singers are just as outstanding, and the result is just as appealing and helpful. Thus we have Dennis King airily reciting the braggadacio "Catalog" aria from "Don Giovanni." which Ezio Pinza then sings with much flourish, and Judith Anderson ex- plains in vivid, dramatic fashion the "Trovatore” aria, "Tacea la notte placida." which Zinka Mi- lanov then sings so magnificently. Geraldine Brooks is merely ade- quate in the "Traviata" excerpts, but quite touching in the "Boheme" bit with John Barrymore. Jr. I.icia Albanese sings these arias ("Ah, fors e lui” and "Sempre Libera,” and “Che gelida mania” with Giuseppe di Stefano) with distinc- tion. One whole disk side is devoted to Act II of "Tosca," the supper scene, acted by Joan Fontaine, Leif Erickson and Karl Weber, and sung by Maria Caniglia, Armando Bor- gioli and Nino Mazziotti. Erickson isn’t suave or villainous enough as Scarpia, but Miss Fontaine is fine. Singing version is firstrate. Bron. Angel Records, U. S. subsid of Britain’s Electric & Musical In- dustries Ltd., has just finished its first year of operations in America. In that comparatively brief, time, it has established itself as a major label in the classical disk field. In a business dominated by RCA Victor and Columbia, with Capitol, Decca and London following, the new Angel disk has pushed its way in to be right on the tail of the No. 3-4-5 diskers. One special- ized record shop in N. Y. and a couple around the country re- ported their December sales of Angel disks to equal those of either Victor or Columbia. Angel prez Dario admitted his firm is a year ahead in sales, that the original prospectus didn’t call for this progress until end of its second U. S. year. (EMI, operating in 25 countries, reported this month a recovery in trading profits, from a 1951-53 fig- ure of £330,039 ($924,000), to £1.387.682 ($3,885,509) for the current year ended June 30.) Packaging Factor Dealer explanation of the way Angel established itself in one year despite domestic competition is threefold: packaging, repertoire and promotion. One dealer, call- ing Angel a prestige account, ex- plained the success as mainly due to the attractive packaging, but also to the dignified ads, with no blatant cut price in dealer ads permitted. Angel sells its product in two forms, factory-sealed, with elabo- rate art and literature, at $5.95 an album, or unwrapped without fancy inserts at $4.95. Soria claimed that his factory-sealed packages outsell his dollar-cheaper albums by eight to one. Angel rec- ords are all pressed in England, and Soria feels they're better made, with quieter surfaces, as an added sales factor. Piano; Roussel: Trio for Flute,I in conventional pattern. The Bar Viola, Cello (Boston). Most attrac- tok. a modern dance rhapsody, is tive. offbeat disk, in two appealing scores expertly played by Boston Symph first-chairs. Flutist Doriot leaner, more pithy, but just as inviting. Clarinetist Reginald Kell, violinist Melvin Ritter and pianist Joel Rosen form a skilled trio in both works. Bron. Longhair Bits The N. Y. Times Howard Taub- man, Trib’s Paul Lang and Jour- nal American’s Miles Kasten- dieck were guest speakers last week at a Forum for Conductors & Music Critics held (for the first time) on the Coast by the L. A. Philharmonic . . . Bruno Walter and the N. Y. Philharmonic re- corded last weekend’s Brahms "Re- quiem" performances for Colum- bia on Monday (20) . . . Lotte Leh- mann, onetime star soprano of the Vienna State Opera, was refused a pension by the Austrian govern- ment unless she gives up her ac- quired U. S. citizenship. Espagnolt IOY2G, Hub Boston, Dec. 21. Ballets Espagnols, playing a full stanza at the 1,700-seater Shubert Theatre here last week, found biz not too good, garnering only i $10,500. Flagstad, Goodman To Aid NBC Orch Symphony of the Air, formerly 1 Arturo Toscanini’s NBC Symphony j Orchestra, is pulling off a whole j series of bravura stunts to keep it- I self going as an organization, in the face of NBC dropping it and no commercial sponsor latching on. Group began this season with a Carnegie Hall concert Oct. 27, played without a conductor—in deference to the aged maestro who had gone back home. On Jan. 19, orch will give its second Carnegie Hall concert, bringing in Benny Goodman to be longhair soloist in a Mozart concerto, with Leonard Bernstein serving as batonist. Group, chairmanned by Don Gillis, really hit a 10-strike for its next concert, inducing famed Met soprano Kirsten Flagstad to come out of retirement as soloist for an all-Wagner program March 20, with Edwin McArthur, soprano’s former accompanist, as conductor. Mme. Flagstad made her farewell U.S. appearance April 1, ’52 with the Met Opera, retiring from the concert stage in England a year later. Leith Stevens was elected presi- dent of the Composers Guild of America in simultaneous balloting of Board members of the eastern and western branches.