2, ENTERTAINMENT, THE HERALD, Wed. Nov. 10, 1976

“La Traviata, the Italian-

“sung four-act Opera will be.

esented here in Terrace
ovember 23 at 8 p.m.

"There are still a few tickets

available.

SYNOPSIS
ACT ONE:

- Paris, 1911. Violetta

Valery, a dazzling Parisian
courtesan, is aware that her
life -is -being shortened by
tuberculosis. At an intimate
dinner party she is giving at
her home, Alfredo Germont
is introduced as one of her
admirers by a mutual
. friend, Gastone., At her

request,. Alfredo sings a.

lively drinking | song,
(“Libiamo”) and the other

ests enthusiastically join
in. Dancing ‘begins in .the

next room but Violetta,

feeling faint, stays behind.
Alfredo urges-her to guard
. her health and declares his

- Jove (“Un di felice’’).

‘Violetta dismisses it

" “goquettishly but gives him a

- gamellia, asking him to
‘return it when -it has
withered. Together with
. Alfredo the guests depart.
Violetta, now along, ponders
- whether she could ever fall
‘in love (“Ah fors e lui’).
Her mood changes as she
reaffirms her dedication to

'.-@ life of pleasure (‘Sempre

libera’’), but Alfredo’s
~ yoice, heard~ outside,
suggests to us that love will
_ finally triumph. Oo
ACT. TWO: =

‘Violetta has abandoned.

her life of pleasure. She and
_ Alfredo are living in a
country estate outside
Paris. Alfredo learns that
Violetta has been selling her

wa

‘personal belongings - to

maintain .their idyllic
retreat, His sense of pride
wounded, he leaves for
Paris hoping to raise funds

of his own. During his ab-

sence, his father, Giorgio
Germont, visits Violetta,

advising her that his gon’s
affair with a woman of her

reputation will endanger the

happiness of Alfredo’s sister.

who is about to marry into
nobility. Germont urges
Violetta to give up Alfredo,
and broken-heartedly she
agrees. Alfredo returns as

she is writing a note: of

farewell. Weeping she
ve (“Amami, Alfredo’).

She leaves and: Alfredo’s

_father reappears. He tries to
l

console: his. son (‘Di

Provenza il mar’’), but.

Alfredo, blinded by

‘jealousy, rushes out to
follow Violetta, who, on an

invitation from her friend
Flora Bervoix, has. left: for

Paris to resume her former

life.

‘ACT THREE:

A party is in progress at
the home of Flora Bervoix.
Alfredo. arrives, © soon
followed by  Violetta
escorted by her former
lover,
Alfredo wins at the gam-
bling tables but Violetta,

fearing he might force a

due] with Douphol, begs

Alfredo to leave the party.

Still consumed with jealousy
lie demands that she tell him
whom: she loves. She

bravely lies, saying it is~

Douphol.. Alfredo summons
the guests, denounces
Violetta and. flings his

ALG /VOL 0%
. ’ ste ae

passionately sings of her.
oO

Baron Douphol..

to ‘ witness . his
repayment of the money she
spent on him. Germont
arrives and reproaches his
son for his heartless

winnings at her feet, calling
on al

-behaviour.

ACT FOUR: |

In her Paris: apartment,
Violetta ‘is dying.
her confidante, is told by the
doctor that Violetta only has
a few hours to live. From

Annina,*

La Traviata at R.E.M. Lee Theatre

outside, sounds. of the
carnival are heard, and
Violetta asks Annina to give

her remaining money to the

z. Left alone, she re-

reads a letter from Giorgio —

Germont which tells her
that Alfredo knows of ber
sacrifice and that they both

‘are’ coming to beg her

forgiveness. Violetta bids a
sorrowful farewell to the
joys of life <“Addio del

passato’’). Alfredo’s arrival :
is announced and the lovers: -

renew their .vows: “of: ~

devotion, promising never -
again to part (‘Parigi o
cara’). ee,
Germont and the
doctor enter and moments

later Violetta joyously

exclaims that she feels her
strength returning. But in
that same instant she faiis, -

lifeless.

Our liquor ain't quicker it's bitter “4 |

Horizon Publications Ltd.,

a- Division of Sterling
Newspapers Ltd., the

-owners of the Terrace
Herald has embarked on a:
new venture with the’
publication of an over-sized:

paperback ‘book entitled
B.C, Wine and Spirits Guide.

Since this guide hit the
street.it has created a great
deal of interest, among wine

lovers especially. Leslie .

Peterson of the Vancouver
Sun has this to say about the
Wine and Spirit Guide which
incidentally is available at
the Terrace Herald on
Kalum or from the “HUB”
on Lakelse.
by Leslie Peterson —
Cathartic. might be the
word for it — vengeance
being... too
denotation. With the
publication of the B.C. Wine
& Spirits Guide (Sterling,
$2.99) author Roland
Morgan has wiped the froth
from his lips. and taken a
load off his soul.

_ Its a consumer guide, he’

says, a manifesto for the
# a

‘dan beatae
THE CANADIAN GOVERNMENT .” DA) BOLWERNEMEN

a

' fierce a.

status quo of our

oppressed of spirits, a
beacon warning eager
tipplers away from such
rils as this home-grown,
ome-brewed B.C. red wine
—‘gharp, sour ... explodes
acidically and aggressively
on the palate.” Or this
unwelcome local white —
“acidic, heavy taste, with
metallic ‘overtones and
tannic aftertaste.” ;
Nor will Morgan’s guide
receive laudatory reviews
from the vineyard set; on

the contrary, it is guaran-

teed to set them stomping. It
will also excite tempers at
the Liquor Administration
Branch (LAB), not to
mention the — provincial
government, with a few
exceptions, notably . MLA
Stephen Rogers who

recently declared that:

“B.C. wines are’ un-
believable garbage.”’ He

later qualifie his
statements. .
At the same time, our

standard-bearer insists that
_ Casabello is contracted. to.

he is a man of moderate
emotions, not given to
exaggeration. ‘‘Believe me,
I’m not a rabble rouser —
it’s just a bad deal and it’s
time B.C. stopped being
locked behind the Rocky

' Mountains.and got in line

with the rest of the coun-
ye?

In his examination of the
in-
toxicating beverages,
Morgan — an admitted
oenophile from youth, ~the
roduct of eight years of

afflement with the LAB —
ranges widely (though not
as oroughly as one might
have wished), rails freely
and comes up with some
intriguing suggestions.

Among them: sell all but
the most choice B.C.
vineyards and _ import
better, cheaper grapes
from, say, Italy, Argentina
or Algeria. Then stop
protecting a grossly inferior
product and force B.C,
wines to compete. ‘‘Just set
them there; let them fight
among themselves.” Tone

‘up. the LAB listing com-

mittee, “a - totally

‘inadequate body.” Finally,

the B.C. government ought
to give some direction to the

' publicly-owned LAB which,
according to .Morgan, is

‘‘totally confused about
what it’s doing,” whether its
rimary purpose is to raise
xes, serve the public or
serve the local industry.
“Tf the government told
the LCB (Morgan un-
fortunately refers to the
LAB by its previous title, the

‘Liquor Control Board) to

make a decent buck, sure,

ae _ but also give the people a

break, we could have some |

smashing: cheap booze on

"the market.”

_. Morgan's main complaint
is with protectionism and its

uplifting

and sparklin

concomitant evils — an |

unhealthy mondpoly which _

benefits only the growers

‘who; he points out, are not

large employers.  Coin-

cidentally, they are all .
clustered in the south -
Okanagan, an area, he

notes, which just happens to
be the seat of the premier of
B.C.

Moreover, the wineries
suffer. “They could roar
along fine if the law didn't -
make them buy 80 percent
B.C. grapes,” our vinaceous_.
crusader continues. Forced
to pay through the nose for.
their raw materials, they
pass the cost along to.the
consumer. “I believe the.
local industry should be.
supported -— but they
shouldn’t be spoon-fed.”’ °

Also interesting is
Morgan’s assertion that
B.C.'s protectionist policy
may well be protecting -_
the wrong people:

“Andres is Canadian, yet -
it’s based in Montreal.

sell wholly to Labatt’s. .
Brewery: in a couple of.
years. Ste. Michelle, Jor-.

dan, Beau Sejour, Villa and. -

Slingers are all owned by
Rothmans, a South. African.
company; Calona is owned —
by Standard Brands of the ~
U.S. So why this fanatical
protection for something
that is internationally
owned?” a
Meanwhile, back to the. -
consumer, where - such |.
concepts” as
monopoly and protectionism |

mean only one thing — the. _
lack of freedom of choice. .

B.C., Morgan writes, ..is
Canada’s poor cousin where

_wines and spirits are con: —
cerned. There are, he points

out, 114 imported red table :

wines under $3 in Quebec,”
101 in Ontario, 99 in Alberta.
in B.C. “It’s...
ludicrous, that. sort ‘of;
comparison.” To add-to the ~~~
there. is. the... ..-—

and 10

insult,
phenomenon of “dumping, ...
where surplus:
products

elsewhere.

Andres: ‘Red

Dinner wine, for one, costs’

$4.40 fora 70.4 ounce bottle’.

in B.C, but only  $3.30-.in °
Alberta, The same com-"°
pany’s Richelieu Burgundy .-: °°
_ (160 02.) is $10.75 here, $7:80. > ..

in Alberta..And there.are
plenty more. ey

_ The beleaguered B.C.° ..
.consumer thus flounders”: —~
through a’ sticky. sea” of). -

sparkling pear, baby.: bear.”

1
a

precise). This doesnot’...
‘friendly °° |.
“Here: the”! °*

please
crusader.

our

Continued on: Page 5 : uf : a

oeal-) : :.-
are cheaper: -:

baby. duck
(B.C., for all. its ‘short: .;
comings, does offer a very. ~.
ange selection of sparklers...
nd cracklers —--$3 to. be-