New-York tribune., 1908-10-25

the enterprise, as ne could not come 70 cOndp..
the rehearsaLs- ''The opera must b rs,.
ranged" he says. before it is capable Of ~,
duction-and this Encouragement I can t-ug,
no other hands; not even to yours. my dsa,
Seidl. who have shown me so clearfv in -
conduct in this matter that Won have no, -
| faintest understanding Of the exigencjes o~I.s.
case" He was forever baTkfn9 a.. e.
that. and there were occasions On vgFfos n
mann's patience in the face Of his ecoo,+-s-..
must have been strained almost 10 fbe -
point Nevertheless, the iuprcsarfo MI. Is
undaunted, and in due course ha. mad -, "a
not simply Wagners effective friend -
but his European propagaDdgt Pr,roa+.--'
after triumphant campaign IN bf- - o1'
atre, he took the Ring" 10 Rerl;r - 'is-
with his Richard Wagner Cre-s = MANY -I'a4'y
sOwed broadcast the seeds OF the na-y -a-,
gospel. -7'eA
/ 1t is impossible to follow IN detail bs-o. -,
=amificatiOns Of his work. For these Tho -,
must go to the book itself We canro- -
however, from noting one or two f4-f,s- -
stances Of Wagner's concern for the public o.
formance Of any work Of his When the ap',-.
was being given at Berlin he sent this note =.
seidI:
Hasen's heavy walk suits ne 70 perfection -
second act of the ~CsJtcere4-1-lar -s. f. III - as
| u with a nervous aIertuess which il c1r--1gs =
MS usual sloUchinS gait, viii ~ all the more yrs
than last time Guuther must be more der.-ee
strltive in his lament Hagen must al,yaT5 -.
| close D. him
At rehearsals his energy was i7pxAa7s.B.
and not even the most obscure t~ae co..
escape his eye He would show singer ws,.
to do, suiGng the action % the words s,s
thrilling all those around him b. some SKI.
passage Of impe-sonatioa- Neumaun oan,o,
too warmly express his admiration for Wagner,
sziIfuI and inspiring mode Of Strengthening on,
a problem Of acting or OF stage raa2age-7s-,
He tells Us something. too. Of the cor71osa-s
dealings with the orchestra. as in this instance
| Gentlemen. 7 beg Of you not % take ~ as
tissimO'' too seriously Where s.. see If ~.
an fp' OF il. and for piano play .gla-tzsi7-r1
Remember how many Of You there are down tb--.
against the one poor single human throat D -
alone on the stage
One more story we must borrow. perhaps II,
most characteristic in the book Il belongs "a
the time of the presentation Of the Ring q.
| Berlin. Wagner arrived as the last rehearva.
| were going forward. and Neumanc hastened d,
see him at his hotel What happened ther~
| after is thus recounted:
After we had arranged q few preliminary de,a.s
/ the Master said suddenly. % my great surv-.-s
| Tell me. Neunan.-as drove IN. ] saw Scaris
name on the posters. Whtt & are you dong with
| in the second and fourth cycles, and Sca-ta n
| the first and third But whv have hin sing a
alp" said Wagner How did YOU happen 70 tast
| Of letting that fellow sing here. "BC-, Aassr
/ wired you my plans What makes you say thai q
Scaria2' My dear fellow. he won't 90 at al
~ NO ~ no 1,+tar irI[oss5 yTs- T - =
and won't DO a thing like that To announce %
Scaria that Richard Wagner absolutely refuses %
allow him to appear VIII SIMPLY mean MS run
artist And more than ali That, We should Z
doing ourselves out Of the greatest and most III
| iShed WOtan that ever sang the roir- ! can't 50
To-
I heard him sing the part where In Fl=
na." And you liked him. = not only liked nm i
| I was enchanted with him-and 1 predict you VI
be- too" NO no, never. tsl you plainly
| either YOU dismiss him at oEce-JF else teaTg
| When 7 realized how utterly useless II y
- D,,a--0T1a his urei irCice made him the follow
ing proposition: Master. it's absolutely inpOSsbs
for Us 10 condemn ScarIa or TO dismiss I'm WITH
out a hearing. Furthermore. II you leave BERN
before our performance, u VIII 0e q deat1o0E o
/ this entire enterprise we're 20 nave Telear4
| Of The VaIkyre' this morning VIII you and y9R
/ wife come with ma now. D-l EoL appear On 70
/ scene Simply sit in a box and listen 20 S2-1
/ If he Offends you much as you seem 70 ila@
you may leave Berlin Is soon as yo4 Lac alrr ls
Tten Nine. Cosira added Listen, NeumanHI
proposition sounds reasonable Wen meet IN
half way Wen hear Sca-a, al lelSI. and -hea J9a
/ can give your verdict
wife. Countess Schlenltz and Il.1----- @ Lln b---
took their places in the lower le-rE1Id prosce1-1
| box. He asked me 10 sit in the next box oels
him. that he might crIticSe the performance as "a
| I had ordered the rehearsal 70 open with cs
/ second act OF The EaIkyre and as Scara rur-e1
/ TO leave the stage after his greac scene Ii II
| steps, and tore to the stage AZ such Ir3lt
| pace that I could scarcely follow, sne-ls
| gorioust Man alive. where Gil you get thar yoi.s
And catching the artiS- about the neck. he h1gs1
him enthusiastically, kissing him and saying, 81
you did that weI-that was Wei done