The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1894-09-20

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Afew hours ride from Nuremberg lies
the pretty town of Bayreuth, sur.
rounded by hills aud woods. old2 Yes.
Interesting? Not particularly. Tho
town was built in the twelfth century
and Of course it contains the usual
amount OF old and worn out curloslties.
Churches with IN over display Of gold
and carmine, pictures Of forgotten
saints, whose features remind ono Of
the celebrated drawing on little Toms
slate. A Ohors walk from Bayreuth is
the castle Hermitage. Tho Mosaic,
made mostly OF mountain crystal. and
the water works, Sun Temple. in imita.
ton OF tho Versailles water works, arc
beautiful and worth seeing. The castle
itself contains originals and copies Of
the greatest art works.
On tho way to tho Hermitage you
pass the "Rollwenzl," restaurant OF
very modest appearance. Hero the
great humorist and sentimentalist, Jean
Paul Richter, spent his later years.
Then there is the castle "Fantasic,"
with beautiful park. Here, too, Is the
grave Of that noble man and grand
artist and poet, Franz List, and, great
est OF oil, Richard Wagner, whose works
attract people from all parts OF tho
globe to that quiet town. 1t was the
beauty OF his works which led me
from the circle Of happy home and
friends to cross the ocean once again.
OF Wagner's music dramas the follow
ing were given from the 10th OF July
until the 10th Of August: ParcIfal,
Lohengrin, Tannhauser.
pARCIFAL.
A twenty minutes walk along fine
road lined with shade trees brought
mo, with hundreds Of just as eager aud
expectant people, to the Wagner
theatre.
Parcifal can only DO given at Bay
reuth and 10 for that reason probably
less known to the general public. A
short account OF this noble work may
provo not uninteresting,
"rhe work is sublime in the very
deepest sense Of that word, but it is ALEC
rs bold as 1t is glorious. None before
Wagner ever attempted to write u must-
cal drama on q subject 80 approaching
divinity as the last work Of the great
master. The living pictures we see,
such as "The Holy Supper" and Su1er-
ing Amfortas, Tho arst and the last
dwelling OF the Grail, Kundry wash
Ing Parcifal's feet and drying them
with her hair, Parcifal baptizing Kun
dry-these and others go right to tho
heart and touch the fount OF COM
PASSIONS tears, leaving an impression
far deeper, far moro sublime than many
u sermon.
The beauty OF the opening music ia
beyond description. u seizes one with
unearthly power. 1tspeaks to us OF the
mugnificance and bliss OF Mausalvat,
the Grail; then in somber ominous
strains it relates the suffering Of Am
fortas, tho Grail king, and his longing
for death. bursting into tones OF
ecstatic Joy it assures US that redemp.
ton has come to those who waited in
patience through long years Of suffer-
ing and trial. 1t is daybreak. Gurne-
MANI and two pages are asleep. Trum-
net calls from the castle OF the Grail
wakcn Thorn, and falling down on their
knees they join in prayer. The pages
prepare the bath in the forest
lake for tho wounded king. The music
heralds a change Of an excited, weird
character. Kundry (thc female wander
ing Jew) bursts in upon the scene,
thrusting a vial into Gurnemanz's
hands