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Show ID Die Salt Lake T ribune Ma Saturday 12, l'tf.4 Whats Happening Today Utah Opera opens Mozarts 4Don Giovanni Paul Wetzel Tribune Staff Writer conceit, these factors make foi a very long evening They also give the singers tremendous obstacles to overcome Menacing Character In the title role Marc Embree Bv In With its production of 'Don Gio vanm," which opened Thursday night in the Capitol Theatre, Utah Opera comes perilously close to reducing Mozart s masterpiece to a dull farce It is a double irony that this is not primarily the fault of the singers and it is they who do their best to redeem the situation. The difficulties are due largely to those who do not perform on the stage 0 )vra creates The Don Giovanni Mr Embree projects certainly is rooted firmly in the text and is true as far as its goes The Don's callousness, his hedonistic his evil, his flashing temper, are all facets Mr. Embree captures very well. What one missed was the Don's charm, which Mozart wrote into much of the title character's music. review Conductor Charles Ketcham somehow manages to make every number in this score sound precisely like every other. This, in a work which is a monument of dramatic and emotional breadth and subtlety, is something of a feat The person of Marc Embree weds a smooth, big voice to a handsome, commanding physique He sings ac- Lacks Life ,Shaw once wrote, in a review opera, "With Mozart you either or miss, and a miss hit the bull's-ey- e " is as bad as a mile Mr. Ketcham misses, but not spectacularly. The music from the pit just never quite comes to life. There is rarely any spring in the phrasing or tension in the musical line. It is consistently flat and colorless. The staging provides boredom of a different sort. In those rare cases where there is any evidence of dra- menacing character a whose evil recklessness is never far from the surface This Don succeeds in furthering his aims purely by virtue of his social station and physical strength On the basis of this performance, charm does not ever really enter into the equation s curately and strongly, creates a pleasing line and is easily understood in this production s English version by also lacks the necessary agility to handle the stretto of Son ini dir which in this performance was an , approximation at best Her Don Ottavio, Keith Olsen, is a fine young tenor who sang his two artas beautifully. His interpretations were shapely, stylish and supple, his recitatives were crisp and made excellent dramatic sense, and his diction is almost as lovely to hear as the tones he produces A voice of this refinement may be worth the price of admission bv itself Pretty Voice Camille Cook turns in fine, singing as Donna Elvira. Her voice has a lovely top which is complemented by smooth production elsewhere in her range. Miss Cook also is a creditable actress. She is. unfortunately, miscast in a role which demands a larger voice than she brings to the part, and is sabotaged by a costume for Act I that looks like it was plucked from the rack of another production. Debra Lvnn Mitchell makes Zer- d 14. rustic Buster Brown Louis Lebherz returns to the company for a powerful performance as the Commendatore His pronouncements to Don Giovanni as the Stone Guest would place the fear of god in any man other than the defiant libertine. Lebherz and Embree would make of the finale the gripping piece of drama it is meant to be were it not for the inane distractions of Leporello. "Don Giovanni" continues Satyr-dawith an alternate cast in all of the womens roles The opening night cast returns for a performance Monday, and the run closes with the other cast on Wednesday Curtain is at 8 p.m. y La- South 8pm Temple, of I lah Concert Brass Ensemble, Assembly Hall, Temple Iniversity 7 30 Square, pm , free Utah Mozarts "Don Giovanni, Opera, Capitol Theatre, 8pm Salt Lake Children's Choir, Symphony Hall, 8pm Treble Clefs Ladies Chorus, Clayton Junior High School, 1471 S. 19th East, 8 p.m. B.J. Thomas, pop singer. Celebrity Showroom, 139 E South Temple. 6 and 9 30 p m. Beth Henleys "The Wake of Ja-me- y Thorton Wilders "Our Town." irst Congregational Church, 2150 S Foothill Blvd, 1 30 pm, free. Presented by the Salt Lake Community Theater "Charly, Academy Square, 526 N University. Provo, 8 pm. "A Comet Called Halley, Hansen Planetarium, 15 S. State. 2. 4 30 and 7 p m. 12th annual International Commercial Film Festival (The Clios) follow the 4 30 and 7 pm. star shows Laserium, laser light shows to music, Hansen Planetarium, 15 S State. "Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon." 8 30, 9 45 and 11 p.m. "Close Encounters with John Williams, 3 h p m. Foster, Theatre 138, 138 S. 200 East, 8 pm. Sean Stuarts Personal Fouls, Margetts Arena, Harris Fine Arts Center, Brigham Young University, Provo, 8 riLEY TUES. 2175 Main, Bountiful, Marion Miller was Thursday night's Donna Anna. Her voice is of large enough proportions for this role, but she tends to force. Nevertheless she also manages some impressive soft singing. The top of the voice is very brassy and became more so as the evening wore on. She r3b4 BJ , t COBKEBS , 8 p.m. Lerner and Loewes "My Fair Lady, Promised Valley Playhouse, 132 S. State, 8 p.m. 2330,4.35 7:10,9 45 3ox OOJ 'J BOUNTY 2:05,4:35 7:05,9:35 1jji Greystoke TROUP COE,VERS IMk t .5 Hi 2 TARZAN 00,4 30 umui 30 a i) TRpi B mi Am i ARfJ SO oh ooury BTraeo its. Racing with tnc THEATRE "RACING" 3 "HARO" 1.00. Moon j HARD TO 00. 7 00 5 00. 9 00 HOLD 5KVf eo msmm 4 10. ,2 20 7 50. Its Part Rocky And Part Star Wars! Discount Night Every Monday: Adults $2.00 0. S2i aifl IROUH fpTj ! SQUARI Gene Siskel, At The Movies Sleepaway Camp Children of the Corn 17. Racing With the Moon 18. Where the Boys Are '84 19. Entre Nous 20. Up the Creek The following are the most popular video cassettes for the week ending May 19 as they appear In next weeks Issue of Billboard magazine. VIDEO CASSETTE SALES 1. "Jane Fondas Workout (Karl) 2- ."Maklng Michael Jackson's 'Thriller''' (Vestron) 3- ."Raiders of the Lost Ark" (Paramount) 4- ."Tradlng Places (Paramount) 5. "Sudden Impact" (Warner) 6. "Duran Duran" (Thorn-EMI- ) 16. Redford Has Never Been Better. Richard Schickel, Time Magazine NKLOIBSON HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU SEEN AMERICA'S a1 MOVIE? 61 corns 15. Endearment ALL SEATS AT ALL TROLLEYS EXCEPT "NATURAL" SI. 00 p.m. Rodgers and Hart: A Musical Celebration, CenterStage Theatre ComArt Center, pany, Bountiful-Davi- MATINEES SATURDAY S SUNDAYS S HOLIDAYS Prper1 kJJEEjq Mr. de Valentine has a , booming voice, but his patter is completely unintelligible, and his version of the Catalog Aria was so misshapen as to be unrecognizable Police Academy 2. Romancing the Stone 3. Moscow on the Hudson 4. Greystoke the Legend of Tarzan 5. Friday 13th Final Chapter 6. Splash 7. Footloose 8. Swing Shift 9. Weekend Pass 10. Iceman 13. a E Booming Voice 1. of Ma-sett- 850 de Valentine apparently takes literally the epithet the Don applies to his servant in the duet which begins Act II. Mr. de Valentine makes Leporello a buffoon. He plays the role as broadly as is possible. However, his antics, though completely misguided, at least bring scme action to stage. The 20 top grossing NEW YORK (UPI) films, based on Varietys weekly survey of 1,800 to 2,200 screens. This Is Spinal Tap Against All Odds Hard to Hold in voice, and her Vt'drai, ranno its English equivalent was both sensuous and charming As her Noel Twitchell realizes the character perfectly, making him the complete rube The effect is heightened by his page boy wig. which makes him look from a distance like Club Ruth and Thomas Weeks top films, cassettes Terms u little too She has a pretty vizOrcic, naive, perhaps Guitar Duo, y As Leporello. William Ralph Herbert has either provided no meaningful action or has mistaken buffoonery for comedy. Add to these misfortunes a single dark set which is as static (with minor variations) as the acting and some unfortunate costuming by Susan Memmott The set. courtesy of Brigham Young University and designer Robert Dahlstrom, casts a pall over the entire three hours of the production, despite lighting designer M. Kay Barrens manful efforts to bring some relief. 12. Jensen-Woodbur- dies Literary Martin. matic direction, stage director 11. lind a naive ANTHONY HOPKINS THE BOUNTY AM ORION MCTUflCS esi RELEASE "MAD MAX" w ;and "ACTION, ADVENTURE , AND BRING PLENTY OF POPCORN!" H ',t'U ' TODAY SHOW r, cl oger ANGEL 'AND (R) UP!" "THUMBS c TV NBC to-- AT THE MOvlfcb "A ROLLICKING ADVENTURE!" TONGUE-IN-CHEE- K PEOPLE ;o-i- "FIRST-RAT- ?mjic FAST AND FUNNY!" E, c "A wctpiWKs MAGAZINE hoofer US TREAT!" ROCK-'EM-SOCK-'- i S'oqi-- GOOD MORNING Academy What on insmunon1 MAGAZINE AMERICA ABC Ot qUPTHECRED TV REDWOOD DRUB IK SpMeet Kotnancinp' v is arc open even Sat & Sun. 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