New-York tribune., 1908-08-09

more than any dramatic works OF the century, be-
cause Wagner was in a lofty sense scenic artist
utilizes this picturesque element to the full His
attitudes ana gestures all seem PARTS 9th OF lag h
instinct with the sublimated life Of the hero Of the
falls upon the bearskin beside the hearth thrill
E nrGosh o a it is repeated With
eloquence in the few words that he utters when ms
lnff as the EXHAUSTED BODY In the picturesque side
Of his ne is aided by she pnEcai
him The figure is colossal; the, head, ike the
luminous light that seems TO dart, through the
tangled ana mated hair that eo9ceals tne sred5es @
been marked has set its seal in It the s,. hs5of 5oif
BUT Th9 m hs re Of
something that speaks Unfaiteringly Of the godlke
Win acPt power II fao the ,s scene whers sbsbf5 ssF
gnd nd t she b caT Fq ses MS TO I
ton OF his coming death and declines the services services
Of the msssenger of Wotan who is sent 10 c0nduc'
There aspects in Which even n from ron Sbnn tsTary
seems to be the most TeutOnic of the several Ger
IT is a primitive TeutOnism. however. without his
torical alloy such Teutonism as We can con-
b ot I Forcefl GuaIities Of the historical Ger
man those which representatives OF the same
period of Wagner's tetralogy it must be renem-
bered. is purely mythical The ruggedness OF the
type which we obtain by such a process Is the
strong characteristic of Herr Niemanns treatment
Of Washers musical and os the erman
,psthetic ideal: strength before beauty. II puts
truthful defamation before beautiful tone produc-
ton in his singing and lifts dramatic color above
what is generally considered essential muslca,
GGoF Gns can testn fG Who hear Herr Nieann sing
the love song in the first act Of s bes
only as lyrical eff sion and given with more or
less sweetness and sentimenta&E ~ bIosr aefr tTb bn
made this passage an eager vita! ano pessona. pnra
to symbolism as If there other language
for IL The charm with which he invests the
bbe a5preciated by one who is on intimate terms
with the German language but the dramatic sf. sf.
marvellous distinctness of enunciation all can feel
The defects in Herr Niemanns singing, the re-
suit OF the long and hard wear to which his voice
has been subjected in career OF thirty-nve years
tbem- To do so would be as idle TO attempt
to deny their presence lie must oe neanI are, as as
mere singr.
Nternann said farewell to the New York public at
a notable performance OF Tristan und Isolde,
the last of the season. February Z. 1871 DOUBT
II the history of opera in New York discloses any
thing like parallel 10 the occasion Out OF doors
the night was distressingly dismal cold rain fen
internIttently the streets were deep with slush
and the soft ice made walking ON the paveHlents
uncomfortable and even dangerous But these
things were not permitted 70 interfere with the de-
termination OF the of the German lyric drama
70 hear tcstlno NJ to their admiration the artist
who had done much for their pleasure The
house WIS crowded in every part Every seat had
been sold days before. Many Of the tickets lad
been bought by speculators who, in spite of the
untowara weather. reaped rich harvest During
the dav the prices obtained varied from so TO SIS
for the orchestra stalls Irregular price. So and at
night seats In the topmost gallery fetched much
as 81 which times the regular tarir There
were delegations in the audience from Boston
Philadelphia and Cincinnati The enthusiasm after
each act was of the kind that recalled familiar
stories of popular outhurss In impressonabe Italy.
Herr Niemann husbanded his vocal resources In
the first but after that both he and Frauiein
Lehman threw themselves into the work With