The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1916-01-02
THE WEEK OF E r
METROPOLITAN Opera House.

BasseB were seldom or never heard.
Choruses were almost abolished. En-
senbles. QuArtets and trios were prac-
t.cally forbidden. Duets were not nu-
merous. The opera consisted Of a
string Of arias. all bristling with
ilorid passages.
Without pursuing the matter into all
It's details. which would occupy too
much space. II may be said that
through the period Of Handel and for
years afterward the conditions were
quite similar. 1t vas not till the ad-
vent OF itameau n later Of Gluck and
Mozart that an artistic leaven began
to raise the value OF the lyric drama
In Europe. Yet both Rameau and
Gluck found themselves confronted
with the old problem OF the libret;o
and both turned back to the ancient
classic themes which had been set over
n over by their predecessors.
Is 1t n wonder. then. that In a
later period we find the whole world
OF the lyric drama set topsy turvy by
the insidious cleverness OF the cunning
Me4erbeer. who discerned in the his
toricsl liberetto the means Of cover
Ing the poverty OF his ideas with a
~ spectacular CelAll .
Since that time opera has wound
through devious paths in search OF It's
materials. Wagner's way We have al
ready noted; but others sought in the
spoken drama the solution Of their
problems. From time to time some
thing worth while has thus been ac-
conpIished. but in the whole the
treasury Of lyric dramas has not been
burst by the addition of the stores
drawn from the spoken play.
Romeo and Juliet" has naturally
attracted musicians for the rood rea-
son that Its story Is one of love and
rate, The psychology Of Hamlet" has
been the subject Of experiment. and
"Othello," being a drama Of emotional
tragedy. has found musical investiture
Antony and Cleopatra" OF course has
its day. But the more recen,
method has been to seek for material
IN the prose drama. Since Verdi inn
m%ortalized "Ernani' and lie Rol
sAmuse" We have found our way into
the artificial region created by the
craft OF Sardous Fit mate for thar
other master craftsman. Pucc!ni. he
furnished us with our beloved "Toscs."
was 1t any wonder that when he
Wished TO compose an opera for
americans Puccini went to the Sardou
OK The American stage, David BE.
lasco?
The w~anderings OF a retrosnectirs
morning among the records OF tho mas,
has carried us far away from Tho
thought first before the writer's mind
The Retrospective mind was wondering
no" much ehec the modern type OF
iioretto had made upon the music Of
the opera and consequently upon the
sihS7ns. In the seventeenth century
and most OF the eighteenth the public
taste In singing brew into he hands
or the singers the entire control Of the
style n structure of operas. Are
we az far in advance Of this deplor-
able state as We sometimes believe
ourselves to be? Is II actually true
that composers Of our time create ac-
cording 10 their own artistic ideals
without thought OF public favor? And
IL 1t certain that publics In variou
musical centres demand that COM
posers shall realize artistic ideals or
do they wish the musicians to furnish
singers with opportunities for the dis
play OF their powers?
Is II not mor likely that history
will 60 on repeating herself 10 the
end of h story and that periods OF
artistic victory. uch as those OF Gluck
and Wagner. will be followed by others
OF degeneracy. when petty musicians
will try TO earn fleeing popularity and
wealth by initiating the methods OF
masters but with ever increasing on
cessions to the ever ~degenerating pub
lie taste?
Publ'cs are like children: they will
not eat meat and potatoes If they can
get sweetmeats and pastry. And so
1t Is very difficult in these days to
induce people to listen to the operas
in which the most beautiful ideals OF
lyric art are embodied. Wagner alone,
by reason of the impetus gained in the
determined charge made upon the
whole world by his organized adher-
ents. has the public ear, And now
that the storm of battle is settling
n the vision Of men is cleared it is
slowly becoming manifest that the
| gigantic dramas Of the Bayreuth mas
ter are by no means faultless. They
are productions OF a human genius.
and not Of the divine mind after all.
But their majesty. force and artistic
method are none the less convincing
/! since We have discovered their i'm
perfections and since we have learned
that eve Wagner did not always prac-
tise what he preached.
We have found II possible to view
with a proper sense Of proportion tho
| humors of his talking dragon, his
prophesying bird and his magic drinks.
| We have learned to tolerate them not
only for the sake of their epic nursing
music. hut because Of their relation to
The immortal tragedy OF the helpless
god and his futile children.
But when we contemplate such
works as Boris Godunov" and prince
Igor We are brought to the conclu-
sion that the historical opera 10 prone
to disconnected episodes. Even Meyer
beers complicated political plots
have no greater inherent weakness
than these stories. which must earn
their victory by their musical embodl-
ment OF great emotions and their
dellneation OF human character.
METROPOLITAN OPERA HOUSE.