The sun., 1903-12-13


mcut of the same Topic as Tam.
hae,lscr"--A synopsis Of Each Of the
Jbrrc Acts-FiiiI Text Should BE Read.
,pc forthcoming production Of "Parsifal"
at tAr Metropolitan Opera House Is entitled
10 u., regarded as IA musical event OF the
greatest magnitude Alre ady it has
gvascuud much discussion. more or less
wise and not overinstructive. Many thou
.uud. of words will yet be written and
nr,pl,d about the work. 1t is the purpose
If ,Lo editor Of the musical department
-, Tur sen to !endeavor to open UP the
work 10 general consideration. The first
hing 10 he done, therefore, is to tell its
story in plain words.
10 the ever widening circle Of devoted
lover, OF musical art AParsifal" is well
known. Most of them have studied the
hook and the score and not few of them
have ossed the restless sea to visit the
sacred Fest spielhaus at Bayreuth and wit
,.-s a performance under the immediate
supervision of the amiable widow of the
master But Mr.. Conried's enterprise has
awakened the interest Of thousands who
n.y,. lever before given this work mo-
mcnr- thought. 1t is to persons OF that
rls-- that the writer must first address
himself,
70 clear away some ground let 1t be said
in tho beginning that Richard Wagner had
a faith in the ethical force OF the drama,
and that he never thought Of opera as any
rhinr else than form of drama. In nearly
cverr one of his works he preached the
rcdceming power Of love. In nearly every
work he showed man hopelessly struggling
in the meshes of his own sins and redeemed
hv some power outside himself, usually
the devotion Of woman. In the great
Nihelungen trilogy he proclaimed his
belief in the ultimate abstraction Of la%
nv slowing Wotan, a god and the master
Of gods, vainly seeking to avoid the con-
,eouences of his own sin. His redemption
camo in the sef-sacrifice OF Brdnnh'tde,
as the Flying Dutchman's had come in
he death of Sentd, ss. Tdnnhduser'a had
come in the death OF EEzdbeth.
In ~Parsial" Wagner took up again i'll
u new form the thought which he treated
in "Tannhauser namely. the battle OF
man against carnal temptation. In 'Tann-
hauser" we see the errant knight. the lordly
Ininnesinger, wearied OF godly life, hidden
in the seclusion OF the grotto Of VeAMs.
Ii was one Of the mediRval beliefs that the
leather gods had not been utterly destroyed
Ivy the advent OF Christianity. but were
hiding in secret places OF the earth To
hold converse with one Of them was apos-
asy in its worst form. Venus, the goddess
Of love- holds Tdnnhduser ensnared till
lie wearies of license and longs for pain.
for the outer world and the ways Of life.
He prays to the Virgin, and instantly the
whole grotto with all its nymphs and classic
paraphernalia disappears, and Tdnnhduser
finds himself standing near the Wartburg
castle, where dwells Elizabeth. niece OF
the Iandgrave. the holy Elizabeth, the
foil of Venus and who loves him.
The rest Of the drama Is taken up with
showing how Tdnnhduser cannot blot out
Of his soul the stain of his sin, but must
needs passionately betray the fact that he
has been with Venxs. For this he is BAN
i.hed from the court and sent to Rome to
AZ forgiveness OF the Pope, but only after
ExSzabeth whose heart wound is mortal.
hals interceded for him. He goes, and the
Pope says he shall be forgiven when the
staff which he carries in his hand shall
blossom He returns in despair. and
would again seek Venue. but the prayers
of the dying Elisabeth are efficacious. and
at the last moment he sinks dying beside
her bier, murmuring: Holy Elizabeth
pray for me-" And the staff blossoms.
In "Parsfal' Wagner treated the battle
of man against the flesh from wholly
different point OF view. Nevertheless. the
,heme is the same one. The Holy Grail,
The sacred vessel in which was caught the
blood of Christ upon the cross, is held in the
keeping OF a company Of Knights in the
Castle of NIonsavat. To be a member of
hat company man must be personally
pure. One Klingsor has tried to enter the
guild. but has been rejected because he
was not pure. He has set up magic castle
M the valley below Monsalvat. He has a
coterie of seductive sirens, whose object il
lie temptation of Knights Of the Grail.
One of these knights, Amfortds, son Of the
dccrepit chief of the order. Titurel by name,
has fallen prey to the wiles Of the sirens.
4 struggle has ensued and in it kkngsor
wrests from Amfortds the sacred spear
and wounds him with it. This is the spear
with which the side of the crucified Saviour
was pierced, and the wound will not heal
We learn that, according to prophecy
Amjortas will be redeemed from his suffer
mgs bya" "guiIelc- fool by pity enlightened
The guileless fool appears in the person OF
and shown the agony of Amfortds and the
ceremonies surrounding that wretched
knights exercise of his sacred Office OF
grail keeper. he is dumb and motionless.
But KHn9sor realizes the dangers Of the
rtturc, and he seeks to make ii impossible
ior Pqrsitni 10 reenter Monsalvat. or to be
a giileless fool. He subjects him TO the
romptation of the magic garden, employing
As the direct instrument of his will kundry
whose strange personally will be described
nj the proper time. From her he hears for
tho first time the story Of his mothers life
suffering and death. To round her tale to a
perfect close Kundry presses kiss upon
his lips and bids him learn to love. But
instead of that he learns to pity. The
tool remains guileless and Is enlightened
IN time he returns to Monsalvat and fulils
the prophecy, Amfortds is redeemed and
Pdrsifdi succeeds him as warder OF the
| Holy Grail
Let us now review the story in some
detail as it is told in the dramatic poem oi
Wagner. The music we may reserve for
funlre consideration. The drama begins
iu the realm of the Castle of the Warders
of the Grail, which Is assumed to stand
- . A-..- .-f~ f~..aI Il