New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-12-10

n. rCormance was admirable almost from
beginning "a end. It's scenic outfit was
.unerb and such delightful singing and
acting as that Of Mines. ODER ana lI'ihpe'
was surely heard in nc other performance
Of the opera. except those oil berlin' Nv
which the same artists were employed
vbc cruel music imposed upon the char
.,cto, of Snnbfc worked injury 10 the love
Is rcputaticu Of Miss case. and Mt JoIh'
who nad an Italian air 10 sing IN the sup
rnscdly humorous moss of the lover. lost
himself for a while i'm the maze without
doing much damage To the general effect.
II AIR Goritz can add nothing to his repu-
tatior, bv his imDcrsonation of the repro
bate Lcrchenan he need not let the mat
fer .rcublc his conscience the difficulty OF
his ASK is out Of all proportion to any
uoseilIe return which il can bring To any
,,tist be ne never so conscientious or
,Ioyor He must comfort himself. like the
orchestra and all the many other mem
ne;s of the cast. whose names need ne
mentioned fol the sake OF the formal rec
ord only in a formal way. To MI. HeH
a greater debt Of gratitude would he due
tSlli'DOSlllS t.it llip'h'N''h ~
calls for cTattuue) had he done more to
save il from condemnation by cutting out
thirty or forty more OF its pages.
Unless circumstances invite an inquiry
into the reasons why the management o'
the Metropolitan Opera House accepted
Richard Strauss opera a. the principai
rovelty for the season and sacrificed much
of its duty coward its subscribers ana
some of it's reputation for fairness toward
the public by putting it on its extra list
we are not likely to learn all of the Sc
crcts Of last nights production. II Is
easy To speculate about some Of the
causes. however. P'rhsps there was
something due on the contract Tor ga
lone" either i'm feet or In sentiment. &c
sides Strauss f. a puissant iGure IN the
musical history Of to-day. not only be
cause OF the hold which he has taken
uIOu the taste OF many of the musical
people OF to-day. but also upon the mag
nation Jf the multitude. No composer
that ever lived has been so widely and IN
gcniously exploited. Moreover. he is an
embodiment Of the "ommercialism OF the
period and that spirit IS so pervasiNe mat
old-fashioncd lealism Is all but impotent
against IT, knowing his power he COM
pcls managers to accept conditions which
in turn compel a change IN the attitude
Lctwccn operate institutions, be they
frankly commercial or public spirited, ana
the public European institutions have
parallel not only IN tn" cases provided by
Strauss. but also by the engagement for
brief seasons 81 SignOr Caruao. II Herr
Strauss is To get all the money which ic
wants for his operas then in New ork,
AT least. there must be more perform
auces than the prevail mt system allows
and an advance in prices FOR all perform
anccs outside OF the regular subscription.
II would bc pleasant to think that the
metropolitan opera House IS not so
frankly commercial institution as y
here assumed. but something more like
the cultural establishment which 1t has
publicly profcsscd TO be Then perhaps
II would have been a graceful act To- nave
included the novelty ia the subscription
list from tho beginning If IT had To be
produced. Perhaps 10 will go there per
force. for II is not easy TO see where IT.
potency as = work of special distinction
is to come from. II It goes into the reSu-
Ia, list soon IL will be doubly an I'M
fortunate investment Tor the manage
mcnt and one which will not speak well
FOR its wisdom There has been no myS-
tcry about Der Roscnkayalicr' FOR
year past. and no reason To- suspect that
New Works attitude woAid be different
from that 81 any community familiar
with tho merits and dement's II Strauss
or..a I'm general and this one In particu-
lar IL. l.. II.
THE RECORD oF DER E'SENhA\N-
LlEE'
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