The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1910-12-18

and ruined castle and the suggestion
Of tAs empty and almost hopeless sea
beyond
When il comes to tho more pretentious
tetralogy. what would befall IL IL is were
stripped Of its shows, Where would
-Dus Rh.ingold' finish without the SHIN
mering waters. the little fish maidens. the
glittering Nihelungen hoard. the crum pied
dwarfs. the vlnnowing serpent the shift
ing Loss. the lightning OF Donnsr. and
the rainbow bridge to the shadowy Wal
hall?
In Die Walk Dire what do not the ms 81
clan and the poet owe TO the wayering fire.
the mists the flying horses and the moon
hSht' Is IL necessary to continuei Think
Of the dragon and the fitting little birdie
in -Siegfried.' the changing anvil and the
from her uncomfortable position by a
KISS which We can see actually lasting for
thirty seconds by a watch
Think OF the pomp and circumstance
OF Die Meistersinger Did tricky old
Meyerbeer ever do anything more spec
tacular' oh. yes. 10 the answer. he did.
because he made shows for their own SAX co
and did not endeavor to mould them into
the structure Of the drama itself. Well.
tn certain extent that is true But
Meyerbeer was doing only that which all
the opera COMPOSERS before him had done.
even some Of those who were as full Of
reformatory notions rs preaching Richard
himself
We have lately observed a rcvival OF
Giuck's -Armide.' Could anv opera de-
pend more on spectacular features than
that one docs? Yet il 10 admitted on all
sides that 1t is a work Of lyric art and that
the composer made a serious and highly
succesSful effort to cmbody tragedy in
| tones. Yet how much Of the purely spec
| tacular is demanded by tho inclusion in
the score OF so many ballot episodes. Tho
ballet is for the eye. even when it ulti
mately appeals 20 the understanding. and
the DANCES in -Armido" succeed precisely
| in proportion to their mimctic Significance.
The picture is drawn Tor the Ecal old fash
toned operate public. which alwa avs liked
this kind OF toy. Now suppose that Mr..
Puccini had elected to compose IN opera
ON some such subject as Tho Scarlet
Lsttrr.- which Walter Damroech once
triod to transform into lyric play. What
mi sht have boon tho result, The spoc-
tacular element would have bccomc so
drab and fey that tho entire audience
would have rushed madly from tho opera
house to tho Tcndcrioin restaurants and
have plum god its sorrows into larg &c how Is
Of something.
suppose tina; hc had selected some cpl
sods Of tho Eiawatha lcgcnds Then
would havc arisen formidable dificultics.
How could Ca-uso h~ made to look and act
/ 4. L. r.. 4 ,ns n b.
ing weter have a slcck and we'll fod sx-
terror or was she slender "a reed shaken
in the rushing waters Of n shining river!
II is not thing TO be taken lightly. And
then think OF the vast end disconcerting
incongruity Of permitting thcsc two cres-
lures OF aboriginal fabl" Ia stand in tho
contrc of the stage with baby lenses play
ing glorifying light upon their brown
countcnancea while they sang out their
souls in music like that Of Rodotpho and
Mimi
ON the other hand was IL to be supposed
that Mr. Puccini would immerse himself
in the study Of Indian chants only TO be
severely rebuked by Boston? No. the
Indian appears to better advantage in
The Girl OF the Golden West rs a poor
whiskey thief. "A creature without moral
SENSE and a rather pitiable provider II
comedy
He i one Of the minor spectacular
features of play in which graphics are
extremely important Here again we
find ourselves confronted with con-
sicieration which has often faced us be
fore The combination OF spectacular
elements with IN. essentially dramatic in
an opera is no, the easiest achievement in
the world of art. The spectacular. a. we
have noted. tn. public must have But
those operas which have maintained
their hold on the largest number Of music
lovers throughout the world are those in
: which the spectacular elements are sub.
orcinated to the emotional
Thi. - true in Mr. Puccinis own works
| Even -Tosca- il - the case The
second act at first sight seems to have no
spectacular element in IL. but TO rely
entirely ON its dramatic intensity. The
music, however. IL almost wholly melo-
dramatic The only lyric point Of repose
! is IN. complaint of Toscd.
All this - undeniably true. BUT on the
other hand let us not forget that the
action OF this ACT IL based on a tumult 81
flaming passion. and that the drama here
comes TO the front II IL Sardou. no,
Puccini. who carries this act Mr. Puccin
subordinated himself a. a composer with
consummate skill. and provided for the
play a perfect musical background
He has plainly trisd to do the same
thing i'm The Girl Of tn. Golden West
but the materials furnished him by the
dramafist are not Oh. same The climax
OF the second act Of Mr. Belasco's play
- ;rtar.ua that ~ Mr. Sarfio,,'.