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I8. 1958
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
PAf4V, TIMM
.. I H GA A L r UP A. .r .. 'YVy .lIE q'UP8.'
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INHERITED THEATRICAL TRADITION:
Met Soprano Gueden Operetta Favorite
Met's Mezzo-Soprano
Known for Versatility
Featured in the May 5 May Fes-
tival concert, soprano Hilde Gued-
en came to the Metropolitan Opera
from La Scala in Milan and the
Vienna State Opera.
Born in Vienna of Austrian,
Italian and Hungarian ancestry,
the blonde, blue-eyed singer in-
herited a distinguished theatrical
tradition from her mother's fam-
ily. Her grandfather was a noted
tragedian and her motner attend-
ed the Vienna State Academy of
Drama.
Miss Gueden's musical education
began with piano lessons at the age
of seven, and when she was four-
teen she commenced her vocal
studies. The soprano was barely
sixteen when she came to the at-
tention of Robert Stolz, composer
of a number of popular opei'ettas,
who offered her a role in his pro-
duction of "Goodbye, Goodbye."
Studied Dramatics
During the run of this produc-
tion, the young singer began ser-
ious preparation of her career. She
studied dramatics at the Max
Reinhardt School and ballet with
thie first dancer of the Vienna
Opera. In addition, she studied
French and English, both of which
she speaks fluently as well as her
native German and Italian.
After the final curtain fell on
Miss Gueden's first operetta, she
was engaged for a second, "Hearts
in the Snow" with the Danish
tenor Max Hansen. With the com-
ing of Hitler and the Nazi perse-
cution, the soporano, whose mother
was of Jewish extraction, found it
increasingly difficult to sing in
Vienna. In 1939 she managed to
make her way to Switzerland.
Arriving in Zurich, she audit-
ioned for Robert Denzler, director
of the opera there who engaged
her to sing Cherubino in "Le
Nozze di Figaro," the role in which
she made her debut in grand opera..
Returned to Austria
In 1941, due to her mother and
sister's troubles under the Nazi
regime, Miss Gueden returned to
Austria, and, unable to leave the
country again, went to Munich,
where she made her debut at the
Staatoper as Zerlina in "Don
May Festival artist, mezzo-so-
prano Martha Lipton, is one of the
most versatile and popular singers
on the current concert scene.
A star of opera, concert, radio
and television, Miss Lipton is in
constant demand for appearances
with major orchestras and has won
acclaim in Europe and South Am-
erica as well as in the United
States.
Ever since her debut as Siebel
in the Metropolitan's opening-
night production of "Faust" in
November, 1944, Miss Lipton has
been a leading member of the
company. She has sung over
three dozen parts in four langu-
ages. Her roles have run the
gamut of dramatic characteriza-
tion and musical style.
Roles Differ
They have ranged from the little
boy Hansel in Humperdinck's fairy
tale to the ribald Mother Goose in
the American premiere of Stravin-
sky's "Rake Progress," from the
seductive Carmen to the faithful
Brangaene in "Tristan and Isolde,"
from the dramatic Amneris in
"Aida" to the rustic innkeeper of
the recent revival of "Boris Godu-
nov."
Latin-American audiences have
also applauded Miss Lipton in op-
era, for she has brought her us-
ual distinction to performances at
the Teatro Municipal in Rio de
Janeiro and the Opera Nacional in
Mexico. The Dutch were so im-
pressed by her artistry when she
made her first European concert
appearance in the summer of 1950
that they invited her back in .1951
and 1952 to sing in Verdi's "Un
Ballo in Maschera" and Bartok's
"Bluebeard's Castle" at the cele-
brated Holland Festival and again
this year.
In September, 1951, Miss Lipton
made her debut at the Edinburgh
Festival, chosen by Bruno Walter
as one of the soloists in the Beeth-
oven Ninth Symphony with the
New York Philharmonic Sympho-
ny. Dr. Walter honored her a
second time when he presented the
work again in New York, in the
spring of 1953, a performance
which was later recorded.
'Gurrelieder' Appearance
Long a favorite with Philhar-
monic-Symphony audiences and
conductors, she has appeared with
that orchestra in Schoenberg's
"Gurrelieder" and Mahler's Eighth
Symphony under Stokowski and in
Busoni's "Arlecchino" and Men-
delssohn's "Elijah" under Mitro-
poulos.
HILDE GUEDEN
she has sung each season, save one,
since that time.
In 1946 she was engaged by La
Scala as the leading singer and,
when possible, has spent part of
each season with that company.
In 1947 she went back to Vienna
to sing with the State Opera and
appeared with the Vienna organi-
zation in its Mozart performance
in London, Holland, Paris, Nice
and Brussels.She was also heard
at England's Glyndebourne Opera
Festival and at the Edinburgh
Festival in 1948.
Divided Time
During the past four seasons
she has divided her time between
the United .States, Austrian, and
Italian operatic engagements as
well as in North America. In Jan-
uary, 1952, she went to Vienna for
six weeks for performances of the
Mozart operas and otherroles in
her repertoire, returned to the
Metropolitan in February and in
May journeyed to Europe again for
performances in Vienna, Milan and
Salzburg during the summer.
Miss Gueden made her Metro-
politan Opera debut on November
15, 1951, as Gilda in "Rigoletto."
On leaving America last April, the
soprano flew to Milan to star in
full-length productions of "The
Merry Widow" and "Don Pas-
quale" on the Italian television.
Pasquale" on the Italian television
network. She sang with The Vi-
enna State Opera and recorded
complete porfermances of "Don
Giovanni," "The Magic Flute,"
and "The Marriage of ligaro."
The rebuilt Vienna State Opera
had its gala re-opening in Novem-
ber, and Miss Gueden remained in
Vienna to play a prominent part
in the festivities.
Prof. Haugh
To Appear
In Festival
Appearing in the May 6 Festi-
val concert, Prof. Harold Haugh
of the music school has been in de-
mand as a singer almost as long
as he has had a voice to sing with.
A native of Cleveland, Ohio,
Prof. Haugh did his undergraduate
work at Hiram College where he
received his A.B. At the conclu-
sion of his college course he was
ordained in the Church of Christ
(Disciple).
Continuing his theological stud-
ies at Union Theological Seminary
in New York City, he received his
Bachelor of Divinity degree. He
also received his Master of Sacred
Music degree from the School of
Sacred Music at the same institu-
tion. In the interim between high
school and college, he worked in
a machine shop and sang in various
churches. It was in these churches
that he earned his way through
college.
Church Soloist
Upon his arrival in New York
Prof. Haugh became soloist at the
West End Collegiate Church and
moved from there to, the Brick
Presbyterian Church where he re-
mained for six years. For four
years he was special soloist at the
First Baptist Church in Montclair,
New Jersey.
For several years he did much
work on the air singing in small
groups on such programs as Fred
Allen's, Rudy Vallee's and the
Show Boat. He was also heard as
soloist on Cesare Sodero's opera
broadcasts.
Lately Prof. Haugh's efforts have
been concentrated in the concert
and oratorio field though he was
associated with several opera com-
panies that were diss6lved by the
war. He has sung with most of
the important choral organizations
of the country: The Handel and
Haydn Society in Boston; The
Oratorio Society of New York;
Toronto Bach Society; Ottawa
Choral Union; and others.
Festival Appearances
He has appeared in such Festi-
vals as the Worcester Festival in
Worcester, Mass., and the May
Festival. He has also sung with
the Philadelphia Symphony, Cin-)
cinnati Symphony, National Sym-
phony and the Indianapolis Sym-
phony.
In Cleveland Prof. Haugh studied
voice with Warren Whitney for
six years. In New York he studied
with Frank LaForge and lately
with Mrs. William Neidlinger.
Glowing praise comes as no sur-
prise to the followers of the sen-
sational career of Byron Janis,
whose exceptional talents are con-
firmed season after season.
The young artist who will appear
in the May 6 "concert, was born
in Pittsburgh and gave the first
hint of his great gift while he was
still in kindergarten. The five-
year-old took a new toy, a shiny
xylophone, v to school one day.
When the teacher sat down at the
EATON AWARD:
Well-Known Canadian Soprano Marshall
Winner of Canada's Highest Musical Prize
Piano Soloist Byron Janis
To Play in May 6 Concert
Symphony Orchestra, under the
baton of Dr. Frank Black, Janis
was invited to give a series of solo
recitals on the nationwide network.
Moving to Dallas, Tex., Janis
performed with a string orchestra
under the direction of Frederick
Kitzinger, and then in 1943, made
his second guest appearance with
the NBC Symphony Orchestra,
performing Rachmaninoff's Second
Concerto.
Appears With Orchestras
From that time on his succes-
sive concert seasons have included
appearances as soloist with the
great orchestras of New York,
Boston, Philadelphia, San Francis-
co, Los Angeles, Toronto, Cleve-
land, Minneapolis, Washington,
and many others. Acclaim for his
virtuosity and for the maturity of
his interpretations rewards his
playing wherever he appears. Not
only does almost every engagement
win a re-engagement, but many
managers have insisted on three
season contracts.
In the summer of 1948, the
young American virtuoso made his
first tour of South America. He
literally took South America by
storm, with fan clubs soon spring-
ing up in various countries. Again,
in the summer of 1954, he return-
ed to the southern continent for
a two-month tour.
Following his South American
engagements, he went to Europe
in the fall of 1954 for the third
time to fill recital appearances and
re-engagements with orchestras
in Belgium, Holland and England.
During his second European tour,
one critic hailed him as having
"the technique of a Liszt and the
delicate touch of Chopin."
Goodman Fan
In music, Benny Goodman. and
the late Glenn Miller are his fav-
orite dance band leaders. In sports,
it's tennis and horseback riding.
A baseball enthusiast, he also likes
quiet enjoyment; art, the theater
and small social gatherings.
Perhaps the most valuable coun-
sel has come from. Vladimir Horo-
witz, who took an interest in Jan-
is after hearing his performance
with the Pittsburgh Symphony. He
decided to take on the young mu-
sician, who then was sixteen, as a
pupil. From all the priceless ad-
vice that the master offered his
protege in the years of their as-
sociation Janis selects this as
being the most valuable: "The
most important thing in playing
the piano is to listen to yourself at
the very moment you're playing."
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BYRON JANIS
"Any descriptive comment one
could make concerning tone, tech-
nique, volume or grace would be
mere hairsplitting ... She has to
be heard to be believed," wrote
a New York critic after May Fes-
tival artist Lois Marshall's Naum-
burg Award-winning Town Hall
debut on December 2, 1952.
The young Canadian soprano
became a sensation of the music
world and was engaged by Arturo
Toscanini to ,sing and record
Beethoven's Missa Solemis. Fol-
lowing this she was chosen to sing
at the traditional Christmas Eve
radio broadcast.
On her first full United States
tour she sang with such orches-
tras as the Boston Symphony and
the Philadelphia Orchestra, and
made three appearances with or-
chestras in New York alone: in
, a special concert of Canadian
music in Carnegie Hall under the
direction of Stokowski, and twice
under the direction of Sir Ernest.
MacMillan with the Toronto
Mendelssohn Choir and orchestra,
when that famous ensemble gave
special New York performances of
the St. Matthew Passion and the
Messiah.
Miss Marshall's second season in-
cluded a re-engagement with the
Philadelphia Orchestra to sing at
the May Festival, her first appear-
ance with the Chicago Symphony,
and a second New York Town
Hall recital which received stand-
ing ovations. During the summer
she siang two performances at the
famous Stratford, Ont., Shake-
speare Festival, and at the Holly-
wood Bowl.
For nine years Sir Ernest has
chosen her to sing at the annual
performance of Bach's St. Matthew
Passion with the Toronto Sympho-
ny. She was the winner of Cana-
da's highest musical prize, the
Eaton Award, and of the "Singing
Stars of Tomorrow" contest, and
was honored as the outstanding
graduate of Toronto's Royal Con-
servatory.
Canada sent her as emissary to
the Sesquicentennial in Washing-
ton, D.C., in 1950, when she sang
with the National Symphony.
Born in Toronto of Scotch-Irish
parentage, Miss Marshall was one
of seven children. She chose mus-
ic as her one sure solace during
a period of six years when she
suffered the results of a polio at-
tack. At eight she was allowed
to go to school and at twelve she
entered the Royal Conservatory,
working with Weldon Kilburn,
who is her piano accompanist on
tour.
Her operatic experience includes
performances over the Canadian
Broadcasting System of Peonora in
Beethoven's "Fidelio," Donna An-
na in Mozart's "Don Giovanni,"
and, the Queen of the Night in
Mozart's "Magic Flute." This
season she will sing her first opera
in the United States in the Na-
tional Symphony Orchestra's se-
mi-staged production of "Don Gi-
ovanni" in Washington, D.C.
piano to play for the class singing
hour, Janis brought forth his toy
and played an impromptu duet
with her. The teacher discovered
that he had perfect pitch.
Convinced that she had made
a major musical discovery, she sent
word home to his mother and fath-
er. In almost no time at all, Janis
was studying and practicing the
piano.
Pittsburgh Debut
He gave his debut recital in
Pittsburgh's Carnegie Hall when
he was nine. Joseph Lhevinne was
so impressed that he recommended
that Janis study with Adele Mar-
cus at the Chatham Square Music
School in New York, where he soon
became embarked on his musical
career in earnest.
Samuel Chotzinoff, director of
the Chatham Square Music School,
was also managing director of the
National Broadcasting Company's
music division. Excited by Janis'
abilities, he became the boy's men-
tor.
After a remarkable performance
at the age of 15 with the NBC
In August, 1942, she went to
Rome where she-sang for the dir-
ectors of the Royal Opera, who
engaged her as a leading singer.
She made her debut there in
"Rosenkavalier."
With the German occupation of
Italy in 1943, Miss ,Gueden sang
no more until the end of the war.
When peace came, the soprano
received an invitation to appear
at the. Salzburg Festival, where
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lif!
FRIDAY, MAY
4, 8:30 P.M.
Special Concert Celebrating
the 200th Anniversary of the birth of
I
"GRRE-LIEDER"
by ARNOLD SCHONBERG
"ONE OF THE MOST SPECTACULAR OF MODERN COMPOSERS"
featuring
WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART
1756 - A WORLD MASTER COMPOSER - 1956
III
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Overture to The
Marriage of Figaro
"Davidle Penitente"
Concerto in F Major
In
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THOR JOHNSON1
RUDOLF PETRAK
University Choral Union and Soloists
OIS MARSHALL, Soprano
MARTHA LIPTON, Contralto
RUDOLPH PETRAK, Tenor
HAROLD HAUGH, Tenor
LAWRENCE WINTERS, Baritone
ERIKA VON WAGNER STIEDRY, Narrator
-!j!K..: ; : " . 111--1HII IrfITrn r, uI r . I. . . .,+.
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