The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1928-10-03
SH|LKRET ST AR
Of RADIO
DRAMA

MOSTLY IdIE, Uub NOO 81 NOAHAS -
the loud speaker reception re-
port for last evening. the South,
Southwest and Midwest de-
Iivered programs in sufficient
volume to enable earnest dialIers
to tune out the noise. Code and
fading continue to annoy, espe-
cially the former.
/ In his arrangement of the music
of Wagner's "Tristram and Isolde"
as a setting for the radio review
of Edwin Arlington Robinson's mar
rative poem, "Tristram," Nat Shil-
kret and his Eveready Orchestra
last evening presented through loud
speakers one of the most finished
productions we've heard since har-
Messing the sensitive ether turned
the world into a concert hall.
/ Richard Wagner's genius is in no
way so strikingly and brilliantly
| demonstrated as in the marvellous
music drama in which he human
lied and vitalized the old legend of
Britain and Ireland. Just as the
poet makes every word tell part
of his story or set its rhythm, so
Wagner wastes no single note. and
brings to the consciousness of the
listener in an unmistakable way the
limitless capacity of music to ex-
press and give fine shading to every
phase of human emotion. One can
not lift passages from the average
Wagnerian score with much sue
cess, each part being so much just
part of a very complete whole.
In .'Triestram and Isolde" this is
even more difficult, so closely knit
together are the partS-sO import
ant in each note to the whole.
Yet. Shilkret did just that last
evening. He accomplished an al
most impossible feat by presenting
what might be called a musical
sketch of the entire opera-the reci-
tative of the actors and actresses
who presented the Robinson story,
filling in what would have been the
gaping vacancies. reduction Of the
music to one hour from two and
a half hours of presentation, would
have left
MUSIC WAS
CHIEF FEATURE
The big feature of the most ambi-
tfous of all Eveready presentations
was the music. The dramatized
story was conventionally told, at
times in a rather stilted way. by
the actors and actresses. Nobody
ever lived who talked during such
intimate moments as were pre-
scented. in the measured oh-my God
way. actors and actresses seem to
think they must talk when using
blank verse or staging poetic
drama.
Wagner made the tragedy of iris
tram and Isolde human, intensely.
almost colloqually, human, in his
music. The actors and actresses
made it just measured recitation of
blank verse. Therefore the value of
Mr.. Robinson's poem were lost in
the music. Anyhow-it was a great
show, thanks to the musical direc-
tor. And we congratulate the
Literary Guild and the Eveready
sponsors of the hour on their
achievement.
Washingtonians might feel proud
of the way Sam Norman and his
orchestra performed in the new
''Radiotricians" program presented
by the National Radio Institute last
evening-the first chain advertising
feature to originate in the Nations
Capitol. Norman has assembled an
excellent orchestra that gave a very
good account of itself-as it should
under such able leadership. Roxy
performed in his usual way, telling
his audience about broadcasting and
it's future, and Westell Gordon sang
in the early part of the program
which we missed.
Jimmie Melton, tenor of the Seiber.
ling group, covered himself with
glory and gave his audience quite a
treat with his lyric voice. Politically
the Voters Service hour with Emma
Bugbee and Ding Darling from WRC
and Joseph Tumulty in the Column
bia Democratic outburst from
WMAL provided the evenings cam
paign excitement.