Grieg in Greasepaint

Despite the success of Blossom Time (Franz Schubert) and The Great Waltz (Johann Strauss) the rather obvious idea of building an operetta around the life of Norwegian Composer Edvard Hagerup Grieg apparently occurred to nobody until a year ago. Then it suddenly burgeoned in the brain of Edwin Lester, director of the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera Association. He proceeded to turn out one of the most lavish and expensive ($110,000) productions the Association has ever staged. Song of Norway opened in Los Angeles last fortnight and by last week, it was looking like a hit.

As a subject for musical comedy, the frail, dreamy character of the real Edvard Grieg was more musical than comic. But Song of Norway's librettists depict the gentle, gnomish composer as a heroic genius whose fidelity to Norwegian folksong and his Norwegian wife is threatened by the wiles of an Italian countess named Louisa Giovanni. She represents the cosmopolitan musical culture of sophisticated Europe. Grieg, though tempted, sticks to Norway, and composes his greatest work, the Piano Concerto in A Minor. So ingratiating are the familiar, lyrical Grieg melodies in which this flimsy plot is dressed that last week three Hollywood studios were bidding for movie rights and Producer Lester was thinking of taking his show to Broadway.

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