The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1902-12-02
"TANNHAUSER" AT THE OPERA
- lGNER'S THIRD " ORk BROt CIR
FORW ARD AGAIN.
Emil GPrhauser, a New Importation, Makes
His Debut In The Title Role-A Per-
fcrn.ancr Of No Great DISTINCTION
Mr.. Hertz shows Originality In Tempt.

~Tannhal- =" the third Of Wagner
great works and in tie minis of some
e his admirers his greatest, was brought
forward a, the Metropolitan Opera House
last night 10 begin he second We, of the
season. Emil Gesha Iser, one of the newly
imported tenors Of the company, made
his Debut IN the title ioln. The other r1cm
bn-, of The cast were old gcqgaintanco,
The audience was not much large" han Tn"
subscription list. and it regarded the pro-
ceeding~ with mild won er. rhi, is not
,emarkabo. for the deep tragic purport Of
the drama was not disclosed by the per-
Torrance. which had an oycrplus Of dir
,racting icfciencie>
"Tarui aIser" i in danger OF a lack Of
rub'ic appreciation. This seems n strange
statement in view of IN fact that II has for
nearly sixty YEAR s,eadilv increased in
popularity But appreciation and rCnu-
!ari,v are by no means Identical. Wagner
writhed in aucGish under the rcali2at ion that
though he was called out twenty times at
the first performance, the good people of
Dresden were applauding him for operate
numbers. an / failing - discern the organic
union of his music with the dramatic con-
tent Of his book He suffered; and as was
customary with him when he suffered he
wrote and publishes p 'otest.
He prepared an essay on the performing
Of -TaTnl d User" and in it set forth his de-
mards as we'll as his dramatic purposes.
y rcrusal of this paper shows us that in
respect Of this grand tragedy the world has
made 10 little ogress since the year 1915
Many Of the cuts made by Wager simply
iccause he could rot drum the sgnifcar CO
If the passages into the heads Of stage
MAJ ayers who would not take notice of the
music, conductors who gave 10 thought
to the stage business and singers who were
singers and nothiu & else, have been restored
Honest erdeayors have lcen made to
col struct for the first act tallets which
shall not be mere dances in the manner Of the
Neyerheerian opera. but it must be con-
fcssed that with the best intentions in the
world Italian ballet masters and coryphacs
Of conventional scEColI.g do rot arrive at
a conyiI chg realization Of the symbolic
rictures which were in NaH.ers mind
Nor do the sCeLe painter and the property
man succeed much Letter with the Venus
lerg cavern ard its tabeaus OF Lcda and
Europa The whole scer @. a. it is generally
performed, Ncrgcs perilously on the old
fashioned Christmas raItomime Gear TO
holiday London.
The stage business fares but little better
as q rule. The animated scene al the end
of the first act usually degeneratcs into a
limp and notwithstanding spectacle Of palpable
supernumerari.s 1t did this in Nagner's
day; il does so now Nothing short Of half
a dozen rehearsals under good theat rical
stage manager like Julian Mitchell or Napier
Lothian would produce the right effect
Too often the entrance of the GUESTS into
the hall of song becomes the conventional
stage mnrch. with its "serpcntine curve
which Wagner deplored. But here the
authority of criticism, based on the poet
composers own writings, Is, so far as con-
temporary Germans are concerned ,estopped
bv the august fist of the widow Wagner,
who has had he mechanical marohperformed
al the sacred stage Of the Festspielhaus at
Blyrcuth.
Conductors, too, have learned to disre-
gard the masters wishes in thu matter of
tempt, and the overture which he conducted
in twelve minutes, often occupies a third
more time. The elasticity of the orchestral
accompaniment is frequently missing, and
there are plentiful evidences that both
singers and conductors forget what Wagner
said My song is recitativc my recitatiNe
is song"
Last nights performance vas in some
respects free from the repioach Of those Of
Wagner's early days, but in others 1t vas
sadly faulty. Neither conductor nor stage
manager showed high skill in the manage
ment Of their separate depart nents, while
in the cooperation Of the two Wagner =