New-York tribune., 1910-01-20


introducing this devil, Mr. Massenet and
his. collaborators have been more naTvely
mediaval than the creators of the
familiar of DR.. Faustus lie is not Goeth's
DEVIL who was so much of a gentleman
that the only observable adnormity about
him was his limping gait. due to an un-
fortunate malformation of his feet He is
not even the rather too gaudily dressed
cavalier of Barber. Carre and Gounod. He
is a devil from the roof of Notre Dame
Cathedral called into life. His Ostensible
purpose in the opera is to accom-
plish the destruction of the inno-
cent Grizel. The real object of his
Introduction is to bring in a comic
element. And surely devil who has a
wife who is shrewish enough to keep him
in uncomfortable hot water is comical
enough. He would have served his pur
pose without so much opera-bouffe music
as NJ. Massenet has burdened him with.
He has horns, and possibly hoofs. though
he is lighter on his feet than Mephis-
TOPPLES He has a fur cloak with tails of
which he makes picturesque use. He lays
wager with the Marquis that Griselidis
VIII play him false. just as Mephistophles
does with the Ancient that he will lead
Faust astray, and Satan does with God
Marquis is guilty of no wrong, but only
of the weakness which afflicted Posthumus
Leonatus in Shakespeare's "CymbeIine"
and Adoar in Weber's "Eurvanthe." The
devil, having made a bet tries to win it.
He prevails upon his wife, Fiamina. TO
play the part Of a slave to the Marquis
who has gone off to the holy wars, and
introduces her as mistress into the castle
over which Griselidis thought she was
mistress, and Griselidis remains mute
and accomplishing. He brings back
GriSelidlss shepherd lover Alain, who
had poured out his passion in an
exquisite song in the prologue and
had been most unaccountably thrown
over in favor of the marquis at first sight;
and though she wavers slightly then, she
is held to a sense of her wlfely duty by the
sight of her child. And in rage at being
cheated by maternal love. the Devil stole
the child and hid him away. Then the
Devil, in the guise of corsair attempts
to persuade Griselidis to go down to the
ship, whose pirate captain he said was
enamoured of her, on the promise that there
she should find her son. But the Marquis
returned from the Crusades. and when the
Devil bore false witness against GriseldiS
the good Marquis refused to believe him.
and if he had suspicious they vanished
when he saw his lovely wife. At the last
the Devil (who had been aping Gounod's
more nelodious dend in other things) hid
himself in a column and thence proclaimed
that the lost boy, Logs, was his. But the
loving parents knelt before the shrine of
st. Agnes, and as they prayed the triptych
opened. and there was their child un-
harmed. Happy parents, Asinine and dis
comfited Devil!
1t has already been intimated that all OF
NJ. Massenet's music is much alike. Also
1t may have been gathered that the play
Of Sylvestre and Morand is silly concoc-
ton. compared with the silly and improba-
BILE old legend. But the opera has been put
together with remarkable deftness. and If
it does not win popularity over all of Mas
senet's other works known to New York it
will be d wonder The musical threads
with which the composer holds its parts
together tenuous, but they glitter; and
when NJ Massenet gets his opportunity TO
hymn mood he does IL ravishinglv. He
has beautiful pictures over which TO cast
the gentle sheen of his music. The
prologue. which plays in the depths of
idyllic wood is the first of these. Tho
second act. which shows the oratory of
Griselidis. is another; but here the music
halts. and it is only the closing picture
with little Loys watching the departure of
his father from a castle window. while
his mother listens to q. reading OF the part
ing of Ulysses and Penelope. by her maid
which warns the emotions. Perhaps this
might be different If Miss Garden had not
conceived Griselidis to be a passionless
creature, like her Melisande, whose mis-
sion was filed when she made a lovely
vision for the eye. But only in the scenes
in which the DEVILS wife is installed over
her. and Alain pours out the passion
which she made wicked by her incontinent
acceptance OF the hand of the Marquis,
does Miss Garden seem TO think that the
role of Griselidis calls for a slight exhibi-
ton of emotion. For the rest she is con-
tent 70 be a picture, which speaks. indeed
but not in tones which appeal either to
the heart or good musical taste
The third scene is one of rare charm and
the Devils invocation with the answers
from afar and the appearance of the
sylphs made a profound impression on the
fine audience which saw and heard the
opera last night. Mr. Hammerstein has
done nothing better. though he might have
done so had he persuaded NJ. Renaud to
take the part assigned TO NJ Huberdeau-
which at the performance of the mystery
at the Comedie Francaise was filled by the
younger Coquelin. NJ. Huberdeau was not
in the line with his male companions, NM.
Dalmores and Dufranne last night, but
they We're, indeed, far more than admira-
bic. More cannot be said on this occasion
but the record must be completed with the
appending of the cast, thus:
CAST or -'GRISELIDIS.