Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-01-19
NJ U S I c.
BY HELEN FETTER.

that the queen, entranced by
terror, is dead.
The finale occurs in the
church during the funeral serv-
ices over the queen, during which
the latter, supposedly dead, re-
turns to consciousness long
enough to declare Yolanda inno-
cent and bring retribution on
Camarin at the point of Amaury'S
sword. The opera ends with Yo-
landa and Amaury united at last.
"Yolanda of Cyprus" was given
it's world premiere in Chicago Oc-
tober 8.
THE authors of the new opera
are widely known in literary
and musical fields. Gale Young
Rice has 20 volumes of poetry and
poetic drama to his credit and
four volumes of prostitution.
Among his other poetic plays are
"A Night in Avignon," for which
Mr.. Loomis has also written an
operate score; David" Charles
di Tocca," "Porzia," 1.-The Immor-
tai Lure" flour one-set plays =,
"Gherard of Ryle" and Min
first produced in 1916. A native
Kentuckian, Mr.. Rice resides in
Louisville.
Clearance LOOMS, writer of the
music, whose fathers cousin mar
ried a first cousin of Abraham
Lincoln, is known in musical cir
cles, not only for his setting of
"Yolanda of Cyprus" (winner of
the David BiSpham medal several
seasons ago., but for "a Night in
Avignon," by Mr.. Rice, and a
t'lree-act Gaelic opera dun an
Or" Mr.. LOOMS also has to his
credit many orchestral and string
compositions; "a Hymn to Amer
lea" and numerous balletS, one
Of which came into prominence
when it was presented as part of
the coronation ceremonies of the
Emperor of Japan. He has COM
posed a number of concert songs
and can American Fantasia"
which has been presented by sew
eral symphony orcheStras.
THE Philadelphia Symphony
Orchestra, under Gabrilo-
witsch, makes this practically an
American week by having chosen
the work of a cotemporary Ameri-
can, Hermann Hans WetZler, as
a feature of Tuesdays program.
Mr.. Wetzler turned to compo-
sition after having first estab-
liShed a definite success as a con-
ductor and an organist. "The
Basque Venus" opus IA, which is
to be given Tuesday, is said to be
actually a capitalization in free
symphonic form of the impress
sions the composer received from
ancient national dances of the
BASQUE people. It is described as
IAN opera in five tableaux," music
by Mr.. Wetzler and the book by
Lini, his wife. The libretto is
based on Prosper Merimee'S story,
La Venus d'Ille," for which the
scene, laid originally in South
western France, has been trans
posed by librettist and composer
into the Biscayne country to pro-
vide opportunity for the use Of
the rhythms peculiar to the
BaSques.
The plot centers around the
statue of a bronze Venus, suppoS-
edly the handwork of the Greek
sculptor Myron. Recently I'M
earthed, the image stands in a
garden where the chief actor,
during a game of tennis, hangs
his ring upon one of the statues
fingers. Later he discovers the
hand of Venus closed upon the
ring; he endeavors to remove it
without success; at daylight he is
found crushed to death, presum-
ably after sustaining the embrace
of the bronze Venus.
The symphonic dance opens the
second act with Basque youths
and maidenS in characteristic ma
tional dances at a wedding feast,
all under the spell of the demoni-
acal force Of the mysterious an
tique figure of Venus, whose
silver eyes exercise q magic in
fiuence upon ell the actors and
events of the opera"
This influence also affects the
dances which begin with the
strains of the Basque Fandango
mot to be confused with the
Andalusian Variety. There fol-
lows the Zortziko, which is done
by eight dancers to the music of
tambourineS, flies and sort OF
fiageolet. Thereafter comes the
Expata- dantza, a variety of Basque
sword dance, with one actor TAX
ing the part of a corpse whose
death the other wishes to avenge
The first performance of the
symphonic dance in concert form
was at Hamburg, under Carl
Muck, January 7, 1929. The first
American performance was given
by the Chicago Symphony OrcheS-
ira in February, 1929. Mr.. Ga
brilowitsch played it in Detroit
last October and Mr.. Toscanini
introduced it to New York with
the Philharmonic-S ymphony So
ciety IN November.
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