The New York herald., 1871-01-14
STADT THEATER-ssFAUST.v

| New York. vast, wealthy, metropolitan. full OF
theatres artistic and literary clubs and associations
| and fond Of magnlncence as she Is, may without
| disparagement TO what else is taking place within
her limits to exalt the taste and refine the manners
of the multitude, wen be proud OF the spectacle
which real genius Is nightly presenting in the noble
Interpretation of the great dramatsts and poets OF
| Germany at the Stadt theatcr. We have faithfully
made the record OF this fine revival OF the
legitimate drama in that direction during the asst
| week, and have written with warmth but not by
any means, unduly So of the talents or the Grau
company and OF the profound impression they have
Produced Evening ater evening we have seen the
immense house, scarcely inferior in dimensions to
the Academy OF Music, crowded with audiences
whose enthusiasm reveals O new phase in the Ger
character the stage bestrewn with bouquets the
artists recalled again and again, and the thousands
present rising in their places and expressing their
delight aloud with one impulse and with overpow-
ering voices. Yesterday, as we had predicted.
crowned the week IN this respect. Quite early In
the day every seat in the Stadt tlleater had been
sold and long before eight p NJ the interior offered
sight which is rarely rivalled even In America
Parquet boxes tiers and galleries above galleries
were packed close almost the very ceiling all the
front ranks flashing and glowing with feminine lowell
ness and rich adornment; but interspersed through
numbers OF fine intellectual heads which time had
wreathed with silver. In many ranges whole faml-
lies could be seen IN groups together grandparents
dren on their knees where sitting room was scarce.
This by itself formed to American eyes novel, and
vet among Germans, characteristic scene. ana the
animation and brightness 1t impaired to the aspect
of the house were as indescribabe as they
were delightful. Whole rarties OF friends and
neighbors had come tnlther from distant localities
Williamsburg, Morrisania. Jersey &c, &C., to-
gener os and very many Others ,e Would ID hardly reach
entrance OF the playhouse Al eight o'clock every cor
every doorway every stair, every projection Of
picd nor was there any .satis' to the sjams even
in the corridors. To meet this human flood the
management had done its best, and heartier hap
pier, more exhiliratng auditory has seldom glad
dened the gaze OF an artist on this side OF The At
lantlc. or Goetne's superb yet weird con-
Faust and Mephstopheles- the fool or science
clogged with carnai sense and the ideal OF the
sets all men, enough has been written to furnish
forth separate literature. We shall not venture to
All that we need to say for the guidance OF the
general public n their choice OF future intellectual
was na ~ e M PEE these
Gretchen (Margucrite the angelic creation that
their strife evokes then martyrs and at last upfts
while the tempter and he whom he has made the
betrayer sink bafled TO their doom, walked
embodiment OF gencness, grace afrection faith and
truth which the magic OF master mind has made
leading asse rose 70 the ial height Of her bowers se
the dramatic effects were increased and Improved
by the management The Spirit OF Earth and the
Gothic Chamber OF Faust, In the first act; the CO.
rouse IN the wine cellar at Leipsic; the exquisite
Garden Scene and several other striking passages
were much enhanced by the resources Of the Ger
man theatre. Mr. Dombrowskt In Faust and Mr..
Harry In Mephst0pheles were, as the rule has been
during this new season, superior, by all
odds, to their work as seen in New
York when they first came among us,
and this remark appies TO every detail. All went
by storm with the audience, and at the closing mys-
terry tvpifying In MarguerItes 1nal rescue, even In
the agony OF sin and death, at once the most touch
ing and the sublmest thought OF Christian nope and
promise, their emotion was an event 70 be marked
In the records OF American art. Madame Seebach
herself will probably never forget 1t. The hack
neyed words Of ordinary praise would seem, to
those who behed H., but q mockery. Tonight
M0senthal's much admired drama OF Deborah"
with Nile. veneta in the title role, win close the
week, to DO followed by a number OF new
pieces from the repertory OF Madame Seebach never
before played by that LADY IN New York. They will
commence with "R0meO and JulleV on Monday
nirllt-a masterpiece In German, a. in English Ii
we are TO credit the judgment OF European crtacsm
At all events. who iOrego these wonderful per
for1ances need hereafter blame anything but their
own negligence for having lost an enjoyment that
will most appostteiy point the hint that Mephisto
himself addresses TO the scholars --
Grau thcurcr Freund, ist ALE Theoris
Und des Lebcns go1dRer Baum.