The Emmett index. [volume] (Emmett, Idaho) 1893-1925, 1922-03-30
AS observer, Sees 1t.
BY L. o. NJ. J

nave In times past listened to
opera-listened and maryeled at the
wonder of music Yet not until the
other night, when l attended a re-
hearsal of "The Bohemian Girl" and
watched 1t being slowly rounded into
form, did the analogy between the
preparation of an opera and the con-
struction and other things of beauty,
really come to my mind But as | lis
tened and watched-as the men and
women whose voices you and / harken
to every day with no especial thought
responded to the genius of their
! director and gave of their fervor and
enthusiasm to the rendering of music
acceptable to his highly trained ear,
I it grew upon me that the builder.
/ whether of missions or cathedrals or
operas, who works through Others,
must have in either case a marked
ability to give of his genius to those
who build FOR him.
| Watching Director Farmer, it first
of all was impressed upon me that
directors training must be probably
no more than 10 per cent music, about
40 per cent vocabulary and the other
90 per cent calisthenics and then | be-
gan to sense a method under it all. To
get himself and his direction across,
he required absolute and unwandering
attention from the cast.
So when the ladies got to looking
elsewhere, or to whispering secrets,
he reminded them of the serious pur-
pose back of it all "We are not mere
ly trying to sing this acceptably to
the audience. We want to get proper
chorus technique-Let's try to do it
better than second rate professional
opera troupe would be content to do"
Or to make plain to them his idea
of what was indicated: "This chorus
is reminiscent Of Mozart Make it
staccato. Remember a chorus is a
convention where only unanimous
votes are tolerated. If only one per-
son votes to sing a note as a half
note, when the others sing it as a
quarter-discord"
Or referring to another selection:
"This is the perfection of dainty de-
get the atmosphere of the
period when lace, tapestry and the
minuet prevailed"
Or when Charley Gamage, Bill
Tucker and Bill Womack get to talk
ing over good old Alfalfa Quartet
days, he gets their attention like this:
Don't just sing it SO it sounds nice
second rate professionals do that and
then get it across by lot of high
Kicking dancing like this" which he
to demons u a :, 4s::..iiess To
say the gentlemen aforesaid, to say
nothing of Doc. Clark and most of the
other male choristers give him their
close attention.
Or when diplomacy fails, then some
hing like this: A shrill whistle;
stamping up and down the stage;
tearing of hair "Oh say,
'eally now, that is awful there. Pm
rying to be patient but" (pause
or emphasis) Then he shakes his
mop of hair-and he shakes wicked
ne-and off they go.
Favorite expressions of his are,
Smile" "Slap it in the face; don't
vait for it to turn the other cheek"
Stand up and get some enthusiasm
lto this" And he gets results. The
horus will sing song, and l will feel
Ike applauding it sounds so well to
,e. But no; Farmer has them go over
. six times, and while each time it
lay sound better to me, yet | can't
I'll you why, being an unframed
oughneck myself like 80 per cent of
ne rest of you; musically. / mean.
Besides Farmer, and the faithful
ay in which the chorus gave their
Ipport to him, / was struck by one
.her thing: The orchestra. 1t per-
rms remarkably well, / Judge; at
asst they get little of the directors
.tention, and they labor long, con-
nuously and willingly.
A word as to the pantomine part
this show, which Mrs. Mary Clark
laboring to whip into shape, and
e has some job on her hands, I'd
". / saw but little of that, yet it
oked interesting and full of promise.
saw Burt showing Brownie his
rem, and Bob Parrish's cops come
and arrest Brownie and take him
( to Jail. And Bob Parrish loses
5 child-man, how he grieved, and
aged; he took it much to heart,
yer having lost child before,
ess.
Well, there's so much more you'll
We to go to the Liberty yourselves
see it. Watch the bills and come
and see what real builder can
with good material to work with.