The Michigan Daily-Wednesday, January 23, 1980-Page 5, 'Opera' stuck in orbit By MARK DIGHTON Don't let anyone tell you that it's im- possible to attempt too much. Richard *nings obviously did and his produc- n Space Opera 1 demonstrates pretty clearly just what can happen when one overextends oneself. Jennings should have been more than satisfied with the excellent'visual and musical impact of "Space Opera 1". Instead, he also at- tempts to weave a sort of zen Star Trek theme into this show which falls far short of its commanding audio-visual effects and, unfairly, calls the value of 4 he entire piece into question. hat is not to say that Space Opera 1 is devoid of all merit. Jennings is ob- viously an individual on considerable achievement and talent. His abilities as a musical composer are particularly noteworthy. The extended introductory pieces facilely combine a dramatic synthesizer theme a la Tangerine Dream with a sort of loose Philip Glass- style sax-flute duet. His background as an electronic music teacher at Michigan State has obviously taught him how to produce driving synthesizer pieces without falling into inhuman mechanicalism. The only musical weak point comes when Jennings first ap- pears wearing awhite jumpsuit and ab- IARTS/ I stracted alien make-up to sing a forced, corny folk song about our brothers in space. .His enthusiasm and charisma does not blend with the somber tone of the rest of the production. JENNINGS' VOCAL abilities do more than their share of saxing many of the musical numbers. He has a strong, ver- satile baritone that never falls short of winning the audience's complete atten- tion. The "opera" part of the title is also no misnomer; many of the pieces come closest to being arias, which Jennings pulls off with ease and confidence. It is too bad, that unlike in most opera, we are able to understand most of the wor- ds of these songs. In a majority of the songs, some of the phrasing is just clumsy enough to make the words un- duly noticable. However, it is also true that it would be difficult to imagine any way that lines such as "Let us think of ourselves as a life-form/ travelling through time and space" could be worked into any managable tune without being con- spicuous. Perhaps it would be better if most of the words had just been left out. That is a sad thing to say, but it would sufficiently- alleviate the major problem of this presentation-its con- tent. The plot synopsis, which sounds like a pretty lame version of, "Alan Watts meets Captain Kirk," talks about travelling through time and space to view the alternative futures of the human race-total annhilation or oneness with out inner being and whatever other "cosmic friends" are out there. The fact that just about everybody else you can imagine has already dealt with this theme was brought home by the fact that the slides Jennings used during the section por- traying the end of the world were taken from the inside cover of David Bowie's Diamond Dogs. Left a bit more abstract and. understated, this common sci-fi theme might not have been so an- noying, but as obvious and unavoidable as it is, t colors the entire production for the worse. Before long, one gets the feeling that their nose is being rubbed in It. Join the arts page Have you ever attended a concert, play, or film only to awaken the following morning to read a review that seemed to be written by someone who went to a different show of the same name? If you've ever said "I could do that!" after disagreeing with an arts page review, it's time to put your typewriter where your mouth is. The Michigan Daily is looking for new staff writers. The only prerequisites are a specific interest in writing and a generalinterest in the arts (use your own definition). Beside the usual popular music-theater-film criticism, we have an urgent need for writers interested in classical music, the visual arts, and arts-oriented features. The bottom line here is creativity; if you have some insight or a new approach to offer, the arts page could be your outlet. The meeting is next Sunday at upstairs at the Student Publications Building at 420 Maynard at 3:00 p.m. Please bring a sample of your writing, preferably representative of what you'd like to cover. If you can't make the meeting, stop by any weekday afternoon and ask for the arts editors. Your apartment cra mped? Read the Daily Classifieds for the latest 'For Rent' info. ACU=I THAT REALLY IS unfortunate, though, most of the music is quite in- triguing. Even the visuals, though they more often succumb to the plot, are oc- casionally brilliant. At one point, Jen- nings confronts a box which we take to be some sort of center of knowledge. Lit with blacklight, the spare lines of his facial make-up float free above his brightly glowing gloved hands at they manipulate a touch-controlled syn- thesizer on top of the box. As his hands sweep ever closer to the surface and flutter randomly like twin butterflies, the synthesizer lets off complicated squeals, bleeps, and buzzes like an ex- tremely talkative R2D2. On the other hand, using a strobe light and exaggerated struggling and grotesque as almost anything in Alien. Obviously, Richard Jennings' talents as a stage persona, singer, visual artist, and musical composer make any of his productions worth seeing. Perhaps his predilection for confusing these talents will disappear with experience. In any case, Jennings is certainly working in a difficult medium between mediums, Bowling Tournament and while he shows considerable promise, he just as obviously needs For Women time to perfect his personal craft. If Sat. Jan. 26 you're interested in seeing him develop his talents and display his already con- 10 a.m. siderable abilities, he will be giving one aI last performance of Space Opera i at at U the Dance Theatre Studio at 711 North Winners go to University this Saturday, January 26. Kent Mtate Univ. FNIVEISITY CMUSICAL 8OCIETY present S Joncord String Qurtet WA SundayJanuary 27830 Rackham Auditorium This exceptional ensemble, in addition to works by Mozart and Beethoven will perform the world premiere of George Rochberg's "String Quartet #7 (with baritone), with Leslie Guinn, of the School of Music, to which the work is dedicated. Tickets available: $4, 5.50, 7 Tickets at Burton Tower, Ann Arbor, Mich. 48109 Weekdays-9-4:30, Sat. 9-12, Phone 665-3717 Tickets also available at Rackham Auditorium 1'/ hours before performance time. AP Photo The "Crowned Head of an Oni" is one of many pieces of sculpture currently on display at the Detroit Institute of Arts in an exhibition entitled "Treasures of \ncient Nigeria". This piece is by Igbo-Ukwo who lived around the loth century. This and the rest of the travelling show tare rare examples of that period in African art. Few examples of sub-saharan art have been preserved more than 100 years. inl its 101 sf , cason ENERGY. We can't afford to wasteit.