The sun., 1907-12-03
"ELYING DUTCHKAN" REVIVED
W.iGNERS NAUTICAL OPERA AT
THE METROPOLITAN.

asths URhapDy' Van der Decken''- Mime.
GiasisSti ~ ''sentA" and ISnOte ~ ''ErIIS..'
The wanderer OF the ssas came ashore
last night after a little less than his allotted
time afoat. In other wOrds Wagner'a
Der Fliegende Hollander" was revived
at the Metropolitan Opera House after a
lapse Of a little under seven years. The
work had its last previous performances
there on january 2S, 1901. with Nine Gadsxi
as SeHtd. Rosa Olitska as Mary. Adolph
Mdhlmann rs the Dutchman, Andreas
Dippei as ETik and Robert Blass as DdLGnO.
The conductor was Walter Damrosch. The
impersonator OF tho wanderer on that
occasion should have been Theodore
Bertram. who lately committed suicide
In Germany. but he was indispossd.
He had sung the part on January 2, the
rest of the cast being the same as that of
the subsequent performance. He had also
been heard in the role in the previous season.
when Der Fliegende Hollander7 was given
with Ternina and Gadsli as the Sentas.
Schumann-Heink, Dippel and Lempriere
Prlngle. Emil Paur was the conductor In
that season.
So much for ancient history. der
Fhegende Hollander" has always been a
sort OF lyric bugbear and both managers
and public dread its advent. In the first
place the dear public does not take kindly
to any work in which the tenor is not the
principal masculine figure. A bsrytone-
and a dismal, melancholy, weird and sui
cidal barytone at that-does not provide
entertainment for any one. The prima
donna, too, is a dolorous, fantastical, dream
haunted maiden with never a smile to her
name and also with suicidal inclinstiOns.
, The bass Is the only person who smiles and
only the women's chorus laughs
To be sure there is a deep emotional
plot underlying all this and poetic Oon-
ceptiOn worthy of genius. Furthermore in
this work Wagner breaches his most beauti-
full ethical doctrine. the salvation of man by
the sacrifiCial love Of woman. But people
in evening gowns and jewels do not 60 TO
the opera to think about poetic conceptions
nor to listen to ethical preachments. They
60 to amuse Themselves. and certainly no
one could call der Fliegende HolIander"
amusing.
And then there are the problems OF stage
mechanics set by Wagner at a time when
he did not know a screweye from a brace.
Those ships which have TO anchor beside
rocks and beat to windward with their
yards squared and do box ha,Ilings and
Oliver Hazard Perry can never be made
to look like anything but stage ships Man.
ayers have sat up o. nights trying to plan
illusions in this first scene. Even man.
ayers who knew a cIewlne from a sCuttle
butt have failed. But when il comes to
managers whose nautical information has
been gained chiefly from voyages in sea-
going automobiles. then the thing becomes
a hazard quite alarming.
OF the present production Heinrich Con-
ried has been the personal supervisor.
Like Forrest in ~Coriolanus" ne SCOTS at
Hertz and says: alone did IL. bOyl" All
summer Mr.. COnried has worried over those
peshy ships. He has had beautiful ideas.
all Of which have been battered to pieces
by a hammer beaded stage carpenter who
continually said; 1t can't be DONE Mr..
Conried knows no cant" He knows
only -must." Last night he saw the out
come Of his troubled summer. II 10 some II
looked like a very bad dream. that was
Wagner's fault. It all cost q pot Of money,
anyhow.
Surely the foretOpmast staysail Of DdI-
dBd's ship was alone worth the Trice Of
admission. and in addition tO IL there were
wild seagllls that scared In the whistliug
wind. Furthermore the manner in which
DalaRd's crew accomplished the feat of
letting fall. sheeting home and hosting
away in one movement was sonnet hing to
make the captain OF an old time frigate
envious. And at that the ship wss under
way before they did il. But the waves!
How they made Dotdnd's ship jump and
shake! At last we know her name She
Is the long lost Wabble.
But the dawn in the first act was excellent.
.I.gNss
ment OF the lights. Hail to Mr.. Conrieul
And the scenery was all good. The second
act was set most effectively. The opera
school flower girls became spinning maid
ems and sang their choruses very well.
They showed proper awe. too. at the i'm
mense painting OF the Dutchman. Where
did DdIand get that expensive picture? Il
was washed ashore in black and white. Of
course. But why must things be logical
in a legendary opera7 Answer. they are
not.
There were also singers. For instance.
Mr.. Van RoOy sang the Dutchman for the
first time here. Shall We indulge In a
courteous plea OF confession and avoid
ance and say that he was not in good voiceP
But he looked well and showed a deep sym
pathy with the part. MFR. Knote sang Erik
capitally and MIR. Dippel added much to the
general level Of merit by singing the Steers
man. Mr.. Blass appeared in his old part OF
DdLGRd
Nine. Gadski sang SeRiG admirably.
except for the almost Inevitable lapse from
the pitch in the mezza voce passage in the
ballad. Frieda Iangend0rf was the Man.
Mr.. Hertz conducted and to him must be
accorded hearty praise for a spirited and
intelligent reading OF the score. The
orchestra played with warmth color and
nuance. So goes the passing view Of q
revival more monnentOus than important.
Der Fliegende HOllander' is almost i'm
possible. Some wish il were altogether so.
But at any rate every attempt to give
Verisimilitude to Wagners crude notions Of
nautical stage effects only serves to make
their unreality more striking. Consolation
must be sought In tho music, Of which after
all the overture 10 the best part.
ELEPHANT DIES or LONELINESS.