Il re dell'Opera

Darryl Zanuck's first release after the merging of his 20th Century co. and Fox studio, this features the boyish baritone, Lawrence Tibbett, in his prime. He was a busy guy in the 30s: top Metropolitan Opera star, movies, concerts, recitals and many radio appearances. The usual backstage story is played out with cheerful verve by the superior cast. Tibbett singing highlights are the famous "Figaro" aria from Barber of Seville; The Toreador Song from Bizet's Carmen; the Prologue to Pagliacci; as well as his rousing concert showpieces, "On the Road To Mandalay" and "De Glory Road: a negro spiritual." Tibbett's autobiography is titled The Glory Road.

This 1935 film showed recently on a TV movie channel and proved an innocent delight. The story line is simple, the ending happy, the people snappily dressed and the sets splendid. A fading prima donna is fired from the Met and starts her own opera company. A renowned conductor comes from retirement to conduct, and hires baritone Lawrence Tibbett, one of America's first operatic super stars, whose superb singing is the chief attraction of the film. He has a rich, focused voice and agreeable good looks. When the prima donna's voice fails, the conductor quits and all is about to fall apart, until the heroine Alice Brady, who wanted to be an opera star on her own, turns out to be an heiress and saves the day.The sound track suggests that someone has done a spectacular job of restoring the print; Tibbett's ringing voice impresses in baritone favorites, "The Road to Mandalay," "Largo al factotum" from Barber of Seville, "The Toreador Song" from Carmen, and "Si puo," from I Pagliacci.

No one should expect a well-wrought, intricately developed plot from a film that was designed as a showpiece for the American baritone Laurence Tibbett,any more than one would expect it from a Warner's backstage musicals from the 1930s. Tibbett was one of the few stellar performers of the Metropolitan Opera who was equally at home and successful in popular music. (I believe at one time, toward the end of his opera career, he was featured on "Your Hit Parade", singing what were supposedly the five or six most popular songs of the week, judged by record sales.) At the Metropolitan Opera he played the lead in the premieres of American operas such as Merry Mount, Emperor Jones and The King's Henchmen. I believe that he made the first commercial recordings from Porgy and Bess as Porgy, using the same dialect as in this film when he sings the Negro spiritual "Glory Road" in a perhaps over-dramatic rendition. The role of Bess is sung by another Caucasian opera star. Helen Jepson,who made one more Hollywood appearance in the pathetic Goldwyn Follies.

The supporting cast of experience character actors,as often happens, manages to give the claptrap plot a measure of credibility. Virginia Bruce, the leading lady, was an actress/singer who never broke through to stardom, despite a lengthy filmography. She had a beautiful soprano voice and a lovely appearance, but did not project much warmth as in the manner of top stars, even in her one solo from Carmen, as the timid and loving Micaela. Her voice belonged in operetta, not in either opera or show business tunes. Jeanette MacDonald has the former cornered, and there were many with more sensuous voices who succeeded with the latter. But she did look terrific at the top of the "wedding cake" number in The Great Ziegfeld, the most prominent role of her career.

Alice Brady is ideally cast as a temperamental diva. She is believable and hilarious. The voice with which she sings seems to be her own.

Virginia Bruce, a charming performer, is OK but no more as an ingénue.

The movie is Lawrence Tibbett's. He sings arias from several composers, as well as singing some appealing songs. (Was it common in those times for Caucasian opera singers to perform spirituals? Regardless: He sings one.) The plum is a long section of "Pagliaci," in which he is, of course, superb.

This is the only commercial movie in which I've seen Tibbett. He appears a bit stodgy and is certainly not conventionally handsome. But his singing is glorious; and singing is what this movie is about.about.

Virginia Bruce was one of those,I know the face but i cant remember the name stars.She deserved better.A very pretty young woman, and a convincing actress, was Miss Bruce.She was however overshadowed by the Irene Dunnes, Norma Shearers,Greta Garbos that reigned Hollywood supreme.She was of those able and sometimes forgettable actresses such as Karen Morley,Frieda Inescort,Kay Johnson. However in Metropolitan, she shines in her own gentle, ladylike way.Lawrence Tibbett the great operatic baritone has some glorious moments and some great arias and songs.Miss Bruce is his love interest and if that is her singing ,which I doubt; she had a lovely voice as well. The great silent star, Alice Brady is brilliant, as the temperamental opera diva.The movie moves along at a good pace and has a nice 30's plot.It is an enjoyable film for the cultured, over 40s viewer.What a joy to not be immersed in political correctness or cringe at 4 letter words. With a cast like Tibbett, Bruce and Brady how could you go wrong?