BULLETIN CENTRAL OPERA SERVICE sponsored by THE NATIONAL COUNCIL of the METROPOLITAN OPERA ASSOCIATION 147 West Thirty-ninth Street, New York 18, N.Y. Tel:PE6-12OO MARCH 1962 NEW OPERAS, COMMISSIONS AND REWRITES The New York City Opera Company, under the sponsorship of the Ford Foundation has commissioned its fourth opera. They have chosen Hugo Weisgall as the composer and Dennis Johnston for the libretto. The opera will be based on the novel "Nine Rivers from Jordan". Messrs. Weisgall and Johnston once before have collaborated on an opera which was presented by the New York City Opera Co. in 1955, namely "Six Characters in Search of an Author". No performance date has been set as yet for the new work. "The Greenfield Christmas Tree" is the title of the latest of Christmas operas, this one composed by Douglas Moore. It is to be premiered by the Hartford (Conn.) Symphony at Yuletime 1962. "The Nightingale and the Rose" was the opera commiss- ioned in 1942 by the National Broadcasting Corp. written by Mr. George Lessner, and premiered that year over the NBC network. Now Mr. Lessner has rewritten the opera for stage presentation in a unique arrangement for voice and ballet. For further information contact Lance Productions, Inc., 353 W 57 Str., New York 19, who also are in posession of a taped copy of the original NBC broadcast. Nicholas Flagello, composer-conductor at the Manhattan School of Music recently had the first performance of his opera "The Sisters" at the Manhattan Opera Theatre. TRANSLATIONS The prolific MARTINS (Ruth and Thomas) have come up with a new translation, this one of the "Barber of Seville" which will be performed for the first time at the San Francisco Opera in May of this year. It will be published by G. Schirmer. Their newly revised translation of "The Abduction from the Seraglio" will be performed this month at Hunter College (see performance listings). Joseph MACHLIS, another successful translator, is responsible for the English -2- version of Italo Montemezzi's "The Love of Three Kings", presented by NBC - TV Opera on February 25. The performance featured Giorgio Tozzi, Phyllis Curtin and Richard Torigi, it was directed by Kirk Browning, conducted by Alfred Wallenstein, designed by Ed Wittstein and produced by Samuel Chotzinoff. Another TV opera broadcast took place on March 11 over Columbia Broadcasting Network under the title "The Drama of Carmen". This was not a full opera per- formance, but seperate scenes were presented by Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic with Mr. Bernstein demonstrating the difference between the two "Carmen" versions. The original one has spoken recitatives while the common- ly performed one has the music running all through the drama. With the spoken scenes done in an English translation the listener was presented with some new and very revealing facts about the characters and situations in the opera. These scenes alternated with the equivilant ones sung by opera singers in the original French, whereas the former were presented by actors. ANNIVERSARIES On September 4 of this year the French-American composer DARIUS MILHAUD will celebrate his 70th birthday. This might well bring added interest in his com- positions and following we give our members a list of operas by Milhaud (all published and available at Theodore Presser Comp., Bryn Mawr, Pa.) Esther De Carpentras (2 acts, 90 min.) Fiesta (One act, 23 min.) Les Malheurs d'Orphee (3 acts, 55 min.) Medee (3 acts, 75 min.) Le Pauvre Matelot (one act, 3 scenes, 45 min.) The CONNECTICUT OPERA ASSOCIATION is celebrating its twentieth anniversary and will honor its founder, Frank Pandolfi, with a dinner in Hartford, Conn, on March 19« Connecticut's Governor, John Dempsey, has declared that same week "Connecticut Opera Week". FACULTY AND ALUMNI * News of COS member-schools THE MANHATTAN SCHOOL OF MUSIC appointed Mr. Gregory Millar (former assistant to Leonard Bernstein at the N.Y. Philharmonic) to conduct the Manhattan Orchestra together with Mr. Perlea Vittorio Giannini, composer-in-residence was elected a Fellow of the International Institute of Arts and Letters. The Society's headquarters are in Switzerland The AVALON FOUNDATION, through a generous grant to the Opera Department has made it possible to enlarge the scholarship program of the Opera Repertoire Training Group Here are the names of some artists who have graduated from Manhattan School of Music and now hold contracts with major opera houses: Ezio Flagello (Metropolitan Opera), Moreley Meredith (Metropolitan Opera), Howard Fried (San Francisco Opera), others are currently singing in Europe as well as some who are parttaking in the Metro- politan Opera Studio Productions. -3- Madame Rose Landver, who directed the HUNTER COLLEGE OPERA WORKSHOP as well as the annual productions of the Opera Association at Hunter from 1954 until last summer, has been succeeded by her former assistant, Miss Carolyn Lockwood, who is also active during the summer at Santa Pe Opera in Hew Mexico. Miss Landver is current- ly stage director with the Metropolitan Opera Studio Group Among the graduates from Hunter College Opera Workshop who are now singing at major opera houses are : Martina Arroyo (Metropolitan Opera, also Vienna Stae Opera, Munich et$ and George Shirley (Metroplitan Opera, last year's audition winner; before N.Y. City Opera Co.). As Hunter College informs us some thirty-five former students of its Opera Workshop are presently singing leading roles in opera houses on both sides of the Atlantic. A NOTE TO MUSIC SCHOOLS AND OPERA WORKSHOPS!I Please DO send us a list of students who have graduated from your organization and are now engaged by major opera houses. We will be happy to publish these lists in a future Bulletin. INTERNATIONAL COMPETITIONS For VOICE, ORGAN, VIOLA, CLARINET and PIANO, September 4 - 20, 1962, Munich, Germany. Deadline for entries: July 1st, 1962. Conditions: Voice: birthdate between 1932 - 1942, for instrumentalists: 1932 - 1945> not open to winners (in the same field) of the i960 - 61 competition. Cash prizes: $300 - $1,250. For further information and application write to Internationaler Musikwett- bewerb, Muenchen 2, Bayrischer Rundfunk, Germany. For VOICE, PIANO, VIOLA, ORGAN,and WIND QUINTET, September 22 - October 6, 1962, Geneva, Switzerland. Deadline for entry: July 16, 1962 (wind quintet May 15)« Conditions: between 15 and 30 years old on Oct. 1st, 1962. Cash prizes: $200 - $1,000. Registration fee 20 Swiss Francs. For information and application write to Secretariat, International Competition for Musical Performers, Conservatoy of Music of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland. For COMPOSERS, "Concorso Internazionale di Musica Ritmo-Sinfonica" July 27 - July 29, 1962 at Cava de' Tirreni (Province of Salerno), Italy. Deadline for entries: May 20, 1962. Conditions: Unpublished, or if published than unperformed works of not purely symphonic, but rhythmic-symphonic music, possibly with jazz influence for orchestra or solo instruments with orchestra. Cash prizes: $300 - $1,500. For application write to: The Secretariat, Camerata Musicale del Ritmo Sinfonico, Via Palestro 56, Rome, Taly. -4- ATTENTIONII MID-WEST REGION;I (Western Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma) On Monday, May 14, the Mid-West Region will hold a one day Central Opera Service Conference in St. Louis. It will be under the auspicies of the Regional Chairman, Mrs. Stuart M. Chambers and take place at Washington University, St. Louis. The COS Chairmen appointed for this conference are: Mr. Robert Anderson, Tulsa, Oklahoma Mr. Elihu Hyndeman, St. Louis, Missouri Mr. Russell Patterson, Kansas City, Missouri #• * * -X- -V #--X * * -X- * * * -X- -X- #• * -X- * * X"X- * -X- -X- * -X- -X- X- * *• * -X- X- -X--X- -if >- * X- * NEW COS MEMBERS Mr. Franklin Choset, Box 2155* Oak Ridge, Tennessee Mr. Leon Felderman, 1475 Thieriot Ave., New York 60, N.Y. Seattle Opera Guild, Mrs. George C. Martin, Pres., 425 S.E. Shoreland Drive, Bellevue, Washington NEW OPERA ORGANIZATION Miss Herta SPERBER informa us that she has been appointed director of the newly formed OPERA SHOW CASE, at 385 Westminster Str., Providence, R.I. It is a trainiig group for young singing actors; they also introduced the Metropolitan Opera Studio to Providence, (also see performance listing). We regret to announce the passing of Mrs. MARY CARDWELL DAWSON, founder, president, and general manager of the National Negro Opera Company in Washington, D.C. and active COS member. Mrs. Dawson, born in Madison, N.C. in 1899 was a lyric soprano and had studied at the New England Conservatory. She founded the Cardwell School of Music in Pittsburgh, which she operated until 1941» The Cardwell Dawson Choir made concert tours throughout the United States. In 1941 she founded the National Negro Opera Company, which performs grand opera in many parts of this country. SUMMER SCHEDULES OF OPERA AND OPERA WORKSHOPS CALIFORNIA THE REDLANDS BOWL, San Bernardino, California July 1962 "The Magic Flute" and "La Forza del Destino" (Glynn Ross, stage dir.) COLORADO ASPEN MUSIC FESTIVAL, (Waletr Susskind, Festival Dir. & cond.)Aspen,Col. June 27 through August 26, weekly concerts (Wed.,Sat., Sund.), conference on contemporary music and Aspen Music School. The Opera Dept. of the School under the direction of Dr. Elemer Nagy (Hartt College) and Wolfgang Vacano (Univ. of Indiana), with special courses by Madeleine Milhaud. A full production of "The Pearl Fishers" will be presented in English and the American premiere of Henri Sauget's one act opera "La Contrabasse" in French. For futher information contact Mr.Norman Singer, 111 W 57 Str., New York 19, N.Y. -5- SUMMER SCHEDULES (cont. ) WASHINGTON SEATTLE, Washington - World's Fair During the first two weeks in July, in conjunction with "Century 21", (Seattle's World's Pair), there will be four performances of "Aida", directed and designed "by Harry Horner, with Gloria Davy, Irene Dalis and Sandor Konya and the Seattly Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Milton Katims.