Morning journal and courier., 1884-09-20

mozart-The Public Parks of Vienna, VIENNA, Austria, Aug. g, l To the Editor of the JOURNAL AND COURIER:
 Why has the circus-biu manufacturer been I permitted to secure a monopoly of all the superlatives in the English language? When l there is really a legitimate demand for strong terms one realizes how our good mother
 tongue has been impoverished by these hy- perbole iends. These remarks are suggested by impressions received during my fortnight's stay in Vienna. I had heard of the splen- dors of the gay Austrian capital, but had | not dared to dream of anything so extrava-
 gantly splendid. do not profess to be a | critic in the realm of architecture or any 1 other of the polite arts Indeed, I see that some of those who do train with the frater- | nity of critics assert that the architectural monuments on the celebrated Ringstrasse are too often showy at the expense of good taste. However this may be, only know that after ! each days walk have returned to the hotel, charged and filled in every faculty of my be- ing with the glories in stone and brick and marble which have witnessed
 What a vast amount of artificial beauty 1 there is in this one city of Vienna, and what a lonely little speck it is in this great world ful of natural and artificial beauty! If you do not realize this, just take 8 walk down
 near the Opera House-''the Imperial Opera theatre, D one of the fine evenings. You can
 go to any one of scores of elegant cafes,
 beautiful parks, magnificent boulevards or
 suburban resorts, and see the same things;
 but have mentioned the vicinity of the Op- era House, because it is my purpose to in troduce this letter with an account of re-
 cent visit to the theatre in question. Opera and the legitimate drama are extensively pat
 ronized by the royal family of Austria The Opera House completed in 1869 after
 eight consecutive years of arduous labor
 The Hofburg or Court Theatre has been
 building for many years, and will still be
 many years in completion, although the ma-
 sonry is quite finished. The old theatre is
 still used in the season, however, and it is by
 no means shabby one. Only the purest of
 German is tolerated on the boards, and only
 the highest art. Both places of amusement
 are run regardless of expense, and then at
 the end of the year the emperor meets the
 deficit in accounts out of his own private
 purse. Franz-Joseph's personal wealth is all
 most inestimable, and the monuments to his
 iberality and public spirit appear on every
 hand
 On the evening in question I started at an
 oaTly uOuf BO H04r Gn6 1nlQOT m0lQD6fS or the
 stock opera company sing "Der Barbier von
 Sevilla." Of course I was told that it would
 be a tame performance, as it was not the
 amusement season, and all the stars were
 away for the summer. But I wanted to see the theatre principally, and was curious to see what mediocre Vienna opera is. I glanced at poster and read EAufang, halb ocht."
 Now my German has lapsed somewhat dur ing centuries of disuse, and though have
 been trying to brighten it up some of late, I find that it is still pretty rusty. According ly I interpreted this as half-past eight instead of half-past seven It never occurred to me that the gay Viennese could keep such early
 hours as half-past seven would imply. I now find that it is customary to begin as eer- ly as half-past six if the piece is long one. By ten o'clock the theatre lights are out think of that! This matter of keeping early hours is one of the anomalies of Viennese gaiety. Even the cafes are pretty generally closed at ten o'clock, and if you arrive at your boarding house later than ten D. m. you are fined ten kreuzers Give cents), or rather you give that sum to the 'Ehaushnecht" who lets you in. Cities less gay might copy this sensible fashion. There seems to be a feel ing that it is not respectable to be away from home after ten o'clock in the evening; and if play proves exceptionally long you will see the people get up and go out I strolled along the Ringstrasse, gazing, as always do, with renewed delight at it's towering palaces, conseerated to art, science, business or the functions of government Here were floral salons, into which the throng turned, some to purchase bouquets for their best girl, some lappel nosegays, and still others offerings to members of the opera company. As gazed into these elegant establishments there was something almost oppressive in their luxuTi- ousness Alas, how much money is nearly wasted in each one of these places, that would save scores of miserable people from the sting of direst poverty in other parts of the cityi, Words cannot picture the 1ovell- splashed, statuary lurked beneath bloomy boughs, birds sang and the air was heavy with a thousand precious odors.
 Immediately adjoining these floral estab- hshments was the Opera House, occupying whole block. It was a vast Renaissance structure, generally cruciform in shape, with fountains and shrubbery in the corner plats, and characterized by massive grandeur rath- CT than pretentious ornamentation. On ped estals at the summit of the facade corners were winged horses. The front, above the ground story was devoted to an open 1oggia, decorated with frescoes by Schwind, repre- senting operatic scenes Here were also statues of Heroism, Tragedy, Fantasy, Com edy and Love by Habnel. The parapet was adorned by marble statues of the seven ibe- ral arts, architecture, sculpture, poetry, dan cing, music, the drama and painting. Inside there seemed to be no end of grand stair cases, great chandeliers, massive marble col umns, choice mosaics and statue niches. Everything was imposing and dignifed in tone rather than gaudy. Ascending one flight of stairs, explored series of toilet rooms and magnificent salons for entr'acte tete-a -tetes, all ablaze with light. I had tar ried so long inspecting the exterior and the approaches that was quite tardy when at length stepped, almost dazed and abashed, into the spacious interior. Five galleries cir cled about the auditorium. One of these, the lowest was made to constitute the dress circle, however, since the space usually so called was devoted to rooms for retirement Three of these galleries and half of one of the others were arranged on the European system of stalls. A stall, much larger than the rest and more lavishly decorated, was fit- ted up in the third gallery opposite the stage as the royal box. There were also six regu- lar private boxes on the American plan. Thirty medallions representing distinguished members of the Viennese opera during the last one hundred years were distributed among the box fronts. The orchestra num- bered about forty members, but is, I pre- sume, even larger during the regular opera season. It is said that the theatre seats three persons. I respectfully doubt this for the reason that the system of '1egen" or stalls takes away largely from the seating capacity of house. If it be so it l
 
 than it looks to me. There was good audi 1 ence present in all parts of the house, though 1 nowhere could you get that impression of sea of faces which is common in our larger theatres. During the progress of the opera [ went clear to the extreme uppermost gal l Iery and found the audience in full dress | Even in the top gallery there was not single gamin, and the people were 30 refined in appearance and careful in de- pertinent that one would have fancied him self at some top-shef wedding. The prices | varied from sixty kreuzers or thirty cents room in the rear of the top gallery | to fifteen forins, seven dollars and half 1oge in the parterre or lower galleries.) In ] Bhe time of the best opera I am told that | prices are raised considerably. a Il
 The acoustic properties seem to be actually | perfect. While was at the top I could hear | with wonderful distinctness the barely audi | b1e humming of prima donna over her mu- sic lesson during an excited dialogue between two of the other characters. The interior was illuminated by massive chandelier of l three immense coronas, the light being soft ened by globes held in invisible wire nets l The center of the frescoed ceiling was en- closed by complete circle of smaller imbed- ded coronas. The combined effect was a l dazzingly brilliant illumination The style | of the interior was rich, but even more sub dued than that of the exterior The singing 1