Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
June 20th, 1882.
366
THE MUSICAL CRITIC AND TRADE REVIEW.
Do you encore a portrait; and because the artist his will, and was by him condemned to lose her j tones, Wiegand, Schelper, Eilers, and Biberti.
has succeeded admirably in taking your likeness, godhood and rest in unconsciousness until awak- All the artists act very well indeed, and devote
do you clap and stamp about his studio until he ened by a man; but in order that none but a hero themselves with much self-sacrifice to the proper
might gain her, she was surrounded by a wall of rendition of their characters.
makes you another copy for nothing?
"But, oh!" says the auditor, "these are real fire.
RICHTER
Knowing that only a man of the highest cour- has been very successful in his opera venture at
things with a value, while a song is nothing but
air coming out of a man's mouth, and it has no age would be able to release the world from the Drury Lane. It is not anticipated that he will
value, and he ought to be proud that we are curse of the ring, Wotan became the father of make
much money this season, but he will certain-
Siglinde and Sigmund by a mortal woman.
pleased vrith him."
ly create almost a revolution in the operatic world.
This twin-born pair, whose love shows a god- "Fidelio," "Lohengrin," "Flying Dutchman,"
When you are delighted with an effort that cost
the artist years of expense and laborious study like indifference to our modern notions of morality, and "Tannhaiiser" have all been given with an
to bring to the perfection which enchanted you, were the parents of Siegfried, the greatest hero of ensemble hitherto unknown to opera goers. "Die
and you feel disposed to cheat him out of it again, them all.
Meistersinger" has been given once only, and was
remember your duty to your neighbors—ask your
The story of Siegfried is that part of the Norse a pronounced success.
pastor, or go to a police magistrate and learn it.
legend which first excited Wagner's admiration,
In my next letter I shall give an account of it
Would encores be so popular if the manager and subsequently led him to adopt the whole of and its production here, as well as the highly suc-
should go around and require a second payment of the legend.
cessful season at Covent Garden of Italian opera,
The giant who acquired the ring and treasures which, in the thiek atmosphere of German music,
the price of admission?
There's another side to the question, and not for building Walhalla changed himself into a has only been unavoidably neglected, but not for-
infrequently the auditors pay dearly for their pre- dreadful dragon by means of a magic tarnhelm, gotten.
B. B. Y.
and remained in a cave guarding the treasures.
dilection for encores.
Siegfried slew the dragon and gained possession
If a prima donna, or a pianist, or any one of
those marvelous beings who flourish under the of the ring, for whose value he had little regard.
name of artists, happens to have one friend in the Listening to a song-bird he learned of the sleep-
BALTIMORE.
opera house or concert room, this solitary adorer ing "Walkiire" and of the wall of fire surround-
BALTIMORE, June 15.
suffices to force upon the whole auditory a repeti- ing her; but being without fear, and directed by
tion. Now, whese fault is this? Certainly none the bird, he sought the place and gained the T H E R E would De no music here at present, nor~
other than the performer's, who always seems maiden, notwithstanding the intervention of _L much if any musical gossip, if our German
ready to do a thing twice where once was more Wotan, whose spear he shattered with a blow from societies were not constantly active in their own>
his sword.
than enough.
peculiar and interesting way. It is my opinion
Siegfried and Brunnhilde lived in their rocky and that of many who discuss the subject, that
"0 wad some power the giftie gie us
home, and she taught him all her runio lore, and much more could be done by those societies, es-
To see ourselves as ithers aee us!
finally sent him into the world. The dwarf who pecially at the forthcoming "Saengerfest" in
It wnd frae monie a blunder free us
stole the gold from the Rhine begot a son by a Philadelphia, if they had been amalgamated.
And foolish notion."
mortal wife. This son, having no love in his na-
But this is too late now. A number of societies
RALPH CECIL.
ture, was full of magic arts. He gave Siegfried a have joined forces, and, under the title of
draught which not only made him forget his
Brunnhilde, but also betray her to another; and
"BALTTMOKE 8AENGERBUND,"
finally he treacherously slew the hero to regain
they will participate in the musical contests at
possession of the ring for the dwarf.
LONDON.
But Brunnhilde took the ring from Siegfried's Philadelphia, beginning with the first concert of
finger and restored it to the waiting Rhine maid- the series on June 30.
LONDON, June 1.
A few days ago a general rehearsal took place,
ens as she ascended Siegfried's funeral pyre to
which was attended by the festival director, from
f I ^HE first performance of the Wagner Trilogy in share his grave.
JL London has just taken place, and may be
Thus the curse put upon the ring had proved Philadelphia, Prof. F. W. Kiinzel.
briefly described as a great artistic success and an the death of each successive possessor; but after
There are strong and reasonable hopes that our
equally great financial failure.
again being restored to the Rhine it could work no singers will, as formerly, bring home a prize.
The Arion Singing Society has elected Mr. Geo.
I understand that the manager has lost about further ill.
Schafer director, in place of Prof. Lenschow, who-
$50,000, but as most of this money is supposed to
for the past two decades, I think, has been misdi-
have been subscribed in London, it is not extraor-
THE SONG OF SIGMUND,
recting the tendencies of this society.
Prof.
dinary that he bears the loss well.
at the beginning of the trilogy proper, is the best Lenschow has gone to Europe. For the past de-
It cannot be repeated too often that
vocal number, and indeed is the only place where cade this society has remained dormant, not mak-
there is an opportunity for singing. It is well ing any progress, simply because Lenschow, a gen-
"DEB BTNG DEB NIBELUNGEN"
known to your readers, doubtless, through the tleman of the old school, and a worthy musician
is not an ordinary opera, but a drama in which admirable singing of Signor Campanini.
of that school, has not had the energy to inquire
music is used to illustrate poetry, and that usually
In the prologue, "Das Rheingeld," the song of into what music has been doing "since the war."
by means of the orchestra rather than by vocal the Rhine daughters in the beginning is beautiful,
Music has really been progressing, while the
display.
but when, at the close of the prologue, it reoccurs, Professor has remained stationary.
The drama has been so often described in de- intermingled with the march of the gods and the
He should have abdicated years ago. Young
tail that it is hardly necessary here to follow it recitative of Loge, the evil one, it becomes really Schafer is a splendid musician, educated in Leip-
•cene by scene.
magnificent.
sic, and is one of our most promising artists.
The story of the gold being stolen from the
The ride of the "Walkiire" and the "Trauer-
If the members of the society will realize the
Rhine nymphs by a wicked dwarf, formed into a marsch" are well knewa to you in New York fact that they are now obliged to revolutionize an
ring with which to gather more gold, whose power through Mr. Thomas's splendid rendering.
old method and adapt themselves to new musical
should gain him mastery of the world and work
To your correspondent, the second part of the thoughts, and not lose their patience while doing
ruin to all other powers; his loss of the ring, and trilogy proper, Siegfried, is the most remarkable so, there is no daubt that Mr. Schafer will build
the curse of death he puts upon it, with the final part of the work, both for poetic and musical up this singing society, and make it a healthy
restoration of the gold to the Rhine through a beauty.
competitor of the larger ones here.
great and god-begotten hero, is truly poetical and
I say this, well knowing the general preference
It has been no competitor during many years,
eminently suggestive of dramatic situations.
for "Die Walkiire," and the beautiful, and, indeed, although it contains as good elements as any.
The god from whom this hero is descended is magnificent parts of "Gotterdammerung."
WoUxn, the chief of the northern mythological But in spite of occasional parts more beautiful
SUMMER GARDEN CONCERTS,
deities. He it was who tore a limb from the in "Walkiire," Siegfried produced an impression
world's ash-tree, shaped it into a spear, upon of more uniform beauty throughout.
or light opera, will soon begin again at the
which were inoised the rules for making treaties
Where he welds his own sword, his song, with Academy of Music, Mr. Fort having made ar-
rigid, thus becoming the symbol of his power as the wonderful orchestration which Wagner knows rangements on a large scale. An excellent season
the protector of treaties.
so well, produces an effect unsurpassed by this is anticipated. In the meanwhile I sometimes
He drank from the fountain of wisdom flowing or any other composer. Indeed, hardly less can drop in at Gardner's, to "hear the band play."
The orchestra is not quite large enough, but the
at the foot of the tree, sacrificing an eye for this be said of the part where Siegfried pauses in the
boon. He bargained with his enemies, the giants, forest, and, listening to the song-bird, understands private enterprise of Brother Gardner must be
praised, as there are only a few men in any com-
for the erection of a magnificent castle, promising its language and endeavors to imitate its note.
the goddess of "Youth and Spring" in payment
The performances were canducted by Herr Anton munity who would risk a series of open air con-
therefor. Upon the bond becoming due, he re- Seidl. In hearing his rendition of this most im- certs at their own expense.
gretted to lose his eternal youth, and, in order to portant work, one is inclined to give him no second
The Harmonie Singing Society gave a concert
save it, stole the ring and its treasures from the place amongst conductors.
under the direction of the leader, Prof. Tillmann,
dwarf and gave them to save the goddess, thus
He is perhaps the only man who could have pre- which was largely attended and very successful.
taking the first step towards his own destruction, vented the audience from regretting the absence
Marie Stone, Tom Karl, W. H. McDonald, and
for the dwarf, upon being robbed of the ring, pro- of Richter from the enterprise.
some of our amateurs gave a series of operas at
nounced a curse, whereby it should cause death to
The orchestra was brought from Germany, but CatonBville, a suburb.
every possessor until again restored to him.
The best productions were "Pinafore" and the
was not well balanced, the strings being less in
"Chimes of Normandy."
The power of this curse was so soon exemplified proportion than Wagner's directions indicate.
Catonsville folks have been giving operas on
by the death of one of the giants in a quarrel over
The costumes were beautiful, the scenery was
the booty, that Wotan henceforth devoted him- simply awful, and reached the climax of absurdity various former occasions, and their success this
self to avert the fate which the curse of the ring with a magic-lantern display in the last act, repre- year assures another season of operas for next
year.
had presaged.
senting the death of the gods.
At the annual meeting of the Oratorio Society,
He begot a band of maiden "Walkiiren" (corpse-
The artists were all good, and some were re-
bearers), whose duty it was to incite warriors to markable. Among the latter may be especially a good-sized balance was found in possession of
battle and to bear the fallen ones to "Walhalla," mentioned: Mme. Hedwig Reicher Kinderman, the treasurer. Mr. Otto Sutro was reflected presi-
Wotan's castle, there to become his guards against who is the best dramatic soprano I have ever dent, and made a few remarks which indicate
the threatening doom.
heard; Mme. Vogl, a good singer and excellent great activity for next season.
The Oratorio Society is the greatest musical in-
One of these "Walkiiren," Brunnhilde, the most actress; Herr Vogl and Herr Niemann, fine tenors
beloved by Wotan, in battle dared to work against for this kind of work; and the bassos and bari- stitution Baltimore has ever possessed, overshad-