New-York tribune., 1920-02-29

painter Ioukowski. who worked under
tne immediate supervision Of Wagner
himself, and who painted every bit a.
the scenery with his own hands. Rrt
ioukowski only succeeded in compos.
ing and producing q garden which /,
lne most baroque imaginable---of tho
worst taste imaginable that ever has
oeon 1, seen on the theatrical stage!
40 present scenic garden with
trop'cal vegetation which at the same
tlme mas fascinating and poetic at
ficult! I'LL
"As to the new scene Of tho Temple
Of inc Holy Grail" continued Mr.. Gatti-
Casazza, "lor which every one has had
nothing but praise, it certainly IA a
masterpieces and Mr.. Urban, alone from
the, fact Of having imagined and real
!zed 1t, deserves absolution from hav-
Inc. IN the other case committed an
artistic sin. ~'
Strange as it may seem to the Law
man, in spite Of all the foresight and
practical experience Of those who CON
affairs of the theater they can and do
make mistakes. Nothing, however. is
more experimental than tho staging Of
a spectacle, and in no other business
does one meet with so many surprises,
You want an example?" said Mr..
Gatti- Casazza. "Here is one Of the
greatest. 1t is historic and appertains
to 'Parsifal.' In July, 1888, at BAY
reuth at the rehearsals Of 'Parsifar it
was observed that the unfolding Of tho
panorama in tho first act REQUIRED
twice as much time as the music which
was intended to accompany It, The
same was the case with the panorama
in the third act.
:, "Now, it was not possible to reduce
manded nor was it possible to cut out
the panorama in the first act, as it was
too intimately associated with the exc
cution. (What l am telling you I find
recorded in volume by the eminent
Italian critic Giuseppe de Panis, who
was present at the final rehearsal and
first performance of 'Parsifal' in 1S83. y
CAS- remedy Wagner made the Or
chestra repeat portions of the score
and retarded the tempt sufficiently to
allow the unfolding Of the panorama
to be completed, thus sacrificing the
musical to the visual effect
"On the other hand, the moving
panorama in the third act was omitted
and the orchestral part, which did not
lend itself to repeats accompanying
ehS A"A CNCi1 vi LlCuIeI was CnUC EeA
son performed with the curtains closed.
FINALLY, with regard to the new
production Of 'Parsifal' at the Metro
politan," concluded Mr.. Gatti- Casazza,
the management, while it recognizes
that there are defects which will be
cured, nevertheless is conscious Of hav-
ing achieved a most important result
in an opera house where the works Of
Wagner had been sung from time I'm
memorial in the German language and
by the best German artists it has sue
ceeded in giving performance in every
respect most praiseworthy and in many
respects even perfect in the English
language. and with a company COM
posed Of heterogeneous elements and
in part entirely unfamiliar with the
Wagnerian style. 1t has succeeded In
obtaining. especially in the scene of
the Temple, a musical atmosphere such
as rarely have I been able to produce
on the stage.
"This latter observation 1 should
never have made were it not also the
expression of opinion on the part Of
great many intelligent persons who at
tended our 'Parsifar the other day
and who spontaneously thought it their
duty to come and tell me.
"The satisfaction Of the public Is tho
first thing to be considered in the the
ater. Mark you, l do not say the only
thing, but certainly 1t is the first
Woe to the manager who does not keep
this fact before him."