Variety (Oct 1941)

40 CONCERT^PERA Wednesday, October 29, 1941 Grace Moore to Do Met Tosca' in N Y. with Tibbett, KuBmaii Grace Moore's Brst 'Tosca' lor the Met will take place at the Metro- politan Opera House Dec. 18, with Charles Kullman as Mario and I^w- rence Tibbett as Scarpia. Singer Is also planning two new roles for the following year. These are in "Monna Vanna' and 'Kaenigs- kinder.' 'Monna' was a starring ve- hicle for Mary Garden and 'Koenigs- kinder,' by Humperdink, was Ger- Bldine Farrar's best role. It is un- derstood that the latter persuaded Miss Moori to try the little 'Goose Girl' role, feeling that of all who have essayed it since her heyday, the present-day star is best fitted for ■ revival. N. Y. Town HaU Reviews (Week of Oct. 21) Conrad Thibault, veteran radio baritone, gave a recital of French, Italian, German, Spanish and Eng- lish songs at Town Hall Monday night (27). Baritone's recital was the finest at Town Hall by a vocalist this season. His artistry, interpre- tation and diction in all languages was excellent, Best works on a pro- gram of over 30 selections was 'C'est un Torrent Impetueux,' from Gluck's 'Airs des Pelerins de la Mecque,'- and 'La Paloma,' sung as an encore. Moore St. L. Click. In Tosca' St. Louis, Oct 28. Tosca,' sponsored by the St. Louis Grand Opera Assn., grossed an esti- mated $7,600 in the opera house of the Municipal Auditorium Saturday (25) night with a near-capacity mob on deck. Grace Moore, Kurt Baum and Carlo Morelli, in top roles, clicked. Santo Gullotta, mess sergeant at Ft. Leonard, who has had operatic ex- perience on the west coast,, won an audition and copped role of Spoletta. He scored. High salaries 61 top- flight warblers prevented Assn. from profiting. Performance, the lone one, drew raves from the crix. Season winds up Nov. 10 when TalstaH,' in English, will be pre- . sented for one performance. John Charles Tht>mas and Dusollna Gian- nlnl will divide the top roles. HOFMANN G^S BIG RECEPTION ATCARNEGIE Carlos Alexander, listed as a bass- baritone but not possessing the bass tones, concerted Tuesday (21) night. Singer's voice is small and not too impressive, but from an interpreta- tive standpoint he was a wow. His singing of lieder was just among the best heard locally in years from a voung singer. He's a student of Friedrich Schorr, Met baritone. Marlsa Regales, young Brazilian pianist, provided an auspicious de- but at Town HaU Friday (24). The pianist, already a virtuoso of the first rank, played works of Bach, Chopin, Liszt and various Argentine composers with fiery effect. She possesses amazing power for a woman and remarkable, mature interpreta- tive ability. Aleksandr Helnunn, pianist, on Saturday afternoon (25) displayed a romantic temperament well suited to the music of Bach, Schubert and Chopin, which featured the first half of his program. The cloying lyricism of all three was realized by the artists, who played the works with a dreamy; characteristic brilliance. Technically, he lacked a full-fledged legato and. also made excessive use of the pianissimo passages. An oc- casional forte to vary the monotony .would not have been amiss.' First appearance of John Barbir- oUl as conductor and of Josef Hof- mann as soloist featured the Thurs- day (23) performance of the . New York Philharmonic Symphony at Carnegie Hall. The conductor pre- sented a program that ' included Brahms' second symphony, which lagged under his batdh, and a funeral march based on a Choplii. opus. Latter was baUlv orchestrated, be- ing powerful where it. should have been quiet, and vice-versa. ^ Pianist, ot course, was the star, for after more than five decades be- fore the American public, he is still top's. He played the Beethoven Fourth Concerto with his. uoi a' brilliance, his- stubby fingers' flying over the keyboard in dazzling runs kni cadenzas and with a style that has no peers.' The orchestra sup ported- him ngbly. ' The applause was'deafening. '. Also presented was 'Plain Chant for Americans,' a new work by .Wil- liam Grant Still, 'nrith Vilbiir Evans as soloist. Baritone perfotmed most capably, but the composition it^lf Is repetitiously climactic. Sunday (26) the orchestra p'e sented Dvorak's New World Sym —phony—in -commemoration of the lOOth year of the birth of the -com poser. Also on the program \Vas Weinberger's Polka and Fu.sue frsm •Schwanda." Both were played to the hilt by the orchestra, with- Bar- birolli's readings tops. Hofmann re peatsd the Beethoven concerto in his usual exemplary fashion. BaOet Review Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo (MET OrERA HOUSE, N. Y.) Kathryn BoghettI, contralto, on Saturday evening (25) gave a pro- gram consisting -of lieder. Trench and English songs. ^Singer possesses a limited husky voice of nondescript character and litttle variance in color or shading. Her vocal weak- nesses were best exemplified in 'A'mor Viens Aider,' from 'Samson,' where her top 'G' was achieved as a shriek; the low 'A' flat was barely audible. Ernest MoChe^ey, tenor, gave a concert ot French, Italian and Ger- man songs Wednesday night (22) Singer possesses the makings of i fine voice, backed with excellent in-, terpretative ability, especially in the French group, where his diction and coloring are-, virile and authentic. He do^s not,' howevex, support his voice -V/ith sufficient' breath, and as a result it sometimes becomes edgy and brittle. A top 'B' flat Is an easy matter to the young singer, who would b^wise to recognize that his is'a lyric voice which will not stand the hard driving for bigger tones that he gives it.- Nature has been prodigal enough with him in his voice/ Intelligence of singing and magnificient physical stature with- out his attempting to improve it in that manner. Cathelene- Parker, mezzo-soprano, recitaled Sunday afternoon ,(26) featuring songs in five languages. Mezzo chose a program which was too ambitious for her, shbwing up deficiencies in the top and bottom registers. The singer shoWed in- telligence and a certain amount of style, but needs much more study. The middle of her voice when not forced possesses a fine quality. ' B'way Crop ; CoDtlnned from page 3; A so-called new version of Leo- nide Massine's 'Bogatyiri' was the featurea v/ci-ic of the Ballet Ru;se de Monte Carlo in its return to the Met Opera House Thursday (24) night after a three-day absence. New version seems only to eliminate the prolog. - - Ballet ifcbsfumed magniflce'ntly, and with the addition of superb sets end scenery it should have c ick pos- sibilities, but despite excellent per- . formanccs by the troupe, drew nothing more than a yawn. ' The . story ^tself is dull, concerning a hero saving his gal from the clutches of •n ogre. Music, is Borodin's sec- ond symphony, played mise ably by the Met orchestra under Efrem Kurtz. Musicians have been drop- ping off. gradually since the start of tbe season and need to perk'up. h(ora Faucbald, lyric soprano, on Sunday evenirig (26) did works of Mozart, Schubert and Wolf, among others. The soprano possesses a light, pleasing lyric voice which has a tendency to get shrill 'on top. When not forced, it has freshness. Best work -was In the opening aria from 'II RePastore' of Mozart. . Smith. Carnegie Hall Review Ans .--!.! 'lui;.!, r.isnist. save a re- cital Tuesday (21) at Carnegie Hall of works of Beethoven, Schumann, Debuss^, Chopin, Liszt and Rach- maninoff. The 'pianist^ is a flne tech- ■licinn and his interpretative ability realized most of the scores, but in many instances his ;\vork was ragged. Attendance was small. MIobael BartleU set for Alfredo in 'Traviata' by the Chicago Opera Co. on .the. evening of Nov. IS. Emile Cooper will conduct. Carlo Morelli, Met baritone, will sing Figaro in the 'Barber of Seville' on the afternoon of Nov. 15, replacing John Charles Thomas. it. Next most likely Is the George Kaufman-Edna Ferber'piece, The Land Is Bright,' which opened only last night (Tues.) after several out- of-town engagements. Another currant-runner with film money behind It is 'Cuckoos on the Hearth' of which Warner Bros, has piece. Unfavorable reaction ot the critics and slow biz leave it, however, less than a certainty for the WB studio. Helen Hayes' starrer, 'Cai>dle in the Wind,' will remain a doubtful quantity until the b.o. proves whether or not the tepid notices were right or wrong. Virtu-: ally certain as Hollywood missouts are 'AH Men Are Alike' and 'Viva O'Brien.' Likely Entries Lejit offerings on the Broadway agenda which' are rated as having fairly good chances of being bought tor pictures—although nothing ot this sort is ever certain until it has had the acid test at the ticket-cage— include 'Blithe Spirit,' the Noel Cow- ard play whose London run has been very successful; 'Junior Miss,' adap- tation by Joseph Fields and Jerome Chodorov (adaptors of 'My Sister Eileen') of Sally Benson's New Yorker stories; 'Ring Around Elizabeth,' comedy to star Jane Cowl; 'Brooklyn, - U. S. A.' (also known as 'Murder, Inc.'), dealing with the recently-exposed Brooklyn murder ring: 'Hotel Splendldc-,' musi- cal comedy with book by Donafd Og- den Stewart (bejied on Ludwig Bem- elman's New Yorker stories) and music by' Rodgers and Hart, and 'Rose Burke,' play which Henry Bernstein has written for Katharine Cornell. ' Less certain of filming, but defi- nitely in the 'maybe' category, is 'The Walrus and the 'Carpenter' (known for a time as 'The Mul- berry Bush'), a comedy by Noel Langley, in which Pauline Lord will star. It opens in New York early • November. 'Possible' Then there is a list of 'possibles' for screen treatment among the comers. It must be remembered in this connection that even if a drama- tization of the telephone book proved big at the b.b. Hollywood would probably buy rights, so - much de- pends on the b.o., no matter how big or small a screen possibility a play appears in script fo'^m. 'Possibles' include 'Spring Again,' 'Clash "By Night,i 'Sunny River" (mu- sical), 'Hope for a Harvest," 'Thea- tre,' 'Friend for a Nickel," 'All in Favor,' 'My Dear Public,' 'Caleb Catlun's America,' 'Certain Going Up' and 'She Lived in a Shoe.' Other shows bound for Broadway include 'Iligh Kickers,' George.Jes- sel's nostalgic (musical); 'Little Dark ^ Horse,' 'Chills and Fever," •Walk'Into My Parlor." 'Play with Fire," 'King's Maid,' 'Purple - Dust," 'Five Chelsea Lane' (already pic- turized in England), 'Papa Is All,' 'Carriage Trade' (too censorable), '1.3 O'clock" and 'Soldiers Tanaka.' Scripts which haven't been -seen yet are: 'Fire Escape,' 'Seventh Trumpet," 'Robin Hood of Dixie' (re- vised version of last season's 'Off the Record'). 'Pie in the Sky,' and 'And So to Bedlam.' 'Banjo Eyes,' the Eddie Cantor musical, is being backed by War- ner Bros. It will probably be pic- turized by them, although it has already been filmed in its original straight comedy form as 'Three. Men On a Horse." 'Lady . Comes Across' doesn't appear to have screen pos- sibillies, although inasmuch as a film man, Charles R. Rogers, Is co- producing, there's a possibility he has something in mind. Other shows which don't seem to be strong film bets but where again that'hinges 'on'~their success, include 'Sons o" Fun,' successor to 'Hell- zapoppin', and 'Solitaire.' In the same category but even less likely for Hollywood are 'Woodrow Wil- son' and Thomas Jefferson.' Among the plays which have al- ready opened and closed this sea- son, 'Village Green" (29 perform- ances) and 'More tlie Merrier' (16 performances) se^m to be the only ones with the slightest chance ot yet being bought for pictures, Virtual impossibilities include 'Anne of England' (7 performances), 'Ghost for Sale" (6), "Mr. Big' (7), 'BrothBr Cain' (IB) and 'DIsUnt City' (2), 'Ah, Wilderness,' which closed Sat- urday (25), Is owned and was made by Metro. Rubinstein-Met Opera Conflict One of the oddest conflicts In conosrt-opers booking -will take place next month In New York. On the evening ot Nov. M Artur Rubinstein,, ona of th« great box- office pianists ot tha prasent day, plays at Ca'mafia Hall while lass than a mile furtkar downtown tha MetropolltaB Opara troupa wlU open Its season. Peerce a Wow in Frisco lligoletto/ Steals Spotlight From Tibbett Pons Opera Reviews PIQUE DAME Oppra In throo lu-tii (i scrnas); mUBlc. P«lei- T.-h«lkow«lc)-; llbrtllo, Modoala TchalhowAky. bAsed. on a. story by Pusb- kln: prCHentcd In an Englls^i voralon baaed on Rosa NewmHrch'A tmnnlatlon; produrfd by the .N'ew Opera Co., Oct. 22, '41, at 44th St. theatre, Y.; i-onductor, Herman Adler; slase dlreelor. Dr. Lolliar Waller- ureln: chorna manter. Herbert Wtnlcler: Qhon^ojrmphrr, iKor Si-hwo7.off-, acenery de- slpicd by Kugene B, Dunkol. Caal: Hnrdeaty Johnaon. Keojielh Schon, Glenn Darwin. Brooka Dunbar. Leonard Slokca. Donald llultcren, MiKUel MunD:^, Garlleltl Swift. Kdwlna -Guatla, Selma Ken- yon. I.ydia Suinmera, Louise Hlllyer, Flor- ence Wyman. Tchaikowsky's 'Pique Dame,' which received its first performance in the U.S. 31 years ago at the Met with Leo Slezak, Alma Gluck and Emmy Destinn under Gustav Mahler, was revived Wednesday night (22) in English by the New Opera Co. The opera, seldom heard In this country, :failed to jell despite hercu- lean efforts by the singers. and pit orch. It was unfortunate that the New Opera Co. chose a work that re- quires-great protagonists. The sing- ers have not the vocal material necessary for clicko results. Libretto concerns Herman, sung by Hardesty Johnson, who tries to make sufficient money- to marry Lisa, Engaged to Prince Yeletsky. Herman slays the 'Queen of Spades' in an attempt to And out her secret on cards. Subsequently visited by her ghost, the tenor takes his own life following the suicide ot his sweetheart. Johnson, a former pupil of Jean D> Reszke (1850-1925), forced his upper notes to a great degree, though he exhibited some abillt/ at acting. Glenn Darwin, as the prince, looked and acted .well, but his part also called for vocal prowess that he did not possess. As Count Tomsky, Kenneth Schon performed capably, but his voice also failed to measure up to the standards set by the composer. Nor did an abominable English transla- tion full of unsingable consonants and empty phrases help the strug- gling singers. Best voice belonged to Selma Kenyon as Lisa. She has a power- ful lyrico-spinto, but quality is not pleasing and the tones were fre- quently edgy through hard driving. A slimmer Lisa would also .not have been amiss. As the murdered countess (Queen of Spades), Edwina Eustis, known locally for her Radio City Music Hall appearani^s, acted creditably, 'though ?lso inadequate vocally. She was unable to summon the color or resonance required by the role'? Lydia Summers displayed the same type voice in her dual roles of Pauline and Daphnis, Shortage of breath, off-pitch sing- ing in ensemble work, strained top tones and a heavy orchestra too frequently made for an inadequate performance. Conducting ot the veteran Herman Adler was heavy handed. San Francisco, Oct. 28. Creating a sensation on the Coast not known since the days of GIgll, Jan Peerce, tenor of the Radio City Music Hall, New York, sang the Duka in 'Rigoletto' here Wednesday (22) night at the War Memorial Opera House, and completely took the play- away from -several Met Opera sing- ers, including Lawrence Tibbett and - Lily Pons. Tenor displayed a magnificent lyric "voice with brilliant high notes. 'In 'Questa o quella' (Act I) the top B flat had a ring that reminded one ot his Italian predecessor, and this was foilawed by'.a finely"su"ng,~e>n-ii-'" lently phrased 'E 11 sol dell' anima' and the subsequent 'Addio addio speranza ed anima' in Act II. In Atts ni and IV the tenor really cut loose, with a succession of clarion top B's in 'Parmi veder le lagrime' and 'La donna e Mobi'.o.' His acting was on a par with his warbling. Lawrence Tibbett, as Rigoletto, has recovered much of the voice lacking last year. The baritone has lost some quality and does not appear as prod- igal of top notes as previously, but he still remains an excellent singing actor. Lily Pons sang an excellent Gilda, with her 'Caro Nome,' as usual, stopping the show with the top 'E.' / Lorenzo Alvary and Irra Petina rounded out a well-balanced cast as Sparatucile and Maddelina, respec- tively. House was SRO with an $18,- 500 take. MACBETH Opera In four acia, 10 accnea. In llnllnn. with mualo. by Oltieeppe VerOI; libretto, KrnncOKL-o Maria Plave, baaed on the trOR. cdy by Shakeapeare: preaontcd In Ita Americon premiere by the Kew Opei-a <-'o. 01 th 44th St. theatre, N. y., opening Oct U, "41. t^onductor'Dr. l-'rltz Buach; ataf;.* dlrC(-lor. liana Buach; choreographer, Igitr SchwezolT: choruamaater. Hcrl>erl Winkler: coatum'ca designed hy Morcu Montedoni. Cast: .Joaa waltera. Roberto Sllva. Flor- ence Kirk. Robert Morahall, John Hamlll. Martha LIpton, Leon Llaclilncr.t Ringing the bell resoundingly, the New Opera Co. has finally justified its existence with a superb, perform- ance of Verdi's 'Macbeth,' given in its first American performance since 1850. This is an entirely new ver- sion never before seen in the U. S. The opera, based on Shakespeare's tragedy, is so vital^ so savagely mag- nificent in its intense dramatic power, that it is beyond understanding why it has been neglected. The scoring of the work, first pre- sented In 1847, Is Verdi at his best.- Here he is far ahead of his "Trova- tore' and 'Rigoletto,' which followed 'Macbeth' within a .dccrtdej and the Italian master's gr^ of the the- atre has not been so well realized In any of his Other works', except, per- haps, 'Otello.' The opera has its wesik moments, there are times when It becomes static In Its movement, Ft. Wayne Gets 'Barber' Fort Wayne, Ind., Oct. 28. For the first time In years. Fort Wayne will be the scene of an oper- atic offering, when The Barber ot Seville' will be given Nov. 7 with stars of the Metropolitan Opera Co. taking principal roles. Production will be given in the Shrine theatre. and -in the murder scene, particular- ly, .the muted orchestra in the back- ground falls to quite capture the stark realism of the drama. But these moments are few and far be- tween. For the most part the score is richly harmonic and splashed with the melodic line that was the very -•essence'of "Verdi's genius. Outstanding character in the story remains Lady Macbeth, played to the hilt by Florence Kirk. The role calls for an absolute soprano, an al- most-forgottep term, asking for dra- matic intensity and extending through brilliant runs and cadenzas to a top 'E' fiat above high 'C The singer displays a virile dramaiic so- prano of tremendous power which makes the score ot top 'C's' an easy job. Her acting is intense and the murderous character is set forth strongly against a vividly painted background. Miss. Kirk is a singer to reckon with among the future op- crstic st&rs As Macbeth, Jess Walters lives up to all his advance notices. He pos- sesses a remarkable acting ability which is best exemplified in the second act ghost scene, following, the Brindisi 'Si colmi 11 calice,' sung by Lady Macbeth. Stark madness grips, the singer, whose intensity carries well across the footlights. His ana in Act III, 'Fuggi o regal fanUsiina, is sung as well as most Met baritones could have done H. The-voice is a rich lyric baritone with plenty ot power to spare, being reminiscent of Richard Bonelli's voice. As Banquo, Robert Silvo also Is tops vocally, and his aria, 'Come dal ciel,' holds par with the other prin- cipals. The basso is a flne actor and should be a welcome addition to the roster of mostr any opera company. Roberto Marshall, tiny and almost childlike on the stage, does not pro- vide a physical likeness of Macduff, but his singing ot 'Ah la oalerna mano' in the last act, climaxed by the top 'B' flat in a luscious m>c tenor, makes up for any physical de- ficiencies. Last act also provides a duet between two tenors, an opera rarity. • ... . Fritz Busch provides a reading or the score which misses not a note ol the nuances and power of the opera, and his firm beat holds a wcU-knlt performance together. Work .of the chorus and ballet, plus the costumes and scenery, are tops. Smitn.