New-York tribune., 1912-03-15
MUSIC
PRIZE OPERA PERFORMED
"Mona" at the Metropolitan
Opera House-A Significant
Incident in 0peratic
History.


i,Jorse-too much for a single occasion ir-
rsspective of the merits and the defects Of
-. cork produced 1t was a performance
:. .rNona." the opera by Brian Hooker and
%.osessor Parker, TO which was awarded
49, nrize offered by the directors of the
,I.,ronolitan Opera Company three years
go In producing it the directors re-
seor,ed a promise in truly magnificent
manner and completed one of the most in
.aresting experiments yet undertaken in
Connection with opera in America-so inter-
e.,inr an experiment. indeed. that a frank
ord full discussion of IT is imperative. The
s,orv Of how the opera came to be written
"a The yicisstudes of the competition out
- which it came victorious has been told
o,,or and over again in all It's aspects
",r.eical-comical- al-historical-pastoral' 49, for
,brough them all 1t has passed. Let
40, no nut aside. The story of the opera
has also been told and retold. and with
III recital of it admiration has grown for
,s noetic strength and beauty. 1t is a tale
nth an old foundatiOn-a foundation as old
q. humanity probably but one which
,r one phase or another is perpetually new
woman. carried away by an emotional
.-o,vv unsexes herself and, In trying TO
accomplish what she conceives TO ne
oroat mission, sacrifices the life and happi-
g. of herself and those who love and ap-
rreciate her best as well as the cause 10
,,h,cb she feels herself consecrated she
..es the love-hght in the eyes or brave
rnselAsh man who. unknown tn her' Is ac-
cor,nIishing the mission 10 which she ne
,,oyoe herself consecrated. She dreams "t
49,, ard feels the hands of little children
=. ~. dark. unborn and crying to her to
r,otber them. but puts all aside. because She
"CouId not be
, voran. loved and loving, nor ennuIe
Notherhood and the wise ordinary JOYS
Of day by day
And so she leads her people In nope
,.ss cause and kills her lover. only u
learn. Al the last. that, had she hsteneo
% cod's voice and yielded 10 the weak
ness the strange fear Of her lover g'au
eyes. the warm pain" in her oiooo an,
sverirr him. the little foolish Whisper
n her heart. drunk of the JOY that was
,rofered. been only woman 1nstean ol
following dreams. she would have won
all that she strove for in vain by putting
her nature aside. 1t is preachmeht' Vi
course; some will say timely one-o'ners
impertinent and wasted. An exceheh'
thing il is that Mr.. Hooker MADE no
hesitation in confessing that he had the
nurnose i'm mind which he set forth so
MAINLY and so eloquently In his book.
That book-and here the critical discus
sion must begin--is not suitable lot up
cratic purposes. Mona" is play hrst oil
all 10 be read in the library; 1t might
have been effective as spoken orafnd'
for II yisuaizes well, and its lines are
ALWAYS full Of picturesqueness, ana ire
ouently of strong beauty. But the mex
nerience of both authors is eXemplned IN
their Indifference 10 some of the prime re-
nuirAments of the lyric drama Wheh
music enters the play in its highest es-
tate II is for the purpose Of proclaiming
and celebrating an emotional state up to
which the dialogue has led The dialogue
itself is a necessary evil and almost al
vavs an Intrusion. II will be objected TO
"NIona" that in II there is paucity OF
ection. and correctly. 1t is not the province
~ music. even in the modern lyric drama
10 picture movement and incident, IL
can nrepare for them to some extent, but
its greatest potency is in proclaiming an
emotional state after II is arrived. And
therefore excessive dialogue and the
regIect of melody will always initiate
against a lyric drama. as they do against
the serious and really noble effort made
by the authors of the new opera. II there
Is 10 he a proclamation and celebration of
an emotional state when 1t is reached
then dramatic talk must yield TO lyricism-
vocal as we'll as musical Only once does
Mr.. Hooker break away from the Tenny-
.onian verse form which he adopted for
4 nncp-it is IN the
chorus of Britons, near the close of the
second act of the opera-does Professor
Parker write the kind of music which the
public. whether considering it good or oad'
will vet approve OF being something like
that called for. There should have been
many such variations for the sake of the
music AS IT stands. "Mona," powerful in
motive. strong and sweet in expression.
striking in it's pictures, Is rather an ad-
mirable basis for an opera-book than an
opera-book itself.
The piav is a fine one: the poetry too full
OF artistic elements to achieve recognition
N such a mixed art form as the opera.
And yet in that very fact, even In the
drawback which It exercised on the com
plete success of Mona" as an opera be-
cause Of its distraction of the composer,
lies one Of the great merits of last nights
production. Mr.. Hooker and Professor
Parker have made beginning. There
were elements In Il so ingenious as
almost to cause a smile; but they
we're presented with strength and
dignity which almost confounded
the knowing. 1t is doubtful If either of the
authors knew anything about Norma
ian old Roman Drudic OPERA or 'Ie Par
don de Plovermel" dn which Dinorah dances
with her shadow. as Nal does with his), or
OF les Huguenots" On which there is a
henediction OF poigniards like yet very un-
Ike. the conservation of druidic swords in
'Mona'): yet the presentation Of all these
possibly stereotyped features was so fresh,
honest and ingenious that II carried con-
vcticn with IT. And the same must be
said Of every character as drawn by the
poet and clothed with musical integument
ey the composer They were all not only
remarkable as first creations. but frequent
v SO strikngly effective that old observers
were compelled to sit back and marvel at
vhat the next effort of the artists might
esduce.
~ Is only as an opera composer that
PROFESSOR Parker is novice. He has writ
zen much and well in nearly all the forms,
80 ana small, except the symphony, his
V"y essay In this line, we believe. dating
oecA 10 his student days in Munich. some
u'y'seFen years ago; his songs are
miuey sung; there is scarcely Protestant
Npiscopai church choir that Is not familiar
WIN one or more OF his services; some OF
uiS o'ertures and his concerto for organ
ana orchestra have been heard here. In
nos,on' Chicago and elsewhere; he wrote