New-York tribune., 1912-01-08
RE|NHARDT'S BIG SHOW
The Miracle in a Gothic Ca.
thedraI.
London, December "a

night to the SecluSlon or tne clolstera
1t has been a religious spectacle on a
tremendous scale. Olympia has been
transformed into an early Gothic cathe.
dral of steel, timber and plaster, with
stage four hundred feet long and
a trap thirty feet deep Over two thou
sand players robed In the costumes Of
medieval Rhineland have been masssd
| in religious professions and ceremonies,
and there have been five hundred Choir
listers and two hundred musicians In the
band, with a big organ behind them.
Professor Max Reinhardt is persistent
megalomaniac, but he has never before
attempted anything so large as this, and
he has had his principal colleagues on
the ground to assist him in the colossal
production, among them DR.. Vollmoller,
the author Of the play; Mr.. Ernst Stern,
the resourceful art director, and Pro-
fessor Humperdinck, who has composed
the music for the thanksgiving anthems.
the Christmas hymns. the children's
songs, the nuns seven dances and the
running accompaniment Of the wordless
play. The trained crowds have been
wonderfully dramatic in action and the
singing most impressive. Mile. Trou-
hanowa, as the dancing nun, forced to
display her agility by command OF the
| Spielmann, a tragic comedian, has been
the commanding figure Of a magnificent
costume show.
"The Miracle" is pieced together ar
tistically from various medieval legends,
recorded by monks in bad Latin or In
worse German. The main ideas have
come out Of twelfth century monasteries,
and there Is a realistic presentation OF
the struggles Of a religious recluse at
tracted momentarily by the glamour Of
the world OF pleasurable excitement and
finally drawn back into the restful peace
of the cloisters. It is a mystical drama,
written and enacted In a reverent spirit,
and It has a sumptuous ecclesiastical
setting, and yet from the magnitude OF
the stage and the multitude Of players
IL becomes necessarily a stupendous
modern spectacle. The audience is in a
cathedral with columns, stalls, altar,
massive oak rose window, pictures In
glass, ghostly statues, organ, pulpit and
gray walls, and the professions with
crosses, lights, censers and vestments
are passing before the eyes OF mediss-
val crowd. It is a triumph OF spectacu-
lar art, and In moment by concentra'
tion of electric lighting the cathedral
disappears and the adventures Of the
beautiful nun in mountain forest, royal
palace and military camp are portrayed
as an intermezzo without curtain or dta-
logue. When knight and troubadour
have exhausted their devices the cathe-
dral is again seen and the nun has re-
turned to her own place. Mysticism and
symbolism pass without observation.
The art If pageantry has created almost
a supernatural sense Of illusion. This OF
itself renders ''The Miracle a great
show. 80
Costumes and music are the rival at
fractions of this German mystery play.
The, nun 10 arrayed in white enbroid-'
cries and lace; the Lady Of Mystery, i'm
personated by a titled Italian. has
iewelled crown and wonderful robe Of
,cloth\ \of gold, trimmed with pearls and
embroidered figures Of saints. and the
Kings raiment rivals in nagniflceaee
the vestments Of the Bishop. These are
the principal figures, and around them
are hundreds OF knights in steel gray
armor and nuns In soft white, multi
tude Of priests, monks and choristers In
mediaval black and scarlet, swarn,s OK
courtiers and maids Of honor in gor-
geous silks and satins, clusters OF
dancers and grotesques in flaming colora
! and a horde Of common people In piciu-
rescue garb. Stage management becomes
supreme art when it combines all these
blends and contrasts into a glorious car
nival Of color. The magnificence OF the
Gothic cathedral is matched by the
splendors OF the professions and cere-
monials.
As dialogue is impracticable in so vast
an auditorium, the musical accompaHi-
ment of the wordless play becomes exs
ceedingly important. Herr Humper-
dinck has been scamped in time, for he
has had only seven months for providing
the scores; but his heart has been in his
work, for he was a chorister in his
youth and has always wanted TO write
the music for a religious play. He has
been most successful in the purely re-
liglous passages, and especially In the
Joyous Christmas music Of the second
act The thanksgiving anthems alss
are highly impressive, and the process
sional music is taken up with fervent
enthusiasm by the chorus. Lighter and
more vivaclous are the tuneful measures
for the nuns dances and the childrens
songs and dances are as melodious as
the best passages OF "Hansel und
Gretel."
With Hdipus Rex under rehearsal at
Covent Garden by MIR. Martin Harvey
with the largest body of trained per-
formers ever seen in London opera
house, the holiday public needs to be-
come accustomed to scenic and chorus
effects on a tremendous scale. open air
pageants have been successfully con-
Quoted with armies Of performers in bat
tie, royal progress and village fair, hut
Professor Renhardt plans his triumphs
of stage production for vast Enclosures
where scenic art, effects of lighting ana
music by great orchestras Will be more
impressive than in ordinary theatres.
Certainly "The Miracle" is a marvel or