Good Work By All

New Zealand Listener, Volume 19, Issue 469, 18 June 1948, Page 10

Good Work By All

, ‘THE 4YA broadcast of the whole of Bizet’s Carmen from the stage of His Majesty’s Theatre, Dunedin, was a highly exciting affair. In the first place, Janet Howe as Carmen and Arthur Servent as Done José were both strong in their roles. Mr. Servent portrayed Don José with subtlety, reaching, in the final scene, heights of impassioned drama. Miss Howe, as Carmen, gave the outstanding performance, her every entry being infused with fire and animation, and her creation of the Gipsy coming over the ‘air with fervour and vigour. Certainly the production owed a great deal to the presence of these two overseas soloists, but had they not been supported by strong local effort the effect of the presentation would have been topheavy. As it was, no such discrepancy was noticeable. The local soloists were a very firm support; especial mention must be made of Bryan Drake’s performance as the dashing and romantic Escamillo, a role out of which he got every ounce of bravado, and of Dora Drake’s sensitive and beautiful portrayal of Michaela. The chorus, trained by John T. Leech, was fine in volume and balance, and sure of its music. And of course, from the listener’s point of view, the work of the National Orchestra was one of the most impressive features of a performance which came over the air with splendid brilliance and colour, in spite of the fact that the radio audience is denied the help of visual aid. The Dunedin season of Carmen has drawn packed audiences, but until we are informed of the financial outcome it is too soon to say whether the venture could pay for itself. Let’s hope the enthusiasm over this short operatic season will mean a continued local interest in the performances of operatic music, and that if it can be done once it can be done again. In spite of the obvious difficulties of a local performance, and the admitted fact that a local performance, however good, is still not Covent Garden, yet the obvious enthusiasm of audiences does indicate that more such ventures would be welcome and well supported.