Variety (Dec 1942)

^dnesday, December 30, 1942 GONGERT^PERA S3 Met s5tb(rfN)d B.0. Wk. Climaxed By Brilliant Return of Mar jorie Lawrence Smashing all previous records of the house, the Metropoliten Opera Co closed out its fifth week of the season Monday (28) with a net profit lor each week of the current season. Performance value was adequate, but hardly of a sensational nature. •Manon.' Wednesday (23). opened the week and was just a fair per- formance. In the title role. Bidu Sayao had yet to get under the skin of her characterization. She looks well and while not in the best of voice, sang well, but Manon's agony and vivaciousness seem to escape her. Charles Kullman worked hard as DCS Grieux, but while the tenor's 'Le Reve' and 'Ah fuyez' were well sung they lacked ping and resonance, making his work just adequate. Much better was the work of Nor- man Cordon as the senior Des Grieux, with the bass' commanding height and excellent acting comple- menting splendid vocalism. Cordon has come a long long way and is steadily approaching the top. John Brownlee was a somewhat eflemi- Met's $1,000 Profit Breaking all.previous records for successive black ink, the Met- ropolitan Opera Co. closed Mon- day (28) its fifth week of its current season with an estimated $1,000 profit on an approximate gross of $62,500. This did not in- clude an additional $6,000 raised at the Sunday evening (27) benefit performance at which Marjorie Lawrence made her re- entry into the active ranks of the company. Estimates are as follow;: ■Manon,' Wednesday (23), gross $8,000: loss $3,500. 'Boheme,' Thursday (24), gross $10,000; even break. 'Alda,' Friday (25), gross $12.- 000: profit, $1,000. 'Magic Flute.' Saturday after- noon (26), gross $12,500; profit. $1,500. Trsvlatm,* Saturday evening (26). gross $8,000; profit. $1,000. 'TravUta' and 'Salome/ Mon- day (28), gross $12,000; profit. $1,000. nate soldier and his singing seems to be on the decline, wtih his tones dry and uninteresting. Sir Thomas Beecham frequently drowned out his singers with the noise of his orchestra. Sunday (27) the greatest human Interest story to have come out of the Met in decades occurred when Marjorie Lawrence, dramatic so- prano, whose legs bad been paralyzed two years ago, made her first ap- pearance on the stage since the onset of her illness. The role of her re- entry was Venus, and she did the complete first act with Lauritz Mel- chior. Miss Lawrence was in splen- did voice and provided the best Venus the house has had since she last sang it there. If anything, her illness has improved her vocally, for the voice has a warmer, richer qual- ity and her large voluminous tones ranged from a low 'A' to a ringing top 'B', cut through the terrific or- chestra like a knife. All her acting was performed from a couch and was good. The entire house rose en masse at the conclusion to applaud for five minutes without a let up. The Met orchestra, chorus, condiictors, othe/ stars, boxofflce staff and managers contributed their services toward making her return a gala one.* Of the other scenes presented, Jarmila No- votna presented an outstanding Manon brilliantly and passionately acted and sung, Ezio Plnza a sonor- ous powerful -La C^alumia'. Frede- reick Jagel a well-phrased finely sung 'Flower Song". Lily Pons an ex- cellent 'Caro Nome', and James Mel- ton ditto on his 'Dei miel boUenti spinti'. They were the best of a long list of singers who contributed their services. House was sold out to the aoors and hundreds of would-be standees turned away. 'Boheme.' Thursday (24), brought "ack Jarmila Novotna to the role M her debut. The singer acted with n« customary charm, but her small voice with Its falling top tones Just ^ut was able to cope with Mimi's music. It is regrettable that she was cast opposite Jagel, since she lowered head and shoulders above ner itage lover. The tenor, in splen- did voice, delivered a 'Che gelida mahina' that was a show stopper in act one. Francesco Valentino and Norman Cordon, as Marcello and CoUine. were both good and Salva- tore Baccaloni' again scored big in his dual comedy part. Annamary Dickey was a tall, gangling Musetta whose voice was unpleasant as the character she represents in the sec- ond act. Cesare Sodero did an ade- quate job in the pit. Viennese Diva 'Aida,' Friday (25), served to in- troduce Hertha Glatz, Viennese mezzo to the Met. The singer looked well and acted with distinc- tion, but her voice is more of a limited lyric soprano than mezzo. It was almpst inaudible in the middle and lower passages and without much color, although with sufficient range for her upper tones. In sec- ondary roles she should do much better. Stella Roman made hep sea- son's debut as Aida' and again showed a remarkable dramatic so- prano badly used. Her excessive use of chest voice with its hard- metallic sounds contrasted strangely with her exquisite pi^anissimo and occasional brilliant top 'B' flats and high 'C"s. Arthur Carron again showed a pair of leather lungs as Rhadames. The tenor's enormous girth indicated that in Egyptian times Italian gen erals were being well fed in Ethi opia anyhow. Lawrence Tibbett failed badly as Amonasro. The once great baritone strained and forced in a dry voice, but his acting was gen erally good. Nicolas Moscona made an adequate High Priest and Lans ing Hatfield, in his season's debut as the King, looked imposing but forced his voice out of bounds. Wilfred Pelletier conducted lackadaisically. 'The Magic Flute.' Saturday (26) afternoon, was a generally good per- formance. Charles Kullman found (he role of the Prince more suited to his vocal i^ than most others and he looks well. John Brownlee's Papagena was humorous and sung in good Mozartian style; Jarmila No votna looks well but was lacking vo- cally as Pamina; Josephine Antoine sang a brilliant Queen of the Night with her last aria, with the difficult 'F's above high 'C:' and tricky runs and cadenzas taken with effortless ease; Ezio Pinza's Sarastro was im- posing dramatically and brilliantly sung, and Norman Cordon and Lil Han Raymondi rounded out excellent subordinates. Brun Walter conducted well, as usual. 'Traviata', Saturday evening (26) was well sung. Llcia Albanese. both from the vocal and dramatic aspect, is providing the Met with one of its most brilliant Violettas in recent years. Her 'A fors e lui' and 'Sempre Libera' in the first act were sung with brilliant top 'C's and with large, fine toned bravura effects. The second act dueta were just as good. Jan Peerce is singing an increasingly good Alfredo. The 'Un di felice' and 'Lungi da lei' were both sung with considerable spirit and fine legato effects and with all the rich tonal quality for which he is noted. The tenor's dramatic 'Questa donna' of the third act was a high point of the performance and his acting con- tinues to improve. Leonard Warren delivered an excellent elder Ger- mont, both his duets with Albenese being good, as was the short bi'ia 'Pura siccome un angelo'. The 'Di Provenza II Mar', however, was a high point being superbly sung from the pianissimo to the ringing top 'G's. Cesare Sodero, while conducting his orchestra a bit louder than usual, was able to get away with it because of the power of the voices on the stage. Traviata' (Act 2) and 'Salome' comprised the double bill Monday (28) at the Met as 'La Serva Pa- drone,' scheduled to preceed 'Sal- ome,' was cancelled due to the ill- ness of Bidu Sayao. The first named opera served to Introduce to Met audiences the Alfredo of James Mel- ton, which was generally well sung. The tenor's 'Dei Miei bollenti pos- sessed a nice lyric quality and his phrasing was good. Licia Albanese and Leonard Warren repeated their fine performances of Saturday eve- ning (26). In 'Salome.' Lily Djanels singing did not match her superlative acting and dancing as the princess. Karin Branzell was a powerful- voiced Herodias, and Herbert Jans- sen did well by Jokanaan. Rene Maison provided excellent acting as Herod, and vocally he was well above par. George Szell conducted well. Milw/43Park Series to Link Chi Chi and Jive One for Ripley Pittsburgh, Dec. 29. The voice of Milton Lomask, assistant concertmaster of the Pittsburgh Syniphony Orchestra, is changing—and at his age. too. Lamask appeared with the Pitts- burgh Opera Society last year in 'Eugen Onegin as a tenor. This week hes appearing with the same group in 'Hansel and Gretel'—as a baritone. Milwaukee. Dec. 29. 'Music Under the Stars' series of summer concerts in Washington Park is being extended from the usual eight to 13 events for the 1943 .season, the extra five to be of the 'popular' type to appeal to the younger element and to be spon sored by business concerns and man ufacturers. Enlarged program is de signed to further bolster morale as the war progresses. Don Griffin, program director, has arranged guest artist program as follows: Robert Weede, June 29; Rise Ste vens, July 6; Paul Robeson, July 13; Lily Pons. July 20; Kenny Baker, July 27; Anna Kaskas and Eleanor Steber. Aug. 3; Nelson Eddy. Aug. 10; Josephine Antoine, Aug. 17. The 'popular' programs: Horace Heidt's orch. July 1; Kate Smith. July 8; Kay Kyser's band. July 15; Ginny Simms or Dinah Shore, July 29. and Phil Spitalny's all-girl orchestra. Aug. 12. Guest artists will appear with the newly organized Milwaukee Sym- phony orchestra, while a Milwaukee dance band, still to be selected, will provide the background in the 'pop- ular' programs of Kate Smith. Ginny Simms or Dinah Shore. Single concerts in the past have attracted audiences of as high as 40.000 and 50.000 persons. Gasoline rationing is not exepected to hurt attendance in 1943, as Washington Park is easily accessible by street car and bus. INDPLS. RJt. BUYS SYMPH FOR EMPLOYEES ^ Indianapolis, Dec. 28. The Indianapolis Sjnmphony or chestra has been hired by the In dianapolis Railways to play a con- cert for its employees under the direction of Fabien Sevitzky at the Murat theatre Jan. 3. This follows up an idea for a series of perform- ances under industrial sponsors to bolster the orchestra's finances, which started with a program for P. R. Mallory Si Co. employees last month. A fee of $1,500 was understood to have been paid the orchestra for the Mallory concert. Sipimd Romberg s Concert Venture Both Appealing and Connnercial Eve Hoopla Continued from page I matters at first. It's expected still other spots, class and mass, will do a foldo also right after the first. Montreal Very Wbo«pce ' Montreal, Dec. 29. Canvass of the first run theatres along the Main street here reveals advance sellout of New Year's Eve midnight shows at Palace ($1), Cap- itol ($1). Loew's ($1-$1.50), Princess (50c-$l). Orpheum (60c) and reports from a large number of second-run houses show promise of similar big returns and possible sellouts when turn-away biz comes to whatever is going. Gayety ($1.50-$2.50) vaude house for its show from 11:45 p.m. to 3 a.m. by Christmas Eve has almost a sell- out. Business at these shows is re- garded as a good indication of way money is moving and points to big spending in the coming year. Hotels and cabarets New Year Eve admissions cannot now be bought and there is a certain amount of scalping with prices rocketing to 1928 figures. Berlin's Bonuses Continued from patrl Dr. Rodzmski New fleail of N. Y. Symph Dr. Artur Rodzinski has been ap- pointed musical director of the N. Y. Philharmonic Symphony' Orchestra for the season of 1943-44. Dr. Rodzinski. for over a decade head of the Cleveland Orchestra, will act as permanent head of the orchestra, and will share the podium with Bruno Walter, who will con- duct at least six weeks and Howard Barlow. Kuttner's Fractured Wrist Stymies Trenton Symph Trenton. Dec. 29. A double blow to Trenton's twin civic musical enterprises, the Tren- ton Symphony and the Trenton Opera Association, has been struck by injury to Michael Kuttner, violin virtuoso and conductor. Hospitalized by a New York subway steps tumble, the young maestro, 27. is conva- lescent from a fracture of two bones in the left wrist and a slight fore- head fracture. Kuttner. Symphony concertmaster, may not be able to fill his chair at the next concert date of the local series, Jan. 12. 10 other tunes therein, although 'White Christmas' is the butstander. In trade mathematics, a 1.000,000- copy click like 'Christmas' is the equivalent of four or five hits, since it spells a substantial saving on ex- ploitation to create a 200.000 or a 2S0,000-copy hit, which is deemed big nowadays. Bl( Record Sales Furthermore, the disk sales have been terrific. Decca alone, which has Crosby under contract, figures to sell 2,000.000 platters. The last big disk sensations were Glenn Miller's 'Chattanooga Choo Choo' last year with 1,300.000 platters, and Jimmy Dorsey's 'Maria Elena'—'Green Eyes,' which went well over 1,000,- 000 about the same time. Nowadays disks outsell sheet music. The all- time record high, perhaps, is Al Jol- son's 'Sonny Boy'. The first Bruns- wick record statement on it was 2,000,000 records. Before that, Dar- danella' sold over 1,000,000 disks, as an instrumental. From the Berlin, Inc., perspective, the company's fiscal year starts in July, which actually means that this profit was made in but six months, since the firm had nothing worth- while prior thereto until the 'Holiday Inn' score. In making so large a divvy. Irving Berlin and hii mana- ger. Saul H. Bomstein, are anticipat- ing profit totals to some degree; and If the first six months' pace con- tinues, the firm may well set a new Tin Pan Alley high with a half-mil- lion net profit. Whether foresight or not. the (act that Berlin had written his general manager, Bornstein, back in August, that 'if we have a good year I want to see our bonuses to the staff good and healthy' proved a great break for both the Berlin, Inc., and ABC personnel. This differs from the rest of Tin Pan Alley, which was hide- bound, by War Labor Board restric- tions, not to exceed what has been the custom, or what had 'been paid the preceding year. Since 1941 was an exceedingly poor year for music publishers, having been off the air because of the ASCAP-radio-BMI fight, the precedent was at lowest ebb. when only bonuses of single week's pay had been made. Bonuses in the music business are the rule rather than the exception, with pluggers and executives parti- cipating in the gravy profits. At Ber- lin's for example, at one time the firm paid Harry Link, its then pro- fessional manager, a $12,500 bonus. "White Christmas' is Berlin's first million-copy hit since 1924-26. when the 'Remember'—'Whafll I Do?'—'Al- ways' ballads clicked for those sales. Even his 'God Bless America' has only gone a shade better that 900,000 sheets. WB's Music Bonus Warner Bros, gave its professional music men a bonus of four weeks salary, while the rest of the per sonhel received checks for two weeks extra. Pittsburflh, Dec. 26. Concert Orch of 40 pieces under direction of Sigmund Romberg and Frank Cork; soloists. Grace Pan- vini. Gene Marvey, Marie Nash; at Syria Mosque. Pittsburgh, Dec. 25-26, '42; $2.75 top. Title of this new venture into the music field tells all. 'An Evening With Sigmund Romberg' is just that, and it was a pleasant evening, too, with program made up chiefly of snatches from famed composer's long list of light operatic successes. 'I'm trying to find out,' he told audi- ence, 'whether or not there's a place in American music for something between swing and symphony.' Ob- viously there is, for big 3,800-seat Mosque was comfortably filled for both of his concerta at $2.75 top. Practically everything that could went wrong here closing night (26), but crowd didn't seem to mind. Grace Panvini. one of soloists, turned up with a bad. cold and had to eliminate a couple! of .'her pro- grammed numbers; the mike Marie Nash used couldn't take a high note and went shrill on her in the upper registers, and the entire orch disap- peered for last third of concert, leaving Romberg to accompany Miss Nash and Gene Marvey alone at the piano, because musicians had to make an early train for Buffalo. But spirit of whole Romberg enter- prise is informal so customers ac- cepted all of this as part of the in- formality. In the manner of old vaude, printed signs are brought out on the stage to announce the numbers; Romberg takes everybody in his confidence, a genial guy with an unorthodox conductor's manner, weaving in dance rhythms with the music, and everything's 'geared to a nice relaxation. There's no deny- ing the appeal of Romberg's tunes either—they're the best part of the program — for in this he's directly in the line of succession from Johann Strauss. .There's a bow to a couple of his collea^es in the early part, with excellent 40-plece orch that 'will get better with addi- tional rehearsing playing seclections from Franz tiehar and Emerich Kalman, fine to hear in orchestral arrangements, and the Tschaikowsky and Chopin selections are their most familiar ones. Big laugh comes when, following a number simply billed as 'Most Popular March in the World,' orch plays Mendelssohn ■Wedding March.' Soloists are excellent Miss Pan- vini is an attractive colorattira; Gene Marvey an excellent tenor along musical comedy lines and Marie Nash a striking, sex-appeal- ing blonde with voice to match. Practically entire last half is' de- voted to-'ranes from 'My Maryland,' 'Desert Song,' "New Moon,' "Blossom Time.' 'Student Prince' and 'Nlgbt Is Young,' ell Romberg works, with Marvey and Miss Nash alternating them in solos and dueta. Frank Cork takes over conductor's baton here with Romberg sitting down at the piano. Two new Romberg num- bers are introduced (or the first time, 'Faithfully Yours.' a lilting tune, and 'Off the Shores of Some- where,' which Miss Nash sings. Both have definite possibilities. 'Evening Witt Sigmund Koberg* is principally an evening of nice nostalgia, for those Romberg melo- dies are pretty imperishable and listening to them played by a stage- ful of skilled musicians and sung by first-rate vocalists is altogether satisfactory. And commercial, too. Cohen. Mpls. Decides to Keep Many And in Operation Minneapolis, Dec. 29. The city council has decided to keep the municipal auditorium in operation throughout 1943, although the building is 'broke' and there was considerable agitation to close it for the duration. The building's income from various attractions, including trade and other shows, concerts, etc, has fallen considerably below pre- vious year's take. A plan submitted by manager George Adams to save approximate- ly $2,600 annually was approved. The staff will be whittled down to 11, a 'skeleton' crew and Adams will submit to a salary slash from $5,400 to $4,800 a year. The stagehands' union agreed to the elimination of the 'swing man' who is laying off two days a week, and the stage em- ployees will go on a straight five-day week pay basis instead of being tech- nically on duty seven days a week.