New-York tribune., 1909-09-12


,,,i,,, = F,az,st opera IN cola aboratiou with NM
Tsarl,,er and Carre There nothing novel IN
the notion. Music an integral part OF tle %"
ruppet plavs which dealt with the legend OF Or
F-austus and sfoethes tragedy calls Tor rnnslca
aid .nape-stiyelv. A musical pantomme Harle-
e4rn Faslstus" vas performed in London as carry
as l-I5 and there Faust operas long beiore
even the first part Of GOethe's poem Was printed
which was q hundred and one years ago a com
,oser named Phanty brought out an opera entitled
-'Dr Faus;'s Zauhergirtel' in 1890; c Hanke used
she same material and title at Flushing IN hS4
and Ienaz Walter produced a Faust III Hanover
q I70 tToefhe's First Part had been five years In
mint when SpohT composed his Faust nut IL Is
based not or the great German poet 5 version OF
The legend but the old sources. This opera has
stiu life though is ftful and feeble. IN Germany
and was produced in London by German company
an ls4o and hy Italian in 1882, when the COM
poser conducted II; but have never heard OF
representation IN America. Between Spohrs
-'Faust" written in 1913 and performed in lSs and
TsoltO's '0GeAstofele." produced In 1858. many
French. German, English Italian Russian and
Polish Faust operas have come INTO existence, lived
aheir little lives died Rietz produced Ger
man Faust" founded on Goethe, AZ Dusseldorf in
tsss; Lindpainter I'm Berlin in 1884 Henry Rowley
Bishops English ''FauSJus' was heard in London,
tn 1872: French versions were Mile. Angelque Ber-
ain's Faust CParis. lS5D. and NJ de Peaerts
I8russels. lS3ll Italian versions 'Fausta, by
DcniEetti Gdme- Pasta and Signor DonzeIi sang
So Il IN Naples in 1870 ''Fausto,' by Gordig1ano
sFIerence IGs7). and 'Il Fausto aTTivo,'' by Raj
snon,u CSaples 1sgD; the Polish Faust Twardowsky,
ss the hero of 2 Russian opera by Verstowsky
MOSCOW, lsSI). and Of Polish opera by ! Won
Eaitz lAgraun. $3.50. How often the subject has
HsrVed for operettas. cantatas, overtures, sym
Shonies etc need not he discussed here. Berlioz's
dramatic legend entitled La Damnarion de
Fauga-' fricked with stage pictures by Raoul
Csunsbourg. performed opera at Monte
Carlo in 1903. and in New York at the Metropolitan
and Manhattan opera houses in the seasons 1905 07
and leo7-OS respectively: but the experiment was
unsuccessful both artisticaIly and financially
have said thai there is no reason TO question
E5ounod's statement that it was he who conceived
the !dea Of writing the opera whose popularity is
without parallel the musical history OF the Faust
aegend; but, II ] could do without rejecting
upon his character should like 10 believe story
which says that II was Barber who proposed the
subject G-ounod after Meyerbeer. 20 whom he
frst suggested H. had declined the collaboration
] should Ike 10 believe this. because # highly
memorable Neyerbee~s artistic character, which
has been much naligned by critics and historians
az music since Wagner set an example in that d-
yectior Faust Meyerheer is reported 10 have
replied Barbiers invitation. as the ark Of the
covenant. sanctuary not 10 be approached with
profane music" For the composer who did not
hesitate 20 make opera out Of the massacre of
St Bartholomew this answer IS more than credita-
lle The Germans. who have either felt affected
great tJldignaon AT the want of reverence to their
great poet shown by the authors Of Faust" and
''NIignop." ought 70 admire Meyerbeer in special
degree the moral loftiness Of his deterninat ton
snd the dignifed beauty Of its expression. Com
rosers like Kreutze-. Reissger, Pierson Lassen
Prince RzdZiwill have written incidental music
C7oethe's tragedy without rejecting that POSSIBLY
1hev were profaning the sanctuary; but Meyerbeer.
compared with whom they pyemes, withheld
his hand thereby brought himself into syInpa-
ElfeTr association with the only musician
lived who completely equipped for magnih-
cent task That musician was Beethoven 70
whom Rochlitz bore commission for music 10
Faust" from Breitkopf and Hartel in 1922 The
itan read the proposition and cried out "TIa that
ne Tie Of 7irlc light
~ that" hut declined the work because he had
she choral symphony and other large plans HIS
mind
Roito Is not a Beethoven nor vet a Afeverfeer:
hut though he did what neither Of them would
venture upon when he wrote a Faust opera, he
tdid # with complete and lovely reverence for the
icneation of the German poet 1t IS likely had
be had less reverence for his model and Of the
.staeecraft OF his French predecessors his opera
would have had a quicker and greater success than
yell It's lot OF necessity II has suffered by
:psT1son with the opera Of Barber, Carre and
fESounod. though II was far from BOito's in
taentions that il should ever be subjected 10
iFucb a comparison. Boito is rather
poet and dramatist than he IS musician. He
of 'Otelio" and 'F'alstai' which Verdi composed;
Tia Gioconds." for which PonchielH wrote the
ksnusic and 'Ero Leandro" which he turned over
fao BotteEfni who set Il with success, and 10
szdR1cineIH, It with little Of the musi-
cal pieces which the poet composed for this last
fopera found way into 'EIedstofele,' FOR which
work ZERO = Leandro" seems TO have been aban-
idoned. He also translated WsFner's Tristan und
ISOLDE into Italian Being poet in the first in
stance and having the blood OF the Northern bar
iharians well the Southern Romans IN his
veins he was unwilling treat Goethe's tragedy
as the Frenchman had treated IT, The fearful tale
of the OF the re1uyenated philosopher and the
village maiden. with fits woful outcome. did not
suffice him. Though he called his opera ''Mehsto-
ssle" not Faust he drew its scenes, Of which
only two have do with Marguerite or Gretchen,
from both parts OF GOethe's allesorical and phi
sosophical phantasmagoria- Because he did this
he failed from point q view. Attempting too
much, he accomplished too little His opera is not
n well knit and consistently developed drama. but
q series OF episodes which do hold together
Rnd have significance only for those who know
Goethe's dramatic poem in its entirety. II is very
likely that, originally produced. "AIefstofele''
was not such a thing Of shreds and patches as it
now is. No doubt Il held together better IN 1855
when Il ridiculed, whistled. howIed and Kissed
OF the stage Of the Teatro la Scala than it did
when Il won the admiration Of the Italians in
Bologna twelve years later IN the interval It had
been subjected 20 a revision and, the version
never having been printed. the critical fraternity
became exceedingly volube after the success in
Bologna, one OF the debated questions being
whether Boito had bettered his work by his volu-
TninoUs eIcis!ons. interpretations and changes GTaust
now a tenor, was originally a barytone), or had
weakly surrendered his better Judgment 10 the
aaste Of the hOi polLoi. for the sake OF a popular
success. II pretty fighting ground. # is yet
and VIII remain such long the means Of com
Darison remain hidden and sentimental hero wor-
ship IS fed by notion that BOito has refused To
permit the opera operas which he has written
since 20 be either published performed because
the world once refused 10 recognize his genius
This notion. equally convenient % an indolent man
1ea1 do N.,Ffa -.