New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1910-03-19
MUSIC
AN AMERICAN OPERA AT THE
METROPOLITAN.
NJ. conrerse's Pipe Of Desire. -

last night an the dying hours % a season
which has been notable. among other
things. for promises unkept- Mr.. Frederick
I s. Convsrse's pipe OF Desire was pro-
duced. The words Of this opera are Eng
fish and the composer Is an American.
Much has been made % this fact IN the an
nOunoements for tWO years past. But the
significance OF such q fact lies in the ap-
plication OF a." once this journal had on
its stan a musical reviewer who wrote two
Operas. lie wrote them % English words
They were performed, here and IN Philadel-
phia. and very naturally. the man who
wrote them championed the cause o. opera
On the veFnacular with a great deal OF zeal
His arguments were good fifty years ago
and they are valid to-day. but neither hts
Arguments nor his music affected the status
o. the lyrie drama IN the United States
Much later. when German opera supplante,I
the Italian form % the art az the MetrOpoI-
itan Opera House. q successor Of Mr.. Fry
the present reviewer. hailed the fact with
sladness because. as he thought and said
n was a step toward the naturalization OF
opera cOnsummatiOn devOutiy 10 be
wished but impossible so long as Italian
opera was dominant A memory OF the III
tempered pOlemics Of twenty years ago
arose IN the mind OF the reviewer last night
when he observed that nearly every one Of
the artists concerned in the production OF
MF. Converse's work had been associated
with the German operas in the MetrOpOii-
tar llst-Mme. Hsmer. Mr.. Whitehill. Leo
nora Sparkes Lila Smelling. Mr.. WitheF-
spoon and the conductor. M Hertz-and
only one. Mr.. Martin. exclusively with the
italian. II may be that the fact is worth
pondering nov.
W7rra etr--o 49,, $685. - g..
ance which were calculated 20 give pause
% the enthusiasm % those in the audi
ence who were thoughtful as well as
patriotic. OF what good is the use OF the
veTnacular IN an opera II the words which
are sung cannot De understood What is
the use ~ an English text n Il is even
les. ineligible 20 the hearer than German,
French or Italian? II naturalization was
In any degree the aim 81 last nights pro-
duction o. The Pipe Of Desire" that aim
vas completely destroyed in the perform
anee- Il is an old story that there are
two ways OF looking a. an operatic hbretto
That which used 20 prevail IN France land
stiu prevails. for that NATTER. and which
was given 20 Germany by Richard Wsg-
ner. is that the text is largely the deter
mining factor IN the work and that the
province Of music is 20 give the words q
greater beauty and q heightened potency.
That is the lesson which Lully and Gluck
both foreigners. strangely enough taught
the French. and which their successors
made the foundation ~ the French school
II IL also the lesson which Wagner taught
his people when ne achieved the regener-
alton OF the lyric drama not only
IN Germany but throughout the world
But these men. while they gave prac-
80 fafw ~
made their great reforms possible BY
studying the genius o. the language which
they used and making expressive use OF its
idioms. They did not leave the matter OF
verbal utterance wholly 20 the singer, they
made II q part Of their system OF musical
defamation. Every Would-be representa-
tive OF nationalism in art ought 20 follow
their example. provided he accepts the
theory that the lyric drama is a rational
form % ART. There r. another point OF
view-anc = has had able champions IN
the past-Which reduces the question OF Ian
guage 70 q matter Of Indifference. Nine. de
Stael condemned the German composers be-
cause IN their music they followed too close
ly the sense q the words. and lauded the
Italians because they made the '.air and
the words conform 10 each other only in a
general way This notipn OF the words
and music Of the opera Is the general one
even to-day-there IS no use denying that
fact-and 50 long as il remains so II will
be q difficult task for anybody 20 demon
strate that We ought 20 hear German.
French and Italian operas in English trans
lations- Many OF the old pieces would
sound absurd in English. because they were
written without consideration for dramatic
proprieties; they retain their charm because
go
nizes as conforming TO the drama in a gem
eral way" This attitude Is happily illus
trated in the aneodote which tells OF how
Roileau once went 10 hear "Atys" and asked
the boxkeeper 10 put him in a place
where he could hear Lully's music.
% which he was very fond. but not
Quinault's poetry which he detested. HAD
Boileau been az the opera house last night
he would not have needed 10 worry about
the text. Except in the case Of few
short phrases distributed among all the
performers and the lines which Mr.. White
hin sans, nobody understood what vas be-
ing uttered.
Mas n the fault OF the composer? IN a
small degree. yes OF the singers? In a
large degree. yes. But chiefly Il was the
fault OF the ubrettist M George Edward
BartOn's book Is an extremely amateurish
performance. II II has any value il is
purely literary. II Is a fairy fantasy. wO-
fully weighted with what the author. no
doubt, thought when he wrote Il was pro-
found symbolism But in It's execution
there is a most amusing tumble OF operate
shreds and patches. The story, II such II
can be called. has been told in this journal
The King Of the fairy fOlk-"elyes. gnOmes.
sylphs. undines and salamanders"-has q
musical instrument. the pipe. the sound Of
which prOvOkes unrest among all who hear
II. he plays upon IL at the request OF his
subjects and they ind its music only an
inspiration for a merry dance. mortal
wrests II from him. and though 1T Is for
hidden he plays upon IL. and It's voice sum
mons his love from sickbed makes her
struggle over rocks and through streams 20
reach mis- side she Is stricken with a
fever. her mind is turned awry and she
dies in his arms Had he put restraint
upon his impatient desire for a day he
would have enjoyed a fun measure OF
marital happiness. Then he curses God:
the King OF the fairy folk prOclaims the
moral OF the piece. which Is that dis
obedience 10 divine Law is always punished
and the mortal lives out his span Of life In
a few moments AID dies by the side OF her
no was 20 have been his wife
This the POeiical oonoeit proclaimed IN
words Whieh are anything but pOstical and
ahich have about as much dramatic poten-
tialify as q proposition In Euclid But on
the stage there fit about shadows Of tamil