The San Francisco call., 1905-04-08
PROBLEM AS TO PROPER DRESS is SOLVED
Men and Women Follow Their Proverbal
Western independence by Doing Ex-
aetly as Pleased Them.
THE HOUSE is NOT ESSENTIALLY SMART
BY SILLY SHARP.

with Parsifaf' the big.
''ParsifaT' the grand = crowding.
clashing, changing through my brain
and surging through my soul. beg to
renounce my conviction Of yester-
night that the joy of grand opera Is
so per cent atmosphere.
/ beg to eliminate "ParsifaI" from
ANYTHING less sublime than art. and
art that reaches into the souls and the
bodies of men.
When mems physical, mental ana
spiritual entities are suddenly walked
yes, and thrilled till the tears we'll
up and queerish Jumps gather in the
throats, the thing that wrought these
things is art, and sublime art.
To that category does ''Parsifaf be-
lons-sans ~atmosphere," sans glitter.
sa MS gowns
Methinks there never was in the
old opera-house a soberer or more
serious audience than sat from
5 by the town clock until $40 and from
s:45 till 1880. And during these taut
hours the intensity that filed the house
like a vapor could be felt with as mucn
realism as a draught or a sudden pain
Now that "ParsifaI" has come-and
gone for the nonce-the awful doubt
that has hovered over US OF the West
for weeks has lifted-the problem of
How shall 1 dress?"
Now. that is a serious matter-this
thing of dressing for 5 o'clock IN the
daylight, and then again for the normal
hour of darkness-and without a pre-
cedent to show US.
To be sure, there was New York TO
help out, and the advice Of the privi-
legged few of our townsfolk who had
heard "Parsifal at Bayreuth- So we
punched these together and went ahead
and made a precedent, and herewith Is
the precedent for the San Francisco
productions of "Parsifal Wear what
YOU darn please" Good news.
Well, last night there were loads OF
men who came in their tweeds-and
quite properly. it being before s. Then
there were loads more of them who
came in their evening togs and who
seemed nightly pleased that their au-
dacity had saved them from a hurry
nm dinner and a frantic dash into their
clawhammers-
But II remained for the women to
clinch the "go-as-you-p please" decision,
for they came in full evening panoply.
with tiuttering frou-frous and the
vague charm of barred throats: they
came in calling gowns. o'ertopped with
hats Of posies; they came in prim tailor
gowns and the stiff Puritan hats that
must have been shocked at Kundry's
hot pleadings-and there you arel That
was the "Parsifal' house. as duly
oualified society editor found it.
Then again 1t was not essentially
society" house Rather was 1t OF the
fire music-loving middle-class. with
the smart set as a sprinkle-nothing TO
compare with the grand pageantry Of
"Riroletto'' of the night before.
But that audience, filing the house
from the black pit TO turquoise dome,
was therefor the most part-to hear
.Parsifal' because II wanted to know
n and not because it's proper"
True. there are always posers hang
ing over every cult. but the poser who
will lend his mind and body to four
hours (nearly) of "Parsifal'' will either
opit posing or become an adept
One of the strongest features Of the
mnsic-drama was the amazing number
of men who came to hear the story
of the Holy Grail
There were those Of US who were un-
holy enough to suspect the men would
fight a little shy of so solemn a thing
as "Parsifal" But that was one time
when woman intuition" didn't make
good. It often does that trick now
adays. since we've learned to take
few filings at reason
And the men were magnificently in
cajole me into naming names. now.
please-declared 'the thing was too
beastly slow and half Of it should be
cut out" But Of course these fellows
were Philistines.
That comment has set me to wonder
ing what phrases they would lead to
the slaughter-not the flower maiden
scene I'll wager, And assuredly not
the mad. throbbing. virile. elemental,
passionate scene between Parsifal and