The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1889-08-02
WAGSEH'S VILLA.

poetry of "Tannhauser;n when it had listened
to the marvellous "Lohensrin," teeming with
haunting strains Of mystical meaning, and
when he composed Tristan and Isolde, q
profound work which deals with conditions
Of human life TINT have passed away many
centuries since, and the music OF which is an
absolute defiance Of all rules and traditions
when these great operas were fairly thrust
upon the notice Of II public whose palate was
becoming jaded with the mechanicalness of
the existing opera, they inspired all apprecia-
ton and an enthusiasm not parallelcd in the
annals of music,
WaGner's theory of tho true mission Of
opera was the development of a vague idea
which he conceived when but boy. The
vast influence which the works Of Byron e1-
ercised upon continental Europe during tho
first half OF this century had the effect of
creating an interest in English literature,
and Shakespeare particularly was carefully
studied. When Wagner was still in his twelfth
year he was an enthusiastic admirer Of the
Bard of Avon. His two heroes were Beethoven
and Shakespeare. He resolved to compose
an opera, the music Of which should be rs
great as Beethoven's, and the poetry as great
as Shakespeares. He set to work and pro-
duced tragedy that was q sort Of combina-
tion OF s'King Lear" and "Hamlet." There
were over forty deaths in this remarkable
tragedy, and III order to have enough char
acters to finish the story Wagner says he was
obliged to bring back upon the scenes the
ghosts Of the dead characters! But this in
cident represents the first crude formation of
his theory, which, briefly stated, is that
there must be q perfect union OF the music
with the action of the drama.
The drama must not be mere auxiliary Of
the music-simply a thread upon which to
hang certain number of arms and duets for
soloists. Amy one who reads the libretto Of
one of Wagner's operas will recognize the
masterful touches of poet And tho music
Is In exact accord with every variation of
the story. Every passage, almost every
noto, has, when taken in connection with the
development of the drama, meaning of Its
own. When the curtain falls on tho first
scene OF "Tannhauser," for instance, the mu-
sic, instead Of ceasing until the beginning Of
the next scene, is continued without any in
termission, and when tie curtain rises on tho
splendid Wartburg scene the music has paved
the way for the progression of tho story by
forming kind of harmonical foreground.
Bayreuth, where Wagner built his great
festival theatre, and where he supervised the
production of the works Of hismnture genius,
is quaint, rustic little town in Bavaria, on
the left bank OF the Red Main. There are
three palaces In the town. The Hermitage
palace is fanciful building, where Frederick
the Great and his sister, the Margravine OF
Bayreuth, resided. An excellent bronze sta
tue OF Jean Paul Richter, the philosopher,
who died and was buried In Bayrenth IN 1926,
is in the egyn,nasiumsplatz and an inscription
in gold letters marks his house. 1t is pic
turesque little town, with a population Of
about q, ,000. The quietness of the place was
probably its chief attraction for Wagner