In your face Opera
By Liza Holtmeier
Senior Reporter
Forget the opera glasses and
beefy broad singing about her
long-lost lover in a language you
can’t understand.
The opera “Albert Herring” is
funny, written in English and per
formed fewer than 40 feet away
from the farthest audience mem
ber.
“This is sort of ‘in-your-face
opera,’” said Hannah Jo Smith,
who plays the character Lady
Billows. “The audience sits on ris
ers on stage just feet away from the
performers. It’s very intimate, and
the audience can see us sweat.”
Thursday through Sunday, the
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
School of Music will present
Benjamin Britten’s “Albert
Herring,” a comedic opera about
virtue and self-discovery.
The three-act opera takes place
in the fictitious village of Loxford,
England, at the turn of the century.
Loxford’s residents are selecting
their “May Queeri” - a young girl
of outstanding moral conduct.
Unfortunately, Loxford is lack
ing suitable candidates this year.
The coronation committee, led by
the self-righteous Lady Billows,
decides to select a “May King”
instead. It choose Albert Herring, a
naive and virtuous local green gro
cer boy.
However, during preparation
for the May Festival, Albert’s
friend spikes the unsuspecting
lad’s lemonade with rum. The
laced lemonade gives Albert the
false sense of courage he needs to
break away from his mother’s
apron strings and enjoy himself.
James Hardin, who plays
Albert, said “Albert Herring” is an
excellent introductory opera for
those unfamiliar with the art form.
“Because the show is written in
English, the audience is getting the
exact text,” Hardin said. “It gives
the opera a more comfortable feel
ing. The audiences - and the actors
- don’t feel as if they’re in over
their heads.”
Hardin added that the English
text makes the characters seem real
instead of caricatured.
“When doing a non-English
text opera, it’s easy to resort to
gimmicks and stock characters
because you have so much to get
across,” Hardin said. “With ‘Albert
Herring,’ I think the audience will
see the characters as more honest
because they’re speaking English.”
Smith said the intimate per
forming space should also increase
the audience’s comfort level.
“I think it cuts down on some of
the ‘loftiness’ of opera,” Smith
said. “The singers are basically
exposing their souls with their
voices right next to the audience.”
Because of seating arrange
ments at Kimball Recital Hall,
tickets for “Albert Herring” are
limited. They are $5 for students
and $10 for adults. Show times are
at 8 p.m. Thursday through
Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday. Call
472-4747 for reservations.
Legend plays Lincoln
By Sean McCarthy
Assignment Reporter
Blues great and Rock and Roll
Hall of Fame member Bo Diddley
will make a very special appearance
tonight at Knickerbockers, 901 O
St.
Diddley’s tour comes after the
release of his Grammy-nominated
album “A Man Amongst Men,” his
first major release in 20 years. The
album was nominated for the Best
Contemporary Blues category.
The influential artist began his
career after arriving in 1938
Chicago, building his talents by
teaching himself guitar and playing
in a church. In 1955, Diddley signed
with the pioneering Chess record
label, which included influential
artists like Chuck Berry, Muddy
Waters and Etta James.
In his more than 40-year history,
Diddley has toured with The Rolling
Stones and the Everly Brothers. His
classics “Who Do You Love” and
the hit “Bo Diddley”/‘T’m A Man”
45 elevated him to stardom. And, the
guitarist’s trademark “Bo Diddley
Beat” - a catchy six-note pattern -
became one of the most recognized
rhythms in the blues language.
Diddley’s contributions to the
rock and blues world were rewarded
in 1987 when he was inducted into
the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He
received the Lifetime Achievement
Award from th*e Rhythm & Blues
Foundation in February 1996.
Tom Ineck, assistant manager of
KZUM 89.3 FM, said Diddley’s
influence not only infused his blues
brethren, but also early rockers like
Buddy Holly.
“(Diddley’s) sheer energy and
unmistakable beat is probably his
biggest influence in rock,” Ineck
said.
KZUM, which broadcasts about
20 hours of blues programming a
week, has increased its Diddley play
in preparation for tonight’s show,
Ineck said.
Back-up musicians for the 10
p.m. concert include artists from
local bands Justice League of the
Blues and Shithook.
Tickets are available for $15 at
Knickerbockers and Recycled
Sounds.
Photo courtesy of Bo Diddley
BLUES LEGEND Bo Diddley brings his patented “Bo Diddley Beat” to
Knickerbockers, 901 0 St., tonight. Local musicians will back up the gui
tarist during his show at 10.
1
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52
psychological torture
By Bret Schulte
Film Critic
Billed as the latest teen-fright
flick by the makers of “Scream,” this
Halloween’s obligatory horror movie,
“I Know What You Did Last
Summer,” would be more appropri
ately titled “I Know What You Did
Last Fall To Make ‘Scream.’”
The premise is familiar: A group
of dubiously beautiful high school
kids, who look like they’ve been held
in the 12th grade until their own kids
catch up with them, are being stalked
by a masked killer, and everyone is a
suspect. The real killer is that this
premise works.
Although the film looks like a
“90210” Halloween special (com
plete with a blond beauty queen, her
jerk boyfriend and a goody-two
shoes poor kid), it shares a lot more
with “Scream” than just its creator,
screenwriter Kevin Williamson. The
parallels are obvious (see above
premise) but along with “Scream,”
“Last Summer” effectively uses these
horror movie mainstays to create a
cohesive collage of psychological
and visual damage that is inflicted on
grateful horror-film fans.
These movies have only one
point: to make you flinch, yelp and
feel entirely uneasy for 1 Vz hours.
Although the same can be accom
plished by attending a Keanu Reeves
film, horror movies have a special
place in the hearts of movie fans.
Because of this, they tend to be
given a little more slack than other low
budget movies that are tom apart by
critics, who are anxious to use a poly
glot lexicon and self-indulgent sen
tence structure to serve their own deli
cate egg-like egos and shallow portfo
lios, and this critic is no different.
“Last Summer” isn’t worth seeing
because of character development,
thought-provoking dialogue or
The Facts
Title: “I Know What You Did Last Summer"
Stars: Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle
Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, Freddie Prinze, Jr.
Director: Jim Gillespie
Rating: R (violence, adult content, language)
Grade: B+
Five Words: "Last Summer" reminisces last
fall.
important social criticisms, which is
good because it has none of these
qualities. But it is worth seeing
because the movie is scary.
It revolves around two couples
who just graduated from high school:
The jerk jock, Barry (Ryan
Phillippe), and his beauty girlfriend,
Helen (Sarah Michelle Gellar),
whose best friend is the liberated and
rational Julie (Jennifer Love Hewitt).
Julie dates the quiet and earnest Ray
(Freddie Prinze Jr.), whose blue-col
lar background haunts him among his
trendy friends.
Celebrating their recent gradua
tion, the two couples go to drink and
copulate on the nearby beach where
the virgin, Julie, (as said in
“Scream”) makes the ultimate horror
movie mistake. Driving back with
Barry hanging out of the sunroof, the
car slams into a man (Muse Watson)
crossing the road. Believing the man
dead and fearful of going to jail for
drunken driving and manslaughter,
the four toss the corpse into the near
by Atlantic. They swear never to talk
of the man or his death again.
But this man won’t die.
A year later, Julie has returned
from college disconsolate and dis
turbed, presumably from the last
summer’s events. At home she
receives a letter, “I Know What You
Did Last Summer.”
From here the film moves rapidly
Please see SUMMER on 10
