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. Review By Dotr.ks R. Weil
Vest's a "wahalia"?
Locking through a dictionary I found Vagoa!it" (a
railroad tlstpfag car) ar.d "waif (a forsJccn, orphaned
child), bat there was no listing for a "wahaiia".
Whatever wahalia means to Webster, or Funk and
Wagnalls it means comedy and music when refering to the
Ogden Edsl .Wahalia Clues Ensemble Kfondo Eizzario
Band.
Numbering up to ten members in the past, Open
Edsle is now a trio consisting of EiH Carrey, Bill Frenzcr
and Otis "12". The band appeared Friday night during
the Winter Walpurgisr.acht in the Nebraska Union. Ogden
Edsl has just returned from Los Angeles where they re
corded their first album, Stuffed, at The Record Plant.
Otis "12", also known as Otis Omaha and Doug
Wesselmann, describes the trio's act as Ma variety show-a
kind of rock vaudeville." The act is different from most
comedy teams because Ogden Edsl uses music and verbal
routines to present a slanted way of looking at topics.
One example is the top 40 sounding "Dead .Puppies
(Aren't Much Fun)". Sung by Carey, "Dead Puppies"
is a 1970's version of that grade school back-of-the-bus
favorite, 'Dead Dog Rover". Typical of the , band's
musical satire, "Dead Puppies" was one of the crowd's
' favorite routines.
" 'Dead Puppies' is on the album," Otis said, "but it
is a much different production using a pipe organ with a
16-foot tall bass pipe. It's the same organ that they use to
record the Hanna-Barbara cartoons."
Otis thought about' it and chuckled, "Most stereos
won't even play the final note, it's so low."
Otis was right. As I listened to the record at home and
"Dead Puppies" ended, the 16-foot bass pipe hit the loud
speakers with the impact of a brick dropping into a bowl
of cornflakes. The woofers seemed to unscrew from the
cabinet begging me to call a priest. .
Not only does Ogden Edsl grab you with humor, they
have a stranglehold on the fate of your stereo system.
Otis, originally from Kansas City, (the other members
of the group are from Omaha) said the group went to Los
Angeles and recorded Stuffed at their own expense.
Stuffed is being distributed in different areas of the
country by the band. By telephoning record stores and
radio stations, Ogden Edsl hopes to attract the attention
of a record company interested in signing the band to a
contract.
"We're trying desperately to sell the album to some
record label," Otis said. We'd like to make a big killing
so we could live high off the hog for two months."
One of the trio's better satirical pieces is the inevi
table gameshow of the future, "Russian Roullette Give
away", where the announcer tells contestants to "blow
1 their brains out for meaningless prizes." Of course, the
btssr the ride the bfsr the prize.
Otis said Wdpurgisnacht was probably the bands
last performance as a trio.
Otis said the group was much larger but two years
sso it's size was cut down as in economy move. Now,
after completing the album and anticipating good record
sales, the group is expanding to include some of the
original players.
Apparently Ogden Edsl will be around for some time
as the source of their creativity is unknown.
'There is a doctor in Omaha looking into organic
'causes," Otis said. "We go into the lab once a week and
he pays us fifty dollars and he checks our cranial pressure
levels. It's still incurable." "
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'SSrS, f.'Ss
Opero should be good-time, not wretched result'
By Charlie Krig
In the Harvard Dictionary of Musk, Saint Evremond
called it "a bizarre affair made up of poetry and music, in
which the poet and the musician, each equally obstructed
by the other, give themselves no end of trouble to
produce a wretched result."
Richard Grace, UNL School of Music professor had
another view of it. "If we can get an audience there it'll
help a lot because a cast will respond to an audience. If
there's a full house, they go out there and they're turned
on."
Both are discussing the opera at Kimball Recital Hall
this weekend. Grace is music director and orchestra
conductor for the UNL Opera Dept.'s two one-act operas
opening Thursday, night. They are Campanelb (The In
terrupted Wedding Night) by Donizetti and II Tfabarro
(The Cloak and Dagger) by Puccini.
Their difference is based on the fact that many people
still believe opera is only for the elite or upper class.
Larry Lysk, UNL music professor said this idea began
in the 16th century when only royalty and their affluent
friends were invited to attend operas.
Scmethiag for everyone
Assistant Professor of Voice Roger Stephens is director
for the two plays and he agrees that opera has something
in it for everybody.
The short length of the pieces was only one reason
StephcEdd he made his choices. The operas also
contrast each other for several reasons.
R CempaneUo is the humorous story of an elderly
apothecary, Don Armibale, who marries young and pretty
SeraSaa. However, a casanova named Enrico tries to pre
vent the consummation of the marriage because he loves
Ssrafina. The opera's plot is based on his tricks to keep .
the newly-weds apart.
The darker side of love iis shown in the other piece, U
T&zrro. The plot revolts around a middfe-eged barge
owner l!khele, his wife Giorgetta, (who is half his age),
and a workman on the barge Luigi, Giorgetta's lover.
Michele learns of his wife's infidelity and the drama leads
to his revenge. . '; y -,-: ;i;, ' :.:yyy
All three professors admitted opera's structure some
times makes it hard to accept the art's conventions, and
agreed that approaching opera with an open mind makes
it easier to enjoy its beauty.
Part of its force comes from the combination of many
elements." :' " V ':;
"It's music, drama, sets, lights, costumes, orchestra,
chorus, lighting, and soloists " Lusk said. "That's one of
the things that makes opera a unique form. And anytime
-you start combining things you start making concessions."
Funny things
But Lusk added what he thinks is the key to enjoying
opera the first time you see it. "Opera is something we
have to be prepared for . . . when we read the comics we
admit there's no such thing as a Donald Duck ... but
right from the. bat we admit there are funny things going
on here and we go on ahead and enjoy it for what it is." .
Stephens acknowledged that some elements could over
come the others. He noted the public's interest in lavish
productions by saying, "People want it (opera) to be more
of a spectacle like it used to be and that's too bad."
Another custom with which the instructors disagreed is
having to do the work in its native language. Grace said
the United States is "the only country in the world with
this high-brow idea about language . . . Carmen was
written in French, but when they do it in Italy, you bet
they do it in Italian."
Translations make Grace's work easier in another way.
He cues the 26-piece orchestra plus the singers from a
score book that measures 18 inches long, 17 inches wide
and a half inch thick. Each page has no more than thre?
measures of music making it "very demanding" and a lot
"of work. You look at a score that boggles the mind."
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Unfortunately, his music for IITtabarro isn't trans
lated. "This is rented so it's in Italian, but LhaveJo make
sure I'm thinking in English," he said. "I have to look at
that page and cue the whole thing." As a result, Grace
said he doesn't get nervous at the start of a performance.
Instead, he gets fiuttery when he knows that a difficult
section of music with many tempo changes is coming up.
So what do the two directors, Stephens and Grace,
expect on opening night? The cast has been practicing
since last semester's opera The Number Of Fools) closed
in October, except during Thanksgiving and Christmas
breaks. Stephens thinks his cast is ready for the public.
But they are more concerned that the audience will
have a good time when they see the shows. "Some of
these operas are so corny and low-brow as they can be.
People see comics of large women with a shield and a
helmet with horns and they think that's what it's going to .
be," Grace said. "But," he said, "if we can get them there,
they're going to like it." ; : -.
Performances will be at 8 p.m. Thursday through
Saturday and at 3 pin. Sunday. All seats are reserved at
$3 for adults nd $2i0 for students and those 65 years
and older. .
up & coming
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SheUoa Art Gallery Continuing Exhibits: r
Faculty Exhibition. ,
Photographs by Robert Adams .
Rants and Ranters (Art Shop)
lithographs, by Richard Hunt. .
- FCm and TV
Foreign Classics: The Conformist, 7 and 9" pjn.
Monday. - ,
Foreign Classics: Jonsh, Who' WiU Be 25 in the Yesr.
2QQ0, 7 and 9 pjn. Tuesday-Friday. . - -
Sheldon Film Theatre: Film on the Arts, 3 pjn. Thurs-
fcy- : - . - ':. - . ..-- -
Winter Opera, IldtzzpsnsUo end Tcbsrro, 8 pxi.,
Thursday and Friday. - . .
' Urika Prcram Counc3
Record Lending library opens Monday, Union room
Tracy-ifcpbura films-Union Centrnnkl room, 7 pjn
admission $2 (includes free popcorn). '
- Tracy-Hepburn fZms part two-Centennisl room, 7 pjn.
a-nusaon 2 (includes free popcorn).
li2ccij Community Raj-housa '
The Ms Knowtody Knows, 8 pjn. Friday.