Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-01-22
FAUST" BY RADIO
ENTHRALLS FANS
Success Prompts Plan to
Broadcast I'll Trovatore"
Act Friday Night.

The pronounced success of tho
broadcasting OF the garden scene from
Gounod's masterpiece. Faust" as
sung by the Chicago civic Opera Co.
ION the stage of the Auditorium In
Chicago last night. brought an an
nounccment from the National Broad
casting Co. today that again next
Friday night the radio audience would
be treated to portion of another ia.
nous opera -Nerdi's I'll Travatore "
Only the last act of I'll Travatore"
will so on the air in this second
experimental broadcast over practi-
cally the same chain of 81 stations
be- transmitted Faust" The same
- err "ick.up arrangement which
mo te = garden scene the first sue.
ceSsful broadcast Of it's kind will again
be utilized with The position of some
of the microphones altered to suit
the action of the Verdi opera.
Leading Role Assignment.
The .eading roles have been as
sigl"C to Claudia Muzio G.eonora)
Areldo Lindi Manricol. R'oLsr~' no-
nelli count di Luna) and f-~~enn Van
Gordon (Azucena). The first Sc.tto of
the act considered by many critics as
the greatest in all opera, will bring
TO the radio audience the famous
"Miserere,' the plaintive Love, Fly
on Rosy Pinions.' the triumphant
on. JOY, He is Saved" and the clos
ing selection, the mournful "Lifeless
Bride" Through the use OF special
facilities the change of scenery will
be speeded up especially for the broad
casting, and the second scene will
follow within two minutes of the close
OF the first.
III Trovatore" is said to be paIticu-
larly well suited to broadcasting. The
music is extraordinarily vivid, por-
traying in itself without, words the
emotions of the principals and the ac-
ton of the plot Proper balance of
the music of this opera, however, pre-
s2nts a more difficult problem than
that involved in the Faust" broad
cast. but the experience gained by the
radio engineers indicate that the IS
separate microphone channels, each
consisting of one or more microphones
and the elaborate mixing panel. will
provide sufficient fiexibility and that
every portion of the finished produc-
ton will bear it's proper relation to
the whole.
Was hingtOnians Are Charmed.
Countless hundreds of Washington
radio fans listened to the garden
scene Of Faust last night through
WRC. The transmission was an
achievement in itself as far as the
local audience was concerned, but
trouble apparently developed on one
of the circuits which served Atlanta
and the South. The announcer at
WSB, Atlanta. was heard to announce
at the close of the opera that some
difficulty that developed in the trans
mission had denied it's audience
snatches of the music from the beauti-
full garden scene.
The only criticism of the broad
casting made by the Washington lis
teners is that Milton Cross. the an
nouncer. fal ed to describe the action
OF the stage during the garden scene
until the close. Many of those who
attended the opera through WRC,
it was pointed out, were not familiar
with the plot, and they were at a de-
cided disadvantage in interpreting
the significance of the music.
The fifteen microphones placed
around the Chicago auditorium. how
ever brought every note and intona-
ton to the Washington audience.
Even the unintelligible babel in the
orchestra pit when the curtain fell
on the scene was heard above the
din of protracted applause from the
auditorium audience.