The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1904-02-02


juncts, .Parsfal' deals with a young
man who. In the hope that he may
prove redeemer remains insensible to
his suffering until he becomes clair
voyant by the kiss of the temptress
Kundry and thereby made To under
stand the meaning Of pity. Wagner.
this volcano OF emotions. this creator OF
barbarians and lusty young lovers. has
written a work immortalizng pity. But
remember he wrote it at the end Of his
life Already his blood ran cold. Par
sifar is predestined. Hence there Is no
complication. no great fall and no great
story-that is. from dramatic stand
point Wagner's earlier poems OF men
and women who lived to love and loved
TO live are far more dramatic because
they are more human. After all. hui
manity is the playwright's keynote.
"The difficulties OF the book OF Par
sifar are obvious. For instance. Kun
dry, who is what We must call the
prima donna, has the only female role
in the drama. and her singing Is con-
fined almost entirely to the second act.
Here we find the woman element lack
ing. No wonder such strange story
needed peculiar setting. Was 1t be-
cause he feared the theme of his drama
that he first hedged it In at Baireuth?
Sacrilegious? No. Audacious: Well,
yes. And how much more daring out
In the white light Of Broadway In
Baireuth all things would have been
possible, even the sermon on the mount
as an eplOgue. There. hedsed with
enemies on every side, like gnats. Nag-
ner batted for the impossible and In
spite Of the gnats achieved il. Farsi
faP is monument to a daring deed.
For today there Is only one Wagner, al
though the many gnats still remain.
."ro infuse the soul OF a man-all the
delicate shades OF his meaning-into
work like 'Parsifal' would seem to be
impossible. As the drama moved along
| said almost unconsci0usly to neigh
bor. Wagner is dead The best testi-
mony to the excellence Of Mr.. Conried
undertaking throughout Is that one
does not miss Baireuth and Wagner
still more Even personal contact with
genius, so to s~eak. at second hand Is
q priceless legacy.
while | cannot but think the orig
inal scene of Parsifal' a more fitting
place for its setting, Mr.. Conried has
far surpassed the Baireuth production.
His enchanted garden Of the second
act, with it's wonderfully charming
eowers and beautiful coloring. was by
far the better.
"In this scene Wagner brought a
storm of criticism about his ears by
the astonishing siZe--the exaggerated
orientalism-Of his flowers. He has'
his own purpose In mind, to empha asize
the symbolism of his flower maidens.
But Mr. Conried's conception was more
artistic In that ii left more to the I'M
agination. 1t was a pleasing contrast
to the garden in Baireuth where many
| Of the ladies', artists though they were.
failed utterly TO preserve the illusion
| Of youth or the power to tempt The
| transforma ton scene WAS magically
effected. This second act was the seen
| ic blemish at Baireuth.
"The lights, too, were better here
| costumes, detail, accessories, better
better better, Americans have way
| Of praising something that takes place
| at a distance. They may make many
| comparisons, but there can he no ques'
| ton as to the better presentation OF the
| drama itself"