Metropolitan Opera Archives

The audience of tomorrow was in the Metropolitan Opera House yesterday afternoon, and, on the basis of its reaction to a performance of Mozart's "The Magic Flute," it is also the audience of today. The students from eighty-three junior and senior high schools in the metropolitan area, who were gathered in the theatre under the benevolent eye of the Metropolitan Opera Guild, gave every indication that they liked what they saw and heard.

They sat attentively through the whole opera. Naturally, they relished the antics of Pagageno, played and sung delightfully by Hugh Thompson, and his Papagena,

done charmingly, as usual, by Lillian Raymondi. But they seemed also to be affected by the troubles of Tamino and Pamina. And they listened respectfully to the grave affairs of Sarastro and his cohorts, which includes some of Mozart's noblest music but which can seem tedious even to more practiced audiences.

This was the fifty-fifth student matinee the Opera Guild has sponsored over the years. There will be others this season. But one could wish that the Metropolitan could afford to do at least one a week. There are plenty of operas that this youthful audience would find appealing, and it is precisely this audience that the Metropolitan should think hard about.

It thought hard enough this time to put on a fine performance. There was no-short-changing compared with regular presentations. The company's chorus master, Kurt Adler, made his debut as conductor, but this was no let-down. Mr. Adler proved to be a leader of experience and sensitivity. He knew his Company and his Mozart.

In the role of the Queen of the Night for the first time was the 20-year-old American girl, Roberta Peters, who made her debut some weeks ago as Zerlina. The two arias Mozart wrote for this role are cruelly difficult. Probably no singer around has the dramatic coloratura voice needed for the part, and it would be idle to pretend that Miss Peters is equal to it now.

She may develop into a true Queen of the Night. She has fine equipment, a voice that is clear, sweet and true and even high above the staff. It is still a small voice, but it should mature. Miss Peters certainly should think twice before going off to Hollywood; as the reports have said she would be doing soon. As a matter of fact, it was learned yesterday that Rudolf Bing, general manager, had advised her to stick to her knitting at the Metropolitan. That is sound advice.

Paul Franke, young American tenor, did his first Monostatos and handled the role effectively. Others in the well-rounded cast were Nicola Moscona, an impressive

Sarastro; Eugene Conley, a lyrical Tamino; Nadine Conner, a touching Pamina and an expert Mozartian; and Paul Schoeffler, a grave high priest.

It was a lively show—behind the footlights and in front of them.

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