Scan 19
Musical Courier 1902-08-20: Vol 45 Iss 1169, 1902
40 lines. Read by computer on 21 September 2026. Printed page 20. See the scan on archive.org.
1IMPRESSIONS OF A FIRST VISIT TO BAYREUTH.
2(Continued.)
3BAYREUTH, JULY 28, 1902.
4Pour résister à l'Or du Rhin,
5Il faudrait être Vallin-stein.
6(Signé) VALLIN.
7Mais pour n'aimer point "le Walküre,"
8Il faudrait être piedicure.
9CARMOUCHE.
10In Sammit's autograph album.
12If there were some restrictions to be made in reference to the orchestral portion of the "Rheingold" representation, there was surely nothing to be said in adverse criticism of the "Walküre" and "Siegfried." It was, in fact, Hans Richter himself; his iron grip, which did not seem to take firm hold the day before of the slippery body of musicians rehearsed by Siegfried Wagner, has regained its full power. Only those who have heard Richter or Motl or Levi direct at Bayreuth can know what the storm music at the beginning of the second day of the Tetralogy was meant by its composer to convey to the audience. What a marvelous tempest! How exciting it is as it increases in force from the simplest instruments to the tremendous blast of the full orchestra and then gradually dies away again to a mere howling and whistling of the wind as Siegmund opens the door and staggers exhausted into the hut, while the Siegmund Fatigue motive reminds one of the cause of the warrior's exhaustion! And how beautiful are the themes, the motives of this part of the Tetralogy! Indeed, when did Wagner ever create an ugly one or one which was not thoroughly expressive of the idea which it was meant to convey?
14Look at Alberich's Servitude motive, with its sneaking "méchant" drop of a semitone; it would be impossible to mistake its general sense, even if one were not aware of it by previous study. Then the Giant motive, so admirably suited to the heavy tread of the brothers, Fasolt and Fafner, as they stamp forward to seize Freia. The transformation of this motive to the Fafner motive in "Siegfried" by dropping the G a semitone is very remarkable and shows how already the curse of the Ring has performed a portion of its dread task; the Giant is no longer what he was. But if one were to enumerate all the beautiful motives in the Ring it would require far more paper than I have brought with me and far more space than The Musical Courier's editor would be inclined to place at my disposal. The interpretation on the whole was good and the mise-en-scène was wonderful. The gradual setting of the sun at the end of the third act was as natural as it is possible to make it on the stage. It appears that Siegfried Wagner has done all that part of the work this year. If it is so he should apply himself to it, for there everyone is agreed that he has shown great talent. The new Dragon in "Siegfried" is very fine and, strange to relate, not even laughable.
16The famous Dragon-Siegfried lawsuit is very well arranged; I do not suppose you care to be told that Siegfried was victorious. He forgot to wipe the blood off his sword afterward, but it did not leave a stain on his tights, so all's well that ends well, as Bacon used to say. Yes, it was Bacon, was it not? Burgstaller's Siegmund was stiff at first and his voice lacked resonance, but after the Bayreuth beer that Sieglinde brought him from the cask outside the hut he sort of warmed up and became really good. Did you ever notice how good it was of Sieglinde to go out in the terrible storm to fetch Siegmund his drink? Lohfing's Hunding was very fine; he has a full rich voice and his stature and looks fit him perfectly for the part. During Siegmund's recital of his Odyssey the expression of Hunding's eyes, which never left Siegfried for one second, was exciting in the extreme. Gulbranson's Brünnhilde was commonplace. She is too dignified a Walküre, more like a young lady just out of a finishing school at Neuilly than a warrior daughter of the Father of the Gods. Wotan, in the person of van Rooy, was better than the Rheingold, but his voice has lost greatly in the last two years. I heard Madame Wagner tell Charles Joly, of the Mime is a work of genius, without exaggeration. I only hope that New York will hear him before long. As a rule, the part so easy to render burlesque is overdone; Mime is not a clown; he is a wicked, spiteful little dwarf, eager but frightened to do harm to the strong healthy youth he has brought up. Krauss did not keep strictly to measure in the forge scene and occasionally forgot himself, but the mistakes were hardly noticeable. Schumann-Heink's Erda was as large and beautiful as it always is, as only she can be nowadays. The last scene of the last act was not good; in fact, it was bad. Gulbranson was not in voice and Krauss was tired. But taken as a whole, as I said before, "Siegfried" was a model performance.
18As I was talking to Minnie Tracey during one of the intervals Mme. Wagner came up to her and warmly congratulated her on the good reports Julius Kniese had made on her progress. The charming American was, as is natural enough, highly delighted.
20The Americans figuring in the later Fremdenlisten are:
21Dr. James H. Woods, Boston; Col. N. Charles Jones, New York; Sidney Liebes, San Francisco; Mrs. Norton, Chicago; Mrs. Amstein; Charles Brockwater, Montana; Mrs. J. J. Brown and L. Brown and Helen Winchiss; Mr. and Mrs. and the Misses Campbell, Colorado; Messrs. Field and Hooper, Boston; Mrs. and Miss Taylor, Unionville; Messrs. Naylor, Ford and Hucky, New York; Messrs. Latham and Sandys, St. Louis; George B. Morley and wife, and Thomas Harvey, Baltimore; Alexander M. Welch and wife, New York; Mrs. Barlow, New York; Miss Susan Robbins, Boston; Mr. MacCullum, former United States Consul at Johannesburg; Misses Hattie Sims and Grace Ensey, Colorado; Castleman, the tenor; Mr. and Mrs. Lyssmann, New York; Edwin Reiber, Pittsburg; G. D. Hiller and C. M. Pohn, New York; Dr. Frank, Cleveland, Ohio; Messrs. Booth and Moorshed, New York; Daniel Gilman and wife, Baltimore; Miss Helena Broadwater, Montana; Mr. and Mrs. William Castle, Honolulu; Mrs. Schlapp, New York; Mrs. and Miss E. Sewall, New York; Mrs. Spencer Erwin and son, Philadelphia; Mr. and Mrs. J. Harold Ross, Mrs. George Dalliner, Mrs. and Miss Hoster, Boston; Mrs. M. J. C. Bathrick, Chicago; Mr. and Mrs. Charles F. Potter, Charles J. Potter and James H. Davidson, Colorado; Mr. and Master Jones, New York; Mrs. Mary Delaney; W. J. Chambers; Misses Eleanor Johnson, M. Johnson and Elis Stedman, Hartford; Mrs. Charles B. Hayden and Miss Fanny Faulkner, Boston; Mrs. Ben. T. Cable, Miss Pothwaite, Mrs. and Miss Muller, Miss Jeanne Mind, Miss Willard and L. H. Mund, New York; Mrs. L. E. Baumann, of New York; Alfred Hertz, New York.
23I wish to state at once that I cannot be responsible for misspelling of names. The fault lies with the owners thereof themselves, in their carelessness in filling in the forms required by the police regulations. Tomorrow I will send you an account of the "Götterdämmerung" of this afternoon.
25Arthur Bles.
27(To be continued.)
29Albert Gerard-Thiers is in the Adirondacks, and will return about September 1.
31"The Flying Dutchman."
33The above photograph shows the scenery of the first act of the opera at Bayreuth this season. One glance will show the superior effect of the mise-en-scène as compared with former productions—particularly in New York.
35Figaro, that they were much disappointed in him this year. His voice has a metallic quality that is very unpleasant at times. His acting of the scene between Brünnhilde and Wotan, where his is overcome by sorrow at the act he is about to accomplish, is absurd. Wotan, the Papa of the Gods, to fall back like a sparrow hit with a catapult, turning up its toes! Allons donc! Where is the dignity of the thing? Is that Wagner tradition? Surely not!
37The heroine of the day was undoubtedly Wittich, a magnificent Sieglinde, with a beautiful voice, if her high F's and G's were not low sometimes. The love duet at the end of the first act was sung to perfection, also the history of her parentage.
39Yesterday's "Siegfried" was a model performance, one which it is easy to consider as the traditional performance. The artists, with the exception of Van Rooy and Gulbranson, both of whom were commonplace, were first class. Krauss' Siegfried is a marvel of youth and joy and happiness. His voice in the first two acts was very beautiful; the last act is always excusable, for never a tenor existed or could exist whose voice would not be played out after two such acts as the first two. The scene between Mime and Siegfried was from beginning to end perfect. Breuer's
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