New-York tribune., 1891-05-17
A PLAY BY CARMEN SYLVIA.
TO HAVE A PLACE IN THE REGULAR REPER-
TORY OF THE STAGE
Vienna, May a.


Plays and operas by royal authors are hov su,n ,.
a rarity that production OF new one 'noa, '
.+troct scrious attention. The latest work OF TINS
character, however. possesses some eAcep'ionai ~
terest for two reasons first, that IL Is really
,oritorious composition. and second, that 1t VIII
in all probability be placed in the regular roper
tory of the theatre and frequently be seen on
the stage here and in other cities
The work in question is o four-act drama caheo
"Master Manole,' and 1t has been written py
Elizabeth. Queen Of Rumania, already well
known in the literary world as Carmen Sylva.
H. is really dramatization of poem py Alex
andri. the famous Rumanian poet who was lor
some years before his death the Queens ihtiihaoe
friend as she herself declared. her literary MASTER
This poem In turn Is founded on an anciehO r'u-
manian legend about the building OF the eieaO
monastery Of Curtea de Argcsh, In Wallachla.
The story runs that this superb Moorish edifce
was built by Master Manole, an Italian archltec''
who was assisted by ten Wallachian builders.
They planned their work well, and executed ~
faithfully. But every night all that they nad
built during the day fell into ruin. Ihey con-
suited a soothsayer who told them that the SPOT
where they were trying TO build rested under
curse How could this curse be removed only'
said the wizard, by entombing alive withln the
foundations Of the building some living person
innocent of the crime which brought the curse
upon the place. An anxious consultation followed
as TO who should thus be sacrificed. Finally
Master Manole proposed that the first female reia
tive Of any one connected with the enterprise,
be she wife, daughter sister, who should come
there on a certain day bringing food and drink
should thus be entombed. To this the othef
worlxmen reluctantly agreed.
The fatal day came. All tho men had, under
a solemn VOW refrained from mentioning the
matter to their families, or from doing or saying
anything which would influence the coming or
staying away of their women-foik. They now
watched anXiously to see who would first appear
II proved to be none other than the beautiful
young wife of Master Manole himself 1t was he
who first saw her coming while she was yet at
considerable distance. Frantic with agony ne
nrayed that the fates would turn her back, that
lightning would strike her dead, that Hood
would sweep her away, that In some way she
might be prevented from approaching the place
of her awful destiny His prayers were In vain.
She reached the building, and was Immediately
claimed as sacrifice. Bound by his oath, Manole
coula not withdraw from the terrible covenant
he had made with his companions. lie was
moreover largely inspired by professional amoilon'
1t was the dream of his life to complete the monas-
terry and make it the finest building In all Europe
This he could not do without making the sacrifice
to get rid of the curse, and accordingly ne olo
not hesitate to put his own wife to death. With
his own hand he placed her in a niche in the
masonry, and then walled up the opening with
stones and mortar. The monastery was then COM
pleted without further trouble But when the
reigning sovereign heard of the crime, be con-
demned Manole himself to be starved to death in
tho hiohpst tower of the building.
So far the story and the poem. The royal
author has made some changes for dramatic pur-
poses In her play, there is revolt OF the work
men against Manoe because he Is foreigner
There are various other intrigues against him by
Jealous competitors. The Prince, moreover, Is In
love with Manoe's wife, and is plotting to gain
possession Of her. 1t Is thus made to appear
that Manole is jealous of his wife, and Is chieny
prompted by that passion when he puts her 10
death. radical change Is also made IN the
climax of the play. Instead of being punished
by the Prince, the architect is driven mad by
remorse; and instead of being starved to death IN
the tower he dies on the threshold OF the building
at the very feet of the Prince and Princess as
they are entering it at the formal dedication
1t will thus be seen that the play is not only
tragic but exceedingly sombre throughout, and
even repellant in its aggregation of horrors, put
10 contains q nuInDer vi very oViOhS
One of these is at the revolt of the Walachian
builders against their Italian master The scene
ON the darIened stage, when the walls which were
built during the day are falling into ruin at night
is n masterpiece Of realism. The picture of the
finished monastery and the death of the mad archl-
tect in the last act are also most impressive.
But the strongest scene in the whole play occurs
in the third act when ManOle is entombing alive
his beautiful wife. The play was written year
or two ago. and its existence was first known last
wear when it was read by ITS author to a private
company OF dramatic critics in this city. Her
hearers at that time commended the work, Dut
suggested number of changes. She has since
nut their advice into execution, with the result OF
greatly improving the play. The critics are now
satisfied and pronounce Master Manole' worthy
of respectable rank among the dramas of the day.
This play has just been performed at special
matinee in the Imperial Opera House.. lt was
put on the stage as an experiment 10 determine
| box-office receipts were all devoted TO charity.
| The actors were members of the company Of the
Hofburg Theatre, and included the three foremost
artists of Austria. The title role was enacted Dy
| Herr Sonnenthal. Gianetta, Manoie's wne, was
played by Frau Hohenfels and the character OF tpe
| Princess was taken by Frau Charlotte Wolfer
herself The audience was a distinguished enc.
| IL included the Emperor and his daughter, nearly
| all the Ambassadors and foreign Ministers, and
n host OF literary men, actors and actresses lhey
| seemed to look upon the play without reference
to the personality of its author. and 10 crit clSe
| il according to its actual deserts. Under these
circumstances their verdict was. upon the WhoIe'
highly favorable and before stated, the drama
will probably find permanent place LII the repei'
| tory of the Hofburg Theatre.