Evening star., 1953-11-24

ACAAId4AAS O41dL S41NCIL d1lO SULLIVAN
production group. No doubt the !
operas will outlive many more
starry ensembles. This is a COM
Portable thought to live with if
1t is permitted adm!ttance
Encouraging its welcome is the
appearance this week of Dorothy
Raedler's American Savoyards
at the National Theater.
Miss Raedler'S mpany
opened its weeks three-opera
repertory with THE Mikado,"
production whose accent is prin-
cipally musical. If Gilbert and
Sullivan company cannot have
everything-and new ones can
not-it is smart to choose vocal
emphasis.
This one has so chosen, and
because it has, one is tolerantly
disposed toward the economy
that has kept the company
small, its production lean and
clean and its improvisations re-
freShing. One of these latter is
the introduction of an electric
organ into the orchestra, a de-
vice of which neither Gilbert nor
Sullivan was aware but which
adds body to what might be a
thin offering.
Another novelty, at least
around here, is youthful.
feminine conductor, Miss Lucille
Burnham who has a trinity lilt-
ing conception of how "The
Mlkado" should go. She has a
musicians respect for Sir Arthur
Sullivan'S contribution to the
teams delightful and durable |
output. and an artistically COM
mandlng presence on a podium.
The fact that its emphasis is
musical and that it lacks the ex-
travagance of predecessor groups
some of them pretty CHASTITY in
their opulent pretenSe = is not
too costly to the acting of this
"Mikado."
Miss Raedler is a woman of
eXactlng taste in singers. but she
is too intelligent to let these get
OF scot free on the acting count.
She takes no chance that au-
dienceS will know more about
what Ko-Ko and Poo-Bah are
supposed to be than do the per-
formers assigned to the role.
This is not as evident in the
opening of the opera as it is
later, but once her cast has
found its singing voice, it warns
nicely to the duty to be the
creatures of Sir William Gill
bert'S mocking imagination.
Long before Yum Yum miss
Sally Knapp gets around to her
Sun And 1" solo, sung in a
neatly lighted silhouette, it is
all right that she is not as.
glamorous as Ava Gardner. Come
to think of it, Yum-Yum never
has been. The same is true of
Reinald Wolfe as Poo-Bah. the
one-man cabinet of Titipu.
Wolfe'S entrance gives the i'm
preston that he is a singer whose
comic taste is not identical with
Sir Williams.
It's a brief disagreement be-
tween them, however, and one
that ends happily in favor of
the librettist of The Mikado."
x x
1t is a coincidence that finds
the historic Ko-Ko in town at the
Shubert Theater in a Shaw play
while Rue Knapp takes over the
role in this G. and S. production.
But Knapp, who has better
voice (aS who hasn't. Mr.. Green
might be the first to ask, adroit-
ly avoids the fatal challenge of
mimicry. He plays Ko-Ko his
way, and no doubt Miss Raedler's
who directed him. This gives it
q nice clear line in it's richly
comic flavors and even catches
the wisps of poignance in poor
Ko-Ko'S shammino.
x X X
The score of The Mikado,"
which Sir Arthur insisted was go
ing to dominate the libretto or
else (although it didn't, is still
reasonably the most popular of
the copious lot. Nanki-Poo'S
opening solo may have become, at
least in this mind. a thing of
DANCING.