New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1902-09-17
THE MUNICH FESTIVAL
,r>1H,1 PERFORMANCES IN THE NEW
r-rATRE-MUNICR AND BAYREUTH
RIVALRY BETWEEN THE TOWNS
4 DEFENCE OF SIEGFRIED
WAGNER.
Munich, August Ia.
WAGNER

arire In al five performances have no"
- e1ven-the Introductory offering OF DIE
,r.is,sreirIcer": and the first cycle incirdlils
ne areistersinger,' Tristan und Isolde
- r,hsuser" and ''Lohensrin Was conlple'eu
-. evening The opening cycle was holao'e
.,r one # the finest presentations OF Iflstd"
10Y given. and for one remarkably poor per
.-,s,,ce Of Die, Meistereinser- Inc othei
80. ,,,ero chiefly rernarka BILE for the laVlshness
ri the mounting provided for them, el'lioue"
this can also be said Of both the PsI-oI lii'ii''
~ Wagner's only comedy.
The first representation Of Die Meis'efslll5e.
- really = YER, remarkable one. Hans Sachs
-ras SING by Fritz Feinhals, OF this city whose
,;oa IS admirably suited 70 the part, and VINO
nut So much life and enthusiasm into MS I'M
-s-songtion that the audience was captlTateo
rom the beginning. Heinrich knote, also O.
.bis civ SANG Walther. and his eNQulsiIe'
,,oz-erfrl tenor. combined with his loeal aP !
,,earsrce. MADE Walther who vas worthy O.
me music which has been given him 70 SllIS.
h. E-,ora Is not vet known in America, but 4
- Is not 70 be doubted that he Will carry ii
7ra4ropolitan audience by storm when ne does
appear He has sung in Bayreuth several hIi'es'
his first appearance there being as baN-o III
tho same opera; so that his preparation Tor
thorough rnderstan dtng OF the opera has been
excentforal II is told Of him that Frau CoSlnla
herself guided his first performance OF DAVID
even 10 the extent Of going on the stage anu
showing him how q certain dance step Shoulo
h. ayecuted, David has been sung here this
.s.ason by Albert Reiss, who now ACCORDING 10
.l,a r~oeran7rss. halls from London. 1t is doubt
-ul if this change Of residence mas contributed
"a the excellence Of his work, for. refreshing as
Isis. ,7arcf-r has been, and the whole exuberanCe
a his f7lpersonation il is certain that his false
,7o4es in the quintet OF the third act furnished
almost the only Earring effect on the opening
night In his first song his voice was es-
1eciallv trying Fritzi-Scheff sang Eva the
first night. and was altogether delightful
With these artists in the cast. including
Gisela Staudigl as Magdalena, and q very
powerful and effective orchestra and chorus,
the performance Of Die Meistersinger' was one
70 remember There are 134 men in the or
chestra this year. including forty-two first and
second violins and IL voices in the chorus.
The mounting OF the opera is as beautiful as
It is lavish, the last scene being such a delight
10 the eye in the exact reproduction of a Nurem-
burg view. and in the brilliant and shifting
,-oIors in the vast concourse Of people, that the
ceauty Of the music Is almost outdone- The
management Of the theatre is certainly 70 be
CONGRATULATED on giving the piece a setting Of
such maenificence and good taste as would
have delighted the heart Of its composer
setting if the singing he not good the second
performance bore testimony. Instead Of Fem
halls as Sachs We had Reichmann. There is no
desire to injure this singer. Of past glories and
present artistic enlinence; he is still great
artist. hut his voice is little more than relic.
hs Amfortas he might pass muster for Am
fortas is but the relic Of man. and is not
supposed have { voice Of surprising strength
and beauty But Hans Sachs. No one of Wag-
per's characters should he impersonated in a
moro viIile manner. and it can be said Of Fem
haIs's work that II was almost perfection. But
I2eirhmann is unsuited for the part. His sing
ing was without enthusiasm even in the night
scene. and his voice hard the leather
Ipor which he bestowed half-hearted blows.
But Reichmann is not much to be criticised
Tor assuming this part is the director Of the
theatre for employing him. He undoubtedly
secured him for his name alone, for Won Pos
sarr must know that, no matter what other
roles ReIchrnann Is equal to, he cannot sing
Sachs
And this is not the only point upon which
the management IS TO be criticised. 1t has
brought here from Vienna this year a young
tenor named Leo Slezak. 10 whom have already
been given the roles OF Walther and Tam
h5usor As the former. with the memory Of
hnote'S beautiful voice and presence 50 fresh,
he was positively distressing. Bertha Forster
Lauterer has also been brought from Vienna,
and her work as Eva was far inferior TO Schens.
= tn Reichmann. Slezak. Lauterer. Reiss and
ElsrdigI in the quintet, it be imagined what
glarng contrast with the quintet Of the night
before was manifest. even considering Reiss's
false notes. When the opera was concluded Oh
the first night the audience remained standing
for five minutes, applauding, and crying
Bravo; but on the second night there an
a1af-1 siIa aft acI, befo n
plause .2as heard. and before the last act was
concluded many of the audience had departed
It felt that If this opera. presented on
The second night. was standard Of what was to
be given here this season. the Prinz- Regenten
Theater was decidedly not worth while.
The Munich press the next day seemed TO in
cline toward this view, although Munich has
not yet got over the wonder Of possession in
1nis thearr~ sufficiently indulge in much crit-
cism IF unfavorable nature. Nevertheless
considerable heat was worked off by complain
ing Of Steaks accent which Germans consider
tntolerable. and some fault was found with the
acting Of Lauterer But for those who do not
pat q pure accent before everything. ii is more
important that a singer should have a pure
Voice, and even bad acting is overlooked if the
voice o. good. And the voices of both Slezak
and Lauterer are lar from ideal Reichmanns
voice II course. ,gas not criticised at all.
However. the next performance in the hrst
cycle was Tristan und Isolde. and all fears
for the pre-eminence of this theatre in Wagner
opera we're removed Lovers of music whose
experience covers many seasons at Bayreotb
have been almost extravagant in their praise o.
the performance given here by Bettaque. Forcn-
hammer Frenstad and Bauherger. If Ternina
had been singing Isolde and Bertram King
Marke i is doubtful if any greater pleasure
could have been taken IN the opera Victor
Kloufer sang nTarke very acceptabiy, while