.. .. .......
hirty-Ninth
Annual May
LEA lINC OPERATICl
STARS SCHEDULED,
fOR SIX CONCERTS
EX-OPERA TENOR
Goeta Ljungberg, Sensation
Metropolitan Season, Is
Among Headliners,
of
GIGH WILL SING FRIDAY
Chicago Symphony, Directed by
Frederick Stock, to Play
for Entire Series.
ly Jerry E. Rkosenthal
All roads of the music world will
lead to Ann Arbor this next week
when the outstanding musical event
-of the world for the month takes
place in Ann Arbor in the shape of
the 1932 May Festival. The event,
the thirty-ninth annual one of its
kind, will last four days comprising
six concerts continuin: - from Wed-
nesday night through Saturday
evening, and the scene will be Hill
auditorium.
Operatic stars from the leading
opera companies of the world have
been gathered to appear here and
with the Chicago Symphony con-
cert, the Choral Union society, the
children's choruses and with the as-
sistance of others necessary to a
Festival, the affair promises to be
one of the most glamourous in its
history.
Goeta Ljungberg to Appear.
The stars who will appear as
singers on the four day event in-
clude Goeta Ljungberg (pronounced
Yoeta Yungbairg) sensational so-
prano of the year whose rise to
fame since January with the Met-
ropolitan opera company has been
one of the surprises of the operatic
year; Beniamino Gigli, leading ten-
or of the Metropolitan who of late
has refused to accept a reduction
GOETA LJUNGBER.G.
in salary for his services; and John
Charles Thomas, baritone with the
Chicago Civic Opera company. Miss
Ljungberg will appear on Thursday
night, Gigli on Friday night and
Thomas on Saturday afternoon.
Frederick Stock, veteran conduc-
tor of the Chicago orchestra, will
again lead his organization in its
numbers throughout the six con-
certs and has arranged the sym-
phony concert for Saturday after-
noon as well-as assisted Earl V.
Moore in the direction of the chor-
al works. Moore will again person-
ally conduct the choruses except on
Thursday evening when Gustav
Holtz, guest conductor, will wield
the baton in the presentation of his,
own works.
Will Give Opera.
The leading choral work to be
presented will be Rimsky-Korsak-
off's "The Legende of the Invisible
City of Kitesh" to be performed on
the Saturday evening concert with
Juliette Lippe, Marjorie McClung,
Mina Hager, Frederick Jagel, Nelson
E d d y, Chase Baromeo, Palmer
Christian, the Chicago Symphony
orchestra, and the University Chor-
al Union taking part. This presen-
tation will be the American premiere
for the opera and will be watched
for future use by associates of the-
Chicago and New York Metropol-
itan Opera companies. The trans-
lation into English was done by Mrs.
Lila Pargment, of the Russian de-
partment.
Haydn's "Creation" will be the
other major choral work of the, Fes-
tival, this oratorio being the open-
ing feature for the Wednesday
night concert along with Gitta Gra-
dova, pianist. On Saturday after-
noon, the children's choruses, led
by Juva Higbee, will present Pro-
theroe's "The Spider and the Fly."
Mina Hager, contralto, will be the
soloist.
May Festival to Give
Six Selected Choruses
Six choral works will be present-
ed during the course of the Festival.
The most important will be the
Beniamino Gigli.
1932 Series Boasts
Largest Collection
of Concert Artists
One of the largest numbers of
artists to appear on a Festival pro-
gram for the past few years will
take part in the 1932 edition next
week. 16 singers, conductors and
instrumentalists will take part dur-
ing the four day program.
John Charles Thomas is prob-
ably one of the best known and
most versatile baritones who have
appeared on the American scene.
He has appeared as a concert art-
ist, oratorio work and in opera. At
the present time he is with the
Chicago Civic opera company. He
will be heard by Festival patrons
on Saturday afternoon with the
Chicago Symphony orchestra.
Another artist who has achieved
fame is Frederick Jagel, of the Met-
ropolitan Opera company and the
La Scala in Milan. He was a feat-
ured performer also last year.
Juliette Lippe is Covent Garden's
contribution to the Ann Arbor Fes-
tival. Although an American,
which is a handicap on European
opera stages, she has been heralded
as one of the leading artists in
London. She will have the lead in
the production "The Legende of
the Invisible City of Kitesh." Ruth
Rodgers and Mina Hager are also
concert and oratorio singers who
have won places for themselves in
the musical world.
The one featured pianist on the
Festival prpgram will be Gitta
Gradova who will appear on the
second half of the opening concert
on Wednesday night. Miss Grad-
ova has received the praise from a
great many critics as being the
foremost woman pianist in the
United States. Gustav Hoist will be
the guest conductor and will lead
his own works on the Thursday
evening concert.
IS SERIES FEATURE1
Swedish Soprano Hailed as One
of Leading Prima Donnas
in This Century.
By far the feature of the artist
concerts on the May Festival pro-
gram for 1932 is the appearance of
the Swedish soprano, Goeta Ljung-
berg, sensational soprano of the
Metropolitan Opera company, who
since her American debut January
20 has been hailed as one of the
foremost prima donnas of the
twentieth century. Her concert on
the Thursday night program, from
all indications, will come near be-
ing a sell-out.
With the advantages of being
beautiful, blond, a real actress as
well as a superb singer, Madam
Ljungberg was perfectly cast for
the part of Brunhilde in "Die Wal-
kure," some of the selections of
which she will sing in her appear-
ance.
Goeta Ljungberg was born in
Sundsval, Sweden. At the age of
eight she sang for the queen of
Sweden and at sixteen she entered
Royal Academy of Singing at Stock-
holm. Soon she was engaged for
the Royal opera there.
Since then she has sung in Cov-
ent Garden, London and it was
there that Eugene Goosens wrote
the opera "Judith" especially for
her. A short time after she was
engaged to sing in Berlin and since
then has performed in Dresden and
Mannheim.
During the summer of 1931, con-
ductor Arthur Bodanzky, of the
Metropolitan, heard her and in a
few weeks she had a contract with
the New York opera company.
800 Persons Included
in Festival Program
Apnroximatelv 800 nersons will I