BEECHAM IN ERUPTION

New Zealand Listener, Volume 20, Issue 504, 18 February 1949, Page 28

BEECHAM IN ERUPTION

(By Airmail —

Special to

The Listener

JANUARY 22 IR THOMAS BEECHAM’S attack on the administration of Covent Garden Opera was as ill received as John Barbirolli’s decision to stand by the Hallé was well received, and the fact that this sort .» «utburst is expected from him now in no way modified the general reaction. The News Chronicle, for instance, pointed out that the Covent Garden Opera Trust (backed by the Arts Council) is now doing what Beecham "never seriously attempted in his long association with opera in_ this country. It is ‘establishing a permanent centre where operatic performances can be heard throughout the year." Between the wars, Beecham gave some brilliant seasons of International Opera, supported by private patronage from wealthy people (such as Lady Cunard). "They were undeniably splendid," says the Chronicle, "but they did very little to bring opera into the lives of ordinary pzople."

Beecham’s complaint is . .. but then, it is difficult to finish that sentence, because he expresses himself in such high temper that he seems to be speaking remote from the real situation. When Beecham rants about the state of music in England it is almost as unreal as the strictures of The Party that are made from time to time on Soviet composers in Moscow. ‘THE Covent Garden Opera Trust includes such respected persons as Sir Stanley Marchant, Sir Steuart Wilson (BBC Director of Music), Dr. William Walton, Professor E. J. Dent, and Sir Kenneth Clark. Leslie Boosey and Ralph Hawkes are both on it and its chairman is Sir John Anderson. "What does this list suggest to you?" asked Sir Thomas, of the annual conference of the Incorporated Society of Musicians, where he made his attack. "The first and most noticeable feature is that there is not a single person who knows anything about opera or has had practical experience of it and whose opinion is worth a brass farthing. The second feature is the total absence of

the names of any British musician ever associated with opera over a lengthy period. "How does it come about that there are two publishers among the trustees? . No publisher, however eminent or respectable, should be closely allied to the management of any opera house." He went on-and on. Of Kar! Rankl, the musical director, he said: "The appointment of an alien, and especially one bearing a German name, is so incredible that I have from time to time to remind myself that it has actually happened and is not some fantastic dream." He said he didn’t think the word "racket" was out of place, and talked of the «hopeless set of ignoramuses and nitwits who conspired to bring out this disaster" (Rankl’s appointment), being "under the impression that the functions of a musical director were of such an erotic,intricate, and , ofound nature as only the sublime intelligence of a Teuton could grasp." Later in the same day he said that this speech was only the first shot in a campaign.

ANSWERS, in very good nature as it / would seem, have been made by Sir John Anderson and Sir Steuart Wilson. Anderson: "Eminent _ services to music . . . but unfortunately .. . unbridled tongue. . . I particularly deplore the attack on Messrs. Boosey and Hawkes, lessees of the Opera House. Under its agreement with the Trust the

firm has been thousands of pounds out of pocket . . . distinterested public spirit.» .. Highest admiration for the manner in which Dr. Rank! has carried out ‘his task . .. audiences average nearly 90 per cent. of capacity ... public are far from sharing Sir Thomas’s dissatisfaction." Wilson: "Irresponsible and foolish... a pity-Sir Thomas did not take advantage of the information which would have been available to him. .. Boosey and Hawkes rescued Covent Garden from becoming a dance hall for ever... made an arrangement with the trustees by which any profits would be paid back; as it is they have stood a loss of many thousands of pounds... Government have an -excellent nose for money... Arts Council Grant this season was £120,000, compared with £600,000 in Paris and an unconditional guarantee against loss in Vienna. . . Only four foreigners on full contract, against 25 British; six foreign guest artists against 12 British ... By reintroducing foreign visiting artists, attendance figures have been’ raised to 89 per cent. of capacity." HERE briefly is the recent history of the management of Covent Garden: The Labour Government granted a subsidy in 1930; Sir Thomas Beecham was managing director of the "Covent Garden Syndicate" from 1933 to 1939; the National Government cut the subsidy during his term of office; in 1944 Boosey and Hawkes leased the building from its owners (Covent Garden Properties Ltd.) and saved it from becoming a wartime dance-hall. Two years later they sublet to a body created for the purpose, Covent Garden Opera Trust. Its first chairman was Lord Keynes. A _ few months ago (as already reported in *he Listener) a plan by Jay Pomeroy (promoter of some successful self-paying opera at another theatre) to acquire the lease when it ran out, was nipped; negotiations are still in progress between the Ministry of Works and the owners of the building. It looks as if (prompted no doubt by the Arts Council) the Government will see that the lease does not fall into the hands of private enterprise. In the meantime, it is in the hands of the Trust, and this Trust does not, in fact, include anyone with long practical experience of operatic production. Its members are respected, and capable in their respective fields, but they may not necessarily know enough about opera production to make a success of a long term of administration. At present, however, hardly anyone but Beecham has any strong criticism to make of their work, In any case, the matter has to come under review at the end of this

year when the lease runs out, and theirs is an experimental period. There are two musical directors at Govent Garden, not to be confused. Karl Rankl conducts opera, and Warwick Braithwaite conducts the ballet, which, rather confusingly,

is not the Covent Garden Ballet, but the | Sadler’s Wells Ballet. The ballet is more | popular than opera and almost pays for itself. The Covent Garden Opera Trust is concerned with putting opera on its feet in England, and to this end, favours. opera in English. Bigger and Better-Paid Halle ARBIROLLI’S decision to stay with the Hallé Orchestra and not to yield | to the temptation of the BBC has been received with delight in the north, The ' Hallé Orchestra is the finest in England at the moment, and to have lost Barbirolli would have been disastrous, because it is up against a complicated set of other problems: it has a heavy deficit; it needs a bigger hall; until a bigger hall can be built, it has to keep travelling around in order to keep earning; but even from travelling, profits -are limited because of the increased costs in trains and hotels; it has been been losing players because of its lower rates of pay. Now, the ctiientiae of the Hallé Concerts Society, possibly gambling on a victory over some of these difficulties, and on a bigger Manchester City Council grant, has made three promises to Barbirolli which have influenced his decision: (a) it will raise the minimum rate of pay from £10 to £13 a week, with length-of-service increments; (b) it accepts the principle of sending the orchestra abroad at least once a year (this year, to Holland); (c) it will bring the orchestra back to its pre-war strength of 100 as soon as it gets a bigger hall. The immediate raising of pay (plus the tour) will cost between £16,000 and £19,000 a year, and the eventual increase in strength will cost about £13,000 a year. : NE remedy would be to increase’ admission charges, but Barbirolli opposes this because it would "hit those people most anxious to attend the concerts" and "it is wonderful how a new public has arisen-an amazing audience composed largely of young people and members of the lower middle class." The remedy the Society and Barbirolli would obviously prefer to see is @ bigger grant from the Manchester City Council. It gave a guarantee of £9,000" last year, compared with the £50,000 a year which the Yorkshire Orchestra receives. "So far we have done you a first-rate job at less than cost price," Barbirolli told reporters at the press conference when the new arrangement was announced. Of his own ded¢ision, he said, "I shall be 50 this year and that will be more or less the last decade of my career. With all the experience I have gained, these should be the best 10 years

oO my Hte se s have withstood the temptation of going to London, but if the Hallé were to become less than first-class I would have no hesitation whatever about leaving. I think we shall survive — and |

handsomely."

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