Evening star., 1940-12-09
BY ALICE EVERSMAN.


friend, Franz List: Il address to
thy heart an urgent prayer; have
my Lohengrin' performed. To no
one else would I confide the crea-
ton of this opera. May its entree
into the world be thy work
For three days List closed him.
self in his room, hardly leaving his
piano as he studied the score. The
Princess Sayn- n-Wittgenstein herself
brought him food so that he would
not be disturbed. At the end of that
time he wrote Wagner: Your Lob
engrin' is sublime work from be-
ginning to end. Tears came to my
eyes many times as played it, Just
as once . pious ecclesiastic under
scored. word for word, The Imita-
ton of Jesus Christ it can well
happen that I will underscore note
for note all your Lohengrin.
Thus it was that "Lohengrin' was
launched by the greatest and most
picturesque artist of the time, Franz
List, who thereby began his long
championship of Wagners genius
which was to last through storm
and stress to the end of his life.
Wagner was grateful and wrote his
thanks with emotional effusiveness
He concluded: Il see in us two
men, starting from the most oppo-
site points in order to penetrate to
the heart of art, who have met and
who extend to each other a fraternal
hand in the JOY Of their discovery"
Produced in 1850.
In spite of LISTS genuine admi-
ration of this latest opera of Wag-
ner's he had some doubts of its
success feeling that its "superideal
tone" would not be understood by
the public. However. he gave his
promise in June of 1850 and on Au-
gust % the opera was produced in
Weimar where Liszt reigned su-
preme as musical dictator. The
composer was not present. In fact,
he did not hear his work on any
stage until II years later. He is
said to have remarked, Il shall soon
be the only German who has not
heard Lohengrin.
Wagner was a political exile at the
time of the premiere of "Lohen-
grin" His little furry into the rev.
olutionary activities of that period
form one of the strange incidents in
his colorful career He was really
not at all interested in politics, but
was smarting under the reception
given "Tannhauser" and so turned
his personal rancor into a much
more dangerous expression. So it
happened that on the evening
"Lohengrin" was first produced in
Weimar, Wagner. with his wife
Minna, passed the time in an inn
in Lucerne anxiously watching the
clock and imagining at just what
point the performance was as the
hours passed.
There was thoroughness in all
that List did. He prepared the
way for comprehension of "Lohen-
grin" by writing an eXplana ton of
the story which was widely read.
He invited musical and literary
people from all parts of Europe to
be present and gave a great deal Of
thought to the staging and rehears-
ing Of the opera, all of which he
superintended personally. 1t pro-
duced powerful impression" and
soon was heard with continuing
success in the important theaters
of Germany. From this time the
Wagner movement was started
and the man who dreamed of rev.
olutionizing opera became a leader
in new musical thought.
Opera Impressed King.
Shortly after the debacle Of
"Tannhauser" Wagner went to
Marienbad with Minna to take the
cure. He brought a number of
books with him, but was determined
to relax and get the rest he needed
so much. But among his books was
an anonymous poem, "Lohengrin. ''
1t belonged to the type of mystical
writings in which Wagner had
always delighted so much and he
was soon carried away with the pos
sibilities of the story, his imagina-
ton quickly picturing it in operatic
form. So strongly did the story
haunt him that he could think of
nothing else He tried to distract
himself by writing the music for
die Meistersinger" in the hope 1T
might free me from the thrall Of
the idea Of Lohengrin.
This did not help, however, and