Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1882-08-12
Wagner.

1t has been said of Meyerbeer that he was lust
as clever and skilled in working the success of
his operas as in writing the scores. But Meyer
beer was an innocent baby compared to Richard
Wagner. He does not content himself with hay
ing every word or note he writes pulled to the
Sky. He does better With the dOeful look and
pose OF a WrOnged woman who thoroughly knows
how to pass herself off as the silently suffering
victim OF malicious gossip until she meets with
the chvarous knight. who. spear in hand ad-
vanceS IN the arena to defend illuminated in
nocence against detraction-so posed all his
life Richard Wagner. SO does he pose at this
very moment, and although living in luxury.
in adulation, in clouds of incense, he always
was. and he is, the misunderstood or the unun-
derstOod victim. Wagner is not In the true
sense OF the word great man. but he has both
great natural gifts and great artistic acquire
ments. ana had he left his musical talent alone
and written as nature endowed him. and
science helped him to do he would never have
lost himself in the labyrinthic path Of unintel-
hgible, ear-torturing intervals and harmones
that mock at their name, because they are dis
cord. "Vanitas vanitatum, Omnfa Vanitas"
is the old and wisest Kings saying. Wagner,
as said, is gifted and organized for a great
musician, with a study and genius of orchestra
ton, not, rs he fancies above Beethoven
Meyerbeer, and Berlioz. yet as high as any
man of the century. He evidently is one Of
the glOries Of his country. But that was not
sufficient for him, because other people had been
the glory of their country. and he wanted to
be more than anybody else; he tried to do
the impossible. and as it always happens, since
the Tower Of Babel, whenever man attempted
the Impossible. so it happened to Wagner, who,
like the frog in the fable blew himself so big
that he at last burst. The great work OF his
life, the Ring of the Nbungs" according to
his own words. was not only destined to wipe
out Of existence all other, but even his own
earlier operas" Tannhauser" "LOhengrin. :"
INT oSfa rEo Of
ton, invention and execution, and from it he
dated for Germany the era of IA new art" as he
modestly called it in Bayreuth. This work is,
with regard to the book, an amalgamatiOn of
impossibities, and totally unnecessary series of
crime. and with regard to the music perfect
monstrositv, but to such an extent that.after
having maintained for six years that it repre-
sented the only real music. that it buried all the
old laws and doctrines. that, in fact. it was the
new art. he now has quietly returned to the
ancient gods. to melody which he had previously
declared to be quite unnecessary. or at least
perfectly subservient to the words; he has given
up the unnatural intervals which no singer can
produce. so that the singers who learned how
to produce them untitled themselves for any
other music. He has returned from his excru-
ciating dscords to harmOnies bearable to and
rejoicing the ear-he has, in fine, in his new
composition "Parsifal," to be produced next
month in Bayreuth, abandoned the position OF
the false prophet with his new art"
and has returned to the ancient, esthetic,
immortal law of real art-the beautiful
and simple. 1t is said that only few
weeks ago an adept in the art saw Wagner at
Bayreuth. and was amazed to hear In the new
work. Parsifal, the simplicity and melodious
beauty of Wagner's old operas, those which he
had so energetcally repudiated as peches de
jeunesse. and he frankly expressed to Wagner
his agreeable surprise to see him abandon the
tOrturing path Of what he called the 'endless
melody but which was an endless bore with
out any melody, To his amazement, Wagner
said to him." 1t may surprise you to hear me
say SO. but myself find the Nibelungs Ring
rather tedious and long winded. have given
up this proceeding; it does not answer" And
that he said Of the very proceeding he had put
his reputation at stake to uphold and proclaim
the new art."-Iemple Bar.