The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1896-07-25
BAIREUTH FESTIVAL.
IT OPENED THIS YEAR WITH A PER-
FORMANcE OF "RHEINGOLD."

DIR. Hans Richter Led-Mnny Americans
Were There-Emperor william to At.
tcnd-Twenty Years Since waEnsr First
Produced the Series.
The Baireuth festival opened this yeai
with performance Of "Rheingold" at the
Festspielhaus under the orchestral leader
ship of DIR. Hans Richter Of Vienna, who
also led the orchestra 20 years ago, when
Richard Wagner first produced his tetral-
ogy, der Ring DIES Nibelungen."
A great number of those coming to hear
the masters great work are Americans
who are 1ocking TO Baireuth from all
those parts of Europe where they have
been sojourning. Some of them have made
the long journey from their homes In the
United States for no reason other than TO
hear the tetralogy
Among the prominent German visitors
are the mother Of Empress Augusta Vic
toria, DIR. Won Puttkamer, formerly Prus-
sian minister of the interior, and the Grand
Duchess Of Mecklenburg. Emperor Will
liam has taken tickets, and he will per-
haps be present at the last cycle In August,
but he has not yet definitely decided
whether nor not he will attend.
There Is no educated man or woman
throughout tho civilized world in whose
mind Baireuth Is not synonymous with
Richard Wagner. Twenty years ago this
was not the case. Baireuth was small
provincial town in the kingdom of Ba-
varia. Its only claim to fame was derived
from the legend that the old castle Of the
margraves OF Ansbach was haunted by a
dame blanche" This quiet little coun-
try town Wagner had selected In which to
build himself a homestead, afterward
known as villa Wahnfried, so called by
him because there his imagination found
its realization. And he there was able to
produce on n stage especially designed for
the purpose his great work, the tetralogy,
der Ring des Nibclungen."
1t is well nigh so years ago that Wagner,
then still a comparatively unknown man,
although his great operas Rienzi, Fly
ing Dutchman" and "Tannhauser" had
been produced with tremendous success,
conceived the idea of writing and -compos-
ing the marvellous tetralogy "Der Ring des
Nibelungen" Twenty years passed before
the stupendous work was scored. And II
it had not been for the liberality and the
magnanimity of King Ludwig III Of Ba-
varia it is very questionable whether Wag-
ner would have lived TO see this work pro-
duced on any stage.
In 1872 Wagner was able to lay the foun-
dation stone for his Festspelhaus on n hill
north of Baireuth, and on Aug. 13, 1876,
the first public performance of the tetralogy
began I'm the presence of the German EN-
peror, William 1, number of princes, and
men well known IN the domain of art and
literature The assembly that waited the
ringing up of the curtain ON that memo
rable day was illustrious In every sense of
the word The Baircuth people had fairly
tried to make their little town appear
worthy of such gathering Of persopagcs.
They had decorated their houses and fes-
toons were drawn across the streets leading
to the Festspiclbaus
King Ludwig attended the full dress re-
hearsals. Originally 1T was intended that
no person besides The king should attend
In the auditorium during these dress re-
hearsals, but the complete emptiness OF the
auditorium was SO detrimental 10 the ef-
fects of the stage performance that Wagner,
with the kings approval, filed the house
on the second, third and fourth days of the
rehearsal with invited hearers.
1t IL long cry from Baircuth, 1875, to
Baireuth, 1896, and In 1876 Wagner had
few friends in the American press. One OF
the first champions of Wagner's art in
America was Otto Floersheim in his ar
ticles in the Belletristischen Blattcr Since
then 80 much has changed that America
produces the strongest contingent of the
most thorough Wagnerites.
But also in Germany great changes were
wrought. When Wagner In 1876, after the
curtain, had been rung down on the first
performance, came forward and announced
to the astonished audience that now they
could have new art II they but willed it,
he was attacked from all sides and merci-
lessly torn to pieces. But six years later
the "new art was already acknowledged.
The German crown prince, afterward En-
pcror Frederick, said in 1882 that he could
not find words to describe the impression he
had received, as it surpassed all he ever
anticipated.
A French critic wrote, "If the hcarcr Is
net moved TO profound devotion, then
verify no ceremony OF tho church Is able TO
arouse within him any such emotion.
And the well known German critic, VIII
liam Tappert, put the feeling of the great
mass into this sentence, " A more noble
legacy than this festival play the master
could not have left US.
Since the original production there have
been many changes on the stage and be-
hind the scenes, but the most important
change of all has been in the character and
spirit of the enterprises This, avowedly
intended by Wagner To advance tone and
new art and for no other purpose, Is now
an instrument to advance the pecuniary
interests OF the Wagner family. Now York
Sun.