The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-10-23

poetry. by the coarsest and most prim-
Tive means.
Somehow I sat out the following scene
with h appearance of the monster,
accompanied by his bass notes, inter-
woven with the motive of Siegfried, the
fight with the monster. all the fencing
fires. rd-brandishings. but I could
stand no more, n fled from the the
alter with a feeling of disgust which ]
cannot forget eve now.
why did people go. and why do they
still go. to these representations? In
voluntarily the question presents it.
self-how are we to explain the sue
cess of these productions of Wag-
ner's?
II explain this success to myself by
saying that. thanks to the exceptional
position in which ne found himself, by
having at his disposal the kings re-
sources. Wagner with the greatest skill
availed himself of all the means de-
veloped by long practice OF false art.
OF initiating art. inc set up a model
imitation production of art. ] have
his production as a model, be-
cause I'm none of the limitations OF art
known to me are united with such mas
terly skill and power all h processes
by means of which art Is initiated.
namely, borrowing. ornament. effect
and interest.
Beginning with a subject X from
antiquity. and ending with the mists
and risings OF the sun and moon, Wag-
ner In his production profits by every
thing that is considered poetic. There
are the sleeping beauty, mermaids.
subterraneous fires. gnomes. battles.
swords. love. bloodshed. monsters and
the singing Of birds-the whole arsenal
Of the poetic brought to bear.
And at the same ttnna ~ is all beau-
tiful: there are beautiful decorations,
and costumes and mermaids. and the
sounds themselves are beautiful. Wag-
ner, not devoid of musical art. N hav-
ing at his disposition unlimited esourc-
es of singers n orchestra, devised
sounds through their harmony and tim
Der precisely beautiful. Though real
music cannot be beautiful. the union
OF sounds and timbers used by Wagner
Is precisely beautifully All this beauty
Is of the lowest type. of bad tone. like
h pretty in illustrated adver-
tisements, or the pretty woman dear
to officers, but all this i~s-beautiful.
Besides this. everything In this pro-
duction is in the highest degree strik-
ingly efective-strikingly. by Its sim
gularities also; the monsters. and
witch fires. and the performances which
taxi place under the water. and n
darkness in which the spectators are
found. and the fact tina the orchestra
Is visible. n the new and hitherto
unusual harmonic combinations.
1T is just the poetical character,
beauty, striking quality n interest
into these productions.
thanks TO the special advantageous po-
sition in which ne found himself. which
act on the spectator i'm h utmost de-
gree OF perfection. hypnotizing him.
somewhat as a person would be hyp-
Noticed Tor several hours in succession
III he heard the rawlings OF a lunatic pro-
nounced with the greatest oratorical
art"
According to Tolstoi. then. IL is hyp-
notism which makes people like Wsg-
ner. He says:
They say: You cannot judge since
you did not see the productions of Wsg-
ner at Bayreuth In the darkness. where
the music was not seen. but II under
the stage and the execution Is carried