Page Two
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Friday, March 22, 1968
Page~o TH MICIGANDAIL
jim peters' music
Festive 'Bride' Bows
BRAIN BUSTERS
Winners! Winners! Winners!
h~4iN ~
111 "Ma
Although it didn't coincide ex-
actly with the vernal equinox,
last night's opening performance
of Bedrich Smetana's comic opera,
The Bartered Bride, was a fitting1
prelude to UAC's "Spring Thing"
weekend of activities. Presented
by the School of Music in con-:
junction with the Department of
Art, this three-act frolic enter-
tains nightly through Sunday at
the Lydia MNiendelssohn Theatre.I
The opera's libretto was writ-
ten by Slavic -artist Karel Sabina
in Smetana's native Czechoslo-
vakian. However, European pro-
ductions of the opera have gener-
ally used a pretty good German
translation. For the University
production Music Director Josef'
Blatt wrote his own witty Eng-
lish translation. The translation
offers a particularly fine -lyric
tone, keeping the sing - song
rhymes to a -minimum and allow-
ing free interpretation by the
soloists..
The opera's story is simple, but
either Sabina or Smetana - or
perhaps both of them - have
taken: this simple story and
stuffed' as.much extra "stuff" into
the opera as they possibly could.
Dances, drinking songs, acrobats,
Oriental dancing girls, and even
an 'old-fashioned American (he
does wave an American flag)
ringmaster find their way. into
this story of a lovely country girl
Marenka who is forced into an
unwanted marriage by her par-
ents.
As usual, all sorts of complica-
tions turn up most of them ar-
ranged by the town's marriage
broker Kecal. Of course, Maren-
kta's real love, Jenik, just happens
to be the long-lost son of rich
merchant Micha whose "son," in
the terms of the sealed marriage
contract, she.is supposed to mar-
ry. So Jenik reveals himself and
the contract is fulfilled. The bride
has: been bartered for, but she
couldn't be happier about it.
Smetana's music brings the
merry world of this tiny Bohem-
Ian village to the stage very well.
His sparkling rhythms, remem-
berable melodies, and orchestral
.color equalling his contemporary
IRimsky-Korsakov, present a pic-
ture similar to Johann Strauss'
Viennese bonbons. But in rustic
nineteenth century Bohemia the
boibons. have . been properly
drenched in beer.
And it. takes a special combin-
ation' of talents in singers and
musican s to keep the sparkle in-
the ale and the nip of springtime
Josef Blatt
fellow with all the necessary snarls
and smiles. But the timbre of his
voice seemed unsuited for such
strenuous activity. Here again he
proved me wrong; his major arias
cajoling the contrary lovers were
well sung, though some of my
hesitation still remains.
Probably everyone's favorite was
Jim Bryan, playing the simpleton
Vashek. With long Pinocchio nose
and Buster Brown attire he stut-
tered and pshawed his way
through attempts at love and ro-
mance. He was truly funny with
professional bearing and timing.
Even his crying gained laughs. His
voice, when the score allowed him
anything more than stammers, was
smooth and clear, but still youth-
ful enough.
The supporting cast of parents
offered a strong support to these
stars. They joined Kecal in an
Act III quintet which began slowly
and sofltly-lyricism performed by
experts. Markena's mother, played
by Jessye Norman, sang two good
arias sympathetic to her daugh-
ter's plight.
A version of the University Sym-
phony Orchestra, reduced to small
proportions by Mendelssohn's size,
belied none of its smallness. The
few strings were never drowned-
out by the booming brass, and the
whole orchestra never lapsed into
sloppy romanticism even in the
sweetest scenes Smetana could
provide.
All this was controlled by
maestro Josef Blatt, and he was
immersed in the jovial mood of the
opera. His tempos were rather slow
in the dance numbers, but this was
probably for the convenience of
the dancers. His hand was always
present but never heavy, from the
fuguetto of the overture to the
final timpani and cymbal smashes.
A sustained robust romp, quite
a spring thing.
By FUNKY LITTLE SUZY
Rock 'n' Roll Expert
Wowee. What a turnout,
kids. The competition has real-
ly been stiff in this, the GOLD-
EN GREATEST EVERLAST-
ING REVOLVING ROCK
BRAIN BUSTER.
We've received over two hun-
dred replies, from as far away
as Northampton, Mass., and as
near as the DeeGee house.
Nifty.
Well, now the final results
are finally in (and here they
are). Unfortunately, space lim-
its us and we can't print the
answers. But I feel safe in say-
ing that nobody won the
GRAND PRIZE (which, if you
remember, was one unclaimed
1964 low-fi set), because no-
body got them all right.
Some of the whiz-bang ques-
tions that almost nobody got
right were: Davy Jones' secret
name for Micky Dolenz is May-
onnaise. Chuck Berry was ar-
rested for transporting a 13 or
14 (not 16) year old girl across
state lines for immoral pur-
poses, "I'll meet you at your
locker when school's dismissed.
I'll carry your books home if
you'll just give me one little
do un do do do un do do do"
is from "Angela Jones," as sung
by Johnny Ferguson.
The Beatles had five in the
top ten in April, 1964. Paul Re-
vere and the Raiders have
changed personnel at least 25
times. The Platters wore their
hearts "like a crown" NOT on
a crown, like a frown, like a
clown, as a mask or on their
sleeves.
So here's what you've all been
waiting for:
FIRST PRIZE: 6 albums and
30 golden gassers to Robert
Shaw and Paul Fine of 200
Riverside Drive, New York City.
Score: 89.
SECOND PRIZE and THIRD
PRIZE (tie): 2 albums and 6
golden gassers each (they have
to flip for the tube of Clearasil)
to Terry Flanagan and the
Mudbowl Twisters, and John H.
DeYoung, Jr., of the Dept. of
Geology and Mineralogy (or so
he claims). Scores: 83.
FOURTH PRIZE: Those 10
big free cokes go to Jeff Roe,
Rich Rochlin and Craig Mirkin
(that's three and one third
apiece, guys.) Score: 82.
FIFTH PRIZE: A FULL
PINT. of genuine Kentucky-
flavored macaroni salad goes
spinning out to Les Black, a
prospective lawyer. Congrats,
Les; and eat hearty! Score: 81.
A SPECIAL AWARD has
been voted for James Koffron,
John McKenzie and Dan Side-
man. Entitled the CREATIVE
CHEATING AWARD, it con-
sists of one album and one free
coke.
All you winners can pick up
your prizes at The Daily to-
night from 8-10 or by appoint-
ment any time. If you losers
want to know what you did
wrong, drop by at the same
time and I'll be on hand to per-
sonally help you find the way.
Just ask for Funky' Little Suzy.
And always remember, a little
bit of soap will never wash
away the tears.
WAY-OUT CAMP!!
Matinee-Sat.-1 1 :00-1 :00, Sun.-1 :00
75c ALL SEATS 75c
OBEY FU MANCHUU..OR EVERY
LIVING THN IL DIE! K
FU, MAI1CHU
TECHNICOLOR 0"TECHNISCOPE".
Fri. & Sat.-3-5-7-9:15-11:20; Sun.-3 5 7 9:15
Rocky Leaves GOP Race
*
4
in the air. From out of the mu-
sic school came the people who
did it all.
There certainly were stars. Four
characters provided the zest and
spirit to draw the audience into
this created world. Soprano Lyn-
da Weston, who sang Marenka,
was a perfect Little Mary Sun-
shine when she needed to be, and
yet had the depth of perception
to make the scenes of pathos be-
lievable. Her voice needed no im-
provement; from her very first
aria, "If I found you were un-
faithful," her vibrancy and full
sound filled each scene with life.
Her high point was in the Act II
aria, "Love, where have you gone."
I cannot say enough, nor use real-
ly appropriate adjectives to de-
scribe her precision, style, and
truly professional artistry - a
marvelous Marenka.
Her lover Jenik was sung by
Jerry Langenkamp, his tenor
voice has all the lyric charm and
grace for Smetana's sweeping ro-
mantic arias, packed with emo-
tion and passion. Act II provided
his best number in "0 what a
treasure is my Marenka!" In the
beginning I felt uneasy about his
middle range, especially in the
recitatives. I thought it was much
too thin to bear the weight of the
continuing conversation, but by
Act II his voice found an excellent
place for recitation and I was
satisfied.
This same problem involved
Robert Schneider who sang the
loquacious village busybody, Kecal,
the marriage broker. He is an ex-
cellent actor, and portrays the sly
(Continued from Page 1)
ageous and intelligent decision.
Your position will contribute im-
measurably to a 1968 victory for
the Republican party and even
more importantly for this great
nation. Barry."
In Washington, White House
press secretary George Christian
declined comment. He said Pres-
ident Johnson did not watch the
televised bradcast of Rockefeller's
news conference.
In Lansing, the wife of Gov.
George Romney said she believed
that her husband would not have
pulled out of the race for the
Republican presidential nomina-
tion had he not felt that Rocke-
feller was going to be a candiate.
PECE VIGIL
On-the Hour Prayer, Meditation, Discussion
and Lecture-all night at
ST. MARY'S STUDENT CHAPEL
EVENTS:
"FOLK MASS FOR PEACE-5:00 P.M.
"OFFSPRING"-7:30 P.M.
"VIETNAM: JOURNAL OF A WAR"-8:30 P.M.
The Rev. Richard Blank--(Canterbury House)
"REFLECTIONS"-10:00 P.M.
"LANGUAGE OF FACES"-11:00 P.M.
"MASS FOR PEACE"-12:00 P.M.
Films shown in
THE NEWIAN STUDENT LOUNGE
1
A look at *
Cop#Out'
by Daniel Okrent
"Just when the sounds make you feel crazy," says the ad
for Cop-Out, now showing at the State, "and the lights shine right
through your head . . . And everything starts to fly," it's time to
get up and walk out before you become physically ill.
FRIDAY, March 22
5 p.m. to 8 a.m.
NEWMAN-331 Thompson
______ I
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THE UNIVERSITY. OF MICHIGAN
SCHOOL OF MUSIC AND DEPARTMENT OF ART
PRESENT SMETANA'S COMIC OPERA
"THE BARTERED BRIDE"
(English Translation by Josef Blatt)
March 21-24, 8:00 P.M.
Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre
All Tickets-$3.00
Mail orders accepted now. Make checks payable to "Uni-
versity of Michigan." Send self-addressed, stamped envelope
to School of Music Opera, Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre, Ann
Arbor, Michigan 48104. Box Office opens Monday, March
18, 1968, 12:30 P.M.
Just When The Sounds Make You Feel
And The Lights Shine Right
Through Your
Head...And
Everythin
Starts To
Fly..
Crazy.
WINNER
7ACADEMY
AWARD,
N0MINATIONSI
0 BEST PICTURE
0 BEST ACTOR DUSTIN HOFFMAN
" BEST ACTRESS ANNE BANCROFT
LgRFPH E.LEVINE f BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
IKE NICHOLS KATHERINE ROSS
LAWRENCE TURMAN,' o BEST DIRECTOR
MIKE NICHOLS
/f BEST SCREEN
PLAY
!/ " BEST
CINEMA-
mm \ TOGRAPHY
GRADUATE
OE BANCROFT.DUSTIN HOFFMAN -KATIARINE ROSS
CAl lFR- WIII INAHfAM R IIK HFNRY PAl SIMON
.4
SELMUR PRODUCTIONS
A DE GRUNWALD PRODUCTION
Is a Love-in...Turned Killin
starrin(MEs MASON
PAl I I!AA II NRNRRVRARIM
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CLOSELY
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