The sun., 1918-12-29

as Puck. The opera had been sung at
the Academy OF Music the previous sea-
son with Parepa Rosa as Resid Thus
much from the valuable records OF A. L.
Grub.
That "Oberon" has never ummoned
his fairy group TO trip 1t upon the dew
drops since that early day may be a
source of wonder to some who believe
that great works OF art slumber not nor
sleep. But let us not trouble ourselves
about the past. 'Oberon" is here, and
Artur Bodanzky. the conductor of the
Metropolitan performance, has made a
new and condensed version.
How Opera Was Produced.
Charles Kemble is responsible for tho
birth OF the opera. In 1924 he requested
weber to compose a work for Convent
Garden. j. r. blanche wrote the book.
Weber studied English and went to work
: as soon as he had n material at all.
without waiting 10 see what else was
. coming and without regard for dramatic
continuity. The opera which resulted
was a monstrosity of the most astound-
ing kind. IT contained an assorted COM
pany of speaking and singing actors. the
dialogue was spoken and there were
twenty-one stage tableaux.
Another lyric hotch potch had been
created. worse, far worse dramatically
than THE Magic Flute" Like Mozart's
opera. Weber's dealt with the trials RI
" lovers brought together in a hap
hazard way. separated by entertainments
and Vaccinations of Arabia Nights va
riety. succored by superhuman agency
and the footing of a wind instrument.
Mozart's hero had his magic flute and
weber's his magic horn. You hear 1t
blow the first notes OF the overture.
Bad as Schikaneder's symbolic claptrap
Is. II has more pretence to dramatic illu-
sion than Planche's. And although Mr..
Bodanzky has con~scientiously cut out
much of the rubbish and pulled the
scenic panorama together the general
result remains apparently as episode as
II was in the beginning.
What all these people on the stage are
doing cannot be nationally explained. A
knight Grant in the court Of HaroUn al
Rdschid merely because a fairy king has
played a Mephistophelian scene with him
and conjured Bagdad up for his immedi-
ate invasion. The knight. equipped with
a the all important horn. burst into the
court. carries off the girl and transixes
the opposing courtiers by one blast pom
what Antony van Corlear would have
called his soul stirring instrument.
And Away They Go.
Then the knight. his squire, the lady
and. her companion Fdtimd "a quartet
can be scented approaching) all go down
somewhere among the rocks on the
Maine coast. They embark in a ship
(you guess this by seeing a ship in a
Storm. are caught in a tempest and
wrecked on a coast unknown. Where
upon Rsrid sings ocean. thou mighty
monster" familiar 10 the concert stage
In all the years when only the beautiful
overture survived to keep 1t company.
The loveress and her maid with the
squire are now the prisoners OF a bar
barian. HGor. OF course. secretly helped
by Oberon and Puck. arrives at the
place. How came you here" ASK
me not" That is the way the puzzle is
dismissed in the r~ecitative. He carries
off the princess again. while his faithful
squire, for the moment impersonating
Papageno. plays the horn ana develops
its theme into n merry dance to which
the enchanted enemy waltzes off the
stage.
Finally oberon appears 10 the lovers
and tells them that their troubles are
all over and they shall find rest and re-
freshment at the court OF Charlemagne
which Is shown to US for about three
minutes OF staggering glory before the
fnal curtain descends. In and out
through all this farrago OF nonsense
Puck. lightsome. airy. nimbfe Puck. fits
gayly, calling up Pea Blossom, Mustard
seed. Cobweb and all the rest OF the
hadow impair to make the most
IN which Puck himself. impersonated al
the Metropolitan with delicate grace by
Raymonde Delaunols, Is the brightest
best and really the most human figure.
Mr.. Bodanzky has labored valiantly or
the reduction of this prodiglous conglom.
Grafton of scraps to something approach
- ing an opera. He has abolished speech and
= made connections. Mr.. Schirmer has
published the new edition, which. in spite
of the fact that the work was composed
for England with English text and i.
revised In the United States, has al
the words and stage directions not only
IN English but also in German.
A Word About Traditions.
Vast quantities of eruditlon nave beer
: expended in essays on Weber and his
genius. But no scientific mind can ap.
proach these commentaries In the spirit
of modern examination without arriv.
ing at the conclusion that tradition has
been honored with objectionable sub.
servlency. We are told. and II Is true
tina Weber promulgated before Wagner
the theory that in opera there should
: be a union of the arts tributary tb the
drama that text. action. scenic picture,
and music should all cooperate.
Such cooperation as one finds In
"Oberon" as produced at the Metropoll.
tan IL not due to Weber. but to Messrs
Bodanzky and Ordynskl. Weber wrote
ono number after another without even
an attempt at dramatic connection. M,
utilization OF a certain melody as mar
OF the overture and later as a quartz
suggests very strongly the possibilit,
that II existed In the overture first ant
300 was forced into the vocal score after
ward. Certainly It is not characterised
cally vocal. but Instrumental. Melodi,
matter In Resid's great air rightly be
longs to the overture.
But not To marshal inessentlal de
tails, the opera is "a thing of shred,
and patches. OF wandering minstre
catches and OF no dramatic texture a
all. There are only one or two moment,
OF genuine dramatic music. The hes
numbers are those which have lived I,
tbs concert hell while the rest OF IN,