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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 22, 1984)
Monday, October 22, 1SS4 PcgoO Dally Nebrasksn o n la ,4 0 a I -JS. jm rw.- A7 . 5 T vA I ! f ; 7 "Ifl 11 rft lilitt James Br&mmels, a poet Bennett Masi&a library. ariere T3 aturesfolkkrrey dance, By Is& Nattiag Daily Nehr&s&aua tfiT Reporter The sun hangs from the left of the stage. Roof tops of different shapes and sizes are suspended from the ceiling but there are no buildings underneath them. "That's part of the fancifulness of the show," conductor-director Gregg Tailman said. The UNL Music Theatre pro duction of The Bartered Bride," a classic European love story opera, will open Thursday at Kimball Hall. The opera will be performed at 8 p.m. Oct. 25, 27 and 28. Tailman will hold a "pre performance" discussion at 7:30 p.m. before each show to explain t he background of the opera. The Bartered Bride" was writ ten in 1866 and is filled with Chechoslovakian folklore dance, song and acrobatics. The opera, sung in English, is entertaining and fun, Tailman said. "I think it's the energy the joy of living that makes the show," he said. The singing and dancing reflect that" The bartered bride, Marenka, is played by Connie Rock. In the story, she is in love with Jenik, played by John De Haan. But through their parents' previous arrangements, she has been pledged to marry Vasek, played by Gene Cross. In what Tailman describes as a typical ending, Jenik turns out to be Vasek's and novelist firem Wayne, read esse d Bride love storf op long-lost brother and Marenka thus is allowed to merry Jenik. This is the third time TaHman has directed The Bssrtered Bride " though he rarely directs the same performance twice, he said. The opera is special to Tailman be cause this was the first opera (of many) he directed. Since that first show, Tailman visited Czech oslovakia on a two-week trip. " The Bartered Bride' is very popular in Czechoslovakia," he said. "And it's done over and over in Europe." Tailman said he chose this opera because Nebraska has the largest Czech population in the country. Tailman said the typical crowd is 70 percent community and 30 percent students. "I've been trying to figure out a way to get the students to come," he said. In order to not scare students away, Tailman tries to make operas as entertaining as possible. "I think students tend to think of the opera as being above their level," he said. "I try to use music and comedy to make it more entertaining." Advance ticket sales are going well and Tailman said he expects the show to do welL The UNL Music Theatre has two other performances sched uled for this season. "A Night in Old Vienna," featur ing classic operettas and operas 1 1 ot Ms work Tkorsday st the Kyi 'acrobaUcs. on Feb. 2 and 3, will begin at 7 p.m. with a Viennese cuisine dinner in the Great Hall of the Sheldon Art Gallery. On April 1 1, 13 and 14, "Albert Herring," a modern British opera comedy about men's liberation in Victorian England, will conclude the season. A season ticket series with one ticket to each show is available to students and senior citizens for $25. Regular season ticket series are $28. ft STATS mum VAia mnwm 6 tH 1 to - ti fffi fft Dy B&chd Prcd , Drily NebimsLaa StaJTEeporter Its a drizzling day in eastDes Mtrines colder than Nancy Sue Cunn inghams ' third grade heart And Amos, the custodian, and I are alone in thi Happy Cfief men 's room. But that 's the way it is in east Des Moines. FYom the poem "Amos" by James Brummel3 I have always had preconceiv ed notions about poetry read ings, envisioning myself falling off my chair asleep, or adjusting my glasses a bit too loud and being thrown out for a noise distur bance. But after the poetry read ing given by James Brummels, I am glad to report my notions wrong and the atmosphere was relaxing and informal The poetry reading was at Bennett-Martin Library Thursday as part of a series, of readings given by Nebraska poets, spon sored by the Nebraska Literary Heritage Society. James Brummels had a casual and amusing way of addressing the audience. His introductions to the poems were entertaining as well When reading the poems, he appeared at ease and the poetry lent itself to being heard as well as read. Brummels opened with the poem, "Amos " which came to life as he read it. With a Midwestern twang he assumed the voice of the character in the poem. T When Amos calls over the stall Imgonnamescmedeoderizer that '11 be rattier strong for awhile. It's concentrated1 in one of those voices that tell you he can get along with anybody. Some of the same charac ters, which show up through dif ferent poems, give a sense of his tory and continuity to the work. As you hear about these people, a picture can be drawn. You may be reminded of someone you know. . - ..'.- . . The people that you do run into tend to be real characters because they have incredible in dependence and often cultivated eccentricities. And that's part of the reason they're out there," Brummels said. They dont want to deal with a bunch of people saying, 'Look, you're weird.' " James Brummels has lived in cities for a time, but most of his life has been spent living in the country. He appears to be Of fR'lC AT We exfzzrmtmtmms 171 V&T n&Vffitiv .,t,tn!W teCOMBMGSm.ttlViiS mm?. u nut comfortable living in the country. "In a sparse population or a real small town, you can't be anonymous; you can maintain your privacy yelling at people to leave you alone or shoot guns into the air at night," Brummels said. "You can be alone, but you're certainly not anonymous. You're the crazy person that shoots guns in the air at night." Describing the scenery he lives around, he conjures up pictures as vivid as the characters he writes about. Today it s the coldest it 's been all winter, last summers grass holds some snow in its short reach, but most has escaped the withered grasps to settle in more substan tial shelter, a file of young pines. Even there the depth barely blan kets what needles the trees have let go. "I noticed a lot of things when I was young. When you're that iso- luted you look around a lot more." Brummels said. "Sometimes it (in spiration) can come just from what I saw looking out my win dow yesterday morning." Along with bcsHtifbl des criptions and various characters, Brummel's work is often hum ourous. His timing was excellent as he read the anecdotes, and the audience loved it. They may have slipped off their chairs chuckling, but certainly not sleeping. At times hearing the poems wad like having a story read ttf" you, "I think that poetry has its roots in the oral tradition, it owes something to that," Brummels. said. "Ideally, the poem succeeds both in somebody's voice and on the page. The best definition I ever heard for the difference be tween poetry and prose is that the right hand margin differs." The poems in the reading were a blend of humor, cf life expe riences told in a sensitive and endearing wsy, and cf characters that Brummels "seems to care about Brummels received the 1934 Creative Writing Grant from the NEA Fellowship, and co-edited the poetry collection "On Com mon Ground." Some of his poetry also appeared in the collection of poetry "Forty Nebraska Poets." The next poetry reading, bv Rov Scheele. is scheduled Nov ik at 7:30 D.m. in the Heritaa Rnnm at Bennett-Martin Library. tvzr KZZ. HCNKZVr OH, ponm ymim'r trsizi- eUZ.IT'S VZXtZZS 7Sa7H7iVs