Scan 20
Musical Courier 1902-08-27: Vol 45 Iss 1170, 1902
22 lines. Read by computer on 21 September 2026. Printed page 21. See the scan on archive.org.
1do not know whether Krauss started life as a blacksmith; perhaps! Van Rooy was a fishmonger, Delna a waitress, &c., ad infinitum.
3Krauss, though for the most part a good Siegfried, is not always sure either of his tempo or his intonation, and in the address to his sword, "Nothung, Nothung, Neidliches Schwert," made poor Hans Richter hurry so much to keep up with him that the blond bearded capellmeister of Manchester looked still hot this evening when he came with his wife and three daughters to the "Eule" to drink a last glass of Bayreuth beer at 11 p. the glass, and bid us good by before leaving. But there is no denying that for the greater part, Krauss' Siegfried is good. He is young, "a simple and a pure"—oh, Parsifal, why are you not more like him?—he is strong and rejoices in his strength, and he is full of all the mischievous, unthinking cruelty of youth; look how he enjoys the terror of Mime when he enters the dwarf's cavern with his captive bear. Heavy jawed, kindly Hans Breuer is a perfect Mime, as I said after his "Rheingold" performance. In most places, Alberich's cruel but impotent little brother is represented as a laughter creating clown, and thereby loses half his significance, whereas Breuer brings out the deceitful, wicked side, the Uriah Heep side, of his character, the side that Wagner certainly wished to be predominant. Breuer is well known in America, where he played in '98, I think with Grau's company. Like all other European artists who have crossed the pond professionally he wants to do so again. Friedrich's Alberich I did not care much for; his voice has an unpleasant quality, though his acting is good enough. Destinn as the Waldvogelstrume is not a great success. Her voice is too full and not silvery enough for that remarkable role. The best performance of the day was Schumann-Heink's Erda, splendidly sung and broad as only she can make it nowadays. And I have had the pleasure of hearing Héglon! The sparkling, brilliant Austrian tells me that she has signed a long engagement with Grau for New York, and has received permission from the Kaiser to go to America for two years. She will very likely make a concert tour across the continent. It is worth the whole "Nibelungen Ring," Tarnhelm and all seven representations of "Parsifal" and numerous other works to see the twinkle in the kind hearted contralto's eyes when she speaks of the American nationality of one of her sons, her "American boy," as she calls him.
5But to return to our muttons. Talking of muttons, that usually sheeplike dragon is a very dangerous affair this year. No women screamed or lifted their dresses, but still * * * It has shed its old skin, taken several bottles of Dubonnet quinquina and is quite revived. Its tail is now in working order, and is used with much effect. The fight is a good likeness of a real one, instead of the ordinary automatic Madame Tussaud arrangement, so much praised at the Paris Opéra performances. But there is always one thing that strikes my risible nerve in connection with the Siegfried-Fafner boxing match (stake, one gold ring; value, unlimited power, and one Tarnhelm, value, voluntary invisibility). After Siegfried has plunged his sword into the monster's side and drawn it out again without any blood, or at all events any red blood, upon it; after the degraded giant—degradation illustrated by the flattening of the fourth below the tonic of the Giant motive—has told Siegfried all about himself and his future, during which recital the orchestra growls out the Destruction motive—note resemblance to rhythm of the King's suffering music in "Parsifal"—shouts triumphantly aloft the Siegfried music; drums heavily to the particular theme of the giants, and the basses play almost inaudibly the four booming notes of the Dragon motive; why does Siegfried push back the Dragon into his cave. Is the simple minded young man too afraid of Death to leave the slaughtered Dragon on the stage near him, or is the stage manager fearful of the effects of the cumbersome corpse on the general acoustics. It is a pity, for after a combat realistic enough, and no more laughable than is absolutely necessary, the sight of the huge dragon sliding gently back on rollers into its hole is funny enough to make the most sincere Wagner worshipper turn up the corners of his mouth in irreverent laughter. The Erda scene was well enough sung by both Schumann-Heink and Van Rooy, though the latter is beginning to show the effects of high living and deep beer drinking on his erstwhile magnificent voice. Like Krauss—Ernst, not Felix—his pianissimo is of extreme beauty, but his fortissimo at times becomes suspiciously like shouting.
7The last act was the poorest as far as voice is concerned that we have had so far in the Tetralogy. Gulbranson is not a great Brünnhilde. At certain moments she is majestic enough, but as a whole she is too much so. I heard a well known Parisian painter say to Siegfried Wagner after the second act of "Walküre": "Ah! mais, comme elle est chic, votre 'Walküre,'" and as Wagner, Jr., went off delighted with the praise bestowed on his father's favorite character, the artist murmured gently to us: "Je crois bien qu'elle est chic, elle ressemble plus à une femme du monde qu'à une fille sauvage du père des dieux."
9I am not quite sure that I do not class the first part of the third act of "Siegfried" and the symphonic pages commencing with Siegfried's escape from the restraint of Wotan and ending with the hero's acclamation of the heights, "Selige Oede auf wonige Höhl!" among the greatest moments of Wagner's inspiration. That prelude, with its hints of the Rhine, Wotan's Anger, Compact and Dusk of the Gods motives to the continuous accompaniment of the "Walkürenritt" music, resolving, as the curtain draws aside a rocky gorge and cloudy sky illuminated by frequent flashes of lightning, into the chromatic series of chords known as the Eternal Steep motive, is of extreme grandeur, and alone would class the master as a genius, that is to say, given the latter day tendencies in favor of program music. It is often said that Wagner's music cannot be played in symphony concerts. True, it loses much of its meaning in such a case, but a great deal of it may be thus played if on the program a short description or even a descriptive title be attached to give the hearer his first idea, after which, with a little imagination, much may be understood. I am not a partisan of Wagner in the concert room, but to say that it is thus unintelligible and impossible as absolute music seems to me to be pushing operatic fanaticism too far. It is as easily comprehensible as Berlioz's "Symphonie Fantastique," with its "idée fixe," which means nothing, as Strauss' or Liszt's symphonic poems. Is not the "Walkürenritt" just as interesting and intelligible alone as is Liszt's "Mazeppa"? Cannot the preludes of the first and third acts of the "Meistersingers," the "Rheingold" Prelude—less, perhaps, on account of its tonal monotony—the "Tristan," "Flying Dutchman," "Lohengrin" and "Tannhäuser" overtures all be played in the symphony hall and give pleasure and instruction to those who hear them? To say no is to say that the said works exist only by their connection with the whole and by themselves are formless. Who is there brave enough to state that Wagner lacks form. Tomorrow I will send you an account of the last day of the Tetralogy, "The Dusk of the Gods," which took place yesterday.
11ARTHUR BLES.
13(To be continued.)
15MASCAGNI NEWS.
17MASCAGNI will not change his place of residence from England to America, though cables to the daily press late last week said he had declared he would. There is no doubt the composer is angry because of his dismissal from the directorship of the Rossini Lyceum at Pesaro, but his interests are too closely identified with Italy for him to leave there permanently.
19Mittenthal Brothers & Kronberg, his American managers, on reading the newspaper dispatches, wired Mascagni saying if they were true the firm would undertake to finance a conservatory here, of which he could be absolute master in all matters artistic. A reply came from the musician saying he has no intention of deserting Italy. To the contrary, his blood is up over his unjust dismissal, and he purposes seeking vindication and reinstatement through the courts.
21The authorities of the Rossini Lyceum let Mascagni out solely because they objected to his American tour, out of which, it seems, they see contamination for their musical idol, and, through him, decadence of the artistic standards of their country. Mascagni told them heatedly and pointedly he would go where he pleased, and stay as long as he pleased, which statement was possibly construed by the eager foreign correspondents as meaning he would expatriate himself.
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