New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1906-02-09
KERO'S ESTHETIC POSE.
ur. PhlEps's NeSo Play Dealing
scith MegaIomaa,ia.
London. January %.

-r1E
" -. insensible 10 the contrast between the
W. -. If absolute imperial power and their
- Aclrlessness when oVertaken by ven
SUI. aud crushed like butterflies under grind
beels II Mr. Stephen Phillips had MADE
I =. ~ he dramatic resources of the story
80 ne would not have paused midway
% -, burning Of Rome the eliminating
-.-o,be He would have followed the craven
&c "a the last hiding place where AFTER
Ito his grave. calling on the infamous
-",s 10 compose an anthem, and lamentlhs
- or-n infirrnity OF spirit, he stabbed hirnsell
-. ,rresolute hand, repeating the Homerlc
obour the resounding tread Of swift footed
IS as The centurion and soldiers rode up 10
-, hin, 10 torturing execution. That wouiu
-. ,,es,, n finer contrast than is obtained when
-, o,ening with the imperial charioteers
.ssio, 70 the thrcne ends with the uestrnc-
. the CITY and with his own disordered
- that his murdered mother is in the flames
: 5e,o1lrine spirit of vengeance;
nc g She awful vengeance Of the dead.
MS Is my mother, AGrtppinas deea
: VII not balk the fury OF her spirit
~ 81 her glut her anger on the CITY.
- Only Rome in ashes can appease mel
=. tbr' IRE rage and purge me OF her pioou-
,--;eoe Of imagination is substituted Tor
- ,-.s errnly tragic in the doom of desra-
..,,o, and agonizing suffering after the re-
- of mower and the possibilities Of crime
= -, exhausted The nasterful Agripplha
:. ro-rraved in the plain prose of Sueto'huS
- reoit,is is caught in a strange masquerade
-, ~, roetjc license she is transformed INTO
a. sri-it Of vengeance and punitive justice TOT
lille Nero had plotted her death many times
*, land and sea and finally comprised II Win
~ ..,-,,,.sDca of seneca ana Burrus. she her
=. yas Z. monster Of iuiquity, who had insu-
-s,as the murder Of an emperor ana broushl
a. rsurper in place Of Britannicus, the rlsh'IUl
III she is properly the central figure OF MI.
,,,.,,,,,.,s drama after Nero himself, and his
tory is closely followed when Poppaa' the
-, ,,eoor,es her envenomed enemy after
ocravia the Empress. has been divorced anu
driven away. Nero himself comes out OF Inc
cr.-o,,ia, lists q monster of the same incestu-
ous and nlurderous stock as Caligula, puI less
~ a savage and more Of an s7sthete' Win q
taste for music and letters as well as a ZERO
cious lust for blood; and Rome looms UP Dehlho
him as a background for his amours' crimes
and frivolity; and as pictured by the laNlsh
scenic art at Mr.. Trees theatre ii Is almost 100
surnptuous and splendid. For Neros Rome as
De Quincy has pointed out was buAt IN latee
mar, Of wood, with narrow, winding streets anu
,rregI!lar. unsightly structures, which might
Ia
known what that quality was. but certainly con-
,rasted unfayorably with the cities Of Greece
md Asia Minor. There is a series Of magnii-
cent stage pictures overlaid with ornamental
ton: The gorgeous palace Of the Caesars for
Two acts. one for the Emperors accession TO
mower through Agrippinas intrigues. and an
other after an interval Of five years for a luxu-
-tous BANQUET ending with the poisoning OF
Britaunicus: IN the third act two stately inte-
riors-Casar's private apartment and Poppea' s
ho,se. 8 lovely exterior Of Nero's villa at Baie:
and tableau OF his entry into Rome on holi-
dav in 2 golden chariot drawn by three white
horses and in the final act the roof Of a palace
with realistic tableau Of the burning Of the
city. These scenes suggest the splendors Of
later regns when marble had taken the place
Of wood and a new and more luxurious Rome
had arisen from Nero's cinder heaps. The cos
tunes were also OF a later period than the
sixth Caesars, but Of matchless beauty. for the
women wore costly hand woven silk dresses, in
which primary colors were combined with
shades in blends Of marvellous softness so as
70 be exquisite harmonles Of blue, or yellow, or
purple Old fogies like Seneca alone wore the
tOga in Neros reign, and the simplicity OF re-
publican times had disappeared in the costum-
ing Of court favorites and rich Roman matrons;
but the luxurious fabrics and artistic tones OF
Mr.. Trees stage were reserved like the music
FOR later revels OF eztravagance and facilitating
pleasures.
Apart from the gorgeous trappings of costum-
ing and the scenic splendor Of panorama and
flaming tabeau. Nj Phillps's play in blank
verse with purple patches lacks the simplicity
and unity OF "Paolo and Francesca" and the
dramatic qualities OF "Herod" II resembles
a -arfa Of a
classic story, with theme more psychological
as character study than the crafty, willy hero S
Nanderings and victory over the iuportunate
sgtors-the decadence Of d neurOtic egoist in
imperial purple through self-indulgence, vanity
and blooc-gUiluness into an insane theatrical
artist with d world for his stage. The motive is
clearly defined early in the play. when the aged
Seneca forecasts the fate Of this dreamer and
aesthetic toying with harp and theatre and liv-
ing only in frothy imaginations:
conceive a spectacle no. witnessed yet:
Mhen he an artist IA onlnipotence.
ses for color This req blood OF ours,
IMPOSES music out OF dreadful cries,
iiis orchestra our human agonies.
AZ ~ rhythms lamentations OF the ruined,
5Is poets fire. not circumscribed by words,
I5sl now translated into burning cities:
5ils Scenes the lives Of men their deaths drama.
Az cream I' an ile aesolauon Of mankind
Anu az tnls pulsing world his theatre
That is the epitome Of what may prove to be a
sNs " iHi" literary gudlity Wntn lht leAl 10
l7oa deliberately IN the retirement Of library;
Dut aack, English actors have SO meagre a
Training n the delivery OF blank verse that the
.'Vthm and melody are lost in the theatre.
The character-study OF the decadent aesthetic
may be subtle Ia analysis and exposition. but the
Story lacks dramatic movement. Such interest
90 Tie drama excites comes from the theatrical
a Of the sumptuous stage pictures; and in
IS respect Mr.. Tree has fully equslled his pre-
'"us successes IN stage management and deco
'@4on. The story itself is dull, sluggish and IN
inspiring. i opens with the proclamation Of the
.o-ll-u- horu. WI. Is comlent with his mother.s