Variety (Apr 1942)

38 COHCEBTpi-OPEllA Wednesdaj, April 29, 1942 Nelson Eddy, Pons Top Earnings In Concert-Opera; Radio, lectures Responsible for $$ in Some Cases Enumerated among the accompany- ing boxes are those personages of concert and opera who are, at the end of the 1941-42 season the pre- sumed leaders In the matter of (a) attracting the largest audiences and (b) earning the largest sums of money from varied sources. It will be noted that the two lists are partly but not wholly identical. Nelson Eddy, the Metro film star, is first in both lists. James Melton, Albert Spalding and Dorothy Maynor appear among the top income 10, but not among those who consistently draw the biggest concert crowds. A couple of the latter, like Horowitz and Helen Traubel, are not trade-rated tfi in the financial stratosphere for the season. Nelson Eddy's recordings, radio and 30-odd concerts at $3,500-$4,000 per, earned upwards of $350,000 the past year, tops of any concert artist in the country. Lily Pons probably is second among the earners, with a take of about $250,000 based also on radio, records and concerts. Colo- ratura would hive given Eddy a close call for top honors'but she did no film work this season. She earned money in opera, which Eddy did not. Melton Third In third place for income is James Melton, whose radio fees, concerts, records and operatic appearances are estimated to total close to the Pons with them, Is a group of the 10 best artists as far as drawing power is concerned. This is that motley group of artists who receive high fees, and, yet may only play a limited number of engagements for reasons of their own, and whose earnings may not be so great. An Edt'.y who gives 30 re- Draw Most People 1 Nelson Eddy 2 Marian Anderson 3 Lily Pons 4 Vladimir Horowitz 5 Serge Rachmaninoff 6 Jascha Heifetz 7 Paul Robeson. 8 Yehudi Menuhin 9 Grace Moore 10 Helen Traiibel Earn Most Money 1 Nelson' Eddy. 2 Lily Pons 3 James Melton 4 Richard Crooks 5 Marian Anderson 6 Albert Spalding 7 Yehudi Menuhin ■ 8 Lawrence Tibbett 9 Paul Robeson 10 Dorothy Maynor figure. Fourth is Richard Crooks, whose 39 weeks for Firestone Hour at $3,500 per, over SO Victor records, and 75 concerts-placed him in the $200,000 income class. Marian An- derson, the Negro contralto, nws next with 70 concerts netting her $2,000 per concert, plus her radio and record fees. Albert Spalding has benefitted from radio where, however, he has been as much wise- cracker as .virtuoso. Yehudi Menuhin found radio, con- certs and.recorijls netting hln\ well over $100,000' for seventh place In 1940-41, while Lawrence Tibbett with. 39 appearances Including two Ford Hour broadcasts despite vocal bumps for the reason made eighth place. Paul Robeson made one film, bad radio concert and. record appear- ances sufTicient to boost him over the $100,000 mark .as did Dorothy Maynor, who made no motion pic- ture. This was the first 10 o'f th« earners of 1941-42, all of whom made more than $100,000. Close behind on their heels cor.-.ss a second group of 10, whose earn- ings ranged from $50,000 to $100,000. This group includes Helen Jepson citals yearly may make $100,000- $120,000 on. a sold out tour, with standees jamming every inch of space, but not earn as much as a Marian Anderson who gives 70 con- certs at half the figure, yet Eddy's draw is larger than that of Ander- son's who could not receive 30 book- ings at a figure of $3,500-$4,000. A last group includes newcomers to th6 field who are on the upgrade and who can be' expected to push into groups one and two. These would include Astrld Varnay, being sold at $750, Lansing Hatfield, at $750-$1,000, Jan Peerce, at $750-$l,- 250. Draper and Adler, at $1,000-$!,- 500, Claudio Arrau at $1,000-$1,500 and Salvatore Baccaloni who gets $1,250 for single and $2,250-$2,500 for his company. Novelties which have gone over well in money earnings and book- ings are the Ballet Theatre, the Ballet Russe de Monte . Carlo, both Don Cossack Choruses, which aver- age $50,000 each for 16 weeks of Fookings at $500-$l,000. for each date, the Trapp Family Singers, the Eva Jessye Choir, and the 'Marriage of Figaro' company of the JuiUiard company. N. Y. Concert Reviews 'LE JONGLEVB DE NOTBE DABIB' Opera Mosqae, Newark, April 26, 194t , Unheard In the United States since Mary Garden sang the role In N. Y. in 1922, Massenet's'Jongleur de Notre Dame' was presented by the Newark Civic Grand Opera Association, Per- formance was not a good one, many cuts having been made in the score, and the presentation as a unit show- ing lack of rehearsals and inade- quacies of casting, but In the title role, Colette D'Arville, French mezzo, used her voice and material in a warm, fetching manner and sang with assurance and poignancy. Her acting was sincere, and her boyish figure and graceful movements, espe- cially in the last-act dance, made an attractive picture; As Boniface, Claudio Frigario did a creditable job of acting, but did not summon his once rich velvety quality. Lorenzo Alvary as the Prior was dignified and stately in his act- ing, and his deep bass voice was adequately suited to the music, al- though much cuttihg of his part pre- vailed. The orchestra under William Spada drowned out the singers fre- quently and played oflE pitch. The performance was followed by one of 'Pagliacci' in which the vet eran Giovanni Martinelli, in superb voice, carried off all honors. His top 'B' in 'A venti tre ora' and his 'Vesti la Giubba' were sung with power, intensity and richness of. quality of Martinelli of a - score of years ago. Laura Triggianl was ex- cellent vocally and dramatically as Nedda, Robert Trehy a good-looking Silvio, and Angelo Pilotto a boorish, overacting hamish Tonio. Spada's conducting did not Improve. Eddy. OBFEO ED EDBIDICE' Opera Concert Theatre, N. T., April 27. 1942 A successful presentation of 'Orfeo ed Euridice' in English was given at the Concert theatre April 27. Vet- eran ■ contralto. Amy , EUerman, showed she still possesses a beautiful quality of voice, intelligent phrasing and good diction, although the bot- tom notes lack some resonance today. Harriet He'nders, with a beautiful lyric soprano, revealed remarkable insight and artistry, subtle, phrasijig and. brilliant top tones. Add a lovely face to that combination and ask:' why has the Metropolitan not used her more often. Margit Boker sang Amore sympa- thetically, but forced a bit on top notes. Conducting of Laszlo Halasz was excellent throughout. Orchestra, recruited from-the NBC Symphony and Philharmonic men, played with fire. Eddv. Group Two on Earnings 1 Helen Jepson 2 Grace Moore 3 Josef Hotmann 4 Artur Rubinstein 5 Jose Iturbi 6 Charles Kullman 7 Lauritz Melchior 8 Ezio Pinza 9 Gladys Swarthout 10 Bldu Sa'S'ao Grace Moore, Josef Hofmann, Artur Rubenstein. Jose Iturbi, Charles Kullman, Lauritz Melchior, Ezio Pinza, Gladys Swarthout and Bidu Sayao. [Ed. Note.— Miss Moore, however, earned an additional $^0,000 from South American and radio appear- ances last summer and this spring. This is not included in the above category since these earnings are outside the accepted concert season from October to May. If included, she would rate well up in the first list.] Third Gronp A third group, quite a bit different from the first two, and yet tied up Zinka Mflanov Due With Met At $500 an Opera Zinka Milanov, dramatic soprano, who did the unusual by holding off. the Metropolitan Opera becausa of unsatisfactory financial terms. Is ex- pected to be with the opera next season. She will receive $500 a per- formance for 16 operas. .Her unmet terms for the season just ended were $600, demanded after she had pre- viously worked for the Met at $250 weekly. Singer stuck to her guns all' this year, not singing with the company. She left Sunday (26). for Havana where she opens the season In 'Alda.' She ^ill also be heard in 'Gioconda' and 'Ballo in Maschera' and then proceeds to Mexico for the opera sea- son!' From Mexico she proceeds to Lima and Santiago for concerts, and opens the Buenos Aires season in 'Ballo' on May 15. She has 30 performances at $600 per in Buenos Aires and Rio, re- turning to the U. S. In October for appearance with the Chicago Opera Co. and concerts. Jersey WPA Orchestra On WHN, New York New Jersey WPA Philharmonic Orchestra of 85 musicians'begins a series of broadcasts Over WHN, New York, Monday (4). Programs will be picked iip each Monday there' after, 9-0:45 p.m., from the'auditorium of East Side High, Peterson, N. J. Broadcasts are under the auspices of Paterson's Defense CoimcU, work- ing with that city's Evening News. Prominent., guest conductors will wield batoii on airings. Henry Nosco is regular conductor. PuDmaii Car Scardty Jeoparfe Company Mes Next Year *Sadko' Met Revival Hit Metropolitan Opera Co. Is reported Interested In a revival > of 'Sadko,* which has not been done at the house since the 1931- 33 season. When last presented Edward Johnson, Gladys Swarth- out, Editha Fleischer and Louis D'Angelo sang the leads. Rumored no.w for the parts are Charles Kullman, Gladys Swarth- out, Josephine Antolne and Sal- vatore Baccaloni GKEGOB PIATiaORSKT 'Cellist Town Hall, N. T„ April 26, 1942 Playing with brilliance of tone and bowing effects, Gregor Piatlgorsky demonstrated at To'wn Hall, why he Is often termed the world's greatest 'cellist His deeply moving Inter- pretations and flood of color and dynamic' effects made a memorable recital. Eddy. The N. Y. daily critics said: Times (Straus)—'In peak of form. Extraordinarily impressive. Splen- didly played from the technical angle.' Trlbnne (Bohm) —'Superbly set forth. Flawlessly balanced-4ind fine- ly Integrated Interpretations.' I^AUL KING Baritone Town HaU, N. T„ April 24, 1942. Baritone's voice Is a powerful, rich, sonorous organ, especially In the lower and middle registers. Above an 'E' he tends to change pro- duction occasionally, the result being a whiter, less round tone. Some of his lowest notes also lack complete resonance. He showed a fine legato and a creditable sense of interpreta- tion. He needs more work on equalizing his scale, for those notes which are his best-are of superlative character, and if the rest of the voice could be made to duplicate those he would be among the topnotch baritones. Eddy. The N. y. Daily Critics said; Times (Straus): 'Considerable pow- er.. .unskillfiilly produced throaty tones. Insecure grasp of the style of his offerings.' Trlbnne (Bohm); 'Voice basically a good one. Tonal production faulty. Insufficient breath support Forced throaty fashion.* GRACE MOORE'S $12,000 Fllb 6,000 Seats In Acoostlcally DlSlcalt Montreal Spot Montreal, April 28. Grace Moore's concert filled 6,000 out of tlie 9,-600 seats at the Fbrtmi here Tuesday (21) and grossed esti- mated and succulent $12,000 at $1 to $4, tax Included. Armand. Vincent impresarioed. Forum is tough acoustically. Met Grosses $65,697 on 5 DaUas Operas .tiallaf, April 28. Total of 16,260 persons paid $65,- 697 for the five operas offered here on the fourth annual visit of the Metropolitan Opera of New York. The federal tax reached $7,300. Gate wIU not meet expenses but promotion was well supported. If war conditions do not prevent, the Met will be returned here in 1943. Gross trom the five operas, as officially given, were, .'Alda,' $14,- 002; "The Barber of Seville,' $13,021; 'Lucia dl Lanunermoor,' $16,048; 'Don Giovanni,' $9,691; 'Carmen,' $12,838. 2 BALLET UNITS GROSS FAIR $94,000 AT MET The'three-week session of ballet at the Metropolitan Opeia House^ N.Y., from AprU 6 to April 26, grossed an approxlmate-$94,000, lair, for 26_ per- formances. The past week the Ballet Theatre, returning after a week's absence, was seen by 28,000 people for a $32,- 000 gross. It did $34,000 Its .first week. Ballet' Russe last week grossed $28,000 with 29,000 in attendance. Ballet Theatre played the first and third weeks. Ravinia Musical Series Starts with Mitropoulos Chicago, AprU 28. Hie RavInla Park season opens June 30 with DImltri Mitropoulos conducting. Among soloists set are Emanuel Feucrman, July 21; Feuer- man and Joseph Szlgetl, July 25; Szlgetl, July 28; Artur Schnabel and the Budapest String Quartet, w])ich closes the season. Other conductors will be Pierre Monteux, Artur Rodzlnskl and Georges SzelL Lucy Monroe in Memphis Memphis, April 28. Lucy Monroe will lead a song festival at the Memphis Open Air Theatre In Overton Park, Wednesday night. May IS; In behalf of War Sav- ings Bonds and Stamps. The concert wUl be free,' 'with the audience join- ing In itortlons of the program to sing patriotic selections. Miss Monroe will be accompanic^d by a 35-pIece band under direction of Joseph Cortese of the Open Air Theatre. 'Borit Codunov* in May A'p'erformance of 'Boris Godounov,' the 'first In two years in N. Y., will be given at Town Hall May 11, with George Doubrovsky as Boris and Adolph Bossin as PIne'n. - Michael Flvelsl^ will conduct. CECIL BBOWS L^CTUBE San Antonio, April 28. Station KTSA has Invited Gover- nor Coke R. Stevenson, to Introduce Cecil Brown during his lecture here behig sponsored by station KTSA. All net proceeds of the Brown lecture will be used to buy medical supplies for the Civilian Defense-of Texas, Brown will be here at the Muni- cipal Auditorium on May 10. The cancellation -of a trip of the Philadelphia Orchestra last week to Worcester for a concert -due to lack of transportation faclUties may be the prelude to an Immense amount of re-booklngs and re.-shuffling of dates of orchestras and ballet com- panies neyt season. The situation is a serious one and may mean that many of the leading orchestras and opera companies will not be able to tour. Coach trains are available biit no Pullmans. It Is hm>ossible for ballet companies, orchestras or opera com- panies to travel by coach since bag- gage cars for scenery and musical instruments are necessary. The com- panies are . appealing to Washington on the grounds that they strengthen morale, but It Is not known as yet how much effect the appeal will have. - Plans are being made to re-book them in one night stands In various theatres so that -performances can be 'hung* before the company ar- rives and the scenery will always travel Ahead o* them. Companies effected would be the Metropolitan Opera Co., Philadelphia Opera Co., San. Francisco Opera Co., Chicago and St Louis Opera Co., San Carlo Opera Co., all the major ballets, and everyone of the 18 leading sym- phonic orchestras in the cotmtry. $7,100 ALBANY BALLET GROSS Albany, April 28. The Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo In a one-night stand here AprU 22 grossed $7,100, an all-thne high for the Palace theatre, playing to 3,660 admissions, plus 100 standees. Responsible for the campaign that put the ballet over was L. R. Gold- Ing, Chief Barker of the Variety Club of Albany, imder whose auspices the Ballet was presented. Natalie Bodanya Sjngs With St. Louis Operetta St. Louis, April 28. Natalie Bodanya, Met lyric so- prano, has been engaged for a pro- duction of •Wildflower' the week of July 27 by the St Louis Municipal Opera Assn. Others in the cast will be Robert Shayfer, William Lynn and Erik Rhodes. BROOKLYN BOOKINGS Beeeham, Araaya, Cossacks Illostrate 'Bange of < Events The concert seiries of the Brook- lyn Academy of Music will present 10 shows this coming season. In addition Sir Thomad Beeeham will conduct the Brooklyn Sjrmphony in its second season and the Boston Symphony will make its usual ap- pearances. Concert events will open with Alec Templeton, Nov. 10. Others ' are •Trayiata,' Dec 1; Carmen Amaya, Dec. .15; 'Vladimir Horowitz, ^an. 15; Yehudi Menhuhin, Jan. 19; General Platofl - Don Cossacks, Feb. 2; Jan Peerce, Feb. 16; Efrem Zimbalist, March 2; Anne Brown, with the Eva Jessye Choir, March 16, and Arthur Rubinstein, March 30. Boston Sym- phony will appear 'in five concerts, the Brookljrn Symphony in' four. Cleveland's Soloist List Cleveland, April 28. Cleveland Orchestra, Artur Rod- zlnskl conductor, has set' its list of soloists for 25th anniversary season starting next October. Pianists in- clude Alexander Brailowsky, Rudolf Serkin and Claudio Arrau. Violinists, Joseph Szlgetl, Carol Glenn, Ruth Posselt, and Hugo Kolberg, concert- master of the orchestra. Raya Garbousova and Leonard Rose, first cellists; Alice Chalifoux, harpist, and Philip Klrchner,. oboist, All members of,symphony will be soloists too. ' . Jan' Klepnra will have 30 dates In Concert next season 'between Jan. 15 and March 16, the only months the Polish tenor Is leaving open for con- cert appearances. He will also be heard with the Metropolitan and Chicago Opera .companies.