New-York tribune., 1908-08-09

despoiled In New York, Niemanns second
visit. he asked for the privilege of enacting the
Volsungs part in the last division Of the tetraogy
and studied the part aJ intho with SeidL
chanced evening to be witness of his study
hour-the strangest one ever saw. It was at the
conductors lodgings in the Opera House There
pianoforte in the room, but II was closed
The two men sat at table with the open score
before them. Seidl beat time TO the inaudible
orchestral music and Niemann sang support
of any kind Then would discussion of read
ings. markings Of cues etc. all with indescribable
gravity while Frau Seid-Krauss. a charming in
genue budding into tragedienne. sat sewing in a
corner. After the performance of the drama
again with Niemann and Sedl cigars
and beer. l thanked Niemann for having dis
carded universal trick in the scene of Siegfrieds
murder and for carrying out Wagner's stage di-
rectons to the letter in raising his shield and ad
vancing a step to crush Hagen and then falling
exhausted upon il.
Il glad you noticed that" said Niemann in
his broad Berlinese Years ago was angered by
the device which all Siegfrieds follow of lifting the
shield high and throwing it behind themselves
before they fall Dds hat doch g1r Rein Snn There $
no sense in that. If he has strength enough to
throw the shield over his head he certainly has
strength enough TO hur it at the he wants
TO kill He lifts the heavy shield for that purpose,
/ but his strength gives way suddenly and he falls
upon it with crash It's dangerous of course A
fellow might easily break a finger or a rib But
If you do thing do it right. I have waited more
than years to sing Siegfried and now I've done
II; but youngster Ito SeidD, If again years
from now, and I've 50 marks In my pocket I'll
get orchestra. and you Will conduct just enough
let sinE; 'Ach! deses Auge. ewig nun often,
and then I'll die in peace, That's the climax Of
Segfred's part. and it must sound red blood red
Siegfred is red; so is Tristan Vogl sings Tristan
well, but he's all yellow-not red. he ought to
be-
l recall another bit Of Niemann's characteristic
criticism Adolf Robinson, the barytone of the first
few German seasons. excellent singer and
also actor, but he belonged the old operatic
school and prone to extravagant action and
exaggerated pathos He was, moreover. fond Of
the footlghts. At of the last rehearsals for
Tristan und Isolde Robinson. the Kurwenal of
the occasion. perpetually running from the
dying heros couch to the front OF the stage to
sing his pathetic phrases with tremendous feeling
into the faces of the audience. Niemann. reclining
the couch. immovabe a recumbent statue
his wont. without gesture. all evidence
of the seething impatience which is consuming him
mrrored in the expression OF his face. particu-
larly his eyes watched the conventional stage an
tics OF his colleague till he could endure them
longer He gave a sign TO Seidl. who stopped
the orchestra to hear the dying knight addressing
his squire in winged but un-Wagneran words 10
this effect
My dear Robinson this is all yours
Tristan has also something TO say here. and how
I to make my share OF the dramatic effect if
you are always going to run down to the audience
ing left for me do but to get UP and hur nv
boots into the audience room. And I'm q very sick
man Now. there's good fellow. come here
TO the couch; stay by me and nurse me and you'I
there's something in my part, too
Niemann's first American appearance on No
vember in Die Walktre'' From the criticism Of
his performance which wrote for The Tribune on
that occasion / reprint the following extract as
the best summing up which am able to make of
the great dramatic singers art;
The creation of a WaSnerian musical drama ere
ated also the need OF Wagnerian singers. Those
who go to see and hear Herr Niemann must go TO
and hear him the representative or the char
acter that he enacts. II is only thus that they
do justice themselves, TO him and to the
work in which he appears. 4 drama only
be vitalized through representation. and the first
claim admiration which Here NiSmann puts
forth Is based on the intensely vivid ana harIGo-
nious picture of the Volsung whcn he brings on
the stage There Is scarcely one II the thcaIrc8
conventions which the public have been accas-
toned TO accept that he employs lie takes posses
sion of the stage like elemental force. Was-
ner's dramas have excited the fancy Of painters