Samson And Delilah” “Special Touch”
mienaing a unariotte
Opera is an event yon
should experience at least
once in your life. In
addition to finally getting
to wear that after five
outfit or tuxedo, there are
beautiful arrangements,
voices and scenery to
observe as well.
The most recent opera,
“Samson and Delilah,’?
possessed a special touch
of familiarity glamour for
the black community.' it
not only starred two of the
black talented opera
greats Patricia Miller a*
Delilah and Andrew Smith
portraying Delilah's
father, but local talent
Samuel Stevenson offered
the audience a memorably
performance. His role was
short but sweet realising
that his deep rich voice is
destined to become even
more popular.
The spotlight however
had to gleam on the talents
of Miller and Smith. Miller
with her graceful air and
presence on stage made
you feel that she really
loved Samson, superbly
played by Gary Lakes, a
snprenes And on
Perforra Here Friday Nieht
The Supremes, led by
original member Mary
Wilson, will perform
current songs and old hits
at 7:30 and 10 p.m. on
Friday, February 22 in
Spirit Square's NCNB
Performance Place.
Tickets are $15 and are
available on a first come,
first served basis at the
Spirit Square Box Office,
318 N. Tryon St., Charlotte, ■
N C. 28302. Hours are 9
a.m. - 5 p.m., Monday
through Saturday. Tickets
can be ordered by phone, in
person or by mail. All
major credit cards are
accepted. Tickets will be
held for five days without
payment. To order tickets,
call the Box Office at (704)
376~S883.
Today's Supremes, Mary
Wilson, Karen Jackson and
Robin Alexander, are
'£ backed by a tradition that
began in the early 1900s at
Motown. Songs like “Stop!
In the Name of U>ve,”
“Someday We’ll Be
Together” and "Where Did
Our Love Go” are as
popular today as they were
when they were recorded
by the original Supremes,
Mary Wilson, Florence
Ballard and Diana Ross. -
“It’s my legacy,” Mary
Wilson said of her Supreme
days. “We did themes for
movies, we met kings and
queens. We traveled
around the world and
played the major venues in
every country. I was able
to live out all my fantasies
as a Sum-erne.” she said
Grisman Quartet Will Appear Here
Grism.in
Quartet, led by mandolin
player David Grisman, will
Perform in Spirit Square's ••
NCNB Performance Place
oo Saturday, February 23
at 8:15 p.m.
~ A limited number of
tickets are still available.
Tickets are $12 and are
available at the Spirit
Square Box Office. 318 N.
Try on St., Charlotte, N.C.
2*203 Hours are 9 a.m. • 5
p.m., Monday through
Saturday Tickets can be
ordered by phone, in
person or by mall. Tickets
will be held for five days
without payment. All
major credit cards are
accepted. To order tickets,
call the Box Office at (7M)
37*8883.-. ' ..
Born in Hackensack,
New' Jersey, David
Grisman took up the
mandolin at age 18 and has
t •- }f“ ]
1
been performing and
recording since the mid
1960s. He has created a
different acoustic music
which captures the excite
ment of rock-n-roll, the
interplay of jazz and the
precision of classical
pieces. This talented "
musician has appeared on
“The Tonight Show,
featuring Johnny Carson,’’
“Entertainment TonicM”
’ T, “
<*nd “Austin City Limits.”
j He lias recorded many
albums, including a live
album jeith violinist
Stephana Grappelli.
Members of the Quartet
are David Grisman,
mandolin; Rob
Wassennan, acoustic bass;
Jimmy Buchanan, fiddle
and Eric Silver, acoustic
guitar.
I
”
l>y»XLitkkh~ i I II. —
rare heldentenor.
Even though the audi
ence knew that she was
loyal to her country you
could not help but wonder.
The voices of Miller,
Smith, Lakes and Steven
aoo were superb. Miller’s
! stage presence was espe
i cially superb. Also impres
sive were the scenic de
} signs and costumes by Da
" vid Gano.
About half way through
the opera most people pro
bably began wondering
“How are they going to end
this opera? I know Sam
son is supposed to bring
down the building pillars."
Sure enough Lakes (fid
“Bring down the bouse” in
more ways than one. His
massive statue standing
between two stone-like pil
lars made one even more
carious. And ,tben the
stones began to fall as the
symphony ended the opera.
The excitement was al
most to much to bear.
... before actually atten
ding the opera I had the
pleasure of seeing both Ms.
Patricia Miller and An
drew Smith in rehearsal.
Smith sat down and talked
candidly with me about the
opportunities for blacks in
the opera.
“It's not easy for blacks
to obtain roles. We still
have to be super prepared.,
much more than our coun
terparts.’’
Smith, a baritone, came
to national attention as
Crown in the Tony Award
winning Broadway and
touring production of Por
gy and Bess. His operatic
performances across the
country have included La
Traviata, Aida, Cavalieria
Rusticana and several
other operas and engage
ments. Smith has been
blessed in that his superb
talents have not been over
looked.
“More Blacks are pre
pared and its hard to ignore
the black talent out there.
We still, however, have
shackles to gat over and the
stereotyping and elemen
tary mentality of some
companies and directors,”
Smith continued.
r-I-Hr
hear more of Samuel Ste
venson in the opera. Unfor
tunately, his character was
killed by Ssmaon during
the first Act.
But what he did sing was
enough for me to realize
that his talents are superb.
1 look forward to seefikg
Stevenson in mofltf Char
lotte operas.
The featured singers
were magnificent, the
scenery and costumes were
gorgeous and enchanting.
The back-up singers of lo
cal talent sounded beauti
ful and they knew their
words and hand motions.
(As unimportant as the
hand motions may seem
their gestures added much
to the overall effect); The
symphony was ivnfounri
with talented music direc
tor-conductor Charles
Rosekrans. Peter Symcox
was Stage Director.
The only aspect of the
opera I question was the
choreography by Katharyn
Horne. I was never really
sure whether the dancers
were supposed to be danc
ing together or not.
The man that hath no
music in himself,
Nor is not moved with
concord of sweet
sounds, .Vkc^" •
Is fit for treason,
stratagens and spoils. ..
Venice, V,i
' ■«» nan iuck, UK teems to he treating you bad? Do yon have a pain in your bodTand
the doctors aay there it nothing wrong with you? Do yoa ^2
y ,weetheart hack? Do you suffer from lack of money? Do you I
f cverythkag that you do? Do you have drinking problems? Did
( leave you and you did nut know why? One letter wfU
► «** kelp you. She can help In leva, marriage, _
lock, happiness, money. No power on earth is greater tkaa her power Godoaveher
► tfce «• heal and protect. She solemnly swears saccesseTwberomhZ* r.M
► YOU'VE RECEIVED HER MESSAGE. AVOID IT NO i-ONGER!**
One Visit Is AH You Need r
L.. SISTER MARGO
| boyfriend and we separated. We couldn't get along. I just could!!*
f ■^feaasaaasassswa
; 2£*£?SSEST"***™*
HELP AWAITS YOU!
2823 The Plaza 374-9160
rr* ..
Mrs. T. HI.
Charlotte’s Opera Asso
ciation, Smith asserted is
one of the few companies
that does recognize Mack
talent. The company both
recognizes and promotes
Mack talent. Other com
panies which have
emerged in featuring Mack
opera talent according to
Smith are Michigan, Forth
Worth and Houston, among
some others -
Perhaps the worse condi
tions for a young artist
starting out in opera, Smith
added, is the unsteadiness
of the occupation. For
Smith the worst part of
being an opera star is the
lonely hour? on the road.
“But I love singing in
the opera,” Smith con
tinued with a bright «nii»
“it'a rewarding and I’d ra
ther be doing this
anything in the world. It’s
a joy knowing that I have
brought some happiness
and joy.”.
For a young Mack male
growing up in New York,
interest in the classics may
have seemed strange. But
it was not straqge for
Smith. “I’v* always
wanted to become involved
in the opera,” he stated.
, He received his Masters
from Roosevelt University
and made his professional
debut in im.
.■‘Grapevine has it that
many Charlotteans thought
they were and wanted to