The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-02-27

the Beast You weep. Lost Illusions
Take a drink" The face strikes down
into the black depths Of JulieNs soul
Internal ghost. what do you wish?
Whence come you?' II Louise were not
dead he would think this was she. Pres
emily she goes into the cabaret Julien
bows his head and confesses that in all
that he has done he has been governed by
the will to conquer. by sheer pride. And
he is wrecked. Now to die In beauty.
will that not be well?
Al last the Walpureisnacht. Dream
maidciiA shimeras. dream pilgrims. wor-
! shippers OF beauty now And their coun-
terparts In the drunken rout OF "A Mont
martre carnival revel With frenzied
shrieks Of incarnate frenzy they dance In
| shameless indecency and wailow In in
describable degradation Dressed In an
orgy OF colors they caper to foul
melody Of the sewer.
At the rear one sees show booth.
II Is the Theatre OF the Ideal" and
before II a Snowman calls invitations to
enter and see the ennobling play. the
worship Of the true, the ideal. the beau
: tiful. Is it-yes without Doubt 10
| In mystic symbolism the voice OF the
! High Priest bawling a vile parody OF his
lofty speech in the hall of the temple.
Even the Bell Ringer and the coIyte re-
appear and speak their minds. Juher
plunges into the whirlpool. You men.
beasts that you are. let US all live like
wild beasts! The orgy grows madden.
| The crowd screams: Down with the
IDEAL" Men rush to tear apart the the
atre. Then there In sudden darkness.
and in the heart Of It once more glows
the dim light OF the temple hall. The
Grisettc laughs horribly as she watches
the agon.zed expression OF her new lover.
Pierced with thousand dasEers his soul
sees the vision Of aspiration that glorified
his youth In despair he turns back to
the GrSsette. Still she laughs horribly.
He falls dead at her feet. The grisly
tragedy Ia ended.
A tragedy indeed as Charpentier con-
| ceived II and as he developed II: but
what-of those who sit in silent observa-
ton Of II? What impression can this
strange fantasia Of dream life make
1t Ia potent to weave strong spell for q
| reader but does II sound a clear dramatic
note? 10 Il for the theatre and an audi.
ence? That II makes extraordinary de-
mands upon the attention. the under.
standing and the sympathy Of the auditor
In undeniable. Few dramatists can ven.
ture upon such demands and hope that a
careless public will meet them. And
after all the thing IL loosely made. for |,
is almost impossible to learn from the
text what 10 dream and what reality. We
have to fall back upon the authors state
ment that all following the prologue Il
dream.
Atmosphere Of Gloon slstaiaea.
More discouraging still must be re-.
garded the sustained atmosphere OF
gloom. Not I'll the bacchanale OF the last
scene Ia there any interruption Of the deer
depression which follows Julien from even
his ascent Of the Holy Mount down again
into the bottomless pit OF his wretched'
ness. The pictures are triumphs Of the.
atrical invention. They are al eloquent
In their way as those Of Maeterlinck In
"Pelleas ct Melisande." But all 10 re.
mote. almost inaccessible. from beyond
the chasm In front Of the footlights.
The music is even less tangible thar
the poem. JSItew wanders through the
drama utterinE his thoughts In n musica
defamation which has fitness and dig
nifty. but which leaves almost nothing fol
the nearer to carry away al a definite
memory. There are moments OF lofty
beauty. as In the close OF the first scene
Of the hrst act at the passage beginning
me voici. voici mon ame," and again II
the exquisitely lovely scene with ths
peasant girl. sung with consummate arr
by Mr.. Caruso The treatment Of thu
choral parts In the early scenes 10 mas
teriy. and In the calls Of the voices which
come to JvIiew's ears before the peasan
J cot one hnds the hand which penned tn,
cries Of Paris In Louise"
But until the Montmartre revel tn,
music 10 continually slow In movement
J indefinite In rhythm. m0notonous ant
heavy The blare Of the cabaret dane,
by . coarse cornet comes like . rsvtvinl
blast Of cool air. merely because Il has tn,
charm OF . clear cut rhythm.
For those who bow their musical soul
before the altar OF the Representative,
theme much serious matter viii be fount
In this score. and Indeed any tyre cal
appreciate the cunning repetition an,
Transformation Of certain motives from
Louis" But representative themes d,
| not confer greatness upon an operate
score BY their more presence They mus
have pregnant meaning. and united the!
must produce dramatic entity.
Dits % nissssat Ussess.ss.
He win b. an enthusiast indeed VII
oaa discover hsrs \ musical craft Who'll
has given 10 The world another score o
J perfect structure. OF the suitability .
tbs music 10 the scsns In almost ever,
episode there can BE- no question an,
there ase hlte Of eloquent utteranoa Bu
~ lyyle ezpaieatien d the gloomy dPaml
IN - laDlsea sIlse 49, syesesee y
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