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Musical Courier 1891-02-18: Vol 22 Iss 574, 1891
62 lines. Read by computer on 19 September 2026. Printed page 150. See the scan on archive.org.
1ALTHOUGH the Wagner question per se has little or nothing to do with the change of opera at the Metropolitan next season, it could easily be imagined that the Italianissimi would not miss the chance of trying to mislead the unsophisticated into the belief that the public was tired of Wagner and was longing for the chestnuts of Bellini, Donizetti and others of that ilk. Italianissimi of the above kind evidently are not rare either in London, and Henry T. Finck deals with them in last Saturday's "Evening Post" in the following both amusing and instructive manner:
3If the Englishman who once proposed to start a "comic Punch" had been in the habit of reading the musical criticisms in some of the London daily papers he would not have felt the necessity for such a new periodical. Here, for instance, is a paragraph from the "Evening Standard," penned after receipt of the cabled news that Italian opera was to be given at our Metropolitan next year: "An earnest attempt was made to gain what enthusiasts regard as due appreciation in America for Wagner's opera, 'The Nibelungenring,' 'Tristan und Isolde' and others of his works have been given in New York; but failure has been the result, and it is now stated that the directors of the Metropolitan Opera House have decided to give no German opera after the present season (presumably modern German opera is meant, for 'Don Giovanni,' 'Fidelio' and other of the most popular compositions in the repertory are German), but to accept proposals for a season of French and Italian. A very few years have passed since Mr. Wagner assured admiring Bayreuth that he had given the world a new art and it was generally proclaimed that Italian opera was dead. Evidently Bayreuth was wrong and it is the new art that has no life in it."
5New Yorkers need no diagram to explain this joke, but for the benefit of provincial readers it may be stated that, according to Director Stanton's official figures, the New York public last season paid $121,565 for hearing Wagner's operas and $83,982 for all the other operas in the repertory, the figures for the preceding season having been $115,794 for Wagner and $83,796 for other operas. An even greater gain of Wagner over all other composers combined will be found when the figures for the present season are examined, for the management has decided to give up the remaining novelties that were to be produced and devote the rest of the season almost entirely to Wagner. "Evidently Bayreuth was wrong, and it is the new art that has no life in it." Obviously none at all, notwithstanding that at all the German opera houses Wagner operas are given from two to five times as often as those of any other composer.
7The anti-Wagnerites at the present time remind one strikingly of Artemus Ward's celebrated kangaroo, which was "an amosin' but unprincipled cuss." They also resemble the ostrich which wisely buries its faculties of observation in a sand hill when it finds escape impossible. Seeing that all the facts and figures are against them, these writers seek a final refuge in misstatements and attempted concealment of the truth. Do they imagine that that will save them and bring back the lost love of Italian opera? Would it not be wiser to attend a few Wagner operas, become converts and swim with the current? Apparently the London opera goers have made up their minds to do this, for the "Athenaeum," in speaking of the last season of Italian opera, said that "the interest taken in Wagner's operas and the utter indifference displayed toward works of the faded Italian school, afford testimony of the growth of higher tastes in the public mind and indicate the direction in which those responsible for opera should move." "Those responsible for opera" have evidently taken the hint, for the last number of the London "Figaro" has this item:
9"Altogether apart from Mr. Lago, whose plans have evidently not yet matured, we bid fair to have a lengthy season of opera this summer. A sort of preliminary season will commence on or about April 11 at Covent Garden, and three or four performances will be given a week, Mr. Maurel, Mrs. Albani, and probably the sisters Ravogli, taking part. The principal works to be performed will be 'Tannhäuser,' 'The Flying Dutchman' (which has not been given in London for nearly ten years) and Gluck's 'Orfeo.' Whether the subscription will extend over this season has, it is understood, not yet been decided, but the regular subscription performances, six of which will be given every week, will commence on May 2, when Messrs. J. and E. de Reszke will return from Russia. In the course of the season it is understood that Mr. Edouard de Reszke will appear in the titular part of 'Meistersole,' and that Mr. Jean de Reszke will add to his repertory either 'Siegfried' or 'Die Walküre.'"
11In this connection the future attitude of the directors of the Paris Grand Opéra as foreshadowed in the following editorial is also worth quoting:
13In Paris the persistent exclusion of Wagner from the Opéra, for chauvinistic reasons, or rather from fears of an outbreak of chauvinism, is leading to more and more dissatisfaction. The correspondent of the Munich "Allgemeine Zeitung" remarks under date of January 21: "The 'Lohengrin' question is more than ever in the foreground, and is being enlarged into the Wagner question as a whole. One cannot take up a newspaper without seeing the titles 'Siegfried,' 'Tannhäuser,' 'Nibelung,' together with lengthy articles discussing the disgraceful state of affairs which deprives Paris alone, of all cities, of the privilege of hearing these masterworks. Francis Magnard discusses the question in to-day's 'Figaro,' following the example of the 'Temps,' the 'Liberté,' 'Estafette,' 'Parti National,' 'Rappel' and 'Éclair.' In consideration of all that is now said and written, no doubt can remain that the new directors of the Grand Opéra will be compelled to admit Wagner into their repertory."
15THE SONDERSHAUSEN CONSERVATORY.
17SPECIAL attention need not be called to the handsome illustrations in this edition of THE MUSICAL COURIER on the subject of Sondershausen and its musical institutions; they speak for themselves. The article on the subject entitled "A Musical Eldorado" gives some explanations of the character of these institutions, but too much praise cannot be bestowed upon the Prince and Princess of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, the worthy patrons of the conservatory, opera and "Loh," concerts, as well as Carl Schroeder, the conductor and chief in this field of art. He was a pupil at one time of this very conservatory of which he is now the director, and at an early age played in the orchestra he now conducts.
19As a school of music the Sondershausen Conservatory affords unusual attractions for American students who desire to round off their musical education, for there are collateral adjuncts, such as the concerts and opera, to which admission is either free or the charges trivial, that enable the student to gain many experiences and learn practically what would cost many years and considerable sums under different circumstances. In addition to this a residence at Sondershausen is in itself a source of intellectual advancement, and an atmosphere of art and culture pervades the whole community and makes a student's life there a source of unalloyed gratification and pleasure.
21OPERAS IN ENGLISH.
23THE "Times" on Sunday published the following editorial on this subject, keeping it thereby in the foreground during the pending discussion of operatic matters in this city and, as it were, in this country:
25A part of Walter Damrosch's plan for the operations for his permanent orchestra next year is the presentation of scenes from operas with chorus, principals and orchestra in the English language, with a view to the development of a company capable of giving grand operas in the tongue of the American people. Whether the young conductor succeeds in doing anything which shall bring us nearer to the performance of opera with English text or not, he deserves some gratitude for being willing and ready to make the attempt. The time is nearly ripe for the establishment of opera in our own language. It needs only a little intelligent effort on the part of those who guide the course of music in America to bring about the great result.
27The name of English opera has too long been associated with the sporadic attempts of incipient impresarios to galvanize into life Balfe's "Bohemian Girl" and works of that nature, dear to that portion of the public which regards Mr. David Braham as a greater composer than Mozart. These experiments have never accomplished anything for art, for two special reasons: First, the public appealed to had no love for really great music; second, the majority of the singers employed could not articulate in English and had but vague notions of the art of song.
29What we want is the performance in English of those operas which do appeal to the cultivated taste of music lovers. We have been long enough in the tentative period. As opera originated in Italy, it was originally performed in Italian in other countries. For years Germany listened to operas in Italian, even after she had risen to the possession of librettists and composers of native birth. Now Germany listens to operas only in German. No Italian or French opera is produced in Germany until the libretto has been translated. One obvious result of this is that the German stage retains all the German singers. A similar state of things would exist here in similar circumstances. If we had opera in English the Patis, Carys, Albanis, Van Zandts, Sandersons and Eameses would stay right in America and sing to us in our tongue and not become nomads of the foreign stage.
31But a greater result than this would come about, one that would influence the whole future of musical art in the United States. The opera libretto covers a multitude of sins. The little book by which the auditor is acquainted with German or Italian learns what is going on before him, is, after all, a glass through which he sees but darkly. Strip the text of bad operatic librettos of their foreign disguise and let them appear before the audience in the naked intelligibility of the vernacular and all their deformities will become visible.
33The undramatic absurdity of some of the old-fashioned operas would meet with ridicule. No intelligent person could avoid laughing at some of the childish nonsense set to lovely music by Donizetti, Bellini, Rossini and Verdi. Even society, which forbids the use of the libretto as "bad form," would renounce some of its favorite operas were their words forced upon its attention. On the other hand, the text of such works as "Fidelio," "Orfeo," "Iphigenia in Aulis," "Don Giovanni," "Alceste," "Der Freischutz," "Otello," "Aida" and the Wagner music dramas bears translation into English, and when translated adds immeasurably to the hearer's appreciation of the music.
35There are many admirable singers now before the public who can sing in English. There are many more who would gladly learn the language if any inducement were offered them to do so. If Mr. Damrosch forms the nucleus of a chorus for opera in English and reveals the ability of some singers, then the directors of the Metropolitan Opera House can remove all bitterness of heart caused by their recent change of policy by making another change and deciding to give opera in English in the season of 1892-3. If they desire to experiment with their house here is an experiment worth trying, an experiment which, if successful, will lead to the development not only of higher art and a finer public taste, but to that of an American school of composers.
37On general principles all this should meet the approval of all the lovers of good music and of the supporters of opera and those who encourage the prospective school of American composers. We certainly indorse the position of the "Times," which is conducting an excellent musical department under the aegis of a splendidly equipped and liberal minded critic and writer. But we most strenuously oppose the introduction of young Mr. Damrosch as an element of influence, much less as a promoter of opera in English in this country to supplant the performances that are to succeed Mr. Abbey's speculation at the Metropolitan Opera House next season.
39A musical authority is needed to steer this new craft into a harbor of safety, and the "Times" certainly does not consider young Mr. Damrosch as a musical authority. Furthermore, the man upon whom this most important venture is to devolve must have judgment and conscience. Neither of these qualities can be credited to that young gentleman, who is entirely devoid of the latter prerequisite, as is frequently instanced in the indiscriminate slaughter of fine musical scores intrusted to his guidance. No musician with a conscience will mutilate great masterpieces of the art; no musician with a conscience will conduct symphonies or operas as young Mr. Damrosch has shown himself capable of handling; no musician of conscience will even conduct accompaniments as young Mr. Damrosch conducted them so recently as in the Sarasate-d'Albert concerts, when the principals were actually interfered with and hampered in their performances.
41Under his administration we would get a poor opinion of opera in English, and as a consequence the brightest of all operatic prospects in the United States would be lost irretrievably, and the American composer would soon become the victim of ridicule under which all his hopes and prospects would vanish.
43No! It is all proper and right to advocate opera in the vernacular, but not under such depressing influences, with the foregone conclusion facing us that the enterprise is doomed to failure from its very inception. If there is to be a trial of opera in English, Mr. Anton Seidl can be intrusted with the safekeeping of the infant, and under his nurturing care and instruction the public will be able to learn what is best and noblest in that new field of work. But with young Mr. Damrosch at his head the whole enterprise would descend into a fashionable séance devoid of intrinsic merit, and consequently fatal to any future experiment of a similar nature.
45MR. SEIFERT—SOMETHING TO PONDER OVER.
47BERLIN, February 14.—A German-American composer named Seifert, who was formerly a piano maker in San Francisco, has been on trial here on the charge of levying blackmail on a wealthy American widow, Mrs. MacGuire, with whom Seifert had an intrigue after he had been divorced from his first wife. The evidence submitted to the court showed that for a long period Seifert had lived in an extravagant manner at the expense of the widow. The liaison attained a crisis when Seifert transferred his affections and married the widow's maid. He continued, however, to retain his grip upon the widow's purse, threatening to publish the story of their intrigue in the "Police Gazette," furnishing their portraits to illustrate the article, unless he was supplied with money.
49Friends of the lady assisted in laying a trap to capture the blackmailer. Detectives were hidden in the widow's room during an interview she had with Seifert. They heard Seifert threaten to shoot her if she did not submit to his exactions. They pounced upon him and placed him under arrest. The trial resulted in his conviction and he was sentenced to two years' imprisonment.
51THE above Associated Press dispatch was published last Sunday in New York papers and we deem it a duty to reprint it to keep as a record the fact of the final caging of this moral leper whose record in this country is replete with such nauseating details as to prevent its publication in full.
53There are several errors in the above dispatch, such, for instance, as the statement that Seifert was in the piano business in San Francisco. Seifert was never in the piano business. He came to this country over a dozen years ago, located here, in Philadelphia, in Baltimore and finally in Buffalo, where he and Mrs. Seifert resided, both giving music lessons. In the latter city he became a teacher in the family of Russell Dart, a wealthy lumber merchant, made love to Dart's daughter, who was his pupil, and determined to involve Dart in an intrigue with his (Seifert's) wife in order to be able to marry the daughter, and this was to be accomplished through divorce proceedings instituted so as to make Dart the correspondent.
55The affair ended in a scandal, during which Seifert made a call at Dart's house and peremptorily demanded an interview with the young lady, his pupil. He was armed with a carving knife and Mr. Dart, anticipating trouble, had armed himself with a revolver, which he discharged at Seifert when he found the latter with his knife drawn. The bullet passed entirely through Seifert's body and was found on the sidewalk. The lawsuits which resulted from this complication were finally adjusted, and Seifert turned up at the Everett House in this city one morning none the less piquant and handsome than before the perforation of his anatomy.
57As he had a magnificent wardrobe and lots of money it was surmised that some settlement had been effected in Buffalo by means of which he secured money, and, in fact, he as much as told THE MUSICAL COURIER at the time that his share of the spoils was $10,000 net.
59He soon started West and stopped at Kansas City, where he published a German musical paper; thence his next abode was Denver. Here he eloped with the wife of an Arizona ranchero and was pursued to El Paso, but dropped the lady on this side of the line and escaped to Mexico. He afterward appeared in Los Angeles and other California towns, his wife meanwhile having left him.
61In the summer of 1889 he appeared again in this city and proposed to visit the Paris exposition and send correspondence to this paper on musical subjects connected with the exposition, a proposition we
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