The sun., 1903-11-29
IN TIE WORLD OF MUSIC.
STAGE MANAGEMENT AND SiNC.
ERS AT THE OPERA. ..
and "DIe Walltuere" staged
In Different styies--TOO Much wagner
In the Wagnerian Drania-Pernicious
influence or the Wagner MenaEerie
--tarIsO and Other New singers.


, In the Wagnerian Demonstrations
Influence OF the wagner MenaEeric
| --tarisO and other New singers.
In the week ending Sunday. Nov. %,
there were in this town thirteen pubic
musical entertainments of the kind which
newspa pers are Obliged to chronicle In
the week ending to-day there have been
twelve. Nevertheless. in the opinion OF
that vast ma iority Of the populace which
adorers Of Bra Inns. Beet hoven and Ba ch de-
scribe as unmuscal. tho musical season
began last Monday night when Heinrich
Conried threw wide open the doors OF the
METROPOLITAN Opera House and permitted an
eager world to consider the besmirched
lilies OF veldi's -Rigoletto."
Ii was a curious week at the opera. The
opening night saw the auditorium packed.
and all for dear old "Caro nomes and La
donna mobile" The second night brought
We gner's Die Walkdro" with fine cast
and one of the greatest Of Wagnerian con-
ductors in the chair. and the house was half
empty 1t is familiar fact to those who
watch such matters that Die Walkiire" "
seldom draws a large audience early in the
season. This is still more likely TO be the
case when the cast is not attractive, be-
cause of unknown power.
When Ernst kraus was last here he was
in a wretchad state OF health and sang
badly. He left a most unfavorable impress
sion. Only few supposed that Nine.
Ciadski could approach the requirements Of
the role of B,unnhUde. OF Olive Frem-
stad, the Sic1linde, no one knew anything
except that she was in high ropute in Ger
many, which was not especially in her
favor. The sort of opera singing hat Is
adored in Germany does not usually move
Amer leans to demons ratiOns of Joy
The promises of the manager az to new
scenery new age effects and efficient stage
management did not carry due weight with
the general public They convinced the Wag-
| merriam contingent, the old guard, and that
was out in full force.
Alas for the expectations OF mice and
mem intelligence and successful effort
marked the mounting of "RiGoletto." In
Die Walkurc" everything was at skies
and at sevens Absi omen If the at
tempt to make a Beyreuth in New York
bears such fruit in the we'll tried wal.
! klere," what is going 20 happen in *
plored -Parsifal?" But that is another
story "Rigoletto, the hackney cab horse
of Saturday nights. the dernier resort OF
managers with a coloratuie soprano and a
tenor di grazia on their hands, was ac-
tually given brilliantly on the opening
night.
The rising of the curtain on the first act
showed that the new lighting plant had
made pleasing possibilities The fore
ground was ilumined with a soft yellow
radiance, and the raised plat tform at the
rear, on which the ballet dsported itself.
was flooded with clear and dazzling white
The effect Was theatrical, but striking, and
it made the entire scene appear like a new
one. It even made tho battle scared
costumes look as if they had been remade
and tempered into more human tints.
The ncw set of the second act was not a
| notable example Of the scene painters
art. but it was so exceilently lighted that
it had at mcsphere and shadowy suggestions.
The moonlight stimulation was much more
pleasing to the eye with the new green
mediums than it used to be with the glar-
ing caltiNns and badly placed side lights.
In the third act again there was a good
scene, and for once the opera house saw
a good muslin drop used for sky illumination.
1t was a vast Improvement over the old
caricature Of Totan roasting with mis- family
in Walhalla periodically exhibited in
"Gotterdanmerung The igh ming in the
thunder storm vas Of the latest approved
stage type 1t looked little like third
rail troley lightning, but the thunder roared
authoritativeIy. Good old thunder! What
would he theatre do without its celestial
bowling alley?
The members of the chorus in -RiGoletto"
succeeded in getting out OF their old com
rades" habit Shoulder to shouldcr they
have lined up for many ages--the fat,
yellow line of old La Scala and have sur G
their numbers with all the vivacity ana
realism Of wound-up graplophones. MIR.
| Conried succeeded in breai ing the line.
| He dispersed the cloristcrs notoriOGsly
as Private Mulvancv would put it, III se veral
GROUPS OF course it Ievolted them, but
they did it. Oh art, what things are done
in thy name
All these things were commendable, and
they were all in "Rigoletto." Now what
under the rigging loft happened between
the first night and the second? Munich
and Peyreuth set out to show us how the
thing ought really to be donc. Wc!l, in
the first place Hunding had house with "a
fireplace clear out in the middle of the
parior, sort of Sieqiried's forge without
the bellows. 1t looked like a chatting dish
conflagration on the center table.
OF course, it must be admitted that since
! the whole scene il out of accord with WGg-
ner's stage directions the fire is not a special
offender, but ii would not have been difficult
Ito follow the authors wishes in making
the site of the fire the hearth. That is
what he calls for. Wagner does not eX-
tt. -. Al, H.