New-York tribune., 1920-04-25

patra's Night" and "Parsifal," the lat
ter having also been heard at
previous special occasion), and Friday
from the season of 100000 had been
feature reserved for holidays, to which
its solemn character had given it ap
propriateness, until the entrance Of the
United~ States into the war of many
nations compelled its withdrawal. For
its revival a new translation into the
vernacular was made, and the drama
ertory. 1t is probable that it was
chosen because it's character seemed to
Mr.. Gatti peculiarly we'll adapted to
make it the avant courier of other
Wagnerian dramas, which in years
gone by were strong prop Of the
Metropolitan institution.
That the management thinks that
this mission has been accomplished by
the popular acceptance of the work
is fair deduction from the fact that
it received three performances in the
subscription repertory and TIE same
number on special cccasions Alsc
from, the circumstance OF which no Of
fetal proclamation ras yet been made
hut which will be made public when
Mr. Gatti promulgates his purposes for
rext year that representation of
Tristan und Isolde" and "Lohengin"
will next be added to the Wagncriar
list. The performances like those CT
"Parsifal," will be in English, though
vernacular versions will be new ones
especially made for the Metropolitan
company. Neither has there been any
official intimation as to the artists
who will be intrusted with the pro-
duction of the works. 1t has been an
open secret for some time, however,
that two Of the singers who used to
belong to the German contingent of
the company will return to the Metro
politan fold. They are Johannes Sem
bach, who sang in English when the
late Mr.. De Koven's "Canterbury Pill
grims" was performed in the season
of 1916-17 and is now at work on
Christian" and rsifal"-poss;bly also
on "Lohengrin" Robert Blass, the
original representative of Gurnemanz
in Mr.. Conried's production of "Par-
sifal" in December, 1908. To him Eng
glish is his native tongue, for he Is
an American, though Of German ex-
traction.
It. seems a fair conclusion that as
result of the war a new era has been
opened, or if not opened at least ex-
tended and stabilized st the Metropol-
itan Opera House. The vernacular has
been introduced in another than the
tentative fashion disclosed spadmodi-
cally at the beginning of Mr.. Gatti's
admin istration and again two seasons
ago. Concerning the course which
the movement will take and the extent
to which it will be encouraged we are
not disposed to speculate. We are con-
which appeared in this journal about
a year ago and have been reprinted in
book of history:
| During three years Of the awful
conflict. the period Of American neu-
trality, our opera pursued the even
tenor of it's way without grave con-
Germ or great alteration of it's aims
and methods. Neither did it suffer a
loss of prosperity. Its patrons were
afIluent and their emotions had not been
aroused, or, if aroused, had not been
directed against any phase of artistic
manifestation No popular prejudice
music or German musicians. The au-
tumn of 1917, however, witnessed
sudden revolution in this complacent
attitude. Incidents in which the Opera
was but slightly concerned gave proof
tfat the people who had begun the war
had become hateful to the American
people and with them their language
and their art. To this hatred, which I
cannot condemn and shall not condone,
the directors of the Opera had to give
heed unless they wished to have their
artistic institution come topping about
their heads. They proceeded gradually
and somewhat grudgingly to prepare
for new operate dispensation whose
coming in the season of 1918-'19 marked
an era at once new and momentous.
What it was to bring forth lay on
the knees Of the gods. but it was
obvious to the student Of our operate
activities in the past that the institu
ton would have to deal with new forces,
new predictions and possibly be COM
PEELED to create new fashions, tastes
;1aa1u