'LaTi By JOSHUA PECK Michigan Opera Theater's current production of Verdi's La Traviata is quite a bit better than the company's last troubled effort, Show Boat, though it is not without a few major difficulties. Still, M.O.T. 's effort has its good points, most especially New York Opera star Catherine Malfitano in the title role. Malfitano's work on the many dif- ficult runs and trills her role (Violetta, by name) calls for is precise and lovely. Her acting seems a bit stilted at first but improves as the evening progresses. By the time she reaches her deathbed in the final act, she has become utterly believable, largely owing to her tearfully beautiful vocal work. La Traviata is based on a play, La Dame Aux Camelias, by Alexandre Dumas fils, which in turn stems from Dumas fils' book of the same name. Its plot concerns the consumptive cour- tdsan. La Traviata Guiseppi Verdi Music Hall, Detroit January 12, 14, 17, 19, 20 Violetta Valery..........Catherine Malfitano Marquis d'Obigny............. Steven Horak Flora Bervoix ................Meredith Parsons Dr. Grenvil .......................David Kline Alfredo Germont .............. Barry McCauley Annina..............Frances Brockington Giorgio Germont ................. Brent Ellis Joseph ...................Jerry Minster Servant ................Stephen Mark Pickover Dr. David DiChiera, director; Robert M. Heuer, inanthging director; Christopher Alden, stage director; Randall Behr, conductor; John Wright Stevens, production designer; Robert Yohn, choreographer. Violetta Valery (Marguerite Gautier in the book) and her doomed love affair with one Alfredo Germont, a young raviata' modest success The Michigan Daily-Sunday, January 14, 1979-Page- Escapist violence makes Dawn By ANNESHARP fun blueblood whose father disapproves of the whole romantic mess. Germont senior visits Violetta in the second act and asks her to leave Alfredo for the sake of the family name. VIOLETTA AGREES to abandon Alfredo out of her love for him, and she leaves a note indicating that she is no longer cares for him, so as to spare him the knowledge of the real reason. They bump into each other at a Paris party, and Alfredo grossly insults her in full view of the assembled high society folks, to their, and even the elder Ger- mont's, dismay. In the final act, Violetta is within .hours of her death, her tuberculosis finally having caught up with her. She is alone in the world, until: Alfredo rushes in, offering his apologies and his renewedamorous intentions, followed by his father, who at last is prepared to sanction their union. Violetta rises to her feet, sings joyfully for a while, and then, not surprisingly, keels over at Alfredo's feet. The end. Of such melodrama is wonderful opera made. Verdi's score, from the first delicate strains of lilting violin in the overture, to the elegant strumpet's hopelessly hopeful swan song just before the final curtain, Verdi's opera is an extravagant, multi-colored masterpiece. MUSICAL DIRECTOR Randolph Behr handles the large orchestra and cast well, rarely letting the instrumen- tal work get out of hand. At times, the strings seem to shake and screech a bit, but generally all is well with this part of the production. In the first act, a tape of the orchestra is played from offstage to simulate a dance orchestra in another room. Music Hall ought to invest a little money in its amplification system, as here the sound comes off as just plain George Romero, the creator of such distinguished horror films as Night of the Living Dead and Martin, appeared Thursday night at Angell Hall, courtesty of the Ann Arbor Film Coop, for a test screening of his newest film, Dawn of the Dead. A large, enthusiastic audience filled- Auditorium A to capacity, and ushers turned away scores of would-be viewers not lucky enough to obtain tickets for this free preview of the film. This was the second U.S. showing of Dawn of the Dead, now in its final stages of production. Romero, who wrote and directed in the film, as well as playing a small cameo role, brought it to Ann Arbor in order to see how the relatively knowledgeable audiences would react. He estimates that the completed version will reach commercial theatres, including the Movies at Briarwood, during the second week-in April. THE FILM IS a sequel to Romero's 1968 cult classic, Night of the Living Dead. Both films depict corpses which rise from the dead to devouir live human beings. Romero is planning a third film, Day of the Dead, another' sequel, which will be released sometime in the late1980s. Technically, Dawn improves on its low-budget, black-and-white predecessor, Night of the Living Dead, in use of color photography and gory special effects. Well-received by the audience, the film featured much violence and bloody, mutilated flesh, prompting one viewer to ask Romero, during a question-and-answer period after the film, "Are you a vegetarian?", "Did you find the violence necessary to the film's meaning?" asked another student. "OBVIOUSLY, I THINK," Romero replied. "It's partly what the film's about." He added later on, "I don't find this kind of violence to be offensive,- because I think it's very clear that this is only a film." He does object to the violence in a film like Every Which Way But Loose, which, he says, makes" anarchistic mayhem as a way of life seem attractive to audiences: Dawn's violence is escapist fun, "like a rollercoaster-a laugh in the dark." Romero's assistants distributed questionnaires to the audience prior to the film. Sample questions: "Do you like the title?" "What specific sequen- ces would you cut, if any?" "Did you find the violence offensive? fun?" The producer of Dawn, Richard Rubenstein, its director of photography, and makeup and special effects coordinator also answered audience's questions. Alfredo (Barry McCauley) tells Violetta (Catherine Malfitano) that they can return to the country and restore her health. The scene is from La Traviata, an opera running at the Music Hall in Detroit. pppp- --. chintzy. Ditto for the third act sequence when both chorus and orchestra are thus insulted. Perhaps this Traviata's greatest ob- stacle is the uninteresting Barry Mc- Cauley as Alfredo. His voice is under- nourished, and many of his sustained notes are distressingly unclear. The tragic effect of the opera is even mitigated somewhat by the unattrac- tive way Germont carries himself. One can hardly imagine that the two lovers' life together would have been wonder- ful with such an uninspired gentleman as this. BETTER, BUT in smaller roles, are Steven Horak and Dan Boggess as Dr. Grenvil and Joseph, respectively. Both handle their smallish parts im- pressively, and with luster. One wishes that Boggess had had a crack at the Alfredo role. Brent Ellis as the older Germont had problems, just as did his stage son. Par- ticularly when the orchestra was silent during occasional passages, Ellis soun- ded weak to the point of being un- melodic. p THE SETS, like the show as a whole, were possessed of elements both magnificent and mundane. Huge mirrored windows set a grand scene for the party scenes; but what were they doing onstage behind the lovers' coun- try hideaway? They severely marred the idyllic possibilities of the sequence. Bad too, was the lack of attention given the lower part of the set for the party scenes. Badly scuffed, and bedecked with beat-up rugs randomly thrown about; the floor made for a visual absurdity when contrasted with the grandeur above. The Spanish dance by Robert Yohn and Selby Beebe, and choreographed by Yohn, is just barely endurable. Both conception and execution are unabashedly unfocused, and the mad scrambling the two engage in leaves the audience profoundly grateful for its finish. But even severe disappointments like the dance and McCauley's bumbling cannot overshadow the essential charm of the production as a whole. Verdi lovers needn't stay away. Do a Tree a Favor: Recycle Your Daily Howling Leagues now forming Sign up WON LANES 60C per game Women's, Men's and Mixed oe11 C. " #0"' ta.1 rl AN V V W 1c bob..- --..odd Join the Arts Page ANGELICA P & JACQUELINE aw woman january 9 DOZO ELLENS show - 26 Lie. -Fri. 1 i - ;at, Sun. 12- b 764-3234 Dance yer feet sore reception : Jan1l2 7- -9pm ru, S during today 's fest i R FIRST FLOOR MICHIGAN UNION By KATIE HERZFELD Dig out your dancing shoes, take out your Sunday leotards! Today is Ann Arbor's first Michigan Dance Day. Several dancers from Monroe, Jackson, Ypsilanti, and Ann Arbor will be getting together today at the dance building next to CCRB. In this first Michigan Dance Day, community members can take classes in all kinds of dance: ballet, Afro-American, jazz, disco, modern, and even belly dancing. Following the classes, a free perfor- mance will be given by local dance companies and studios, and a solo will be presented by a UM graduate student. The festivities are sponsored by this region of the Michigan Dance Association (MDA), an outgrowth of the Michigan Council for the Arts. Vera Embree, one of the founding members of MDA and a dance professor at Michigan, explained that the association was formed in 1976 to promote dance, give dancers a chance to communicate with one another, and provide an organization which would actively raise funds for dance. IN THIS FIRST big day of activities for the region Ms. Embree said, "we want to join together to acquaint the community with the various personnel and studios in the area. The day enables students and community people to take a potpourri of dance-and see what suits them." Christopher Watson, the chair- person of this region, hopes that today's activities will encourage more com- munication between dancers in studios and universities. Classes are open for high school students through adults. Those in- terested should arrive about twenty minutes before the class is scheduled, and wear leotards. From 11:00 to 12:30, intermediate ballet, Afro-American, and improvisationbclassesare scheduled. During a break for lunch, Elizabeth Bergmann, chairperson of the UM dance department, will talk about the future of dance in Michigan, and Joyce Malm will give a brief report on current research on dance. At 1:30, belly dancing, intermediate .modern dance, and jazz will be offered. Disco, beginning modern, and a children's dance class (for six-year-olds through high school) are scheduled from 3:15 to 4:15. Classes which are geared towards beginners, are $3.00 each-you can take three for $6.00-and the 5:00 perfor- mance is free. Entertainment Comes to the Stage Door! Crooning Singer Steve Cole entertains with show tunes and songs from the Thirties and Forties every Monday from 8 p.m. until closing. No cover charge. Drinks at regu- lar prices. Starting Monday, Jan. 15, 1979. 300 S. Thayer Across from Hill Auditorium I .... Ann Arbor C ei Theatre Auditions LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC JANUARY 17-MASS MEETING-7:30 pm JANUARY 17, 18, 19, : 20th call backs ROLES AVAILABLE 6 WOMEN ages 13-70 3 men ages 20-50 The Liebeslieders, persons of the community (2 sopranos, mezzo, Tenor, Baritone) ALLI ROLEFS ARE SING.ING~ ROLES TIHI MUSIC IS SOMEWHAT DIFFICULT. CHOOSING A COLLEGE MAJOR? CHOOSING A CAREER? CAREER SATISFACTION LATER requires careful planning and evaluation NOW. Knowing your natural abilities can help you make the right decisions. If you are considering choices that will affect your career future, an ASSESSMENT OF APTITUDES is a useful first phase in your planning. It can provide you with the criteria necessary for making EDU- CATIONAL PLANS, CAREER DECISIONS, and LIFE GOALS. JOHNSON O'CONNOR RESEARCH FOUNDATION HUMAN ENGINEERING LABORATORY The MSA Campaign To Revitalize The Michigan Union continues On Jan. 18 the Regents will vote on whether or not to reorient the Michigan Union to student needs. There is MUCH TO LOSE and MUCH TO GAIN: new lounges, expanded services and programs, a variety and quality-oriented food service, a focus on responsiveness and usability, and MUCH MORE. We must all pull together on this one--students, or- ganizations, faculty, concerned others. WE NEED A STUDENT UNION! Here's how to help: * Come to the Regents' Meeting Thurs., Jan. 18, 1 p.m. at Admin. Bldg. " Join the Post-Card Campaign-Send the Regents a card. Stamped anc addressed post cards are waiting at the MSA office 3rd floor of the Union. Talk to your friends. Get your opinion out. " Call the Reants. I