Evening star., 1950-11-20
By Alice Eversmon

"A jeanette Macdonald recita,
is pleasant music plus beauty
plus glamour, plus screen fame
The noted songstress Of the films
as was to be expected, drew q
capacity audience to Constitution
Hall yesterday afternoon. Men ano
women waited with excited eager
ness. The lights were first dimmed
in the hall. then the floodlights
blazed and a spotlight focused on
the entrance door. Miss Mac
Donald entered and glamour took
over.
Her gown was a short skirt of
gold lame with q hip length
black velvet bodice. decolete to the
shoulders to allow her glittering
necklace to hold the eye. A small
black velvet hat with a tall black
aigrette completed the costume.
This was removed toward the end
of the program so that her red
gold hair, cut short, and curled,
caught the light as much as her
jewels.
If 1t seems that such a descrip-
ton has no part In a coverage
that should speak of music, it
must be mentioned that to neglect
it is to leave out more than half
of a Macdonald concert. The
fetching star knows as well as
anybody that her audience wants
to feast its eyes on her, to see in
reality her beauty and chic that
has entranced so many on the
screen. She made picture as
charming as any recorded. albeit
somewhat more sophisticated, and
exuded friendliness. She sang
well too, which may be a lesser
concern to her admirers.
Worthy Of Copying.
Strange to say, there are many
things in the way Miss Macdonald
presents a recital. that might be
copied by other famous singers.
Her Hollywood experience and her
acting ability have given her the
power to discern the drama in
even the simplest song. She pre-
pares for it, while the introduction
is being played, by facial express
ions that establish the mood.
Every word is set forth according
to its Importance in the phrase
and she is able to continue the
projection Of atmosphere by q
gesture, a pose, or a change Of ex-
all done adroitly and
naturally. When she sings, her
brow remains serene, her mouth
and no vocal effort is
visible. Search the opera and con-
cert halls of fame and hardly
another singer can be found to
match her on these points.
The voice is small-it seemed
smaller than formerly - true,
sweet. and, for the most part.
clear. Some fogginess clouded the
upper register yesterday and theI
agility passages were nothing to
brag about. But let it go on rec
ord that rarely has "The Last
Rose Of Summer" been sung so
beautifully or with such tender
Likewise. all the in
tangible thoughts that form
Strauss 'Morgen," from the first
note of the introduction to the
very end, were felt and made
conscious to the listeners.
Two Arias on Program
The program included two
arias, the "Ah, je veux vivre"
from Gounod's Romeo and
Juliet" and "Je dis que rien ne
m'epouvante" from Carmen. !"
These were sweetly sung in a
miniature style. A group Of Ger
man songs and one of French
were given with meticulous care
and with the proper polish, yet they
could register only in a small way
due to the girlish quality of Miss
cDonald's voice. It gained in
volume in the songs sung in
English where its natural timbre
was more appropriate. There was
no departure from her familiar
repertoire but her understandable
diction added to the enjoyment.
Encores were given during the
program beginning with Comm
Thro' the Rye" and including
the "Gavotte" from Massenet's
"Manon";; villa" from "The
Merry Widow" and "Nicolette. :"
Collins Smith, at the piano, gave
the artist expert assistance and
had an interlude of his own when
he played Mendelssohn's "Scherzo,"
Scriabin's "Etude in c sharp