The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-01-29
ELSA AS She is PERFORMED.
UAGNER HEROINE roo MILDLY
PORTRAYED.
What the Dramatlst Himself said about
the Victim Of Her Own Iove-A woman
who Demanded All I'm the Teeth or
Fate-Fnd OF Der Rns"-Nr. Con-
rIcd Didn't Pull the Wires Correctly.

tmated that the character Of Elsa IN Ndg-
ner's -IohcnErn" wa- seldom correctly
interpreted The truth is that the role
has become buried under a mass Of super
fetal traditions of stage business which
have stlned It's vitality. Let II be granted
that some OF this stage business has been
developed at the seat Of Wagnerian author
ity namely Bayreuth. and still we shall
have no difficulty in finding that it hides.
rather than dsc.o-pt. the true nature OF
Elsa
Wagner himself chose TO regard her a.
the embodiment Of woman'S blind. I'M
reasoning love. in which estate she stood
from the outset a heroine doomed by tate
10 destruction both Of herself and OF her
beloved She comes before ~ mystic
visionary who has dreamed dream
and believes it to be revelation from
Heaven.
She trusts in the supernal powers 70 save
her from the desperate strait into which
she is brought by the accusation of'Tetrd-
mund There is no room in this scene Tor
the faccid and compacent entrance which
is traditional. Elsa should not appear
before the audience simply n a distressed
Young woman who Is troubled by some
foolish court gossip.
She Is revealed To us at her first appear
ance "a a wcmcn face to face with death and
dishonor and relying upon God TO send her
defender hitherto unseen Of mortal eye
in Brabaht II Is a tremendous situation.
and il il usually treated by the imperson-
ators of Elsa in a manner far beneath its
dignity and impre' dvness.
The mysterious rescuer arrives, and
Eisd in an &C tasy Of gratitude bursts all
bonds of restraint Her emotions rise to
the sublimest level Of woman and she
throws herself at his feet Offering her life
and all she has TO him as the pledge OF her
flaming love.
The combat is fought and LoheHgrin,
the champion Of her honor as we'll as Of her
life. wins She il transported with rsptur-
Gus exaltation. She hurls herself into
Lohengrin 3 arms declaring that she would
make tho very angels praise him and that
her life and soul are hi. henceforth
This is not bread and butter heroine
that Wagner has set up in the first act OF
-L,ohengrin' She il not 10 he delineated
by immaculate white garments, downcast
eyes, meek hands and beautiful legato
style Of song She calls for resources Of
tragic potency at least IA great "a those
employed in the impersOnation o the dream
haunted Sentd. or the holy EhsibeN She
seldom gets either
The second act is the cruI OF the drama
For this we have Wagner's own assurance
which is hardly essential to any one willing
to study the structure OF the work. Elsa
dreaming in the moonlight on her balcony
Ia filed full to the lips and eyes with love
She can speak of nothing else. When
the willy Otrud suggel' that she. stricken
to earth and covered with disgrace. would
not dare to ask boon of the radiant maiden,
Elsa declares that she il so blest that she
would rejoice to grant favors to the wife
Of her accuser
The maid Is still a rhapsodc mystic.
dwelling on the glory of the Heaven sent
knight who has come out of the skies TO
love her or rather 10 let her love him
When Ortrud assais his name on the way
into the cathedral Elsa, shaking with IN
certainty, but still mastered by love, de-
tends him whose name she cannot utter.
Her weakness il shown by her readiness
to fly to him for protection the moment
he comes out of the palace. After the
protestation of TcirGrund and his whis-
pered suggestion to her. at the appeal Of
Lohonprin she again proclaims the mastery
Of her love over all other thoughts.
In the chamber scene how does she plead
to hlml Out Of the depths Of her passion
Thou sayest my name so sweetly Am
never 70 have the JOY OF saying thine?'
Lobengrin bids her to rest content in the
Joys Of love. But she does not feel that he
Is all hers She begs TO know the name
He tells her that he has resigned celestial
JOYS to come to her. new fear assails her.
II 1. - - bn lie
celestial Joys Her mystic fanoies again
throng upon her She hears the swan
returning to carry Lohcuqrin away again
She cannot be appeased except by her
husbands fullest confidence The name,
the name and country she must know.
Thus fate knocks ar the portal and all
the happiness Of Lohcpgriu and Elsa is
destroyed The rest l. simple. With the
disclosure Of the name and home Of Lohen-
grin comes his inevitable departure and
with that Eisd's death. Love is her life.
death her only release from torture.
Struggling with the problems OF operate
representation and the development Of his
tone-speeoh, the Wagneran defamation.
the master a he himself tells us in the
Communication 10 My Friends, first came
through Elsa to his conception Of the es-
kenCe oil the neaTt pi woman. In her he
saw the complement Of the nature Of Lohcn-
grin and through this he says, Il succee ded
IN so completely transferring TO myself this
female principle that I came to an entire
agreement with it, utterance by my loving
Elsa
4 grew to find her so justified in the
final burst Of her Jealousy that from this
vary ontburst learned first to understand
thoroughly the purely human element Of
love; and l suffered deep and actual grief
often yelling into bitter tears-as saw
the tragical necessity Of the parting the
unavoidable undong Of this pair Of lovers.
This woman who with clear foreknowl-
edge rushes on her doom, for the sake Of
Loves imperative behest. who amid the
ecstasy of alteration wills yet to lose her
all il so he she cannot al-embrace the
loved one; this woman, who in her contact
with EoheHqriH, Of all men must founder.
and in doing so must shipwreck the be-
loved one too. this woman who can but
love thus and not otherwise. who by the
very outburit Of her jealousy wakes from
out the thrill Of worship into the full reality
Of love and by her wreck reveals its essence