New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1877-04-03
MUSIC AND THE DRAMA.
THE WALKURE.


Each of the four divisions of Wagners "Ring
OF the Ebeungs" has its well-defined character
marked out in the music less than In the text. The
Rheingod" is romantic. "siegfried is an idyllic
poem, The Dusk of the Gods is picture of heroic
life and the wakiirc" illustrates than of the
others the excitement Of human love and the pathos OF
human suffering conrastcd with the lofty emotions Of
the godke Six scenes fix themselves conspicuouSy
in minds recall the performance these arc the
beautiful Introductory duet between Siegnde and Sieg
mnd which depicts the gentle beginning OF their love
the second and highly coored duet between the
same characters, sung while the moonlight streams
through the door OF the dark hut the mysterious ana
impressive dialogue between WOtdn and Brhh"h"oe
after the departure of Frea in the second act the APP
pearance OF the Vakyrie to SeGmund the RIDE OF Tue
Vakyries and Wotdn's pathetic Farewell. Never per
haps has Wagner shown such extraordinary power III
the expression of strong emotions az IN ,ho
prolonged Ovescenes OF this exciting work. the carrier
passages as delicate and tender a. Spring ahd
scape; but the rapture grows, the Intoxicating strains
assume new character until the persons OF the drama
seem 10 fame with an uncomfortable ardor and the very
fddles culver with passion. Certainly there Is an
mnorous realism in the music OF this guilty. pro'"ei
and sister which is both unhealthy ana unpeasah''
and it Is great relief when the curtain fails upon
them and the pure and lofty sentiment OF Wotdn ana
Brannhiide suggests a different atmosphere Inc ara
mutic contrast however, between the lawess emotions
mortals and the grand emotions Of the gods Is one
Of the most perfect that music has ever painted.
The first performance Of this extraordinary Worh III
New-York-or indeed anywhere else out OF German!
drew an overlooking audience to the Academy OF Music
las, ht and was witnessed with intense curiosity anu
interest The curtain at ten minutes before o.
and fell at precisely IL. Mr.. Fryer chose ,he
"Wakiire" for the browning effort OF his
Wagner because IL Is the only one VI
the four divisions of the Bayreuth festival play whch
embraces spectacular effects and requires no mecan
ism which the ordinary resources of our theaer' eau
not furnish The absence OF the gorgeous and romantic
scenery and novel illusions which added so much
to the beauty of the Rheingold" ana 'he
" G0ttcrdimmerung threw. however, very
heavy responsibility upon two or three VI
the principal artists, nasmuch as 1t required tneh u
sustain almost alone the interest OF several long anu
ing scenes and they not strong enough ID 40 IT,
Nine Pappenhem indeed was an excellent Br"nn""ae'
she has done everything well this season; IN each
new character she seems to develop new capa
bilities and last night she rose To
much higher level than she had reached Deiore'
Mr. Blum was all that could be demanded as Hndhhg
but the part is small one None OF the others were
good The Sieqlindc OF Nine. Canssa the S'eg"nna OF
Mr. Bhcho the Wotan of Mr.. Preusser. the fricEa OF
Mrs Ustner were all weak and out Of tune. and the
eight VarTies were so bad that they were laughed at
We are not az all sure that it is desirable to give such an
exacng work with incompetent performers WHO can
present only the shadow of the real Walkure' nor
was the orchestra entirely what it should have Deen
Mr.. Neuendorf has done well generally, ana
given Ills band very far superior to what we nave
had the Academy of Music hitherto that 1t would DC
ungenerous to find fault with him. But the orchestra
which Wagner demands for his Ring OF the Nibelungs
is peculiar The instrumental part OF the opera
is quite as eloquent and expressive as the
vocal part and very often 1t is more impor-
tant than what is sung; 1t is perfect
symphony. Now we missed the suGgesiyeness and va
in
and loud III the brass and weak in the strings ana
rarely gave any delicacy of colorng. The stage
setting accessories, management OF lights &c were Io
good but the dresses were correct and picturesque