New-York tribune., 1918-08-04


had become hateful to the American
people, and with them their language
and their art. TO this hatred, which
| cannot condemn and shall not con
done, the directors Of the Opera had
to give heed unless they wished tc
have their artistic institution come
topping about their heads. They
proceeded gradually. and somewhat
grudglngly, to prepare for a new
operate dispensation. whose coming
IN the approaching season Of 1918
'J3 will mark an era at once new
and momentous. What it will bring
forth lies on the knees of the gods
but 1T must be obvious to the stu
dent of our operate activities in the
past that the institution will have
to deal with new forces, new pre-
dilections and possibly be compelled
to create new fashions, tastes and
! ideals.
1t appears, then, that the time is
come when the history of opera in
New York ought again to be brought
down to date. The ten years which
have elapsed since | subjected the
doings at our local institutions to
historical review and critical study
We're filled with the most amazing
incidents that the annals of the lyric
drama ever recorded in New York or
any city of the world.
Summing up the record of the pre-
cedlng quarter of a century, | wrote
in the summer of 1908: 81 have
seen the failure Of the artistic policy
to promote which the magnificent
theatre was built; the revolution of
the stockholders under the leader
ship of Leopold Damrosch; the prog
gress of German regime which did
much to develop taste and create
ideals which, till its coming, were
little known quantities in American
art and life; the overthrow of that
regime in obedience to the commands
Of fashion; the subsequent dawn and
development of the liberal and COM
prehensive policy which marked the
climax of the career of Maurice
Grau as an operate manager. |
have witnessed since then many of
the fruits of wise endeavor and
astute management frittered away
by managerial incapacity and greed
and fad and fashion come to rule
again where, for brief but event
full period, serious artistic interest
and endeavor had been dominant
In these words | cannot but think
there lay formidable indictment of
the Metropolitan management; but
the artistic sins of commission and
omission Of the first twenty-five
/ years were petty peccadilloes com
pared with the follies and scandals
which marked the beginning of the
! lustrum which followed; while in
the decade which has passed into
history since were grouped such q
series of incidents as is contained in
no volume of operate history ever
Z written. There were things admi
rable and things deplorable in these
new occurrences, and whether ad
mlrable or deplorable they deserve
as much permanency of record as
can be gained for them by incorpo
ration in a book.
Among the most noteworthy in
cidents were the conclusion of tn,
administration of Mr.. Heinrich
Conried, which was followed by dis
closures that brought the business
as we'll as the artistic management
of the lcssees Of the metropolitan
Opera House under popular suspi
cion; the death Of Mr. Conried ane
the advent Of Mr.. Gatti-Casazza a:
general manager of the opera com
pany which had taken the enter
prise of the Maurice Grau Com
pany; the conflict Of authority be
tween Mr.. Gatti-Casazza and Mr.
Andreas Dippel, whom the director:
Of the new company had associated
with him under the title of admin
istrative manager; the rivalry be
tween the metropolitan Opera. Com
pany and Mr.. Oscar Hammerstein