The Icelandic Canadian - 01.06.1973, Page 54

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THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
SUMMER 1973
Verdi’s La Traviata and Lionel in
Flotaws Martha. He is handsome and
personable with a strong voice of
pleasing quality, but he could perhaps
have displayed a bit more flexibility
in his acting.
Kathleen Smith and Alda Wingfield
disported themselves with vim and
vigor as the pseudo country
maids in “Martha”, and Alda’s
‘Last Rose of Summer’ was beautifully
rendered. The choruses, especially in
Martha and the Verdi were excellent,
and here we could feel the fine spon-
taniety of a large group well dis-
ciplined and enjoying their work to-
gether. The country maids in display-
ing their domestic excellence in“ich
kann mahon” were completely delight-
ful. The dancers lacked the polish and
precision needed, but that is a very
small point, considering these are not
professionals thoroughly steeped in
dance techniques for years on end,
but had to learn the dances from
scratch for these performances; but
they were fun to watch. The best
dance work, I think, was the Indian
dance in Marius Benoist’s La Legende
du Vert.
The costumes were delightful to
the eye, and the sets very imaginative,
with just the right touches to stimu-
late the scenes. The simulated forest
and the Indian costumes created a fine
visual symphony. I thought the high
chiffon drape to simulate a canopy
over Violetta’s bed was a dept touch,
but I would have placed it a little
lower, nearer the bed.
Donna Mackey as Lune Blue in La
Legende produced some lovely tones
and other principals were effective in
their roles.
I think most of us would agree that
the undisputed star of the evening
was Joy (Gislason) Antenbring, who
looked and acted the part of Violetta
with such sweet sadness, or on oc-
casion with “put-on” gaiety. Her
beautiful voice brought to us unerring-
ly the theme of the tragic story and
it never faltered in its exquisite ren-
dition even when she lay almost flat
on her back in the dying scene, which
is no small feat.
The music accompaniment was for
the most part adequate, consisting of
two pianos, cello, harp, flute and oboe.
Aside from the enjoyment we get
from watching such a performance, I
think this highly creative and artistic
effort of Lima Gislason’s deserves our
gratitude from another viewpoint. In
this day and age when so many people
are becoming merely onlookers, and
do not try to develop themselves by
fostering any creative talents they
might have, it is good to see a large
group of people working so hard to
create something artistic for themselves
and for the rest of us. Personally I
would like to say a sincere ‘‘thank-you”
to Elma and her talented and enthusi-
astic Festival Opera Group. I know
this last effort of theirs was an expen-
sive proposition, but I hope they find
the resources and the support they de-
serve from the public to keep on with
this good work.
From a Review by Ronald Gibson,
Winnipeg Free Press Music Critic