by Harry Trebilcox
The Community Concert
ssociation presented the
| Goldovsky Grand Opera
| Theater production of Verdi's
La Traviata” last Wednesday.
If I had to summarize the even-
ing quickly it would be with a
tunned murmuring of ‘Wot the
ell! Wot the Hell!” (hereafter
referred to simply as ‘‘wth-
th’), the classic comment
om ‘‘Archy and Mehitabel.”’ If
ou saw Garbo in ‘‘Camille,”
ou know the plot. If you didn’t
| see Garbo, the heroine is, to use
| the language of a more polite
era, a Parisian courtesan, a
dy who is available but
strictly deluxe. She has the
mandatory heart-of-gold and
dies of consumption in the arms
of her one true love. The cast
~ was headed by Janice Marcoux,
soprano, Robert Johnson, tenor,
and Jake Gardner baritone. The
conductor was Benton Hess.
The first shock came when
the curtains parted several
pages before Verdi indicated
and on a set I found hard to
| comprehend, not having looked
| | at the program. Verdi's stage
directions specify that the scene
pens in an elegant salon,
following the Prelude. Instead,
we were treated to some
| meaningless pantomime bet-
| ween the heroine and her maid
during the Prelude. Considering
the orchestral playing, this may
| have been intended to distract
the listener, but I have a churl-
ish liking for Verdi as written by
| Verdi. (wthwth’) Only when
~ the houselights went on did I
discover we were on the terrace
; of an elegant salon. I'd hate to
| see the set designer’s concept of
a slum.
~The title role can be, and has
been, sung by just about every
| type of soprano voice; light,
| heavy, or anywhere in between,
Light voices get into trouble
| after Act One and heavier
voices have problems singing
all the rapid passages in Act
One. Ms. Marcoux showed no
favoritism; she was in trouble
all evening. Her acting was con-
fined to two movements. To
show happiness, she thrust her
| pelvis forward and threw her
r left arm back over her head,
| much like a basketball player
sinking a tricky shot. To show
all other emotions, she lurched.
Sometimes she lurched slow,
sometimes fast, sometimes
east; sometimes west; oc-
¢ casionally she coughed to
remind the audience she was
\. dying of TB, not acute vertigo.
Her singing had some lovely
moments when the voice was
reined in and the music was in
the low or middle part of the
voice. Unfortunately, much of
her music involves the higher
reaches of the voice, particu-
larly at the most dramatic
moments, and here the tone was
either pinched, breathy or,
‘when the voice was opened up,
developed an alarming wobble.
I would suggest Ms. Marcoux
rethink her vocal method and
take some lessons in rudi-
mentary acting before she
either loses her voice or dis-
locates a hip.
Mr. Johnson (her one true
love) displayed a handsome
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tenor voice, slightly short at the
top. He looked like all Alfredo’s
should, young and slender, and
he acted the part as well as any-
one could, mainly by looking
sad, happy, angry, or love-
stricken when required. He
moved like a human being, not
like someone being manipu-
lated by wires, and he had the
good sense not to force his voice
when singing with the soprano
at full throttle. It created a
vocal imbalance, but I have a
feeling it is good for vocal
longevity.
It was the baritone, Mr.
Gardner, who stopped the show
with his Act Two aria. He has a
splendid, big voice and uses it
skillfully and musically. His
acting was dignified and
restrained (about all the part
calls for) and I couldn’t help
wondering how he managed it
with Ms. Marcoux lurching at
full speed all around him. His
was the genuine suecess of the
evening, and it was rewarding
to hear the applause he
received. Granted it was ear-
ned, but the true reward was in
discovering once again that you
can’t really fool the public. Here
was the genuine article and the
audience recognized and
acknowledged it. It made a hash
of Verdi’s drama, with the
empathy one should feel with
the soprano directed toward the
baritone, but Verdi did not seem
of much concern to anyone in
this performance. (‘‘wthwth’’)
The Act Two set was ade-
quate, although I seriously
doubt that redwood planter tubs
with brass casings or ballpoint
pens were part of nineteenth
century decor. The Act Three
set, a gambling salon (a ball-
room in the original) was
cramped and tacky. The Act
Four set, the heroine’s bed-
room, was bigger than the gam-
bling salon. Perhaps they order
these things differently in
France. The staging was in-
comprehensible at times (why
did the guests keep turning
around in Act Three?) and stiff
at other points. Verdi gave the
costume designer two choices,
either 1700 or 1850. It was in
keeping with the arbitrary
nature of the production that the
costumes were of the post-Civil
War period. I suppose this was
to avoid hoopskirts on the
crowded stage. Ms. Marcoux in
a hoopskirt would have been a
serious hazard to anyone within
a radius of 30 feet. The opera
was sung in English, with im-
provised vowels. I don’t like
translations, but most of it was
comprehensible and avoided
archaisms. The less said of the
orchestra the better,
because this is a great opera,
one of my favorites, and it was
this fashion. I never expected to
see the day when the fourth act
unmoved. Now I’ve seen the
day. I should have stayed with
Archy and Mehitabel. I can
sympathize with a cockroach
who has typing problems and,
when you get right down to it,
there is a good bit of the cour-
tesan in Mehitabel.
wtH!”)
WILKES-BARRE, PA
~~
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THE DALLAS POST
Ferdinand Liva, director of
the Sinfonia da Camera, has an-
nounced Kineko Okumura as
the guest soloist for the cham-
ber orchestra’s concert at
College Misericordia, Nov. 22.
A concert violinist,, Miss
Okumura has just returned
from a highly successful recital
tour of her native Japan. In
Tokyo, she performed in the
Asahi-seimei Recital Hall and
Retired State Workers
Plan Meeting Nov. 20
The Luzerne-Columbia
Chapter of the Pennsylvania
Association of Retired State
Employees will meet at 7:30
p.m., Nov. 20, in the UGI
Community Room, 270 Wyom-
ing Ave., Kingston.
Delegates to the State Con-
clave held at Hershey will
report on projects for 1975. All
retired state employees are
invited to attend.
then presented recitals in near-
by cities, including Matsumoto.
Miss Okumura began her
career in Tokyo and later
traveled to the U.S. under the
auspices of a Fulbright
scholarship. Her American
debut was a recital in the
Museum of the City of New
York and was rapidly followed
by appearances with major
orchestras.
Following performances in
this country, she studied in
Italy, toured Europe, and
returned to study at Juilliard,
again under full scholarship.
Earlier this year, she per-
formed at the Tiffany Falls Per-
forming Workshop.
With the Sinfonia da Camera,
Miss Okumura will present
Vivaldi’s ‘The Seasons.’
The concert will be held in
Walsh Auditorium at Miseri-
cordia and is scheduled to begin
at 8:30 p.m. Tickets will be
available at the door.
The final concert” of the
season for the Sinfonia ‘da
Camera is scheduled for April 8.
This Week's
spaghetti or soup)
topping)
Dallas UM Church
Plans Film Nov. 23
On Nov. 23 at 2 p.m., at Dallas
United Methodist Church, the
film “Run Wild, Run Free” will
be shown. This award winning
film is a full length feature film
based on the book ‘The White
Colt.” First shown in theatres
across the country in. 1970, it
was acclaimed by Parent's
Magazine as one of the 10 best
family films of the year.
The story concerns a confused
and troubled young boy, his
struggle with life and his vic-
tory over adversity through his
love for a white horse.
The Council on Ministries of
the Dallas United Methodist
Church invites all children of
the community to see this out-
standing film. A donation of 50
cents is asked to defray the cost.
This film is the first in a series
of children’s films to be shown
during the winter months.
Others in the series include
“Proud Rebel” and ‘Polly-
anna.’
The Wilkes College Music
Department will present a joint
junior recital, featuring Darice
Sabalesky, pianist, and Richard
Schwartz, flutist, Nov. 24, at
3:30 p.m. in the recital room of
the Dorothy Dickson Darte
Hall. :
Daughter of Mr. and Mrs.
Leonard Sabalesky, 210 East
Dorrance St., Kingston, Miss
Sabalesky is a 1972 graduate of
Hanover High School.
While in high school she was a
member of the honor society,
the recipient of the Gold Cup
Award from the Junior Mozart
Club and won a first place
speaking award sponsored by
the Kiwanis Club. Currently
Miss Sabalesky is the organist
for St. George ‘Maronite
Church, Wilkes-Barre.
Mr. Schwartz is the son of Mr.
and Mrs. Sam Schwartz, 611
Harrison Ave., Scranton. and a
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Jay Borton, proprietor
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graduate of Scranton Central
High School.
The duo will perform selec-
tions from many artists includ-
ing, J.S. Bach’s ‘Sonata I in B
Minor,” B. Moligue’s ‘‘An-
dante,” and Robert Starer’s
“Three Israeli Sketches.”
The recital is open to the pub-
lic without admission fee.
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Hudak, chairman; Mrs. John J. Carey,
publicity; and Mrs. Thomas Ochman, decora-
tions and program. Punch will be served at
6:30 with dinner following by reservations
only. The Girls Folk Singing Group of King’s
College will entertain.
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