The Brooklyn Daily Eagle from Brooklyn, New York • Page 31

if; BROOKLYN DAILY EAGLE, NEW YORK, SUNDAY, JANUARY 27, 1935 7 The Problem of Acting in Opera Music of the Week New Recordings coni'CTOiis of the week Acting in Opera: A New Approach to an Old Problem In Opera, Too, the Play Could Be the Thing, if to Act or Submit to Intelligent Direction By for themselves and without refer ving the stage In such a manner that they do not run Into each other, timately against and with each and so on. That Is not enough. If other, clarifying motivation and opera is going to survive alongside making dramatic ensemble con the contemporary theater its direc 1 vinclng. He should see that the If iff I oil ft "II imm iifnirii Sr'inT HinMnniiwuwir mk inMAittM tors must be. as competent nnd authoritative as its conductors.

YWHAT should the specific duties of the ideal regisseur be? Among others, the following: Ho should enable each singer, by criticism and correction, to get under the dramatic realities of the part he or she is playing. He should see Albert Hirth, planhl, who will give a recital at the Town Hall Wednet day night. mP MiaWt jaMtlllllaWjUIIMllW Serge Koutevitzki trill conilm the llonlon OrrUeilru in Hrmiklyn and and Saturday; Otto Klemnerer (left) iriff lead the 'fiiiiiMfiimrij at ence to what Is going on about them. Such acting, anywhere outside of opera, would be considered bad theater. Is It presumptuous to consider it also as bad opera? QEVERAL factors In the present method of producing opera make the situation a difficult one to remedy.

The frequently deplored international star system undoubtedly contributes to the problem. It Is hard to see how any theatrical intimacy Is to be brought into a production when its cast, Insufficiently rehearsed as a unit, Is composed of singers who are accustomed to go through their paces on short notice, in the same manner whether It Is in the Colon in Buenos Aires or the Costanzi in Rome, fitted into each cast with the least possible effort, like a spare part in a machine. The best that can be expected from such a system Is an occasional Individual performance of distinction. Appropriately, we often hear such questions as "Have you heard Lehmann as Elizabeth?" or "Have you heard Chaliapin as Boris?" Seldom, and with Justice, do we hear any one ask, "Have you seen the Metropolitan's production of such and such an opera?" Yet, if well directed, an opera can stand as a convincing, or ganized whole, and there are opera houses in the world where this Is achieved. With the difficulties of finance and of the star system taken Into account, however, a large share of the blame is still to be laid on the shoulders of the regisseur, the operatic stage director.

It seems to be traditional, in any but the most forward looking opera house, for tliis gentleman to content himself with merely seeing that the singers do the required business at the proper moment, appearing and disappearing on the right notes, cross The Phonograph: Popular Music Jazz, 'Hot' and Oilier wise, for Consumption at Your leisure ZJy John Hammond taste that Lorn bar do is by far the most popular band on records. Hal Kemp's orchestra is another with a style all its own. While a tune is being played dreamily, the brass section startles the listener i with a barrage of staccato notes i tha. sounds for all the world like 1 machine gun fire. This is consid prPd imnienselv clover and hits suc CPeded In making the band the most popular on Brunswic list.

Kemp is a highly competent bund, how ever, and its ltest recording. "In a Blue and Pensive Mood" and "I Woke Up Too Soon" t.7351 Is abovt the average. pOR the past seven years reports of the wonders of our so called Singers Would Learn Winthrop Sargeunt that the various characters play in chorus moves and acts with apparent reason, and that its members are individually real charac ters. He should pass on those de tails of costume and makeup that are continually bringing uncon scious humor into the most solemn scenes. If a tenor is short he should not be encouraged to wear abbreviated costumes, the horizontal lines Symphony In G.

No. 88; Ernst Torh. "Big Variation Fantasy on the Westminster chimes" Iirst performance in New York: Strauss, "Alsosprach Zarathttstra." Saturday Afternoon BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, Serge Koussevitzkt conducting. Carnegie Hall. The program: Misnkov sky.

Sinloniptta for string orchestra i first performance in New Yorki; Prokofietl. Suite from Tschaikowsky, Symphony No. 6, in minor. Saturday Evening PHILHARMONIC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, Arturo Toscanini conducting. Carnegie Hall.

The program: Rusmiu. overture to "The Italians in Beethoven, Symphony No. 0, in Wagner, overture and Venusberg Music from "Tannhaeu.ser Wanner. Ride of the Valkyries, from "Die Walkucre." SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA. David Mannes conducting.

Metropolitan Museum nf Art. The program: Glinka, Overture. "A Life for the Golrimark. "Rustic Wedding Symphony Water Music: Mnzart. Atni.mtr trom Concerto lor oboe, clarinet, bassoon and horn; Churpentiet Impressions of Strauss, Waltz, "Southern Roses." Heritah This Afternoon NINON AM.

IX. soprano: Pierre Darrk. arcornpanist. Town Hall. The program: Debussy group, including Air de Lla Irom "LEnfant Prod.gue" and the Chansons de Bi! ltes.

Dunarc. Faure. "Nell" and 'La Debussy, Quatre Ariet'es oubliees and "Le Chelonnement des hales." Songs by de Faila and Nln. LEOPOLD A A I R. bassl Tsrharna Nasrhatier, arcompanist.

Barbizon Plata Concert Hall. The prugram ri.iinbeit. "Der Wuuer telse." cycle ol twenty tour songs. This Evening MARIA Kl KINKO. seprano: Renjamln King.

acciHiiitanist. Town Hall. I lie progtam. Anas from "Sena Pan uia" and Mozart's "Srnu lio S'ings by Wolf l'M Respighl. Fanrr and Hue, Tschal knwskv.

"If 1 Knew." the Bail." "Lullaby." I.Uui'hfk." "One Word." "The Terrible Songs by Moussorgky Rimsky Kersakow and Medtner. Stravinsky. Parascha'g Song from Mavra AIIEI.E MAKCIS. pianist, and Sonla Essln. contralto.

Educational Alliance Auditorium. The program: For piano1 the Bach Busoni Cha conne. Mendelssohn's Serious Vari OME day somebody Is going to produce opera in New York as it should be produced. This omebody is going to have generous financial backing from wealthy patrons who are actually willing to make up large deficits, or from a government that has by that time recognized its responsibilities to art. Thus equipped, he Is going to hire a permanent group of singers whose efforts, year In and year out, are devoted solely to his company.

Besides a good staff of conductors and the best available orchestra, chorus and ballet, he is going to engage a scenic designer with imagination who will insist that the color and shape of every Item of costume and property on the stage be under his supervision, and a stage director who is capable of taking the same position of authority in relation to the dramatic action of opera that the average Broadway director takes In relation to that of a play. But even though this some day and somebody have not yet arrived, there are still things that can be done about operatic acting. It is strange that the dramatic side of opera should be viewed here for the as an embarrassment that had accidentally crept in by the stage entrance, something that really nice people pretend not to notice. When competent acting, like that of a Scotti or a Tibbett or a Bohnen, does appear, it strikes the public and the critics as phenom enal. Such acting is, indeed, unusual in the operatic field, but it is so largely because even reasonably good pantomime in opera is still considered a more or less accidental matter, pleasant to witness if it happens to appear in the course of a production, but by no means to be expected.

PUPERFICI ALLY it would seem that the individual singers themselves are to blame. It is regrettable that the dramatic training of opera singers is left largely to chance, that, aside from coaching in the mere formalities of gesture, few of our stars have had any systematic training in the art of pantomime. But it does not, after all, take a cast of Chaliapins to give a performance of fair dramatic consistency. The major theatrical faults of the average production are not so much those of the individuals in the cast as those of direction. There are at the Metropolitan, for example, many singers Lucrezia Bori, Maria Olszewska, Rosa Ponselle, Ezio Pin za come to mind whose consistent good intentions, dramatically, are obvious.

What is lacking is coordination. The individual singer with dramatic talent must play his part without support from other members of the cast, without the intelligent direction that could keep him from over or understatement, without fitting into the picture as a whole at all. An effective bit of pantomime which might add climax to a scene Is presently ruined by the hamming of a colleague. Under the circumstances it is not surprising to find even the best actors among opera singers acting entirely 'Minnehaha' Premiere At Manhattan Tuesday Peter Joseph Engel's Indian opera, Minnehaha." will have Its first performance Tuesday evening at the Manhattan Opera House. The cast will include the following singers: Sopranos, Mmes.

Astrid Fjelcle. Rita Orville; tenors, Messrs. John Alda, Roy Jarman, Alfred Morgan; baritones, Chief Yowlache, John Gumey, Herman Holt Ivarson; bassos, Messrs. Bennett Challis, George Castel; dance directress, Princess Spotted Elk; conductor, Cesare Sodero. A chorus of 80 voices and an orchestra of 40 players will participate.

The dancing, which consists of the colorful ceremonials of the Indians, is under the supervision of Princess Spotted Elk of the Penobscot Tribe in Maine who will herself be seen in such solo numbers as are called for in the Engels' The Musical Week: A Calendar of "hot jazz" have been coming from genius by name of Theodore Wil vanous European countries. A I son, takes the theme, works elabo of which tend to exaggerate this peculiarity. If a baritone has small features he should be dissuaded from wearing a thick bearskin cap that all but obliterates his face. If a soprano's face is unusually broad she should not wear a wig with a line of bangs across the forehead that only intensifies this breadth. Such things seem rather elementary, but opera singers do not always notice them for themselves.

A helping hand from the director on the other side of the footlights might be of enormous assistance. Most important of all, it should be the function of the stage director to determine the degree of styli zatlon or realism in movement and the range of emotional Intensity that are to prevail in a given production and to see that the participants conform to it, thus bringing unity of tone or atmosphere to the work as a whole. "NE can, of course, be satisfied with something less than this ideal, but its possibility, given sufficient time for, and care in, re hearsal, is apparent. Performances are occasionally seen where some particular excellence in dramatic ensemble points toward the achievement of the goal. In a modest way the production of "Boris Godounof by the Musical Arts of Russia company last season approached it, particularly In the work of the minor characters and in the choral scenes.

Occasionally one even sees it ap proarhed at the Metropolitan, but this Is by no means a general phenomenon. There are many portents on the horizon of a renovation of existing methods In operatic production. Opera, it seems, is not to be allowed I to languisn as tne disappearing remnant of a Victorian tradition. Let us hope that the renovators will be more exacting in their demands on dramatic consistency, and that our much too apathetic opera audiences will second their endeavors. Events ations, pieces by Rachmaninoff, Scriabin, Szymanowskl and Chopin.

For voice: Aria from Mozart's "Titus," Brahms' Zigeuuerlieder. Songs by Nordoff, Carpenter, Cohen and Haublel. Monday Evening JAN SMETERI.IN. pianlit. Town Hall.

The program: Schubert, Sonata In A minor, op. 143; Bach Busonl, Two choral preludes; Chopin. Fantasy in minor, Ballade in minor, Study In flat and Valse in A flat; De bussy Borwick. "Prelude a l'apres midi dun Liszt. Six Studies after Paganlnl.

VERA and MAI RICE ARONSON, pianists. Crand Street Playhouse. The program: Godowsky. "Miniatures," thirty four pieces lor piano, fotr hands. Tuesday Evening HELEN KCOVILLE.

pianist. Town Hall. The program: Scarlatti, Three sonatas, in F. flat Schumann, Ravel. Sonatlne; Liszt.

Scriabin, Fifth Sonata. WednesdajEvening ALBERT IIIRSH, pianist. Town Mall. The program: Bach Liszt. Fantasy and Fugue In minor.

Bach. French Suite In Beethoven, Sonata In minor, op 31 No. 2: Brahms. minor Rhapsody and Capric.clo In sharp minor, op. 76; Chopin group.

Thursday Afternoon LIVIO BOM. 'cellist, and Pletro Yon, organist. Town Hall. The program. Handel, Sonata for 'cello and piano.

minor; Bach. Toccata and Fugue In minor and Adagm in A minor, for organ: Brahms, Sonata minor, for 'cello and piano; Vivaldi, Sonata, for cello and organ; etc. Friday Evening ADKLE MARCl'S, pianist, and Sonla Essin. eontratlo. Town Hall.

Repetition of program offered by these artists at the Educational Alliance Auditorium tonight. tSee above.) Saturday Afternoon RORERT (iOI.DSAND, pianist. Town Hall. 1 he program. Mttart, Sonata in flat; Chopin, Four Studies: Brahms.

Paganini Variations. Sonata. Dancers This Evening EI.NA LII.I.RAC and a dance group. Ciitlld Theater. Norman Llovd, accompanist.

Program withheld. Saturday Evening SOPHIA DEI.7.A. Washington Irving High School Auditorium. Program withheld. Gershwin Composes And Harlem Cheers Continue Irom Preceding Page i it were impromptu and could be improved.

"But it was such a huge success that I left it as it was." Some day, perhaps, it will be rewritten. A glance about the Gershwin living room seemed reasonable as the composer disappeared to prepare for the day's routine. A large sec tion of the far reaching book 1 shelves were devoted to volumes! about music. Sullivan's "Beethoven's! Spiritual Development," Frances Toye's "Verdi," Forsyte's "Music and Nationalism," a volume of Mozart letters, Richardson's "Maurice Guest" the best musical novel ever written caught the eye primarily, along with a presentation copy of Rudy Vallee's "Vagabond Dreams Come True." But Gershwin now reappeared. And the next progression was to the piano, the open score of Porgy" and a lecture recital by the composer.

(A discussion of the music of "Porgy," with thematic examples, will appeax on these pages next week.) Thursday Evening TRAV1ATA, with Mmes. Ro.su Ponselle. Vettorl and Falco and Messrs. Crooks, DeLucca. Oandolll, Badn, Picco and Ananlnn.

Mr. Panizza will conduct. Friday Afternoon TANNIIAl'SER, with Mmes. Rethberg. Hulstead and Clark and Messrs.

Melchior. Tibbett. Hofmann. Omens, Gtibor. Paltrinieri and Wolfe.

Mr. Bodanzky conducting. Friday Evening FAl'ST, with Mmes. Norma. Besnner and Wakefield and Messrs Msrtt nelli.

BonelH. and Ananian. Mr. ilasselmans will condurP, Saturday Afternoon DIE WAI.KI'ERE. Willi Mmes Kirsten Flagstad Idebut), Kappcl.

olazewas ka, Manskl, Wells, Besunor. Bour skaya. Doe. Fftlco. Petlnit and Vet tori and Messrs.

Alt house. Schorr and List. Mr. Bodanzky will be the conductor. Saturday Evening MADAMA with Mmrj, Mueller.

Bourskaya and Wells aud Messrs. Jagel. A. Borgioh. Mi.latr ta, Paltrinieri.

Picco and Amuiian. Mr. Bellezza conducting. Orchestras This Afternoon PHILHARMONIC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA. Arturo loscanini conducting.

Carneeie Hall. The program: Bruckner. Symphony No 7, In Strauss. Salome's Dance Irom the opera Bach Respighi, Prelude and Fugue In D. Tuesday Evening PHILADELPHIA ORCHESTRA, OtU Hvlemperer conducting: Karln Bran sell, contralto, soloist.

Carnegie Hall. The program: Gluck. Overture to "Iphigenia In Mahler, Kmdertotenlieder; Bruckner, Symphony No. 5. llat.

Thursday Evening PHILHARMONIC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA. Arturo Toscaninl rnn durlinR; (Irrgor Piaticorskr. 'cellist, soloist. Carnegie Hall. The prouram.

Handel. Conrprto Clrossn for No. 12. in minor: juiovo Tedesco. Cncert for Ci llo and Orchestra (first performance any wherei; Schubert, Symphony In C.

Friday Afternoon PHILHARMONIC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA. Carnegie Hall. Repetition of Thursday program. Friday Evening BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, Serge Koussevltxkt conducting. Carnegie Hall.

The program: Haydn, Manhattan on 7 luirnlay. Carnegie Hall Tuetday Friday night discs made diinng the period 1925 1930 by such getuuws as Lurl Hines, Armstrong, and some practicall) unknown white virtuosi from Chicago. There isn't the space here to do this, but I shall be delighted to answer any inquiries on the subject. Howeer, tucked away in the January Columbia list is a record that will serve a.s an excellent in uoduction to the subject. Bearing the title Red Norvo and his Swing Srptel, the orchestra is an assenib laS ol some of the finest "hot" players, both colored and white, in the city.

The tune upon which they work their nuigu: is Tin Pan Alley concoction of a few years' back, "I Surrender, Dear' '2977DI. The record opens with a fairly straight" rendition of the melody by the trombonist, who happens to be one of the finest anywhere. It is the second chorus that will explain all that I have been trying to say about "hot" music. Tha pianust, who is an authentic Negro rations which are a model of taste and ingenuity while retaining basic rhythm. It is playing of great feeling and subtlety.

Toward the end of the record there are eight bars of xylophone playing by Norvo himself, who xs the only poison who can "swing" on that unworthy instrument. Needless to say, this Is a record which is entirely dependent on the inspiration of the players. No arrangement was used, and before the turntables began to revolve none of the soloists even knew what notes he was going to play. It is with such small groups that the best of "swing" music can be made; large bands have proved too cumbersome, with the exception of such Harlera as Fletcher Henderson's, whprp (h hurlrm grounds for the soloists that cn courage them to new heights of improvisation. CONCERTS MANHATTAN Philharmonic Svmphonv TOSCANINI, Conductor II XI I it no ti HrspiKhi MINK.

II Thli A'lr'r, i Hrurkurr str.ius II Thnrs. In al IV 'n. Alt. al SnloiM: I.HI II I 1 1 HU V. I rllltt Handel, i.trlnnntn 1 fdrscn, Srhubrrt iat.

Ik KosMI Arthur Jiids. n. Ml. al n. Wiijtnrr Ionic ht at Hi'Ptbn Mcr TOWN II I.L KURENK0 Soprane 'Stcway Jurison Mt.

TOW II VI I Sat. KI R. at 3:0 Till Vlrnnev PlmiKl ROKIRT G0LDSAND III Oilumtva t'oiirrrt, ot Cnlnni hii HrariraMirtr iri.lfm mi i Koroi.n on hoi sr Tiifs. 'eh Otilr Nrw A orl IVrforinaticP Mlt M4C1UT1I M7fSK Fius.sur (peri by Sru t'lrveUnd orrhfsira. cnrniunor, unrl thf Art of Mii Mcil Inc.

t'ntir the fti'spu 0: the Lcaeue of T'krt at P'em wav Box Office and Metropolitan $1 00 to i 00. JridMn Manacf merit. 1 OH Fri. Feb. I) I I 1.

at 8:30 SOMA RS MARCUS ESSIN Pnnit Mi NBC ArlUt. IOUN VI I Med. I Contralto Albert HIRSH Mt. Mil Artists Sitvm itt av Piano CAKNX.lt. IIMI.

Hrd li Feb. II. I' 1 A I I A Gorodnitzki SB' ArlMs Srrvitp Strinwav PifffW TOWN HM.l. TODAY atI nT VALLIN Mf B( srriri' S' av Plan HiWS II 1. Sun I if rJL1!" Harrison i AUI.

NIH rl TOWN II 11 I TOUI'R i 'n't'it. i'tna I. NIH rlnl Nfrvln I. rnn'R t.vj at SMETERLIN (11,1. Krrilal JAN I Mgt.

NBC ArMt SerriM t' mHE American phonograph tn I dustry is just beginning to recover from the blows which have been showered upon it during the past six years. Its first adversary was radio, against which gramophone companies have not yet developed a proper fighting technique. Then came the depression, which made 75 cents seem an exorbitant price to pay for an ephemeral popular tune which could be heard with a minimum of effort and without tost by turning a dial. It is possible to realize the havoc these forces wreaked when one sees record sales in VJS2 at one i thirty thlrd their 1925 total, and the number of competing companies dwindle from well over a score to exactly four. It was in the popular field that the most telling blow was struck.

Not only was it infinitely cheaper for the public to receive their jazz fodder from the air; radio actually sounded better than the vast majority of phonographs on the market. Three years it looked as if there were no future whatsoever for this branch of the recording business, and not until 1934 did the outlook brighten. Then record companies began to concentrate on types of music that could not be heard on the radio. A slight improvement in economic conditions produced an unexpected demand for such diverse stuff as hillbillies, iicbiu uiuca mm oiajuiija, folk music, "hot jazz," and slightly salacious ditties by the Dwight Fiskes of metropolitan centers. The radio, networks were content to cater to what they considered to be the taste of the majority, which meant the omission of all of this, with the result that the gramophone regained quite a portion of its vanished public.

Only a few month ago something else happened which jolted the industry into renewed activity. The English Decca record company decided that the time was ripe for an entry into America. It was able to make an advantageous agreement with Warner Brothers to take over all the original Brunswick laboratories and factories, which the picture company still owned, and it set a price of 35 cents for its record, as against the prevailing price of 75. Rival companies immediately woke up from their three years' slumber. RCA Victor made successful efforts to re establish its recording supremacy, Brunswick not only vastly Improved its own list but bought out Columbia, revolutionized that label with first rate talent, even better recording, and tripled the monthly list.

As was to be expected, all three companies continued to make cheaper discs i Bluebird, Vocation, Okeh, Meltono, but none found it necessary to cut prices. Now, more records are being issued than any time since 1931, 1 and there is finally a real standard which the companies are keeping up to. This tortnightly column will at i tempt to cover all phases of recorded popular music, but most of Its attention will be devoted to music which is more satisfactory on records than on radio. IN ORDER to attract the widest possible attention from the populace the modern orchestra lender feels it necessary to achieve a dis tinctive style that will separate him from the common herd. Guy Lom bardo, for instance, has become the most successful orchestra leader in the country by making his saxophones use tremendous vibrato to put.

the requisite amount of passion into their playinn. At the same time, he lias nceu careful to remove whatever Ruts there iiiiRht be either in the music he plays or in his orchestra. He records for the 3.Vcent Decca records, and his latest releases are from Bins Crosby's new picture, "Here Is My Heart." It is a sad commentary on the In Brooklyn Tuesday Eveninf MDA" IVerdll: Tlllrd of ticht Brooklyn performancM by the Mrtropolitan Opera Association. Academy of Muiu. The cast: Maria Mueller, Karln Branzell.

Lillian Clark. Frederick JmpI. Er.lo Plnza, Richard Bonelll. Louis D'Annelo and Olor dano Paltrinlerl. Conductor: Ettora Pamzza.

Thursday Evening BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCIIKSTRA, Serre KouxsevUzkt coniluclinc. Academy of Music. The prouram: Beethoven, "Neonora" overture. No. 3: Sivelius.

Symphony No. 5. in flat; Mnussortisky Ravel, "Pictures at an Exhibition." This Afternoon BROOKLYN SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, Harry W. Meyer conducting: Max Olanoff. violinist, soloist.

Sculpture Court of the Brooklyn Museum. Tha program: Smetana. Overture to "The Bartered Bruch. Violin Concerto in minor; Rlmsky Korsa kow, Spanish Caprice. Wednesday Evening BROOKLYN SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA.

Harry W. Meyer condurtlnr. Auditorium of Abraham Lincoln High School. The program: Weber, overture to "Der Wanner, Prelude and Liebested. from Tschaikowsky, Symphony No.

in minor. Saturday Afternoon BROOKLYN SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, Dr. Hurt Hetzel eonduetlnr. Sculpture Court of the Brooklyn Museum. Repetition of Wednesday evening i program.

iSee above, i Metropolitan Opera Tonight OPERA CONCERT by members of the company, chorus and orchestra. Monday Evening IN THE PASHA'S GARDEN and PAca.lACC'l will open the week tomorrow evening, the lormer w.th Mine. Jepson and Messrs Jaael. Tibbett. Wmdheim and Anderson.

Mr. Psnizza conducting: the latter wirh Mnie Mario and Messrs. Borgioli. Cehanovsky and Tedcsco, Mr. Bellezza conducting.

Wednesday Evening DER ROSENKAVEI.LER, with Mmes. Kappel. Olszewska. Fleischer, Mun skl. Doe.

Flexer. Oleason, Clark and Wells and Messrs. List, Schutr.en dorf, Tedesco, Bada. Windheim, Wolfe. Altvlass and Oabor.

Mr. Bodanzky In the conductor's chair. Philadelphia Orchestra Will Produce 'Falstaff The sixth operatic production of the season under the auspices of the Philadelphia Orchestra Association will be Verdi's "Falstaff," the libretto of which was a lyric comedy derived by Arrigo Boito from "The Merry Wives of Windsor" and "Henry IV" of Shakespeare. Three performances will be given in English by an all American cast of artists at the Academy of Music on Friday afternoon, Feb. 1, and Saturday and Tuesday evenings, Feb.

2 and 5.. The opera was last heard in Philadelphia in 1927, when it was performed by the Metropolitan Opera Company of New York. Charles Hackett, tenor, will have the role of Fenton in the forthcoming production. Others in the cast Include Julius Huehn as Falstaff, Joseph Royer as Ford, John Dunbar as Dr. Caius, Albert Mahler as Bar dolph, Eugene Loewenthal as Pistol, Agnes Davis as Mistress Ford, Ruby Mercer as Anne, Lucille Browning as Mistress Page, Edwina Eustis as Dame Quickly and Eric Belar as the Host of the Garter Inn.

Fritz Reiner will conduct, and the entire stage production will be in charge of Dr. Herbert Graf, the stage director, under whose direct supervision the acenic designs for the six scenes ha" been executed. Belgian barrister wrote a book on the subject, Constant Lambert has devoted many pages to it, and other distinguished critics have referred to it as the only original contribution to music that has come from here. To most, of our readers "hot music" means the fearful din any Jazz banc; maKes when playing Tiger Ra or the st Blues it means noise without melody, and so they dismiss the subject with a shrug. For that reason it will be necessary to attempt some kind of definition, because Europeans are right in their appreciation of litis native expression.

Playing "hot" means to impro vise, iviuie umu mat, it turaiis improvise with an intangible rhyth mic certainty known as "swing." In other words, to qualify as a genuine "hot" man one must not only have complete technical mastery of his instrument but an innate creative ability enabling him to embellish banal tunes in such a way as to make them sound musically distinguished. No amount of rehearsing or studying can make real "hot'' players out of those who are not endowed with the necessary gifts. "Hot playing is fundamentally spontaneous, which means that it can only rarely be heard in the ordinary jazz band, which plays from printed arrangements, and which lacks soloists with enough "swing" or sincerity to qualify a.s "hot" interpreters. If definitions can not be satis recordefl examples are sure to be. In order to carry out the thesis, it would be best for me to refer to some of the miraculous CONCERTS BROOKLYN BOSTON BROOKLYN ACADEMY OF MUSIC Tkurt.

JAN. 31 .1 8:15 SYMPHONY Serge Koussevitzky, Conductor Bortliovpn ovprltlre I Op. 7'J; Sibc N.i .1 in lint Hiainr, Op. Mou re KV n't res 11 1 ti t' 1: 1 i Tickets Now Boy Olfirr Slrrling OTBO OLIS DOWNES' SERIES Fndaj Kiening. 1 eh.

S. at K.lft enii' i Tirkrtt Now. Bo Olllrp, STI Ml0 ACAOI MV OF Ml If I.F.CTI RFS BROOKLYN 'B'kha WV TUK THURS. EVE oiMrxic JAN. 31 CARTON HOLES "1934 mpresMons of Italy innr of Knni.ititi.

rirk ti. Now HiA SI' vn uAni vn in Tueirlar Evfnin, Jan. 29. at 8 15 Sheila Kaye Smith "Pioneer Women Novelists' Ticket! Now. Bui Ofiiw.

Sf pi If tf score. The text of "Minnehaha" is based on the Longeffow poem. Composer Engels' score does not utilize particular Indian themes but is based on characteristic Indian musical patterns. The date for the first New York performance of Gustav Hoist's one act opera, "At the Boar's Head," has been postponed from Feb. 10 to Saturday evening, 16.

There will be four performances of the work on Saturday and Sunday evenings, Feb. 16, and 17, and Feb. 23 Theater. Sandor Harmat will conduct. The music of this opera by the late Gustav Hoist is founded on old English melodies.

The libretto is taken from Shakespeare's "King Henry IV." The opera has become very popular in England, where it is part of the regular repertory at Covent Garden. The MacDowell Club has the honor to present its first performanca In America, Jan Smcterlln, plauhl, ho kIII play at the Town Hall tomorrow night..