Word: pit
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Rebecca, the story of a shy innocent who marries a millionaire only to have everyone compare her damningly with his first, drowned wife, could have turned cruel and vindictive. But Hitchcock works out of a bottomless pit of sinister imagination, and instead of making us feel sorry for the poor put-upon Joan Fontaine, he has us half-believing that she might have this coming to her. Only Hitchcock can make you want to rescue a protagonist and stab her at the same time, and the ambivalence chills. A neat double suspence turn-around caps off the film...
Pavarotti had some distinguished company. In the pit was Gianandrea Gavazzeni, 67, whose 50 years at Milan's La Scala include associations with Toscanini, Mascagni and Giordano. Gavazzeni led a performance that was full of controlled excitement; at the same time, he was consistently thoughtful of his singers. His support of Veteran Soprano Renata Scot to (Leonora), who sang the precarious D 'amor sull 'ali rosee in Act IV with extreme caution, was a memorable lesson in podium gallantry...
What is fascinating about a show of this sort is that it is a sociological fossil pit. The American hero (Brad Blaisdell) is an untainted saint of ineptitude. His French rival (Michael Tartel) is a bounder of dashing expertise. The girl that both of them vie for is a strawberry blonde (Kimberly Farr) with a pragmatic eye for betting on a long shot. There is a marvelously agile dance number called The Tickle Toe, and a few ribs are tickled as well...
...orchestra pit of any opera house is best heard from, not seen. That was not the case last week, as the Paris Opéra opened at New York's Metropolitan Opera House and Milan's La Scala moved into Washington, D.C.'s Kennedy Center. It was the first visit to the U.S. for both the storied companies, and in both pits there was unexpected drama on opening night...
Many in the audience were not aware of Solti's dilemma. That cannot be said for what happened at La Scala's first night in Washington. The audience filed into the Kennedy Center Opera House to find the pit raised to the level of the stage. "I've never seen that before," said an usher in response to a ticket holder's question. No one had. The pit had been elevated for a rehearsal that afternoon and the hydraulic lift had stuck. While the audience-including Vice President and Mrs. Nelson Rockefeller and Mrs. Giovanni Leone...