Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-03-28
BRUNNHILDE'S WINGS
ARE STILL UNCLIPPED
Matzenauer's Heroine Tri-
umph of Time and Great In
spirational Singing
"WALKURE" FINELY DONE

Because the mischances Of opera are
Sometlmes more to be applauded than it's
Planned merits. last nights performance
OF 'Dle Wakure' at the Metropolitan was
superior and splendid. If not surprising 1t
was all due to the illness of Melanie Kurt.
the scheduled Sieglinde. Her role was taken
| by Nine. Gadski. an admirable incumbent
| OF the part. Further shifts brought Lila
| Robson into the domestic draperes of
Fricka. and to Margarete Matzenauer the
shield and plumage of Brunnhilde. 1t was
this latter change that made the produc-
| ton memorable.
But there was good meat in many other
features of the night Jacques Trluss
| sturdy, plant and understanding Siegmund /;
Ruysdaels imposing and wickedly heroic
Hundlng; Clarence Whitehills extraordi-
| narily dgnifed, intellectual and finely posed
| Wotan, which made the matter of a not too
| tremendous voice seem small beside the
| acting power and trenchance he displayed
| Nine. Gadski after shrill beginning,
| turned Sieglinde into a person of appeal,
| warmth and fine melody. Nine. Robson
| did extremely well with the frigid Fricka,
| extracting from the music allotted her more
| interest and humanity than usual. And
| Nine. Matzenauer---. But her we reserve
| for what is intended as the climax of this
| review
| There is also to be considered the con-
| ducting of Mr.. Bodanzky. Supplantng the
| ardent and ardently admired Hertz at
| the Metropolitan, the conductor has had
| the customary measuring stick of priority
| applied to him by those who frequent opera
| houses, with the customary inconclusive re-
| suits. That he is man of decided schol-
arly bent cannot be denied. Whether he
! puts into his Wagnerian work enough fire
| and vim has furnished the basis for hot
| and hasty arguments in the lobby before
| this. To one writer. at least. Mr. Bodanzky
1 L. 80 ;,,I;x al
| criticism and proved himself the fine gold
that he always seemed to be-
| His "Walkure" may be softer in spots
| more tinged with the essence of poetic In
| tuition than declamatory violence. Does II
| not justify itself? Under his baton the
music drama literally fits it's name. The
| work has mellowness and light, as we'll as
the gloom of grand thought and somber
| interplay of character: it shifts and turns
| in hundred eddies of emotional flow and
| counter-how; above the shriling of the
| Ealkyrs's wings is heard the tenderness of
| Wotans farewell to his great daughter
Judged yet still loved by him. Little points
| of significance. so often hidden by the
| clamor of voins drums and woodwind
peep out. making the listener conscious OF
| the human genuineness of the play as well
| as the orchestral color of the music itself
| The late Algernon st. John-Brenon. al.
| ways a penetrating and original critic wher
|
used to cry shame at the alleged godly
| quality of the Niebelungen characters. Let
| us have them people with hearts and
bodies, he would say. in effect, and lei
the sublimty go hang. Something of this
| is sensed and made audible and visible by
Mr. Bodanzky. BY giving the intimate
| touch to the spring song to the dialogues
| between Brunnhde and Wotan, instead OF
| the conventional screamingy impressive
touch, he can enthrall ones mind as well as
ones senses. You may rebel, but you are
not bored,
Boredom is not mental condition asso'
| ciable with the Wagner of the Ring, wher
he is even passably realized. AS has beer
| stated, the most recent performance was
| lifted to the point of superiority in many
ways But with credit literally given the
rest Of the cast, it was the evening ol
Matzenauer. The contralto-soprano, ir
spite of some mistakes, such as her limited
and lamentable Carmen, remains one OF
the truly wondrous figures Of the loca
operatic stage. None who heard her first
Brunnhilde at a matinee here some years
ago can forget the impression it instantly
communicated Of magnifcence, or semi
divine awe and strength, coupled with q
delicate and enlivening quality OF woman
hood. The impersonation. vocally and dra'
matically. has grown with time. 1t has
gained in supernatural beauty and human
| credibility In comprehension or the char
acter. in loveliness Of phrasing' IN peiiucle
tonal purity, in propriety or gesture ane
posture. in high pictorial methods'
the greatest portrait in the Metropolitan
nresent wagner gallery And her singing
IN the last ACT, with its full and sonorou'
curves of sound its complete ease ant
| innate mettle, was the best example OF TN
inspired use of the voice heard mere thl'
| season Just as important actors arr
usually at home in one role more than an
| L. hio