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Opera Television Theatre is an American musical television program that was broadcast on CBS beginning on January 1, 1950. [1]
Production
Lawrence Tibbett was the artistic director, Henry Souvaine was the managing director, and Walter Ducloux was the supervising musical director. [1] The program originated at WCBS-TV and was distributed to CBS's Eastern and Midwestern networks. [1]
Tibbett envisioned televised adaptations of operas as a way of expanding the audience rather than a threat to grand opera's traditions. He said, "To my way of thinking, we're evolutionists, not revolutionists". [2]
Operas
Carmen was presented on January 1, 1950, in French, with Gladys Swarthout in the title role. The cast included Priscilla Gillette as Micaela, Robert Rounseville as Don Jose, and Robert Merrill as Escamillo. [3] The second presentation, in March 1950, was La Traviata, with the leading roles sung by Elaine Malbin, Brooks McCormick, and Tibbett. [4]
Critical reception
The New York Times's review of the debut presentation called the adaptation of Carmen a success, "really an extremely effective and dramatic show". [3] While the review pointed out limitations of TV, such as constraints on space to allow for what could be seen on a TV screen, it noted that video had advantages, such as displaying the cards in the fortune-telling scene and enabling viewers to see performers' facial expressions. Swarthout was described as "entirely credible as Carmen", while Gillette was "sweet and ingenuous as Micaela". [3] The review also praised Goldovsky for both staging and conducting. [3]
A review in Time said that CBS's adaptation of Carmen "proved that opera could be sprightly as well as tuneful". [2] It noted that "singers set the musical pace of the show" moving among nine sets and sometimes separated from the orchestra by 200 feet. [2] Commenting on the singers' adaptation to TV, the review commented that Swarthout avoided exaggerated gestures common to a stage performance, while Rounseville "obviously had to work hard to restrain the grimaces that ordinarily go with a big voice." [2]
References
- ^ a b c "Debuts, Highlights (Continued)". Ross Reports on Television including The Television Index. December 25, 1949. p. 2. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
- ^ a b c d "Radio: Opera Digest". Time. January 16, 1950. Archived from the original on May 20, 2022. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
- ^ a b c d "'Carmen' on video scores a success". The New York Times. January 2, 1950. p. 27. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
- ^ Sullivan, Elizabeth L. (March 19, 1950). "Radio and Television: Brattle Players, Verdi's 'La Traviata,' Sen. McCarthy on TV Screens Today". The Boston Globe. p. 16-A. Retrieved May 27, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
External links