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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (March 17, 1992)
Arts & Entertainment UNL opera enchants audience with humor, superb performances By George K. Stephan Staff Reporter The University ol Ncbraska-Lin colr School ol Music’s spring opera production of ‘The Marriage of Figaro on Friday ^harmed and cnchantcc a receptive audience that almost fi‘>cd Kimba'n Recital Hall. The School of Music Opera The 1 atre presented Mozart setema comic opera with ail the enthusiasm and humor that the composer am <ibrc> test intended it to have The opera one ol the great oper atic masterpieces by Mozart is the scaue* to ‘The Barber ol Seville ' ami continues to tel1 the story ol Figaro the clever barber■am' now valet to the Count Almaviva. who throughout the opera seeks to marry Susanna i he Countess’ chambermaid. Figaro, however, encounters a severe problem alter learning Iron* Susanna lhai the Count wants to re vivc his rigln ol feudal privilege,” thai is the right to seduce anv of his female servants before they marry The opera unfolds w ith the scries ol tricks Figaro and the Count use to achieve their ow n aims and the larci cal and embarrassing situations that I arise from them. The opera ends with 1 the Countess and Susanna outsmart- j ing both men with a trick of their own. The opera bubbles over with silly situations, each one performed to perfection by the production s sing ers. More than once, the production was interrupted with laughter Iron the audience. Among a series ol marvelous per formanccs was Leah Miller’s. She ; ' piayed the page Cherubino an oversexed teen-age boy obsessed with flirting \t uh every woman in the pal ace Miller portrayed the amorous youth with tremendous energy throughout Cherubino s many little exploits. Miller’s character displays lively appea' as the Couni finds Cherubino in one compromising predicament alter another Miller sang both ol Cherubino s arias in Acts I ant: .1 with the energy and delicacy needed lor Cherubino’s . favoriu subject love. Darn Anderson became a favorite ol the audience from the moment he stepped on stage as ihc mtriguc-lov- l mg musit master Don Basilio. An- \ derson added a delightful freshness to the role in his portrayal of Basilio as ' See FIGARO on 10 Genuine reggae sound emanates from album “Beer Joint & Tailoring" Joll\ Bovs BMCi II you can l lorm a crystal-clear vision in your mind ol an enormous Caribbean sunset with the sound of the ocean and the rustling of the jungle foliage ever present in the distance, then all you need is a copy of "Beer Joint & Tailoring.” These images and more come to life through the music of the Jolly Boys. How do they do it? By record ing throe days worth of traditional Jamaican songs ncai Port Antonio, Jamaica — the heart of that Carib bean setting. The legitimacy of this album can ’t be overstated. Almost all that has ever become reggae, rock steady, ska and rub-a-dub has its roots on that island and in these songs. Nof only arc the sounds of "Beer Joint” beautifully captured on loca tion, but the instruments are a I most as elemental as the setting. The four musicians, Joseph Bcnnct, Moses Deans, Noel Howard and Allan Swym mcr create their music with a banjo, bongos, rhumba box, guitar and some sweetly accented mountain voices. For anyone interested in reggae, this album is a must. From start to finish, almost every song sounds familiar, undoubtedly because ol the ; heavy influence these songs came to j have as rock steady and reggae were being bom. If Harry Bclalonlc hasn’t directly covered any ol the songs in this col lection he certainly has drawn heav ily on this kind of music throughout his career. The music on this album is much like Bclalontc’s version of “The Banana Boat Song.” Although the Jolly Boys chose not to include that song on “Beer Joint,” the silky-smoolh rhumba rhylhmsand bongos arc simi lar. The domination of the triplet on songs like “Donkey Want Water,” the punchy staccato groves of “Wheel & Turn Me,” and “Mattie Rag,” and the emphasis of the up beat on “Never Find A Lover Like Me” expose the deep roots and deep influcnccol these songs on later Jamaican music. Lyrically, the album is hard to grasp because ol the Jolly Boys thick mountain accents, but that which is See JOLLY on 10 . Courtesy of Columbia Pictures James Marshall (right) and Cuba Gooding, Jr. star in the drama “Gladiator,” a Columbia Pictures Release set in the world of underground amateur boxing. Fight movie detriment to action films; plot mundane, soundtrack wretched By Gerry Beltz Staff Reporter__ “Gladiator” (Plaza 4. Edgcwood 3) is as much of a credit to drama/ action movies as Milli Vanilli is a credit to the music industry. The latest release from the di rector’s chair of Rowdy Herring ton (“Roadhouse”) tells the sadly predictable tale of Tommy Riley (James Marshall from “Twin Peaks”), who has just moved to a new neighborhood with his dad. As it turns out. Tommy’s dad is up lohiscycballs in gambling debts and coincidentally is sent out of town for a month just as the stan dard low-life goons come around to collect. Riley, in an attempt to clear his father's debts, hooks up with a greedy boxing promoter named Pappy (Robert Loggia of “Big”) for a one-night deal. Of course, Riley surprises everyone by win ning the bout he signed up for, which isn't legally fought in the first place. To make things worse for the audience, he wins it in a similar fashion that many pro wres tlers win their matches: he becomes impervious lo the blows of his opponent and subsequently pounds him into the mat. This, in turn, thoroughly im presses Mr. Horn, the requisite evil fight promoter flayed by Brian Dennehy (“F/X I and 2”) He sees Riley as a natural and his ticket to the big money. Tommy docs try to quit, but Horn uses the debts of Tommy’s dad to blackmail him into fighting bigger and deadlier opponents. Riley eventually meets up with Lincoln (Cuba Gooding Jr. of “Boy/ N the Hood”), who is a fellow gladiator, and they become friends. Gosh, is there a chance that they will l ight one another, thus placing their friendship in jeopardy? No, let’s make an even wilder guess. Is See GLADIATOR on 10 ^ ^ \ \ \ V V \ \——A V-— \ 'V V—V -V 1 Wayne and Garth reincarnate Queen album .. Much Music recently reported that the Breeders, that all-rock side supergroup that y features such notable rock chicks as Tanya Donnelly of Throwing Muses and Kim Deal of the Pixies, is back with an overdue lol L low-up to its highly acclaimed 1989rclcasc, “Pod. The bad news: It’s only a five-track EP. The good news: Deal’s cvcn-bcttcr-look *ing sister Kelley has joined the band on guitar. Schwrng! MTV is back on the concert circuit with l V V \-V-\-V i ' another lame-brained packaged-tour deal. Cashing in on the astounding wave ol popu larity in alternative acts, a la Lollapaloo/a, the station is sponsoring the “120 Minutes” lour. PiL, Big Audio Dynamite II and Live all will be participating. The last tour MTV sponsored was the titanic bomb known as the “Club MTV” tour.hostcdby “Downtown” Julie Brown. II Dave Kendall sits this one out, we may have a decent show on our hands. KBHR, the fictional radio station that Chris-in-lhc-morning hosts every week on CBS’ “Northern Exposure” soon will be able to be broadcast this side of Cicely, Alaska. Esquire magazine reports that the show’s producers will be releasing a sound track of the station’s play-list, complete with actor John Corbett waxing philosophi cal as the beatnik Chris between tracks. Everything from Howlin’ Wolf loR.E.M.’s “Green” to obscure French folk singers reportedly will be on the disc. The radio station has become an integral ■"‘V V V \ ' \ ^ part 01 inc snow s appeal. On a final note: Queen stands poised to 5 have another posthumous hit on its hands with the re-release of its classic “Bohemian Rhapsody,” primarily because of the sue- ^ * cess of the film “Wayne’s World” and the soundtrack that features the song. I’m sure Freddie Mercury’s smiling a ^ >, knowing smile somewhere. — Compiled by Paul Winner t-\-V-V-\-\
