THE MICHIG.AN DILY l SUNDAY, MAlCH 19, 1954 A rtists To Solo in lI *agn 44,- ,. 4 Blanche Thebom To Sing Mezzo With Choral Union 4 * * * Blanche Thebom, mezzo-soprano star of the Metropolitan Opera, will be heard as a soloist with the University Choral Union in a performance of the "Magnificat" by J. S. Bach. At the forefront of opera stars, Miss Thebom is currently reaping great praise for her superb inter- pretative ability as well as the beautifully rich quality of her voice. NOW FAMOUS for her portray- al of Wagnerian roles in the Met- ropolitan and other opera com- panies, she began her career as a secretary in a real estate office. In 1939, she left her type- writer for an intensive course in vocal training in New York. Her debut at New York's Town Hall in January, 1944, brought promising reviews, and eleven months later, now a member of the Met, she succeeded brilliantly as Fricka, in Wagner's "Die Wal- kure." * * * HER PERFORMANCE evoked such comments as that of Jerome Bohm, in the New York Herald Tribune: "This writer in sixteen seasons has never encountered so remarkable a first appearance." Prof. Haugh Sings Tenor Role in Mass Repeats as May Festival Soloist Harold Haugh, associate profes- sor in the school of music, will be heard Friday night as tenor soloist with the University Choral Union in a performance of the stirring Bach "Magnificat." Famous for his excellence as a tenor soloist with some of the na- tion's greatest oratorio societies, Prof. Haugh is quite familiar to Ann Arbor audiences. LAST YEAR he appeared with the Choral Union during the May Festival, when the world prem- iere of Llywelyn Gomer's "Gloria in Excelsis" was presented. Prof. Haugh has been inter- ested in vocal work sipce his early high school days. A native * * * i i ', i BLANCHE THEBOM * * * Bohm's statement was appar- ently well founded, for since that time Miss Thebom has gone on to gain national renown acid praise in such roles as Amoor- is in "Aida," Venus in "Tann- hauser," and Delilah in "Sam- son and Delilah." Her operatic repertoire now in- cludes thirteen roles in French, German, and Italian. She has made many recordings, as well as appearing in the movies. -Daily-Wally Barth LYRIC SOPRANO-Norma Heyde has not only done leading roles in operas such as 'Cosi Fan Tutte" but has also kept busy in the University choir, the Michigan Singers, Mu Phi Epsilon, and broadcasts of the Hymns of Faith Quartet on WJR and WUOM. Public Lauds Viola Artist Primrose William Primrose, universally acclaimed as "the world's greatest violist," has done more than any other man to persuade the public that the violin's big sister deserves a place as a solo instrument. At the present time, the 40-year- old Glasgow-born virtuoso is in the midst of one of the busiest concert schedules on record, ful- filling almost one hundred en- gagements from coast to coast and in Canada. LAST SUMMER he spent two months touring eleven Central and South American countries. There, the viola recital was new musical fare but the Latin-Amer- ican press and public were unan- imous in their praise of "the ex- traordinary Mr. Primrose." The tag fits, but many long years of tedious study were re- quired before Primrose was to receive such enthusiastic praise. Endowed with prodigious talents which elected him in childhood to Britain's m u s i c a 1 aristocracy, Primrose at eighteen turned from an assured career as a violin vir- tuoso to espouse the cause of the viola. * * * HE WAS encouraged by Ysaye who recognized his special appti- tude for the instrument and Prim- rose's at first reluctant parents allowed him to stake his future on the Amati viola. He made several world tours with the London String Quar- tet before he accepted one of the world's most coveted posts, that of solo violist with the NBC Symphony under Toscanini. Ready for the final test four years later, Primrose began his career as the world's pioneer viola recitalist and achieved musical stardom after his first touring season. Playing a modern instrument has in no way minimized his vir- tuostic supremacy, for while opin- ions may differ as to the qualities of the master instrument, they are unanimous on "Primrose, the mas- ter violist." William Kapell, the gifted young American pianist who will appear in the Saturday evening May Fes- tival Concert, has won wide recog- nition not only for his virtuosity and" ft iicianship, but also for his interpretations of modern com- posers.- But Kapell's scope is not limited to the music of today. At Satur- day's performance he will play Rachmaninoff's Concerto No. 3 in D Minor in a manner which, ac- cording to a large national maga- zine, "brings back memories of Rachmaninoff himself." * * * . STILL IN HIS twenties, Kapell has appeared with leading m- phony orchestras throughout the country, and has seen his fame spread through four continents. He was the first solo artist ever. to hold a three-year con- ever to hold a three-year con- tract with the Philadelphia orchestra, he has made best selling recordings, and he has repeatedly performed with over twenty nationally famous or- chestras. Born in 1922, Kapell started to play the piano at ten. As a child he studied with Dorothy Ander- son LaFollette and later wvith 0l- ga Samaroff Stokowski. Before he" was twenty he had won three ma- jor awards- THE POWER of Kapell's music seemed to best illustrated by an incident in Constitution Hall, Washington D.C., on one snowy evening just .before Christmas. After he played a Rachmaninoff Concerto, the audience rose to its feet in a rousing ovation. Among the crowd sat a woman enjoying the vibrations which are her only contact with the outside world- Helen Keller, deaf, dumb and blind. Smiling as the young virtuoso set forth an especially effective climax, Miss Keller applauded with the rest of the audience. Afterwards she asked to be con- ducted backstage so that she might express her congratulations. MODERN MASTER: Keyboard Interpretations Win Recognition for Kapell 4 r -n ..... ..r Metropolitan Baritone Harrell Gets Musical Start as Violinist Mack Harrell, leading baritone of the Metropolitan Opera, and noted concert artist, will be heard with the University Choral Union as soloist in the Bach "Magnifi- cat," and "Don Quichotte a Dul- cinee" by Ravel, in the concert at 8:30 p.m. Friday. Born in Celeste, Texas, Harrell began his career in the world of music at an early age, not as a singer, but as a violinist. * * * THE VIOLIN remained Harrell's field of study through hid college years at the University of Okla- homa City. After graduating, he won a scholarship to study the violin under Emanuel Zetlin, in Philadelphia. Only then did he begin his voice lessons, just as a sideline. But it wasn't long before this sideline developed into a full- fledged career. Harrell's first big public appear-r ance was with the New York Phil- harmonic Orchestra under Ernest Schelling, in Rimsky- Korsakov's opera "Snegurochka." NUMEROUS CONCERT appear- ances followed, included two Euro- pean tours, until one day in April, 1939, Mack Harrell found himself winner of the Metropolitan Opera Auditions of the Air. ,orma Heyde Only Student To Solo In May Festival When Norma Heyde appears as a soloist in Bach's "Magnificat" at the May Festival, she will climax an outstanding career as a music school student. The quiet, unassuming lyric soprano from Marion has had lead- ing roles in five student opera productions, and has been engaged in concerts throughout the state. AT HER RECITAL early this month, in partial fulfillment of her Master's degree., students and faculty members jammed into the Rackham Assembly Hall, and many had to stand to hear her. Mrs. Heyde starred in the first radio performance of Kurt Weill's "Down in the Valley," presented in the summer of 1948 over NBC by the Music School and speech department. She has had leading roles in Purcell's "Dido and Aenas," and Puccini's "Sister Angelica." Last summer she played Mimi in "La Boheme." Two weeks ago she sang what she considers her most difficult role, that of Fiordiligi in Mozart's comic opera, "Cosi Fan Tutte." "MOST PEOPLE think music school is a snap," Mrs. Heyde com- plained. "They don't realize the hours of rehearsals and individual practice which precede every performance." The cast of "Cosi Fan Tutte," she explained, began practicing during final exams last semester and rehearsed almost every night from then until the final performance." Prof. Arthur Hackett, who has been her voice teacher since she entered the University in 1945, praised her as a "sincere, musical, dependable student" with "the makings of a fine artist." "Under the proper conditions she could go a long way as a singer," he commented. After she receives her Master of Music degree this June, Mrs. Heyde plans to sing in oratorios, with concert work as an ultimate goal. Season Tickets Individual Concerts TICKET INFORMATION (All prices include 20% tax) Beginning March 27 tickets for individual concerts will be sold. Main Floor ...$3.00 First Balcony..$2.40 Top Balcony.. .$1.80 4 Side sections of main floor and first balcony at $10.80 Entire top balcony at $9.60 HAROLD HAUGH of Cleveland, he sang in several of the largest churches in the city while working his way through Hiram College. His subsequent schooling took place at the Union Theological Seminary in New York, where he received a master's degree in sac- red music, and was ordained a minister. We suggest that those who wish to hear individual concerts share season tickets for a considerable saving. Tickets are on sale at Burton Memorial Tower LI 11 - F 1 r I s_ T a- 3 a Y i T e= Ti=e s T a> = a a a - = = a == __ _- a a _- - s s M *1 The University Musical Societya WILLIAM .. pianist who has appeared with all the leadeng symphony F, orchestras in ths country. SATURDAY, MAY Acting as soloist with the Choral Union will not be an entirely new experience for Mrs. Heyde. For years she has rehearsed the soprano roles with the choir before the regular soloists arrived. "Often she sang the roles better than the singers engaged by the Choral Union," Prof. Hackett remarked. In appreciation for the work she has done, the Choral Union this year chose her to be the only student soloist in the Festival.' iI JAtl 14e Jc/4- t4nih Jnnua[ MAY FESTIVAL Dramatic Soprano the most recent prima-donna ( to come to the Metropolitan Y ":'1A OperaAssociation. /L .i ."ai' 1 . W.. 4-HURSDAYAY ., 8:30a "1.J<"""" <""" <'"" <"""::""">:."">