Daily independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 188?-1915, 1889-10-09
MAGNETS oPERA-AousE


Hawaiian Town.
Bayreuth, where Wagner built his
great festival theater. and where he
supervised the production Of the works
of his mature genius, Is a quaint, rus
tic little town in Bavaria. on the left
bunk OF the Red Main. There are
three palaces in the town. The Her.
mitage palace is q fanciful building,
where Frederick the Great and his sis
ter, the Margarine of Bayreuth, re-
sided An excellent bronze statue of
Jean Paul Richter. the philosopher,
who died and was buried in Bayreuth
in 1925; is in the gymnasiumplatz, and
an inscription in gold letters marks
his house. IL is q picturesque little
town, with a population of about co.
600. The quietness of the place was
probably its chief attraction for Wag-
ner, and it was here that he saw tho
completion Of his life work. He
had long been possessed of desire to
have an opera-house Of his own, where
his works could be produced under his
personal direction. He wished to have
The four operas comprising the great
Nibelungen Tetralogy rendered to his
own satisfaction, and he would not en-
terrain the idea of having them pro-
duced anywhere but in an opera-house
of his own.
The cornerstone Of Wagner's OPP
era-House was laid in 1872 and was
completed in 1876, when the first
festival took place The theater
occupies hilly site within easy walk
Ing distance OF the heart of the town.
1t is built of brick, and the architect
ure Is severely plain. TIE interior is
remarkable for it's simplicity. 1t will
accommodate about one thousand four
hundred persons. There is no attempt
at ornnmentation, and this is in
accordance with Wagner's idea that
there should be nothing in a theater
to distract attention from what Is
taking place on the stage.
There are no proscenium boxes, no
visible footlights or orchestra. no
prompter's hood. Those who are
accustomed only to the distracting
architectural accessories of an
ordinary theater can hardly conceive,
perhaps. how greatly the effect of any
scene is enhanced by its thus being,
30 to speak, the only thing in sight
And in a house SO built no one can do
aught but look and listen to what is
on the boards. 1t Is not show place
for the audience, but darkened hall.
whittier the audience comes for tho
sake OF the opera alone
The musicians sit in kind OF q
''moat" which runs across the theater
between the stage and the audience,
and they are entirely hidden from
view. This concealment of the Or
Chestra Is an equally fortunate ar
rangement. The power of the mu5io
is increased by its thus seeming tho
work of invisible agents, instead Of
piping, pulling gentleman in nom
dramatic garb. And the whole volo
ume OF sound comes to the ear with
far moro unity and precision of effect.
The stage Is one hundred feet wide
by one hundred and three feet in
depth. Back of this is another stage
of fifty feet in length that Is only used
on extraordinary occasions. The
scenic arrangements. as Is necessary
in the production Of Wagner's operas,
are probably the finest in the world.
Many novel effects are introduced.
For instance, in "Parsifal." the old
knight and the boy Parsifal appear to
be walking through a deep forest to
the castle Of Montslavat But in re-
atty it is the scenery that Is moving
past them, sometimes entirely hiding
them from view, and they are finally
seen to emerge from the wood and
the grand hall of the castle, although
they have not once left the stage The
shifting is marvelously we'll done and
the Illusion is complete.
Lovers OF music from all over the
world assemble ut Bayreuth during
the summer to hear Wagner's operas
Tho price OF seats ID twenty marks, OF
five dollars each, regardless of loca
ton. so those who apply first get the
best soats. There nre usually fourteen
or sixteen performances, spreading
over q period Of four or five weeks