The Washington herald., 1908-03-29
THE THEATER IN BERN.
GRAND OPERA AND SHAKESPEARE.
By ETHEL THERESA HUGLI-cAMP.

By ETHEL THERESA HUGLI-CAMP.
The music-loving public Of Bern is. figu-
ratively. on its back from exhaustion. We
have had the Ring this winter. and most
/ OF US have heard each part two if not
three times. No wonder we are wora
out. but it is a fatigue Of an agreeable
sort. as after work well done
/ The Ring is given here in true Bayreuth
style The fanfares that give warning Of
the rise Of the curtain, are all. according
/ to tradition. chosen from the different
motifs. and give an air OF pomp and
dignity 10 the whole thing Indeed. from
the first long-drawn-out note of the
''Rheingold' overture TO the last crash OF
''Gotterdammerung, the productions were
beyond criticism.
Apropos OF that first long bass note Of
the "Rheingold' overture indicating the
flow Of the Rhine and lasting some
twenty or thirty bars. the devoted but
ordinary mortal husband OF a friend Of
mine. a man who loves tunes that he can
whistle, leaned over and remarked 10 me
Thank the Lord. they have opened the
venuiator at last"
A sharp hiss from his wife and those
in his neighborhuod showed him his error
and he subsided in great confusion. Never
was there sterner public in the matter
Of religious silence during a Wagner pro-
duction. than here in Bern. II one should
I inadvertently let a pin drop. he would
Immediately be hissed az. At the first pro-
ductiOn Of 'Gotterdammerung" for in
stance. Grant, the horse. politely trying
10 turn around IN the wings for his exit
backed into the scenery and brought down
several tons OF rock. Siegfried. by an agile
skip. go out of the way. and Brunhilde
(supg by our peerless Englerth) went
right on with her impassioned aria The
curtain was rung down. with her stand
ing in the midst Of canvas desoiatfon.
singing away as If nothing had happened
Every one burst out in applause at her
pluck and self-control. but Immediately
came that angry hiss from the seIf-ap-
pointed censors and the applause died
away. The idea was-it was explained TO
me afterward-the applause at that mo-
ment spoiled the "'Stimmun the state
Of mind that the Wagner devotees had
hypnotized themselves into, Oh, yes; we
are strict in the matter Of tradition in
Bern.
No one would dare arrive late to a
Wagner production. He would have to
lose the entire act or. as in the case Of
Rheingold," where there is no pause at
all in the music from beginning 70 end,
lose the whole opera. The women who
act as ushers have strict orders not 10
let any one in after the music has begun.
and the way they stick to the letter of
the law is a caution 10 late comersi
One word about our excellent singers.
They are so good that We are in daily
fear lest they be tempted away by some
richer town. Englerth, the dramatic So
prano, is my ideal Brunnhilde. as far as
voice and figure are concerned. Unfortu-
nately she has an awfully big mouth.
and it has hindered her frightfully in
her career. Our tenor, Mr.. Balta, is one
of those rare beings who sing because
they love it and not because they are
obliged TO get their living thereby He
likes Bern. and therefore he stays here. /
although his delightful voice could get
him placed in a far wider field of action |
than that which is offered him here Our /
barytone. Rittmann. a most serious and /
industrious young man. with a voice OF /
gold, and probably the best "Alberich" /
there is In this part of the country. is. /
Of course. going TO leave US next year. |
and go to Vienna. Bern is a favorite |
place for young beginners, and they get
excellent training here
And all this feast Of music is ours at /
a price that would seem ridiculous to /
an American. The very best seats. where
the men go in evening coats. and the
ladies, slightly decolletes. can be had |
for about 50 cents. 4 box that seats four
people costs "a. Excellent seats cost 80
and 60 cents. and the gallery gods, who 1
hear and see everything almost as plain
ly as these sitting lower down, pay u
cents.
The theater has an empire foyer, with
refreshments served during the antr acts.
and there are eight 5-eSsiaS-roonas. where
one may leave ones wraps at 4 cents a
person At the beginning of the year
season tickets may be haG for a very
small sum, and several combinations can
be made. resulting in the right to three
nights in the week, two nights. one night.
and three nights the next. or every ten
days. The bin is changed every night,
and we have drama, comedy. farce. grand
opera, light opera. operettas, &c.
Speaking of drama. makes me think of
a very interesting experiment that has
been successfully tried here lately by
Herr DR.. Hans Hecht the professor of
English literature at the university He
proposed 10 mount Twelfth Night
called in German was Ihr wollt'O as II
was originally played by Shakespeare
himself Accordingly he arranged with
the management. and It was produced in
the following manner. the star making