New-York tribune., 1921-12-11
BY II. E. krehbsei

sood which has no reflection in the
..t;tude af the audiences at our opera
-ner in that OF the performers, either,
for that matter. We believe that the
sreators of art works (and there are
euerss entitled to that designationl
have generally been much in earnest
while engaged in their labor. No
soabt great many have thought less
of arsistic righteousness than the sue
esss whose corporeal manifestation is
seen in the aauiing dollar, but among
the best of them there have always
hecn sincere artists whose longing was
70 serva at the altar within the temple.
Even some of those who stand on the
temple steps and shout: What do you
)sck, I'll give it you for ducats!"
like Richard Strauss. for instance)
have moments when their better nature
asserts itself. We feel that when
listening 70 music which alternately
deIights and disrays us-prompts US
one moment to invoke blessings on
sheir heads and the next inprscationS
There is one composer who lives un-
renistingIy in our reverence, though
he finds musical expression, and that
stfully, in only one work at the Metro
uolitan Opsra House. That composer
is pssso and the opera is "Mehstofele."
As a poet we know him also as the
lbrettist of verdi's "Otello" and Gal
staff" and Ponchielli's "Gioconda."
Once for little space, also, we heard
ain in Signor Maneinelh's 'fEro
Leandro7 Some of the music which he
wrote for that drama before abandon
ing it to his friend we hear when we
listen to "Mefstofele," where it forms
one of its most transfgured moments
most uplifting moment, by the way,
in the performance of last Wednesday
evening, when Miss Easton and Mr.
Gigli sang it with beauty entirely
worthy Of it. 1t is the duet, "Lontano,
lontano, iontano," in the scene of
Margherita's death. For the music of
his "Nerone,f whose completion we an
nounccd at intervals for fully twenty
FIVE years and again at the time of his
death, we have been waiting with eager
expectancy and wonder that there has
been no mention of it in the annual
prospe ectuses Of Mr.. Gatti, who must be
fully advised as to the status Of its
score. Now we hear that the difficulty
les in the imperfections OF its or
chestration and that Mr.. Toscanini is
engaged upon an effort TO remedy
them. Il is an interesting rumor which
awakens new speculation touching the
relationship between Boito and Verdi
We always believed that their atfec-
tomato intimacy was like unto tlat of
Damon and Pythias, or Saul and iona
than, Pylades and Orestes, and won
dered why, if Boito found difficulties
IN his drama which he could not him
self surmount, he did not seek the help
Of the resourceful musician whom he
had helped to make gigantic forward
strides in "Otello" and "Falstaf."
A Touch Of Classical
Art Ignored
But ehts is outside of our present
purpose, which is to comment bit
on one of the scenes Of "Mefistofele"
which we think the people at the
opera house might make more beauti-
fuI than 1t is By stricter adherence
10 the obvious Intentions Of the poet
composer. That it is impossible to
give the opera dramatic coherency we
Snow. It was reduced to a thing OF
sareds and patches by the author him
seH after it had made q fasco at the
ieasro alta Scala in March, 1868. Per-
maps 1t was SO onething of the sort in
us original shape when it was whistled,
nowied and Kissed off the stage in
aiian; but the original version has
hevsr been printed. AS we have it now
II achieved success in Bologna twelve
years later, but the success did not alter
an apparent determination not to utter
a"oeher audible note SO long as he
nssd- What longings, ambitions and
aeusslc purposes he sealed up in
Nerone" we cannot even contrive to
guess at; We can only hope that they
may soon be revealed TO the world
menstofele," as we have it, is
series OF disconnected episodes, it's pro-
rogue, epilogue and four short acts
saoracing parody of Goethes Pro-
'Seas Ia Heaven, fragment of the
.Ssecr Scene, a smaller fragment Of
.u0 interview between Faust and
aspaistopheles in the philosophers
s'ucy. a bit of the garden scene
NScarceiy more than enough than was
1''essary TO arrange the assignation
es~een the lovers), the witches Sab
'".n on the Broken, the prison scene
''a'ng with Gretchen's death, the
ene OF the classical Sabbath, in
A.cn Faust begins an amour with
aeien OF Troy, and the epilogue in
sa'en Faust, having through philan-
.ss"pic works achieved . moment to
'aicn ne could say. "tarry, for thou
- 'oFeiy'' pays his wages to Mephis-
sp"eie oy dying, yet is cheated Of his
s.ss Dy the angels, who drive him away
n shower of roses. PLATA Boito
empeed TO follow Goethe 100 far,
n1