[Met Performance] CID:121500
Mignon {73} Public Auditorium, Cleveland, Ohio: 04/16/1937.
(Review)
Cleveland, Ohio
April 16, 1937
MIGNON {73}
Mignon..................Gladys Swarthout
Wilhelm Meister.........Richard Crooks
Philine.................Josephine Antoine
Lothario................Ezio Pinza
Frédéric................Helen Olheim
Laërte..................Giordano Paltrinieri
Jarno...................Norman Cordon
Antonio.................Norman Cordon
Dance...................Helen Leitch [Last performance]
Dance...................William Dollar
Conductor...............Wilfred Pelletier
Review of Denoe Leedy in the Cleveland Press
Swarthout and Antoine Shine in 'Mignon'
Swarthout is Mignon
Thomas' charming "Mignon" had Gladys Swarthout in the title role, Richard Crooks as "Wilhelm Meister," Ezio Pinza as "Lothario" and Josephine Antonine as "Philine." Here also was a carefully chosen cast of principals, all thoroughly equipped for the particular type of music presented in this popular French opera.
The production, which was exceedingly colorful, proved a point which has been under discussion throughout the week. That is that certain operas "get over" well in the vast space of Public Auditorium and others do not. "Le Coq d'Or" demanded more intimacy and so did "Mignon."
Thomas' delicate score is ideal for such a theater as the Opera Comique in Paris, where one has the feeling that one is practically sitting on the stage. The music is fragile to the extreme and the patter of recitative and even spoken words on the stage call for anything but vast spaces.
The work, however, was sung beautifully last night. Crooks as in the performance of "Faust," was consistently artistic, offering refined singing of the typical French variety. Miss Swarthout was an appealing "Mignon," and as the evening progressed sang her measures to the delight of the large audience.
As "Philine," Josephine Antoine was vivacious and thrilled through her coloratura passages with technical brilliance. Pinza, as could be expected, made "Lothario" everything it should be. Smaller roles were taken by Norman Cordon, Helen Oelheim and Giordano Paltrinieri.