Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1901-03-16

drama along the lines of the old Greek /
dramas. but the Greek scale was SO diff |
ferent from that Of later periods that it |
was impossible to get the same tone. |
They did. however succeed in establish |
ing the recitative. At various intervals |
attempts were made to perfect this form. |
but to Wagner fell the lot of success
fully accomplishing the change. He tool. |
Beethoven's music as the Standard ami. |
choosing a leading theme. wove every
incident around it.
Wagner. who was the youngest of nine
children, was born in Leipsig, May -.
1913. His father. who was a clerk in
police court of that city. died five months
after his birch. and some years later his
mother married again and removed to-
| Dresden.
Wagner attended school IN Dresden
! and afterward in Leipsig. and in 1880
graduated at the university. He had
studied music under Gottlieb Mueller
and the year that ne graduated his first
important musical composition. an OVER
ture in B fiat, was performed in the
! Leipstg theater. The same year he took
| lessons in composition from Theodore
Wein,ig. Three years later his first
symphony was rendered at the
, GaWandhaus concert. In 1854 he was
conductor of the opera at Madgeburg.
but the position was not a profitable
one. and Wagner's life at this period
was very unsettled. In 1884 he married
Wihelmna P,aner, an actress at the
theater at konigsberg. and shortly after
ward he accepted a position at Riga.
Here he remained actively employed
until 1899. when he made his first visit
to Paris, taking with him an unfinished
opera for which he had himself pre-
pared .ibretto upon the lines Of Lord
Lytton's "Rienz,' The venture proved
a most unfortunate one. "Rienzi' was
relertlessly rejected. but Wagner COM
petei it, and n 1S45 it was produced az
the court theater at Dresden. The opers.
proved an immense success and I'M
doubteily laid the foundatio of the
great composers fame. Following "Ri-
enz'' came Die Fliegander .Hollender'
in 1913. and ''Tannhauser in 1876.
Neither of these compositions was very
successful, though the former was
4 warmly received.
\ During the next few years he took an
3 active. part in politics. 50 active in fact
that an accusation was lodged against
i him in 1S49 and he was compelled to
leave the country. He first went to
Paris and later to Zurich. where he
passed the next IA years of his life. I e
greater part of this period he devoted
to literature, publishing several DookS
and treat.ses.
While i'll in Paris in 1850 he conceived
the idea of the "Neibelunglied," and he
gan work on his tetralogy OF 'Das
Rheingo'd," Die Walkurie" "Siegfried
and "Gotterdamerung.' In 1861 he re
ce.ved permission to return to Germany,
and in Vienna he had the first oppGr-
tunity of hearing his own "Lohengrln,
an opera which he had completed in 1913.
In 1865 Tristan and Isolde wer.
performed at Munich, and We're followed
three years later by comic opera, l'l-
Meistersinger."
In 1870 Wagner married Cosima, the
daughter of Liszt and formerly the wife
=, of Won Buelow. His first wife, from
, whom he had been separated in 1861 died
in Dresden. While in Triebschen, near
Lucerne, where he had been forced u
retire he formed the plan OF a uheater
at Bairerth for the production of his
tetralogy. He himself laid the corner
stone of the building in 1872, though u
: was not finished and ready for the per
Torrance until four years later. He lives
}. in a charming house. with spaciou!
' grounds. in which he constructed
0 tomb in which he is buried. Never very
e strong, his health had been steadu!
o growing worse, and he sought Venice t
8 recuperate, but too late. On the art.r
> | noon Of February IA, 1888. he was at
= tackled with dizziness and Died.
, The last opera which he wrote, "Parsi
ial" was founded on the story of the
a holy Grail and was produced during
July and August in the year preceding
: his death. This opera is by many con
!. sidered his masterpiece. "Parsifal," say'
- one critic. with it's sacred allegory, it!
4 :..fty nobility of tone and it's pure mys
a ticism, stands on platform by itself
= and is almost above criticisna praise o.
. blame. The liberattO alone might hav'
), won Wagner immortality. so original II
!, il and perfect in intention; and the music
seems to be no longer mere accessor!
- to the effect but the very essence ant
. fragrance of the great conception"
Miss Fulton's paper was as follows:
In 1892 the entire series of Wagner
:. works were performed in London. Tn
. east comurised some of the leading sing
e,s of the German stage. Unfortunatel!
he orchestra was of very inferior de
Is Scription and tho prices charged We're 81
}. .xorbitant that only the weather. classe
!. could attend In the same year "Ol'
II Drury." Tristan" and Isolde" wer
10 heard. On each occasion the theater wa