Handel at Smith

At Smith College in Calvin Coolidge's town of Northampton, Mass., where able, modern girls smoke, drink and carry on in a frank and open way that is distressing to many a rigid alumna, there occurs each spring an event which commends itself to the most conservative. Smith has given the U. S. premieres of six classical operas, three by Claudio Monteverdi, three by George Frederick Handel. Last week still further to Smith's credit was the U. S. premiere of Handel's Rodelinda.

The machinations by which Rodelinda, the Lombard Queen, rid herself of imposters and became reunited with Bertaric, the rightful king, were by no means the most important aspect of the performance. Handel's plot is blatantly conventional, works its way out leisurely. The imported soloists, headed by Soprano Mabel Garrison, and the choristers from Smith and nearby Amherst wore conventional wigs and furbelows. It was Handel's clear, direct music and the finish with which it was given that won Rodelinda highest praise yet for a Smith premiere from the metropolitan critics. The orchestra, composed mostly of Smith girls, played surely, maturely. Professor Werner Josten, conducting, clearly displayed the intelligence and energy which have been responsible for Smith's operatic achievements.

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