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THE MICHIGAN DAILY

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'PORGY AND BESS':

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Opera &
By DAVID BLOMQUIST
Arts and Entertainment Editor
The University Musical Society prob-
ably couldn't have chosen a better
composition than George Gershwin's
folk opera Porgy and Bess for a special
concert marking the nation's bicenten-
nial.
From both a musical and a literary
perspective, Porgy address the Ameri-
can past and presents challenges from
the future. This week's admirable pre-
sentation by the Michigan Opera Thea-
tre (MOT) in the Power Center han-
dles with skill both aspects of this
curious slice from our musical - thea-
trical heritage.
There were other fine American
composers before Gershwin, of course.
But it was Gershwin who legitimized
the merger of America's great contri-
butions to popular music - jazz and
blues - with traditional musical forms,
thus bringing a uniquely American out-
look for the first time to serious com-
position.
Gershwin's Porgy score emphasizes
bold, vibrant rhythms and strong, thick-
lv voiced dissonances - apparent espe-
cially in several lively dance se-
quences. Yet his material can be lyr-
ical and almost plaintive at points,
such as in the familiar "Summertime"
melody that opens the first act.

roup marks bicentennial
And the DuBose Heyward-Ira Gersh- - turned in a convincing effort that ex- Nimmons, who nicely handled severa
win text represents a primitive attempt hibited few glaring musical or theatri- difficult arias as Serena, and Robert
to deal somewhat realistically with the cal faults. Monroe, a most energetic fellow wh
meager life faced by black Americans Benjamin Matthews, as Porgy, de- brought spark and precise diction t
in restrictive southern ghettos. monstrated rich,, clear resonance and the flippant role of Sporting Life, the
To be sure, the old comedy stereo- strong tone - the latter virtually a neighborhood narcotics dealer.
types persist through Porgy, but we see necessity, since conductor Ghilespi ex- Paul Norrenbrook's set suitabl con

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"Gershwin's 'Porgy and Bess' emphasizes bold, vi-
brant rhythms and strong, thickly voiced dissonances
. ..and represents a primitive attempt to deal realis-
tically with the meager life faced by black Americans
in restrictive southern ghettos."
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an inkling of new thematic ideas as
Heyward and Gershwin deal briefly
with such problems as lack of political
efficacy, narcotics, and con artists
within the context of a generally
straightforward love tragedy. Conse-
quently, Porgy is a difficult work for
any company - and especially a re-
gional repertory group like MOT - to
tackle successfully.
But under the firm control of direc-
tor Ella Gerber and conductor Remi
Ghilespi, the MOT ensemble - basic-
ally composed of students recruited
from Michigan music schools, supple-
mented by national talent in lead roles

perienced difficulty in silencing the pit
orchestra and maintaining proper bal-
ance. (Matthews has previously ap-
peared at the University as a soloist
in the annual performance of Handel's
Messiah.
Irene Oliver, playing Bess, exhibited
unfortunate side effects from a bout
with a cold. Passages voiced in her
middle register were performed with
magnificent articulation and tone. But
sustained phrases in extreme ranges
quickly faded out.
Matthews and Oliver were backed by
a surprisingly excellent corps of local
talent. I especially enjoyed Earnestine

.. i O ty
veyed the depressing atmosphere of a
mid-1920s South Carolina ghetto - and,
amazingly, offered director Gerber am-
ple room to block action and group
MOT's large chorus. Period costumes
by Karen McKean, Opal Hairston, and
Bonnie Whalen reinforced the dreary
mood.
MOT has considerably progressed
from its early days, which often fea-
tured small ensembles backed just by
a solo pianist. Naturally, it's far from
equalling the Metropolitan - but then,
MOT isn't intended to serve as a com-
pletelv professional organization. Re-
gional opera companies offer young
performers an opportunity to broaden
their repertoire and gain valuable stage
exnerience.
More imnortantly, however, these
semi - nrnfessional grouns can present
Bill - length nnerns at a dramatically
lmvwr nricp ,this onening in the me-
di,!m to a larger notential aldience. In
times when some critics are clniming
th'it oner' is slowly dying out, that is
r~n smll service.

Crap game in 'Porgy and Bess'

catnpu 6Iick4
Antonioni falls short
with 'The Passenger'

HEALTH SERVICE HANDBOOK

Two can

play the

SBy JAMES VALK By SYLVIA HACKER friends and go off the pill. Once
and NANCY GARWOOD in a while they get together with'
THERE IS SOMETHING odd abou the state of international Question: The doctor at Health the guy unexpectedly, find them-
Service said I had hemorrhoids. selves without birth control but
ingly emerging on the horizon, I sbeensse nwayteregnan-
Answer: Our own assistant di- ces some unwanted pregnan-
With prominent American filmmakers such as Robert Alt- rector of Health Service, Dr. P. cies because of this and a great
man and Francis Ford Coppola enjoying newly found status as Durkee, has elected to answer deal of agony. What can I tell
cinematic forces, the European masters who have for so long this question directally as well them?
dominated the higher echelons have quietly de-escalated their t as corectally (pun intended).: Answer: First, tell them they
aesthetic outflow to a plateau of genuine concern. Hemorrhoids (also called piles) need assertive training. That
are common in all age groups. means they need to be able to
This is not to suggest that European cinema as a whole has We see a lot of students with tell the guy to go out and get a;
descended from its own prominent status. Filmmakers such as this problem - maybe 35-40 a condom, or no sex that night.
Ingmar Bergman and Luis Bunuel have maintained not only month. The cause is not clear The responsibility for birth con-
the unprecedented level they established years ago, but have since it is seen in persons en- trol lies with both partners and
gone on to transcend themselves with startling contemporary gaged in both sedentary and ac- if she's off, he ought to be on.

PageI
to each woman's particular size
and so an appointment should
be made with our gynecology
clinic to get one and learn all
about it. Lastly, you could sug-
gest to women on the pill that,
it's probably ok to stay on it be-
tween boyfriends as long as
their bodiesrare tolerating it
well. E
Question: What can one do as1
a young adult to reduce the like-
likelihood of a heart attack or
stroke upon reaching middle
age?
Answer: Since Health Service1
is the service with a heart, wei

birth c
consulted our own Dr. Whale
who has done some work in this
area. He says that regarding
heart attacks and strokes, what'
we are talking about to a large
extent is a condition known as
atherosclerosis which develops
when fat builds up on the inside
walls of the arteries. This re-
sults in a narrowing of the ar-
teries and a decrease in the
blood supplied to the heart and
other tissues, and sometimes to
clot formation (thrombosis). If
atherosclerosis (known to many
as "hardening of the arteries")
causes the coronary artery (sup-
plying blood to the heart muscle)
to become blocked, the result
may be a heart attack. Coron-
ary heart diseases and heart at-
tacks are almost always related
to atherosclerosis as are some
strokes. There are many fac-
tors (risk factors) which seem
to be involved for any given in-
dividual in susceptibility to ath-
erosclerosis. For example, there
is sex (not the activity, just the
gender). Men may have from 6
to 10 times more heart attacks

than women of child-bearing
age. Then, there is personality
type. The more aggressive, hur-
ried individual is more coron-
ary-prone than the slower, more
placid person. However, despite
much difference of opinion, the
three major factors involved in
stroke and heart attack seem to
be high blood pressure (hyper-
tension), high blood cholesterol
and triglyceride, levels (hyper-
lipidemia), and cigarette smok-
ing. A person can reduce the
likelihood of ever developing
these diseases by correcting or
preventing the development of
these risk factors. Since all of
these factors can be checked
into and to a large extent con-
trolled by the individual, they
are worth looking into. Health
Service has just established a
clinic (Hyperlipidemia Clinic) to
evaluate the presence of these
risk factors and to provide as-
sistance to bring them under
control. For an appointment or
~~~

more information call 764-8325.
Please send any and all ques-
tions to:
The Health Clinic Educators
Student Health Service
207 Fletcher
Ann Arbor, Mi. 48104
Sylvia Hacker and Nancy
Garwood are health educators at
the Health Clinic.
THURS.-
FRI.-SAT.
$2.50
MICHAEL
COONEY

ontrol game

works.
It is the work of such early notable as DeSica and Fellin
both founders of the Italian neo-realistic movement, that caus
one to question what direction these filmmakers have takeni
recent years.
This all brings up the subject of Michelangelo Antonioni, wh
startled the cinematic world with a muddled film of Americ
offered from the perspective of a noted director. To this date
Zabriskie Point has continually been the source of bafflement 1
those familiar with the earlier work 'of the filmmaker.
IN WHAT MAY superficially seem an act of repentance, Anti
nioni has again confused filmgoers with The Passenger,
film that boasts misconceptions on two mutually exclusive levels
This time, Antonioni has directed a film that doesn't eve
have open to it the option of failure due to cancerous deviatior
from the given intent - Zabriskie Point.
Rather, The Passenger simply lacks any sincere intention o
motivation on which it could fail, thus, through a bizarre and ur
fortunate reasoning, never, never could aesthetically fall prey t
legitimate criticism - like lambasting The Towering Infern
for lack of social relevance.
On strictly the most simplistic level, The Passenger survive
as a chic political thriller that might more reasonably be though
of as a thinking man's Three Days of the Condor.
Jack Nicholson is a British television journalist on assign
ment in North Africa who finds it convenient to switch identitie
with a newly discovered acquaintance whom is found dead in hi
hotel room. Accepting this unmotivated premise, the simpl
proceeds on simply too many logistical flaws to even remain suc
cessful in this simplistic vein.
How does the mysterious girl (played coyly by Maria Schne
der) fit in with Nicholson or his newly acquired identity? An
why does Antonioni place some mystical significance on he
presence in a park before there has ever been a confrontation
between her and Nicholson - a confrontation that takes on n
motavational significance even after it has been established.
A S EXPECTED, there are those who will accuse me of dis
missing the film without ever really considering it. So fo
the sake of argument, I will susnend my rational belief and car
ry the point further. We are told relatively nothing of this the
journalist's past except what we learn through a series of flash
backs that hardly provide enough ground on which to proceed
If there is some identity crisis here (to use a pitiful cliche
and there is no reason to believe that Antonioni doesn't want one
established, we certainly are entitled to some justification fo:
this massive undertaking.
Instead, we are given a series of contrived events that allow
for the continuation of the film: the insertion of a new character
into the identity and life of another. Proceeding past this point
would be purely speculative, and we can only extrapolate from
mere-supoositions.
It is frightening to think in terms of Antonioni, the man wh
gave us L'Avventura, L'Eclisse and The Red Desert, as wasting
his time and energy on such a frugal matter. From just a tech
nical standpoint the film is erratic, from the clumisly conceived
opening sequence to the now infamous final shot that lasts almost
seven minutes in one continuous take.
But that final shot has significance in understanding the en-
tire misguided energies that went into the conception of the film
as an intellectual expression. Although a technical achievement
of the highest order, that shot does nothing to advance the cine-
matic content of the film itself.
IT CAN ONLY be sadly noted that Jack Nicholson and Maria
Schneider do not alone make a film work-they can contribute
their talents, however vast, to an effort that has been conceived
and executed by the director.
One can only wonder if Antonioni really thought that the
names above the title could carry him through this one. For the
sake of his name, if for nothing else, I hope not.
POETRY READING
with

tive physical work. Hemorrhoids If its impossible to get a con-
are varicose (enlarged) veins of 3 dom on some occasion, sex play
e, the rectum which can bleed and/ can be very pleasurable and sat-
or be painful. Usually they are isfying without intromission. Bet
in treated with sitz baths which are creative. Secondly we think it'st
warm water soaks in a bathtub, a good idea for a woman to!
1o and with suppositories which have a diaphragm handy as a;
a are medicated objects that melt backup method , for just such
e, when inserted in the rectum and cases as you're describing. It;
to aid in healing. In the end; most also happens to be a very good1
get better in a few days. method in and of itself if useds
Question: I'm an RD and consistently with jelly (not grape
- there's a problem I see a lot of. but a spermicidal jelly). Don't!
a Women break up with their boy forget though, it has to be fitted;

S.E
n-


Letters to the Daily

o To The Daily: the same length of time. One ing accusation against the fac- basis of a substantial withdraw-
1° PROFESSOR LYALL Powers; could then take the book (or the ulty. al of books.
was much too mild and self-ef- book card) to the circulation YOUR TALK of the replace-' I have long been engaged in
facing in his response to your desk for renewal as it fell due, ment cost of the books on long- ' various research projects in the
t reporter on faculty borrowing of and have a stamped record of r a th fa t s quit study of nineteenthcenrymEng-
j University library books, and; its next due date. temla otefclyi ut suyo ieenhcnuyE.
her ibrary f bes you FOR THE late a pointless; these books are not lish literature. My experience is
 the Library staff members you FOR THE last several years, missing, are subject to recall that very few libraries in the
s quote were apparently less than however, the circulation depart- whenever they are wanted, and world are as usable as those of
s candi Pro br boo ks ment of the lirary has efuse are not budgeted for replace- the University of Michigan, both
,'for keeps,' " October 9, p. 1). to renew faculty borrowings atj ment. In fact, a former director because it has the books I need
y A sober statement may clear up its desks, and has substituted a te nivrty lirriehsa because its coosin
the true nature of the situation; convenient system of renewal said, not altogether facetiously, with the researcher has been
but it can hardly undo the dam- by campus mail. At present, that if the faculty returned at so helpful. And that co-operation
i- age your story has done to to some two weeks after the "due" one time all the books it was includes its policy of book-charg-
d the University faculty's reputa- date, the circulation department using, there would be no shelf ing to the faculty on an extend-
r t tion. sends a slip indicating when the space in the library to hold ed basis.
n Until 1969, University faculty book was charged out and when them. In a circulating library, R. H. Super
o members might charge books on it' was "due"; it may then be shelf space is calculated on the Professor of English
idefinite loan as a matter of renewed for a full loan period
routine; books could be recalled by a check-mark on the slip and-
- if they were requested by anoth- by returning the slip via campus
tr teer reader or needed for reserve, mail. It is almost impossible un- G UILA G
- but they were not otherwise der this system for a facultyI
e "due." Once a year the library Imember to know precisely when g f~E
- sent each of us a list of the a book is due; moreover, it fol- "ehmHL.
. books charged to us, with the re- lows that for every two-month1
quest that we check to see that loan period there will ensue T W O
we still had the books and that some two or three weeks whenT W
e we still wished to keep them the book is technically "over- NOW ON SALE AT CENTICORE
r out. After 1969, most general due," and therefore helping to W
library books were charged to make up the statistics you cite.
faculty for a two-month period, This is the library's system; it cloth: $15.00 paperback: $2.50
r but with the privilege of an in- is a bit hard that it should be (COMING SOON)
definite number of renewals for made the basis of a wide-sweep-
-- _Solzhenitsyn ss"most stunning
Israeli Movie Party achievement"
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 18 Centicore Bookshop
at H I LLEL-8:00 p.m. f
THE MOVIE- 336 Maynard 1229 South University
"SALLAH" (English subtitles)___
AFTER THE FILM-
folaful-humous-pits
t ADMISSION-$1.50I the ann rcooperatve
MOVIE & REFRESHMENTS
H ILLEL-1429 Hill St. TONIGHT-Thursday, Oct. 16
CONTEMPT
11! (JEAN-LUC GODARD, 1964)
MARILYN MONROE WEEKEND 1957 Originally entitled LE MEPRIS. Starring BR!-
GITTE BARDOT with JACK PALANCE and
THE PRINCE AND THE ( FRITZ LANG. Godard shows contemporary so-
ciety as one in which feeling and concern have
SHOW GIRL been replaced by vacuous intellectualism and
Sire Lawrence Olivier directs and co-stars in ruthless materialism. CONTEMPT is the story
nde, Marilyn Monroe. Olivier espe- his marriage is disintegrating and his wife
favritlyne Maryn Monroehe Ocinvir e - despises him. A modern intellectual, he cannot
cialywanedMonroe for her acting ability in + tk 4--~flmr
. n t nn wthth frrfti mrAintirtvan~-/

SIGNED
ANDY WARHOL
° POSTERS
VALUE- $250.00
on sale at Centicore for
$75.00
the second you take it out
our door it appreciates more
than 300%
CENTICORE Bookshops

"A one man folk festival"
q. u i t a r, 1 2-string, banjo,
fretless banjosharmonica,
concertina, etc.
SUN.:
A LISTA IR-
ANDERSON
concertina virtuoso
$2.50
1421 HILL 761-1451

..

SCIENCE AND HUMAN
VALUE SERIES:
Sponsored by the Dept. of Philosophy, The U. of M.
Date, Time, Place , EVENT
October 16 DAVID JACKSON (Dept. of
800 PMMichobiology, U. of M,)
105 Ang'll "Bio-Chemical Manipulation of Genes:
19025 Angell HOIScientific and Ethical Considerations"

October 23
3:00 P.M.
1025 AngelI
October 29
8:00 P.M.
1025 Angell

GORDON KANE (Dept. of Physics,
U. of M.)
an We Decide Whether Nuclear
HalPower Is Good for Us?"
WALTER REITMAN (Dept. of
Psycholocv & MHRI, U. of M.)
Hall Artificial Intelli"ences What Is It
and Where Is It Goinq?"

November 11 NED BLOCK (Dept. of Philosophy,
(tentative-time'nd M.I.T.)
place to be announced) "Race and I.Q."
This is not a complete list. Additional events will be
announced when arranements are completed.
ALL EVENTS ARE OPEN TO THE. PUBLIC