New-York tribune., 1910-01-23
MUSIC
A NEW OPERA AT THE METRO
POLITAN.
Franchetti's "Germania.'


new opera was produced at the Metro
politan Opera House yesterday afternoon.
In a city like New York such an occur
renee ought not to call for special wonder
II our half hundred and more of theatres
new plays are brought forward night after
night. They come, they go; and are for
gotten. In our opera houses each produc-
ton Of a novelty is event which means
large labor and large cost. only too fire.
quently misspent. Yet opera houses must
have a repertory; they are like the the
atres In the old days of stock companies
in one respect and unlike them in others.
Public taste changes so rapidly in music
In some respects that new works are de-
msnded; it changes so slowly, however, in
others that new works are received slowly
and grudgingly. The cause is no mystery
to close and intelligent observers. There
is no synchronism between the eager de-
sire for new sensations and the old love
for sensuous beauty The opera COM
posers of to-day unable to provide the
medium which shall bring about the need
ed harmony; so, also. are the singers. In
default of artists who can preserve the
classic repertory. and of composers who
can create a new, every attempt at ex-
tending the current list ought TO be well
CcHltu WITH SIdL1luQG, whether II De sue
cessful or not. There was a pleasing
promise, If nothing more, in yesterdays
Offering.
The opera was "Germania," the book by
Luigi Illica, the music by Alberto Fran
chetti There are good reasons for think
ing that the composer of the music had
more to do than is ordinarily the case with
the composition of the book. IIlica is be-
come librettist in ordinary TO the opera
composers of Italy. He can turn his hand
to any subject and produce a serviceable
book, with or without local color: but he
must have had some special inducement to
produce a libretto like that of ''Germania."
which was plainly written more for con-
sumption in the study than for hasty con-
sultation in the opera house The stage
directions read like those of literary plays
never intended for public performance.
They tell of things which could never be
OWNED from the performance alone For
Instance: One of the stage people opens
scroll and examines 1t. "a caricature of
Haugwttz!" he exclaims, laughs and shows
II to MS companions. Now read the stage
erection; students approach, curious to
see; all laugh at the caricature, which rep
resents the minister as a pig grubblng up
mushrooms. which Napoleon, represented
room bears the name of a German state
province or city," Plainly. whoever was re-
sponsIble for bookmaking of this type had
something more than the ordinary operatic
performance in view. And this must have
been the composer of the music of Ger
mania Baron Franchetti although listed
as an italian and born in Turin, is a scion
or the house of ROthschild whose founder
hailed from the Judengasse in Frankfort
His higher musical education was acquired
In Munich and Dresden. under the tuteIage
or Draeseke. an arch-Wagnerite, in the
days when such men were notable for their
rarity, and the Munchener Hochschule
Before he had made his name widely
known he composed a symphony like a
good German, and it was as a symphonist
that New York first heard of him as long
ago as 1887. Mr.. Thomas gave the COM
position hearing at a concert of the Phil
harmonic Society. He also played piece
or entr acte music from an opera entitled
Asrael," by the same composer, and thus
helped to create curiosity touching the per-
sonality of the author of the opera when