New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-03-09
Canterbury Pilgrims" Has
First Presentation at the
Metropolitan
By GRENNILLE VERNON

ed another to the long list of novelties
which have distinguished his regime
at the Metropolitan Opera House. The
/ new work was Reginald de Koven's
"The Canterbury Pilgrims" the fifth
opera in English presented by the COM
pany during the present regime.
! Mr.. de Koven's opera is written to
/ the libretto of Percy MacKaye, which
/ is. Of course, founded upon the poem
/ of Chsucer. Mr.. MseKaye's story,
however, is original, only the charae-
tiers and their essential attributes be-
ing taken from the Prologue to "The
/ Canterbury Tales"
/ Both composer and iibrettist are well
known figures in our musical and dra-
matte life Mr.. de Koven Is the au-
thor of nearly score Of operettas, the
most famous Of which. robin Hood"
has received several reyiyals and is
known wherever the English language
is spoken. Mr.. Nacksye is the author
of number of plays, among them
Jeanne dare" acted by Miss Mar
lowe and Mr.. Sothern; "Sapho and
Phaon" and "The Scarecrow." He has
lately been active in the movement Tor
community Mosques, and IS the author
+ Of "Caliban." produced last year at the
City College Stadium.
Chaucer Chief Figure
The chief figure in "The Canterbury
Pilgrims" is Chaucer himself. The
/ pilgrims are at the Tabsrd Inn, South
wark. where they are about TO set out
/ for Canterbury. Chaucer falls IN love
with the Prioress and the Wife Of Bath
/ (AlisOun) with Chaucer. The Prioress
! is to meet her brother. the Knight,
whom she has not seen for years, put
whom she will recognize by ring hav-
/ ing on it the motto which corresponds
TO the one on her brooch Amor
/ V6lcn OmniG.
! Alisoun has had five husbands and
wishes ChaUcer for her sixth. With
: him she makes wager-that If the
: Prioress gives her brooch TO any one
except her brother Chaucer shall at
once give her up and take Allscun to
wife
Alisoun. with the help of her other
admirers. gags the knight and takes
| from him the ring. Then. atraylhS
/ herself in his clothes, she persuades
/ the 1TlOTtSS IItI rilt - lANA biNN''N+
and obtains the brooch. All comes out
bappilv. however. as Chaucer discovers
/ that no woman can love only five hus-
bands. but as a special favor he gets
King Richard II TO grant Alisoun an
Z exception. provided that exception be a
miller. Therefore Alisoun gladly taxes
/ the Miller. who has been one OF her
most devoted slaves.
] FL IN. Cathedral
The opera ends as the crowd enters
+ Canterbury Cathedral, Chaucer and the
/ Prioress, Alisoun and the Miller hand
/ in hand.
In the field Of comic opera-and this
/ "The Canterbury Pilgrims" is-Mr. DE
/ Koven is at home, and it is gratifying
: that in turning TO his new subject ms
/ shirt has not been darkened by the
/ shadow Of the Metropolitan Opera
/ House. lie has written neither IN the
I stvle Of Wagner. Strauss nor Debussy.
/ lie has given us frankly the old De
| Koven: music that rs spontaneous,
{ tuneful. graceful. II would be idle 20
assert that it is either peculiarly DIS
/ tinguished or peculiarly original
/ Mr. De Koven has always been an
/ eclectic. lie has heard much and re-
membered much. His taste IS just, ne
d KNOWS the ell ecu VI idANilF rug t4tAf'f N''N
universal appeal Of melody. The Can
! terbury Pilgrims" shows the result OF
+ this knowledge There is in its score
much that recalls robin Hood. which
is ouite understandable. The period IS
nearly the same. the characters possess
! strong similarities both sing Of Merrie
England and the Greenwood Tree.
Made One Concession
Mr. De Koven has made one conces-
sion 10 the Wagnerian school-he has
adopted the system of lett motif. This
: system does not. however, intrude, and
Of IL he does not make himself a slave.
3 I'm the score there are several resound-
/ ing ensembles and choruses, and the
/ love duet in the third act possesses
real beauty. At present. the opera IS
overlong. and its effectiveness would
/ be enhanced By a vigorous cutting. Inc
/ first and last acts are the weakest; the
second suffers from an overlooking or
( intrigue.
The old Italian composers knew well
/ the value of dry recitatve, for intrigue
requires an absolute following OF the
/ words, and this is impossible when the
singers have TO contend with the fuli
/ orchestra Mr.. De Koven would have
done we'll had he IN this respect taken
a leaf from Rossini.
/ Mr.. MacKaye's libretto possesses the
/ virtues and also the defects which have
| been present in most of the work oil
/ this prolific playwright. II has co lor'
movement and grace Of expression
/ but it is at times excessively con-
/ fused and archaic in expression.
An Eclectic, Too
/ Like Mr. De Koven, Mr.. M4cKaye IS
/ an eclectic He is saturated 'with the
I spirit of other ages; he knows their
| lights. their shadows, their shifting
colors. We feel that he IS sincere,
very much in earnest. This is praise
worthy, even unusual. Yet he never
really plumbs the depths of the life he
gives US. He catches the whims OF his
1 characters, but never their souls; GER
! tainlv never their passions. His writ
ing is graceful, but curiously affected.
The great poets of the past echo I'M
ceasingly through the corridors OF his
imagination, and these echoes he is
continually answering. These are what
interest him, what inspire him, but in
the crucible OF the present he never
fuses land transforms the past. Mr..
Mackaye possesses for great poet
every gift save one-the gift of life.
In The Canterbury Pilgrims" we do
not want an echo of Godfrey Chaucer,
we want drama by Percy MacKaye.
Yet what we receive is precisely the
reverse. The Wife of Bath and the
Prioress live because the shade Of Eng
lands first poet is upon them. but the
intrigue i'm which Mr. MacKaye in
,,oIva- tbcp, IL ziupuiarly weak Once