April 6, 1951
THE TWIG
P«£e thre«
Astrid Varnay, American-Trained Soprano Famous for Wagnerian
Roles, Will Sing in Civic Music Concert at Auditorium Tonight
Astrid Varnay, the youngest
soprano ever to sing the Wagne
rian roles of Isolde and Bruenn-
hilde at the Metropolitan, will
make her concert appearance
in Raleigh tonight at 8:00 p.m.
in Memorial Auditorium, pre
sented in the local Civic Music
series as the last concert in the
season of six.
Besides enjoying the distinc
tion of having sung more leading
Wagnerian roles than any other
singer at the Met, male or fe
male, Miss Varnay recently has
sung soprano parts of Italian
operas and is now capable of
alternating the Aidas and Gio-
condas with her Isoldes and
Bruennhildes.
Trained in America, Astrid
Varnay was actually born in
Stockholm, Sweden, but was
brought to this country at the
age af five and is considered en
tirely a product of musical train
ing and education in the United
States. She was already well-
known as a Metropolitan soprano
before appearing in concerts and
operas outside the country.
The daughter of coloratura
soprano Maria Javor and Alex
ander Varnay, of the Royal
Opera in Sweden, she first
showed talent as a pianist, and
had given several piano recitals
in her hometown in New Jersey
and one in Steinway Hall in
New York when a chance as
signment to sing “When Irish
Eyes Are Smiling” at her high
school commencement made her
start on a singing career.
Following her graduation Miss
Varnay worked as a secretary
and studied voice at night with
her mother as teacher, who
later placed her to study with
Hermann Weigert, Wagnerian
coach and member of the Met’s
conductorial staff. After two
years of study with Weigert, she
auditioned at the Met and aston
ished her hearers by submitting
a neatly typewritten list of 14
major roles as “ready to sing on
a moment’s notice” with a foot
note announcing “other roles in
preparation.”
That list contributed to her
Astrid Varnay
Ofiovic
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success, for before a debut could
be scheduled she proved a few
months later what she could do
“on a moment’s notice.” When
Lotte Lehmann was ill on De
cember 6, 1941, and was unable
to sing her scheduled role of
Sieglinde in a matinee perform
ance of “Die Walkeure,” which
was also to be broadcast, Astrid
Varnay was called in and made
her first appearance on any op
eratic stage without having a
single orchestral rehearsal.
For this performance she re
ceived good notices from the
critics, and five days later re
peated her substituting perform
ance, replacing Helen Traubel
as Bruennhilde; one critic wrote
of this feat that “as Sieglinde
she did the improbable, as Bru
ennhilde the impossible.”
In the past eight seasons she
has become well-known both in
America, and in South America,
including Buenos Aires and Rio
de Janiero. Within the past two
BEHIND THE FOOTLIGHTS
MORRISETTE
ESSO SERVICE
2812 Hillsboro Street
Raleigh, N. C.
Phone 9241
★
‘Our Care Saves Wear”
seasons Astrid Varnay has be
come especially noted for her
interpretation of the title roles
in Richard Strauss’ two music-
dramas, “Elektra” and “Sa
lome.”
She will sing “Elektra” again
this year with the New York
Philharmonic Symphony, under
the direction of Dimitri Mitro-
poulos in San Francisco. In pri
vate life she is Mrs. Hermann
Weigert, wife of the teacher
who helped give her a start in
opera and who has resigned his
position with the Metropolitan
to accompany her on the travels
as accompanist, coach, and per
sonal manager.
The program which Miss Var
nay will sing in the Civic Music
concert tonight consists of five
groups of songs, including an aria
from Verdi’s “Aida.”
I
Aria; Dich, teure Halle, from
“Tannhauser” ..Richard Wagner
Aria: Ebben? Ne andro lontana
(La Wally) Alfred Catalan!
II
A Swan Edvard Grieg
With a Primrose. ..Edvard Grieg
Solveg’s Cradle
Song Edvard Grieg
A Dream Edvard Grieg
III
Aria: Ritorna vinctor, from
“Aida” Guiseppe Verdi
IV
Staendchen Franz Schubert
Die Forelle Franz Schubert
Litanei Franz Schubert
Der Erlkonig ....Franz Schubert
By MICKY BOWEN
Again—the spring returns and
with it a mad activity in the
world of theatre. From the im
portant producer’s offices on the
“Great White Way” all the way
down to Room 16 of the Arts
Building, the new shows are
being cast and rehearsed. This is
an optimistic period for us and
one relatively free of tension.
We are, at present, in the
stage of beginning to work with
out the scripts and no one quite
knows what is going on and
is really not expected to. Com
fortable, in a way. Rehearsals
are divided into stages, you
know, and are classified as hard,
inbearable, and why bother,
when nobody cares?
Probably the very worst of all
the phases, though, is the try-out,
when one is alternately confident
and filled with dispair. The more
important the play, the more ex
treme the conflicting moods.
One is crushed, it seems, be
tween the two. The final press
is not the worst, by any means,
because one proceeds without
the time to analize the situation.
This bit of encouragement is
directed to some of our young
ladies, who might happen to
have some time on their hands.
We will not have, on the spring
production, sessions of back-
creaking labor, as in the past,
but a chance to learn, while pre
serving your health. Have cour
age and join us.
“The Madwoman of Chaillot”
turned out to be one of those
shows that must be hit right on
the nose, or not at all. If the
cast clicks and the audience
sympathizes, the play is very
good, but if either ingredient is
missing, the whole thing goes
rather flat. However, the run
here §eems to have been very
successful and the Raleigh Little
Theatre deserves our congratu
lations.
GIRLS FAVOR NAVY
BLUE FOR EASTER
AMBASSADOR
Now Playing!
BETTY GRABLE
DAN DAILEY in
'CALL ME MISTER"
Color By Technicolor
PLUS . . .
"KEFAUVER CRIME
PROBE HEARINGS"
Coming Sunday!
ANN BAXTER
GLEN FORD in
'FOLLOW THE SUN'
STATE
Late Show Saturday Nite
Starts SUNDAY for 1 Week
IN TECHNICOLOR
VAN HEFLIN
IN
By LeGRACE GUPTON
Easter has come and gone,
)ut if everybody’s clothing budg
et is like mine that new outfit
is the spring forecast. To what
do we have after the orchids
are cleared away? It seems that
navy blue is the favorite this
go ’round. Sonny Burnham got
a voluminous navy linen duster
with a fire-engineered taffeta lin
ing which she says “will cover
a multitude of sins”—sins in this
case being any old dress you
don’t want to be seen in. She
has an unusual pair of match
ing linen spectators to go with
the duster. Ruth Champion wore
a navy fitted suit accented by
white pumps and a white straw
hat.
Mary Whisnant departed from
the darker blue with a tur
quoise silk dress, champagned
faille “pyramid” coat with cocoa
accessories. This same tone was
used in accessories by Mary
Bland Josey with a brown suit
and striking yellow topper.
Emilia Kutchinski took to the
#/
//
TOMAHAWK
Coming April 15
1950 ACADEMY
AWARD WINNER
JUDY
HOLIDAY
In Her Award Winning Role in
"BORN
YESTERDAY"
BRODERICK CRAWFORD
WILLIAM HOLDEN
Do You Remember Mischa
Levitzki
Ecstasy ....Walter Morse Rummel
Songs My Mother Taught
Me Anton Dvorak
Me Company
Along Richard Hageman
Paris diagonal with a rose wool
suit. The pencil-slim skirt was
topped off by a dolman-sleeved
jacket buttoned from the left
shoulder to the right hip and
having an unusual symmetrical
neckline treatment.
Navy blue again, this time in
the accessories Daphine Ste
phenson wore with an electric
blue suit—and it’s rumored
around that those two white
orchids looked quite smart too.
That’s about the scope as far
as fashions go, and even if I
didn’t mention your bonnet and
glad rags I know you looked
pretty too!
DR. VAUGHAN TO
ADDRESS COUNCIL
Dr. Elizabeth Vaughan, head
of the sociology department at
Meredith, will deliver the prin
cipal address today at the Vir
ginia Council on Family
Relations, meeting in Richmond.
Her topic is “Changing Roles of
Men and Women in Present-Day
Society.”
Last year Dr. Vaughan de
livered the main address at the
North Carolina annual confer
ence on the family, which met
in Raleigh in November. She has
also been in the consultant for
the Southern Regional Confer
ence on Home Economics educa
tion and directed a workshop in
family education at Winthrop
College in July.
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