1973 Opera Newspaper Clippings

7/29/2019 1973 Opera Newspaper Clippings

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Delightful Opera ProgramPlanned At Brevard Center

By BOB BROWN

Spartanburg's Henry Janiecand John McQ-ae have workedup a most delightful group ofoperas for the Brevard MusicCenter this Swnmer. They haveplanned a season of all-timefavorites _ nothing too heavyand nothing not liked by regular

opera entOOsiasti.The opening piece is "Trial by

Jury" - a perfect one.,act gem.

n pokes fun at the courts in anextremely clever way. Gilbert'snbretto is the tale of a breach ttlpromise suit, sparkling withexquisite Wit and rhyme andresulting in a surprise ending.Sullivan's music is apt ani:Isingable throughout.

" Trial by Jury" is scheduledfor July 7.

"HaD$e1 aad Gretel" will besuag July U. While lbe .otry IIthe cbildrt .•• clall le, tile m1ll1c01 tbe opera" f.r from juftlllle.I t II adult opera IIlat aU may

enjoy without priorpreparation.

Englebert Humperdinck, thereal one, the composer, not thepop singer, is the creator of the

Hansel and Gretel opera."Tala of Hoffmann" is the

choice for July 20. Two years

ago this writer suggested to Dr.Janiec, director of the Center,that he consider producing the"Tales" with Producer Mc-Crae, who is considered bymany an operatlc producUongenius: •

" I think it would be good if wecan figure out some way to

eEplaln the story to the people,"Janlec answered.

I promised to do everythingpossible to explain the story. Itmay not be too difficulti it is thestory of four loves, told by apoet whose mind is clouded with-.t s Offenbach's masterpiece.The music ill total enjoymentfrom beginning to end, and thiswriter urges parenb to bringthe children. let them sit

through the first act (and theprelude, of course) then takethem borne. That lleat act.,revolving around Hoffmann'slove affair with a mechanicaldoll, is one of the mostbeautifully creations of aU_.

"Oklahoma" is schedled forAug . 3. 'Ibl.t is one of the aU·time favorite musicals of both

stage and screen."canneD" wUh:ome Alii 18.

Thill is Olle of the great favorites

of graad opera. Tbe st.ory baseverything: actloa, .uapeose,love, hate, tragedy, death - allIn a sdUDg of some of the mostbeautiful mU llc of aU time.

"carmen" is a good grandopera for young people whothink they might not like grand

opera. But they should read thelibretto beforehand, by al l

means. Then it will Jr0vethroughly enjoyable. TheBrevard people produced it afew years a80, and did aremarkably fine job of it.

"The Merry Widow", Lehar'slilting I1ght opera, wtll clole theseason on August 18. Thisshould be even more popularthan was "The Student Prince."last season, which is saying it

will play. to a sold-out howe .Each year the operas draw

more and more people, as theirexcellence is learned ofthroughout the United Stalesand canada. They represent agold mine of pleasure In. thedoorways of the people of No rthand South Carolina. I t is tragicthat more people 01 the

Carolinas do not enjoy their

share of the gold. All it takes toenjoy opera is learning about i t



Large Crowd. Expected

Opera Friday Opens Second

Weekend Of Music FestivalThe stcand Festival week

c nd 01 the summer season at

Ure\'3rd Music Cen ter be

gins Friday night with the011l'r3 Hallsel and Gretel. to

bo followed Saturd ay by aIlc rformanrc by th e Transvl·va nia S)'mphony Orchestra

allli Sundar the l\lusic ( ' rR t r t

Orrhest ra a.nd Choru s "HI

IlrtSf'nt lI an ders Mess iah Undf'r th e dil'ection of n oher tShaw.

The Brevard Music ('cnlcr

tenm of lIenry JanieI' and .lotJnRichards McCrae will combinetheir superb ta len ts fo r the

production of Hanse l and Gretel. Mr. JanieI' will conduct the

l'olusic Center Orchesh'a whileMr. McCrne directs th e operacomp:lny. Members of the Opera

Workshop at the Center willappear in roles in Hansel and

Grelnl.

Conductor Em il Rub dr opshis baton Saturday eveningon the season's opening performance by the Transy lva niaSyml,hony Orchestra. Featur ·,," seh'rllons will be Schubert's Eighth Symphony, Ber·lioz's Hungarian l\h rch, andDcbussy's Nllagee Feles.

Sunday at 2:30 guest conduc-tor Robert Shaw will con·c1ude an in.depth study, ofHandel's Messiah with a performance or the entire work.Mr. Shaw has beell conductinga week·long study of the Han·del masterpiece at the Center.

1'Jr. Shaw is the founder

and conductor of the famedRobert Shaw Chorale and

became music dil'eclor andcondudol' of the AtlantaSvmphony Orcbestra in tile

of 1967. In six years hehas expanded the Atlanta

' l I I l l h o Orchestra 's scopeto include ballet, oralorio,eilambt' r music, educationalcOllcerts and special tcle·

_Turn to Page Five

Opera Friday Opens SecondWeekend Of Music Festival

(Conhnued from Page One)

casts. This is the second sea·son Mr. Shaw has conducteda workshOl1 at the Center con·cilHling with a concert .

Next Monday night will feature the second in a series of

concerts dubbed the Connois

seur Series. Featured will be

the artist - faculty of the Cen

te r in concert with chambermusic. Bozza's Suite for BrassQuintet, Brahams' Piano Quar·tet in G Minor, and Rousdl'sSerenade will be performed in

an intimate candlelight atmos

phere. The concert will be held

in the Straus Student Center at

th e Brevard Music Center.

Ticket and concert informa·tion is ava ilable from the Brevard Music Center, Brevard.

At Brevard Music Center"The ~ l e r r y Widow", last in the

Brevard Music Center opera seriesfor the season, will be sung at 8: 15p. m. Saturday. This most successfulof the seasons of Brevard opera included "Trial by Jury", "Hansel andGretel", "Tales of Hoffmann", "Okla·homa !", and "Carmen". Principals in

"The i\'Jerry Widow" are, (L-R) : David Rae Smith as the Prince, JaniceJanice as the widow, Perry Daniels asPopoff, and Beverly Culbreath as Natalie. John Richards McCrae is produc·er·director, and Henry Janiec is con·ductor.



Opera Opens 2ndWeekend,

Of Brevard Center SeasonBREVARD-The sec 0 n d Symphony, Berlioz's Hungarian timate candlelight atmosphere.

festival weekend of the summer March and Debussy's Nuages, The roncerl will be held in theseason at Brevard Music Center Fetes. Straus Student Center a t

hegins Friday night with lite Sunday at 2:30 p.m. guest Brevard Music Center.

opera Hansel and Gretel. conductor Robert Shaw will T i c k ~ t ~ n d c.o nee r t in·A perfomance by th e present an in-depth study of 1orn:tahon IS available by con-

Transylvania Symphony is Handel's Messiah with a tactml!' the center.

slated Saturday and Sunday the performance of the entire work.

Music Center Or.:::hestra and Shaw has been condllCting aC h o r ~ s will present .Han,del's week-long study of the HandelMeSSiah under the directIOn masterpiece at the center.

Robert Shaw. Shaw is the founde r and cen-

The Brevard Music Center ductor of the famed Rohertteam of Henry Janiec and John Shaw Chorale and became musicRichards McCrae will combine director and conductor of thetheir talents for the Hansel and Atlanta Symphony Orchestra inGretel production. Janiec will the fall of 1967. In six years.conduct the Music C en t e r Shaw has expanded the Atlanta

Orchestra while McCrae directs Symphony Orchestra's scope tothe opera company. Members include ballet, 0 r a t 0 r io ,

of the center Operal Workshop chamber m u s i c , educationalwill appear in roles the opera. concerts and special tclecasts.

Conductor Emil Raab will be This is the second season Shawon the podium Saturday evening has conducted a workshop at

for the season's 0 pen i n g the center concluding with ape r f o rmanc e by th e conccrt.

T ran s y I van i a S y m p ~ n y Monday night will feature theOrchestra. Featured selechons second in a series of concerts

will be Schubert's i g h t h dub bed the "ConnoisseurSeries." Featured will be theartist-faculty of the center inconcert with chamber ml1sic.Bozza's Suite for Brass Quintet.Brahms' Piano Quartet in GMinor and Rouse\l's Serenadewill be rformed in an in-



August 10: To

Brevard for th e Music

Center Resident Opera

Company production

o f Bize t ' s "Carmen,"

John Richards McCraedirector and Henry

Janiec conductor.

For th is per for

mance Mr. McCrae re

turned to th e original idea of the

work as opera- comique, musical episodes

joined by spoken

dialogue, rather than

using th e rec i tat ives

provided by Guiraud,

to which most of us

are so accustomed

from repeated hear

ings ("Carmen" i s

on e o f th e two orthree most popular

operas in th e world)

that we have to be

reminded they were

not in th e original

score.Further f idel i ty

to the original ver sion was th e absence

o f the colorful bal

l e t sequences usual

ly so vivid a part

o f the fourth act

in the publ i c square

before th e bull ring

in Sevil le . Indeed,

we never saw th is

squar e - -and hence

no "water sel lers ,

others with oranges ,fans, and other art i c les • •• Chorus •• .Ballet • .• Festival

procession" (I quote

from Kobh6' s ol dclassic) and no t r i

umphant entrance ofCarmen on her newest

lover ' s bright ly de corated arm .

What we did see

when the f i na l curtain

opened was the torea

do r ' s dressing roomin Bart Alderman 's

fancifu l recrea t i on ,

with suggestive re l igious touches, po sters announcing th e

hero's appearance ,

and- - very much domin

ating the scene- - th epassageway to th e

arena, through which,

af ter exchanging re newed protestations

of love with the gypsy,

Escamillo goes to hisglory while Carmen ,

defiant o f the fateher friends Mercedes

and Frasquita have

warneq her o f , re mains behind to face

Don Jose 's frenzied

appeals and th e ul t i

mate dagger stroke.What we los t was

spectacle , display;

what we gained was a

THE NATIVE STONE, THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 1973, ASHEVILLE, NORTH CARULINA

t ight ly integrated

dramatic action, in tensi ty o f focus.

Both versions make

superb l yr ic theatre,and certainly Mr.McCrae's (which of

course i s currently

fashionable in on e or

two other opera houses)

was exci t ing and per

suasive.

As fo r th e matter

o f th e spoken dialogue:

it too, I think , ha s

i t s merits and i t s

defects. Immediacy o f

dramatic impact, ce r

ta inly , and th e kind

o f s implic i ty inher

ent in th e story and

th e characters: these

on th e plus side. Bu t

not a l l singers, not

even a ll good singers,

are trained in th e

highly s tyl ized de

l ivery o f operatic

spoken l ines; sk i l l

i s required to gofrom th e "sung" char

acter to th e "speak

ing" character wi thout marring the stage

identi ty--especially

true when th e worki s in Engl.ish (a s

was th is "Carmen,")

and some o f th e nat

ive singers s t i l l

reta i n in t hei r spoken

dialogue regi onal in f lections they have

lea rne d to avoid whensinging . Admittedly,

t her e was not agreat deal o f th is

k i nd of s i nging inth e Brevard "Carmen , "

bu t t here was enough- -and n ~ t a l l of it

among th e less pr o

min ent char acters - -

to make on e moment

ari ly uneasy .I had some un

ea si ness, too, with

th e usually admir able

Brev ar d orchestra ,which did not seem

to me to r ise to anumber o f desired

heights - -or was this

again a matter o f

r etaining th e leanprof i le prevai l ing

in the staging and

th e sets? I f so, it

was a mistake, a t

least in the Prelude

to th e First Act,which so marvelously

contains a l l the

drama "in petto"-: th e sunshine o f th e

holiday plaza, th e

buoyancy o f th e fes

t ive bull - f ight thr ong; the "Toreador

Song, " with i t s pr ovocat ive v i r i l i t y ,

fo l lowed by business

i n th e s tr ings to

evoke Carmen's dangerou s feminine allure

- -and then the a l

most brutal introduct ion of th e "Fate

Motif"-- this wonder

ful music demandsthat an orchestra

give i t s emotional

a l l , while retaining,of course, i t s cont rol of accuracy,

which th e Brevard

players would do in

an y case.

Friday evening Ith ought they seemed

a l i t t l e t i red. Alder

man's dressing fo r

Act One and Two was

ordinary but service

able , with nice tou

ches o f color. His

opening shot fo rAct Three ("A Moun

tain Pass") was

beaut i ful ly poetic ized by th e l ighting

or Archie Stevens:

a mysterious shade

o f Dlue, gradually

growing brighter; asingle tree catching

t racer ies o f s ta r

l ight; and a radi -ant pattern of stars

r i n g . (We re

member those s tars

from other Brevard

operas, but so what?

They ' re al ways we l

come- -ev en with gypsy

smugglers lurking

beneath . )Choral matters

were kept to a mini mum and were at trac t

ively managed; a good

guard detai l , cigaret

te - factory gir ls thatmayor may not have

belonged to th e union,

(their "Smoke" chorus

was lovely), and

gypsies not t oo ob viously dressed for

th e touris t trade.

We have come to ex

pect good s i nging

and act ing from th e

Brevard ensembl es ,

and th e "Carmen"

crew met these expe ct ations .

Therewas

anes pecially appealing

. children ' s chorus to

take care of the

id io t ic mock dri l l

in Act One, th e young

sters carefullygraded in size downto two l i t t l e pea

nuts , who pretended

to forget to leave

th e stage when a l l

th e others marched

o f f , then suddenly

realized their s i tu

ation, and f led - - togreat applause. Formy book , a l i t t l e

cute, but th e audience

All th e secondary

roles were entrusted

to students o f th e

Brevard Opera Work

shop, who uniforntiy

showed courage and

talent . Michael Aus

t in (Dancairo) and

David Berndt (Remendado) joined Laura

Robinson (Frasquita)

and Martha Leipsic

(Mercedes) in a verys ty l i sh "tromperic"

quinte t-- o f course,with Carmen's help

(but more o f her

la ter) . The ladies

named were excellent

in th e tr icky card

t r io as well , and

dramatically e f fec t

ive in the fourth

act. Both Scot t

George (Moralea)

and wayne Baughman

(Zuniga) convinced

me they were real

soldiers , and George

was amusing in his

drunk scene.

As Micaela, with

some o f th e lovel ies t

music in "Carmen" to

s ing, Martha Shei l

pleased visual lyand vocally. She sang

her celebrated aria

gently and, for the

most part , purely,

and projected re markably fo r a no vice the character

of th e vi l lage maiden .She sensibly avoided

th e high note introduced by some famousMicaelas to show o f f

the ir range more thanthe ir taste in s tyle .Her "Mother" duets

with Don · Jose were

fee l i ngly but simply

acted and sung , and

she deserved th e

warm applause th e

overflow audience

gave her .

Davi d Rae Smith

waS' Escamillo,. bett er

dramaticallY' , Ithought, than vocally ,at least i"n hL s big

number , which he sangLn splendi-d s tyle

and with wonderful

gestures, but par t s

of which sounded uncomfortable. His

voice was pure bl ack

velvet , though, inth e " I f you love me "passage with Carmen

in th e f inal act ,and he ha s th e in gredient o f magnet

is m without which no

Escamdllo can succeed.

His rival fo r th egypsy's favor, Don

Jose, was a t once

strong and pathetiCI

Page 5

TheA.hev.iUe Booi1-6wlT.e

788 MelT.lT.<mon Ave.253-1692

as sketched by Robert

Moulson. His acting

in a ll th e shenanigans before Carmenfs

escape was about par

fo r th e role , and hedid not seem too embarrassed at th e tex t

given him

enquiries

mother in

when making

about h is

th e duetswith Micaela. Drama

t ical ly he had an

Othello-like in tens i ty in his fourth

act , where emotion,

Singing, and gesture

were powerfully in tegrated. As with

Smith (to judge from

the only other timeI have heard Moulson, in the recent

excellent "Hoffman")

I did not think he

was in his best voice:

some of th e productio n was t ight , and

once or twice he in dulged in Mario del

Monaco yelling. But

his building of th e

l ine in th e "Flower

Song" was art is t ical

ly done, and his high

x, or whatever th enote i s , at th e c l i max was thr i l l ing

and operatic in th e

grand tradi t ion. ,

The cause o f a l l

th is ra p t ur e and

rage was seduct ivel y

interpr eted by th e

mezzo soprano Doroth y Krebil l , fo r

whom the part might

well have been written. She ha s develop

ed many personal

bi ts o f characteri zation i n th e role ,and while her singing lacked th e sumpt

uous qual i ty o f manyremembered Carmens,

no on e could faul tth e accuracy o f her

delivery of th e

"Habanera," th e

"Seguidil la, " th e

"Chanson boh3me"(especial ly fascin

ating) , and the Card

Scene. She wore beau

t i fu l costumes, sh emoved l ike a t igress,and sh e radiated

sexual danger fromth e moment sh e sl id

across that bridge

and worked her waythrough her rope

tricks with her dra goon. A fascinating

portrayal , on e with

many l ights andshades to it , a tr i bute to Miss Krebi l l ' s

art is try and to th e

cooperation o f Mr.McCrae and his t i re

less and talentedOp!!'ra COlIll2iWY.'_•_____



Director McCrae Weaves Magic Spell Over Breyard Mountains

Audience Bewitched By 'Tales Of Hoffman'By DEBBIE DALHOUSE

Stalf WriterA grisly story of magic and

mutilation, romance andrejection, stirred in the best

cigar Allen Poe stY,e andper formed to the hauntingstrains of the special BrevardOpera Company Orchestra ,spread Ita magic over the Northcarolina hills Friday night inJohn McCrae's interpretationof the French opera "Tales ofHoffmann" by Jacques Of·fenbach.

Each act of the tragicomedyis set in a different locale,opening willi a prologue in aNu remberg tavern whereRobert Moulaon as Hoffmannthe poet Is greeted by student

followers and asked for a song.In the process of the comicrendition of Kleln-Zach thedwarf, Hofbnann strays intoreminiscences of past loveaffairs and promises to relatethe tales.

Mary Ann Bushing is thesprightly Nlckiausse. Hoffmann's ever-ready muse indisguise who vig:ilantly watchesover him and intervenes in hisbehalf during scrapes.9le _naturally accompanies

him on his love escapades, the

first in Paris at the house ofscientist-inventor Spalanzani(Marshall Thomas).

Spalanzani has created awalking, ta lk ing, danCing ,dnging automaton which h e ~ paS!ll!S off as his daughter. Sheappears to Hoffmann as the

nost beauti£u1 crea ture on~ , a s he is WKl.er the spell ofI magic p8h- of spectacles in-r e ~ by $palaruanl's rival,

Coppelius (SCott George) andpurchased for him by trustyNicklausse .

His conquest is 'complete afterthe doll Olympia, convincinglyautomated by Gianna Rolandi,sings the enchanting aria "The

Birds In The Bushes." So, too,was the audience's raptureQ'>mplete. The whole bousecbuckled their way through thelight piece, then applauded it inthe grand manner that theexcellence of the perfonnancedemanded.

This first affair ends abtupUywith Olympia's destruction byCoppelius, her creator's rival.But not before Hofbnann hasthe opportunity to waltz with therobot and Is literally swept off

his feet In her mad whirling. .Hoffmann 's dismay at theruination of the lovely doll ispitiable, but not long-lasting , aswe next find him in the villa ofthe elegant courtesan Giulietta,on the Grand Canal in Venice.

In this second act, Jane Hicksas Giulietta captured theaudience with her opening aria"Beaulious Night, 0 Hlght ofLove " intende<fto put her partyguests at their ease.

Again, deceit rears Its uglyhead, this time in the person of aprofessed magician, Dappertutto, evilly portrayed bymaestro Perry Daniels. 'Thewicked scorcerer bribesGiulietta to procure him Hoff-mann 's reflection with thepowerful solo "SparkJe ,Diamond".

The impact of this scene isenhanced by artistic use atfJourescent light played onDaniels eerie white-washed

face and on the magic diamondthat glows wlerdly against the

sinister backdrop of hisbillowing black cape.

Und er Glulietta's spell,Hoffmann murders her formerlover (James Boyles) in a duelfor the key to her room; butloses his reflection and the girlas she escapes In a gondola withher hunch-backed court jesterplayed by camper RustyKeesler.As the police approach, Mary

Ann Bushing as Nickla\1!.Sepersuades the desolate Hoffmann to flee and we next en counter the Intrepid pair inMunich at the hom e of Hoff-mann 's old fl ame Antonia(Martha Toney).

The lovely Antonia, daughterof Gennany's most belovedsoprano, Is forbidden to followher mother 's career for fearthat she, too, will come underthe evil hand of the magicianDoctor Miracle. sWIg by DavidRae Smith.

Miracle, however, proctreSan audience with the young girl,causes her mother 's ghost(Marvis Martin) to appear andj.nduces the daughter to join infrenzied song with the supernatW'al voice and its sinister

instigator. .The exertion is too much for

the frail Antonia. and shecollapses dying before thescorcerer, leaving him aJone tocomplete the song In wickedtriwnph.

Again, the eerie glow offlourescent lights is played onthe magician's symbolic blackcape and the presence of evilfills the stage, embodied In

David Rae Smith's sardoruclaugh.

Hoffmann is heartbroken,having lost three loves and hisreflection In a brief span oftime.

McCrae's Interpretation

omits the epilogue whichreturns lIS to the tavern inNuremberg as the students drifthomeward after the evening'sentertainment and leave Hoffmann face-down in his drink,exhausted by his rendition. Inthe originaJ production. whilehe is in this stupefied conditionhis present love enters, findshim Inetriated and leaves withthe poet's arch rival, throwingHo(fmann a flower from herbouquet as they exit.

The perfonnance at Ik'evardwas perhaps not so ironic asOffenbach intended with theepilogue; but left the audienceon a much stronger dramaticnote, barely over the raggededge of the most tragic of thetales.

An ensemble of thirty-fiveBrevard Music Center campersbacked up the prinCiple singersin the t w e n t y ~ e m b e r castfeaturing Robert Moulson

Gianna Rolandi, Jane Hicks:Perry Daniels, Martah Toney,David Rae Smith and MarvisMartin.

The music was supez-b, as isexpected of any BMCproduction; and the scenarios,professional all the way. in thetrue Ik'evard tradition. Result.another triumph for thecrusaders of culture in theCarolinas.



JEANNIl'.'E A'L'I\\IEYER

BREVARD - The th i rd Opera Workshop. The native pleat baritone" and "a musi- Iwrmalion is available from the

weekend of the 37th summer South Carolinian is in his ninth cian's singer." center.season at Brevard Music Centt:r season at the music center. Sunday at 3:30 p.m. soprano

features the opera "Tales of Emil Raab's T r a n s y l v a n i 3 ~ e a n n i n e Altmeyer ,,!il1 a p p e a ~ Hoffmann" baritone Benjami.'l Symphony will a p ~ a r in con- Inc 0 n c r t Wit h t h

. ' . cert Saturday mght wit h Brevard MUSIC Center O r c h e s t r ~ Middaugh and soprano Jeannme baritone guest artist Bcnjamin lundcr conductor Henry Janiec,

Altmeyer, Middaugh. Raab's young group Miss Altmeyer made h eThe Opera Workshop under of musicians is said by many Metropolitan Opera debut as th

the direction of John Richards to be the best group to appear celestial voice in Verdi's opera,McCrae highlights the Friday with the S}'mphony in years, "Oon ~ a r l ~ . " She is a nat!v

night performance 0 f Of· Middaugh is a native of Texas of C a h f o r m ~ and has stUdiedfen bach's "Tales of Hoffmann" and received his bachelor of at the, MUSIC Academy of thwith Ward Woodbury conducting music and master of music West In S a ~ t a Barbara and athe orchestra. McCrae has degrees from North Texas State Mozarteum In Salzburg.rewritten parts of the dialogue and Michigan State University. This ,weekend ~ h e Nation.asequences for this performance. In 1968 he earned the doctor FederatIon of MUSIC .Clubs wIIOpera is a consistent highlight of music degree at Florida hold Its annual meetmg at theduring the seaSCln and McCrae State University. Critics havc lcenter.has drawn wide acclaim for his touted Middaugh as "the com- Ticket and con c e r t In-



Documents

1973 Opera Newspaper Clippings