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52 WINNETKA TALK December, 17, 1927 Music News and Events = "BARBER OF SEVILLE" OPENS OPERA HOLIDAY Mary Garden to Make Two Ap- pearances During Week Pre- ceding Christmas A gala presentation of "The Barber of Seville," Sunday afternoon, Decem- ber 18, will begin the eighth week. of the Chicago Civic Opera season 'with the gaiety appropriate tothe holidays up to which it will lead. For Rossini's sparkling comedy Toti Dal Monte will be the Rosina, interpolating the Polo- naise from "Mignon" in the lesson scene; Tito Schipa will sing Almaviva; Giacomo Rimini will have the title role and Vittorio Trevisan will be Bar- tolo. A change of cast will appeal to admirers of the remarkable art of Vanni-Marcoux, who has been sche- duled for his first performance here, of the comic role of the singing master, Don Basilio. Moranzoni will conduct. "Monna Vanna" will be sung Mon- day evening by Mary Garden, Fernand Ansseau, Vanni-Marcoux, Edouard Cotreuil and the others who assisted in the brilliant revival of Fevrier's grip- ping lyric drama on the occasion of the return to the company of the three artists first named. Moranzoni again will conduct. "La Traviata" is scheduled for its last performance this season on Tues- day evening. Claudia Muzio, Tito Schipa, Richard Bonelli and the other singers who so brilliantly opened the season in this famous work, will have their respective roles on this occasion. The ballet will dance. Giorgio Polacco will conduct. Maison in Debut Wednesday evening's "Faust" will be marked by the debut of Rene Maison. a young Belgian tenor whose lyric accomplishments have won him the favor of European audiences. Edith Mason will be the Marguerite and Vanni-Marcoux will give his first performance this season as Mephis- topheles. Elinor Marlo, Maria Claes- sens, Desire Defrere and Antonio Nico- lich will complete the cast. The ballet will dance. Polacco will conduct. The first performance in years of "Le Jengleur de Notre Dame" will be given Thursday evening, when Mary Garden resumes the title role in which she exhibits so unique a facet of her dis- tinguished art. Cesare Formichi will be a new Boniface. Edouard Cotreuil will be the Prior and Jose Mojica, Desire Defrere, Howard Preston and Antonio Nicolich will be heard in the role of the four artist monks. Giorgio Polacco will conduct Massenet's three- act lyric miracle play, which is to be followed by an entirely new ballet, danced by the entire terpsichorean staff. No performance will be given Fri- day evening. "Madame Butterfly" Dec. 24 "Madame Butterfly" will be repeated for the last time at the Saturday matinee, with Edith Mason, Irene Pavloska, Forrest Lamont, Giacomo Rimini, Desire Defrere, Vittorio Trev- isan and others in the cast. Polacco will conduct. The Christmas Eve bill, at popular prices, will be "Tosca," in which Leone Kruse, who made so distin- guished a debut early in the season, will give her first American perform- ance as the Roman singer. Fernand Ansseau will join the cast as Cavara- dossi, and Vanni-Marcoux will offer his striking portrait as the villainous rpia. Moranzoni will conduct. The tragedy will be followed by a ballet. usual Sunday matinee will be Soloist at Sunday Evening Club Madam Marie Sidenius Zendt, noted nationally known concert singer, who is a summer resident of Wilmette, will be the soloist at the Wilmette Sunday Evening club December 18. Madam Zendt will sing "A Song of Christmas," by Dickens, and "Homing," by Teresa Del Riego. Madam Zendt is known from coast to coast for her concert work and she has won especial distinc- tion in Oratorio work, in which field she is said by many eminent critics to be unexcelled. She is especially well known to north shore audi- ences for her appearances in musicales before various clubs and social groups. She has also been in demand during the winter season for appearances in the prominent social centers of Florida and Cali- fornia, in fact she is scheduled to leave next Monday for the West Coast, where she will travel dur- ing January and February singing many engagements in various cities. Mr. and Mrs. Zendt have been summer residents of the north shore for many years, having occupied the J. R. Harper home in Wilmette each season. They expect to es- tablish their permanent year-round residence in Wilmette in the near future. Marie Sidenius Zendt "La-La Lady" Wins Praise for Unique Book for Children Music dealers and music periodicals are following the steps of leading book stores, such as Marshall Field and company and Carson, Pirie, Scott, in displaying "La-La Man in Music Land," written by Colleen Browne Kil- ner (Mrs. Frederick R. Kilner, of 523 Washington avenue, Wilmette,) and illustrated by her sister, Carmen Browne, of New York, during Chil- dren's Book Week, by featuring dur- ing the Christmas holidays. Lyon and Healy, foremost among music dealers, is making a Christmas display in its prominent Jackson street windows. In Wilmette, music dealers are represented by Carlton Kaumeyer's Wilmette Music Shop, the eyes of passing children being delighted with a funny little mannikin of La-La him- self. The editor of "Music News" in the annual special number of November 18 featured Mrs. Kilner's book, while the editors of the "Musical Observer" congratulated, and the "Etude" music magazine closed an extended and en- thusiastic review with the remark: "A book bound to fill the youngsters with enthusiasm. When has there ap- peared on the market a 'gift book' that was calculated so to please the musical boy and girl?" As well as generous press notices from every section of the country, have come congratulatery letters from such varied sources as Louise Robyn, head of the Children's department, American Conservatory of Music; Rollo I. Lyman, professor, School of Education, University of Chicago; John Phelan, chief of branches, Chi- cago Public library, and Charles Henry Mackintosh, formerly president of the eliminated Christmas day, making this Sunday's (December 18) matinee the only Suburban special performance for a period of two weeks. Associated Advertising Clubs of the World. A statement from the publishers, Lothrop, Lee & Shepard company, Boston, reads, "We are assured al- ready of a better sale than the aver- age Juvenile by an author not pre- viously established in the book trade can show, if the facts could be known." Children likewise have gleefully taken up the delightful appellation, the "La- La Lady," bestowed upon Mrs. Kilner by Georgene Faulkner, the Story-Lady. North Shore Artists in Recital at Northwestern By W. M. Miss Susannah Armstrong, well known Glencoe pianist, gave a delight- ful recital Thursday evening, Decem- ber 8, at the Central Music hall, North- western university. She was assisted by Miss Adelaide Jones, soprano, of Wilmette. Both of these artists are associated with the music department at New Trier High school. The program opened with Fantasia C Major, by Schumann, which was played in a most pianistic and intelli- gent manner. 'The next group, which consisted of Miss Armstrong's own vocal compo- sitions, was given by Miss Jones. "Life Has Loveliness to Tell," "The Noise of the Waters," "Chimes," and "Sea-Shell" were interpreted sensitive- ly and demonstrated not only the vol- ume of Miss Jones' voice, but also a beautiful tone quality. Chopin numbers were played by Miss Armstrong with delicacy and fine poetic interpretation. The audience evidenced keen pleas- ure over the second group of songs by Miss Jones which comprised new and modernized settings for old rhymes in- cluding "Higgety Piggety," "My Black Hen," and others. A group of four Rachmaninof Pre- ludes served as a delightful conclusion to the program. - LEARNING PIANO NOW SIMPLER AND A JOY School Children Taught Oxford Course in Popular Classes at Glencoe by R.L.P. Recognizing that a knowledge of how to play the piano is a present day essential for all children, the Glencoe public schools are now giv- ing time during school hours for piano classes, which are conducted on Tues- days and Thursdays in the South school, and on Wednesdays and Fri- days in the Central school by Miss Josephine Ahrensberg. Pupils who wish to study piano in one of the classes at a very nominal fee are able to arrange their school programs to allow time for it. Anyone who attends one of the classes will be interested .at the en- thusiasm of the children and at their progress. In one of the fourth grade classes, having five pupils, in eight weeks the children have become ac- quainted with the tonic, dominant and subdominant chords of the little pieces they play. While one child is at the piano, the other children play the song on cardboard keyboards, and sing it, for the constant co-ordination of singing and playing gives the feel- ing of rythym and interpretation needed. Attractive technical exercises and games for learning time values make the half-hour speed by all too rapidly. Records for Parents Records are kept by the pupils of each lesson so that the parents may know what type of work their child is doing. Having time given during school hours seems to make the work seem more in line with routine school studies, and therefore the attitude of the pupil is better. Miss Ahrensberg uses the Oxford Piano course, which is a carefully graded series of instruction books de- signed to co-ordinate in a simple, ra- tional way the various phases of teaching piano playing to children. The method is based on practical ex- perience and is the combined result of years of experience in private piano teaching to children, and in public school music. She is a pupil of Charles J. Haake and Gail Martin Haake, formerly directors of the Pub- lic School Music department of Northwestern university, and now with the American Conservatory. Leaders Collaborate Ernest Schelling, director of the children's concerts of the New York Philharmonic orchestra; and Os- bourne McConathy, lecturer, teacher, and editor of several music series, are also collaborators with Mr. and Mrs. Haake in the publication of the Ox- ford Piano course, published by the Oxford press. SEE NEXT WEEK'S ISSUE Heinrich Schlusnus, baritone and guest artist with the Chicago Civic Opera pany this , gave the program at the Artist-Recital in New Trier auditorium, given under the auspices of the Winnetka Music club, Thursday evening of this week. A review of the recital will appear on the Music Page in next week's issue. = AR EE poe --