The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1907-03-15
THE WOMAN! SOUL LEADETH
~ s UPWA WARD AND ON.''
D Great Temple Of Wagner s Art at
s$ The Bayreuth in Bavaria.

A q In Bavaria, not Far from Nurem-
S herg, but far away from any of the
main roads for traffic and travel, lies
WA little city, in olden times the gay
hS residence Of the Dukes Of Bayreuth.
~ ~ s. fters the race Of these had turned
eGs, esanatatheir city also began to decay.
Some old castles and parks, fine
old theatre and a lingering air Of dis
! &tinction still bore witness to its by
ssgone splendor, but the castles looked
Sout of dead eyes, and the parks sur
irounding them grew to be as dense
ps the fabulous hedge Of thorns. The
Icity itself, with its thirty thousand
Hnhabitants, became as quiet and
noss-grown as these old residences,
le temple of life being that of a
\ GENTLE half slumber, undisturbed by
Melectrict shocks from the great bat
Nery outside. .>... .
This little sleeping beauty of place
was to be awakened from it's hundred
y Iyears of slumber by Richard Wagner,
: fwho selected Bayreuth as the proper
Mystic For the great temple Of his art,
I The Bayreuth Festspielhaus.
MA " Wagner Dream.
|H Z For the realization of his longing
rs to bring his own works before the
\, ypublic in what he conceived to be
&Rltheir ideal mise-er-scenc, Wagner
Smight have selected one of the large
81 German cities already possessing we'll
HY endowed theatres; but he chose Bay
fS reuth because he wished, first of all,
d ito remove his art from the influence
III of the official German stnge He held
that the latter, especially the opera
s1id not, as lie demanded Of the stage,
contribute to the elevation of the ma
Ewional morality in its highest sense,
'and he ardently wished to regenerate
" it by his own lyrical drama. "The
RRGerman stage,' he says, "cannot be
I Y helped by the mere laying down of
sNA artistic principles, for the stage in.
~ whatever condition it is, has become
.% habit with the people and is, there
EW fore, a power. It's errors are based
R& upon its whole organization, which
}has established itself among us and
N which favors faulty imitation of
foreign matter like our French fash
IN ions in dress. If, then, we must con-
o. fess ourselves too weak to contend
A against its existence we must look to
81 an entirely new institution, as far
~ removed as possible from the influ-
k ence Of the theatre, provided that we
SK really have at heart the development
B of a true essentially German spirit
81 in this branch of art, which is in
comparably powerminded.
BB "The true essential German spirit'
sA this is what Richard Wagner, the
T& German, finds missing in the opera Of
|V his time, modelled after the light
a1AItalian and French products. He,
81 moreover, blames the incorrectness
S& and incompleteness of the represen-
NJ tatiOns as whole.
SK. In choosing Bayreuth Wagner, fur
81 Iihermore, hoped to get rid Of the con-
HA p, itional theatre-going public, like
q that found in large cities. He did not
18R want his audience to consist of men
y hard nervous work upon them during
fSE the day, would go to the theatre to be
sSY amused excited or lulled into a gentle
VI doze. The festivals at Bayreuth were
&{ to be serious aesthetical events, not
~ food, either to arouse or satisfy the
III curiosity Of the rich and fashionable.
~ Athens Furnished Model.
n This ideal of stage and Of its re-
a il latiom to the public he found in an
SE cient Athens: "Here,' he says,
q fwhere the theatre opened it's doors
! Eonly on special and hallowed festi-
I Avals: where there was united with the
,Eenjoyment Of art a religious cclebra-
\ 7 ton, in which the most distinguished
", men Of the state took their parts as
IN poets and actors, appearing, like
Y& priests, before the assembled popu-
~ Rce Of city and country, and where
sa} athis populace was so imbued with
II high anticipations Of the dignity Of
AH bhe work to be represented, that an
.A Aeschylus and Sophocles would
k.I bring the most sublime Of all poetic
Z, Screations before the people, certain
l Of their full appreciation.
It needed the gigantic power and
8he Teuton perseverance which char