The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-08-13

CARDS religious literature, drama and the
opera. :t.,...
. De Eara's question, and his underlying
reason for asking it, is good index to
the sort of opera that Messaline is both
as to plot and presentation, both as to
story and the musical Interpretation of
that story. The Iibretto is one which calls
for the literary equivalent Of the soft
pedal. If you are reading it you will do
well to put cotton in your ears; If it. is
being read to you you will find it advisa-
BILE to hold your nose, and either shut
your eyes or take off your glasses. Men
tai near-sightedness becomes a distinct
advantage, and a deafness of the intel
ligence an unmittigated blessing when
one has to encounter such a story as
Armand Sylvester and Eugene Morand
have chosen to set forth in words, and De
Lara has elected to cOpiously illustrate in
music. George Moore, the novelist and
critic, wrote a sentence once about dan
nunzio, which, at the time I read 1t,
sounded rather meaningless. He said:
1.-THE habitual color of d'Annunzios mind
is delicate mauve. 1t has all the iride-
scent glories of a ruined sunset" Para
phrasing Mr.. Moore, 1 may say that the
habitual color of Messaline is hot pur-
pie, and that it emits the phosphores-
cent glories of a decadent inventiveness.
The only way to get through the opera
without blushing until you are sunburned
and frecl1led is to take the score and at
tend strictly to the music, and even that
is not an entire relief, for, as I said, De
Laras music exactly illustrates the
libretto. And you can not help getting d
notion of immortality from his use of the
chromatic scale, and of RIGHTEOUSNESS in
the chord of the diminished seventh.
know quite well that what I have just
written will amount, as far as some peo-
pie are concerned, to a very good adver-
tisement of the new opera. There are
some birds and animals who have an in
born taste for whatever is specially and
Enthusiastically decayed, and the worse it
is the better they like it. That sort Of
taste will, I think, find ample gratifica-
ton in Messaline, and I can say that
truly believe that the kind of people who
possess that sort of taste will not, of
course, be made any the worse for seeing
even such an opera as Messaline.
So much for the work from the out-of-
date standpoint of the decencies. From
the purely-no, 1 should say the merely
artistic standpoint the work is somewhat
beautiful and entirely remarkable. I do
not know of any other opera that is so
complete and successful a character study
as is this one, both from dramatic and
a psychological point of view. Thanks to
De Lara and the librettists, Messaline is
not merely musical opus with an alleged
had hut Of ini11 70 t.
consistent dramatic conception, carried
out with an amount of care and elabora-
ton which results in an impression Of
reality equally convincing, brilliant and
deteStable. Thanks to Heglon, who
created the title role, and to Renaud and
Alvarez, who interpreted the two male
parts, the three main characters are not
merely three modern singers in antique
costumes, who sometimes sing and some
times act, but who never do both at the
same moment. They are three people Of
the days when Rome was rotting. Es-
pecially is this true of Heglon; in "Mes-
saline" she is the wickedest woman of a
wicked era. A character who has stepped
across the centuries and brought with her
her whole surroundings of pomp and wan
tonness, of luxury and cruelty, of beauty
and evil.
Both with her and with Alvarez there
is as much dramatic action and elabora-
ton as if the opera were not an opera,
but play. Imagine the direct opposite
of the Wagnerian school of acting, a
school which makes a kiss last for thirty
two bars of music, and requires an at
titude or a gesture to last out fifteen min
utes, and you will understand what, !
mean when I say that in stage natural
ness Messaline, as interpreted by Heg1on
and Alvarez, Ia q distinct departure and