Evening star., 1947-10-05
Films Provide
Means tOGive
Opera tOU.S
By Eleno de Soyn

To see opera on a spacious stage,
mounted with adequate props and
scenery, sung by perfect ensemble
and accompanied by an orchestra
thoroughly versed In the playing of
operate scores has been an unful-
filled dream of opera lovers in this
community for long time.
But to have such production
brought to Constitution Hall, which
is definitely net equipped for opera,
is miracle made only possible by
the cinema.
On Tuesday, Wednesday, Thurs
day and Friday. Rossini's jolly
Barber of Seville" filmed on its
native soil, Italy, and direct from
four months run on Broadway, can
be viewed with Ferrucio Tagliavini,
new tenor of the Metropolitan
Opera, as the star. The cast will be
supported by the chorus and orches-
ira of the Royal Opera House in
Rome and will include Italo Tajo,
young Italian baritone, who is |
making an appearance in recital
here this season. Deems Taylor will
be the commentator.
But the filming of the Barber OF
Seville" is not the only venture OF
its kind. Fortune Gallo impresario
and manager of the San Carlo
Opera, is credited with being first to
instigate the making of a complete
operatic sound and motion picture
in this country. Under his super
vision Leoncavallo's "Pagliacci" was
screened in 1880.
Great Opportunity Offered.
The cinema could popularize
opera and bring 1t to every corner
of the United States. The lack of
organized companies and adequate
auditoriums does not permit mass
production Of operatic performances.
Again the lavishness Of the film
world and its facility for depicting
anything grandiose or spectacular
could outstrip anything attempted
on legitimate stage. Such operas
as Aida" which requires a tre-
mendous cast, Oriental splendor,
elephants and pyramids, to create
the Illusion, or Wagner's Ring"
with its NEUROLOGICAL heroes and
legendary surroundings, could be
produced on the screen with an un-
dreamed-of splendor and mag
nificence.
Since the United States has been
called upon to assume leadership in
world affairs, the arts not ex-
cluded, with every eye turned upon
1t, what could be more becoming
than to give its people an oppor-
tunity to become acquainted with
all the masterpieces in the world?
The screening of perfect Ameri-
can and foreign operatic produc-
tions and of occasional novelties,
the staging of which has incurred
great expenditures of time and
money, would make good be-
ginning and could save some great
works from oblivion. Only recently
mass production of recorded music
was unthinkable. Its assumption of
unprecedented proportions of late
should serve as an impetus to any
industry and to the moving picture
industry in particular since even a
generation ago anything that had
to do with classical music . was
thought to be of minimum sales
value.
Dream May Come True Quickly.
What sounds like utopia at pres
ent is not impossible nor improb-
able considering the tempo Of the
American stride. Twenty-Five years
ago, there we're only a few orches-
tras, famous music schools, a few
composer and not many American
artists. 1t is as yet not generally |
appreciated that much farther
back, Americans have written many
grand operas which never were
seen on the stage. A survey OF
these, between the years of 1870
and 1898, shows 366 operate scores
composed by 276 American COM
posers. In it's archives. the Library
of Congress has 10000 operate
scores of all nationalities, collected
through a long period of years and
possibly dating back to the days in
the 18th century when the interest
was just beginning to develop In
drama set to music.
The supply of opera has hardly
been touched. Companies con-
tinue to be successful by constant
repetition OF standard favorites. |
. With the opera going public as
limited as it is, they can but rarely
afford new ventures. Were that
public augmented by means of mo-
ton pictures. familiarity with this
type of music would become wide
spread. The countless number OF
absorbing and colorful stories set
in operatic form offer rich source
for the cinema magic. Its power
has been proven as regards COM
posers whose lives have been
filmed and by the increased popu-
larity OF musical artists appearing
in them. The same applied tech
nioue would popularize opera.