New-York tribune., 1922-12-09
Metropolitan
Gives sParsifal'
InCermanAgain
Change From American Yer.
sion Is Featured by the
Splendid Performance of
Bender as Gurnemanz
Taucher in Title Role
whitehilI Sings Amfortas,
Maizenauer Is Kundry;
Aida Iss Evening Bill
Bx II. e. Krehbiel

with the restoration Of the original
text TO Warmers ~Psrsifal' At per
fermanee IN the Metropolitan Opera
House Yesterday afternoon the use Of
the English language. which has stead.
;iv baen dwiudline FOR year,, passed
avav. We see no chance Of rs rcstora-
tion The English ~Parsifal" was Sc
Iected b. Mr.. Gatti three years ago 70
keep alive the interest in wagner :
dramas. which II was feared might
suffer injury from the passions engen-
dered BY the war into which Germany
plunged the world.
Il seemed 70 have served that pur-
poae, as we'll as another and lottier
one--one which was proclaimed BY the
music reviewer Of The Tribune nearly
= generation ago. when the German
represenfations inaugurated BY pr'
Jeonold Danrosch were declared 20 be
poirtinr the way 60 the eventual adop-
tior OF the veTnAcular In al cur great
operytic performances Our opera was
eoon lost. like parsifal, In devious
wanderings. but IL seemed again as II
the aim was IN process of attainment
v,hen the attitude Of the American
people toward Germany compelled a
change In the policy Of the institution
because we had been drawn into the
war.
As In London 200 Years Ago
Il has now been demonstrated. we
think. that Il Is the wish Of the man
aecment that 8 return be made 20 the
state OF affairs (largely widened by
time and conditions, however, Ike that
which prevailed in London a little
- ~ a
the sntirical merrimcnt Of Addison.
After the introduction Of Italian sing
ers In England had brought about
operate reprcseutations which we're
half English and half Italian. the eN-
eelient Mr. Addison observed that the
listeners got tired Of understanding
onIv half of an opera, "and 20 ease
themselves entirely of the fatigue OF
thinking. 50 ordered Il that the whole
opera was performed In an unknown
tongue; and he amused himself with
the reflection that the time would come
WHEN the grcat-grandchildren Of the
people for whom he was writing would
he curious 70 know Why their fore
fathers FUSED 20 sit together Ike an
audience Of foreigners IN their own
oountry and hear whole plays acted
before them in q tongue which they
did not understand"
Several generations have passed
since then, and IL is only OF late that
the English people have made an ef-
fort 20 change the situation upon which
Addison exercised bis wit The war
had something 20 do with the new
noven ont. though q was a BIT sinRu-
lar that England was more tolerant
Of German art during tho war than
the United States. So was France. for
that matter. OF course. the population
Of New York to-day IS vastly different
from the population Of London in Ad-
dison's time. We could. II we wished
send an italian audience % Italian
operas. a French 20 French operas, 2
German 20 German operas, and even q
Russian % Russian operas, though the
last contingent would be Obliged AZ
the Metropolitan 20 accept the operas
written by their countTymcn with =
linguistic alloy Of about 90 pcr cent
II has seemed. too, as II VIC could send
en- audience familiar with English q
Wsgner's operas sung IN the Ameri-
can vernacular. But those In authority
seem 70 have dccreed that this is not
desirable. or, al least, need not be-
-Four Of the performers In "Pars.fal
we're % the German manner born
fifteen were not; but the performance
had 20 be IN German.
We are not deploring the reversior
TO type, but simply recording IL for
the sake Of history. The change brough;
some excellent results IN It's train
II could not and did not improve q