New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-09-16
CONRIED
His Life and Services to Drama
and Stage.

THE LIFE OF HEINRICH coNRIED. By Mont
Thomas Y. Croweu Co.
In the popular memory Heinrich Con
ried will live longest as the manager OF
the Metropolitan Opera House. His real
services to art in America, rendered
at the German theatre in Irving Place,
are already being forgotten. Even
Mr. Moses writes of them most
ly at second hand, fragmentarily
with many omissions of what at
the time were considered mile
stones in the history of drama and
stage in this country. He stresses
Conrieds part in the foundation OF the
New Theatre, and. one is inclined to
think, overvalues his share in the actual
realization of thu plan. however valua-
Bile his services in preparing the
ground. And, 1t may as well be added
here and now-it was said with good
reason at the time by those who knew
Conried's equipment and its limlta-
tions-the German manager would have
been a mstit as director of the Amerl-
can enterprise However great his
technical equipment, he lacked that
and its history which was required
for the building up Of the New Thea
tres repertory.
There is in Mr.. Moses's pages not a
suggestion of the spirit that pervaded
the Irving Place Theatre in its heyday
under Conried's regime, not hint oil
the atmosphere which made his first
nights a memorable artistic delight
| There is scarcely a mention here of the
group of artists who demonstrated the
possibilities of a stock company at its
best. 1t was not Sonnenthal or Agnes
I Sorma, Odilon or Bonn, to mention
only a few of Conried's stars and
Caste" who drew to his little play
house American lovers of drama and
acting, but members of his company
like Otto Gilbert and Hedwig LANCE, eX-
ponents of a school of acting whose
training is as arduous as its results are
great. Mr.. Moses makes, moreover, more
than one mistake in his estimates OF the
few players whom he does mention.
Hedwig Won Ostermann's technique, for
instance. was never distinguished"
Quite the reverse. And it grew worse as
she came TO rely more and more upon
the favor Of the public which her
piduant Viennese prattle and her come
illness won for her. Conried brought
over many good actors. None was
trained by him. On the contrary, not a
few he ruined. Moreover, many OF his
finest productions were stage managed
by others, though he received the
credit. Mr. Moses's statement that he
trained" Gustav Won Seyfertltz may
we'll be doubted. He used his players
and drove them. He had no time TO
teach them as well. He never produced
the two parts Of Faust He presented
the first part in two instruments, with
out cuts. As for the legend. which
MIR. Moses accepts, that Conrled was
himself once upon a time an actor OF
exceptional ability, there is nothing. to
prove it's truth. He was in his acting
days a capable stock actor, and notn-
ing more.
Since Mr. Moses sees fit TO disap-
prove of the review of COnrled's regime
at the Metropolitan given by The Trib-
une's music critic in his Chapters
of Opera" that part of the book
may be left 10 Mr.. krehbiel. OF Con-
ried the man his biographer speaks 49,
again at second hand kindly, but with
out altogether Guessing over ms pc
culiarities and those traits which made
for him an increasing number of enc
mies-his colossal egotism, his clever
ness in drawing contracts, his AFRO
gance that grew with success. A man
of great talent and enormous energy.
his artistic ideals controlled and to a
large extent realized by shrewd bust
ness sense, knowing the theatre thor
oughly, Heinrich Conred deserves to
be remembered as potent influence for
good in the American theatre of his
dcy. And he broke the Bayreuth mo-
nopoly of "Parsifal."