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Musical Courier 1898-01-05: Vol 36 Iss 931, 1898
46 lines. Read by computer on 21 September 2026. Printed page 12. See the scan on archive.org.
1THE MOZART CYCLE ended at the Royal Opera House a week ago to-day with a performance of "The Magic Flute," which in many respects was among the very best of the entire eight days' undertaking. Certainly in none of the other operas was the chorus and orchestra of more importance or greater effect than in this work, in which the holy and mystic element of the loftiest kind alternates with Mozart's gayest and at moments even frivolous musical mood. Dr. Muck had worked these contrasts out with the most loving care as to detail and the finest nuances of shading, and the members of both bodies, the orchestra as well as the chorus, followed his intentions with the utmost precision and intelligence.
3For the outward effectiveness of this model representation of "The Magic Flute" Tetzlaff had done his utmost in a fine mise-en-scène, some of the scenery, especially the moonlit lake with its colossal sphinx monument, being among the most beautiful and natural stage settings I ever beheld.
5The home personnel, unaided by any foreign guests, was likewise at its best in this work, each artist having a part well suited to his own special abilities. Thus Moedlinger's sonorous but somewhat slowly responding bass voice shone to advantage in the portentous, deep, as well as low, musical utterances of Sarastro. In contrast to these stood the fine coloratura and pure soprano voice of Frau Herzog, who sang the second aria of Astraflamante with considerable verve and gave out a clean, resonant, big E flat. Never have I heard Sommer sing better or act more interestingly than he did as Tamino, and Miss Hiedler, although the part of Pamina is perhaps not her best one, was thoroughly satisfactory.
7Hoffmann, as Papageno, and Frau Gradl, as Papagena, were a delightful couple, and I was very much amused also over th: Monostatos of Lieban. The three ladies of the Queen of Night were well suited to each other in point of voice blending, while the three Genii were pretty and well matched in appearance.
9Altogether, "The Magic Flute" representation was a very worthy and impressive one.
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13"Don Giovanni," in Italian and with the prominent guests of whom I spoke in my last week's budget, was twice repeated before a crowded house in the course of the week. Of the second repetition I was able to attend the greater portion and can tell you about the little Italian tenor, Cremonini, who had been indisposed at the first performance of "Don Giovanni," that he was not worth while engaging as a "guest." The only thing that excused his appearance, or rather disappearance amid such a cast, was that through him it was possible to give the performance in Italian throughout. For the rest Cremonini might better have stayed at home. He unites with entirely insufficient vocal means a tendency towards singing off the key on high notes. But his voice is not unsympathetic as long as he does not begin to use it vibrato.
15This, however, he does frequently, especially when he tries to be dramatic, and then his voice shakes like calf's foot jelly. In the ensembles you could not hear him at all, and next to Rothauser's and especially Lehmann's voice it sounds dwarfish.
17In looks Cremonini is very juvenile and Lehmann as Donna Anna towered over him like a Valkyrie over an Alberich or a Mime. D'Andrade was at first not in good voice and hence even his Champagne song, which is his battle horse and is usually redeemed, was not of the wonted and sometimes quite thrilling effectiveness and was only moderately applauded. In the great ensemble and finale of the first act, however, he recovered himself, and in the second act was almost as fine as I ever heard him.
19I was much disturbed by the heavy and hard touched piano accompaniment of the recitative. Anybody who ever heard it played by Richard Strauss in a Munich performance of "Don Juan" will not readily take up with the Berlin Opera House pianist, who plays these recitative accompaniments as if he were rehearsing them with a poor singer.
21Tomacek's Leporello was only good in the very first part of the first act, in the trio of which with Donna Anna and Don Juan he brought out with clearness and individuality all the characteristics of the role, and did some excellent phrasing. Later on his singing grew impure and his portrayal of the part lost all distinctiveness. He was simply a crude Leporello. Miss Rothauser, as Elvira, was in every respect excellent and surprisingly satisfactory.
23Lilli Lehmann's impersonation of Donna Anna was the reverse of the first one. In the Revenge aria she lacked dramatic and vocal forcefulness, but the aria she she sang with consummate art and in the true Mozart vein of delivery.
25Zerlina as well as Masetto were much better in this repetition. Excellent, and really of dramatic effect, was the scene between the Comendatore and Don Juan, which should have closed the opera. The quite undramatic tail end which has been revived here in order to be historically correct, is a great and disappointing anticlimax. Mozart himself had consented to having this illogical ending of the opera cut off, and "Don Giovanni" was thus given without it in Mozart's presence. Why, then, should the Berlin Royal Opera intendency be more Catholic than the Pope himself?
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29Concerts are growing beautifully less the nearer we are approaching the holidays. Still there was at least one good concert for each day of the week to attend, and thus I had no cause of complaint on the score of lack of employment of my time.
31As is usual in the week of Beethoven's birthday anniversary, his immortal name preponderated on all programs, and in the case of the two most important concerts of the week Beethoven monopolized the whole program.
33The first one of these concerts was the fifth Philharmonic, under Nikisch's direction. I have frequently noted before that Beethoven still draws in Berlin, and his potent name, together with the announcement of two soloists and the generally growing interest for Nikisch's conducting, had drawn to the Philharmonic so large an audience that the rows of chairs had to be placed in closer proximity to each other, and thus a good many seats were added to the capacity of the vast hall, which was absolutely crowded, floor, boxes, gallery and all standing room being occupied by an enthusiastic and very attentive audience.
35The program opened with the second "Leonore" overture, which is more rarely heard than the renowned third, and even less frequently than the much weaker first and the "Fidelio" overture. Still the work is much more than a mere sketch for the third "Leonore" overture, and in its first half is even a broader, perhaps more beautiful work, and surely just as important a work as the third. Of greater brilliancy in the latter, however, is the tremendous and glorious Coda, which carries away everybody who ever listened to it in a good, sweeping, inspired performance. And it is likely this very fact which actuated Nikisch in trying the astonishing experiment of substituting the Coda of the third "Leonore" overture for that of the second at the end of this latter work. If success is the excuse for everything, then Nikisch can be excused for this astonishing quid pro quo; but what was more astonishing than Nikisch's experiment itself was the fact that not one of the Berlin critics seems to have noticed the substitution. They may reasonably be supposed to be quite familiar with the third "Leonore" overture, and yet without a single exception they did not hear that Nikisch tacked the ending of the third "Leonore" onto the second in place of its proper coda. This could not have happened in either New York or Boston, and it also would not have happened in Berlin if my friend Heinrich Neumann had still been on the Berliner Tageblatt, for, if I had perceived that he had not noticed the substitution I should certainly have called his attention to it. As it is, the unanimous oversight of the Berlin critics is quite a good joke.
37Miss Betty Schwabe was the first soloist at this concert, and she duplicated the success which she had achieved with the performance of the Beethoven violin concerto a few weeks ago at a concert of her own. She plays with wonderful technic, clean intonation and purity of tone. Her style and delivery are noble and of unaffected simplicity. In the big hall of the Philharmonie, however, her tone did not sound as massive, nor did her interpretation strike me as Joachim-like as it had done at the Singakademie. The master himself sat in the auditorium and seemed much pleased, for he applauded vociferously just as the general public did.
39Herr Raimund Von Zur Mühlen sang Beethoven's song cycle, "To the Distant Beloved." There are some difficult Lieder among these, and the singer's now almost threadbare organ did not quite give out what he demanded of it. He had some good moments in the piano episodes, but as soon as he tried to put in some verve or dramatic feeling he sang either in a stilted or in an explosive style. Herr Von Zur Mühlen's best singing days are evidently over, and that is probably the reason why he thinks of soon making a concert tour through the United States.
41For the first time since I have known him I did not care either for Nikisch's usually so exquisite piano accompaniments, which likewise sounded to me affected and quite un-Beethovenish. But he was at his very best in the interpretation of the Fifth Symphony, a better and more fervent reading of which I have never heard from anybody in this wide world.
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45Mrs. Luisa Sobrino delighted a large audience, among which I noticed many Americans, at her song recital, given, with the assistance of Margarethe Boye, in the Singakademie. The concert-giver was in happiest vocal condition, and her vibrant, pure soprano voice showed to unusual advantage in songs by Franz, Sommer, Brahms, Chopin, Massenet, Rogers, and Caracciolo. Mrs. Sobrino's chief merits consist in a beautiful pianissimo, graded artistically even in the highest register; fluent, intelligent phrasing, and nice discrimination in delivery; greater steadiness of attack might be advisable at times. Why did she sing Massenet's "Pleurez, pleurez! mes yeux" in English. The foreign text spoils the song completely, to my mind. Mrs. Sobrino looked stunningly
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