New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-01-03
MR FtRRAR foN1ANA 6 Mss Bon, m lAMoRr oI TRt RI

. love for her husband. awakened by rec
Cgriton Of the overwhelming tenderness
+ Of his affection. and still greater pathos
I in the conduct of the outraged husband.
/ who cannot take revenge upon the man
uIon whom his wife had bestowed the
boon for which he felt an infinite longing,
and who follows him into death beside
the body OF the one who had been so dear
10 both And when at the last. the Old
man is left alone in darkness made
/ trebly dense 10y the triple destruction
which he had Erought for lover and
( husband had both sucked death in kiss
/ ing the mouth Of the woman whom he
/ had killed and whose lips ne had smearcd
with poison in the last despairing hope
OF thus discovering WHO had wronged his
son and his house. there is infinite pathos
/ in his impotent desolation and mute de-
lspar.
/ In this story. bat more especially in
| its presentation. there are many dramatic
motivi which have done service in other
/ dramas Involuntary We think Of Wag
ners setting Of the tale CT Tristram
and Iseult. of Romeo and Juliet" Of
| Francesca da Rimini." OF "Pelleas ct
I Melisande." There are moments when
| cursory glimpse might almost make one
think one Of these plays was occupying
the stage. as when Flora dhe princess)
is seen waving her scarf from the castle
! terrace and when Avto dhe lover comes
into the crypt Of the castle TO say fare
well TO his dead love. But there is
large difference between Benefits treat
ment Of these episodes and the apparent
I sources which we have cited. Isolde
| waves her scarf wildly to call her lover
10 her side Flora waves hers with
breaking heart and heavy arms 10 speed
her parting husband, though she cannot
but know that his going is only a preface
10 the coming of Avito The struggle be-
tween love and duty has begun. Here it
/ may be said OF the poet. as il must also
be said OF the composer, that he is so
| strong and self-reliant in his command
I Of his theme and all its agencies of en-
preston that the parallels only serve 10
illustrate the aphorism Of Fuseli-'Genius
may adopt but never steals.
| The remark is indeed more significant
as applied TO Signor Italo Montemezzi'
the composer Of the music. than TO the
author Of the play. Not only the scene
Of the scarf but other episodes, must
have called up memories in his mind of
! masterpieces which can scarcely Re
thought Of without tempting the creative
musician 10 imitation. The imitation may
be unconscious. but is seldom missing.
Echoes OF the night OF love in the Iris
tram tragedy have foated down from the
stage Of the Metropolitan opera House
several times since Wagner's great mu-
4 sic first became domiciled there There
were no echoes last night of either the
love duet or OF the music which brings
/ her lover 10 Iseut's feet. Neither lana
| for this there might be a special express
sion OF gratitude were there pallid re-
Elections OF Debussy or reverberationS OF
| puccini Montemez2i is proof against
temptation. This young composer speaks
speech all his own. and his score, We
fancy. would have delighted the soul OF
Verdi when, seeing the alterations OF
his Young confreres. he sat himself down
in his old age to show them an example
| % devotion to the genius OF their coun-
try's art.
/ What then. is meant by the remark
made above that "L'Amore del tire Re
Is the fine fruit Of Boris Godounow'
rsfted on an Italian stem? Only this
That Signor Montemezzi has borrowed
from Moussorgsky constructive feature
which though Il has national value IN
| pnssian music. which IL lacks I'm Italian
a. stul OF fine dramatic effectiveness
N,,iodlcally ne is all italian and a leSiti-
,ostc artistic grandson OF Nerdi. SUI
a., r,elodies. which now onward Ike
49, nos, tumultuously as they carry the
,,.ssior ~ the lovers upon their current
nou, gently with wooing murmurs AS they
eos, the emotions Of the loving ana mag
nanimous Manfrcdo. and anon interrupt
odiy when they are broken into iras-
,nents by the dialogue. arc as RUE 81.
perimposed ON persistently roi'e'S'e'
rhythmical and mclodic figures some
times this OSfinofo accompaniment hdS
dolinestiyc purpose. IS when We near al
IL the coming and going of Mantredo anu
h,s ,.arrlors. but a. q rule the purpose OF
- euployment b. purely CONSTRUCTIVE.
md the composers splendid command OF
,he stage and Of musical expression en-
.hles him 10 give tho hgurcs dramatic
potency which at times reaches me mar
velious and approaches his model he
elbows equal mystery OF the potenii"n'es
OF harmony and orchestral color 10y
means OF which he not only puts sio"
into his sustained melody. but Also greSiiy
heightens the emotional power OF tnat
norton Of his dialogue which hoNers pc
Tween speech and song.
Though he occasionally makes use OF
remlnisccnt phrases. he does net employ