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NET JOURNAL (shown on Mondays). "Two Views: A Canadian-American Student Debate," a taped discussion of the war in Viet Nam as seen from opposite sides of the border. Although no formal sides were drawn initially, the U.S. students wind up taking an antiwar stand while the Canadians found themselves advocating U.S. involvement.
THEATER
On Broadway
YOU KNOW I CAN'T HEAR YOU WHEN THE WATER'S RUNNING. Four playlets poke fun at man's desires and taboos in the pursuit of sex. Martin Balsam, Eileen Heckart and George Grizzard project all the poignancy and lunacy of Robert Anderson's characters.
BLACK COMEDY is not, as its title suggests, a play about civil rights or a comedy of black humor. It is as unsubtle and vaudevillian as a slip on a banana peel or a pie in the face—and just as much fun.
THE HOMECOMING springs traps and surprises on its audience, catching it up in the controversy of the season as to its validity, intent and meaning. The Royal Shakespeare Company gives Harold Pinter's drama a spellbinding presentation.
Off Broadway
THE COACH WITH THE SIX INSIDES is a kaleidoscopic view of Finnegans Wake expressed in dance and drama and some of the more devilish passages of Joycean imagery. Jean Erdman conceived and directed this bright entertainment.
RECORDS
Opera
WAGNER: TRISTAN AND ISOLDE (5 LPs; Deutsche Grammophon). Just as the lovers sing in darkest Liebesnacht of the light that shines within them, this recording illuminates Wagner's murky masterpiece. Taped live at Bayreuth last summer, it is by far the best interpretation yet. Most of the credit goes to Karl Bohm, who brings out all the opera's passion and eroticism without tripping over its technical difficulties. The tempos are strong, the melodic and thematic lines always clear—all of which supports the singers and frees them to pour their strength into vocal characterization. In the seven years since her first recording of the role, Birgit Nilsson has deepened her Isolde; her vocal performance, from the brilliant high C's to the oboelike low A's, is matchless. Wolfgang Windgassen excels as Tristan, particularly in the third act when his ravings take on a pathetic humanity. For those who care only about Isolde, Kirsten Flagstad's burnished, womanly performance (London) is still best; for Wagner's total creation, Bohm and Bayreuth are supreme.
ROSSINI: SEMIRAMIDE (3 LPs; London). The opera makes almost insuperable demands on the voices and musicianship of the singers, especially the two sopranos, but in this performance Joan Sutherland and Marilyn Home are equal to the task. In the early scenes, Sutherland's voice has a rather thick, clotted quality that soon clears up; Home is superb throughout. For aficionados of bel canto and tortuous vocal ornamentations, this recording is a major event, owing in no small part to Bonynge's intelligent handling of the text and the London Symphony.