MAY FESTIVAL SUPPLEMENT Y r e 01k igau ~kziti I MAF - SECTION TWO 7 1 ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN, SUNDAY, MARCH 20, 1938 45th Annual Music Festival Anderson Back; Philadelphia Tere l !f ay l1 To 14; Play Negro Singer Acclained By Times' Writer Iler Poise is Admirable, He Finds At Her Debut After European Tour Understands Intent Of EachComposer EDITOR'S NOTE: Following is an article which appeared in the New York Times. written after Miss Anderson had made an extended toer in Europe and retrnd to Town Hall forna solo debut. Let it be said at the outset: Marian Anderson has returned to her native land one of the great singers of our time. The Negro contralto who has been abroad for four years established herself in her concert at Town Hall last night as the possessor of an ex- celling voice and art. Her singing en- chanted an audience that included singers. There was no doubt of it,I she was mistress of all she surveyed. The simple facts are better than superlatives, for superlatives are easily abused. Fact one, then, should be the sheer magnificence of the voice itself considered as a musical instru- ment. It is a contralto of stunning range and volume, managed with sup- pleness and grace. It is a voice that. lends itself to the entire emotional gamut, responsive to delicate nuance and able to swell out with opulence and sonority. Command of Style Penetrating Fact twrshoUld fbe Miss Anderson's musicianship. In a program that en- compassed a full group of Handel, another by Schubert, a Verdi aria, a Finnish selection and a concluding group of Negro spirituals, she re- "ealed a penetrating command of style. She understood not only the difference in approach between the songs of Handel, Schubert and Si- belius, but the divergences in intent in the music by the same composer. Each song was treated as an artistic unit, set forth with care, study and intelligence. But without deep feeling these other assets would not achieve the grandeur in interpretation that was Miss Anderson's last night, and that should be item three. For Miss An- derson has the transcending quality. of all authentic art-a genuine iden- tification with the core of music. Schubert's "Der Tod und Das .Maed- chen," and "Allmacht" were en- nobling in their grandeur. And how many singers have communicated the rapture of John Payne's "Crucifixion" as Miss Anderson did last night. It was music-making that was too deep for words. Had Poise, Even in Pain To all these things must be added the native good taste of the artist and the simplicity of her personality. Here was r;woman of poise and sensibility. The fact that one foot, iiijured in an accident on board ship on the way1 home, was encased n a cast was never permitted to intrude on the listener's consciousness. She sang with a con- sciousness of her ability and with a relish of her task that were positively infectious. It was possible for those of pedantic minds to find minor mnatters to (Continued on Page 3) * . e 25 Program For The 1938 May Festival Orchestra 1 Years With The Meg, Marti1e'lli Feted Today ol 8:30 p.m. WEDNESDAY Soloist MARIAN ANDERSON, Contralto THE PHILADELPHIA ORCHESTRA WOMEN'S VOICES of the CHORAL UNION EUGENE ORMANDY and PROF. EARL V. MOORE, Conductors Herr Jesu Christ, ich weiss gar wohn.... Buxtehude Vater Unser in Himmelreich ................. Bach Fantasia in C major.....................Handel Symphony in D major, No. 35 ("Haffner") Kochel 385..........................Mozart Allegro con spirito; Andante; Menuetto; Presto "The Blessed Damozel" .................. Debussy MARIAN ANDERSON WOMEN'S CHORUS "O Don Fatale" from "Don Carlos"..........Verdi "Ah! mon fils" from "Le Profet"..........Meyerbeer MARIAN ANDERSON Afternoon of a Faun ...................... Debussy Interlude and Dance from "La Vida Breve".. de Falla 8:30 p.m. THURSDAY Soloists ARTUR RUBINSTEIN, Pianist AGNES DAVIS, Soprana CHASE BAROMEO, Bass ARTHUR HACKETT, TenorE THE PHILADELPHIA ORCHESTRAf THE UNIVERSITY CHORAL UNION EUGENE ORMANDY and PROF. EARL V. MOORE, Conductors ALL-RUSSIAN PROGRAM Overture to "Kowantchina"...........Moussorgsky "The Bells'................ . ........Rachmaninoff I. The Silver Bells - Allegro ma non tanto ARTHUR HACKETT and Chorus. II. The Golden Bells - Lento AGNES DAVIS and Chorus II. The Brazen Bells - Presto CHORUS IV. The Mournful Bells - Lento lugubre CHASE BAROMEO and Chorus Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor, for, Piano and Orchestra ............... Tschaikowsky Allegro non troppo emolto maestoso; Allegro con spirito Andantino semplice Allegro con fuoco ARTUR RUBINSTEIN 2:30 p.m. FRIDAY Soloists ALBERT SPALDING, Violinist HARDIN VAN DEURSEN, Baritone THE PHILADELPHIA ORCHESTRA YOUNG PEOPLE'S FESTIVAL CHORUS EUGENE ORMANDY and JUVA HIGBEE, conductors Overture to "The Bartered ,Bride"........Smetana The Virgin's Slumber Song .............. Reger The Snow-Drop .................... Gretchaninoff In These Delightful Pleasant Groves.......Purcell It Was a Lover and His Lass...............Morley YOUNG PEOPLES FESTIVAL CHORUS "The Sorcerer's Apprentice"..............Dukas Cantata, "Paul Bunyan" (First Performance) James HARDIN VAN DEURSEN YOUNG PEOPLE'S FESTIVAL CHORUS Concerto in D major, Op. 77, for Violin and Orchestra .............................Brahms Allegro non troppo; Adagio; Allegro giocoso, ma non troppo vivace. ALBERT SPALDING 8:30 p.m. FRIDAY Soloist NINO MARTINI, Tenor THE PHILADELPHIA ORCHESTRA EUGENE ORMANDY, Conductor Prelude and Fugue in B minor.............Bach (Orchestrated by Lucien Cailliet) "Una furtiva largima," from "Elisir d'amore" ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Donizetti "Racconto di Rodolfo," from "La Bolieme".Puccini NINO MARTINI Symphony No. 5 in E-flat..................Sibelius Tempo molto moderato-Allegro moderato ma un poco stretto-Presto---plu presto Andante mosso quasi allegretto Allegro molto-Un pochettino largamente "O Paradiso!" from "L'Africana......... Meyerbeer "E lucevan la stelle" from "Tosca"........... Puccini MR. MARTINI Perpetual Motion.....................Paganini (Orchestrated by Eugene Ormahdy) "Till Eulenspiegel"... ..................... Strauss 2:30 p.m. SATURDAY Soloist MARJORIE LAWRENCE, Soprano THE PHILADELPHIA ORCHESTRA EUGENE ORMANDY, Conductor ALL WAGNER PROGRAM "Rheingold" a. Invocation of Alberich b. Entrance of the Gods into Walhalla "Walkure" a. Du bist der Lenz b. Hoi yo to ho te MARJORIE LAWRENCE c. Wotan's Farewell and the Magic Fire Music "Siegfried" a. Wald weben b. Siegfied Ascending the Mountain to Meet Brunnhilde; and Finale "Gotterdammerung" a. Rhine Journey b. Funeral March c. Immolation and Closing Scene MISS LAWRENCE 8:30 p.m. SATURDAY Soloists BRUNA CASTAGNA, Contralto HILDA BURKE, Soprano AGNES DAVIS, Soprano RICHARD BONELLI, Bariton CHASE BAROMEO, Bass ARTHUR HACKETT, Tenor GIOVANNI MARTINELLI, Tenor THE UNIVERSITY CHORAL UNION THE PHILADELPHIA ORCHESTRA EARL V. MOORE, Conductor "CARMEN" (in Concert Form) ............... Bizet CARMEN .................. BRUNA CASTAGNA Micaela and Frasquita .......... HILDA BURKE Mercedes ........................AGNES DAVIS Don Jose............GIOVANNI MARTINELLI Escamillo .................. RICHARD BONELLI Morales and Zuniga........CHASE BAROMEO Dancario.................MAURICE GEROW Ramendado ............... ARTHUR HACKETT GIOVANNI MARTINELLI Eighteen Colleagues To Participate In The Program With Proceeds Going To Opera Fund; His Recent Collapse On 'Met' Stage First In Long Career By ROY INGHAM Giovanni Martinelli's 25th year' with the Metropolitan will be the oc- casion for a gala party in his honor today at the famous Opera House on Seventh Avenue. Eighteen of his best friends and members of the Company will pre- sent a program in which Martinelli will sing three numbers. Some of them are: Kirsten Flagstad, Elizabeth Rethberg, Helen Jepson, Marjorie Lawrence, Richard Crooks, Frederick Jagel, Lawrence Tibbett and Ezio Pinza. The artists are contributing their services and the proceeds of the performance will go to the Fund to Maintain Metropolitan Opera. Today also marks the third week of his convalescing following a collapse as he sang "Celeste Aida" before the Met and a nation-wide radio au- dience: the first time he ever let his followers down. With dramatic suddenness, Fred- erick Jagel, listening to the program at the time, hurried to the scene and finished the part. Usually Careful With Food Odd fact about the collapse, which resultede from indigestion, is the an- nouncement that he is usually care- ful in selecting and preparing his foods-he has a special chef. Crab- meat, -eaten before he was to sing, caused his collapse, doctors say. Since 1913, when he first appeared as Rodolfo the poet, in Puccini's "La Boheme," his name has meant SRO at the old playhouse. His rise in American operatic and recital circles is an inspiration to the musically ambitious, marked with variety and good fortune. Eldest of a small town cabinet mak- er's 14 children, Martinelli early leaned to music in the local church choir and sporadic essays atthe clarinet. Papa's wish it was that he follow the family trade, but at 20, he went into the Italian army to do duty for two years. He soon becapte a part of the four-piece band attached to his unit and vocalized a bit off duty. His Colonel Advised Music It was his colonel, who advised him to study, that gave needed inspira- tion. A wealthy Milan family spon- sored his two-year study in Milan. He made his debut Dec. 3, 1910, in Rossini's "Stabat Mater" and success was immediate. A fortnight later he sang his first operatic part in "Er- nani." Puccini soon noticed him and as- signed the lead in a European pre- miere of "The Girl of the Golden West" in Rome. Engagements fol- lowed rapidly in the musical capitals of Europe. Gatti-Casazza, late director of the Metropolitan, heard Martinelli in Rome during 1913 and signed him to a contract to appear in "La Boheme" in the fall of that year. The highlight of his 25 seasons with the Met was his elevation into the role of "Eleazar" after Enrico Caruso died. "Q W_* 1 7 Opera Stars; Noted Soloists Are Scheduled iartin lii Sings; Spaldn dWillPlay; Chorus Gives 'Patti Bunyan' Premiere Lawrence To Sing WagnerProgram From the opening "Herr Jesu Christ, ich weips gar wohn" to the final curtain of "Carmen," the Uni- versity Musical Society brings to its 45th annual May Festival 14 soloists, seven of them from the Metropolitan Opera Company. The six concert series will begin at 8:30 p.m. Wednes- day, May 11 in Hill Auditorium and end Saturday evening. For the third successive year it will be the famed Philadelphia Or- chestra, conducted by Eugene Or- mandy, that will provide the ac- companimerit for these artists and play most of the selections. The Choral Union and Young People's Festival Chorus will also participate. Advance tickt reservations indi- cate a capacity turnout for the event, President Charles A. Sink of the School of Music announced. Reser- vations will be open by mail or on personal application to the music school offices. The date for over-the- counter sales has not yet been set, he said. Anderson Opens Serries When she replaced Nelson Eddy at a Choral Union concert last year, Marian Anderson, contrailto, received such acclaim that she was chosen to open the 1938 Festival. Juva Higbee's Young People's Fes- tival Chorus will present the world premiere of Dorothy James's Can- tata, "Paul Bunyan,"o at the third concert Friday, May 13. More than 400 voices of Ann Arbor high school students will be heard. This season's program will feature five stars more than did last year's which drew a capacity audience. Chase Baromeo, University alum- nus, will sing "The Mournful Bells," from Rachmaninoff's "The Bells" in the second concert Thursday and will take part in the concert form of "Carmen" Saturday. Miss Anderson, the Philadelphia Orchestra, under Eugene Ormandy,* and the women's voices of the Choral Union will open the series with a varied program at 8:30 p.m. Wednes- day, May 11. Russian Program Second An All-Russian program, in which Rachmaninoff's "Bells" will be heard, comprises the second concert Thurs- day evening. Soloists ace Agnes Da- vis, soprano, Prof. Artur Hackett of the music school, tenor, Mr. Baro- meo, bass, and Artur Rubinstein, pianist. The Philadelphia Orchestra and the Choral Union will again par- ticipate. Prof. Hardin Van Deursen of the music school, baritone, will sing the lead in Miss James's "Paul Bunyan" with the Young People's Festival Chorus at the Friday afternoon pro- gram. Albert Spalding, violinist, will play Brahms' "Concerto iki D major, Op. 77 for Violin and Orchestra." Screen and radio favorite Nino Martini, tenor, will sing arias from two of Puccini's operas "Tosca" and "La Boheme," in the fourth concert Friday evening. From the former he has chosen "E lucevan le stelle" and from the latter, "Racconto di Ro- dolfo." Laurence In Wagner Arias An All-Wagner program at 2:30 p.m.Saturday will feature Marjorie Lawrence, Metropolitan Opera so- prano, in selections from "Walkure" and "Gotterdammerung," while the Philadelphia group plays excerpts from "Rheingold" and "Siegfried." Metropolitan Opera stars will close the Festival series Saturday evening when they join the University Choral Union and the Philadelphia Orches- tra in a concert version of "Carmen." Bruna Castagna will sing the role of Carmen. The complete cast fol- lows: Micaela and Frasquita by Hilda 4 rke, Mercedes hy ALnav 'r'i. I No rtes On Stars And Near Stars By The Daily's Music Editor By WILLIAM J. LICHTENWANGER in her death dive over the three-foot PLACE: The stage of the National j wall! Now that we've introduced the sub- Theatre in Praha. TIME: Late in the third act of Puccini's To,a. The scene is Carava- dossi's prison cell, just at dawn before the hero is to be executed. Tosca,1 played by a prima donna of conven- tionally ample proportions, enters and tells her lover that she has mur- dered his chief captor after seduc- tively obtaining papers for his re- lease. Comes a tender love scene, then Caravadossi is led away to what is supposed to be a fake execution., But their plans go astray. Carava- dossi is really executed, and just as Tosca realizes that he is not acting but really dead soldiers enter,tde- nouncing her as a murderess. With a last long look at her lifeless lover, La Tosca flings aside the soldiers and hurls herself over the castle wall to a stony death below. As the orcnestra brings down the curtains with its dramatic chords the great audience is at once overcome- but is it with heart-rending grief, symnathetic sorrow at this tragic ject so gracefully, perhaps it will be all right to tell the one about Violetta of the Misplaced Curves, or The Girl Who Got Her Signals Crossed. Yes,' it was Verdi's Traviata, that was be- ing played, and it seems that the of- fered Violetta was rounder of voice than of bodily contour. Hoopskirts offered ample illusion for the territory below the equator, but a flat chest is out of place in even a consumptive heroine, and so the stage manager decided that the miraculous art of the costumiere would have to be I called 'in to make the young lady topographically symmetrical. Dis- creetly and delicately said manager suggested to the singer that she go to the wardrobe mistress and ask for No. 17. The hint was taken and pre- sently the girl returned, so altered in size, shape, and form as to com- pletely dumbfounded her adviser. "What in the world have you done to yourself?" he demanded. "Why, you said to ask for No. 71, so I got it and put it on." "No. 71 indeed!" exploded the stage manager. "I said No. 17. What you've 1938 Program Is One Of Note, President Says Sink Praises Local Public For Its Support In Past; Encouraging To Sociny By CHARLES A. SINK (President of the School of Music) Brilliant substantial programs, in- terpreted by artists and organizations of outstanding reputation, will char- acterize the six programs of the Forty-Fifth Annual May Festival of the University of Michigan to be held May 11, 12, 13 and 14, 1938. Seven leading celebrities of the Metropolitan Opera Association and other singers of note, as well as instrumentalists of renown will participate in the solo roles. The Philadelphia Orchestra will be heard in all six concerts. It is a significant fact that for forty-five years the Festival has con- tinued without interruption. Panic, wars, depressions and recessions, while injecting numerous problems difficult of solution, have not cur- tailed the artistic effectiveness of the event. This has been due in large measure to a sympathetic and loyal public, which has ever care- fully guided the prestige of Michigan's gala musical event. Through the years i ( 1r17 "11 Y1 if1P V p17 f e[ [1 Ljv 1 vunt'1 TUC s VY resevn1I11u I1L Premiere Of 'Paul Bunyan' Tale By MALCOLM LONG coming to the North country "to 'and Paul Bunyan, Babe, the big blue ox, a place where Babe could grow." and the time of the Blue Snow, right The solo part of Paul will be sung out -f Michigan tradition and the by Professor Hardin Van Deursen of fairy tale books, will be the subjects the School of Music while most of of a cantata whose premiere will be! the stoy is Musd c he nrs in presented by the Young People's Fes- tival Chorus at the Friday afternoon concert of the May Festival. "Paul Bunyan" by Dorothy James. professor of theory at the Ypsilanti, State Normal College, is to be sung by 400 fifth and sixth grade pupils from the public grade schools of Ann Arbor. Miss James has done consider- simple two and three parts with some in unison. The chorus will also sing four art numbers: "It Was a Lover and His Lass" by Morley, "In These Delight- ful, Pleasant Groves" by Purcell, "The Snowdrop" by Gretchaninoff and "The Virgin's Slumber Song" by Re- aer. _- _ _ ;