New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1875-05-19

artists, who had stood by faithfully, TO expose
themselves long and repeatedly 70 w. sncrisd naay
with the design OF altogether forcing thein Iroh .ie
stage directions to the 20 n
the condition that 1t should take place on SUNDAY
day excluded from the regular , sn
scbers while they would open the theaer freely 10 tne
real public Ny desire to designate this S
and there remained way for Inc to do but to privately
to my 5 no suffice ' to s The fears
The locke Club; the other hand they imagined my
saw in sunday hs after Which, the opera
having once brought forward with undsnrbed sue
against their will No would believe in the sincerity
Of INV promise hat in case It really did attain such sue
cess would withdraw 1t all the more quickly.
And so these gentlemen gave up their other amuse-
ments for this particular anu came BACK as ~
the second performance This time the wrath OF the al-
dience, which entirely prevented from bearing sne
pssyedI' and only the apparently sacred social position
of messeurs the 81 the peace prevented them
from being roughly hahdied'
Before "Tanuhiuscr' was produced in Paris,
Wagner published his pamphlet Oh THE Music of
the Future" in the form of " A Letter to a French
Friend which contains the best brief account OF
his theory Of dramatic music.
In italy where the opcra was first elaborated other
task has been set before the music ian than to wre
a number OF airs for special singers, IN whom dramatic
should give these rirtosi opportunity to bring into
play their several specific vocal powers All that poetry
and scenery contributed this exhibition Of the per
fnrmers arr was an excuse for time and space for it;
with the singer aernated the dancer, who danced pre-
s TUE tns same as t than TO conbnic variations on
tain selected type OF tune Here, therefore, there was
complete agreement in purpose, down TO the smallest de-
ail because while the composer composed for certain
fixed voices and their individual characteristics these IN
he must make. In this way the Italian be- e,
artgenre by sSi ,h Which, i,uo While rapa
lad also notbing TO do with music for for him VINO
understands art the decline Of Italian music dates from
ne Is ouurcbendcd by any one who has gained true
conception tie dignity the richness and the unscnk
ally x dcIh of the Italian church music OF the
Snlcr centuries and who, after hearing, for example,
the stabat Mater OF PaleSIrina can hardly believe TO
bc possible that the Italian opera Is the legitimate hae
fer of so wonderful mother. This only mention III
passing; let as far as our present OBJECT Is cohcrIhe,
bear chiefly in mind the fact that in Italy, even down 10
orr own day the most perfect harmony exists between
the purposes OF the operate stage ana those OF Tie co
In France also this relation has not changed, though
here the task Increased well for the singers AZ Tor
the composer; for the dramatic poet enters mt" the maj
Ter 70 lar more important degree here than III ltay'
COnlornaby to the national character and to me I'm.
poItant development Ot dramatic poetry AMI action lDal
had zone before this branch OF ar made demands upon
he oucra as well III the establishment OF the grand
op,ri strict style was gradually formed, borrowed III
it, main features from the rules OF the Theatre Francais,
which incrdcd in itself all the arrangements and re-
0uiremens OF "a dramatic Representations without chai-
cezu II more particularly AT this moment, let III bear
in mind the fact that there existed mere thealrr
s Jerrmining the couso of b6th performer and
author; that author found the eXacyoctned frame
all ready prepared which he was to III WITH acton ana
music: a he had known and trained singers and IN.
pcrsoators in mind with whom he was III perfect accord
The opera reached Germany, however as an entirely
completed foreign produc-foicgn IN lis very nature to
the whole character of tie nation FIST OF all. German
princes brought Italian opera troues To Their courts
German composers had Ia visit Italy 10 perfect them
selves there in the art OF operate conIoson Az aer
period the thcacrs themselves took up especially me
public production OF TRANSACTIONS OF French operas A.
trInpts at German opera consisted In nothing but the
recitation Of foreign operas III the German language No
central hcacf to serve a. lHoo ioi this Inpose wac
ever established All remained III Tie greatest aniich
Italian and French styles ana German limitations sde py
side
Distressed at the incongruities and absurdities Of
the ordinary OPERA Wagner declares that he never
tbelcss felt an ndescrbable enthusiastic feeling OF
happiness when here and there in the performance OF
nobler works he became conscious ." of the incoIn-
parable influence of dramatic musical comblna-
tions-an influence of such depth, fervor, and life
no other art is capable of p oducing.' BY degree he
conceived the possibility o. higher order OF must
cal drama in which this arc kind of excellence
should be the standard for all performances He
found clcw to what he sought in the ancient Greek
drama which united the arts of music. poetry,
and action. he formed theory that every indiyid-
nal art reaches point of development where its own
powers can 90 no further, and it demands the com
panonshp of another class of art related to it, lie
did not imagine that this union cond he practically
realized in our day, so he called it the ArtWork Of
the Futurc Thence comes the title Music OF the Fu-
ture originally bestowed in ridicuie, but now ac-
ccpted by Wagner himself. lie never proposed that
the music should be made subordinate to the words
as Guck did-nor would he sacrifice dramatic con-
sistency for the sake OF a tune; but he
insisted that the two arts should unite
on equal terms each sacrificing OF Its exclusive
prctensons for the sake Of the general effect, and
both flowing simultaneously from the same concep-
ton The poet should choose for his subject the
mythos or myth, that originally nameess poem OF
the pcopler-"fOr in it the conventional disappears
and such forms of human relations as are only eX'
pcable to the abstract reason vanish almost en-
tirely and there appears instead only the always IN
telipblc the purely human, but in that inimitablC
concrete form which gives to every genuine myth
the individual features that are so easily Iecogniza.
ble.r The music which must be welded to this nyt!
is not the conventional aria which is mere varia-
ton of the primitive dance tune but the rich and
incxhaustible art-product created by Beethoven
With regard to musical form he says:
find in the frequent and hril demands OF our super
fetal musical dettanti for Melody, melody :" conr
OF The becf that they derive then idea of melody
musical works in which, besides the mcody, com
pletc lack OF melody occurs-which makes what they
think melodous appear 30 precious In Italy an audi
assembled at the OPERA which occupied its evening
with amusement. To this entertainment there belonged
music. upon the stage music which was listened
10 time Ia time during the pauscs Of the cOnvrrs
tiOn-durng the conversation and the constant exchange
OF visits between the boxes thr music continued. fulfilling
the same function for which music Is introduced M great
dnncrs-tha IT, 10 encourage b. its noise the otherwise
timd chat 10 become louder and more lively. Such music
as Played Tor ms purpose ms Out the great bih o.
Italian opera whereas that which Is really listened ia
makes up perhaps twelfth part Of IT, An Italian opera
have AZ least air that people like TO listen to;
II to succeed there must be something 10 interrupt the
conversation and he heard with interest least siN
times and the composer that can draw the attention of
the audience full dozen times TO his music il celebrated
incxhaustblc musical genius. And what shall we
THINK would become of such an audience H. sud
denly finding itself in the presence Of work
which demands like attention through II,
whole duration and for all Its parts, it should itself
torn from all its ordinary Gust at musical perform
anccs And IL 1t could not possibly identify with its
beloved melody" that which IFS most successful
urcsentnlion conld ONLY pass for imprOyemcmt OF