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diff --git a/44767-8.txt b/44767-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 0430080..0000000 --- a/44767-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,15347 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Richard Wagner His Life and His Dramas, by -W. J. Henderson - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: Richard Wagner His Life and His Dramas - A Biographical Study of the Man and an Explanation of His Work - -Author: W. J. Henderson - -Release Date: January 26, 2014 [EBook #44767] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RICHARD WAGNER *** - - - - -Produced by Charlene Taylor, Linda Cantoni, and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries) - - - - - - - - - -[Transcriber's Note: Obvious printer errors have been corrected -without note.] - - - - -RICHARD WAGNER - -HIS LIFE AND HIS DRAMAS - -A BIOGRAPHICAL STUDY OF THE MAN AND AN EXPLANATION OF HIS WORK - - -BY - -W.J. HENDERSON - -AUTHOR OF "THE STORY OF MUSIC," "PRELUDES AND STUDIES," "WHAT IS GOOD -MUSIC?" ETC. - - -[Illustration] - - - G.P. PUTNAM'S SONS - NEW YORK AND LONDON - _The Knickerbocker Press_ - 1902 - - Copyright, 1901 - BY - W.J. HENDERSON - - Set up, electrotyped, and printed, November, 1901 - Reprinted February, 1902 - _The Knickerbocker Press, New York_ - - - - -[Illustration: Richard Wagner] - - - - -TO - -ROBERT EDWIN BONNER - - - - -PREFACE - - -The purpose of this book is to supply Wagner lovers with a single -work which shall meet all their needs. The author has told the story -of Wagner's life, explained his artistic aims, given the history of -each of his great works, examined its literary sources, shown how -Wagner utilised them, surveyed the musical plan of each drama, and -set forth the meaning and purpose of its principal ideas. The work -is not intended to be critical, but is designed to be expository. -It aims to help the Wagner lover to a thorough knowledge and -understanding of the man and his works. - -The author has consulted all the leading biographies, and for -guidance in the direction of absolute trustworthiness he is directly -indebted to Mme. Cosima Wagner, whose suggestions have been carefully -observed. He is also under a large, but not heavy, burden of -obligation to Mr. Henry Edward Krehbiel, musical critic of _The New -York Tribune_, who carefully read the manuscript of this work and -pointed out its errors. The value of Mr. Krehbiel's revision and -his hints cannot be over-estimated. Thanks are also due to Mr. Emil -Paur, conductor of the Philharmonic Society, of New York, for certain -inquiries made in Europe. - -The records of first performances have been prepared with great care -and with no little labour. For the dates of those at most of the -European cities the author is indebted to an elaborate article by E. -Kastner, published in the _Allgemeine Musik. Zeitung_, of Berlin, for -July and August, 1896. The original casts have been secured, as far -as possible, from the programmes. For that of the "Flying Dutchman" -at Dresden--incorrectly given in many books on Wagner--the author -is indebted to Hofkapellmeister Ernst von Schuch, who obtained it -from the records of the Hoftheater. The name of the singer of the -Herald in the first cast of "Lohengrin," missing in all the published -histories, was supplied by Hermann Wolff, of Berlin, from the records -of Weimar. The casts of first performances in this country are not -quite complete, simply because the journalists of twenty-five years -ago did not realise their obligations to posterity. The casts were -not published in full. The records have disappeared. The theatres -in some cases--as in that of the Stadt--have long ago gone out of -existence and nothing can be done. As far as given the casts are, the -author believes, perfectly correct. - - - - -CONTENTS - - -PART I--THE LIFE OF WAGNER - - CHAPTER PAGE - - I--THE BOYHOOD OF A GENIUS 1 - - II--THE FIRST OPERAS 14 - - III--KÖNIGSBERG AND RIGA 27 - - IV--"THE END OF A MUSICIAN IN PARIS" 38 - - V--BEGINNING OF FAME AND HOSTILITY 50 - - VI--"LOHENGRIN" and "DIE MEISTERSINGER" 64 - - VII--"ART AND REVOLUTION" 73 - - VIII--PREACHING WHAT HE PRACTISED 85 - - IX--A STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND 96 - - X--A SECOND END IN PARIS 105 - - XI--A MONARCH TO THE RESCUE 117 - - XII--SOME IDEALS REALISED 127 - - XIII--FINIS CORONAT OPUS 136 - - XIV--THE LAST DRAMA 146 - - XV--THE CHARACTER OF THE MAN 154 - - -PART II--THE ARTISTIC AIMS OF WAGNER - - I--THE LYRIC DRAMA AS HE FOUND IT 167 - - II--THE REFORMS OF WAGNER 178 - - III--THE MUSICAL SYSTEM 189 - - IV--THE SYSTEM AS COMPLETED 200 - - -PART III--THE GREAT MUSIC DRAMAS - - INTRODUCTORY 213 - - RIENZI 221 - - DER FLIEGENDE HOLLÄNDER 234 - - TANNHÄUSER UND DER SÄNGERKRIEG AUF WARTBURG 250 - - LOHENGRIN 270 - I--THE BOOK 272 - II--THE MUSIC 283 - - TRISTAN UND ISOLDE 293 - I--SOURCES OF THE STORY 294 - II--WAGNER'S DRAMATIC POEM 300 - III--THE MUSICAL EXPOSITION 315 - - DIE MEISTERSINGER VON NÜRNBERG 328 - - DER RING DES NIBELUNGEN 355 - I--THE SOURCES OF THE POEMS 364 - II--THE STORY AS TOLD BY WAGNER 388 - III--THE MUSIC OF THE TRILOGY 422 - - PARSIFAL 446 - I--THE ORIGINAL LEGENDS 447 - II--THE DRAMA OF WAGNER 461 - III--THE MUSICAL PLAN 473 - - APPENDIX A--THE YOUTHFUL SYMPHONY 481 - - APPENDIX B--WAGNER AND THE BALLET 487 - - INDEX 491 - - - - -PART I - -THE LIFE OF WAGNER - - - - -RICHARD WAGNER - - - - -CHAPTER I - -THE BOYHOOD OF A GENIUS - - "O kindischer Held! O herrlicher Knabe."--SIEGFRIED - - -The ancestry of Richard Wagner has been traced as far as his -grandfather. This good man was Gottlob Friedrich Wagner, a custom -house official, whose life-work it was to see that nothing was -smuggled into Leipsic through the city gates. Gottlob Friedrich had -a son to whom was given the second name of his father. Friedrich -Wagner was a clerk of police. He had a considerable acquaintance -with languages, and spoke French so well that when the French army -under Napoleon occupied the city, he was appointed by Marshal Davoust -to organise the police. Wagner's father was born in 1770, and his -life was short. It is known that he had a taste for the theatre and -for verse. After the battles of October 18 and 19, 1813, at the -gates of Leipsic, when Napoleon's power was broken in Germany, the -accumulation of dead around the city caused an epidemic fever, and -among its victims was the police clerk Wagner. He passed away on -November 22, 1813, leaving among other children a male babe of six -months, destined to immortalise his name. This child was Wilhelm -Richard Wagner, born May 22, 1813, in "The House of the Red and White -Lion," No. 88 Hause Brühl. - -Wagner's mother, whom his father married in 1798, was Johanna Rosina -Bertz, who died in 1848. Richard was the youngest of nine children, -the others being Albert, Carl Gustav, Johanna Rosalie, Carl Julius, -Luise Constanze, Clara Wilhelmine, Maria Theresia, and Wilhelmine -Ottilie. Of these Albert became an actor and singer of considerable -importance and finally stage manager in Berlin. He married Elise -Gollmann, a singer with a remarkably extensive voice, who is said -to have sung "Tancredi" and "The Queen of the Night" equally well. -She bore him a daughter, Johanna, who became one of the most eminent -sopranos of her time, and was the original Elizabeth in "Tannhäuser" -at the age of seventeen. Wagner's sister Johanna Rosalie was an -actress and Clara was a singer. - -When the epidemic had carried off the police clerk, the widow was -in straitened circumstances. Her oldest son was only fourteen years -old and not competent to contribute to the support of the large -family. The governmental pension was small and she had no fortune of -her own. At this trying period Ludwig Geyer, an old friend of her -husband, asked her to be his wife, and although only nine months had -elapsed since Friedrich Wagner's death, she, like a sensible woman, -accepted the offer. Geyer was a man of talent and well fitted to be -the parental guide of the young Richard. He was an actor, a singer, -an author, and a portrait painter. As a singer he once appeared -in "Joseph in Egypt," when that opera was produced by Weber on his -assumption of the conductor's bâton at the Dresden opera. His gift -for portrait painting is said almost to have reached genius. He was -the writer of several comedies, and one of his plays, "The Slaughter -of the Innocents," is still well known in Germany. To celebrate the -sixtieth birthday of Richard Wagner his family at Bayreuth surprised -him with a performance of this play, and he was much touched by it, -for he always cherished a deep affection for his stepfather. - -Owing to the employment of Geyer in a Dresden theatre, the whole -family removed to that city. Here the education of the future -composer began in earnest. The home influences were the example of -Geyer and the sweet, gentle affection of the mother, to whom her -children were the first of all considerations. The outside influence -was found in the Dresden Kreuzschule, where the boy was entered -under the name of Richard Geyer. This schooling, however, was not -begun till after the death of the stepfather. In the beginning Geyer -thought that Richard would make a good painter, but, the composer -tells us in his autobiographic sketch, "I showed a very poor talent -for drawing." Geyer died on September 30, 1821, still cherishing -the belief that there was some sort of promise in the boy. "Shortly -before his death," says the brief autobiography, "I had learnt to -play 'Ueb' immer Treu und Redlichkeit' and the then newly published -'Jungfernkranz' upon the pianoforte; the day before his death I was -bid to play him both these pieces in the adjoining room; I heard him -then with feeble voice say to my mother: 'Has he perchance a talent -for music?' On the early morrow, as he lay dead, my mother came into -the children's sleeping room and said to each of us some loving word. -To me she said: 'He hoped to make _something_ of thee.' I remember, -too, that for a long time I imagined that something indeed would come -of me." - -Wagner was eight years old when his stepfather died, and in order -that the mother's cares might be lightened, he was sent for a year -to live with a brother of Geyer at Eisleben, where he attended a -private school. It was in December, 1822, that he began to go to the -Kreuzschule in Dresden. If ever there was a childhood in which the -future man was foreshadowed it was that of Wagner. His biographers -have with one accord set down the statement that the boy showed no -promise in his early years. Look at them and see for yourself. At the -Kreuzschule he conceived a profound love for the classicism of Homer, -and to the delight of his teacher, Herr Silig, translated the first -twelve books of the Odyssey out of school hours. He revelled in the -fascinations of mythology, and his fancy was so stimulated that when -commemorative verses on the death of one of the boys were asked for, -Wagner's, having been pruned of some extravagances, were crowned with -the halo of type. - -Thereupon this child of eleven resolved to become a poet. He -projected vast tragedies on the plan of Apel's "Polyeidos" and "Die -Aetolier." He plunged into the deeps of Shakespeare and translated -a speech of Romeo into metrical German. Finally he began a grand -tragedy, which proved to be compounded of elements from "Hamlet" and -"King Lear." He laboured on this for two years. "The plan," he says, -"was gigantic in the extreme; two-and-forty human beings died in the -course of this piece, and I saw myself compelled in its working out -to call the greater number back as ghosts, since otherwise I should -have been short of characters for my last acts." - -Huge poetic projects already throbbing in the young brain, music, -too, seized him for her own. He would not stay away from the piano, -and so the tutor who was guiding him through the mazes of Cornelius -Nepos engaged to teach him the technic of the instrument. But the -wayward Wagner would not practice. The moment that the tutor's back -was turned he began to strum the music of "Der Freischütz" by ear, -and he learned to perform the overture with "fearful fingering." -The teacher overheard him and said that nothing would come of his -piano studies. And so it proved, for Wagner never learned to play -the piano. Yet was there nothing in all this to show the bent of -the young mind? Was it not a childhood meet for him who was one day -to project tragedies before undreamed of on the lyric stage, and to -cut loose from all the traditions of operatic music? And was it not -a good omen when at last there fell across his childhood the shadow -of his artistic progenitor, Weber? "When Weber passed our house on -his way to the theatre," writes Wagner, "I used to watch him with -something akin to religious awe!" Indeed, Weber used to enter the -house to talk to the sweet Frau Geyer, who was well liked among -artists, and so perhaps the little Richard looked into the luminous -depths of the eyes of the composer of "Der Freischütz." - -Weber became the idol of his boyhood, and no doubt the worship of -this real genius had some influence on the bent of Wagner's musical -thought. It is narrated of him that, when he was not permitted to -go to the theatre to hear "Der Freischütz," he used to stand in the -corner of a room at home and count the minutes, specifying just what -was going on at each particular instant and finally weeping, so that -his mother would yield and send him happy off to the performance. -However, in 1827 the family returned to Leipsic and that was the -end of young Richard's close observation of Weber. A still more -serious influence now entered into his life, for at the concerts -of the Leipsic Gewandhaus he first heard the works of Beethoven. -The overture to "Egmont" fired him with a desire to preface his own -drama with such a piece of music. So he borrowed a copy of Logier's -treatise on harmony and counterpoint and tried to learn its contents -in a week. This was the crucial test of his genius. If he had not -been born to be a composer, the difficulties which he encountered in -his solitary struggle with the science of music would have turned -him aside from the study forever. But it was not so. He says in his -autobiography: "Its difficulties both provoked and fascinated me; -I resolved to become a musician." And thus we find Wagner, whose -childhood has been pronounced insignificant, at the age of fifteen -already a dramatist and eager to be a composer. To be sure, he was -not a prodigy, but the future of the man was marked out plainly by -the child; and we shall see that from this time he moved steadily -toward the goal of his ambition. - -The progress was not accomplished without a struggle. As he himself -tells us in his autobiography, his family now unearthed his great -tragedy, and he was severely admonished that in the future it would -be well for him to give less attention to Melpomene and more to his -text-books. But he was not to be turned aside from his purpose. -"Under such circumstances," he says, "I breathed no word of my secret -discovery of a calling for music; but nevertheless I composed, -in silence, a sonata, a quartet, and an aria. When I felt myself -sufficiently matured in my private musical studies, I ventured forth -at last with their announcement. Naturally, I now had many a hard -battle to wage, for my relatives could only consider my penchant -for music as a fleeting passion--all the more as it was unsupported -by any proofs of preliminary study, and especially by any already -won dexterity in handling a musical instrument." We laugh, perhaps, -at this awkward boy in his lumbering struggles, but there was -something large in it all. He aimed at the top, and from the outset, -pathetically enough, as it afterward proved, tried to hitch his -"waggon to a star." - -The family so far humoured his new ambition as to engage a music -teacher for him, Gottlieb Müller, afterward organist at Altenburg. -But a sorry time this honest man had with his eccentric young pupil. -The boy was at this time head over ears in the romanticism of Ernst -Theodor Hoffmann, then recently dead and still in the height of his -fame in Germany. The astounding fecundity of this writer's invention -of marvellous incidents inflamed the boy's mind, and threw him into -a state of continual nervous excitement. He says himself that he -had day-dreams in which the keynote, third and dominant, seemed to -take form and to reveal to him their mighty meanings. But he would -not study systematically, and his family apparently had ground for -believing that music would soon be abandoned for some other fancy. -Instead of treading patiently the rocky path of counterpoint, the -impatient boy endeavoured at one leap to reach the top of the musical -mountain, and wrote overtures for orchestra. One of them was actually -performed in a theatre in Leipsic under the direction of Heinrich -Dorn. It was, as Wagner confessed, the culminating point of his -folly. The parts of the string instruments in score were written in -red ink, those of the wood in green, and those of the brass in black. -"Beethoven's Ninth Symphony," he says, "was a mere Pleyel sonata by -the side of this marvellously concocted overture." At every fourth -measure the tympani player had a note to be played forte, and when -the audience had recovered from its astonishment at this wonderful -effect, it burst into laughter. - -But all these strivings were not in vain. As Adolphe Jullien notes -in his "Richard Wagner," the influence of the Hoffmann stories was -not lost; "for the 'Brothers of Serapion' contained an account of the -poetical tourney at Wartburg, and some germs of 'The Meistersinger' -are found in another story by Hoffmann, 'Master Martin, the Cooper of -Nuremberg.'" Dorn, the conductor, became interested in young Wagner, -and afterwards proved to be a valuable friend. The boy modestly and -sincerely thanked him for producing the overture, and Dorn replied -that he had at once perceived the boy's talent and that furthermore -the orchestration had not needed extensive revision. Wagner now -seemed to feel his own need of some sort of regular study, for he -matriculated at the University of Leipsic, chiefly in order that he -might attend the lectures on æsthetics and philosophy. Here again -his want of application made itself apparent, and he entered into -the dissipations of student life with avidity. But he soon wearied -of them and once more settled down to the study of music, this time -under Theodor Weinlig, who sat in the honoured seat of Bach as the -cantor of the Thomas School. - -In less than half a year Weinlig had taught the boy to solve the -hardest problems of counterpoint, and said to him, "What you have -made your own by this dry study, we call self-dependence." At this -time, too, Wagner became acquainted with the music of Mozart and -its influence upon his mind was very healthful. He laboured to rid -himself of bombast and to attain a nobler simplicity. He wrote a -piano sonata in which he strove for a "natural, unforced style in -composition." This sonata was published by Breitkopf and Härtel, and -was, so far as the records show, Wagner's real Opus 1. It shows no -trace of inspiration, and can rank only as a conservatory exercise. - -It was followed by a polonaise in D for four hands, Opus 2, and this -was also printed by Breitkopf and Härtel. It is nothing more than -school work, like its predecessor. The third work was a fantasia in -F sharp minor for piano. The restraining power of the teacher is -less apparent in this composition, which remains unpublished. In -his article on Wagner in Grove's "Dictionary of Music," Mr. Edward -Dannreuther quotes at some length from a personal conversation -with the composer, who described Weinlig's method of teaching. It -was a plain and practical method, in which example and precept -were judiciously combined. Wagner said to Mr. Dannreuther, "The -true lesson consisted in his patient and careful inspection of -what had been written." It was fortunate for Wagner that he had -such a mentor, and that he was in the beginning of his career as -a composer compelled to learn and practice the old forms in which -the fundamental laws of music found their perfect exemplification. -His readiness to depart from the straight and narrow path would -have led him into insuperable difficulties, and perhaps to hopeless -discouragement, had he not possessed so kind and trustworthy a guide. - -Young Wagner now launched upon musical activities of no small -magnitude for one so youthful. In the year 1830 he made a pianoforte -transcription of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, and in a letter dated -Oct. 6 he offered it to the Messrs. Schott, of Mayence. The offer -was not accepted. He also wrote to the Peters Bureau de Musique, -offering to make piano arrangements at less than the usual rates. -In 1831 he composed two overtures, one a "Concert Ouvertüre mit -Fuge" in C, and the other in D minor. This one is dated Sept. 26, -with emendations dated Nov. 4. It was performed at one of the -Gewandhaus concerts on Dec. 25, 1831. The _Allgemeine Musikalische -Zeitung_ said of it: "Much pleasure was given us by a new overture -by a composer still very young, Herr Richard Wagner. The piece was -thoroughly appreciated, and, indeed, the young man promises much: the -composition not only sounds well, but it has ideas and it is written -with care and skill, with an evident striving after the noblest."[1] - -[Footnote 1: Quoted from "Wagner and his Works," by Henry T. Finck. 2 -vols., New York, 1893.] - -In 1832, when he was 19 years old, he wrote a symphony in C major.[2] -The biographers of Wagner have agreed to disagree about this -symphony, even the usually accurate Mr. Finck calling it a work in C -minor. It is, however, plainly enough in C major. The history of this -composition was peculiar. When he had finished it Wagner put it in -his trunk and started for Vienna, "for no other purpose than to get a -glimpse of this famed musical centre. What I heard and saw there was -not to my edification; wherever I went I heard 'Zampa' or Strauss's -potpourris on 'Zampa'--two things that were an abomination to me, -especially at that time." On the homeward journey he tarried a while -in Prague, where he made the acquaintance of Dionys Weber, director -of the Conservatory. This gentleman's pupils rehearsed the symphony. -The score was next submitted to the directors of the Gewandhaus -concerts at Leipsic. - -[Footnote 2: See Appendix _A_.] - -The managing director was Rochlitz, editor of the _Allgemeine -Musikalische Zeitung_, an authority on music, and he invited Wagner -to call on him. "When I presented myself, the stately old gentleman -raised his spectacles, saying, 'You are a young man indeed! I -expected an older and more experienced composer.'" The symphony was -tried, and on Jan. 10, 1833, it was produced at a Gewandhaus concert. -In the season of 1834-5 Wagner, who was in Leipsic, forced his score -on the attention of Mendelssohn, then the conductor of the Gewandhaus -concerts, in the hope of getting another performance. Mendelssohn put -the manuscript away, and, though he often saw Wagner, never spoke -of the work. Wagner was too modest to ask him about it, and so the -score was lost. In 1872 the orchestral parts were found in an old -trunk left by Wagner in Dresden in the course of the revolutionary -disturbances of 1849. - -With the composition of this symphony, Wagner's apprenticeship in -instrumental music may be said to have ended. His next venture was -across that magic border which separates the orchestra from the -stage. His period of juvenility was not quite ended, but he may be -said to have finished the preparatory stage of his career and to be -about to enter on the first years of serious struggle toward his real -goal. His boyhood was fairly indicative of his nature. Restless, -dissatisfied, eager to reach the topmost heights, and not suited with -the means at hand, we yet find him experimenting with the methods of -those who preceded him, analysing and assimilating the musical past, -and learning to conquer musical forms. In the juvenile symphony he -showed that he had honestly solved the problems of construction, that -he had mastered the formal materials of his art. The wise Schumann -said, "Mastery of form leads talent to ever increasing freedom." -At nineteen years of age, with the methods of Beethoven and Mozart -firmly fixed in his mind, the young Wagner had produced a symphonic -composition, which, while imitative in both themes and treatment, -showed astonishing musical vigour and an enterprising spirit. The boy -was on the verge of manhood, artistically as well as physically. - - - - -CHAPTER II - -THE FIRST OPERAS - - "You are a young man indeed!"--ROCHLITZ TO WAGNER - - -In the year 1832, while he was in Prague, Wagner began his career -as a composer of operas, and in his first attempt, as in all later -ones, wrote his own libretto. His friend Heinrich Laube[3] had -offered him a libretto on the subject of Kosciuszko, but he refused -it, saying that he was engaged wholly on instrumental music. But his -genius was for the stage, and his boyhood had been surrounded by the -immediate influences of the theatre. It is, therefore, not surprising -to find him at work on an opera. He says in his autobiography: "In -that city [Prague] I also composed an opera book of tragic contents, -'Die Hochzeit.' I know not whence I had come by the mediæval subject -matter:--a frantic lover climbs to the window of the sleeping-chamber -of his friend's bride, wherein she is awaiting the advent of the -bridegroom; the bride struggles with the madman and hurls him into -the courtyard below, where his mangled body gives up the ghost. -During the funeral ceremony the bride, uttering one cry, sinks -lifeless on the corpse. Returning to Leipsic, I set to work at once -on the composition of this opera's first number, which contained a -grand sextet that much pleased Weinlig. The text-book found no favour -with my sister; I destroyed its every trace." - -[Footnote 3: Laube wrote in the _Journal du Monde Elégant_, of -Leipsic, after the private performance of the symphony, the first -public criticism of Wagner's work. It was favourable, and helped the -young composer to gain a public performance.] - -We are indebted to the good Rosalie for her objections to this stupid -and unpoetic book. Wagner's memory in regard to this juvenile work -was not perfect. He presented an autograph of the numbers composed -to the Würzburg Musikverein. They are an introduction, a chorus, -and a septet, not a sextet as he said. This autograph copy is still -extant. Franz Muncker, in his "Life of Wagner," says that the young -librettist found his subject in Immermann's "Cardenio und Celinde" -(1826), and that he arranged the conclusion of his story after -that of the "Bride of Messina." The whole matter, however, may be -dismissed as unimportant. - -Wagner now went to Würzburg, and at the age of twenty sought -employment as a musician through the influence of his brother Albert, -then engaged in the Würzburg Theatre as actor, singer, and stage -manager. Albert succeeded in securing for him a position as chorus -master at ten florins a month. As an evidence of his gratitude he -composed for Albert an aria of 142 measures to substitute for a -shorter one in Marschner's "Der Vampyr." A phototype reproduction of -this aria may be found in Wilhelm Tappert's "R. Wagner; Sein Leben -und Seine Werke." It has no especial interest except for collectors -of Wagneriana. - -In the year 1833 the young composer set to work on another opera. -This was entitled "Die Feen," and although it was completed, its fate -was not unlike that of its predecessor. It came to nothing in the -composer's life, and though finished on Dec. 7, 1833, received its -first performance in Munich on Jan. 29, 1888. Perhaps the best short -account of this work that can be given is that of Wagner himself in -his "Communication to my Friends."[4] He says: - -"On the model of one of Gozzi's fairy tales ['La donna serpente'] -I wrote for myself an opera text in verse, 'Die Feen' [The -Fairies]; the then predominant romantic opera of Weber, and also -of Marschner--who about this time made his first appearance on the -scene, and that at my place of sojourn, Leipsic--determined me to -follow in their footsteps. What I turned out for myself was nothing -more than barely what I wanted, an opera text; this I set to music -according to the impressions made upon me by Weber, Beethoven, and -Marschner. However, what took my fancy in the tale of Gozzi was not -merely its adaptability for an opera text, but the fascination of -the 'stuff' itself. A fairy, who renounces immortality for the sake -of a human lover, can only become a mortal through the fulfilment of -certain hard conditions, the non-compliance wherewith on the part -of her earthly swain threatens her with the direst penalties; her -lover fails in the test, which consists in this, that however evil -and repulsive she may appear to him (in an obligatory metamorphosis) -he shall not reject her in his unbelief. In Gozzi's tale the fairy -is now changed into a snake; the remorseful lover frees her from -the spell by kissing the snake: thus he wins her for his wife. I -altered this dénouement by changing the fairy into a stone and then -releasing her from the spell by her lover's passionate song; while -the lover--instead of being allowed to carry the bride off to his own -country--is himself admitted by the Fairy King to the immortal bliss -of Fairyland, together with his fairy wife." - -[Footnote 4: Published in the summer of 1851. It will be found in -Vol. I. of W. Ashton Ellis's translation of Wagner's Prose Works. -It is Wagner's most important paper in regard to his own artistic -development.] - -This opera was offered to the director of the theatre at Leipsic, -whither Wagner returned early in 1834, and it is evident that a -production was promised, for Laube announced in his journal that -immediately after "Le Bal Masqué" by Auber there would be brought -forward the first opera of a young composer named Richard Wagner. -But when Auber's work had completed its run, the director announced -Bellini's "I Capuletti ed i Montecchi," and that was the end of -"Die Feen" till 1888. Some of the commentators have found the germs -of important features of Wagner's later works in this opera, but -there is really no evidence that any direct connection exists. It is -true that the story is mythical, but Wagner departed from the myth -in his next opera. It is, perhaps, more significant that already -the young writer showed some skill in the management of pictorial -stage effects. The music was wholly imitative of Beethoven, Weber, -and Marschner, with some minor borrowings from Mozart. Here and -there can be found musical ideas which recur in later works and -which are characteristic of Wagner. The score was constructed on -the Italian opera model and contains the regular series of arias, -scenas, cavatinas, etc. It has even a "mad scene." Furthermore it is -a strikingly melodious score, and very light in touch. But the work -has now only a historical interest, and its occasional performances -in Munich, about the time that the foreign pilgrims to Bayreuth are -in the land, are purely speculative enterprises. - -Now came another change in the inner life of this budding genius. In -the performance of Bellini's opera, he heard for the first time the -great artist Wilhelmina Schroeder-Devrient, and the impression which -she made upon him was lasting. As late as 1872 he said, "Whenever -I conceived a character, I saw her." The imposing effect which her -dramatic sincerity and her consummate command of style enabled -her to make with the shallow music of Bellini caused Wagner to -become doubtful as to the right method of attaining success. He was -powerfully impressed with the importance of the dramatic element in -operatic performance. The Leipsic Theatre next produced Auber's "La -Muette de Portici," and again Wagner was astonished. Here he saw an -opera in which rapid action, fiery impulse, and the manifestations of -a revolutionary spirit achieved as strong an effect upon an audience -as had the potent acting and singing of Schroeder-Devrient. - -The light, spontaneous melody of Bellini seemed to him to express -more directly the spirit of young life than the heavy music of the -Germans; the plan of Auber's work impressed him as well fitted for -combination with the style and character of the Italian music. A -union of the two, he thought, would lead toward a true embodiment -of the spirit of the time, and so reach swiftly the public heart. -The joy of life now became his battle cry. He steeped his soul in -the physical literature of the time. He read with avidity the works -of Wilhelm Heinse, "the apostle of the highest artistic and lowest -sensual pleasures, amongst all the authors of the last century the -one endowed with the warmest enthusiasm and finest comprehension -for music."[5] "I was then twenty-one years of age," wrote Wagner, -"inclined to take life and the world on their pleasant side. -'Ardinghello' (Heinse) and 'Das junge Europa' (Laube) tingled through -every limb, while Germany appeared in my eyes a very tiny portion of -the earth." Ludwig Börne, Carl Gutzgow, Gustav König, and last of -all, Heinrich Heine, became influences in his daily life and thought. -The utmost freedom in politics, morals, and literature, the most -passionate physical enjoyment of the fleeting moment, were taught by -these authors, to whom the reactionary movement in France against all -moral and artistic law seemed most attractive. Mysticism ceased to -charm Wagner, and he turned to revolutionary freedom in thought as -the highest possible good. - -[Footnote 5: "Richard Wagner, a Sketch of his Life and Works," by -Franz Muncker. Bamberg, 1891.] - -With these ideas seething in his mind in the summer of 1834, while -spending his holiday at Teplitz, he sketched the plot of his next -opera, "Das Liebesverbot [Prohibition of Love] or the Novice of -Palermo." In the fall he was obliged to accept a position as -conductor in a small operatic theatre in Magdeburg. There he found -in the ease with which public success was attained by trivial works -further encouragement for the revolt in his soul. He discharged his -duties as conductor with the greatest pleasure, and took much trouble -to give an impressive performance of Auber's "Lestocq." He had his -"Feen" overture played, and also an overture of his own to Apel's -drama, "Christopher Columbus." He made a New Year's piece out of the -andante of his symphony and some songs taken from a musical farce. -But meanwhile he worked assiduously at the score of his new opera, -with Auber as his model and Schroeder-Devrient as his hope. - -The foundation of the story was taken from Shakespeare's "Measure -for Measure," but Wagner altered the plot so as to introduce the -revolutionary element which at that time played so conspicuous a -part in his fancies. In a "Communication to My Friends" Wagner -many years afterward thus described his opera: "It was Isabella -that inspired me; she who leaves her novitiate in the cloister to -plead with a hard-hearted Stateholder for mercy for her brother, -who in pursuance of a draconic edict has been condemned to death -for entering on a forbidden, yet Nature-hallowed, love-bond with -a maiden. Isabella's chaste soul urges on the stony judge such -cogent reasons for pardoning the offence, her agitation helps her -to paint these reasons in such entrancing warmth of colour that -the stern protector of morals is himself seized with passionate -love for the superb woman. This sudden, flaming passion proclaims -itself by his promising the pardon of the brother as the price of -the lovely sister's favours. Aghast at this proposal, Isabella takes -refuge in artifice to unmask the hypocrite and save her brother. The -Stateholder, whom she has vouchsafed a fictitious indulgence, still -thinks to withhold the stipulated pardon so as not to sacrifice his -stern judicial conscience to a passing lapse from virtue. Shakespeare -disentangles the resulting situation by means of the public return -of the Duke, who had hitherto observed events from under a disguise; -his decision is an earnest one, and grounded on the judge's maxim, -'measure for measure.' I, on the other hand, unloosed the knot -without the Prince's aid by means of a revolution. The scene of -action I transferred to the capital of Sicily, in order to bring in -the Southern heat of blood to help me with my scheme; I also made the -Stateholder, a Puritanical German, forbid a projected carnival; while -a madcap youngster, in love with Isabella, incites the populace to -mask and keep their weapons ready: 'Who will not dance at our behest, -your steel shall pierce him through the breast!' The Stateholder, -himself induced by Isabella to come disguised to their rendezvous, -is discovered, unmasked, and hooted; the brother in the nick of time -is freed by force from the executioner's hands; Isabella renounces -her novitiate and gives her hand to the young leader of the carnival. -In full procession the maskers go forth to meet their home-returning -Prince, assured that he will at least not govern them so crookedly as -had his deputy." - -One has no difficulty in tracing in this arrangement of the story the -ideas that lay uppermost in Wagner's mind at the time. The heavy, -hypocritical governor was a hit at his own countrymen, and the free -life of the Sicilians was his embodiment of the sensuousness which he -had learned from his recent readings to admire. Auber's "Muette de -Portici" no doubt suggested the theatrical value of the revolution, -and as he himself says in his account of the writing and production -of this opera: "Recollections of the 'Sicilian Vespers' may have had -something to do with it; and when I think finally that the gentle -Sicilian Bellini may also be counted among the factors of this -composition, I positively have to laugh at the amazing quid-pro-quo -into which these extraordinary conceptions shaped themselves."[6] - -[Footnote 6: Wagner wrote a long account of the conception, -composition, and production of this juvenile work. It may be found -in his collected prose writings, translated by W. Ashton Ellis. The -translation from which these words are taken is in "Art, Life, and -Theories of Richard Wagner," by E.L. Burlingame. In speaking of the -"Sicilian Vespers," Wagner refers to history, not to Verdi's opera, -which was not produced till 1855.] - -The score of the opera was finished in the winter of 1835-36. The -composer, who was entitled to a benefit as conductor toward the -close of the season, naturally hoped to bring forward his work on -that occasion. Unfortunately the manager was in arrears of salary to -many of the company, and some of the principal artists gave notice -of their intended departure before the end of March. Wagner, who was -liked by all of them, succeeded in persuading them to stay a few -days longer and to endeavour hastily to prepare his opera. Ten days -were available for rehearsals. By dint of shouting, gesticulating, -and singing with the singers, Wagner persuaded himself and them into -thinking that the opera was in shape for production. There was a good -advance sale of seats, but the manager stepped in and claimed the -first performance of the work for himself, and so Wagner was perforce -content to wait for the second for his benefit. - -The first performance on March 29, 1836, was, according to Wagner's -own account of it, absolutely incomprehensible. There were no -libretti, and the singers were so uncertain of both text and music -that no one could learn the story of the work from them. This was -probably well for Wagner in one way, for the censor had passed the -book on Wagner's assurance that the subject was from Shakespeare, and -as the audience did not know what it was all about, no unfavourable -comment was made on the licentious story. At the second performance, -owing to the apparent incomprehensibility of the work when first -heard, there were three persons in the auditorium, two of whom were -the composer's landlord and landlady. Before the curtain went up, -the husband of the prima donna, jealous of the tenor, set upon that -singer and beat him so that he had to be carried from the theatre. -The prima donna tried to interfere and she was also assaulted by her -husband. A general fight seemed imminent, and the manager went before -the curtain to tell the audience of three that "owing to various -adverse circumstances which had arisen the opera could not be given." -Wagner subsequently offered this opera to managers in Leipsic and -Berlin, but it was not accepted. Later in Paris he contemplated a -performance at the Théâtre de la Renaissance, and a translation of -the text was begun. But, as Wagner tells us, "Everything promised -well, when the Théâtre de la Renaissance became bankrupt! All -trouble, all hopes had therefore been in vain. I now gave up my -'Liebesverbot' entirely; I felt that I could not respect myself any -longer as its composer." - -Mr. Finck recounts an interesting conversation he had with Heinrich -Vogl, the eminent Wagnerian tenor, in 1891. Vogl said that after -the success of "Die Feen" at Munich it was thought that "Das -Liebesverbot" might also be given, and a rehearsal was held. The -"ludicrous and undisguised imitation of Donizetti and other popular -composers of that time" caused general laughter,[7] but it was really -the licentious character of the libretto that brought about an -abandonment of the plan to perform the work. But the composer had not -yet found himself, and this was one of his attempts to reach success -as others had reached it, without any realisation of the vital fact -that he was not artistically constituted as they were. - -[Footnote 7: Nevertheless there are passages which suggest the future -Wagner. Note this curious resemblance between a part of the chorus of -nuns in "Das Liebesverbot" and the so-called "feast of grace" theme -in "Tannhäuser." - -[Music: LIEBESVERBOT. - - Salve regina coeli! Salve!] - -[Music: TANNHÄUSER.]] - -The failure of the Magdeburg Theatre once more threw Wagner on his -own resources. He had borrowed money recklessly, hoping to pay it -from the proceeds of the performance of his opera. Poor Wagner! All -his life he was ahead of his income, and no amount of experience -could teach him to manage his finances. He went to Berlin to offer -the "Liebesverbot" to the opera, but without success, and then he -heard that there was an opening as musical director at the Königsberg -Theatre. To that city, therefore, he went in the hope of securing -the post. His Magdeburg friends, Frau Pollert, the prima donna, and -Wilhelmina Planer, the actress, had found employment there, and the -young composer was drawn after the second of these women by ties -soon to become closer. He wrote to his friend Dorn to ask his aid, -but it seems that the good Heinrich was unable to do anything for -him. Nevertheless the Königsberg post was given to him and he began -his duties in January, 1837, after nine months of idleness. Before -taking this position Wagner had done two things which must now be -recorded. He had written his first prose essay, and he had married. -The essay contained some unwise comments on the "Euryanthe" of Weber, -whom Wagner as a boy had venerated. He subsequently experienced a -second change of heart in regard to this composer. He had a change of -heart, too, in regard to his wife, also partly on artistic grounds. -Glasenapp says of this hasty and ill-fated union: - -"The link was now forged that bound his future to a helpmate with -whom he had the smallest possible community of inner feeling. Beyond -doubt, he brought her that genuine affection which survived the -hardest trials it ever was put to; beyond doubt, the pretty, young, -and popular actress meant well by the ardent young conductor when she -joined her hand with his at a time of so little outward prospect; -beyond doubt she expected much from his abilities.... Any profounder -sense of the enormous artistic significance of her husband never -dawned upon her, either in this cloudy period or at a later date; and -though she made him loving sacrifices, she neither had the blissful -satisfaction of knowing to whom they were offered, nor of affording -the struggling artist a sympathetic ear in which to pour his deeper -woes. Wagner never forgot how she bore the trials of the next few -changeful years without a murmur; nevertheless, this precipitate -marriage of two natures so immiscible dragged after it an almost -endless chain of sorrows and internal conflicts." - - - - -CHAPTER III - -KÖNIGSBERG AND RIGA - - "To extricate myself from the petty commerce of the German - stage."--WAGNER - - -Minna Planer, as she was called, was the daughter of a spindle-maker, -and according to Praeger,[8] who knew her well, went on the stage -not because she was endowed with histrionic talent, but because it -was necessary for her to contribute to the support of her father's -family. Wagner had become engaged to her while at Magdeburg, and he -married her on Nov. 24, 1836, at Königsberg. He was twenty-three -years old and the wisdom of his marriage was what might have been -expected of a boy. From all the testimony it appears that the first -wife of Richard Wagner was a good, gentle, loving woman, devoted -to him in a mild, unimpassioned manner, and utterly incapable of -understanding him. At the outset of their married life, she was -almost as improvident as he, and the burden of debt which he had -accumulated at Magdeburg grew larger at Königsberg. Later at Riga -these two poor children lived in a house in the outskirts of a town -and had to take a cab whenever they went to the theatre! - -[Footnote 8: "Wagner as I Knew Him," by Ferdinand Praeger, New York, -1892.] - -In later years Minna learned the meaning of economy, and she -struggled bravely to make both ends meet, when there was nothing -but ends. But never did she perceive the genius of her husband, and -for that reason she was always impatient with his dreams of great -achievements, when money could have been earned by prosaic labour -at the expense of hazy aspirations. A woman of tender eye and sweet -speech, she commanded the sympathy of Wagner's friends, and it was -indeed a fatal misfortune for this gentle dove that she was mismated -with an eagle. Certainly she suffered much and bore with patience, -not only the privations of domestic life in straitened circumstances, -but also the waywardness and eccentricities of a mind beyond her -comprehension. Praeger says: - -"As years rolled by and the genius of Wagner assumed more definite -shape and grew in strength, she was less able to comprehend the -might of his intellect. To have written the 'Novice of Palermo' -at twenty-three and to have been received so cordially was to her -unambitious heart the zenith of success. More than that she could -not understand, nor did she ever realise the extent of the wondrous -gifts of her husband. After twenty years of wedded life it was much -the same. We were sitting at lunch in the trimly kept Swiss châlet at -Zurich in the summer of 1856, waiting for the composer of the then -completed 'Rienzi,' 'Dutchman,' 'Tannhäuser' and 'Lohengrin' to come -down from his scoring of the 'Nibelungen,' when in full innocence she -asked me, 'Now, honestly, is Richard such a great genius?' On another -occasion, when he was bitterly animadverting on his treatment by the -public, she said, 'Well, Richard, why don't you write something for -the gallery?'" - -That there was another side to the story is certain. From the -beginning, though tender and considerate of his wife when at her -side, and fully awake to her excellencies, Wagner was a victim of -those irregularities of temperament which seem inseparable from -genius, especially musical genius. He was inconstant as the wind, -a rover, a faithless husband. His misdoings amounted to more than -peccadilloes. He was guilty of many liaisons and the Sybaritic -character of his self-indulgences increased as the years went by. -It is not possible to give the details of these secrets of Wagner's -life; but it must suffice to say that while Minna was unsuited to -him through her inability to understand him, she was more sinned -against than sinning. She was a faithful and devoted wife, patient -in adversity and modest in prosperity. It is impossible to say the -same of him as a husband. For twenty-five years they struggled along -together, and the history of their existence makes one sympathise -deeply with this sweet little woman. Enduring the most bitter -privations, she saw a husband, who could have earned a good living -by writing for the popular taste, deliberately refusing to do so -and following the promptings of what must have seemed to her the -wildest dreams. This same husband was also luxurious in habit, and -was always deeply in debt. The wolf was continually at the Wagner -door, even when the master had what to a less fastidious person would -have seemed abundance. Wagner, on the other hand, must have hungered -and thirsted for a companion who would understand his ideals and his -purposes, and be willing to wait with him for the triumph that was -sure to come. That these two ill-mated persons would separate was -almost inevitable. It may be briefly recorded at this point that they -did separate in August, 1861. Minna went to live in Dresden, where -she died on Jan. 25, 1866. - -The grip of poverty in Königsberg seems to have strangled the voice -of Wagner's muse. He says in the Autobiography: "The year which -I spent in Königsberg was completely lost to my art by reason of -the pressure of petty cares. I wrote one solitary overture: 'Rule -Britannia.'" He wrote also about this time an overture entitled -"Polonia." The former is lost, but the Wagner family has the -manuscript of the latter. The state of the composer's mind, and the -actions to which it led are now best told in the "Communication to My -Friends": - - "One strong desire then arose in me, and developed into an - all-consuming passion: to force my way out from the paltry - squalor of my situation. This desire, however, was busied - only in the second line with actual life; its front rank - made towards a brilliant course as artist. To extricate - myself from the petty commerce of the German stage, and - straightway try my luck in Paris: this, in a word, was the - goal I set before me. A romance by H. König, 'Die Hohe - Braut,' had fallen into my hands; everything which I read - had only an interest for me when viewed in the light of - its adaptability for an operatic subject: in my mood of - that time, the reading of this novel attracted me the more, - as it soon conjured up in my eyes the vision of a grand - opera in five acts for Paris. I drafted a complete sketch - and sent it direct to Scribe in Paris with the prayer that - he would work it up for the Grand Opéra there and get me - appointed for its composition. Naturally this project ended - in smoke." - -The history of Wagner's first attempt to reach the goal of the opera -composer of his day, the stage of the Grand Opéra in Paris, is worthy -of particular note. He despatched the manuscript and a letter -for Scribe to his brother-in-law, Friedrich Brockhaus, to send to -Paris. Hearing nothing, he wrote again six months later, and sent -to Scribe a copy of the score of "Das Liebesverbot" as a specimen -of his work. Scribe answered this letter courteously and expressed -interest in Wagner and his music. The composer again sent him a copy -of the scenario of "Die Hohe Braut," but put it into the post without -any stamps and so never heard of it again, nor received an answer -from Scribe. These facts were recorded in an old note book in which -Wagner made first draughts of his letters. The letter giving this -information was addressed to one Lewald, a Leipsic journalist who had -lived in Paris, and, after reciting the facts, Wagner asked him to -find out whether Scribe had received the second letter and whether -he was still favourably inclined. If so, Wagner said, he had another -operatic plan in his mind, the book of "Rienzi," which was just -the thing for Paris. This letter was published in the _Frankfurter -Zeitung_, and will be found quoted in Mr. Finck's "Wagner." Nothing -came of this correspondence, and Wagner was fated not to enter -Paris till some time later, and then to find it a city of continual -disappointment. - -In the spring the Königsberg Theatre failed and again Wagner was out -of employment. Like many other theatrical folk, the moment his salary -stopped he was in straits. So once more he called upon Dorn for -help. This critic had written of the "Rule Britannia" overture that -it was a medley of Bach, Beethoven, and Bellini, but he still had -faith in the genius of Wagner. So through his influence Wagner was -appointed director of music in the theatre at Riga, on the Russian -side of the Baltic, under Karl von Holtei as manager. Wagner's wife -and her sister, Theresa Planer, were also engaged for the comedy -performances. Riga was a more prosperous town than either Magdeburg -or Königsberg and at first Wagner, delighted with the higher salary, -set to work with evident pleasure. The material in the company was -good, and the composer was sufficiently interested in the singers -to write several airs for them. He also conducted ten orchestral -concerts, at which his overtures, "Rule Britannia" and "Columbus," -were performed. He began to write a comic opera entitled "Die -Glückliche Bärenfamilie" ("The Happy Bear Family") for which he found -the material in a story in the "Arabian Nights." "I had only composed -two numbers for this," he says, "when I was disgusted to find that I -was again on the high road to music-making à la Adam. My spirit, my -deeper feelings, were wounded by this discovery, and I laid aside the -work in horror. The daily studying and conducting of Auber's, Adam's, -and Bellini's music contributed its share to a speedy undoing of my -frivolous delight in such an enterprise." - -That inexpressible dissatisfaction with the extant state of the -theatre, which finally made Wagner the reformer of the lyric drama, -was already at work. The purely commercial spirit of the play-house -was rapidly becoming intolerably antagonistic to him. He held -himself aloof from the actors. He lived far away from the theatre. -He shut himself up within himself, and he began to cherish dreams -of breaking the sordid bondage of the German stage and reaching out -into a broader and more vigorous artistic atmosphere. He laboured -assiduously at Riga for good performances. The manager begged him not -to overwork the singers, but the singers liked his enthusiasm and -seconded his efforts. At this time, in his unsettled state of mind, -he worshipped Bellini, and exalted the Italian song above all other -forms of operatic music. He had "Norma" performed for his benefit on -Dec. 11, 1837. He wrote articles praising Bellini, and his enemies -delighted to quote these forty years later as evidence of Wagner's -inconsistency. This undeveloped youth of twenty-four was groping for -the path toward which his genius impelled him. That he could not find -it at once was not remarkable. He needed the discipline of a larger -experience and a closer contact with the great world. As yet he had -been but playing in the nursery. His first pointed lessons were about -to be received. - -In the spring of 1839 his contract with Holtei expired. He could -not find employment. He even wrote to the director of the theatre -offering to return as assistant director or copyist, in fact, to do -anything except, as he ironically said, black boots or carry water. -Nothing came of all this, and debts began to press heavily on this -most improvident of men. He had a grand opera partly written. It was -made on the Meyerbeerian last, and that was fashionable in Paris. -Thither he determined to go. But when he endeavoured to leave Riga, -he could not get a passport because of his debts. So with his wife -and his dog, he stole away like a thief in the night. Minna went -across the border into Germany disguised as the wife of a lumberman. -Wagner himself was aided by a Königsberg friend, Abraham Möller, who -hid him in an empty sentry box till he could slip past the pickets -on the boundary line. This same Möller went with him to the port of -Pillau, where he, his wife, and his dog embarked on a sailing vessel -for London, thence to descend upon Paris.[9] Paris was to be assailed -with one opera completed and another half done. This second work was -"Rienzi." During the years of struggle at Magdeburg, Königsberg, -and Riga, while searching for material for a grand opera book, he -had read Bulwer's novel, "Rienzi," and the subject seemed to him to -be promising. The grandeur of the plan and the opportunities for -operatic effects fired his mind, and in the summer of 1838 he began -the libretto. At Riga, when he was holding himself aloof from the -surroundings of the theatre, he was at work composing the music, and -in the spring of 1839 the first two acts were finished. He had aimed -to make this an imposing work, too grand in plan for production at a -provincial German theatre. So it was with this uncompleted score that -he put to sea, a sea far vaster than he at the time imagined it to -be. For before leaving Riga he had fallen upon Heine's version of the -legend of the "Flying Dutchman," and this sea voyage was to make the -story vital in his mind and inspire him with the music for the first -work in which the Wagner of the immortal dramas was revealed. He says -in the autobiography: - -"This voyage I never shall forget as long as I live; it lasted three -and a half weeks and was rich in mishaps. Thrice did we endure the -most violent of storms, and once the captain found himself compelled -to put into a Norwegian haven. The passage among the crags of Norway -made a wonderful impression on my fancy; the legends of the Flying -Dutchman, as I heard them from the seamen's mouths, were clothed for -me in a distinct and individual colour, borrowed from the adventures -of the ocean through which I was then passing." - -[Footnote 9: Mr. Finck, who relates these facts, obtained them -from articles in the _Frankfurter Zeitung_ and from some of Dorn's -writings.] - -But at length London was reached, and Wagner, Minna, and the great -Newfoundland dog were set down at a comfortless little hotel in Old -Compton Street, Soho, a dozen doors from Wardour Street, with the -purlieus of Seven Dials on one side of them and Oxford and Regent -Streets within a few minutes' walk.[10] His first experience in the -capital of Great Britain was the loss of his magnificent Newfoundland -dog, to which he was much attached. Fortunately the intelligent beast -found its master. Wagner was not far away from the house in which -Weber had lived when he was in London, and "to that shrine he made -his first pilgrimage." He visited the Naval Hospital at Greenwich and -was duly impressed by the sight of the shipping on the Thames. He -went over the hospital ship _Dreadnaught_, one of Nelson's old fleet, -and he visited Westminster Abbey, where he paid special attention to -the Poets' Corner. Standing before the statue of Shakespeare, he was -carried away into a long reverie on the manner in which this master -had triumphed by throwing aside all the rules of the old classic -writers, and Praeger sees in this one of the germs of Wagner's daring -reforms. The reverie ended when the patient Minna plucked him by -the sleeve and said, "Come, dear Richard, you have been standing -here for twenty minutes like one of these statues and not uttering a -word." And that was about the substance of Wagner's first experience -in London. He says in his autobiography that nothing interested him -so much as the city itself and the Houses of Parliament. He did not -visit a single theatre. - -[Footnote 10: Praeger is the only authority for the incidents of -Wagner's first visit to London.] - -He now set out for Paris by way of Boulogne, and at the latter -place he tarried four weeks, because the most influential man in -the operatic world of France, Giacomo Meyerbeer, was there enjoying -his summer rest. It was of vital importance to Wagner to make the -acquaintance of this great personage, and he did not think that the -expense of a month's stay was too much to pay for the advantage. -Meyerbeer, who was not averse to playing the dictator, received the -poor German kindly, and after reading the libretto of "Rienzi," -praised it highly. He was also flattering in his commendation of the -two acts of the music which Wagner had finished. He was dubious as to -the future of this young man, who had nothing on which to live while -he lingered about the gates of the mighty in Paris, but he promised -to do what he could for him. He said that letters of introduction -were well enough in their way, but that persistence was the most -valuable lever to success. With this advice he gave Wagner letters to -Anténor Jolly, director of the Théâtre Renaissance, which produced -musical works as well as plays; to Léon Pillet, director of the Grand -Opéra; to Schlesinger, the publisher, and to Habeneck, the famous -conductor. - -Armed with these letters, and with that naïve trust in the future -which deserted him only in his equally naïve periods of utter -despondency, Wagner set out for Paris, where he arrived in September, -1839. Only twenty-six years old, he had already produced two operas, -partly written a third, and conceived the germ of a fourth, which -was to make him famous. His experiences in Paris were to be of the -bitterest kind, but of the most vital importance to his future -career. He remained in the French capital till April 7, 1842, and -in the intervening time disclosed himself as an artist, although as -a man he nearly starved. Out of trials and tribulations are great -spirits moulded. It was necessary for Wagner to despair of pecuniary -success before he found the true path to immortal fame. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -"THE END OF A MUSICIAN IN PARIS" - - "I, poor artist, swore eternal fidelity to my - fatherland."--WAGNER - - -On arriving in Paris Wagner took a furnished apartment in the Rue de -la Tonnelerie. This was in an unfrequented quarter, but the house -was said to have been occupied once by Molière. The apartment was -cheap, a matter of much moment to Wagner. The young man at once -started out with his letters from Meyerbeer. They not only secured -him an offer for the immediate performance of one of his operas, -but they also opened many doors to him and insured him a pleasant -welcome. It is quite true, as Jullien[11] notes, that he owed all he -ever accomplished in Paris to Meyerbeer and the men to whom he had -Meyerbeer's letters. In the beginning everything was most promising. -The director of the Renaissance agreed to accept "Das Liebesverbot," -and Dumersan, a maker of vaudevilles, was set to work translating -it. Schlesinger, the publisher, induced Habeneck, the conductor of -the Conservatoire concerts, to promise to try a new overture, which -Wagner had just completed. This was the work afterward known as -"Eine Faust Ouvertüre." Wagner, delighted with his prospects, moved -to No. 25, Rue du Helder, in the "heart of elegant and artistic -Paris." - -[Footnote 11: "Richard Wagner, His Life and Works," by Adolphe -Jullien; translated by Florence Percival Hall. 2 vols. Boston, the -J.B. Millet Co.] - -But suddenly the horizon became overclouded. The Conservatory -orchestra did, indeed, try the overture, and Schlesinger inserted in -his paper, the _Gazette Musicale_, a paragraph saying, "An overture -by a young German composer of very remarkable talent, M. Wagner, -has just been rehearsed by the orchestra of the Conservatoire, and -has won unanimous applause. We hope to hear it immediately and we -will render an account of it." As a matter of fact, the Conservatory -orchestra had not been able to make head or tail of the overture, -and the Théâtre de la Renaissance, instead of producing the -"Liebesverbot," suddenly failed and the manager closed its doors. -Quite disheartened by these reverses Wagner laid aside the "Faust" -music, which he had intended to make the first movement of a "Faust" -symphony. In 1855, when he was living at Zurich, he altered this -familiar and admired overture to its present form. - -Adolphe Jullien in his life of Wagner says that "If we have only an -overture instead of a complete score of 'Faust,' we are indebted for -this loss to the gold-laced musicians of the Conservatoire in 1840." -Jullien appears to have supposed that Wagner contemplated an opera, -but this is certainly an error. On Jan. 1, 1855, Franz Liszt wrote -to Wagner and told of the completion of his "Faust" symphony. In his -reply to this letter Wagner said: - -"It is an absurd coincidence that just at this time I have been taken -with a desire to remodel my old 'Faust' overture. I have made an -entirely new score, have rewritten the instrumentation throughout, -have made many changes, and have given more expansion and importance -to the middle portion (second motive). I shall give it in a few days -at a concert here under the title of 'A Faust Overture.' The motto -will be: - - 'Der Gott, der mir im Busen wohnt, - Kann tief mein Innerstes erregen; - Der über allen meinen Kräften thront, - Er kann nach aussen nichts bewegen; - Und so ist mir das Dasein eine Last, - Der Tod erwünscht, das Leben mir verhasst!'[12] - -But I shall not publish it in any case." - -[Footnote 12: - - The God that in my breast is owned - Can deeply stir the inner sources; - The God above my powers enthroned, - He cannot change external forces, - So, by the burden of my days oppressed, - Death is desired, and Life a thing unblest! - Goethe's "_Faust_," Act I, Scene 4. - -Bayard Taylor's translation.] - -In December of the same year, nevertheless, he wrote to Liszt -confessing that the fiasco of the work was "a purifying and wholesome -punishment" for having published it in spite of his better judgment. - -Another failure of the unfortunate Paris period was in connection -with a grand entertainment which Parisians were organising in aid of -the Poles. The entertainment was to consist of the performance of an -opera, on the subject of the Duc de Guise, the libretto written by "a -noble amateur and set to music by the young Flotow." Wagner took the -score of his overture, "Polonia," to M. Duvinage, the director of the -orchestra, but this gentleman had no time to examine it. It may as -well be recorded here that this overture was lost for forty years, -and after passing through various hands came to rest in 1881 in the -possession of M. Pasdeloup, the famous Parisian conductor, from whom -Wagner recovered it. He had it played in that year to celebrate his -wife's birthday. - -Wagner was now in dire distress. He had expended all his resources, -and he could not pay for the furniture of his apartment, which he -had bought on credit. Schlesinger came to his aid once more, and -took from him several articles for the _Gazette Musicale_. The -first of these, "On German Music," appeared on July 12 and 26, -1840. A translation of it will be found in Vol. VII. of W. Ashton -Ellis's edition of Wagner's prose works. Schlesinger had also at -this time bought the score of Donizetti's "La Favorita," and Wagner -was set to work making a piano arrangement of the music. Through -the help of M. Dumersan, who had begun the abandoned translation of -"Das Liebesverbot" into French, he obtained a commission to write -music to a vaudeville, entitled "La Déscente de la Courtille," -which Dumersan and Dupeuty had written. Gasparini[13] says that -the bouffe singers of that time were incapable of singing anything -more difficult than the music of "La Belle Hélène" and they quickly -decided that the score "of the young German was quite impossible of -execution." Gasparini also notes that there was one chanson, "Allons -à la Courtille," which had "its hour of celebrity." M. Jullien is -probably right in saying that this song was not the work of Wagner, -and Mr. Edward Dannreuther in his excellent article in Grove's -"Dictionary of Music" says that it has not been traced. He next -endeavoured to earn a few francs by writing songs. He made a setting -of a translation of Heinrich Heine's "Two Grenadiers," but it was not -so good as that made by Schumann in the previous year, and singers -did not take to it kindly. He composed also at this time "L'Attente" -by Victor Hugo, "Mignonne" by Ronsard, and "Dors, mon enfant." Much -as we like these songs now, at the time of their composition Wagner -could not get them sung or published. "Mignonne" was printed in the -_Gazette Musicale_, and with two others was afterward reprinted in -Lewald's _Europa_. Wagner wrote the editor a letter begging that he -might be paid for them at once. They brought him in from $2 to $3.75 -each. - -[Footnote 13: R. Wagner, par A. de Gasparini, Paris, 1866.] - -It was in the midst of these trials that Wagner wrote his famous -story entitled "A Pilgrimage to Beethoven," which attracted the -attention of Hector Berlioz. In a review of a concert organised by -the _Gazette Musicale_ the distinguished Frenchman spoke of the -articles in that paper, and said: "For a long time to come will be -read one by M. Wagner, entitled 'A Pilgrimage to Beethoven.'" As -M. Jullien says, "Little did Berlioz know how truly he spoke." In -the intervals of his labours at breadwinning Wagner worked at his -"Rienzi." But he sank deeper and deeper into the mire of poverty. -His few friends, Laube, Heine, and Schlesinger, could do little to -cheer him, though the last named furnished him with the means of -life. Berlioz, whom he had met, was not sympathetic to him, though he -always cherished a high regard for the Frenchman's talent. - -Schlesinger again came to the rescue and decided to produce at one -of the _Gazette Musicale_ concerts a composition by Wagner. The -"Columbus" overture was accordingly thus performed on Feb. 4, 1841. -Schumann made a note of the performance in his paper, and Wagner, -encouraged by this remembrance of him in Germany, sent the score to -London to Jullien. But the manuscript, postage unpaid, came home -to its maker, and he was too poor to take it from the postman. -Accordingly that official put it back into his bag and walked off -with it. And that was the last that was seen of this overture. -Wagner's cup of misery seemed now to be brimming over. He abandoned -all hope of success in the volatile French capital. He fled from his -accustomed haunts, shunned the society of musicians, all mercenary -and insincere as they seemed, and sought that of scholars and -literary men, who at least had artistic ideals. He gave up all hope -of having "Rienzi" produced at the Grand Opéra, and turned his weary -eyes toward Dresden. There was an opera with an inspiring history; a -theatre with a long established routine; and a company which included -such artists as Tichatschek and Schroeder-Devrient. - -Meyerbeer was master of the operatic world in Paris, and Wagner, who -found him amiable as a man, could not sympathise with the blatant -theatricalism of his "Les Huguenots" and "Robert le Diable." Halévy, -he felt, had suffered his pristine enthusiasm to fade before the easy -temptation of monetary success. Auber, whom he had once loved for his -"Muette," he now despised for his unblushing search after popular -approval. Only Berlioz pleased him, and he not fully. "He differs -by the whole breadth of heaven," he says in the autobiography, -"from his Parisian colleagues, for he makes no music for gold. But -he cannot write for the sake of purest art; he lacks all sense of -beauty. He stands completely isolated upon his own position; by his -side he has nothing but a troupe of devotees, who, shallow, and -without the smallest spark of judgment, greet in him the creator -of a brand new musical system and completely turn his head;--the -rest of the world avoids him as a madman." In Paris he met Liszt, -who was afterward his best friend, but at first was not pleasing to -him. He heard him play a fantasia on airs from "Robert le Diable" -at a concert in honour of Beethoven, and his sincere German heart -was outraged at such desecration. He felt that the virtuoso was -dependent on the public fancy and shallowness, and he compared his -own independence with this state in an article entitled "Du Métier de -Virtuose et de l'Indépendence des Compositeurs: Fantasie Esthétique -d'un Musicien," which he published in the _Gazette Musicale_ of Oct. -18, 1840. - -On Nov. 19 of the same year the score of "Rienzi" was completed, and -on Dec. 4 he sent it to Von Lüttichau, the director of the opera at -Dresden, accompanied by two letters, one to the director himself and -the other to Friedrich August II, King of Saxony. Neither of these -letters seems to have effected anything, and Wagner then applied to -Meyerbeer, who on returning to Paris in the summer of 1840 had found -his young friend in dire distress. Meyerbeer wrote to the intendant, -Von Lüttichau. "Herr Richard Wagner of Leipsic," he said, "is a young -composer who has not only a thorough musical education, but who -possesses much imagination, as well as general literary culture, -and whose predicament certainly merits in every way sympathy in his -native land." Three months after the writing of this letter Wagner -received word that his opera had been accepted at Dresden, but it -was sixteen months later when it was produced. Although he knew -that in Fischer, the chorusmaster, Reissiger, the conductor, and -Tichatschek, the tenor, who saw golden opportunities in the title -rôle, he had friends at court, yet he suffered intense anxiety during -the period between the acceptance and the production of the work. -The correspondence with Fischer and Heine well shows the extent of -this.[14] - -[Footnote 14: R. Wagner: Letters to Uhlig, Fischer, and Heine. -London, 1890.] - -Meanwhile Meyerbeer, wishing to do something to give immediate help -to the unfortunate young man, placed him in communication with Léon -Pillet, the director of the Grand Opéra. "I had already," says Wagner -in the autobiography, "provided myself for this emergency with an -outline plot. The 'Flying Dutchman,' whose acquaintance I had made -upon the ocean, had never ceased to fascinate my phantasy; I had also -made the acquaintance of H. Heine's remarkable version of this legend -in a number of his 'Salon'; and it was especially his treatment of -the redemption of this Ahasuerus of the seas--borrowed from a Dutch -play under the same title--that placed within my hands all the -material for turning the legend into an opera subject." Wagner rushed -to Pillet with this sketch for the book of the "Flying Dutchman," and -the suggestion that a French text-book be prepared for him to set to -music. - -Pillet accepted the sketch and there was much talk about the choice -of a person to make a suitable French arrangement. Suddenly Meyerbeer -left Paris again, and no sooner was his back turned than Pillet told -the young German that he liked "Le Vaisseau-Fantôme" so well that -he would be glad to sell it to a composer to whom he had long ago -promised a libretto. Wagner naturally declined to accede to such a -proposition and asked for the return of his manuscript. But Pillet -was unwilling to part with it. Wagner left the manuscript in his -hands, hoping that Meyerbeer would return and straighten out the -affair. Pursued by creditors and harassed by want, he now left Paris -and went to reside in the suburb of Meudon. Here he heard by chance -that his sketches for "Der Fliegende Holländer" had been placed in -the hands of M. Paul Foucher for arrangement, and that he was in a -fair way to be cheated out of his book. So in the end he accepted -$100 for it, and was thankful to get that. - -"Le Vaisseau-Fantôme," libretto by Foucher and Revoil, music by -Pierre Louis Phillipe Dietsch, chorusmaster and afterward conductor -at the opera, was produced Nov. 9, 1842. It was a distinguished -failure and was speedily consigned to oblivion. Meanwhile Wagner, -who was not forbidden by the terms of his agreement with Pillet to -write a German book of his own after his sketches, sat down to pen -the text of "Der Fliegende Holländer," which still lives. In seven -weeks he had written the whole work except the overture, and then his -$100 were gone, and he had to revert to hack work to earn bread. He -returned to Paris and lived most humbly at No. 10 Rue Jacob, where -he made piano scores of Halévy's "Guitarréro" and "La Reine de -Chypre." - -It was at this time, too, in the beginning of the year 1841, that he -wrote his pathetic sketch, "The End of a Musician in Paris," in which -he delineated his own hopes and disappointments, and made the poor -man die with the words, "I believe in God, Mozart, and Beethoven." -When the score of the "Dutchman" was completed, he hastened to send -it to his fatherland, but from Munich and Leipsic came the answer -that it was not suitable to Germany. "Fool that I was!" he says; -"I had fancied it was fitted for Germany alone, since it is struck -on chords that can only vibrate in the German breast." Once more -he turned for help to the musical dictator, Meyerbeer, who was in -Berlin. He sent the new work to him with a request that he get it -taken up by the opera in that city. The opera was accepted speedily, -but there was no prospect of immediate production. Nor did Wagner see -any prospects of any kind, except starvation, in Paris. - -All through the winter of 1841-42 he hoarded his money in the hope -of going to Germany for the production of his "Rienzi." In the same -winter began the voluminous correspondence with his Dresden friends, -Wilhelm Fischer and Ferdinand Heine. The former was addressed -ceremoniously in the first letters as a new acquaintance. The latter -was an old friend of the Wagner family. In his letters to these -two men the poet-composer poured out the tortured anxiety of his -soul over the promised production of "Rienzi." He gave invaluable -suggestions as to the cast and the performance. He besought first one -and then the other of the friends to let him know how and when the -work would at length be given. He wrote to the artists, Tichatschek -and Schroeder-Devrient. They paid no attention to him. Who was he, -this unknown young composer, to trouble the darlings of the public? -He grovelled before them and they spurned him. Reissiger's "Adèle de -Foix" must be given before "Rienzi," for Reissiger was the conductor -at Dresden. Then came Halévy's "Guitarréro," which Wagner knew well -indeed. And finally when "Rienzi" seemed likely to get a hearing, -Mme. Schroeder-Devrient decided that she needed a revival of Gluck's -"Armida." Poor Wagner! He wrote of Schroeder-Devrient to Heine: - - "I believe I have already written her a dozen letters: - that she has not sent me a single word in reply does not - surprise me very much, because I know how some people - detest letter-writing; but that she has never sent me - indirectly a word or a hint disquiets me greatly. Great - Heavens! so very much depends upon her; it would be - truly humane on her part if she would only send me this - message--perhaps by her chambermaid--'Calm yourself! I am - interested in your cause!'" - -At length patience became impossible. He was eager to be on the spot -and to exert his personal influence. Furthermore he wished his wife -to take the baths at Teplitz. So on April 7, 1842, he was able to -turn his face from Paris, the scene of so much achievement, so much -disappointment, and move toward his native land. "For the first -time," he says at the end of the autobiographic sketch, "I saw the -Rhine. With hot tears in my eyes, I, poor artist, swore eternal -fidelity to my German fatherland." But a little later the poor -artist's name was on every tongue, in every print; and the great -Wagner war broke over Germany. For genius always arouses opposition, -and there are few who can follow the seven league strides of a -creative mind. - - - - -CHAPTER V - -BEGINNING OF FAME AND HOSTILITY - - "Before the world of modern art I now could hope no more - for life."--WAGNER - - -The excursion to Teplitz in the early summer of 1842 for his wife's -health was of great importance in the development of Richard Wagner, -for it was there and then that he completed the outline of the book -of "Tannhäuser." When he had finished "Der Fliegende Holländer," he -searched for a new subject. That he had not yet discovered in what -direction his genius called him is demonstrated by the fact that he -was attracted by the story of the conquest of Apulia and Sicily by -Manfred, the son of the Emperor Friedrich II. He made a plan for a -book to be called "Die Sarazener." In this Mme. Schroeder-Devrient -was to have the rôle of a half-sister of Manfred, a prophetess, who -led the Saracens to victory and secured Manfred's coronation. The -plot was shown to Mme. Schroeder-Devrient some years later, but it -did not please her, and the work was dropped. And now there fell -into Wagner's hands a version of the "Tannhäuser" legend, and his -mind went flying back to Hoffmann's "Sängerkrieg," which he had -read in his youth. He started to run down the different versions of -the story, and in so doing came upon the legends of "Parzival" and -"Lohengrin." But it was the "Tannhäuser" legend which first absorbed -him, and at once he began the plan which he completed at Teplitz. - -The general rehearsals for "Rienzi" began in Dresden in July, for -in spite of the anxiety of Wagner and his lack of information, the -preparations for the production of his work had been going on very -well. The summer past, the rehearsals were again pushed forward, and -the composer found valuable allies in Tichatschek, who was enamoured -of the title rôle, and Fischer, who saw the power and splendour of -the glowing score. For though "Rienzi" is a work entirely opposed -to the true Wagnerian methods and style, it is one of the greatest -creations of the real French school, to which it strictly belongs. -So on Oct. 20, 1842, the first of the Wagnerian works which still -hold the stage, was produced at the Dresden opera and Wagner awoke -the next morning to find himself famous. The performance was an -almost startling success. Singers, orchestra, public, and critics -were alike amazed and overwhelmed by the enormous breadth of style, -mastery of technic, and maturity of methods shown in the work. -Although the performance occupied six hours, the enthusiasm of the -audience was not abated. The next morning Wagner went to the theatre -to indicate the cuts which should be made in the over-long work, -and was met with a storm of protests by the singers. Tichatschek -declared that he would not spare a measure. "It is heavenly!" he -exclaimed. A second and a third performance were given with growing -receipts. At the third Reissiger resigned the conductor's bâton to -the young composer, and the public went wild with approval. All the -wretchedness of Paris was gone and forgotten. The star of genius was -in the ascendant; the Rhine had been Wagner's Rubicon. - -In subsequent performances the work was divided into two parts, the -first and second acts being given on one evening, and the other three -on another. It was five years, however, before the opera travelled -as far as the stage of the opera at Berlin. Thence it went out into -all the world. But it was the end of what may be called Wagner's -first artistic period. The work was planned and executed on the -conventional lines of the Meyerbeerian grand opera, and the music -was a compound of French and Italian styles, with here and there a -burst of the real Wagner of the future. The artistic convictions -which were to develop into a complete theory of the music drama -in the mind of Wagner had come to him in the composition of the -"Flying Dutchman," and this work became the starting point of what is -commonly called his second period, in which he produced it, together -with "Tannhäuser" and "Lohengrin." - -The winter at Dresden passed happily, for the young composer was -enjoying the first fruits of success. Heinrich Laube, the old friend -of Wagner and editor of the _Journal for the Polite World_, asked the -composer to furnish material for an autobiographic sketch, and this -Wagner wrote. This sketch will be found in the first volume of the -collected prose writings of the master. It ends with the start from -Paris for Dresden. The music of "Rienzi" began to be heard on the -concert stage, and the name of Wagner, to be noised about as that of -a man of high promise. It would have been extremely easy for him to -achieve pecuniary success by writing more works on the popular lines -of "Rienzi," but it was not in the man to sacrifice his artistic -conscience to public favour. Already the ideas which were to make -him famous in time, but which were first to throw musical Europe -into a ferment of dispute, had taken firm possession of his mind. In -March, 1843, August Roeckel, second music director at Dresden, and a -lifelong friend of Wagner, wrote to Ferdinand Praeger in London: - - "Henceforth I drop myself into a well, because I am going - to speak of the man whose greatness overshadows that of all - other men I have ever met, either in France or England--our - friend Richard Wagner. I say advisedly, our friend, for - he knows you from my description as well as I do. You - cannot imagine how the daily intercourse with him develops - my admiration for his genius. His earnestness in art is - religious; he looks upon the drama as a pulpit from which - the people should be taught, and his views on a combination - of the different arts for that purpose open up an exciting - theory, as new as it is ideal." - -This theory of a combination in one organic whole, of all the arts -tributary to the drama, each part to be as important, as essential as -the other, was the theory which Wagner now began to practice, which -he first attempted to illustrate in his "Flying Dutchman," and which -he subsequently preached in his principal prose writings. It was the -theory which met with active and obstinate opposition from those who -either would not or could not climb to Wagner's artistic altitude, -and who preferred to see in the opera nothing but a field for the -display of pretty vocal pieces and voices trained to sing them. -Wagner's theory made the music and the singing subordinate to the -dramatic design, transformed them from ultimate objects into means -of expression; and this was to his contemporaries a revolutionary -idea for which they were not prepared. - -"Der Fliegende Holländer" was produced at the Dresden opera on -January 2, 1843, with Mme. Schroeder-Devrient as Senta, and Wagner -in the conductor's chair. The work proved to be a disappointment to -the public, which had looked for another "Rienzi" with glittering -processions, splendid scenery, and groupings, and imposing action -coupled with brilliant music. The simple story and action of the -"Dutchman," interpreted largely by music of a purely emotional -character, was too serious for the Dresden audience, and at that -period for audiences elsewhere. To us of the present day this work -is the essence of simplicity, and much of its music seems trivially -light. But to the Germans of 1843 it was a most sombre tragedy. - -"My friends," Wagner says, "were dismayed at the result; they seemed -anxious to obliterate this impression on them and the public by an -enthusiastic resumption of 'Rienzi.' I was myself in sufficiently ill -humour to remain silent and leave the 'Flying Dutchman' undefended." -The critics of the day were nonplussed by the total departure from -the recognised conventions of the contemporaneous stage, and they -talked a deal of nonsense about the lack of melody in the work, a -sort of nonsense which some old-fashioned persons have not done -talking even yet. But we must remember that this new work was an -artistic revelation; and the general public never likes these. -It desires only to be amused in the theatre, and only after much -struggling yields to the power of genius, and renders homage to true -works of art. Wagner himself realised that the general public could -not be looked to for support in his radical departure from the easy -path of tuneful dalliance, in which it was accustomed to travel. In -his "Communication to My Friends" he says: - - "From Berlin, where I was entirely unknown, I received from - two utter strangers, who had been attracted towards me by - the impression which 'The Flying Dutchman' had produced - upon them, the first complete satisfaction which I had been - permitted to enjoy, with the invitation to continue in the - particular direction I had marked out. From this moment I - lost more and more from sight the veritable public. The - opinion of a few intelligent men took the place in my mind - of the opinion of the masses, which can never be wholly - apprehended, although it had been the object of my labour - in my first attempts, when my eyes were not yet open to the - light." - -On May 22 the opera was given at Riga, and on June 5 at Cassel under -direction of the famous composer, violinist, and conductor, Ludwig -Spohr. The poem had been submitted to him and he had spoken of it -as a little masterpiece. He had sent for the music, and at once -decided to produce the work. It seems strange that Spohr, a composer -of tendencies so different from Wagner's and so old a man (he was -sixty-nine), should have been one of the first to perceive the power -of the new genius. But in a letter to his friend Lüders he wrote: - - "This work, though it comes near the boundary of the new - romantic school _à la_ Berlioz, and is giving me unheard-of - trouble with its immense difficulties, yet interests me in - the highest degree since it is obviously the product of - pure inspiration, and does not, like so much of our modern - operatic music, betray in every bar the striving to make a - sensation or to please. There is much creative imagination - in it, its invention is thoroughly noble, and it is well - written for the voices, while the orchestral part, though - enormously difficult, and somewhat overladen, is rich in - new effects and will certainly, in our large theatre, be - perfectly clear and intelligible."[15] - -[Footnote 15: Spohr quotes this letter in his "Autobiography."] - -The completeness of the popular failure of the "Flying Dutchman" -may be estimated from the fact that after the first performances in -Dresden it disappeared from the _répertoire_ of that opera for twenty -years. It was produced in Berlin in 1844, and it was ten years after -that when it was heard again anywhere. Wagner himself did not realise -either the fulness or the significance of the failure of this work. -He had only begun to experiment with his reformatory ideas, and that -the public was not ready to accept them with acclaim could not have -amazed him, though it doubtless brought him from the rosy heights -of sanguinity down to the shadier levels of dull fact. To awaken -from a hopeful dream, however illusive, is painful; and Wagner was -momentarily shocked and hurt. But as he had not yet grasped all the -details of his own theories, so he failed to perceive the utterness -of the public inability to comprehend his dawning purposes. It was -not till after the production of his "Tannhäuser," which some of his -most ardent admirers still regard as poetically his noblest tragedy, -that he realised the solitariness of his genius, the shallowness of a -public trained up to be lightly pleased. - -Meanwhile he was appointed to a very important professional post. -The deaths of Kapellmeister Morlacchi in 1841 and "Musik-director" -Rastrelli in 1842 had made two vacancies in the Dresden Theatre. -Wagner was one of those who applied for the secondary position at -a salary of 1200 thalers (about $900) a year. Von Lüttichau, the -Intendant (manager), excited by the success of "Rienzi," thought -he had found a rare jewel, and supported Wagner, with the result -that the composer was appointed Hofkapellmeister at 1500 thalers -(about $1125). The position of Hofkapellmeister also carried with -it life incumbency, and a pension on retirement. On January 10, -1843, he conducted Weber's "Euryanthe," this being the customary -public "trial" representation. He then made an unsuccessful trip -to Berlin to try to push his "Rienzi." Before the close of the -month his appointment was formally made, and his first duty was to -assist Hector Berlioz, who arrived in Dresden on February 1, in the -rehearsals for his concerts.[16] - -[Footnote 16: In his letters from Germany Berlioz wrote of Wagner -thus: "As for the young Kapellmeister, Richard Wagner, who lived for -a long while in Paris without succeeding in making himself known -otherwise than as the author of some articles published in the -_Gazette Musicale_, he exercised his authority for the first time -in helping me in my rehearsals, which he did with zeal and a very -good will. The ceremony of his presentation to the orchestra and -taking the oath took place the day after my arrival, and I found -him in all the intoxication of a very natural joy. After having -undergone in France a thousand privations and all the trials to which -obscurity is exposed, Richard Wagner, on coming back to Saxony, his -native country, had the daring to undertake and the happiness to -achieve the composition of the text and music of an opera in five -acts ('Rienzi'). This work had a brilliant success in Dresden. It -was soon followed by 'The Flying Dutchman,' an opera in three acts, -of which also he wrote both text and music. Whatever opinion one -may hold of these works, it must be acknowledged that men capable -of accomplishing this double literary and musical task twice with -success are not common, and that M. Wagner has given enough proof -of his capacity to excite interest and to rivet the attention of -the world upon himself. This was very well understood by the King -of Saxony; and the day that he gave his first kapellmeister Richard -Wagner for a colleague, thus assuring the latter's subsistence, all -friends of art must have said to His Majesty what Jean Bart answered -Louis XIV. when he made him a commander of a squadron: 'Sire, you -have done well.'"] - -He served seven years as conductor at Dresden and in that time -rehearsed and conducted works by Weber, Spohr, Spontini, Mendelssohn, -Mozart, Beethoven, Marschner, Gluck, and others, gaining an immense -amount of valuable experience. The arrangement of Gluck's "Iphigenie -in Aulis," which he made for the performance of February 22, 1847, is -published and approved by critical authorities. - -Concerts were given by the court orchestra, and in these he conducted -the leading orchestral works, making a special study of the -Beethoven symphonies. To this labour he applied all the results of -his early studies of Beethoven, and his own ideas about conducting, -together with some thoughts formed in listening to the Conservatoire -concerts in Paris. The results of these studies and experiences he -subsequently embodied in a book called "Ueber das Dirigen." (On -Conducting). Among his other duties a certain amount of attention -had to be given to the music of the Hofkirche. The choir consisted -of fourteen men and twelve boys, and there was a full orchestra of -fifty, including trumpets and trombones. Wagner said to Mr. Edward -Dannreuther, "The echoes and reverberations in the building were -deafening. I wanted to relieve the hard-working members of the -orchestra and female voices, and introduce true Catholic church music -_a cappella_. As a specimen I prepared Palestrina's 'Stabat Mater,' -and suggested other pieces, but my efforts failed." Wagner was as -true an artist in the matter of church music as he was in that of the -stage, and he returned with joy to the glorious treasure-house of -Roman art; but he found his public just as unfit for that as for his -new dispensations in the drama. - -Wagner was made conductor of the Liedertafel, a chorus of men -organised in 1839, and also of the Saengerfest of 1843. It took place -in July of that year and the composer wrote for it "Das Liebesmahl -der Apostel," a biblical scene. The story of this celebration of -the Lord's Supper by the Apostles was this: The disciples being -assembled for the feast, the Apostles arrive with the information -that the penalty of death has been prescribed for teaching the -Christian faith. Alarm fills every breast and the assembly prays -to the Father to send them the Holy Spirit. Heavenly voices sound -from above, telling the supplicants that their prayer has been -granted. Then follows a convulsion of nature, caused by the descent -of the Spirit, and the Apostles and Disciples go forth to preach -the Gospel. A chorus of forty men represented the Disciples, and -the heavenly voices were consigned to an invisible choir singing in -the dome of the building. This bit of stage management, repeated in -"Parsifal," was the only feature of the work that attracted special -attention.[17] The correspondent of the Paris _Gazette Musicale_, -Schlesinger's paper, wrote, "This last work, the conception of which -is most daring, has produced an extraordinary effect, and one which -it is impossible to describe. The King after the concert was over -summoned the young author to him, and testified his satisfaction in -the most affectionate terms." But the _Gazette Musicale's_ Dresden -correspondent trusted much to the effect of distance in magnifying -the size of a popular demonstration. Wagner himself thought well -of this work, and lamented in a letter to Liszt in 1852 that choral -societies did not perform it. But the truth is that the most -noticeable qualities of the composition are purely theatrical, -showing that Wagner's genius was entirely for the stage and not for -the concert platform. - -[Footnote 17: In reality the most striking feature of this work is -the complete silence of the orchestra till the descent of the Holy -Ghost. The composition, however, is weak.] - -Spontini, the aged composer of "La Vestale," visited Dresden when -his work was produced under Wagner's direction, and was treated -by the young conductor with great veneration in spite of his -troublesome demands for adherence to his old manner of performing -the work. Wagner also entered heart and soul into a project which -the Liedertafel had long cherished, namely, to carry the remains of -Weber from London to Germany and inter them in the family vault at -Dresden. The Liedertafel had raised some money by concerts, and now -after Wagner had overcome the opposition of both the King and the -Intendant, an operatic performance was given for the aid of the plan. -The receipts, added to the funds already secured and augmented by -the proceeds of a benefit given in Berlin by Meyerbeer, enabled the -Liedertafel to send Weber's oldest son to London for the remains. -He returned in December, and on the fourteenth of that month the -ceremony of reinterment took place. The funeral music was arranged -by Wagner from two passages in "Euryanthe," and he delivered the -funeral oration, which was pronounced a masterly effort. It may be -read in his collected prose writings. Taken all in all, the work of -Wagner outside of the field of operatic composition was important -while he was in Dresden. He certainly amazed the Germans themselves -by his puissant revelations of the possibilities of the Beethoven -symphonies, and his interpretations of the works of other composers -were so striking and so far out of the conventional ruts into which -the easy-going kapellmeisters of the country had fallen that a -coterie of bitter opponents to him arose. Among them he was known -as Wagner, the iconoclast, and this deceptive appellation, applied -to him because he was not satisfied with indolent mediocrity and -slothful error, clung to him for many years, an empty formula which -its users could not justify. - -It was at this time that, smarting under the failure of his public -to understand him, and half inclined to return to the easy path of -popular success indicated by the triumph of "Rienzi," he showed -to Mme. Schroeder-Devrient the sketch of "Manfred." She, however, -was not pleased with the story and dissuaded him from attempting -to develop it. That his own artistic conscience was at work, too, -is shown by the words written by him in the "Communication to My -Friends." - - "Through the happy change in the aspect of my outward - lot; through the hopes I cherished of its even still more - favourable development in the future; and finally through - my personal, and in a sense, intoxicating contact with a - new and well-inclined surrounding, a passion for enjoyment - had sprung up within me, that led my inner nature, formed - among the struggles and impressions of a painful past, - astray from its own peculiar path. A general instinct that - urges every man to take life as he finds it now pointed - me, in my particular relations as artist, to a path which, - on the other hand, must soon and bitterly disgust me. - This instinct could only have been appeased in life on - condition of my seeking as artist to wrest myself renown - and pleasure by a complete subordination of my true nature - to the demands of the public taste in art. I should have - had to submit myself to the mode, and to speculation on its - weaknesses; and here, on this point at least, my feeling - showed me clearly that, with an actual entry on that path, - I must inevitably be engulfed in my own loathing. Thus the - pleasures of life presented themselves to my feeling in - the shape alone of what our modern world can offer to the - senses; and this again appeared attainable by me as artist - solely along the direction which I had already learnt to - recognise as the exploitation of our public art-morass. In - actual life I was at like time confronted--in the person - of a woman for whom I had a sincere admiration--with the - phenomenon that a longing akin to my own could only imagine - itself contented with the paltriest return of trivial love; - a delusion so completely threadbare that it could never - really mask its nature from the inner need. - - "If at last I turned impatiently away and owed the strength - of my repugnance to the independence already developed in - my nature both as artist and as man, so did that double - revolt of man and artist inevitably take on the form of a - yearning for appeasement in a higher, nobler element; an - element which, in its contrast to the only pleasures that - the material present reads in modern life and modern art, - could but appear to me in the guise of a pure, chaste, - virginal, unseizable and unapproachable ideal of love. What - in fine could this love-yearning, the noblest thing my - heart could feel, what other could it be than a longing for - release from the present, for absorption into an element of - endless love, a love denied to earth, and reachable through - the gates of death alone? And what again at bottom could - such a longing be but the yearning of love; aye, of a real - love, seeded in the soil of fullest sentience--yet a love - that could never come to fruitage on the loathsome soil - of modern sentience? The above is an exact account of the - mood in which I was when the unlaid ghost of 'Tannhäuser' - returned again and urged me to complete his poem." - -In these sentences one can easily find the mind of the Wagner who -wrote "Tristan und Isolde," and this statement of the mood of -the time explains why "Tannhäuser" stands more closely related -to "Tristan" than any other of the master's works. Urged now -by his artistic soul and dissuaded by the intuition of Mme. -Schroeder-Devrient from yielding to a dangerous impulse, he turned -once more to "Tannhäuser" and completed the work in April, 1844. -"With this work I penned my death warrant," he says; "before the -world of modern art I now could hope no more for life. This I felt; -but as yet I knew it not with full distinctness:--that knowledge I -was not to gain till later." - -Every work that Wagner wrote was, at least in so far as it was -related to his own life, epoch-making; and the birth of "Tannhäuser" -marks a departure so wide that it must receive special consideration. -The great Wagner war began with the production of this drama, and -in it the composer's opponents first discovered those "unmusical" -traits which they celebrated for half a century, till the applause -of the civilised world drowned out their noise. The hint at the -dissatisfaction of the man with the "paltriest return of trivial -love" shows us that the inability of the good Minna to enter into the -lofty aspirations of her husband and her inevitable sympathy with the -false impulses urging toward swift pecuniary success had already set -at work in the mind of Wagner those dangerous longings which were -eventually to lead to their separation. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -"LOHENGRIN" AND "DIE MEISTERSINGER" - - "How curious I am to hear Liszt about it."--WAGNER - - -When "Tannhäuser" had been completed Wagner went to Marienbad to -spend the summer. While there he made the first drafts of his -"Meistersinger" and "Lohengrin." He says: "As with the Athenians a -merry satyr-play followed the tragedy, so, during that excursion, I -suddenly conceived the idea of a comic play which might follow my -minstrel's contest in the Wartburg as a significant satyr-play. This -was the Mastersingers of Nuremberg with Hans Sachs at their head. -Scarcely had I finished the sketch of this plot when the plan of -'Lohengrin' began to engage my attention, and left me no rest until -I had worked it out in detail." Returning to Dresden he devoted -himself to the preparations for the production of "Tannhäuser." -For, in spite of the failure of "Der Fliegende Holländer," the -Intendant had not wholly lost faith in the young man. August -Roeckel, who was now always at Wagner's side, urged so eloquently -the need of new scenery for this drama that painters were brought -from Paris. The best singers available were placed at Wagner's -disposal, and they vied with one another in studying this, to them, -almost incomprehensible work. Tichatschek had to have the music of -"Tannhäuser" lowered for him. Johanna Wagner, the daughter of the -composer's brother Albert, was specially engaged for Elizabeth, and -Schroeder-Devrient took Venus, while Mitterwurzer was the Wolfram. -Wagner wrote an explanation of his poem, and placed it at the head -of the libretto, which was sold at the door. On Oct. 19, 1845, the -work was performed for the first time. The opening scene went for -nothing. Schroeder-Devrient, who did not like the music of Venus, -sang it badly, and the audience lost the entire significance of the -episode. The ensuing scene went well and the popular septet at the -end of the act gained the composer a recall. The march in the second -act pleased, but the contest in the hall of song dragged listlessly. -The evening star song was liked, but then came the true Wagner, the -Wagner of the uncompromising music drama. The return of Tannhäuser -and his despairing narrative were wholly lost on the audience. The -public was unable to understand the aims of a man who, having a -heroic tenor on the stage in a grand situation, would not write a -pealing aria for him, but persisted in making him tell a story in a -long declamatory recitative. The master's intent to put the dramatic -situation before them was not discerned. All that was seen was -that he would not write a pretty song when he might have done so. -"Tannhäuser" reached its fourth performance on Nov. 2. The following -day Wagner wrote to his friend Carl Galliard in Berlin, sending him a -copy of the score: - - "I have gained a big action with my 'Tannhäuser.' Let me - give you a very short account of a few of the facts. Owing - to the hoarseness of some of the singers, the second - performance was played a week after the first; this was - very bad, for in the long interval ignorance and erroneous - and absurd views, fostered by my enemies, who exerted - themselves vigorously, had full scope for swaggering - about; and when the moment of the second performance at - length arrived, my opera was on the point of failing; the - house was not well filled; opposition! prejudice! Luckily, - however, all the singers were as enthusiastic as ever; - intelligence made a way for itself, and the third act, - somewhat shortened, was especially successful; after the - singers had been called out, there was a tumultuous cry - for me. I have now formed a nucleus among the public; at - the third performance there was a well-filled house and an - enthusiastic reception of the work. After every act the - singers and the author were tumultuously applauded; in the - third act at the words, 'Heinrich, du bist erlöst,' the - house resounded with an outbreak of enthusiasm. Yesterday - at length the fourth performance took place before a house - crammed to suffocation; after every act the singers were - called out, and after them on each occasion the author; - after the second act there was a regular tumult. Whenever - I show myself people greet me enthusiastically. My dear - Galliard, this is indeed a rare success, and under the - circumstances one for which I scarcely hoped." - -But in a short time Wagner realised that all the applause was for -the popular numbers in his work, and for the stage pictures and -ensembles. The drama as a whole had missed fire. The public did not -know what Wagner designed. The ethical meaning of his play was hidden -from the people. Its artistic purport was undiscerned. The public -still went to the theatre to see the pretty pictures and hear the -pretty tunes. Of the conception of an opera as the highest form of -poetic drama they were as ignorant as they had ever been. A few years -later Wagner, in recalling this, wrote in the "Communication to My -Friends": - - "The public had shown me plainly by its enthusiastic - reception of 'Rienzi' and by the colder treatment of - the 'Dutchman,' what I must offer it to win approval. - Its expectations I disappointed utterly. Confused and - dissatisfied it left the first performance of 'Tannhäuser.' - I was overwhelmed by a feeling of complete isolation. - The few friends who heartily sympathised with me were - themselves so depressed by my painful position that the - perception of this sympathetic ill-humour was the only - friendly sign about me." - -From this time it is possible to trace two features in the career -of Wagner. The first was a ceaseless effort to spread by polemical -writings the meaning of his doctrines, and the second was a somewhat -reckless determination to abide by them, come what might. Wagner has -been charged with grave neglect of the practical affairs of life. -He was interminably in debt. He borrowed money right and left, and -seemed to entertain an idea that the world ought to support such a -genius as he while he was pursuing his vast projects. This was not -exactly the vein of Wagner's thought, though his reckless methods of -expression might easily justify the belief that it was. The man was -aflame with the fire of his own genius. He knew what it was in him to -produce, and he rebelled bitterly against the constant pressure of -his daily needs to turn him aside, to force him to write pot-boilers -and abandon his vast conceptions. That a man with such an artistic -conscience as Wagner's could not compromise we can easily understand; -and the struggle of the ensuing years began with the decision to -bring the public to him, and not to descend to the flowery level on -which it reposed. - -Criticism of Wagner's writings at this time was of the most -discouraging sort. In Dresden, for instance, the leading commentator -was one Schladebach. This gentleman was, perhaps, a perfectly honest -critic, but he was incompetent to discern the importance of a -departure from the beaten path. He constituted himself the champion -of classicism, for which poor conventionality is so often and so -easily mistaken. When a number of famous masters have laid down the -plan of opera, it is extremely confusing to a poor critic to have a -stranger appear and propose a wholly different method of treating -the form. Schladebach was incapable of understanding the theories -and aims of Wagner; so he praised whatever was good according to -the old models, and condemned what departed from them. He was the -correspondent of the leading papers of many German cities, and -consequently the belief was spread abroad that, while this man Wagner -had some talent, he was unpractical and hopelessly eccentric. The -managers paid no attention to him, in many cases they did not even -look at the scores which he sent them. - -Robert Schumann, who went to live in Dresden in the fall of 1844, -wrote to Dorn in 1846, "I wish you could see 'Tannhäuser'; it -contains deeper, more original, and altogether an hundredfold -better things than his previous operas--at the same time a good -deal that is musically trivial. On the whole, Wagner may become of -great importance and significance to the stage, and I am sure he -is possessed of the needful courage." Unfortunately the pressure -of the general opinion of the time proved to be too strong even -for Schumann, and a few years later he wrote that Wagner was "not -a good musician." Spohr, who produced "Tannhäuser" in 1853, wrote, -"The opera contains much that is new and beautiful, also several -ugly attacks on one's ears." In another place he complains of -the "absence of definite rhythm and the frequent lack of rounded -periods." In none of the contemporaneous criticism, except that -written by Wagner's intimates, can one find anything to show that the -writers had discerned the artistic purpose of the composer. It is not -strange that he felt that he stood alone. - -Nor is it, on the whole, strange that he was misunderstood. As -for the critics, they had formed their standards of opera on the -masterpieces of Meyerbeer, Spontini, and Rossini. Even in Mozart they -were unable to find justification for Wagner's ideas, for it was his -novelty in form that confused them. The public had long placed opera -in the category of "amusements." It went to the opera house to hear -arias, duos, quartets, sung by great singers, while the story, told -chiefly in recitatives, was regarded merely as an excuse for the -presentation of certain poetic points of emotion to be set to music. -When Wagner came, demanding that the music should be only one means -of expression of the whole emotional content of a consistent drama, -and that it should not be simply a string of pretty tunes, we can -easily understand that he was far beyond the public of his day, and -we can picture to ourselves the unhappy Intendant, asking him why -it was necessary to be so distressing, and why Tannhäuser could not -marry Elizabeth. - -In the year 1847 Wagner's musical activity was confined almost -wholly to work upon his "Lohengrin." He lived in retirement as -much as possible, and gave himself up to the realisation of those -artistic projects with which he felt that his entire surroundings -were unsympathetic. In the winter of 1845 he had conceived and -noted the principal themes. In the fall of 1846 he lived in a villa -at Grosgraufen, near Pilnitz, and there he began the music. In the -summer of 1847 he secluded himself wholly, and on August 28 he -finished the introduction, which for more than half a century has -thrilled hearers all over the world. The scoring of the entire opera -was completed in the early spring. While Wagner must have realised -the artistic value of this new work, he must also have seen how -much further he had removed himself from the possibility of public -comprehension than he had in his "Tannhäuser." He even doubted the -practicability of opera as an art form. The Intendant of the Dresden -opera did not feel any sympathy with the composer's experimental -mood, and only the finale of the third act of "Lohengrin," performed -on September 22, 1848, at the anniversary celebration of the -orchestra, was heard in Dresden. - -Meanwhile although "Tannhäuser" had been refused a hearing at Berlin, -preparations had been made for the production of "Rienzi," and the -birthday of the King of Prussia, Oct. 5, 1847, had been chosen as the -date for the performance. Wagner went to Berlin to superintend the -rehearsals. There he found that anti-Wagnerism was in full bloom. -The newspapers began the attack before the work was made known, and -every possible rumour that envy and jealousy could invent found -ready acceptance. The fate of "Rienzi" was sealed in advance. The -manager of the opera discovered that the text of the work breathed a -revolutionary spirit quite out of keeping with the temper of a royal -fête, and accordingly the production was postponed till Oct. 26. On -that evening "Rienzi" was given, but the King was not present, the -court did not attend, and Meyerbeer, who was the general director -of music, was suddenly called out of town. There was an audience of -good size and the applause was of a liberal character; but there was -no hope of permanent success in Berlin without the smiles of royalty -and the favourable comment of the press. So Wagner saw his dreams -of pecuniary aid from this early work fade away, and leave him to -struggle with the constantly growing problem of how to live. - -The eventful year 1848 was now at hand, a year which was big with -incidents in the personal and artistic life of Wagner. It was in -this year that the political troubles which harassed the kingdom of -Saxony, and Germany in general, made themselves felt in the opera -house and afterward in the career of the composer. The work of the -opera house was affected by the general unrest. Nothing serious was -undertaken. The list of the season was made up chiefly of works -of the calibre of Flotow's "Martha," then in the height of its -popularity. The orchestra gave three subscription concerts, and at -one of these Wagner conducted Bach's eight-part motet, "Singt dem -Herrn ein neues Lied." In March he finished the instrumentation -of "Lohengrin" and then his mind began to busy itself with a new -subject. The first which attracted him was "Jesus of Nazareth." The -impulse which led him to the contemplation of this subject was so -plainly identical with that which afterward led to the creation of -"Parsifal" that it is worth while to note how far he went in its -embodiment. He collected a large quantity of material for this -projected work, and published it afterward in a volume of a hundred -pages.[18] - -[Footnote 18: "Jesus von Nazareth, von R. Wagner." Leipsic, 1887. -Translation in 8th Vol. of Mr. Ellis's edition of the prose works.] - -At this period, too, he seriously contemplated the employment of the -story of Barbarossa, or Friedrich Rothbart, as material for a lyric -drama. His study of this subject was of inestimable value to him in -shaping clearly in his mind the conviction that a mythical subject -was more suitable than one historical for the purpose of musical -treatment. He discovered that he could not give to the splendid -personality of Barbarossa the necessary historical background without -overloading his opera with a host of minor details too inflexible -for musical treatment. On the other hand to endeavour to sacrifice -historical accuracy to dramatic requirements would materially -change the true character of his subject. He became convinced that -only a mythical subject, in which elementary world-thoughts and -emotions were typified, would admit of free musical treatment. His -serious study of this whole matter resulted in an essay entitled, -"Die Wibelungen.--Weltgeschichte aus der Sage" ("The Wibelungs: -world-history from the Saga"). The essay treats of the history of the -world according to tradition, showing the agreement of history and -mythology in certain elementary facts. It was written in 1848 and was -published at Leipsic in 1850. It will be found in Vol. VII. of Mr. -Ellis's translation of the prose works. - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -"ART AND REVOLUTION" - - "Behold Mercury, and his docile handmaid, Modern - Art!"--WAGNER - - -The period of Wagner's life which we have now reached was one of much -complication and of important results. With the decision to abandon -the subject of Barbarossa he made another, namely that the story -of the Nibelungen Lied and its original material as found in the -Volsunga Saga would provide excellent material for a music drama. His -conception was first formulated in an article entitled "The Nibelung -Myth as Sketch for a Drama" (Ellis's translation, Vol. VII.). This -was followed by the first form of the text of the drama, "Siegfried's -Tod," a translation of which will be found in Mr. Ellis's eighth -volume. Wagner's first thought was to tell the entire story of the -death of Siegfried and the causes leading to it in one opera, but he -was not long in discovering that this was impossible. In June, 1849, -he wrote to Franz Liszt, with whom he had begun a correspondence[19] -in 1841 (though it did not become continuous till 1845) in these -words: "Meanwhile I shall employ my time in setting to music my -latest German drama, 'The Death of Siegfried.' Within half a year -I shall send you the opera completed." In 1851 in a long letter to -Liszt he explained how he had found it impossible to condense the -whole story into one drama, and afterward even into two, and thus how -the work had stretched itself into four separate dramas. - -[Footnote 19: "Correspondence of Wagner and Liszt," edited by Francis -Hueffer, 2 vols., London, 1888.] - -At the time of the writing of the original form of the book Wagner -also conceived some of the germs of the music, and in this, too, -lay the seed of a new and wonderful development of his genius. -His "Lohengrin" marked a wide departure from the style of his -"Tannhäuser," but in the dramas based on the Siegfried legend he -went much further. He felt in the beginning that he would be forced -to do so, and in the fall of 1850 he wrote to Liszt: "Between the -musical execution of my 'Lohengrin' and that of my 'Siegfried' there -lies for me a stormy, but I feel convinced, a fruitful world." -The correspondence between Wagner and Liszt had grown into warmth -when the latter undertook the preparation of "Tannhäuser" for -production at Weimar, where he was the ruling power in music. No -one who desires to be intimately acquainted with the life of Wagner -should omit reading this correspondence, which throws more light on -the artistic and personal character of the two men than anything -else in existence. It is highly creditable to Liszt that he early -recognised the full force of the genius of Wagner and bowed to him as -a superior. On the other hand Wagner, who was hopelessly improvident -and always in the depths of monetary difficulties, came to lean on -Liszt as a friend in all needs. - -It is possible that through the influence of Liszt Wagner might -have gained wide recognition throughout Germany much sooner than he -did, but his own sympathy with the revolutionary ideas of the time -led him into direct conflict with authority in Saxony and drove him -into exile. The story of Wagner's connection with the revolutionary -movements of 1848 and 1849 has had several versions, and it has been -the subject of acrid dispute between Wagner's devotees and those who -are only candid friends. The story of the Saxon uprising need not -be repeated here in detail. Suffice it to say that the impetus of -the French revolution of 1848 moved the people of Saxony to demand -of their king a constitution, a free press, trial by jury, national -armies, and representation. The king refused to accede to the -demands. A second time through a deputation Leipsic people demanded -what they regarded as their rights and threatened to attack Dresden, -if these were not conceded. The king adopted conciliatory measures, -which served to allay the excitement for a time, but the people soon -saw that under the surface oppression was gaining headway. - -Wagner and his friend and assistant, August Roeckel, the latter an -enthusiastic republican, became members of a society known as the -"Fatherland Union," an organisation devoted to the furtherance of -reform measures, but not in favour of direct disloyalty to the king. -Before this society on June 16 Wagner read a paper entitled "What is -the Relation of our Efforts to the Monarchy?" Wagner had previously -drawn up for the government a plan for the reorganisation of the -Dresden Theatre. In that paper he proposed that the changes in the -existing arrangements be made so that the theatre would be brought -into closer relations with the higher artistic life of the people. -It was at this period, too, that he wrote "Art and Revolution," in -which he still further demonstrated that he saw a connection between -political and artistic reform, or rather that he believed the latter -impossible under the restrictions of extant governmental control. He -aimed at a sort of republican representation in art, a plan by which -the literary and artistic elements of the community might have voices -in the direction of the theatre. He saw no way of bringing this about -except by a change in the nature of the government. - -Therefore in this paper read before the Vaterlandsverein he demanded -general suffrage, abolition of the standing army and the aristocracy, -and the conversion of Saxony into a republic. His loyalty to the -king was shown by his proposal that he should himself proclaim -the republic and remain in office at its head. This speech was -published and it caused a good deal of unfavourable comment. Yet it -was not taken very seriously, for Wagner was warned that a Court -Conductor should not indulge in such talk; he wrote a long letter of -extenuation to Lüttichau, the Intendant; asked for a brief leave of -absence, and obtained it. And that would have been the end of the -matter in all probability, had not open insurrection broken out. - -It was in regard to the acts of Wagner in the days of turmoil in May, -1849, that the acrid dispute before mentioned raged in 1892. This -dispute was caused chiefly by the statements of Ferdinand Praeger -in "Wagner as I Knew Him." Among other things Praeger said, "During -the first few of his eleven years of exile his talk was incessantly -about the outbreak, and the active aid he rendered at the time, -and of his services to the cause by speech and by pen prior to the -1849 May days; and yet in after life, in his talk with me, who held -documentary evidence, under his own hand, of his participation, he -in petulant tones sought either to minimise the part he played or -to explain it away altogether. This change of front I first noticed -about 1864 at Munich." With this as his text Praeger set out to show -that Wagner was a red-handed revolutionary, and that he fought on the -barricades in the streets of Dresden. - -It was my fortune to read these assertions of Praeger's before they -were published. The manuscript of his book was placed in my hands by -his publishers in 1892 to be prepared for the press. The author was -dead and no changes could be made in his work. It seemed to me at -the time that Praeger had written incautiously of this whole matter, -and that at any rate he might fairly have represented Wagner as -desirous in after years to bury the memories of an unwise exhibition -of his republican tendencies. But of Praeger's honesty I never had a -doubt, nor had I any reason to suppose that he was not well informed -(through his intimate friendship with Roeckel) of Wagner's actions -in the May days of 1849. Pohl, Glasenapp, and Tappert had said but -little in regard to the matter, and, as I was not editing, but merely -supervising the printing of the book, it would not have been open to -me to write so much as a foot-note of warning to the reader to take -Praeger's statements with a grain of salt, even if I had been fully -informed of the real facts in the case. - -But Wagner was not without a champion. Mr. W. Ashton Ellis, editor of -"The Meister," and translator of the prose works, published in 1892 a -complete answer to Praeger under the title of "1849: a Vindication." -In this he showed that Praeger had formed a theory as to Wagner's -part in the revolution and had wrested the facts to make them appear -as evidence. He also proved that some of the acts attributed to -Wagner were those of a young journeyman baker of the same name. The -real facts of the case, as I have sifted them from the conflicting -testimony, appear to be these: - -Wagner's mind was filled with a conviction that freedom and the -honesty of art went hand in hand. His reformatory ideas embraced not -only the stage, but its relations to governmental control, through -which its artistic character must be touched and guided. The stage -could never be brought to represent the spirit of the people till -the government was. All around him he saw the relics of feudalism, -and the innate hostility of these to that freedom of art and public -to which he looked forward made him a republican at heart. His paper -read before the Fatherland Union was, as we have seen, a plea for -free government and representation by the people, but it was filled -with a spirit of loyalty to the reigning king. - -When the revolutionary movement took shape Wagner, as Mr. Ellis -notes, did not hesitate between the dictates of his conscience -and the preservation of court favour. He became, as he afterward -confessed in a letter to Liszt, openly active in the movement. But -the stories of his firing a musket from the barricades and setting -fire to public buildings are pure fabrications. Praeger's narrative -of his revolutionary activity is misleading, and Mr. Ellis's pamphlet -has quite demolished it. Wagner assisted in getting men and stores -into Dresden, and he probably carried a musket while engaged in this -work. At the Town Hall he publicly embraced one of the revolutionary -leaders after the latter had made a speech. On May 1, 1849, the king -dissolved the Saxon diet, and the people went to arms. The insurgents -were victorious in the beginning, but Prussian troops arrived 36 -hours later, and the revolutionaries were put to flight. Wagner -escaped from Dresden and hurried to Weimar, where he took refuge -under the wing of Liszt, then actively preparing "Tannhäuser" for -performance. - -Mr. Praeger says: "Future biographers can no longer ignobly treat -the patriotism of Wagner by striving to whitewash or gloss over the -part he played during these sad days." It is the hope of the present -biographer that he will not be accused of any attempt to conceal -the truth in regard to this matter, especially as he has not been -able to discover in it anything discreditable to Wagner. His action -was injudicious, it was impulsive, it was shortsighted; but it was -honest. If in after years Wagner saw that the regeneration of the -theatre might be accomplished without the overthrow of extant forms -of government, and if at the same time he wished ardently to return -to his native land, it was not at all surprising that he expressed -sorrow for his actions. It was quite natural indeed that in April, -1856, he wrote to Liszt: - - "In regard to that riot and its sequels, I am willing - to confess that I now consider myself to have been in - the wrong at that time, and carried away by my passions, - although I am conscious of not having committed any crime - that would properly come before the courts, so that it - would be difficult for me to confess to any such." - -Disheartened as Wagner was at the inartistic conditions surrounding -the theatre at Dresden, it was not astonishing that he rejoiced in -the excuse for flight, and that he hastened to Weimar with a jubilant -spirit. That Liszt was glad to receive him thus unexpectedly goes -without saying. It was this meeting which perfected the understanding -between these two remarkable men, and which cemented indissolubly -the friendship hitherto dependent on their letters for its support. -They came to know one another intimately, and from that time onward -Liszt was the main prop of Wagner. As Mr. Finck well summarises it in -his life of Wagner: "A few letters had passed between the two, and -they had met several times, but it was not until this occasion that -their hearts were really opened towards each other, and the beginning -was made of a friendship unequalled in cordiality and importance in -the history of art, and without the existence of which the world -would in all probability have never seen the better half of Wagner's -music dramas. It was Liszt who helped him with funds when he would -otherwise have been compelled to stop composing and earn his bread -like the commonest day labourer; Liszt who sustained him with his -approval when all the critical world was against him; Liszt who -brought out his operas when all other conductors ignored them; Liszt -who wrote letters, private and journalistic, about his friend's works -and aims, besides three long and enthusiastic essays on 'Tannhäuser,' -'Lohengrin,' and the 'Dutchman,' which were printed in German and -French, and with the Weimar performances of these operas, gave the -first impulse to 'the Wagner movement.'" - -Of the greatest importance to Wagner was Liszt's understanding of his -artistic aims. Wagner said that when he saw Liszt conduct a rehearsal -of "Tannhäuser," he recognised a second self in the achievement. -Discouraged as he had been on leaving Dresden, his spirits now rose -again, and he would undoubtedly have settled down in Weimar to pursue -his artistic labours under the protection of Liszt, had not news come -that he was wanted by the police. A warrant was issued for him as a -politically dangerous person and his description was published. As -soon as this news was received, Wagner, acting on Liszt's advice, -fled. - -So hasty was his departure that, as we learn from a letter of Liszt -to Carl Reinecke, he left Weimar on the very day of a performance of -"Tannhäuser," which he, therefore, did not witness. This was in the -latter part of May. He went directly to Zurich, where he remained a -few days and obtained a passport for France. He wrote from Zurich to -a Weimar friend, O.L.B. Wolff, that Liszt would soon receive a bundle -of scores from Minna, his wife. - - "The score of my 'Lohengrin,'" he wrote, "I beg him to - examine leisurely. It is my latest, ripest work. No artist - has seen it yet, and of none have I therefore been able to - ascertain what impression it may produce. Now I am anxious - to hear what Liszt has to say about it." - -From this same letter we learn that Minna had been left in the city -from which Wagner had fled. He says: - - "That wonderful man must also look after my poor wife. I - am particularly anxious to get her out of Saxony, and - especially out of that d----d Dresden." - -It is necessary only to say that while Liszt at first had doubts -of the public success of "Lohengrin," owing to what he called its -"superideal character," he immediately recognised its artistic -greatness, and was the first to bring it before the public. - -In Zurich Wagner contemplated the stern necessity of doing something -toward the support of himself and wife, and he saw in the production -of an opera in Paris his only hope. Accordingly he set out for the -French capital. Liszt had already written to Belloni, an influential -person in the musical circles of Paris: - - "In the first place, we want to create a success for a - grand, heroic, enchanting musical work, the score of which - was completed a year ago. Perhaps this could be done in - London. Chorley, for instance, might be very helpful to - him in this undertaking. If Wagner next winter could go to - Paris backed up by this success, the doors of the Opéra - would stand open to him, no matter with what he might - knock." - -Wagner had a consultation with Belloni in Paris, and was convinced -that nothing could be done with his extant works. He decided that he -must spend a year and a half in the preparation of a new work, and -for that purpose he must live in seclusion with his wife. He tells -Liszt in a long letter that he has decided on Zurich, and begs Liszt -to make arrangements for an income for him from his works so that he -can live to write more. He says that he is fit for nothing but to -write operas; he must create some genuine art work or perish. He has -arranged to send from Zurich to Belloni a sketch of a work for Paris, -and Belloni is to get a French version made. Meanwhile Wagner will be -working on the "Death of Siegfried." And so, after this brief and -futile visit to Paris in June, 1849, we find him back at Zurich early -in July. And now it became his fixed idea to get his wife out of -Dresden and settled down in some sort of a home in Zurich. But he had -no means. Once more, then, he appealed to the unfailing friend Liszt. -He tells the great pianist that he has no further resources, and says: - - "You, therefore, I implore by all that is dear to you to - raise and collect as much as you possibly can, and send it, - not to me, but to my wife, so that she may have enough to - get away and join me with the assurance of being able to - live with me free from care for some time at least. Dearest - friend, you care for my welfare, my soul, my art. Once - more restore to me my art! I do not cling to a home, but I - cling to this poor, good, faithful woman, to whom as yet I - have caused nothing but grief, who is of a careful, serious - disposition, without enthusiasm, and who feels herself - chained forever to such a reckless devil as myself." - -These words go far toward revealing the true nature of the relations -of Wagner and Minna. They also do credit to his justice, but at the -same time show how completely unsettled he was at this period. Liszt -hastened to reply in a letter beginning: "In answer to your letter I -have remitted one hundred thalers to your wife at Dresden. This sum -has been handed to me by an admirer of 'Tannhäuser,' whom you do not -know and who has especially asked me not to name him to you."[20] - -[Footnote 20: In his residence at Zurich, Wagner was also pecuniarily -aided by Wilhelm Baumgartner, a music teacher, Jacob Sulzer, a local -office holder, Mme. Laussot, and Frau Julie Ritter, whose son Carl -was associated with Wagner's musical activities in the Swiss city. -Frau Ritter placed a permanent fund to Wagner's credit. Others who -aided him will be incidentally mentioned.] - -In due time Minna arrived in Zurich only to begin to combat her -husband's artistic inclinations. He was eager to write "The Death -of Siegfried." She urged him to abandon his unprofitable ideals, -and to write for Paris the sort of opera that Paris would like. For -Minna was ashamed of living on the charity of friends, and for that -we cannot blame her. Nor can we even yet bring ourselves quite into -agreement with Wagner in the belief that the world ought to take -care of him while he was creating his immortal works. Yet there was -something large and genial in the conception. The man felt the power -that was in him, and he refused to stifle it in order that he might -discharge the simple duties of a plain citizen and support himself -and his family at the sacrifice of his future, and the future of his -art. - -It was to this struggle between himself and his own desires on the -one hand and his wife and Liszt on the other that his inactivity in -musical production for a long period was due. His whole mind was in a -state of unrest. Yet the period of his exile proved in the end to be -the most fruitful of his life, and in Zurich the name of Wagner was -made immortal. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -PREACHING WHAT HE PRACTISED - - "Doch ich bin so allein."--SIEGFRIED - - -The first years of Wagner's residence at Zurich were occupied with -the writing of works designed to propagate the reformatory ideas -which he aimed at introducing into the composition and performance -of opera. It has been noted that after the first performances of -"Tannhäuser" he felt that the public would have to be educated up -to his conception of art, and he now set to work to produce the -necessary doctrinary essays. Through the kindness of Otto Wesendonck, -a music-lover and admirer of his work, he was able to rent at a low -price a pretty châlet overlooking the lake, and there he lived and -laboured in retirement. He was too profoundly discouraged at first -to undertake composition, and for five years he brought forth no -music. The problem of how to live stared him in the face in all its -frightful nakedness. He wrote to Liszt in the fall of 1849: - - "How and whence shall I get enough to live? Is my finished - work 'Lohengrin' worth nothing? Is the opera which I am - longing to complete worth nothing? It is true that to the - present generation and to publicity as it is these must - appear as a useless luxury. But how about the few who love - these works? Should not they be allowed to offer to the - poor suffering creator--not a remuneration, but the bare - possibility of continuing to create?... Tell me; advise me! - Hitherto my wife and I have kept ourselves alive by the - help of a friend here. By the end of this month of October - our last florins will be gone, and a wide, beautiful world - lies before me, in which I have nothing to eat, nothing to - warm myself with. Think of what you can do for me, dear, - princely friend. Let some one buy my 'Lohengrin,' skin and - bones; let some one commission my 'Siegfried.'" - -And so he went on, begging Liszt to save him and his wife from -absolute want. He had not even an overcoat. The score of "Lohengrin" -was eventually sold to Breitkopf and Härtel for a few hundred -thalers, but the means of subsistence were provided for Wagner by -Liszt and other friends. Yet even in this lamentable state of affairs -he could not drive himself to compose. He could only write his -literary works. In these he embodied what has come to be known as the -Wagnerian theory of the music drama, the theory which finds its only -full and satisfying illustration in the works of this master, though -its elementary principals were recognised and obeyed by earlier -writers. He says himself in "The Music of the Future," "My mental -state resembled a struggle. I tried to express theoretically that -which under the incongruity of my artistic aims as contrasted with -the tendencies of public art, especially of the opera, I could not -properly put forward by means of direct artistic production." - -The principal works written by him in this state of mind were "Art -and Revolution," 1849, "The Art-work of the Future," "Art and -Climate," "Judaism in Music," 1850, "Recollections of Spontini," -1851, "On the Performance of 'Tannhäuser,'" and "Opera and Drama," -1852. Of these the last is the most important to the student of -Wagner's theories, but at the time of publication it was the article -on "Judaism in Music" which raised the largest disturbance. The -criticisms of Meyerbeer contained in it have been used by Wagner's -enemies down to the present day as evidence that he was an ungrateful -man. The fact that these censures were wholly for Meyerbeer, the -composer, should, however, be borne in mind; for in Wagner the artist -always governed the man, and the timely aid given to him by Meyerbeer -in the dark days in Paris was bound to take a place in his estimation -second to the popular composer's palpable seeking after the applause -of the inartistic masses. - -The article on "Judaism in Music" was printed in Brendel's _Neue -Zeitschrift für Musik_ for Sept. 3 and 6, 1850. Eleven masters at -the Leipsic conservatory, where Brendel lectured on the history of -music, wrote to him asking him to resign or reveal the name of the -author. He refused to do either, thereby leaving the eleven irate -masters in a ludicrous position. But the hostility of the press to -Wagner was aroused by the article, for his authorship was speedily -suspected. In 1869 he issued a revised and enlarged edition of this -article and then a host of replies appeared. None of them, however, -dealt candidly with the artistic questions. Most of them rested with -accusing Wagner of assailing rival composers because they were Jews. -The chief points made in Wagner's article were that the Jews were not -an artistic people, that they could not be so because they were not -sincere, because they had no nation, no home, no language, but lived -to please the people of the country in which they chanced to be and -whose language they spoke. Mendelssohn and Meyerbeer were quoted as -examples. - -In "Opera and Drama" Wagner set forth the principles which, according -to him, should govern the creation of art work for the stage. These -principles we shall have opportunity to examine in detail when we -come to the study of the Wagnerian theories. Let it suffice here to -quote Muncker's admirable summary of the essay: - -"Systematically he examined in what manner all the arts, plastic, -mimic, phonetic and oral, had in the antique tragedy combined to -the highest mutual purposes, and how thereafter, released from this -close and lifelike union, the single arts had in their individual -development either stagnated or degenerated. He refused to -acknowledge the objections that only the mild atmosphere of Greece -had been able to ripen the artistic power of intuition and formation, -out of which the Attic tragedy had grown. Only the historical man, -the man independent of nature, has awakened art to life; and only he, -noble and strong, who through the highest power of love has attained -true liberty, can newly create the vanished dramatic work of art, -just as he alone, his life and death, is its subject; for this reason -there can be only one principal consideration for art, and that -is the true nature of the human race. Strictly Wagner weighed the -unsuccessful attempts of the last century externally to combine the -sister arts (without any of them giving up their egotistic purposes) -in the oratorio and particularly in the opera, the trysting place of -their most selfish endeavours. He contrasted with these inorganic -species the loving union of the single arts in the work of art of -the future, in the true drama, that, like the Attic tragedy, employed -the same artistic means, only on a greater scale and with a higher -technical perfection, in the same manner and for the same purposes. -Like the Attic tragedy, it is to be represented by the people, or -rather the totality of different artists is to represent it for the -people; just, however, as the single arts can here for the first -time freely and naturally unfold their innermost nature, so the -individuality of the single artist can, just in that community with -the whole, significantly develop itself." - -In this essay he ruthlessly exposed the musical shallowness of -Rossini and Meyerbeer. He saw at the time that his criticism of the -latter would expose him to the charge of ingratitude, but the artist -in him prevailed, and he spoke his mind freely. It should be added -that he praised certain passages in Meyerbeer's works, especially the -great duet in the fourth act of "Les Huguenots." - -In the early years of his exile he undertook once more the task of -writing an opera for Paris. He went so far as to make a prose sketch -of a libretto entitled "Wieland the Smith." In after years he offered -the book to Liszt, saying that it reminded him of a period of pain. -The labour of writing this work was distasteful to him, and he began -it only at the earnest solicitation of his wife and Liszt. The -sketch, which is an elaborated scenario, is included in Mr. Ellis's -translation of the prose works. - -The only musical work which Wagner did in the early years at -Zurich was the conducting of some orchestral concerts, and the -superintending of performances at the city theatre. It was at this -time that Wagner's acquaintance with the afterward famous pianist -and conductor, Hans von Bülow, began. Von Bülow had abandoned the -career planned for him by his father and gone to Zurich literally to -throw himself at the feet of Wagner. The master secured him the post -of assistant conductor at the opera, where he supported his protégé -against the intriguing of the singers and the orchestra. After six -months of experience there Von Bülow was sent with a letter of -introduction from Wagner to Liszt, whose pupil he became, and whose -daughter Cosima he married. Little did either he or Wagner think at -the time that he would be conductor of Wagner's greatest works, and -that his wife would become the second spouse of the famous composer. - -The year 1850 was made a memorable one in Wagner's life by the first -performance of "Lohengrin," which had slept in silence for three -years. In the "Communication to My Friends" Wagner wrote of the -movement toward the production thus: - - "At the end of my latest stay in Paris, as I lay ill and - wretched, gazing brooding into space, my eye fell on the - score of my already almost quite forgotten 'Lohengrin.' - It filled me with a sudden grief to think that these - notes should never ring from off the death-wan paper. Two - words I wrote to Liszt. His answer was none other than an - announcement of preparations the most sumptuous--for the - modest means of Weimar--for 'Lohengrin's' production." - -Even at this distance the words of that letter of April 21, 1850, are -pathetic: - - "DEAR FRIEND: I have just been looking through the - score of my 'Lohengrin.' I very seldom read my own works. - An immense desire has sprung up in me to have this work - performed. I address this wish to your heart: Perform my - 'Lohengrin'! You are the only one to whom I could address - this prayer; to none but you should I entrust the creation - of this opera; to you I give it with perfect and joyous - confidence." - -How faithfully Liszt fulfilled the trust imposed upon him may be seen -from one of his letters to Wagner in the course of the preparations -for the opera's production. - - "Your 'Lohengrin' will be given under exceptional - conditions, which are most favourable to its success. The - management for this occasion spends about 2,000 thalers, a - thing that has not been done in Weimar within the memory - of man. The press will not be forgotten, and suitable and - seriously conceived articles will appear successively - in several papers. All the personnel will be put on its - mettle. The number of violins will be slightly increased - (from 16 to 18) and a bass clarinet has been purchased. - Nothing essential will be wanting in the musical material - or design. I undertake all the rehearsals with pianoforte, - chorus, strings and orchestra. Genast will follow your - indications for the mise-en-scène with zeal and energy. It - is understood that we shall not cut a note, not an iota, - of your work, and that we shall give it in its absolute - beauty, as far as is in our power." - -The date chosen for the production was Aug. 28, the birthday of -Goethe, when a large number of visitors would be in Weimar to attend -the unveiling of a monument to Herder. Wagner was anxious to be -present at the performance, but the risk of arrest, if he set foot -on German soil, prevented him from going. Liszt was profoundly -moved by the work, but he was not satisfied with the performance -nor the reception by the public. The singers did not know how to -deliver Wagner's music, and the general public found this, the most -popular of all Wagner's creations, quite beyond its comprehension. -The performance lasted five hours, owing to the singers' treating -all the arioso passages as recitatives, and Wagner accordingly -wrote to Liszt explaining how this music should be sung. The whole -series of letters on the manner of performing "Lohengrin" is full of -instruction as to Wagner's dramatic ideas and the proper method of -singing his music. Liszt and Genast, the stage manager, however, saw -no way out of the difficulty except by making cuts, and these were -accordingly made, but under protest from the composer, who authorised -only one in the latter part of Lohengrin's narrative. - -The production of the most popular of all operas now before the -public was accomplished in the absence of its composer. Indeed, it -was not until May 15, 1861, in Vienna, that poor Wagner heard this -beautiful and touching work. While it was in course of preparation -at Weimar he was labouring at Zurich, as we have seen, and was -fighting ill-health, too. His low spirits brought on an attack of -dyspepsia, and with this came another lifelong enemy, erysipelas. The -cheerfulness and devotion of the unhappy Minna helped him through -this trying period, and he further solaced himself by long walks into -the forest, accompanied by his dog Peps. He declaimed aloud against -the density of the public and the machine-made music of some of -his contemporaries, and when Peps answered his master's voice with -a lively bark, Wagner would pat his head and say, "Thou hast more -sense, Peps, than some of these contrapuntists." Liszt continued -to push the fortunes of "Tannhäuser" and "Lohengrin" at Weimar, -and although it was three years before the latter was performed -elsewhere, it became the fashion to visit Weimar to hear it. - -Wagner closed the literary work of this period by writing the -"Communication to My Friends," which, with the autobiography, forms -the most satisfactory material for the study of his early career. -This communication is rather a story of his artistic development -than of the incidents of his life, but it is a fascinating piece of -self-examination, and throws more light than anything else upon the -motives which led to the composition of the most famous of Wagner's -dramas. - -It was at this time that he entered upon the task of writing his -long-cherished "Death of Siegfried," which he had shaped into a drama -in three acts and a prologue in the autumn of 1848. It was in June, -1849, that he wrote to Liszt that he would have the drama completed -in half a year. In the spring of 1851 Liszt learned that there was to -be a prefatory drama called "Young Siegfried," and on June 29 Wagner -wrote to him that the poem was finished. On Nov. 20 of the same year -Wagner wrote a long letter, in which he set forth the development of -the entire plan. He had found that his story was too long and complex -to tell in two dramas, and that he would have to make three, with a -prologue. - -Thus he had finally developed the plan of what was to be his most -imposing, if not his greatest, work, a work rivalling in the -immensity of its conception and its dramatic seriousness the ancient -trilogies of the Greeks. It was altogether fitting that this _magnum -opus_ should have acquired its full and definite shape in his mind at -a time when his invention was refreshed by abstinence from musical -production, and when the appetite for composition was springing up -anew. Early in 1853 the poem in its new form was completed, and -on Feb. 11 he sent a copy to Liszt. The latter wrote: "You are -truly a wonderful man, and your 'Nibelung' poem is surely the most -incredible thing which you have ever done." In a letter written in -1871, to Arrigo Boïto, the famous Italian composer and librettist, -he said: "During a sleepless night at an inn at Spezzia the music to -'Das Rheingold' occurred to me. Straightway I turned homeward and -set to work." He finished the full score of "Das Rheingold" in May, -1854, and in the following month he began that of "Die Walküre." The -score of this work was finished in 1856, and part of "Siegfried" was -written in the next year. - -The sleepless night at the Spezzia inn occurred in the course of a -journey into Italy made in 1853. It was a journey made in the vain -hope of cheering the drooping spirits of Wagner, who was always -fond of travel. His life in Zurich had its pleasant side. He had -made friends, some of whom, notably Wille, a former journalist of -Hamburg, and his wife, a clever novelist, understood and adored -him. But he suffered from dyspepsia, insomnia, and erysipelas, the -latter returning with wearing persistency; and he writhed under the -restraints of an exile which for artistic reasons he could not but -desire to terminate. In some of the cities of Germany his works were -performed without understanding and in a way to make him shiver with -anguish, yet he was helpless. On all sides he was critically assailed -for faults that were not his, and would instantly have disappeared if -his operas had been properly interpreted. In Berlin, where he might -have reaped at least a decent pecuniary profit from performances, -jealousy, intrigue, and Philistinism prevented his works from -reaching the stage. - -And the demon poverty pursued him to the verge of madness. He -suffered from the agonising fear that at length he would be -forced to abandon all the splendid imaginations that were burning -within him and divert his whole life into the sordid channels of -bread-and-butter drudgery. He cried to Liszt and other friends to -save him. For this he has been called a beggar; but if we obey -Charles Reade's injunction, "Put yourself in his place," the thing -wears a different aspect. Wagner was profoundly convinced of the -greatness that was within him, and it maddened him to think that he -might have to stifle it. He wrote to Liszt: "I am in a miserable -condition, and have great difficulty in persuading myself that it -must go on like this, and that it would not really be more moral to -put an end to this disgraceful kind of life." - -In these circumstances, it was perhaps the best thing that could -have happened to him that in that sleepless night at Spezzia he was -haunted by the thought that the music of "Rheingold" must be written, -and went home to chain himself again to the pathetic task of heaping -one silent score upon another. The time came when he did not believe -that he would live to finish the mighty tetralogy which is now the -glory of the lyric stage. But even in the face of despair he could -not repress the impulses within him, and back to Zurich he went, and -the wonderful measures of the prologue of the "Nibelung" drama sprang -into being. Even as he had out of despair forged the links of his -first success, "Rienzi," so again the fires of anguish lit the forges -of the "Schwarzalben" and the "Wonniges Kind." - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -A STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND - - "This red republican of music is to preside over the Old - Philharmonic of London, the most classical, orthodox, and - exclusive society on this globe."--Letter of Ferdinand - Praeger to the New York _Musical Gazette_. - - -The musical activities of this period were about to be interrupted -by a voyage so strange that we can hardly conceive it as possible. -That Richard Wagner, the reformer, should go to England to conduct -the then most stagnant musical organisation in the world, the London -Philharmonic, before the most conservative musical public on earth, -seems little short of humorous. Yet this thing actually happened. And -the musicians of the London orchestra, to their credit, recognised -the greatness of their new conductor and played as they had never -played before. But this is anticipating. In Zurich he was already -known as a conductor before he had set foot on Swiss soil. So it is -natural that the musical authorities of the place should have sought -his services as soon as he was settled. We have already noted that -he conducted some concerts and supervised the operatic performances -at the theatre where Von Bülow and Carl Ritter conducted. But the -good Swiss were not satisfied with this. They desired the excitement -of the production of one of Wagner's works under his own direction. -Accordingly, in May, 1852, "The Flying Dutchman" was given, but -because the singers treated the work as an old-fashioned opera, it -did not make a deep impression. Nevertheless, in February, 1855, -"Tannhäuser" was produced in Zurich. It was at this period, too, -that Wagner took up the old "Faust" overture and revised it, making -changes which drew expressions of delight from Liszt. - -At this time the warfare of two musical societies in London was to -have an unexpected influence on the movements of Wagner. The London -Philharmonic Society had suffered a split, caused by dissensions -which need not be discussed here, and a New Philharmonic had been -formed. The insurgent forces proceeded to formulate a plan of -campaign which threatened disaster to the older army. As a master -stroke, they secured as conductor no less a personage than Hector -Berlioz, the famous French composer. It now became necessary for the -older body to deal a counterblow. But where to turn for a conductor -whose name would excite public interest in such a manner as that -of Berlioz they knew not. In the midst of their confusion arose -Ferdinand Praeger, the London friend and admirer of Wagner, of whom -he had first heard through August Roeckel. Praeger knew that there -would be opposition to Wagner, but he knew, too, that the name of the -composer of the music of the future would arouse public curiosity -and that audiences could be got for his concerts. And audiences were -what the staid and languishing Old Philharmonic most needed. On the -other hand, there was something to be done in London in the way of -correcting false impressions of Wagner's works. As Liszt wrote to him -on learning that he was to make the visit: - - "The London Philharmonic comes in very aptly, and I am - delighted. As lately as six months ago people used to - shake their heads, and some of them even hissed, at the - performance of the 'Tannhäuser' overture, conducted by - Costa. Klindworth and Remeny were almost the only ones who - had the courage to applaud and to beard the Philistines who - had made their nests of old in the Philharmonic. Well, it - will now assume a different tone, and you will revivify old - England with the Old Philharmonic." - -Liszt as usual wrote in an encouraging strain, but it is likely that -he really believed that Wagner would profit by some personal contact -with the public. For the history of this incident we must turn to -the pages of Praeger, who acted as Wagner's private agent in making -the engagement, and who first suggested it to Prosper Sainton, the -eminent violinist and a director of the Philharmonic. It was an -ill-advised visit, but it was made by Wagner chiefly because he hoped -through this introduction to the English public to bring out his -operas in London. On Jan. 21, 1855, he wrote to Fischer in Dresden: - - "At the end of February I go for two months to London, to - conduct the concerts of the Philharmonic Society, for which - they expressly sent one of their directors here to persuade - me. As a rule, that kind of thing does not suit me; and - as I am not to get much pay for it, I would scarcely have - consented, had I not therein seen a chance of next year - bringing together in London--under the protection of the - Court--a first-rate German opera company, with which I - could give my operas, and at last my 'Lohengrin.'" - -Mr. Anderson, conductor of the Queen's private band, and an acting -director of the Philharmonic, was sent to Zurich to negotiate with -Wagner. Some correspondence had already taken place, and the composer -had demanded conditions which were waived after conversation with -Mr. Anderson. The question of terms was speedily disposed of, the -irresponsible Wagner saying that he was too busy to think about them. -After Mr. Anderson had returned to London Wagner wrote to Praeger and -suggested giving a concert of his own works, but this alarmed the -conservative Philharmonic people, and a compromise was effected by -the promise of the performance of selections. It was arranged that -the composer should stay at Praeger's house, 31 Milton Street, till a -quiet and secluded lodging, where he could go on with the scoring of -the trilogy, could be found for him. He arrived in London on Sunday, -March 5, 1855. The lodging was found at 22 Portland Terrace, Regent's -Park. Much of the work of scoring the "Nibelung" dramas was done at -this place. - -The first meeting between Wagner and Mr. Anderson in London was not -encouraging. The Philharmonic director suggested the performance of a -prize symphony by Lachner, whereupon Wagner rose excitedly from his -chair and exclaimed: "Have I, therefore, left my quiet seclusion in -Switzerland to cross the sea to conduct a prize symphony by Lachner? -No, never! If that be a condition of the bargain I at once reject it, -and will return."[21] - -[Footnote 21: Praeger, "Wagner as I Knew Him," p. 231.] - -The matter was smoothed over, but it was only one of several similar -outbreaks on the part of the impatient artist. Fortunately, as -Praeger notes, Wagner had a keen sense of humour, and when there was -a ludicrous aspect in the scenes of misunderstanding it sufficed to -put him in a pleasant mood once more. - -Wagner made only one visit of ceremony in London, and that was a -call on Sir Michael Costa. He flatly refused to call on the musical -critics of the London papers, and Praeger says that this was to his -injury. This state of affairs is not easy to understand in the United -States, where visits to critics are looked upon with suspicion, and -are discouraged by the critics themselves. Praeger records that Mr. -Davison, the editor of _The Musical World_, then an influential -paper, declared that as long as he held the sceptre of musical -criticism, Wagner should not acquire any hold in London. In these -circumstances it is not at all astonishing that the new conductor -received not a little censure. It is only right to mention, however, -that some of the London papers viewed his work without prejudice and -praised what appeared to them to be its excellences. That Wagner was -an uncommonly fine conductor cannot be doubted, and the musicians of -the Philharmonic, as soon as they had recovered from the surprise -caused by Wagner's spirited and truthful readings of the works under -rehearsal and his emphatic insistence on the correct treatment of -every passage, together with vigour of style, applauded him and -obeyed him with delight. - -The first concert took place on March 12. The programme, like that -of all the other concerts, was absurdly long, and this was one of -the things against which Wagner vainly fought. The list comprised a -symphony by Haydn, an operatic trio, a Spohr violin concerto, the -Weber aria, "Ocean, thou mighty monster," Mendelssohn's "Fingal's -Cave," overture, Beethoven's "Eroica" symphony, a duet by Marschner, -and the overture to "Die Zauberflöte." Wagner amazed the Londoners -by giving readings of the orchestral works instead of permitting the -orchestra to glide through them in the conventional slovenly way. -He even restored the true tempi in the "Eroica," in which London -conductors had been playing the first movement slowly and the funeral -march quickly. He astonished the great body of Mendelssohnians, which -infested London then as it has ever since, by reading the overture -with beautiful colour and intelligence. Several of the papers abused -him roundly, but _The Morning Post_ discovered in him the ideal -conductor. - -At the second concert on March 26, Wagner conducted the overture to -"Der Freischütz," Beethoven's ninth symphony, and the prelude to -"Lohengrin." The Weber overture had to be repeated, which goes to -show that the audience was not insensible to Wagner's enthusiastic -sympathy with the music of his great predecessor. The dates of the -other concerts conducted by Wagner were April 16 and 30, May 14 and -28, and June 11 and 25. In addition to the Beethoven symphonies -already mentioned he directed the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and -eighth; also the "Leonora" overture, No. 3, and the violin concerto, -Mozart's symphonies in B flat and C, Mendelssohn's Scotch and Italian -symphonies, Spohr's C minor symphony, Cipriani Potter's symphony -in G minor, and some minor works. The overture to "Tannhäuser" was -produced at the fifth concert, and was received with acclamations -by the audience and derision by the critics. It was repeated at the -seventh concert by royal command. The Queen and the Prince Consort -attended this concert and had Wagner before them in the salon. There -the Prince Consort suggested the desirability of translating some of -Wagner's operas into Italian that they might be presented in London, -and the Queen said, "I am most happy to make your acquaintance. Your -composition has charmed me." - -Wagner left London the day after his last concert, and he was -heartily glad to shake the dust of the British capital off his feet. -Musical criticism in London was stilted, timorous, afraid of new -thoughts, unable to grasp any departure from the conventionalities -with which it was acquainted, and desperately opposed to musical -progress along lines not laid down by Mendelssohn and Handel. It was -to be expected that the commentors would oppose the entire Wagner -system, but the vituperative strain in the criticisms suggests the -probability that the writers felt and writhed under the power of the -man. It must be understood that similar criticism was written in -Germany, and that the "music of the future," as it was derisively -called, was not peacefully permitted to become the music of the -day. The younger generation of opera-goers cannot realise the state -of mind into which their forerunners were thrown when they were -asked to accept the opera as a play, and not as a mere string of -pretty vocal pieces, loosely connected by the pretence of a plot. In -London, where the opera was the amusement of fashionable society, -the music of Wagner was bound at first to meet with opposition. For -fashionable society always has been and still is opposed to all that -is dignified, serious, or uplifting in life or art. - -Aside from some scoring of the Nibelung dramas, Wagner did little -productive work in the uncongenial atmosphere of London. Praeger -introduced to him Karl Klindworth, who was engaged to make piano -scores of the first dramas of the trilogy. This was, perhaps, the -most serious musical achievement of the London visit. It should be -said, however, that the friends whom Wagner found in London were the -nucleus of a substantial support for him in that capital, and when -the movement to build the Bayreuth Theatre took shape, the English -Wagnerites were among the sturdiest upholders of the plan. - -Wagner went home to Zurich by way of Paris, and soon after his -arrival took his wife for a short visit to Seelisberg, near the Alps. -Just before starting his dog Peps died, and the letter in which he -communicates this fact to Praeger is so full of warm feeling that it -is a revelation of the richness of the heart of this singular and -erratic being. He said in part: - - "The day of our departure for Seelisberg was already fixed, - where, as I wrote to you, I was going with my wife, my dog - and bird.[22] Suddenly dangerous symptoms showed themselves - in Peps, in consequence of which we put off our journey - for two days so as to nurse the poor dying dog. Up to the - last moment Peps showed me a love so touching as to be - almost heartrending; kept his eyes fixed on me and though - I chanced to move but a few steps from him, continued to - follow me with his eyes. He died in my arms on the night - of the ninth or tenth of this month, passing away without - a sound, quietly and peacefully. On the morrow, midday, - we buried him in the garden beside the house. I cried - incessantly, and since then have felt bitter pain and - sorrow for the dear friend of the past thirteen years who - ever worked and walked with me. It has clearly taught me - that the world exists only in our hearts and conception." - -[Footnote 22: A parrot which he had humorously taught to say -frequently: "Richard Wagner, you are a great man."] - -At this period he received an offer to visit America. He mentions it -in one of his letters to Praeger and also in other correspondence, -especially that with Liszt. He had been told while in London that he -would receive this invitation, and he wrote to Liszt: "While here I -chew a beggar's crust, I hear from Boston that 'Wagner nights' are -given there. Everyone persuades me to come over; they are occupying -themselves with me with increasing interest; I might make much money -there by concert performances, etc. 'Make much money!' Heavens! I -don't want to make money if I can go the way shown me by my longing." -Indeed Wagner thought of money only as the means which would enable -him to carry out his plans for the production of the Nibelung dramas. -He was sorely tempted for a time by the possibility of earning enough -in the United States to do as he pleased, but he finally wrote to -Liszt, with more than usual penetration, that he was not the kind of -man to be successful with a money-making speculation, and that he had -decided not to be turned aside from his artistic purposes. And thus -ended the attempt to induce Wagner to visit a country, which in its -state at that time would have been quite as uncongenial to him as -London. - - - - -CHAPTER X - -A SECOND END IN PARIS - - "People treat this unfortunate Wagner as a scamp, an - impostor, an idiot."--HECTOR BERLIOZ - - -The composer now set to work right gladly on his "Walküre." He was -eager to finish it and begin the writing of what was still called -"Jung Siegfried." For a time he was impeded by the illness of his -wife and afterwards his own, but on October 3, 1855, he was able to -send to Liszt the first two acts of "Die Walküre." Liszt and his -beloved Countess Wittgenstein went over them together and both wrote -to Wagner of the marvellous effect which this music made upon them. -The last act was finished in April, 1856, and was also despatched to -Liszt. In October of this year Liszt, the Countess Wittgenstein, and -her daughter went to Zurich to visit Wagner. Of course the score of -"Die Walküre" occupied their attention, and Liszt, Wagner, and the -wife of Kapellmeister Heim gave a rehearsal of the work at the Hotel -Bauer before a number of personal friends. The rehearsal moved the -hearers greatly and, as Mr. Finck notes, they "would have been no -doubt greatly surprised had any one foretold that twenty years would -elapse before this drama would have its first adequate performance." - -Together, too, Liszt and Wagner gave an orchestral concert at St. -Gall, on November 3, 1856, when Wagner conducted the "Eroica" -symphony and Liszt his "Orphée" and "Les Préludes." But perhaps the -greatest concert of the Zurich series was that given by Wagner in -May, 1853, when he assembled an orchestra of 72 men from different -parts of Germany, and gave selections from "Lohengrin" as they were -never given before and have probably not often been given since. Of -his visit Liszt wrote in several of his numerous letters. He said to -his friend Dr. Adolf Stern, of Dresden, where the name of Wagner was -certainly familiar: - - "In spite of my illness I am spending glorious days with - Wagner, and am satiating myself with his 'Nibelungen' - world, of which our business musicians and chaff-threshing - critics have as yet no suspicion. It is to be hoped that - this tremendous work may succeed in being performed in the - year 1859, and I, on my side, will not neglect anything to - forward this performance as soon as possible--a performance - which certainly implies many difficulties and exertions. - Wagner requires for this purpose a special theatre built - for himself, and a not ordinary acting and orchestral - staff. It goes without saying that the work can only appear - before the world under his own conducting; and if, as is - much to be wished, this should take place in Germany, his - pardon must be obtained before everything." - -These remarks of Liszt admirably sum up the situation in regard to -the "Nibelung" dramas. It was long after the date named when they -saw the light of publicity, and in the meantime many events of -significance were to take place. Not the least of these was to be the -temporary abandonment of the beloved Siegfried subject for another -work. This was the great "Tristan und Isolde," which many of Wagner's -admirers regard as his most inspired creation. This work, like the -"Flying Dutchman," the first in which the real Wagner was disclosed, -was the fruit of discouragement. Although, through the liberality of -Liszt and a few others, including the devoted Mathilde Wesendonck -(who is still--August, 1900--living in Berlin), the Wagners were able -to live in comfort, and Minna could afford to make Richard a present -of silk dressing-gowns and even silk trousers for house wear on his -return from London, the composer saw no way to convince the world -that he was not a mere bundle of eccentricities, but a master with -living embodiments of the true theory of the lyric drama. He was sore -at heart, weary of writing a majestic four-night drama which might -never see the light of the stage. - -In 1854, while he was at work on "Die Walküre," the stories of -"Tristan" and "Parsifal" had come to his attention, and the plan of -the former work was sketched. In the winter of 1854-55 he wrote to -Liszt: "As I have never in life felt the real bliss of love, I must -erect a monument to the most beautiful of all my dreams, in which, -from beginning to end, that love shall be thoroughly satiated. I have -in my head 'Tristan und Isolde,' the simplest, but most full-blooded -musical conception. With the black flag which floats at the end -of it I shall cover myself to die." In the midst of a letter of -January, 1855, Liszt interrupted the discussion of other matters to -exclaim: "Stop! One thing I forgot to write to you: Your 'Tristan' -is a splendid idea. It may become a glorious work. Do not abandon -it." In the summer of 1856 Wagner wrote again: "I have again two -splendid subjects which I must execute. 'Tristan und Isolde' you -know, and after that the 'Victory,' the most sacred, the most perfect -salvation." - -This "Victory"[23] was a Buddhistic subject, which Wagner had in mind -for a short time, but which he abandoned for the superior attractions -of "Parsifal." The leading theme, that of the renunciation of sexual -love by the hero, and the assent to it by the heroine, who had at -first passionately loved the unmoved hero, bore a close resemblance -to the personal purity of Parsifal and to the negation of the desire -to live, pictured in "Tristan" as the highest issue of real love. -These thoughts appealed to Wagner, whose mind at this time was deeply -under the influence of the philosophy of Schopenhauer. The Buddhistic -quietism which prevailed in Schopenhauer's philosophy seemed to -offer a solution to the life-problems confronting Wagner, and it was -natural that he should seek to embody the emotional essence of this -philosophy in his music dramas. In 1854 he sent a copy of the poem of -the Nibelung dramas to Schopenhauer as a mark of his esteem. - -[Footnote 23: A sketch of this drama, under the title of "The -Victors," was found among Wagner's papers, dated May 16, 1856. The -hero, Ananda, an absolutely pure man, renounces sexual love. He is -passionately beloved by Prakriti, the beautiful daughter of King -Tchandala. The heroine, after vainly suffering the torments of -unrequited passion, renounces love, and is received into the order of -Buddha by Ananda. The idea of salvation through negation is found in -Wagner's "Tristan" and again in his "Parsifal."] - -With all these thoughts active in his mind, the poem of Gottfried -von Strassburg on "Tristan und Isolde" offered him an opportunity -to embody his ideas in what he called the "simplest and most -full-blooded musical conception." He was eager to begin a work which -might possibly be produced, and all at once came the needed final -incentive. Dom Pedro, the Emperor of Brazil, had become interested in -the Wagner movement, and he sent an agent to the composer to ask him -if he would write an opera for the Italian company in Rio Janeiro. He -might name his own terms, provided he would promise to go to Brazil -and conduct the work. Wagner was at first touched by this munificent -offer, but he soon saw the hopelessness of trying to get Italian -opera singers to perform such a music drama as he was about to write. -But the Emperor's offer shaped his resolution, and in the latter -part of June, 1857, he wrote to Liszt: "I have determined finally -to give up my headstrong design of completing the 'Nibelungen.' -I have led my young Siegfried to a beautiful forest solitude and -there have left him under a linden tree, and taken leave of him with -heartfelt tears." And later, in the same letter, he told Liszt that -he had decided to write "Tristan und Isolde" and have it performed at -Strassburg with Niemann and Mme. Meyer. - -On the last day of 1857 the first act of "Tristan" was finished. -Wagner now made a trip to Paris, on money borrowed from Liszt, in -the hope of being able to arrange a performance of "Rienzi," but -nothing came of the journey, except that a waiter in the house in -which he lived stole a large part of the advance royalties which -Breitkopf and Härtel had paid him on the completion of the first -act of the new work. He returned to Zurich and there Liszt sent to -him Carl Tausig, the pianist, who became one of his firmest friends -and supporters, and who subsequently made the piano arrangement of -"Die Meistersinger." Tausig, with all his genius, was only a boy -of seventeen at this time, and he could not satisfy the craving of -Wagner for sympathetic intellectual companionship. Unfortunately the -composer had in previous years sought this in the society of Mrs. -Wesendonck, before mentioned, and aroused the jealousy of poor Minna. -This jealousy led in 1856 to an open outbreak, for Wagner wrote to -Praeger, who was on his way back to London after a visit to the -composer, "The devil is loose. I shall leave Zurich at once and come -to you in Paris." But a little later he wrote that the matter had -been smoothed over. This, however, was one of the evidences that this -unhappily assorted union was slowly nearing its dissolution. - -In June, 1858, Wagner sketched the second act of "Tristan und -Isolde," and then a desire for quiet and the luxurious atmosphere of -Italy took possession of him. Venice, not having any German alliance, -and there being consequently no danger of his arrest there, seemed to -be the desired place, and thither he went. He wrote the music of the -second act of the opera in Venice. Then came news that a projected -production of "Rienzi" in Munich had been abandoned, and that a -new Intendant, who had no artistic feeling, had gone to reign in -Weimar and make Liszt powerless. On the heels of these misfortunes -came an attempt of the Saxon government to drive him out of Venice. -Disheartened, embarrassed, and in debt, he went to Switzerland and -secluded himself on the shores of the Lake of Lucerne. There in the -summer of 1859 he completed, after four months' work, the third -act of "Tristan." The completed score was placed in the hands of -Breitkopf and Härtel, and then Wagner set to work to find an opening -for its production. Various difficulties arose. In some places where -he could have had singers he dared not set foot. In other places he -could get no competent performers. - -Wagner's final departure from Zurich was undoubtedly due to the -action of Mr. Wesendonck. The nature of the attachment between Mrs. -Wesendonck and the composer could no longer be concealed. Wagner -had dedicated to her a sonata and the prelude to "Die Walküre." He -had set words of hers to music. She was his friend, his confidante. -According to M. Belart, in whose "Richard Wagner in Zurich," -published in Leipsic in 1900, this whole matter was discussed, Wagner -left Zurich finally and suddenly on Aug. 17, 1859. Mr. Wesendonck, -when questioned about the matter in after years, said flatly that -he compelled Wagner to go. He went to Jacob Sulzer, previously -mentioned, borrowed some money, and started for Geneva. Minna Wagner -went to Dresden. This was the beginning of the end between them. -There is some discrepancy in the dates. There is no doubt that Wagner -went to Lucerne when he returned from Venice, but he must have gone -again to Zurich in the course of the summer. At any rate when he went -to Geneva, he was en route for Paris, and the Wesendonck entanglement -was at an end. In 1865 Wagner wrote to the injured husband: - - "The incident that separated me from you about six years - ago should be evaded; it has upset me and my life enough - that you recognise me no longer, and that I esteem myself - less and less. All this suffering should have earned your - forgiveness, and it would have been beautiful, noble, - to have forgiven me; but it is useless to demand the - impossible, and I was in the wrong." - -It was in September, 1859, that Wagner arrived in the French capital. -He settled in the Rue Newton, near the Arc de Triomphe, and there -he and Minna, who had rejoined him, received their friends every -Wednesday. Among the frequenters of their home were Émile Ollivier, -the French statesman and husband of Liszt's daughter Blandine; -Frédéric Villot, keeper of the imperial museums; Edmond Roche, -afterward the translator of "Tannhäuser"; Hector Berlioz, Carvalho, -director of the Théâtre Lyrique; Gustave Doré, Jules Ferry, Charles -Baudelaire, and A. de Gasparini, afterward one of the biographers of -Wagner. - -Later, when the composer had taken a new residence at No. 3, Rue -d'Aumale, there was added to this number Cosima, a younger daughter -of Liszt, married two years previously to Hans von Bülow. By -arrangement with M. Carvalho, Wagner gave three concerts in the -Théâtre des Italiens on Jan. 25, and Feb. 1 and 8, 1860. The overture -to "Tannhäuser" and the prelude to "Tristan und Isolde" were given at -these entertainments. These concerts were pecuniarily disastrous, and -so also were two given in Brussels in March. Both press and public -were nonplussed by Wagner's music, and it remained for Hector Berlioz -to lead, by an article published in the _Gazette Musicale_, in the -subsequent general attack. Meanwhile Wagner was striving to induce -M. Carvalho to produce "Tannhäuser" at the Théâtre Lyrique, when -suddenly an unexpected power intervened. - -According to Wagner's account given to Praeger, the Emperor Napoleon -III., in conversation with the Princess Metternich, asked her if she -had heard the latest opera of Prince Poniatowski. She answered that -she had, and that she did not care for such music. "But is it not -good?" asked the Emperor. "No," she responded. "But where is better -music to be got, then?" "Why, your Majesty, you have at the present -moment the greatest composer that ever lived in your capital." "Who -is he?" "Richard Wagner." "Then why do they not give his operas?" -"Because he is in earnest, and would require all kinds of concessions -and much money." "Very well; he shall have carte blanche." The -Emperor accordingly gave orders that "Tannhäuser" should be mounted -at the Grand Opéra. This stroke of fortune came like lightning out of -a clear sky, yet Wagner was not altogether blind to the difficulties -in the way of a satisfactory performance. - -With the scenic preparations, which now began, he was delighted, for -the resources and skill of the leading opera house of Europe were at -his disposal. But the lack of singers trained in the theory of the -lyric drama hampered him. He stipulated that Albert Niemann should -be engaged for the title rôle, and that he should have time to learn -the French text. He asked for Faure to create the rôle of Wolfram -for the Parisians, but that new and rising star demanded too large a -salary, and Morelli was engaged for the part. With this singer, and -Mme. Tedesco, the Venus, Wagner had no end of trouble, as they were -Italians and utterly without comprehension of his ideas. Marie Saxe, -who had a lovely voice, was wooden in her acting, and Wagner had to -drive her to movement and life. Edmond Roche's translation of the -text proved to be too rough for use, and finally Charles Nuitter, -who translated Bellini's "Roméo et Juliette" for the Opéra, was -employed to finish the work. - -In his anxiety to make himself and his purposes known to the -Parisians Wagner published four of his dramatic poems, prefaced by -a letter on music,[24] in which he endeavoured to set forth his -ideas. M. Adolphe Jullien says of this letter: "As Wagner had in -1860 already written 'Tristan und Isolde,' and as that poem figured -in his book, he instinctively carried the history of his life and of -the development of his ideas beyond the point of 'Tristan,' without -reflecting that he was thereby exceeding his aim, it being simply a -question of preparing people to hear 'Tannhäuser.'" There is no doubt -that this letter did much to confuse those Frenchmen who read it and -to deepen the spirit of opposition to Wagner's reformatory theories. - -[Footnote 24: "The Music of the Future," W. Ashton Ellis's -translation of Wagner's Prose Works, Vol. III.] - -But despite all these things the production of "Tannhäuser" might -have come to a successful issue but for one difficulty. The -gentlemen of the Jockey Club, who were among the most important of -the subscribers to the Opéra, and who, of course, did not at any -time desire to take the entertainment seriously, were in the habit -of arriving after their dinners in time for the ballet. In the -original version of "Tannhäuser" there was no attempt at a ballet, -and Alphonse Royer, the director of the Grand Opéra, besought Wagner -to introduce one in the hall of song, in the second act. This the -composer peremptorily refused to do, because it would interfere -with the dramatic integrity of the scene. He would consent only to -a rearrangement of the first scene, where, in the revels in the -Venusberg, a ballet with some significance might be introduced. He -therefore rewrote this scene, cutting out the stirring finale of -the overture and raising the curtain on the second appearance of -the bacchanalian music, which was now extended and elaborated so -that a pantomimic ballet might be danced. He also elaborated the -scene between Tannhäuser and Venus, after this ballet, according to -his later conceptions of music drama. The music of this new scene -was written in the style of "Tristan und Isolde," and, at every -performance of the Parisian version of "Tannhäuser," obstinately -refuses to amalgamate in style with the rest of the score. This whole -new scene was beyond the comprehension of the Parisian public of -1861, but might have been tolerated had it not been a direct affront -to the subscribers. A further element of danger lay in the fact that -the conductor was no other than Dietsch, the musician who had failed -with "The Phantom Ship" after Wagner had sold that text to Léon -Pillet. - -The first performance took place on Wednesday, March 13, 1861. -After the first act the gentlemen of the Jockey Club went out and -bought all the hunting whistles they could get, and as soon as the -second act began they set up a din which gradually drowned out -the performance except in the forte passages. In the third act -pandemonium reigned, and the thrilling narrative of Tannhäuser -was unheard in the chorus of yells from the auditorium. Wagner's -friends applauded, and the Emperor on several occasions led the -favourable demonstrations, but Wagner was taught that in Paris the -coryphée ranked above high art. Before the second performance, -March 18, Royer succeeded in inducing Wagner to cut out some of the -most familiar parts of the work, a portion of the Venus scene, the -plaintive melody of the shepherd's pipe, the hunting horns and the -appearance of the dogs at the end of the first act, and other similar -things, all now known to every lover of Wagner's work. The gentlemen -of the Jockey Club again drowned the latter half of the opera with -their whistles, despite the plain protest of a large part of the -audience led by the Emperor. The third performance was given on a -Sunday in order that the subscribers might not be present. That the -general public was interested in the opera is proved by the receipts: -First performance, 7,491 francs; second, 8,415; third, 10,764. - -Wagner now refused to allow the performances to continue, and as he -had borne much of their expense he left Paris burdened with debts. -But the shrieks of the Jockey Club whistles had resounded across the -Rhine and stirred up a Teutonic indignation, which was eventually -to be of much benefit to him. The French public was not unjust to -Wagner; he knew that and testified to it; but, as Charles Baudelaire -exclaimed in his pamphlet on the episode, "'Tannhäuser' was not even -heard." - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -A MONARCH TO THE RESCUE - - "My King, thou rarest shield of this my - living."--WAGNER - - -Wagner went from Paris to Vienna, where he hoped that a production -of "Tristan und Isolde" might be arranged. The manager of the opera -house, when he learned that the composer was about to visit the city, -prepared a special performance of "Lohengrin." This took place on May -15, 1861, and for the first time Wagner himself heard the work which -has touched the hearts of so many thousands of his fellow-creatures. -At the end of each act the audience forced him to acknowledge its -applause, and at the conclusion of the performance he was called -before the curtain three times and compelled to make a brief speech. -Many times afterward did he refer to the intoxication of that -wondrous May night. Think of it! Thirteen years after it was written, -and eleven years after its first performance, the writer of the most -popular opera in the world heard it for the first time. And even then -this master, who had already written "Rienzi," "The Flying Dutchman," -"Tannhäuser," "Lohengrin," "Das Rheingold," "Die Walküre," part of -"Siegfried," and "Tristan und Isolde," was a wanderer on the face of -the earth, an outcast, and could not make a living from his music. - -His early works were now beginning to find their way to the stage, -but the royalties paid in the German theatres were too small and -the performances too infrequent to bring him in a satisfactory -income. His first effort, therefore, was to get "Tristan und -Isolde" produced, and to his great joy the manager of the Vienna -opera accepted the score. Preparations were at once made for the -production. But, alas! that was still far away. The rehearsals began -in the fall, but the tenor, Ander, was taken sick, and the whole -winter was lost. When the work was resumed, it dragged along at a -snail's pace, and finally, after fifty-four rehearsals, the drama -was abandoned as impossible. Ander, the Tristan, told Dr. Hanslick -that as fast as he learned one act he forgot another. Wagner, on the -contrary, asserted in after years that all the singers went through -the whole work with him at the piano. However, it is not difficult -to conceive that the artists of that day may have found "Tristan und -Isolde" impracticable, seeing that the work never was really _sung_ -until within the last half-dozen years, when the greatest vocal -artists of the world appeared in it. - -While the Viennese were floundering, Wagner found it necessary to do -something toward earning money, and so he undertook a concert tour. -In Carlsruhe, Prague, and Weimar negotiations for the production of -Tristan fell through, but in the last-named place Wagner was royally -received in the summer by Liszt and the other musicians. The general -amnesty which had been granted some years before to the rebels of -1848 made it possible for him to go openly to Germany, except the -kingdom of Saxony, and even that was soon opened to him. He planned -a tour, and reluctantly prepared to produce excerpts from his own -works, as the only means of advertising them. He confesses that dire -necessity forced him to this step so inconsistent with his theories, -and his enemies did not hesitate to taunt him with the inconsistency. -He was alone in his travels, for the winter of 1861 in Paris had -been the last straw on the back of the patient Minna. She could no -longer endure her life with this "monster of genius," who would -not be a faithful husband, who wrote works ridiculed by the world, -and could not earn bread and butter. She left him and went back to -Leipsic to live with her relatives. She and her husband never came -together again, though they occasionally referred to one another with -tolerance in their letters to third persons. Minna died in 1866. - -The concert tour began in the winter of 1862, and Wagner travelled -in Germany and even into Russia. In the latter country alone did -his entertainments bring him in any substantial pecuniary returns. -He was in Moscow when he learned that the rehearsals of "Tristan -und Isolde" had been abandoned at Vienna. He had become indifferent -on the subject. He was almost convinced that he ought to give up -his attempt to be a composer. Mr. Finck notes that at one time he -seriously thought of going to India as a tutor in an English family. -Let it be borne in mind that in 1863, while he was still wandering -about, giving these concerts, he was fifty years old, and that, with -a surging consciousness within him that he had created immortal -works, he was stared at by people wherever he went as a freak and a -madman, and was caricatured and ridiculed by almost the whole press -of Europe. And all this because he had dared to say that an opera -was a poetic drama, and should be so written, so performed, and so -received by the public. - -Yet in these years of hardship, sorrow, and discouragement he wrote -the text of his most humorous work. He took up and completed the -book of "Die Meistersinger," of which he had made a sketch in 1845, -just after the production of "Tannhäuser." This work was done in the -course of a temporary residence in Paris in the winter of 1861-62. -The text was published, or rather printed for circulation among his -friends, in 1862. The version now known to all music lovers shows -many changes. The copyright of the drama was sold to Messrs. Schott, -of Mainz, and accordingly Wagner went to Biebrich, a little town -opposite Mainz, to compose the music. He subsequently continued his -labours at Penzing, near Vienna, and there also he published the text -of "Der Ring des Nibelungen" as a piece of literature. He declared -that he did not expect to finish the music, and that he had no -hope of living to see the work performed. It was at this time that -Wagner's affairs sank into such a state that he was overwhelmed. He -decided to go to Russia and remain there the rest of his life. But -first he must finish the score of "Die Meistersinger." So he wrote -to his old friend, Mme. Wille, at Zurich, and asked her to receive -him for a short time. Like the familiar man in the play, he arrived -on the heels of his letter, and Frau Wille had to exert herself to -make all ready for the great man. But she realised that all Wagner's -doings and sayings would have historical importance, and she made -notes from which she afterward published a valuable article. - -From this we learn that the great musician while in her home was -the prey of conflicting emotions, but was most frequently plunged -in despair. He had a deep, a passionate conviction of his own -powers. He was inspired with an absolute prevision of the worldwide -glorification that would come to his name when once his works were -adequately made known. And because of this he suffered agonies of -mind and heart while the scores lay silent in his desk. He cried out -against the niggardliness of a world which refused him a few luxuries -when he was preparing joy for so many thousands. He felt that the -time would come when the world would be ready to heap all kinds of -honours on his head, but he feared that it would come too late. - -Yet in this state of mind the genius of production would not -sleep within him. He worked unceasingly at the score of "Die -Meistersinger," and, according to Mme. Wille's own account, with -a perfect satisfaction as to its greatness. Wagner had what has -frequently been called the vanity of men of genius. He spoke with -childish naïveté of his works. He spoke of himself without hesitation -as a great man, and he had not even the slightest consciousness -that a difference of opinion was possible. But such vanity is -pardonable in a man who so thoroughly justifies it. Cicero, Napoleon, -and Beethoven had a similar sort of vanity. The world has learned -to smile indulgently upon it. And whereas in Wagner's lifetime -his vanity and love of luxury made him perhaps not an altogether -agreeable companion, they detract in no way from his claims to -recognition as one of the most remarkable men ever born. - -One day, while at the Willes', Wagner received word that his -Viennese creditors were on his track, and he resolved to go away. -He was at his wits' end, for everywhere "Tristan" was pronounced -impossible, and "Die Meistersinger" was refused before the score was -seen. He went to Stuttgart with the vain hope that he could arrange -for the performance of some of his operas there and thus earn enough -to stave off misfortune for a time. And even while he had fled, -his fortune was pursuing him. At last to this weary wanderer, this -"Flying Dutchman" of musical history, were to come rest and peace -and a perfect love. At last one dream of all his years of insatiable -longing was to be realised. At last his scores would sound "from off -the death-wan paper," and the world would learn the true might of -Richard Wagner. - -In the preface to the poem of the "Nibelung's Ring," Wagner had -described the means and manner of performance--had, in a word, laid -down the plan of Bayreuth. But he felt that only a monarch could -afford to give the financial support to such a scheme, and he wrote, -"Will that king be found?" Now there was a young prince who fed his -soul on Wagner's works and who worshipped the master in secret. -At fifteen he had heard "Lohengrin," and, like all whose operatic -experience began with Wagner, he had become an ardent Wagnerite. He -had watched his idol's career of misfortune in helpless pity. And -then suddenly the King of Bavaria went to join his fathers and this -generous youth seated himself upon the throne. One of his first -acts was to send a messenger to bid Wagner come to his capital and -complete the majestic labours of his life in peace. - -Herr Sauer, the appointed messenger, searched high and low. He delved -in Wagner's old haunts at Vienna, but the very memory of the mad -composer seemed to have gone. So he went down to Switzerland and -hunted in Zurich and Lucerne. But there was no Wagner. Then Baron -Hornstein, a minor composer, met him out in a boat on Lake Lucerne -and told him that Wagner was in Stuttgart. At any rate this is the -story told to Mr. Finck by Heinrich Vogl, the tenor, who said that -Wagner confirmed it. Sauer took Wagner to Munich, and there on May 4, -1864, he wrote to Frau Wille that it all seemed like a dream. - -"He wants me to be with him always, to work, to rest, to produce -my works; he will give me everything I need; I am to finish my -Nibelungen and he will have them performed as I wish. I am to be -my own unrestricted master; not Kapellmeister--nothing but myself -and his friend. All troubles are to be taken from me; I shall have -whatever I need, if only I stay with him." - -This enthusiastic youth of eighteen, with a royal treasury at his -disposal, and the splendid musical traditions of Munich reaching away -behind him to the era of Orlando Lasso, was to be the saviour of -Wagner's work. He was already a worshipper of the art of the master, -and he speedily proved himself to be attached to him by a deep -personal affection. On Lake Starnberg, no great distance from Munich, -the King gave Wagner a pretty villa, and there he spent the summer of -1864. The King's summer palace was only a mile or two away, and the -monarch and composer were much in one another's company. The young -King's friendship was of a passionate kind, such as only romantic -youths entertain, and, unfortunately, of the sort that was sure -in the course of time to lead to scandalous comment in the polite -society of a court. - -In honour of his new patron Wagner wrote in that summer the -"Huldigungs Marsch," which has the romantic character implanted in -all Wagner's concert pieces. Here, too, at the wish of his young -patron, Wagner wrote his essay on "State and Religion" (Mr. Ellis's -translation, Vol. IV.). As in all the other writings of Wagner -bearing upon the conduct of a State, in this essay art is held up -as the panacea for all ills. He saw the ideal of the State embodied -in the person of the King, who by the nature of his position must -take life most seriously, and in whose inability to attain ideal -justice and humanity there is something tragic. But for these ideals -the King is bound to strive and so must lead a life of misery if he -does not seek the only solace, namely, religion. Then follows a long -definition of religion. How shall the King endure? By refreshing -his mind with the pleasing distractions of art. The essay easily -convinces the reader that Wagner was not, as he often wished to be, a -philosopher, but simply an artist whose reasoning flexibly followed -the flow of his ruling instincts. - -So passed the first summer under the royal protection, pleasantly, -almost idyllically. But now serious work was to begin. In the autumn -the two friends returned to Munich. A residence in a quiet part of -the city was set apart for the use of Wagner, and he prepared to -resume the production of his masterpieces. Hans von Bülow, his former -pupil, was summoned with a view to his becoming the conductor of -"Tristan und Isolde." This beginning was effected in the summer, for -Mme. von Bülow, little dreaming whither she was going, arrived in -Munich with her two daughters in June, and Von Bülow followed the -next month. The influence of Cosima von Bülow upon Wagner began at -once. He had been lonely and depressed ever since his separation -from his wife, and the advent of this woman of artistic temperament -and commanding intellect, the fruit of the illicit union of Franz -Liszt and the brilliant Countess d'Agoult (the "Daniel Stern" of -French literature), aroused in him new conceptions of the "eternal -woman-soul." - -Peter Cornelius, the pupil of Liszt and composer of the admirable -"Barber of Bagdad," was also summoned, and not far away lived the -young Hans Richter, afterward to be one of the principal conductors -of Wagner's music. The ardent young King was all eagerness to begin -the work of performance, but Wagner was hampered by the want of -singers capable of singing such new music as that of "Tristan und -Isolde." In Ludwig Schnorr von Carolsfeld and his wife were found -representatives of the hero and heroine, but Wagner foresaw that -the method of singing the music drama of the future would need wide -study, and so he wrote a long paper on a plan for a school of music -in Munich. This paper gave a detailed outline of the operation -of a conservatory, and set forth as its purpose the artistic -interpretation of the works of the older German masters, and leading -thence to the treatment of the modern music drama. The old Munich -Conservatory was closed by the King's order in the early summer of -1865. But the plan to reopen it on the lines laid down by Wagner -failed through the hostility of the local musicians. It was reopened -in 1867 under Hans von Bülow, who was able to carry out Wagner's -ideas only to a limited extent. - -In October the King decided that "Der Ring des Nibelungen" should -be produced, and the date was set for it three years thence. On -December 4 "Der Fliegende Holländer" was performed, and on December -11, January 1, and February 1 Wagner conducted concerts. In January -Gottfried Semper, the architect, was called to Munich to be -consulted about plans for the new theatre for the Nibelung dramas. -And meanwhile the preparations for the production of "Tristan" went -forward. Wagner's star was at last in the ascendant. - - - - -CHAPTER XII - -SOME IDEALS REALISED - - "Lausch', Kind! Das ist ein Meisterlied."--DIE - MEISTERSINGER - - -And now, under the guidance of a monarch to whom Wagner's art was -almost the inspiration of life, Munich, which in 1858 had rejected -"Der Fliegende Holländer" as unsuitable to the German stage, was -about to produce "Tristan und Isolde," the supreme essence of -Wagner's matured genius. In April, 1865, the composer wrote a -general letter inviting his friends everywhere to go to Munich and -attend this first of all Wagner festivals, three performances of a -work already eight years old, set down for May 15, 18, and 22. But -postponements took place, and the work was not produced until June -10. It was repeated on June 13 and 19 and July 1. Each performance -was attended by a large audience, and the applause was of the most -vigorous kind. Much of the success was due to the superb conducting -of Von Bülow, whom Wagner called his second self, and the inspired -interpretation of Tristan by Ludwig Schnorr. Wagner declared that -his ideal was fully realised by this great artist, and he bemoaned -Schnorr's subsequent untimely death as the greatest possible loss to -him and his work.[25] The composer's essay on this singer is a most -eloquent tribute from a creative to an interpretative artist, and -throw invaluable light on Wagner's theories of performance in general -and the presentation of "Tristan und Isolde" in particular. - -[Footnote 25: A gentleman, who in his youth heard Schnorr sing -Tristan, has assured me that he was not the typical German -representative of the part, but that he approached in his singing -the manner of Jean de Reszke. Schnorr's voice, my informant says, -was a beautiful, sweet, lyric tenor, and his style was one in which -a fluent and touching cantabile was the most conspicuous feature. -This statement, in conjunction with Wagner's declaration that Schnorr -fulfilled his ideal, should contribute something toward a destruction -of the foolish notion that Wagner's music ought not to be beautifully -sung.] - -It may easily be understood that this was a period of unalloyed -happiness for Wagner. His highest dreams were being realised, and he -was working out his artistic purposes with a free hand. But such an -Elysium could not last. His enemies were striving against him with -might and main. The newspapers were used unscrupulously to spread -all kinds of damaging reports. It was said that he was endeavouring -to substitute art for religion in the State, that he was leading the -young King into reckless extravagances which threatened the stability -of the national treasury. The King was, indeed, considering the -plan to build a special theatre for the production of the Nibelung -dramas. Such a theatre was subsequently built at Bayreuth, and Munich -might have had the honour and the profit which have since accrued to -that little city, had it not been for the determined opposition of -narrow-minded intriguers.[26] - -[Footnote 26: The new Munich Wagner Theatre, opened in the summer of -1901, stands almost on the spot on which King Ludwig's was to stand.] - -The story was published that the new theatre was to cost millions. -Other equally wild assertions were made. The people became aroused, -and finally police and court officials represented to the King that -Wagner's life was in danger. The composer had already answered in a -calm and dignified letter the various newspaper calumnies, but that -availed him nothing. The King besought him to leave Munich, in order -that public confidence might be restored. And accordingly, after -a stay of a year and a half in the city, he departed in December, -1865, to his favourite refuge, Switzerland. He made a short stay at -Vevay and Geneva, and then in February, 1866, settled at Triebschen, -near Lucerne, where he remained, with little interruption, till he -removed to Bayreuth in 1872. Most of the frantic opposition to the -royal support of Wagner appeared to have arisen from the project of -bringing to ideal production the Nibelung cycle, and so this was for -the time abandoned. As Wagner himself tells us, in his "Final Report" -on the preparation of these dramas (Ellis's translation, Vol. V., p. -310): - - "Now that I and my usual project had been placed in broad - daylight, it really appeared as if all the ill will that - had lurked before in ambush was determined to make an open - attack in full force. Indeed, it seemed as though no single - interest, of all those represented by our press and our - society, was not stung to the quick by the composition and - plan of production of my work. To stay the disgraceful - direction taken by this feud in every circle of society, - which recklessly assailed alike protector and protected, - I could but decide to strip the scheme of that majestic - character which my patron had accorded it, and turn it into - a channel less provocative of universal wrath. Indeed, I - even tried to divert public attention from the whole affair - by spending a little hard-won rest on the completion of the - score of my 'Meistersinger,' a work with which I should not - appear to be quitting the customary groove of performances - at the theatre." - -It may not be out of place to add here that calumny pursued him after -his retirement from Munich, and one of the most interesting stories -was that he had left his wife to starve. To this falsehood the -unhappy Minna replied with great dignity and a touch of pathos in a -statement published in January, 1866, a fortnight before her death. -She said: - - "The malicious reports which certain Vienna and Munich - papers have been publishing for some time concerning my - husband compel me to declare that I have received from him - up to date a pension which amply suffices for my support. I - seize this opportunity with so much the more pleasure since - it enables me to destroy at least one of the many calumnies - which people are pleased to launch against my husband." - -This statement is indisputable evidence that there was no harsh -feeling in the heart of the wife who had parted from him. - -Mme. von Bülow with her children joined Wagner at Triebschen, -while Hans was obliged to go to Basle to teach. In his place he -left Hans Richter, who thus became intimately associated with the -creative work of Wagner. The separation between Von Bülow and his -wife proved to be final, and the daughter of Liszt imitated her -illustrious father by recognising the supremacy of the claims of -love over all other obligations. In 1866 the public feeling against -Wagner had somewhat declined, and the King decided to have model -performances of "Tannhäuser" and "Lohengrin" at Munich. Von Bülow -was made Kapellmeister and devoted himself, heart and soul, to the -preparations for these performances. In March, 1867, Wagner went to -Munich to supervise some of the rehearsals, and again he visited the -capital in May for the same purpose. A general rehearsal took place -on June 11th, and everything went to the satisfaction of the master. - -To his intense surprise, the next day the King sent away Tichatschek -and Mme. Bertram-Mayer, who had been especially engaged, and -announced that their places would be taken by Heinrich Vogl and -Therese Thoma, afterward his wife. This was the result of a new -intrigue against Wagner, and he, despairing of a perfect performance -in these conditions, at once left the city. The first of these -"model" performances took place on June 16 and was successful in -spite of the sudden changes. But it was not what Wagner would have -called an ideal performance, and some of the customary cuts were -made. Despite the continued opposition to Wagner the King retained -his love for the "music of the future," and he determined that "Die -Meistersinger" should be produced in the year 1868. Public feeling -against Wagner still further diminished, and he was able to visit -Munich frequently to superintend the rehearsals, which were under the -direction of Von Bülow as conductor and Richter as chorus master. The -best obtainable artists in Germany were secured, and no pains were -spared in the preparation of the troublesome but essential details of -nuance and stage business. On June 21, 1868, the opera was produced, -and its success was most decided. - -And now Wagner returned to his magnum opus, "Der Ring des -Nibelungen." But the King could not wait. He was eager to hear at -least a part of it, and so he gave orders that "Das Rheingold" should -be prepared. Again there were troubles of all kinds. The composer's -directions were so inadequately followed that the machinery for the -first scene was almost worthless. Richter, who had succeeded Von -Bülow as Kapellmeister, was so displeased with the preparations -that he refused to conduct, and finally Franz Wüllner was secured -in his place. After several postponements the work was produced in -a bungling style on Sept. 22, 1869. Wagner made a feeble effort to -save the performance from disaster, but the result was practically a -fiasco. The King, however, was bound to hear more of the trilogy, and -accordingly, on June 26, 1870, "Die Walküre" was performed, the Vogls -appearing as the lovers. The audience was somewhat better pleased -with this work than with the "Rheingold," but the production could -not be called a success. These performances were premature, and they -may be said to have flashed in the pan. - -It was at this period that an event occurred which Wagner's friends -had for some time expected. The marriage of Cosima Liszt and Hans -von Bülow had not been happy, and the estrangement between them was -accelerated by the woman's quick conception of a passion for Wagner. -When Von Bülow went to Basle to teach, the beginning of the end had -come, and it was not long after that when the relations between -Wagner and Mme. von Bülow could no longer be kept secret. "If it were -only someone whom I could kill," said Von Bülow, "he would have been -dead before this." The great conductor could not think of slaying the -great master. In the autumn of 1869 the Von Bülows were divorced. In -July, 1870 Wagner wrote to Praeger: - - "My dear Ferdinand, you will no doubt be angry with me when - you hear that I am soon to marry Bülow's wife, who has - become a convert in order to be divorced." - -A little later Praeger received the wedding cards announcing that -they had been married on Aug. 25 at the Protestant Church of Lucerne. -The attitude of Liszt toward this union may be understood from -Wagner's statement that he was more annoyed by his daughter's change -of religion than by her divorce. That the divorce and the marriage -had to come about, however, may be inferred from the fact that in -the summer of 1869 Mme. von Bülow had borne to Wagner a son.[27] The -existence of this child was first definitely mentioned by Wagner -in a letter to the Zurich friend, Mme. Wille, dated June 25, 1870, -accepting an invitation to visit her, but deferring the date till he -and Mme. von Bülow could go as man and wife. In November of the same -year Wagner wrote to Praeger, and closed the letter with these words: - - "Often do I now think of you because of your love for - children. My house, too, is full of children, the children - of my wife, but beside there blooms for me a splendid son, - strong and beautiful, whom I dare call Siegfried Richard - Wagner. Now think what I must feel that this at last has - fallen to my share. I am fifty-seven years old." - -[Footnote 27: The date of Siegfried Wagner's birth has never been -made known by the Wagner family. In his chronological table of the -incidents of Wagner's life, Houston Stewart Chamberlain notes, in -the year 1869, "Siegfried Wagner born on June 6 of the marriage with -Cosima Liszt." In spite of the direct and the indirect falsehoods -contained in this note, I have reason to believe that the date is -correct.] - -Cosima Wagner was twenty-nine years old at the time of her marriage -to the composer. Many foolish stories have been told of her coming -between him and his first wife. The reader of this volume can see for -himself that there is not the slightest foundation for these tales. -The facts of the divorce and marriage may be permitted to stand -without comment. But it should be said that Cosima Wagner gave to -her husband a loyalty, a devotion, and a sympathetic comprehension -which made him a wholly happy man in his domestic life. In 1871 -Wagner composed, in honour of the child and to celebrate his wife's -birthday, the popular "Siegfried Idyll." Richter gathered the -necessary musicians at Lucerne and rehearsed the piece, and at the -proper time performed it on the stairs of the villa at Triebschen, -to the surprise and joy of Mme. Wagner. The leading themes of the -composition are taken from "Siegfried" and are combined with an old -German cradle-song. - -In 1870 Wagner published two important prose works, "On Conducting" -and "Beethoven." The former arraigns the mechanical Kapellmeisters of -Germany in good round terms, and sets forth Wagner's ideas as to the -proper manner of directing the performance of the classic orchestral -works. It is an eloquent and instructive little book, and should be -read by all music-lovers. The study of Beethoven is less clear in -style and dips into metaphysical discussion, but it contains artistic -views of high dignity. In 1871 the composer wrote the familiar -"Kaisermarsch," intending it as a musical celebration of Germany's -triumph in the conflict with France. It may be noted that the Emperor -accorded to this attention the very scantest courtesy. We have now -reached the period when Wagner left Munich for Bayreuth. The time -was approaching when the great Nibelung drama must be launched in its -entirety. The plan to build a theatre for it in Munich had, as we -have seen, fallen through. A new site had to be found and new plans -to be adopted for bringing to a successful issue the most formidable -theatrical project of the century. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII - -FINIS CORONAT OPUS - - "Vollendet das ewige Werk: - Auf Berges Gipfel - Die Götter-Burg, - Prunkvoll prahlt - Der prangende Bau!" - RHEINGOLD - - -It was in April, 1872, that Wagner went to Bayreuth to live. He at -first occupied rooms in the small hotel belonging to the Castle -Fantaisie, in the village of Donndorf, an hour's ride from Bayreuth. -Subsequently he moved into hired apartments in the town. Meanwhile a -new home for him was in process of erection, and in 1874 he and his -family took possession of the Villa Wahnfried, where his widow and -children still live. This house was built in accordance with Wagner's -own ideas, and in it at last he found that domestic peace and comfort -for which he had longed through so many years of struggle. But the -theatre and the performance of the Nibelung drama were still at -a distance. Work on the "Festspielhaus," as it is called, was in -progress, but the difficulties in the way of its completion seemed -well-nigh insuperable. Money, money, was still the cry. The history -of the inception and progress of the Bayreuth project might well be -told at great length, but it must be narrated as briefly as possible. - -Why had Wagner selected Bayreuth as the scene of the crowning labour -of his career? Other cities in Germany had offered him inducements, -but they were precisely the sort of inducements that a man of -Wagner's artistic ideas could not appreciate. He could have gone to -cities in which he would have had ready-made publics in the shape -of summer tourists in large numbers, but such publics he did not -desire. He wished to bring to the performance of his magnum opus an -assembly gathered for no other object. He desired the representations -to take place where they alone would be the moving thought in the -public mind. People must go to Bayreuth solely to attend the Wagner -performances, and thus the audience would come into the theatre in -the right mood. Again, Bayreuth was in Bavaria, and Wagner wished to -carry out in the dominion of his royal friend the great project of -his life. - -But how was the necessary money to be raised? Performances of the -older works brought in but little, and concerts were expensive. At -this juncture Carl Tausig, the young pianist, conceived a plan, which -he elaborated with the aid of the Baroness Marie von Schleinitz. It -was estimated that the entire expense of preparing and performing -"Der Ring des Nibelungen" would amount to about 300,000 thalers, or -$225,000. The plan was to sell 1000 certificates of membership among -the supporters of Wagner's ideas. The holder of one certificate was -to be entitled to a seat at each of the three series of performances. -Any person could buy several certificates, and three might unite in -the purchase of one, each of the three thus attending one series. -Tausig had other ideas in his head for the assistance of Wagner, but -he was suddenly carried away by typhoid fever at the age of thirty. - -Meanwhile Emil Heckel, a music publisher of Mannheim, had proposed -the formation of Wagner societies, and had organised one in Mannheim, -in June, 1871. Heckel's scheme was a sort of lottery, each member -paying five florins and being entitled to one chance in a patron's -certificate, one of which was bought for each thirty-five members. -The society was also to give concerts and to use the proceeds in -the purchase of certificates. The Wagner society plan spread, -and organisations of this kind were formed in leading cities in -Europe and America. Wagner busied himself conducting concerts and -pushing the production of his works, but the raising of the funds -proceeded very slowly. Nevertheless, on May 22, 1872, Wagner's -fifty-ninth birthday, the corner-stone of the new theatre was laid -with appropriate ceremonies. Burgomaster Muncker, from whose Life of -Wagner quotations have been made, and Frederick Feustel, a banker, -had, as the heads of a committee of the citizens, presented to Wagner -a site for the edifice. Niemann, Betz, Fräulein Lehmann, and Frau -Jachmann (née Wagner) had volunteered to sing. Vocal societies from -Leipsic and Berlin, and orchestral players from Vienna, Leipsic, -Weimar, and other cities had offered their services. And so Wagner -was able to prepare one of those ideal performances of Beethoven's -Ninth Symphony in which he delighted. The concert took place in the -old opera house of Bayreuth, and was followed by the laying of the -corner-stone. The band played the "Huldigungsmarsch," while Wagner -struck the stone three times with a hammer, and said, "Bless this -stone! May it stand long and hold firmly." King Ludwig telegraphed -his congratulations. Rain fell, and the assembly returned to the old -theatre to complete the ceremony. Musicians and singers, the Wagner -family, the composer, the burgomaster, and others were grouped on -the stage. The burgomaster delivered an address of welcome, and then -Wagner read a fervent speech. At the close of it he raised his hands -and the chorus burst into the chorale from the last scene of "Die -Meistersinger." - -The air was full of hope, yet in January, 1874, Wagner had to tell -Heckel that he was about to announce to the public the complete -collapse of the Bayreuth scheme. The money could not be raised. -Once more King Ludwig came to the rescue, with a contribution of -200,000 marks. The Viceroy of Egypt gave $2,500, and 404 patron's -certificates had been sold by July, 1875. So Wagner, although he -foresaw a heavy deficit, announced that the performances would take -place in the summer of 1876. - -Meanwhile he travelled about, giving concerts and supervising -performances of his older works, and adding here a little and there -a little to the sum needed for carrying out his plans. Through -Theodore Thomas he at this time received $5000 for the composition -of the "Centennial March," written for the opening of the Centennial -Exposition at Philadelphia. This is Wagner's poorest music, but he -must have been very glad to get the money, and we Americans can revel -in the trilogy and forget the march. - -At length, in August of 1876, the long-awaited event took place, -and the little town of Bayreuth awoke one morning, Byron-like, to -find itself famous. The Emperors of Germany and Brazil, the King of -Bavaria, the Grand Dukes of Weimar, Baden, and Mecklenburg, Prince -Vladimir of Russia, and the Prince of Hesse; eminent musicians headed -by Franz Liszt, Camille Saint-Säens, and Edward Grieg; critics from -all countries, and supporters of Wagner from all over Europe and -even from America, crowded into the town to hear this new thing in -operatic art, this "music of the future." The enemy, too, was well -represented, and the glitter of the critical axe was seen among the -flaunting banners. The Emperor of Germany arrived on August 12th, and -was received with due ceremony. He stayed for only two of the first -series of performances, but Mr. Finck has clearly proved that he went -to Bayreuth with that intention, and was not driven away by the music -as some of Wagner's opponents have asserted. - -The first performance took place on August 13. It was to begin at -5 P.M., but was postponed till 7, because the Emperor of -Brazil could not reach the city in time for the earlier hour. An -audience of wonderful composition assembled in the theatre, after -the trumpeters had blown a motive from the last scene to announce -that the performance was about to begin. The first impression of -wonder was created by the darkening of the auditorium, it being part -of Wagner's plan that the attention of the audience should thus -be centred on the stage. Then came the surprising effect of the -concealed orchestra, playing down in its pit between the stage and -the audience, the pit fancifully christened the "Mystic Gulf." Such -a rich, homogeneous instrumental tone was new to all the hearers. -The curtain rose, and the depths of the Rhine were revealed. The -audience entered a new world of operatic experience. The performance -moved smoothly, except that some of the stage mechanism was -defective. Indeed, the hitch in the passage from Scene I. to Scene -II. drove Wagner out of the theatre. After the performance there were -tumultuous calls for Wagner and the artists, but no one responded. - -On the following night "Die Walküre" was given, but owing to the -indisposition of Unger, the leading tenor, "Siegfried" had to be -postponed till August 16. "Götterdämmerung" was performed on August -17. The third and fourth works of the series were on these dates -heard in public for the first time. After "Götterdämmerung" the -audience again called for the composer and the performers, and now -Wagner appeared and made a brief speech of thanks and promise for the -future. The curtains were drawn aside and all the artists were seen. -When the three series of performances had been completed there was a -banquet, at which Wagner further explained his hopes for the coming -years, and at which he paid a warm tribute of gratitude to his first -friend and helper, Liszt. - -Thus was finally brought to representation the great tetralogy, on -which Wagner had worked more than a quarter of a century, and which -was, without doubt, the chief labour of his life. From 1848 his mind -had been filled with the story of "Siegfried." He had laid it aside -from time to time to produce other works, but it had been the chief -aim of his existence. Early in his labours on it he had discovered -that the narration would require the building of a tetralogy, and he -had also foreseen that a special theatre must be built. No playwright -or composer had ever before entertained such a project, and now -at last it was accomplished. The critics departed in a state of -confusion, as well they might, having been called upon to face an art -utterly unknown, and brought before them in a condition of complete -development. That their comments showed an almost total failure -to understand what Wagner had attempted was natural. If they had -understood him, they would have been men of genius themselves. Some -men of genius did understand him, and that was his highest reward. -The musical world was rent asunder with arguments for and against the -new art, but Wagner had at least lived to see one dream of his life -realised. - -Some description of the Festspielhaus must be included at this point. -The theatre occupies an isolated position on a slight eminence -about fifteen minutes' walk from the town. The portion containing -the auditorium is small, and about half as high as that containing -the stage. Two stages, one above the other, are used, so that while -one scene is before the audience the other is preparing in the -cellar. This device was made known to New Yorkers in the Madison -Square Theatre, where the famous double stage of Steele Mackaye was -for a time the talk of the town. Wagner's plan was older than Mr. -Mackaye's. The Festspielhaus proscenium is extremely plain, and is -so contrived that it creates an illusion as to the distance between -the audience and the stage. No prompter's box and no footlights are -visible to the spectators. In front of the stage and running partly -under it is the pit for the orchestra, so arranged that the musicians -are wholly unseen by the audience, and the conductor is visible only -to the singers. - -The auditorium itself is small and rigorously plain. The parquet -seats 1300 persons. Above the last row of seats, and extending all -the way across the rear of the auditorium, is a gallery, containing -nine boxes for the use of titled visitors. Above this gallery is -a second one containing 200 seats. The seating capacity of the -entire theatre is about 1500. The parquet seats are arranged in -easy curves, so that every person faces the stage and has a perfect -view. There are no side seats and no proscenium boxes. The sides of -the auditorium are finished with Renaissance columns; and sixteen -wide passages, eight on each side, give easy egress from the house. -There are no chandeliers. The lighting outfit of the auditorium -is just sufficient to enable the audience to find its way about. -While the performance is going on, all lights in front of the stage -are extinguished. The entire aim of the plan of this house is to -remove everything which can suggest the conventional theatre, and to -concentrate the attention of the audience on the stage. - -Wagner's principal assistant in the building of this theatre was Karl -Brandt, of Darmstadt, with whom he consulted in regard to everything. -The architect, engaged on Brandt's advice, was Otto Bruckwald, of -Leipsic. The scenery for the Ring dramas was designed by Prof. Joseph -Hoffmann, of Vienna, and painted by the Brothers Brückner, of Coburg. -These are the men to whom Wagner expressed himself as especially -indebted for aid in carrying out his ideas. Of the performers engaged -in this remarkable undertaking mention will be made in the study of -the dramas, which will form a separate part of this work. - -The first Bayreuth festival resulted in a deficit of $37,000. And so -Wagner, with the artistic dream of his life realised, found himself -once more the victim of monetary embarrassments. He went into Italy -for a little rest, and was received with distinction in several -cities. The violinist Wilhelmj, who had been concertmaster of the -festival orchestra, suggested that a series of concerts in London -would go far toward raising the money needed to meet the deficit. -Several of the Bayreuth singers were secured, and the concerts -were announced for May 7 to 19, 1877. Wagner conducted one half of -each concert and Richter the other half. This was the beginning of -Richter's great vogue as a conductor in London. The concerts were -a failure, and two supplementary entertainments at popular prices -were given in order to help the situation. But Wagner left London -with his affairs still in a bad condition. The London visit was -notable for the fact that on May 17 he read the poem of his new -drama, "Parsifal," to a circle of friends at the house of Edward -Dannreuther. He read the same work to German friends at Heidelberg on -July 8, while on his way back to Bayreuth. - -The financial difficulties were finally solved by the disposal to -Munich of the rights of performance of the "Ring." Wagner had said -that the work really belonged to the King, who had agreed to pay -him a pension on condition that he should complete and produce the -work. The Intendant of the Munich Opera House saw in the deficit at -Bayreuth his opportunity to acquire the right to perform the work. -He agreed to pay the deficit provided the royal right to "Der Ring" -be enforced for the benefit of the Munich theatre. Wagner was obliged -to accept this solution of his difficulties, and thus Bayreuth lost -the sole right to the tetralogy. The dramas of the "Ring" now began -to be played separately, much to Wagner's displeasure, but they -grew in popularity, and the royalties were good to have. Angelo -Neumann organised his travelling Nibelung Theatre, with several of -the Bayreuth artists and Anton Seidl as conductor, and gave complete -performances, except for cuts authorised by Wagner, in many cities of -Germany and Italy. Meanwhile Wagner was engaged in completing what -was to be his last work. He had conceived it in 1865, but had found -no opportunity to do more than write the book. His health was not of -the best, and he was eager to retire to the seclusion of Wahnfried -and finish his drama. The settlement of the pecuniary troubles -arising from the first festival enabled him to carry out his project. -He was to write one more work, filled with ecstatic piety, and then -go to his rest. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV - -THE LAST DRAMA - - "Alles wird mir nun frei."--GÖTTERDÄMMERUNG - - -In the fall of 1877 Wagner's mind was occupied with a plan to found -at Bayreuth a music school similar in plan to that which he had -once hoped to have in Munich. Delegates from the Wagner societies -were invited to the city to consider the project, but they, alarmed -by the large deficit remaining from the festival of 1876, declined -to further the scheme. At this gathering of delegates the various -societies were reorganised into one general association, having -its headquarters at Bayreuth; and that the members and the other -sympathisers with his aims might have some definite object before -them, Wagner announced that subscriptions would apply to the -production of his new work, "Parsifal." It was at this time his -purpose to produce this drama in 1880, but various causes, including -poor health, combined to prevent the fulfilment of this intention. -Naturally the lack of funds was a prime cause for the postponement. -Wagner announced the change of date in a communication to his -subscribers, dated Bayreuth, July 15, 1879. - -Meanwhile a new medium of making known his plans and ideas had been -found. In January, 1878, appeared the first number of a monthly -periodical called the _Bayreuther Blätter_, edited by Hans von -Wolzogen, who is now known to all students of Wagner's scores as the -author of handbooks explaining the leading motives of the music. -Wagner himself was an active contributor to this journal, and wrote -some of his most interesting papers for it. Meanwhile he worked -assiduously at the music of "Parsifal." That he did not finish it -till the beginning of 1882 was due to a variety of causes, among -which was a fresh outbreak of his old enemy, erysipelas. This sent -him, in the last days of 1879, into southern Italy in search of -relief. He was not in a sanguine temper at this time, and he wrote -for the opening of 1880 a querulous article, showing that he still -felt the hostility of criticism and the inability of the public to -comprehend his artistic purposes. He said: - - "Nothing, in fact, seems farther from our public situation - of the day than the founding of an artistic institution - whose use, nay, whose whole meaning, is understood of the - veriest minority. Indeed I believe I have done my best to - state both things distinctly: but who has yet heeded? An - influential member of the Reichstag assured me that neither - he nor any of his colleagues had the faintest notion of - what I want. And yet, to further my ideas I can think only - of such as know absolutely nothing of our art, but devote - themselves to politics, trade, or business; for here a ray - may sometimes strike an open mind, whereas among those - interested in our present art I fancy I might seek such a - mind in vain. There reigns the obstinate belief that art - is but a métier, its object to feed its practitioner; the - highest-placed Court theatre Intendant never gets beyond - that, and consequently it does not occur to the State to - mix itself in things that rank with the regulation of - commerce. There one swears by Fra Diavolo's 'Long live art; - above all, the lady artists,' and sends for Patti." - -To the casual observer Wagner at this period probably seemed to have -reason to be well pleased with his life. He was rid of the burden -of the deficit remaining after the "Ring" performances, he had a -beautiful home, a devoted wife, and was surrounded by friends who -gave him that ceaseless praise for which his heart ever hungered. -But Wagner could not forgive the world for not taking him at his own -valuation. He resented Germany's reluctance to accept the new gospel -of art which he preached. Nevertheless he laboured away at the score -of "Parsifal," drifting off into that religious mysticism which has -affected so many composers in their old age, and at the same time -realising that now at last he was writing something which would -not be practicable outside of the secluded auditorium of Bayreuth. -Fragments of the work were scored from time to time, and at the -Wahnfried Christmas festival of 1878 the prelude was performed by -the Meiningen Court Orchestra. But it was not till after the trip -to Italy that he was ready to begin active preparations for the -performance of the drama. The piano rehearsals were begun in August, -1881. But in the winter of 1881-82 bad health again sent Wagner -south, and he completed his score in January in Palermo. - -He returned to Bayreuth in May. The subscriptions for the "Parsifal" -production arrived very slowly, and at the close of 1881 the amount -subscribed was still lamentably small, but once more King Ludwig came -to the rescue. He offered Wagner the use of the forces of the Munich -Opera House, in return for which that theatre acquired the exclusive -right to the performance of "Die Feen." Nevertheless in the end -Wagner was compelled, in order to meet all expenses, to abandon his -plan of giving the performances for his subscribers alone. The first -two performances were exclusive, but the general public was admitted -to the others with the happiest results. - -The final rehearsals began with July, 1882, and the first performance -was given on July 26. Fifteen other performances were given, the -last on Aug. 29. The production engaged the services of a number -of the best singers in Germany, many distinguished principals -consenting to take small parts. The scenery and stage effects again -commanded high praise, and Wagner's skill as a designer of stage -pictures was conceded even by those who refused to allow him genius -as a dramatist. Again, too, there was an unfortunate hitch in the -mechanical devices. The panorama in the first act, showing the -country through which Gurnemanz and Parsifal pass on their way to -the castle of Monsalvat, was mistakenly constructed to move half as -fast as it should have moved, and as there was not time after the -discovery of the error to rectify it, Wagner had to have the music -of the scene played through twice. But the solemn drama created a -profound impression, and many of the critics who had found little to -please them in the "Ring" admitted that "Parsifal" exercised a potent -spell on their minds. - -The exertions necessary for the production of "Parsifal" had told -severely on Wagner. It is said that at one rehearsal he fainted, -and, on recovering, exclaimed, "Once more I have beaten Death." Dr. -Standthartner, one of his firm Viennese friends, examined him in the -course of the summer, and found that a heart affection, from which -the composer had long been suffering, had made dangerous progress. -Wagner was not told of his exact condition, but he was warned that -immediate rest and relief from care was absolutely essential. He -was a man of sixty-nine and he had done an enormous amount of work. -Furthermore he had taxed the resources of his system by indulgence in -passionate moods, which were naturally followed by periods of intense -depression. - -After the "Parsifal" performance he went with his family to Venice, -where he took up his residence in the Vendramin Palace on the Grand -Canal. The household consisted of Wagner, his wife, Siegfried, the -Count Gravina and his wife (daughter of Von Bülow), her sisters, -Liszt, and the Russian painter Joukowsky, who had designed the -scenery of "Parsifal." Perl[28] gives a most interesting account of -the domestic life of the family in the last days of the master's -life. He lived in the greatest seclusion, receiving no visitors -and making almost no calls. He arose early and occupied himself -with writing, no one being allowed to disturb him while so engaged. -The products of his pen were chiefly articles for the _Bayreuther -Blätter_. About noon his wife joined him and gave him the substance -of the morning's mail, sedulously concealing anything which might -excite him. In the afternoon, after a nap, he went out with his -family, if the weather was pleasant, in a gondola, and frequently -made excursions of some length. In the evening the old palace (it was -built in 1481) was brilliantly lighted up, and Wagner listened to one -of his family reading aloud. - -[Footnote 28: "Richard Wagner in Venice," by Henry Perl. Augsburg, -1883.] - -Liszt arrived in the middle of November, and Wagner began to be -reminiscent. He suddenly remembered his juvenile symphony, and -decided that on Christmas, 1882, it should be performed, not as -a Christmas festivity, but in honour of his wife, whose birthday -was Dec. 25. The concert-room and orchestra of the Liceo Benedetto -Marcello were lent to him for the purpose, and he rehearsed the -composition himself with the greatest ardour. Wagner afterward wrote -a report on the performance of this youthful work, which he said -went extremely well, owing to the natural disposition of the Italian -musicians for tone and phrasing, and also owing to the large number -of rehearsals which he was able to have. The symphony, too, "really -seemed to please," and some Italian critics spoke well of it. Wagner -himself did not overrate his boyish composition, but its revival was -a pleasant occasion. At the end of the performance Wagner laid down -the bâton and declared that he would never conduct again. He had felt -the strain of the physical effort. But his words, read in the light -of subsequent events, acquired that appearance of prophecy which -men's latest utterances so often gain from their propinquity to the -end. - -Dyspepsia had tortured him for years, and the irregularities -of digestion had finally developed the heart affection, before -mentioned, to a serious condition. Wagner was attended in Venice -by Friedrich Keppler, but he disobeyed the physician's directions -constantly. He was especially careless about exertion, and was not -wholly observant of the necessary caution in the matter of eating. -He fell faint several times in the course of the winter, but always -strove to conceal the fact from his family. After Liszt's departure -on Jan. 13 he became even more careless, and entered with great -avidity into the preparations for the Bayreuth festival of the -following summer. On Feb. 13, 1883, he rested till late. At noon -he called the maid, who sat outside his room, and ordered a light -luncheon. It was his intention to go out in his gondola at four. Soon -after the luncheon had been brought the maid heard Wagner call for -her in a faint voice, and running into the room found him in agony. -"Call my wife and the doctor," he said. The wife reached his side in -time to witness his last struggle. When the doctor arrived he was -dead. - -King Ludwig sent Adolf Gross, a Bayreuth banker, who had long been -an ardent supporter of Wagner, to Venice as his representative. -Venice offered a public funeral, but the widow declined it. Silently -through the canals on Feb. 16 went a draped gondola with the body. -A special mourning car carried the remains to Bayreuth. That city -had indeed been stricken in the loss of him who had made it famous. -At the railway station on the arrival of the funeral train a public -ceremony took place. After Siegfried's funeral march had been -played Burgomaster Muncker and Banker Feustel spoke. The Bayreuth -Liederkranz sang the chorus arranged by Wagner for the burial of -Weber in Dresden. The funeral procession then moved to Wahnfried, -where the remains of the poet-composer were interred. - -Feustel had said in his speech at the station that Bayreuth's most -dignified tribute to the memory of the dead master would be the -"Parsifal" performances in the coming summer. These were given, but -without the presence of the widow. She secluded herself even from -Liszt, her father. But the following year she took up the task of -continuing the festivals, which have lately reflected her ideas as to -the proper method of interpreting her husband's masterpieces. - -What embryonic works Wagner left is not known. He had written -an extensive autobiography, but his family has not yet seen fit -to publish it. Probably it will not see the light till Cosima -is laid beside him in the garden of Wahnfried. The rumour that -he left sketches for a drama on a Buddhistic subject rests on -slight foundation. The materials for this drama, "The Victors," -were absorbed in the plan of "Parsifal." He left some minor prose -writings which are included in the ten volumes of his works and -which may be found by the reader of English in the last volume of -Mr. Ellis's translation. Gross, the Bayreuth banker, guaranteed the -"Parsifal" performances of 1883, and superintended the settlement -of the dead man's financial affairs. The consolidation of all the -Wagner societies continued the work of supporting the festivals till -their aid was no longer needed. In later years the receipts from -the festivals and the royalties from the numerous performances of -Wagner's works have enabled his family to live in luxury. Siegfried -Wagner has become a musician and a composer. He shows no evidence of -inheriting his father's genius, but he works assiduously and with -effect in preparing performances at Bayreuth, which, in spite of many -changes, continues to be the Mecca of all worshippers of Wagner's -genius. - - - - -CHAPTER XV - -THE CHARACTER OF THE MAN - - "Close up his eyes and draw the curtains close, - And let us all to meditation."--HENRY VI. - - -"The noble and kindly man as his friends knew him, and the aggressive -critic and reformer addressing the public, were as two distinct -individuals." These words of Edward Dannreuther are the explanation -of the many contradictory reports as to the personality of Wagner. -Those to whom he opened his inner self, to whom he addressed his -feelings and his hopes, who, in a word, understood him as both man -and artist, were united in praise of his personality. Liszt, Praeger, -Uhlig, Roeckel, Fischer, Von Bülow, Judith Gautier, Baudelaire, Frau -Wille--all the company of Wagner's friends and helpers loved his -nature and found in him none of that arrogance, that intolerance, -that insufferable conceit, which the unsympathetic outer world -condemned. With his friends, who understood the purpose of his -life and the aims of his ambition, he was generally in a state of -spiritual relaxation, and was simply himself. With those who failed -to understand him, and with all those whom he recognised as enemies -of his artistic ideas, he never relaxed the spirit of determined -opposition to indolent and slothful conceptions of life and art; and -with them he was consequently always in a mood of hostility. To such -he was rude, discourteous, and intolerant. His nature was irritable, -and even his friends had to endure curt and hasty speech at times. -To his enemies he was never polite, except occasionally in written -communication. He was not a politic man, for he was too nervous in -habit and too impulsive in utterance. He possessed the gentle art of -making enemies as few other men could, yet he was highly successful -in gaining friends, and those whom he got he kept. His early Dresden -friends were always his friends. The Zurich coterie adored him to -the end. Those who were intimately associated with him in Bayreuth -loved and reverenced him. Muncker, the burgomaster of Bayreuth, whose -book was translated into curious English by another German,[29] could -write thus of him: - - "With passionate warmth he was beloved by numerous friends - who for a lengthy space of time could not grasp the idea - of his death. In a full measure he deserved this love. He - was a man as good as he was great. In his nature height - of mind, depth of feeling, and childlike amiability were - blended. The energetic strength of his will was paired - with heartfelt mildness; the susceptibility of his - mood, attributable to his many adversities and to his - heart trouble, with an unfailing and sincere desire for - reconciliation; the seriousness of his mind, which in - social intercourse involuntarily mastered all, with an - inexhaustible love for jest and humour. He loved and was - mindful for every creature, man or animal, that needed help - or sympathy. Courageous truthfulness was the foundation of - his character. Therefore he was simple and natural in his - demeanour and an outspoken enemy of all bombast. He was - proud, but modest in spite of his consciousness of what he - desired, knew, and accomplished. As his memory retained - alive what long already was past, so he thankfully never - forgot the good that others had done him, and faithfully - clung to his friends, even if time and space separated them - from him. Himself clear in his thoughts and intentions, - he demanded the same clearness in those who wished to - associate with him." - -[Footnote 29: I have taken the liberty of changing the wording of the -translation in two places where the meaning was obscure.] - -The testimony of others who knew Wagner longer and more intimately -than Muncker is in a similar vein. It is difficult in the face of -such evidence to accept the assertions of those contemporaries who -saw in him only the narrowest and most selfish egotism. That he had -serious faults and many foibles goes without saying. That he was an -agreeable companion to any one not absorbed in his artistic ideas -cannot be believed. Geniuses, self-centred as they must be, devoured -day and night by passionate yearning for the attainment of ideal -ends, are not often pleasant acquaintances. Wagner did not differ -from other great men. People who were uncongenial to him have said -that he was invariably rude and overbearing. Edward Dannreuther, who -was his friend, says: "He had no pronounced manners in the sense -of anything that can be taught or acquired by imitation. Always -unconventional, his demeanour showed great refinement. His habits -in private life are best described as those of a gentleman. He -liked domestic comforts, had an artist's fondness for rich color, -harmonious decoration, out-of-the-way furniture, well-bound books and -music, etc." - -And here we come upon one of the traits of this singular man, -which has properly given rise to the largest amount of derogatory -comment. He certainly had luxurious tastes, and he never resisted -the temptation to gratify them even when he could not afford to -do so. He loved fine surroundings. He was fond of rich garments, -especially for indoor wear during his working hours. In later years, -when his worldly position had improved somewhat, he employed an -expensive Viennese dressmaker to make the silken robes which he -wore in the house. He sent her the most elaborate designs for his -dressing-gowns, which he seems to have planned with fastidious care. -He paid her absurd prices for his robes. This was only one form of -Wagner's extravagance. He wore silk underwear at all times, and -Praeger endeavours to show that he was forced to do this in order to -diminish as far as possible the irritability of his skin caused by -the erysipelas, of which he was a lifelong victim. Wagner himself -realised that his habits were luxurious, but he held that luxury was -a necessity to him. He knew that he would be blamed for taking this -position, and in a letter of 1854 to Liszt he wrote: - -"How can I expect a Philistine to comprehend the transcendent part of -my nature, which in the conditions of my life impelled me to satisfy -an immense inner desire by such external means as must to him appear -dangerous and certainly unsympathetic? No one knows the needs of -people like us. I am myself frequently surprised at considering so -many 'useless' things indispensable." Later in the same year he wrote -a letter in which he shows plainly how his craving for luxurious -surroundings as an aid to work affected his financial affairs. He -said: - - "I cannot live like a dog. I cannot sleep on straw and - drink bad whiskey. I must be coaxed in one way or another - if my mind is to accomplish the terribly difficult task - of creating a non-existent world. Well, when I resumed - the plan of the 'Nibelungen' and its actual execution, - many things had to co-operate in order to produce in - me the necessary, luxurious art mood. I had to adopt - a better style of life than before. The success of - 'Tannhäuser,' which I had surrendered solely in this - hope, was to assist me. I made my domestic arrangements - on a new scale. I wasted (good Lord, wasted!) money on - one or the other requirement of luxury. Your visit in the - summer, your example, everything, tempted me to a forcibly - cheerful deception, or rather desire of deception, as to - my circumstances. My income seemed to me an infallible - thing. But after my return from Paris my situation again - became precarious. The expected orders for my operas, and - especially for 'Lohengrin,' did not come in; and as the - year approaches its close I realise that I shall want much, - very much, money in order to live in my nest a little - longer." - -That there is a plaintive and unmanly weakness in all this is not -to be denied. But we have to bear in mind that if Wagner had not -received the assistance of his friends and been enabled to live as he -wished to live and to work according to his fancies, we should not -require biographies of him, and his great dramas would not have been -the delight of two continents. That there was still further weakness -in the metal of this man is shown by the extremities of depression -into which he sank. Suicidal thoughts were no strangers to him and -restlessness and discouragement were much too common. In a letter of -March 30, 1853, he says to Liszt: - -"What can help me? My nights are mostly sleepless, weary, and -miserable. I rise from my bed to see a day before me which will bring -me not one joy. Intercourse with people who torture me and from whom -I withdraw to torture myself! I feel disgust at whatever I undertake. -This cannot go on. I cannot bear life much longer." - -Yet in spite of these pitiable feelings the artistic impulse was all -potent within him. In the beginning of 1859 he wrote to his fidus -Achates: "Believe me implicitly when I tell you that the only reason -for my continuing to live is the irresistible impulse of creating -a number of works of art which have their vital force in me. I -recognise beyond all doubt that this act of creating and completing -alone satisfies me and fills me with a desire of life, which -otherwise I should not understand." And yoked with these ideas always -went his conviction that the world owed him a gratuitous living that -he might accomplish the creative functions of his genius. In October, -1855, he wrote to the amiable Franz: - - "America is a terrible nightmare. If the New York people - should ever make up their minds to offer me a considerable - sum, I should be in the most awful dilemma. If I refused, I - would have to conceal it from all men, for everyone would - charge me in my position with recklessness. Ten years - ago I might have undertaken such a thing, but to have to - walk in such by-ways now in order to live would be too - hard--now when I am fit only to do and to devote myself to - that which is strictly my business. I should never finish - the 'Nibelungen' in my life. Good gracious! such sums as - I might earn in America people ought to give me without - asking anything in return beyond what I am actually doing, - and which is the best that I can do." - -And then he adds pathetically that he is better fitted to spend money -than to earn it. - -In such a man as Wagner the artistic traits are dominant. They rule -the personality. The conviction of this man that he had in him the -conception of epoch-making works, and his recognition of the fact -that the world was his artistic enemy, were the moving forces of his -life. Without constantly keeping this in mind, it is quite impossible -to comprehend the character of Wagner. It explains at once its -weakness and its strength. It accounts even for his domestic history, -while it does not justify it. His first wife was a good woman, and -in a way he loved her. But she was never able to become an essential -part of his life, because she could not enter into his artistic -thoughts and purposes. Hence she was unable to control his impulses -to wander. Cosima von Bülow understood him before she went to live -under the immediate influence of his mind. That they should have -been drawn to one another was inevitable. He who in letters to Liszt -had cried out in anguish of his need of a home and woman's care was -very ready to accept them at her hands at no matter what sacrifice, -and she in the same spirit was ready to give them. To her Wagner -was constant in spite of the fact that temperamentally he was an -inconstant man. She controlled his desires, and they needed control. - -The artistic aspirations which governed his entire career made -it a disappointment. Wagner died a disappointed man. That he was -gratified by the production of the "Ring" at Bayreuth there need be -no denial. That he enjoyed to the fullest the praises of those who -seemed to comprehend his ideals is beyond doubt. But, nevertheless, -he realised that he had not penetrated the public mind. He saw -plainly that the applause for his works was not for their revelation -of a new standpoint in operatic art, but for their purely theatrical -effectiveness. The public never saw beneath the surface. He felt that -he was wholly misunderstood. In a letter of 1859 to Liszt he said: - - "I never had much pleasure in the performance of one of my - operas, and shall have much less in the future. My ideal - demands have increased, compared with former times, and - my sensitiveness has become much more acute during the - last ten years while I lived in absolute separation from - artistic public life. I fear that even you do not quite - understand me in this respect, and you should believe my - word all the more implicitly." - -Again and again he spoke in no doubtful terms of his knowledge that -the public did not understand his aims. He was delighted by every -evidence of sympathy, but he suffered untold agonies of mind from the -fact that "Tannhäuser," "Lohengrin," and "Die Meistersinger" were -treated by the world as mere operas, and that there was no evidence -that the operatic public understood his departure from the old and -insincere methods of the commercial theatre. The disappointment which -Wagner experienced from the failure of the world to grasp his ideals -would have continued, had he lived longer. Even now only a few ardent -lovers of the loftiest things in art have entered fully into the -spirit of his conceptions. One has only to attend a performance of -"Siegfried" before an ordinary audience of professed Wagnerites to -see how far short of a complete understanding of Wagner his friends -still are. Thousands of well-meaning persons regard themselves as -disciples of this unique master when they have learned the contents -of Hans von Wolzogen's handbooks and can identify every leading -motive in each score when it is heard in the orchestra. The praise of -all such people was vinegar and gall to Wagner. He felt that he was -utterly misunderstood, and that was torture to his sensitive spirit. - -He was unhappy, too, because he could not get his works properly -performed. Perhaps he never experienced deep delight at any -representation except the first of "Tristan und Isolde," in which -the splendid work of Schnorr filled him with joy. But his "Lohengrin" -and his "Tannhäuser" were never given to his satisfaction, for there -were absolutely no singers who united the ability to declaim the -recitative and to deliver the plentiful cantilena also. Not only -was there a lack of singers, but there were no stage managers who -understood him, and so all over Germany his works were performed -in a spirit foreign to their poetic content, and the master was -misrepresented to a public which would have found it almost -impossible to comprehend him in the most favourable conditions. -Mr. Dannreuther says: "The composer of 'Tristan' confronted by the -Intendant of some Hoftheater, fresh from a performance of Herr von -Flotow's 'Martha'! A comic picture, but unfortunately a typical one, -implying untold suffering on Wagner's part." - -Wagner was under medium size, but had the appearance of being -somewhat taller than he really was. In 1849 the police description -of him ran thus: "Wagner is 37 to 38 years old, of middle height, -has brown hair, wears glasses; open forehead; eyebrows brown; eyes -grey-blue; nose and mouth well proportioned; chin round. Particulars: -in speaking and moving he is hasty." Animation marked all his ways, -and at times he revelled in the wildest spirits. Periods of deep -depression occurred to him, but his nervous energy seldom deserted -him. - -The study of his personality will always bring one back to the same -point. He was entirely dominated by his artistic nature and ambition. -His life can be understood only by an analysis of his motives based -on this premise. Wagner, the man, was the creature of Wagner, the -dreamer of "Siegfried." There has never been a clearer instance of -the mastery of genius. He was unceasingly driven by it from boyhood -to the grave. It made him selfish, intolerant, dogmatic, dictatorial. -But it achieved its ends. The grave at Wahnfried contains only ashes. -All that was vital in Richard Wagner lives still in the dramas -and the prose works. The forces which were in the man are just as -active now as they were when he laughed and stormed in the villa at -Bayreuth. - - - - -PART II - -THE ARTISTIC AIMS OF WAGNER - - "Every bar of dramatic music is justified only by the - fact that it explains something in the action or in the - character of the actor."--WAGNER TO LISZT, SEPTEMBER, - 1850. - - - - -CHAPTER I - -THE LYRIC DRAMA AS HE FOUND IT - - -What was this man Wagner trying to do? - -Broadly stated, the purpose of his life was to reform the lyric -drama, to restore to it the artistic nature with which it was born, -and to bring it into direct relation to the life of the German -people. His ideal was the highest form of the drama, with music as -the chief expository medium; and his most earnest desire, to make -that drama national, both in its expression of the loftiest artistic -impulses of the Teutonic people and in their recognition of that -fact. The whole controversy about the works of Wagner arose from -the determined opposition of those who were unwilling to see the -existing order of things operatic changed. The opera, as it was when -Wagner hurled his new ideas and works into the theatrical arena, was -a vastly different thing from the music-drama, and the confusion in -the public and critical mind, resulting from the fact that Wagner -used the outward and visible signs of opera, brought about a bitter -conflict. This conflict cannot end till the whole public realises -that although it goes on Monday night to hear "Lucia di Lammermoor" -and on Wednesday to hear "Tristan und Isolde," both employing song -instead of speech, and both outwardly built on theatrical lines, it -is nevertheless confronted by two radically different forms of art, -working for diametrically opposite results. - -That we may the better understand the matter we must shortly rehearse -the story of the birth and development of the lyric drama. The -opera was born at the end of the sixteenth century of an effort to -reconstruct the extinct Greek drama. The projectors of the movement -knew that the Greeks delivered the lines of their tragedies in an -artificial manner closely resembling chanting. In their endeavours to -provide something similar to this, they invented dramatic recitative. -At first this recitative was employed only in the construction of -monologues, but as the explorers in new musical territory gained -confidence, they made wider reaches. At the close of the century -"Eurydice," a drama in music, by Rinuccini and Peri, was publicly -performed. The new form of play gained immediate popularity, and the -progress of the lyric drama was begun. - -The inventors of the new form had just ideas. Peri believed it to be -the office of dramatic music to embody, intensify, and convey to the -hearer the emotional content of the text. His method of accomplishing -this was to imitate in music the nuances of the voice in speaking. In -agitated passages he used a faster movement and irregular rhythm. In -unimpassioned speech he wrote his music more smoothly. His ideas were -undeniably correct, but they could not be adequately carried out with -the resources of vocal music in his day. The art of solo writing was -in its infancy, and the melodic and harmonic expression of dramatic -emotion had just begun. Consequently Peri's music was monotonous. -There was no wide difference between his delineation of sadness -and his embodiment of despair. Furthermore his attempted fidelity -to the inner nature of speech led him away from definite musical -phraseology. His music was totally deficient in form, and it was the -discernment of this weakness and the attempts of his successors to -provide the remedy that led the opera out of the path of dramatic -sincerity. - -Monteverde, the most gifted of the early composers of opera, made -remarkable essays at combining musical clearness and symmetry with -dramatic expression, but his works show us that the materials of the -art were as yet so embryonic as to prohibit complete success. But -the instantaneous popularity of opera made it a veritable gold-field -for composers, and it speedily became the California of all the -adventurous spirits of music in the beginning of the seventeenth -century. These writers naturally sought the shortest and easiest -path to popularity, and this was soon proved to be in the provision -of vocal airs of simple, clearly defined form and pretty melody. The -operatic aria was thus developed and became the central sun of the -operatic system. - -But as solo arias could not make up the entire scheme of the opera, -duets, trios, and quartettes were introduced, care being taken to -conserve in them the principles of the air. It was soon found that -a sharp demarcation had to be made between these set pieces and the -ordinary dialogue by means of which the stories of the operas were -told. So gradually an opera came to be a symmetrically arranged -series of solos, duets, trios, quartettes, and other set pieces, -joined by a chain of recitative. In all this development purely -musical requirements had been considered. The librettist, therefore, -was merely the servant of the composer, and it was his business to -arrange his book with a view to a pleasing succession of pieces in -the aria form, or some form very similar to it. His story had to be -so constructed that it could be told in the dialogue between the set -pieces, and by means of this dialogue it should lead up to situations -at which the arias could be effectively, if not quite appropriately, -introduced. - -This was the condition of the opera in the middle of the eighteenth -century at the advent of Mozart and Gluck. It should be noted that -occasionally composers arose who had some sense of their obligations -to dramatic art and who endeavoured to improve the æsthetic nature -of the opera. Lully and Rameau in France did much along this line -and established traditions which have been of lasting benefit to the -lyric art of their country. But neither they nor their immediate -successors discovered the radical evil of the system upon which -they were working. The ground-plan of the opera was still musical. -There was still no thought of first writing a dramatic poem and then -setting it to music. The demands of the score formulated the plan for -the libretto. - -Mozart had not a drop of the reformer's blood in his veins. The -incongruity of the extant form of the opera seems never to have -occurred to his mind. He accepted the plan of the lyric drama as it -was handed down to him by his forerunners without question, and by -the sheer force of his incomparable genius succeeded in writing -immortal apologies for its existence. In his hands the aria took a -new meaning, and the recitative became a flexible and responsive -instrument. His treatment of the carefully built ensembles, which -had come to be a feature of opera, was that of a genius of the -first order. So great, indeed, was this man that to-day the works -of all his successors who wrote operas on the old plan become as -farthing rushlights before the splendour of his glowing masterpieces. -Antiquated as the style of Mozart's music is, his operas speak -the accents of inspiration and come before us with the gesture of -authority. - -Gluck, on the other hand, without the musical genius of Mozart, -had the insight of a cosmopolitan coupled with the impulses of a -progressist. The external defects of the opera were patent to his -sane consideration, and he sought at once for the corrective. He was -a sincere, conscientious reformer; and he did not a little to cut -away the growth of underbrush which had sprung up around the trunk -of operatic art. But he did not discern that the twig had been bent, -the tree inclined; and that the trunk itself needed to be hewn down -and the growth started again from the root. He saw that there was too -much difference between the recitative and the aria, and that the -latter was an impediment to the progress of the drama. He perceived -that the composers had catered too much to the vanity of singers -and had permitted a richly ornamental style of song, antagonistic -to broad dramatic expression, to become the type of operatic music. -He refused to write with a constant view to helping the singer to -display his voice and technic. He insisted that the business of -the music was to voice the content of the text, or as he himself -expressed it, "I endeavoured to reduce music to its proper function, -that of seconding poetry by enforcing the expression of the sentiment -and the interest of the situations without interrupting the action or -weakening it by superfluous ornament." He strove to curtail the empty -parade of musical devices and to restore that intimacy between text -and song which had been the chief charm and the most potent argument -for the existence of the "Drama per Musica" in its original form. - -But Gluck failed to achieve his purpose because he retained the set -musical forms which dictated the shape of the text and demanded the -old-fashioned arrangement of the scenario. He did not reach that -level of enlightenment from which he might have seen that the radical -error of opera lay in regarding music as an end and not as a means. -The stumbling-block of the lyric drama had been the aria, and to this -fact Gluck was strangely blind. It may not be amiss to conjecture -that, even if he had perceived the nature of this fault, he would not -have known how to correct it; for the development of musical design -had not advanced far enough to offer the suggestion of a better plan. -Gluck saw the evil effect of the empty repetitions in the aria and -expressly forbade them; but he was too wise to believe that he could -proceed wholly without musical design. To have done so would have -thrown him back to the era of Peri and would have resulted in chaos -and a confusion of the public mind. Therefore, retaining the aria in -a slightly modified form, he strove with the deepest earnestness and -with admirable skill to infuse into the music of his works a genuine -dramatic expressiveness. He made his arias delineative of the -situations and he paid the homage of an artist to the text, instead -of writing pretty tunes for their own sake. He tried to arrange -the ballets, which his French public demanded, so that they should -constitute part of the action of the drama and not be an interruption -to it. And he made a special study of the resources of instrumental -expression. - -His public at first fought him with stubborn determination, but he -conquered it in the end. Yet his influence on the operatic stage was -not permanently felt outside of France. The impetus given to Italian -opera by the easily attained popularity of the aria writers and the -bent imparted to it by their style remained. The applause of the -unthinking, who constitute the vast majority of theatre-goers in all -countries, is much more readily obtained by the agile delivery of -a brilliant air with a simple dance rhythm as its basis than by a -seriously conceived dramatic piece, which demands that the auditor -shall bring both intelligence and sensibility into the presence of -the singer. The Italian writers sought for this easy applause, and -the famous Rossini, Donizetti, and Bellini, who were the princes of -the Italian stage when Wagner was born, wrote wholly for the pleasure -of the ear. The Italian opera was in its entirety a musical product, -making but the shallowest pretence at representation of the thought -of the text, and scorning real dramatic sincerity. The old forms -prevailed and the librettist was but a purveyor to the composer. - -In France some outward pretence of adhering to the long-established -dramatic principles of the French lyric drama remained, but here the -musical dictator of the day was Meyerbeer, a man who sought popular -applause as ardently as any Italian, but who adopted a slightly -different plan of gaining it. Whereas the Italian appealed to his -public chiefly by musical sweet-meats, Meyerbeer deftly aimed at -a combination of showy musical effects with all the resources of -theatricalism. He brought to its perfection the ground-plan of the -French grand opera, in which a striking succession of scenes is one -of the most potent elements of attractiveness. Here the librettist -must not only provide for the usual alternation of solos with duets, -trios or quartettes, and ensembles, but must also plan the story of -his book so that a simple cottage or moonlight love scene shall be -followed by a grand pageant or a glittering ballet. One has only to -recall the progress of the scenes in "L'Africaine" or "Les Huguenots" -to see how the Meyerbeerian plan is worked out, and to realise how it -has dominated the modern opera in such creations as Gounod's "Faust" -and Verdi's "Aida." - -The theatricalism of the ground-plan infused itself into the music -with Meyerbeer. He was always planning for the immediate theatrical -effect, never thinking of the deep dramatic truthfulness which might -be imparted to music. For this reason his music is hollow and the -bones of it rattle. Occasionally he is carried away by a really noble -dramatic situation and writes greatly, as in the final duet of "Les -Huguenots." But the problem of Meyerbeer was precisely the same as -that of Rossini, namely, how best to tickle quickly the fancy of -the great unthinking masses and to fill the theatre. Thus Wagner -found the opera established on a purely commercial basis, with art -degraded to the dust. It was this which filled him with disgust, and -against which he fought throughout his life. It is not to be denied -that in the beginning he tried to reach the public by the same means -as Meyerbeer. He tried to serve both art and Mammon, but he speedily -discovered that real success could not be thus gained. He learned in -writing "Rienzi" that he was following the wrong path. In entering -upon this path, however, he was certainly led astray partly by the -victories of Weber. - -This master had in his "Der Freischütz" produced in 1821 a work -which not only was essentially German, but which abandoned much of -the outward appearance of opera. He announced his position by the -definition of opera as "an art work complete in itself, in which all -the parts and contributions of the related and utilised arts meet -and disappear in each other, and, in a manner, form a new world by -their own destruction." It was his belief that a libretto should -not be made simply as a framework for the old-fashioned sequence of -tunes, but should have an organic union with the music, and he said, -"It is the first and most sacred duty of song to be truthful with -the utmost fidelity possible in declamation." He had no respect for -the established forms, but held that the form of the music should be -prescribed by the poem. Nevertheless one finds that in its outward -aspects the Weber opera, by reason of its employment of the German -folk-song style, treads a path not remote from that of the aria. For -Weber did not discover any principle of musical design which would -enable him to free himself from some restraint by the cyclical song -form. Spoken dialogue takes the place of recitative in his works, -but the vocal numbers, introduced in much the same way as in the -older works, are of the song family, and in spite of an immensely -widened and deepened expression, the dominance of a purely musical -pattern is not escaped. - -Such was the condition of operatic art and such the natural attitude -of the public toward it when Richard Wagner began to look beyond the -narrow boundaries of his small estate and dream of fame as an artist. -The burning desire of the Königsberg and Riga period was, as he has -expressed it in the "Communication to My Friends," "to extricate -myself from the petty commerce of the German stage, and straightway -try my luck in Paris." But it was only the puny huckstering of -the little theatres which offended him. He had yet to learn that -the commercial element was just as conspicuously present in more -pretentious undertakings. He fell in love with Bulwer's "Rienzi," and -at once saw in it material for an opera. - - "This Rienzi with great thoughts in his head, great - feelings in his heart, amid an entourage of coarseness and - vulgarity, set all my nerves a-quivering with sympathy and - love; yet my plan for an art work based thereon sprang - first from a perception of the purely lyric element in the - hero's atmosphere. The Messengers of Peace, the Church's - summons to awake, the battle hymns--these were what - impelled me to make an _opera_: 'Rienzi.'" - -In trying to make this opera he learned that the impulse of a true -art work must come not from without, but from within; that an opera -which might be truly called a lyric drama could not be created out -of the desire of some one to set the tempting portions of a lyric -book to tuneful music, but only out of the demand of a great drama -for the musical form of speech. In writing the book of "Rienzi" he -thought only of producing an effective opera libretto, and to this -end he followed the Meyerbeerian ground-plan. His goal was the Paris -Grand Opéra, and a grand opera was what he wrote. The materials of -the story he saw "in no other light than that of a five-act opera, -with five brilliant finales, and filled with hymns, processions, and -the musical clash of arms." But even while fashioning this material -for purely theatrical effect, he sought to make contributions toward -real art, and it was the impossibility of combining the Meyerbeerian -make-believe with the fruit of his artistic nature that showed him -how far he was astray from the path leading to substantial and -permanent success. Nevertheless he would no doubt have struggled on -to force himself to travel the highway toward the Grand Opéra, had he -not found the gates locked against him. It was in his despair that he -at last resolved to write that which was in him and take no thought -of external success. And it was of this first travail of freed genius -that were brought to birth the fundamental tenets of his dramatic -creed, previously cherished only in the secret womb of his mind. - - - - -CHAPTER II - -THE REFORMS OF WAGNER - - -We may now approach the study in detail of Wagner's artistic aims. -I have already said that his purpose was to restore artistic -truth, dramatic sincerity, to the opera, and to bring it into some -relation to the life of the German people. Recapitulated with more -particulars, then, the reforms at which he aimed were these: - -(1)--The music had come to be the end instead of a means of -expression, and consequently musical forms dominated. Wagner strove -to confine music to its proper function of expression. He desired -to prevent its being regarded as the object of the lyric drama, but -wished it to take its legitimate place as one of the factors in the -composition of such a play. His labour in this direction included the -disuse of the set musical forms. - -(2)--He sought to make a complete organic union of the elements of -the drama employed in opera, a union in which each part should be -essential and all should work together for a common end, namely the -embodiment of the poet's thought. - -(3)--He endeavoured to make the "libretto" a consistent drama, but -always suitable to the emotional expressiveness of music. - -(4)--He aimed to bring the lyric drama out of the slough of mere -commercialism, and give it a direct relation to and influence upon -the intellectual and æsthetic life of the people. - -We have seen that when he set out to free himself from the petty -commercialism of the German theatre, Wagner fondly dreamed that with -a "grand opera" produced on the stage of the Grand Opéra of Paris, -he would emancipate himself. But in writing that work and labouring -for its production, he learned two vital facts, namely, that artistic -success could not be attained on the lines of the typical grand opera -and that from petty commercialism he had only approached that of a -larger field. He saw on every hand the theatre in the hands of mere -speculators, who sought not art, but money, and who were ready to -sink all artistic principles in order that they might appeal to the -debased tastes of "the stolid German Philistine or the bored Parisian -roué." When he turned his eyes backward along the path of history, -he saw that it had been thus for centuries. In the end he came to -the conclusion that only in the relation of the Greek drama to the -Greek people could he find that Arcadian perfection for which he -sought. And so he asked himself whether it was not possible to rise -once again to the lofty level of the Greek tragedy and thus bring the -theatre into relation to the heart and mind of the people. In his -conception of the lyric drama he believed that he saw the means of -doing this. - -The student of his artistic work will find his ideas set forth in -three of his literary compositions, "Art and Revolution," "The Art -Work of the Future," and "Opera and Drama." In "Art and Revolution" -he studied the theatre of Æschylus and Sophocles and examined the -reasons for its decline. In the devotion of Greek religion to the -ideals of beauty Wagner found the explanation of the Grecian fidelity -to the true principles of all art and of the final union of the -arts of poetry, music, and mimetics in the Greek drama. He saw the -highest period of this drama coincident with the supremacy of Athens. -With the decline of the Athenian state came the decline of the -Greek drama, and "the mad laughter of Aristophanes." The spirit of -community, he says, split into a thousand lines of egotism, and the -union of the arts which made the drama also was dissolved. - -Then came the era of philosophy, which was inimical to art, and the -dawn of Christianity was still less favourable to it. The old Greek -freedom in the contemplation of nature and untrammelled worship of -beauty for its own sake could not live under the reign of Christian -teaching. With the changes in public thought resultant on the new -teachings of Christianity and philosophy, art assumed a new relation -to the national life, and in Wagner's opinion a social revolution -alone would be the instrument to restore it to its pristine standing. -With his social views we need not now concern ourselves. The point -for us to bear in mind is that, like the founders of opera, he went -back to the Greek drama for his first principles and in it found a -union of the arts of poetry, music, and action. This union suggested -to him, as it had to Peri and his friends, the laws on which must -stand the modern play in music. - -From this point he starts in his "Art Work of the Future." He -finds that after the dissolution of the old union of the arts, each -sought its own development on independent lines and that each had at -times sunk to the level of a mere amusement. Various unsuccessful -attempts had been made to reunite these arts, but their independence -had increased constantly till in Wagner's day each had touched -the uttermost limits of its development and could not possibly go -further. It was necessary, therefore, that each should sacrifice some -measure of its independence in order to unite with the others in an -artistic entity. This in Wagner's mind was a musical drama, in which -poetry, painting, music, and acting should unite in an organic whole. - -Having in this essay laid down the fundamental demands for his -ideal lyric drama, he made in "Opera and Drama" an exhaustive study -of this form of art. The first part of the work is devoted to a -critical sketch of the development of opera. The text is that which -we have already noted, that the means of expression, music, had been -taken for the end, while the real object, the drama, had been made -subsidiary to the production of pretty music in set forms. With this -as his theme, Wagner examined the works of the various operatic -masters and adduced evidence to establish his position. It was this -part of his book which caused the bitterest comment at the time of -publication. - -The second part of the work is given to a study of the spoken drama, -and it shows that Wagner was a close student of the works of the -leading English, French, and German dramatists. It is in this survey -that he indicates the special nature of the difficulties placed -in the way of dramatic treatment by historical subjects, which -he himself found impracticable for operas. He notes how Schiller -laboured unsuccessfully to give clearness and form to the mass of -historical details which he introduced into his "Wallenstein," while -Shakespeare rested upon the firm ground of the auditor's imagination -and painted in broad lines. Here the author propounds his own theory -that for an ideal drama a mythical subject is the best, because it -admits of a centralisation of the poet's thought upon the characters -and emotions of the personages and rids him of the limitations of -historical colour, or conventions of time or place. - - "In the drama," he says, "we must become knowers through - the Feeling. The Understanding tells us 'So is it,' only - when the Feeling has told us, 'So must it be.' Only through - itself, however, does this Feeling become intelligible to - itself; it understands no other language than its own. - Things which can only be explained to us by the infinite - accommodations of the Understanding embarrass and confound - the Feeling. In Drama, therefore, an action can only be - explained when it is completely vindicated by the Feeling; - and it thus is the dramatic poet's task, not to invent - actions, but to make an action so intelligible through - its emotional necessity, that we may altogether dispense - with the intellect's assistance in its vindication. The - poet, therefore, has to make its main scope the choice - of the Action,--which he must so choose that, alike in - its character as in its compass, it makes possible to him - its entire vindication from out the Feeling; for in this - vindication alone resides the reaching of his aim." - -This is the kernel of the second part of "Opera and Drama." In the -third part he examines the materials of the poetic drama. He studies -the technical resources of rhythm and rhyme and endeavours to show -how far they can be utilised by the dramatist. From this he advances -to an examination of the type of verse best suited to the purpose of -the lyric drama, and here we are made acquainted with the theory of -his own verse. He discourses on the functions of melody and harmony -in the expression of the feelings of a drama and expounds his ideas -as to the powers and uses of the orchestra. Finally he shows how he -believes that the development of a drama should lead to periods of -emotional exaltation, or, technically, emotional "situations," in -which the expressiveness of melody would be employed with all its -resources to enforce the poet's thought. The principal tenet of this -part of the book is that the music must grow inevitably out of the -emotional character of the scene, and that its technical potencies -must be employed in proportion to their fitness for specific kinds of -expression. - -It is in his studies of the spoken historical drama and his -expression of his ideas as to the proper materials for the lyric -story that we must find the formation of Wagner's fundamental theory -that the myth offered the best subject-matter for the musical -dramatist. The details of movement and accessories required in a -historical drama are in the way of the necessary process of focussing -the music on the grand emotions of the play. The simplification of -the story, so that its central situations are emotional and not -merely theatric, is impossible when historic truth is preserved. But -all mythology is the embodiment of primary world-thoughts. It is the -poetry of peoples, and he who looks below the surface will find in it -the whole heart of a nation. And thus the personages of mythologic -story became world-types. They are embodiments of racial or national -ideals. They are free, unconventional, elemental. Wagner came to -discern in their qualities the requisites for heroes and heroines of -the lyric drama. And from the philosophy of Schopenhauer, of which he -was a student, he drew encouragement and support. - -According to Schopenhauer it is the work of Art to represent for -us the eternal essence of things by means of prototypes. The human -mind should rise above the conditions of time and place, cause and -tendency, and thus come to the contemplation of eternal ideas. This -contemplation is the privilege and the duty of Art. Where, then, was -Wagner to find eternal ideas suitable for dramatic treatment except -in their personifications in mythology? Certainly they were not to -be found in librettos of the "Semiramide" or "Sonnambula" variety. -Again turning his eyes to the Greek theatre, he found that Æschylus -and Sophocles had used the great myths of their people, and that by -doing so they had brought their theatre into direct relation with -the national life and thought. Why, then, could not he, by using -the myths of the Teutonic races, create genuine works of art and -reknit the bond between the stage and the national heart? This was -the splendid vision which dwelt in his mind in the days of poverty -and struggle. It was this which stayed his hand when easy offers of -pecuniary success were almost within his grasp. It was this hope -which led him forever away from the "pomp and circumstance" of the -historical opera, and brought forth works whose kinship to "Rienzi" -is so difficult to trace. - -The myth, then, became the subject-matter on which he reared his -poetic structure. As he has summarised his thoughts on this topic -for us in "A Communication to My Friends" it may be well to quote his -words: - - "I turned for the selection of my material once for all - from the domain of history to that of legend.... All the - details necessary for the description and preservation of - the conventionally historic, which a fixed and limited - historical epoch demands in order to make the action - clearly intelligible--and which are therefore carried - out so circumstantially by the historical novelists - and dramatists of to-day--could be here omitted. And - by this means the poetry, and especially the music, - were freed from the necessity of a method of treatment - entirely foreign to them, and particularly impossible - as far as music was concerned. The legend, in whatever - age or nation it may be placed, has the advantage that - it comprehends only the purely human portion of this age - or nation, and presents this portion in a form peculiar - to it, thoroughly concentrated, and therefore easily - intelligible.... This legendary character gives a great - advantage to the poetic arrangement of the subject for - the reason already mentioned, that, while the simple - process of the action--easily comprehensible as far as its - outward relations are concerned--renders unnecessary any - painstaking for the purpose of explanation of the course of - the story, the greatest possible portion of the poem can - be devoted to the portrayal of the inner motives of the - action--those inmost motives of the soul, which, indeed, - the action points out to us as necessary, through the fact - that we ourselves feel in our hearts a sympathy with them." - -With the idea of founding a national drama on the great mythological -thoughts of his people, and keeping constantly in mind the conviction -that his business was not the mere telling of a story in verse and -music, but the presentation to the minds of his auditors of the -underlying emotions of the drama, he quickly realised that the set -forms of the old opera were of no use to him. He could not construct -a libretto with the regularly recurring duets, trios, and ensembles, -if he meant to be true to dramatic art. To abandon these established -patterns, however, meant to throw over both the poetic and musical -fashions of the older lyric writers. If his people were not to sing -arias and duets, but to speak a convincing dialogue, with speech -raised to a higher power by the use of music instead of blank verse, -as in the spoken drama, he must find new types, both poetic and -musical. But with Wagner it must be constantly borne in mind that the -dramatic speech is not text first and music afterward, but is both at -once. His conception of the talk of his dramas was that of words made -vocal in the musical sense by their own inner demand for emotional -symbolism. In other words the music must be the direct and inevitable -outgrowth of the poetry and the two must be joined in a perfect -organic union. - -It became necessary, therefore, that he should cast about for some -new musical form for the foundation of his drama, for there cannot -be music without form. The new pattern did not develop itself -immediately in his mind. The first principle of it occurred to him -when he was writing "Der Fliegende Holländer." This first principle -was that the musical expression of a particular mood, having been -found, should be retained. "When a mental mood returned," he -says, "its thematic expression also, as a matter of course, was -repeated, since it would have been arbitrary and capricious to have -sought another motive so long as the object was an intelligible -representation of the subject and not a conglomeration of operatic -pieces." This at once disposed of the aria, which was a completed -musical piece. Wagner conceived the music to be inseparable from -the speech and therefore to be completed only at the end of the -drama. The melody had thus to become endless, a melody made up of -many thematic ideas, all worked up wholly for the purpose of mood -painting, and built into a grand form dictated and justified solely -by the emotional scheme of the play. With this conviction he steered -a happy course between mere formalism and chaotic formlessness. -He avoided the set patterns of the older school and escaped the -dictation by the verse of the musical shape and figure, yet he also -weathered the shoals of musical incoherency. For the identification -of the thematic ideas with the poetic thoughts enabled him to make -on perfectly logical and natural grounds those melodic repetitions -without which music is devoid of form. - -Every student of music knows that a melody is constructed of certain -phrases which have identifiable rhythmic and melodic shape. The -identity of any tune is established by the repetition of these -phrases in a regular order. When the repetitions are arranged on a -plan similar to that of a verse of poetry, as in the case of such a -tune as "Home, Sweet Home," the form of the music becomes that known -as the song form, which lies at the basis of nearly every musical -composition not strictly contrapuntal. Any music in which certain -melodic shapes, known as figures, are not preserved and repeated, -in which each phrase once heard is not heard again, is absolutely -chaotic and does not convey to the human mind the conception of -design, and hence also not of melody. Wagner, in striving to avoid -the musical domination of the older forms, had to see to it that he -did not fall into this kind of chaos. He had to devise a larger and -less confining form, but he had to have a form nevertheless. - -But as soon as he had conceived the idea of preserving throughout -his drama the first thematic expression of any mental mood or idea, -he had the solution of his problem in his hands. For now the musical -repetitions were bound to become numerous and to acquire from the -text a direct and unmistakable significance which they could not -possibly have by themselves. And the criticism to which this form -might be open, if it were used as a purely musical one, at once falls -to the ground when it is remembered that the object is not musical -alone, but also dramatic, or musico-textual. The organic union of -the word and the tone makes the assistance given by the text in -explaining the meaning (sometimes arbitrary) of the music entirely -defensible, and indeed thoroughly commendable. - - - - -CHAPTER III - -THE MUSICAL SYSTEM - - -In its details this Wagnerian system of musico-textual speech divides -itself into music constructed of leading motives, or themes with -a specified meaning, and music of the picture, or purely scenic -music, such as that of the sailors in the first scene of "Tristan -und Isolde," or the "Waldweben" of "Siegfried." And again the sung -parts of the score divide themselves into ordinary speech, or -quasi-recitative, and the speech of the high emotional situation, -which is either intensely declamatory or extraordinarily melodious, -according to the nature of the mood which has been reached.[30] A -further feature of the scheme, which must not be overlooked, is -that the repetitions of the thematic ideas are given chiefly to the -orchestra, which thus becomes not a mere accompaniment, but a most -potent explicator of the drama. This treatment of the orchestra makes -it the creator of a musical atmosphere which surrounds the actors -in the drama. Even when one has no acquaintance whatever with the -specified meanings of the "leading motive" ("leading" should read -"guiding"), the dramatic influence of the musical background is such -that he is brought into a complete emotional accord with the action -on the stage. Thus the orchestra becomes a most potent factor in -demonstrating and making effective Wagner's tenet that "In the drama -we must become knowers through the Feeling. The Understanding tells -us 'So is it,' only when the Feeling has told us, 'So must it be.'" -It was with thoughts of this in his mind that Wagner wrote on Sept. -9, 1850, to Herr Von Zigesar: - - "An audience which assembles in a fair mood is satisfied as - soon as it distinctly understands what is going forward, - and it is a great mistake to think that a theatrical - audience must have a special knowledge of music in order - to receive the right impression of a musical drama. To - this entirely erroneous opinion we have been brought by - the fact that in opera music has wrongly been made the - aim,--while the drama was merely a means for the display of - the music. Music, on the contrary, should do no more than - contribute its full share towards making the drama clearly - and quickly comprehensible at every moment. While listening - to a good--that is, a rational--opera, people should, so - to speak, not think of the music at all, but only feel it - in an unconscious manner, while their fullest sympathy - should be wholly occupied by the action represented. Every - audience which has an uncorrupted sense and a human heart - is therefore welcome to me as long as I may be certain that - the dramatic action is made more immediately comprehensible - and moving by the music, instead of being hidden by it." - -[Footnote 30: Even the purely lyric style is sometimes employed in -strong situations where a song might be used, as in the case of -Siegmund's Love Song.] - -From the actual potency of Wagner's music in producing the proper -emotional mood in the auditor and from his own words, such as the -above, the present writer has frequently argued that an intimate -acquaintance with the leitmotiv scheme is not necessary to an -understanding of the Wagner dramas. To comprehend and appreciate the -grandeur of such scenes as the "Todesverkündigung" in "Die Walküre," -the death of Siegfried and the immolation of Brünnhilde it is not -needful to be able to catalogue the guiding themes as they pass -through the vistas of the glowing score. All that is essential is an -open mind. The eloquence of the music will do the rest. And if the -guiding motives fail to create the proper emotional investiture for -the same, then they are valueless, even at Wagner's own rating, for -he says that we must feel before we can understand a drama. And we -ourselves can readily see how useless it is to tell us the specified -meanings of sweet musical phrases if they do not, when heard, help to -warm into a vitalising glow the significance of the text and action. -If they fail to do this, the organic union so ardently sought by -Wagner does not exist. If they succeed, it matters not at all whether -we know their names. - -But we are all Elsas to these Lohengrins and Wagner himself was one -of the Ortruds, for he has tempted us to ask the question, which is, -fortunately for us, not fatal to our happiness. It becomes natural -and proper therefore for every student of this master's works to -take cognisance of the leitmotiv system and to aim at a thorough -comprehension of its nature and its purpose. These have been very -often misrepresented, and, even by many devoted admirers of Wagner's -works, are yet misunderstood. - -It was out of his first conviction that the musical embodiment of a -mood having once been found should not be changed that the leit motif -system grew. This first conviction led him to adopt in "Der Fliegende -Holländer" certain musical phrases as typical of principal ideas in -the play. He made a theme for the Dutchman's personality, a melody -for his longing, another for the personality of Senta, the redeeming -potency in the drama. In making these themes he sought to render -them expressive not only of their primary dramatic ideas, but of the -beautiful symbolism which lay behind these ideas. As this symbolism -appealed largely to the sensibility of the hearer, it was peculiarly -fitting that he should summon the aid of the music to the work for -which it was best suited, namely the awakening of the sensibilities -and through them of the emotions. - -Out of this first experimental use of leading themes, Wagner -gradually advanced to a complete and elaborate system. The student -will look in vain for the finished system in "Tannhäuser" and -"Lohengrin." In the former of these two works the leit motif is not -employed and there is rather a tendency to use what is called "music -of the scene" as a reminder of the place of the occurrence of an -action than to repeat music expressive of the emotion lying behind -the action itself. In "Lohengrin," however, one finds the leading -motive employed in a few instances in precisely the same manner as it -is in "Siegfried" or "Tristan," but not with the same persistency. It -was in the construction of the great trilogy and its prologue that he -found the full value of his system of musical cross-references, for -in the vast complexity of this story, the explanatory force of music -to which a direct meaning had been given was afforded the widest -possible field of action. - -The student of the system will find that the leading motives, -guiding themes, typical phrases, or whatever one pleases to call -them, are of several kinds. Some are employed very arbitrarily, it -must be admitted, but the text always makes their meaning clear -and thereafter one easily understands the composer's intent. They -may be divided as follows: motives of personalities, as the Donner, -the Siegfried-Hero, the Brünnhilde motive; those of the moving -forces of the drama, as the contract, the need of the Gods, and -the curse; those of the tribal or racial elements, as the Volsung, -or the Nibelung motive; those of places, objects, and occupations, -as the smithy, the sword, the Walhalla, and those of the scene, as -the Rhine music, the forging, and the fire music. This is a rude -classification, but it will answer the present object, which is -an exposition of the nature and aims of the system. The music of -the tribal or racial elements and that of the scene, the student -will find, is seldom modified in the course of the drama, while -that relating to personalities is often changed in conformity with -alterations in the characters of which it is typical. In "Der Ring -des Nibelungen" the motives of the Tarnhelm, the gold, the Rhine, the -sword, the dragon, and similar musical devices retain their original -form almost always, though occasionally the demands of harmony and -figure call for more or less altered suggestions of them. - -But the personal themes are sometimes submitted to the processes of -thematic development employed in symphonic composition, and this -resource of music is always used by Wagner with a direct intention -to depict some development of character. The system of alteration -may be summarised in this rule: if the object represented in the -music is one subject to change, its representative theme is liable to -development, but otherwise it will keep its original form, unless -there is a musical necessity for slight change or the possibility of -dramatic suggestion in it. Those familiar with the dramas will recall -that in the last scene of "Götterdämmerung" the Rhine music undergoes -a harmonic change eloquently expressive of the mood of the Rhine -maidens after the refusal of Siegfried to return the ring. It will be -found, too, that any scenic music which is designed for more than one -hearing has a deeper purpose than mere pictorial description and is -designed as an aid in the creation of a proper mood of receptivity in -the auditor, and thus as an assistance to complete understanding. - -In the earlier dramas the proportion of scenic music to what may -be called expository music is large. One finds many pages of -"Lohengrin," for example, which consist of purely scenic writing. -The arrival of Lohengrin and the combat in the first act, the -approach to the cathedral in the second, the bridal chorus--these, -when examined, are found to be pure music of the scene. The motives -which are repeated with specified significance are few, and they deal -chiefly with the moving forces of the drama, the Grail and the fatal -question, the hatred of Ortrud and the knightly power of Lohengrin. - -But the early works of Wagner show his musical system in its -embryonic state, and, while the study of the scores is from -that point of view particularly interesting, for satisfactory -illustrations of the method we must go to the later dramas. Here we -are constantly confronted with evidence of Wagner's sincerity of -purpose, his unflagging endeavour to achieve that organic union of -text and music which was so dear to his heart. In "Das Rheingold," -for instance, occurs for the first time a theme to be heard often in -the subsequent dramas, the theme of the sword. The composer was not -content to make a theme of any sort and arbitrarily call it the sword -motive. He tried to produce something which should suggest the sword -and the heroic uses to which it was to be put, and thus he composed -this brilliant and martial theme, intoned by a trumpet: - -[Music] - -Another artistically constructed motive, which may be quoted here, is -that representative of the Tarnhelm, the mystic cap which Mime makes -for Alberich and which renders the wearer invisible. In this motive -Wagner creates the atmosphere of mystery by making the tonality of -the music uncertain through the use of the empty "fifth." - -[Music] - -Some of the most effective themes are those which are associated -with personalities in their visible aspects, as the fire music, -which represents Loge, and the "Ritt-Motiv," or galloping figure, of -Kundry in "Parsifal." Motives of this kind Wagner devised with great -musical skill, for they impress the mind of the hearer in two ways, -bringing before it a part of the pictorial movement of the drama and -also representing certain personal attributes, while at the same -time they are so made that they readily lend themselves to thematic -variation without losing their identity. - -The attentive listener to these later dramas of Wagner, then, will -find, in the fully developed musical system, voice parts which -consist of declamation occasionally rising into the sublimest kind -of arioso, without once sacrificing the poetic spirit to any demand -of mere musical formalism, and an orchestral accompaniment which -is not an accompaniment in the sense of merely affording support -to the singer's voice, but is independent and expressive of much -that the actors do not utter. This expressiveness is gained by the -employment of themes to which a definite meaning has been attached, -no matter how arbitrarily, by their association with a picture, -an action, a personality, or a thought. This association is made -perfectly comprehensible to every listener who bears in mind that -the text is the explanation of this music, and its only explanation. -The music never exists for its own sake, but is a vital part of the -speech of the drama. The orchestra is always an explicator, never -a mere support. And here and there we meet with passages of merely -descriptive or scenic music, in which not even guiding themes of -scenic nature are used. The ultimate purpose of the entire musical -scheme is organic union with the text so that the music shall give -perfect expression to the drama of emotions which is being enacted, -and place the hearer in the proper moods for the reception of it. -While all the old musical forms employed in opera are abandoned, -Wagner avoids formlessness by the repetition of identified themes. -In summing up this important matter let me quote Wagner's own words -from "A Communication to My Friends": - - "This opera form [the old form] was never of its very - nature a form embracing the whole drama, but rather an - arbitrary conglomerate of separate smaller forms of song, - whose fortuitous concatenation of arias, duos, trios, etc., - with choruses and so-called ensemble-pieces, made out the - actual edifice of opera. In the poetic fashioning of my - stuffs [materials] it was henceforth impossible for me to - contemplate a filling of these ready-moulded forms, but - solely a bringing of the drama's broader object to the - cognisance of the feeling. In the whole course of the drama - I saw no possibility of division or demarcation, other than - the acts in which the place or time, or the scenes in which - the _dramatis personæ_ change. Moreover the plastic unity - of the mythic stuff brought with it this advantage, that, - in the arrangement of my scenes, all those minor details - which the modern playwright finds so indispensable for the - elucidation of involved historical occurrences were quite - unnecessary, and the whole strength of the portrayal could - be concentrated upon a few weighty and decisive moments of - development. Upon the working out of these fewer scenes - in each of which a decisive 'Stimmung' [mood] was to be - given its full play, I might linger with an exhaustiveness - already reckoned for in the original draft; I was not - compelled to make shift with mere suggestions, and--for - the sake of economy--to hasten on from one suggestion to - another; but with needful repose I could display the simple - object in the very last connections required to bring it - home to the dramatic understanding. Through this natural - attribute of the stuff I was not in the least coerced to - strain the planning of my scenes into any preconceived - conformity with given musical forms, since they dictated - of themselves their mode of musical completion. In the - ever surer feeling hereof it thus could no more occur to - me to rack with wilful outward canons the musical form - that sprang self-bidden from the very nature of these - scenes, to break its natural mould by violent grafting-in - of conventional slips of operatic song. Thus I by no - means set out with the fixed purpose of a deliberate - iconoclast [Formumänderer--lit., changer of forms], to - destroy, forsooth, the prevailing operatic forms of aria, - duet, etc., but the omission of these forms followed from - the very nature of the stuff, with whose intelligible - presentment to the feeling through an adequate vehicle I - alone had to do.... - - "Just as the joinery of my individual scenes excluded every - alien and unnecessary detail, and led all interest to the - dominant Chief-mood, so did the whole building of my drama - join itself into one organic unity, whose easily surveyed - members were made out by those fewer scenes and situations - which set the passing mood: no mood could be permitted - to be struck in any one of these scenes that did not - stand in a weighty relation to the mood of all the other - scenes, so that the development of the moods from out each - other, and the constant obviousness of this development, - should establish the unity of the drama in its very mode - of expression. Each of these Chief-moods, in keeping with - the nature of the stuff, must also gain a definite musical - expression, which should display itself to the sense - of hearing as a definite musical theme. Just as in the - progress of the drama the intended climax of a decisory - Chief-mood was only to be reached through a development, - continuously present to the feeling, of the individual - moods already roused, so must the musical expression, which - directly influences the physical feeling, necessarily take - a decisive share in this development to a climax; and - this was brought about quite of itself, in the shape of - a characteristic issue of principal themes, that spread - itself not over one scene only (as heretofore in separate - operatic 'numbers'), but over the whole drama, and that in - intimate connection with the poetic aim." - -Where Gluck had sought to make music enforce the expression of the -sentiment of the text, Wagner aimed to make it the very expression -itself, and in following out this purpose he elaborated the system -of musical presentation of the content of a drama which carried him -entirely away from the beaten paths of opera. It was the radical -departure of his system which aroused the opposition of a deep -misunderstanding. His contemporaries saw what he had abolished from -his works, but could not comprehend the substitute. And even to-day, -when the Wagner drama is accepted the world over, there is still a -general failure to understand that the leitmotiv system was conceived -as the only preservation of necessary musical method in a drama which -had banished from its scheme the use of the established operatic -forms. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -THE SYSTEM AS COMPLETED - - -Wagner, in striving for a complete and natural revelation of the -emotional content of his dramas, discovered that the continual flow -of music which he had adopted was not possible if fixed verse-figures -were employed. The verse-figure prescribes and limits the musical -figure. Nevertheless there must be some rhythmic principle in the -verse. Wagner found that which was most suited to his needs in the -ancient staff-rhyme, or alliterative verse. The fundamental basis -of this verse is consonance of sounds, not confined to the final -rhyme but employed in the body of the verse and thus made a part -of its inner nature. Not a little excellent information as to the -exact nature of the alliterative verse may be obtained from the -introductory essay to the second volume of Percy's "Reliques." -It should be mentioned that Percy was acquainted with Icelandic -literature and first made it known in England when he translated -Mallet's "Northern Antiquities." He tells us that the Icelandic -language is of the same origin as the Anglo-Saxon, and that was the -reason why both employed the staff-rhyme. The alliteration consisted -in "a certain artful repetition of sounds in the middle of the -verses. This was adjusted according to their rules of prosody, one -of which was that every distich should contain at least three words -beginning with the same letter or sound. Two of these correspondent -sounds might be placed either in the first or second line of the -distich, and one in the other; but all three were not regularly to be -crowded into one line. This will best be understood by the following -examples: - - "Meire og Minne Gab Ginunga - Moga heimdaller. Enn Gras huerge." - -This verse was used by the old poets of the Saxons in Britain. The -epic of "Beowulf" is written in this style and so are the poems of -Caedmon, the noted paraphraser of the scriptures. An authoritative -writer says: - - "The poetry of the Anglo-Saxons was neither modulated - according to foot-measure, like that of the Greeks and - Romans, nor written with rhymes, like that of modern - languages. Its chief and universal characteristic was - a very regular alliteration, so arranged that in every - couplet there should be two principal words in the first - line beginning with the same letter, which letter must also - be the initial of the first word on which the stress of - the voice falls in the second line. The only approach to a - metrical system yet discovered is that two risings and two - fallings of the voice seem necessary to each perfect line." - -A specimen of this alliterative verse from the works of Caedmon shows -the peculiarity of the construction. - - "Se him cwom to frofre. - & to feorh-nere. - Mid lufan & mid lisse. - Se thone lig tosceaf. - Halig and heofon-beohrt. - Hatan fyres. - Tosweop hine & toswende. - Thurh tha swithan miht. - Ligges leoma."[31] - -[Footnote 31: - - Who to them came for comfort, - And for their lives' salvation, - With love and with grace; - Who the flames scattered - (Holy and heaven-bright) - Of the hot fire, - Swept at and dashed away, - Through his great might, - The beams of flame. - --Paraphrase of the Song of Azariah. - -Thorpe's translation.] - -The reader will note the alliteration of the l's in the third and -fourth lines, and the h's in the next two. The change in vowel sounds -following the consonants was deemed by Wagner as of especial value in -music. - -As the English language developed, this method of rhythmic -construction remained in use, and we find that it is used in such old -poems as "Piers Plowman's Vision" (about 1350). - - "In a Somer Season when hot was the Sunne, - I Shope me into Shroubs as I a Shepe were; - Habite as an Harmet, unHoly of werkes, - Went Wyde in thys world Wonders to heare." - -Wagner, however, modelled his verse on that of the original writers -of it, as their language was more closely affiliated with German -than the early English was. He made an exhaustive study of the -constitution of the staff-rhyme, and saw in its conservation of -the elementary principles of poetic speech the factor necessary to -the perfection of an organic union with music. For those who have -studied the conventional formulas of musical expression--the major -and minor modes, chromatic progressions, the declamatory style as -opposed to the pure cantilena, the crescendo and diminuendo, the -agitato--know that all these have been transferred from the natural -employment of vocal tone and articulation in speech as influenced by -the emotions which these musical symbols are intended to represent. -And we know, too, that the reflex action of music in producing in the -hearer the emotions which it aims to depict is due to its adoption -of methods founded on man's oral expression of his feeling. Wagner -saw in the staff-rhyme the first attempt to systemise into poetry the -elevated speech of emotion, and he discerned in it technical features -admirably suited to his plan. In "Opera and Drama" he says: - - "In Stabreim the kindred speech-roots are fitted to one - another in such a way that, just as they sound alike - to the physical ear, they also knit like objects into - one collective image in which the Feeling may utter - its conclusions about them. Their sensibly cognisable - resemblance they win either from a kinship of the vowel - sounds, especially when these stand open in front without - any initial consonant ('Erb und eigen.' 'Immer und ewig'); - or from the sameness of the initial consonant itself, which - characterises the likeness as one belonging peculiarly to - the object ('Ross und Reiter.' 'Froh und frei'); or again, - from the sameness of the terminal consonant that closes - up the root from behind (as an assonance), provided the - individualising force of the word lies in that terminal - ('Hand und Mund.' 'Recht und Pflicht')." - -The fruits of these philological considerations reveal themselves -to the hearer of the works in a wonderfully delicate perfection of -accentuation and cadence, which simulates that of the spoken line -in a vivifying manner. One has only to read, as one would naturally -speak, such words as "Winterstürme wichen dem Wonnemond," and -then sing them to the opening notes of "Siegmund's Love Song" to -see how beautifully this staff-rhyme adapts itself to the needs of -what Wagner called "Word-tone-speech," an expression which explains -itself. Furthermore, these lines of staff-rhyme have no metrical -domination over the music. A single reading of any familiar passage -in the later works will show the reader that the lines of the verse -do not set the limits for the phrases of the music as they do in -the old song forms, but that the composer is entirely free in his -phraseology, while he can never quite obliterate the rhythmic -basis of the verse. This plasticity was of inestimable importance -in the Wagnerian system, with its endless melody, its independent -accompaniments, and its disuse of the old forms. - -We have now made an examination of the artistic aims and methods of -Wagner. The reader should now be able to grasp the basic truth that -his mature works are not to be viewed as operas but as poetic dramas. -The argument is frequently made that no serious criticism of opera -is necessary because it is an absurdity throughout. People do not -sing; therefore all attempts at dramatic verity in the lyric drama -are useless. And from this is drawn the conclusion that it makes no -difference whether composers write pretty tunes merely for their own -sake, and use the set forms and conventions of the old opera, or -write an endless recitation with an orchestral background. The object -should be to please, and since the entertainment is musical, let us -have pretty tunes at all costs. - -The same arguments, of course, apply in a way to all forms of the -poetic drama. People do not speak blank verse, nor talk in metaphors. -It is altogether improbable that Henry V. or Richard II. or Macbeth -even rose to such heights of speech as Shakespeare's personages. The -ground upon which the poetic drama rests is that of symbolism, and -in the lyric play this, by reason of the flexibility of music, may -reach its highest elevation. The symbolism of the Wagnerian drama is -both poetic and musical. With the former I shall attempt to deal in -the study of the individual plays; but of the musical symbolism it -may here be said that while technically the speech of the Wagnerian -drama is but blank verse raised by song to its highest power, the -representation of emotional moods by the musical symbols, vocal or -orchestral, is cast in a mould far grander than that of the spoken -drama, and its influence upon the auditor is immeasurably larger. If -by the employment of these musical symbols the dramatist can cause -the auditor to throb with the emotions of the personages in the -drama, he has accomplished the ultimate aim of his art and justified -his form. - -To achieve this result requires perfect sincerity on the part of the -dramatist and the most exquisite adaptation of the theatrical means -to the end in view. The old opera had abandoned all but a shallow -pretence of these, and had given itself to the easy business of -tickling the ear. Wagner's work is an appeal to the intelligence -through the feeling. His ambition was to give the lyric theatre -vitality and an influence with the public. To do this he was forced -to abandon all that he found ready to hand, and to build again -from the foundations. In doing so he restored some of the outward -semblance of the conventions. He wrote duets, as in the second act of -"Tristan und Isolde." But he did this with a perfect comprehension -of the power of music to symbolise an emotional state shared by two -lovers. On the other hand, he raised the orchestra to the position of -an exponent of the dramatic thought, and this, again, was done with -a masterly conception of the potency of absolute music in painting -mood-pictures. Here he found an agency for symbolism in the poetic -drama far beyond the loftiest dreams of the poet of the spoken play. - -The motto of the attendant at Wagner performances, then, must be, -"The play's the thing," and he must measure their value and estimate -their influence upon him wholly from that point of view. A drama -in music was the conception of the originators of what came to be -called Opera; but it had been, as we have seen, lost to sight in -Wagner's youth by reason of the immense popularity of the easily -made productions of Rossini, Donizetti, and Bellini, in which the -music was the ultimate object and the libretto only a means toward -its production. Wagner's ideal was a drama in which music should be -a factor valuable wholly because of its power to embody and convey -emotions. That such a form of drama departed from the more material -realism of the spoken play was not a matter to trouble a profoundly -æsthetic intellect. Wagner, like the greatest masters in all forms of -art, was opposed to that kind of realism which bases its claims on -its copying of mere objects or external phenomena. This is the cheap -realism of the sensational drama, which puts fire engines and hansom -cabs and professional burglars on the stage, and holds that it thus -reproduces human life. It is, perhaps, a form of art, but it is a low -one, because it has not the imaginative or symbolical elements which -are essential to high art. It is the art which copies, not that which -creates. The painter who reproduces on his canvas a group of flowers -or a human form may be a master of the technics of painting, but -the fervid imagination of Turner's "Slave Ship," with its ill-drawn -figures, is worth a thousand copies of real things. - -As art rises in the scale of nobility, it appeals more and more to -the imagination, till it reaches that point at which, in Schumann's -words, "only genius understands genius." Advancing along this path, -art tends always toward the employment of symbolism. Poetry is in -every nation the first and most convincing demonstration of the -feeling of humanity for symbolical expression. Poetic forms are in -themselves symbolic, and the figures of speech employed in them are -word-symbols meant to awaken the imaginative powers of the reader. -The drama in its earliest phases was purely artistic, coupling, as -it did, the symbolism of a highly organised mythology with poetic -speech. The blank-verse plays of Shakespeare are filled with the -noblest symbolism of the spoken play, and those who decry them -as unreal because of their poetic form and diction show an utter -inability to understand artistic design. - -In its inception the opera was, as we have seen, an attempt to revive -the form of the antique drama of Greece. Its originators cherished -an honest purpose, but their knowledge was not sufficient to carry -it to a successful issue. Neither had they at their command a rich -enough _materia musica_, for until their day composers had devoted -themselves to the expression of contemplative religious feeling -and the musical symbols of human passion were yet undeveloped. -Unfortunately for the "Drama per musica," as the early masters called -it, the first attempts at the construction of definite operatic forms -led directly away from the honesty of dramatic art and turned opera -into a series of tunes, each complete in itself, and strung upon a -slender thread of recitative. Wagner, setting out as he did to build -a national drama, had no reason whatever for following the methods -of the Italian composers. His aim was to embody certain national -thoughts, as projected in the great folk-legends of the Teutonic -people, in artistic plays, and to use for that embodiment the most -influential means at his command. Music was his vocal instrument -instead of speech, not simply because he was a musician, but also -because he was convinced that it would afford him the loftiest -utterance for the emotional substance of his dramas. - -For these were not to be dramas in which the mere telling of a -story was the object in view. The drama was to be, not a series of -incidents of pictorial efficiency, but a development of feelings -and an exhibition of typical humanity, embracing those wonderful -world-heroes and heroines into whose conception have been poured the -concentrated imaginings of several races and centuries. For such -a play as "Tristan und Isolde," in which the movement is entirely -emotional and not incidental, the spoken form would have been prolix -and wearisome. This play, given without music, would become a dreary -stretch of talk. On the other hand, the simplicity of the action -and the intensity of the emotions permit the composer to expend -his entire force upon the musical expression of feeling, thereby -confining himself strictly to the province of music and raising the -symbolism of the drama to the highest power. Herein lies one of the -principal differences between the spoken and the sung play. Yet in -it also is to be seen a demonstration of the indisputable fact that -the works of Wagner are dramas. So, then, we must view them; and, -so doing, we shall approach the contemplation of Wagner's art work -from the point desired by him. We shall enter into his domain in -the spirit of sympathetic understanding, and it will be to us not a -valley of shadows, as it is to those who enter with closed eyes, but -a sea of splendour and sunlight, where the spirit may - - "Burst all links of habit--there to wander far away - On from island unto island at the gateways of the day." - - - - -PART III - -THE GREAT MUSIC DRAMAS - - - - -INTRODUCTORY - - -It is customary to divide the artistic career of Wagner into three -periods, the first embracing the production of the early works and -"Rienzi," the second that of "Der Fliegende Holländer," "Tannhäuser," -and "Lohengrin," and the third that of the remaining works. It is -the opinion of the present writer that the recognition of four -periods would make the matter clearer to the lover of this master's -creations. The early works, which are not heard except in one or -two places, may be left out of consideration. We may then classify -"Rienzi" as the production of the first period. "Der Fliegende -Holländer" should stand in a period by itself, as representing the -purely embryonic epoch of the true Wagner, while "Tannhäuser" and -"Lohengrin" may properly be allotted to a third or transition period. -The remaining works may be regarded as belonging to the period of -the mature Wagner, though there would be no serious difficulty -in subdividing this part of his artistic career. It seems to me, -however, that no satisfactory end would be gained by doing so. - -The reader of this book has already seen that in writing "Rienzi" -Wagner was actuated by purposes entirely different from those which -moved him in the creation of "Der Fliegende Holländer." The first of -the lyric dramas presently to be examined was, as its maker said, a -grand opera pure and simple. Then came the days of despair in Paris, -when Wagner, hoping nothing for the future, gave free rein to his -artistic impulses and produced the dramatic story of the unhappy -Vanderdecken. In the creation of this drama nothing influenced -Wagner's mind but the desire to write according to the dictates of -his own artistic conscience. But he had not yet worked out a scheme -of dramatic composition. He had only just come upon the fundamental -ideas of his plan. Its details were still far away from his -conception. "Embryonic," then, is the term to apply to this period of -his productivity. - -With "Tannhäuser" there entered into the field of his artistic vision -those broader musical and ethical conceptions of the lyric drama -which afterward developed themselves into a complex and influential -system. With "Lohengrin" we see these ideas taking more definite -shape. The literary and musical plan of the drama is more closely -organised, and the musical style is more clearly defined. The diction -becomes more akin to that of later works, and the methods show more -certainty and more mastery. "Lohengrin" is a long advance beyond -"Der Fliegende Holländer." It prepares us for such a work as "Die -Meistersinger," though hardly in full for "Parsifal." It must be -borne in mind that the original conception of "Die Meistersinger" -belongs to the same period as "Lohengrin," and that although the -music was not written till long afterward, the score must naturally -have been coloured by the first thoughts of the work and so have come -somewhat under the influence of the "Lohengrin" style. - -In the early dramas we meet with Wagner's inclusion of ethical ideas -in his designs. One seeks in vain among the old popular operas of the -Rossini or Meyerbeer schools for a drama with a moral. But owing to -Wagner's adoption of the myth as the material from which to erect his -dramatic structures, the inclusion of an ethical lesson in each of -his schemes followed almost inevitably. For mythology is essentially -ethical. Wagner, however, humanised the teachings of the mythologies -into which he delved by emphasising the beautiful idea of the saving -grace of woman. He did not, perhaps, deliberately adopt as the motto -of his works the line of Goethe, "The woman-soul leadeth us ever -upward and on," but it may be inscribed upon them without violence to -their intent. We may see by an examination of the original sources of -the dramas how the importance of this thought in the works is due to -the deliberate purpose of Wagner himself to bring it to the front. In -some of the original stories it plays little or no part, but in the -Wagner music drama the "Ewig-Weibliche" is always impressed upon the -imagination of the auditor with all the skill of the dramatist and -all the eloquence of the musician. - -In "Lohengrin," as the reader can see for himself, the master made a -special point of excluding the operation of this principle, because -he desired to bring forward a study of a woman who had no love in -her nature. With Wagner the woman-soul could be influential for good -only when acting under the guidance of love. Ortrud acted under the -dictates of hate, and her influence was therefore destructive, but -ultimately futile. The reader will readily perceive the dramatic, -poetic, and musical value of this thought. In all the Wagnerian -dramas we are confronted with studies of the warring of good and evil -principles. When the good principle is identified or associated with -the love of woman, and that love is made the saving grace of its -object, the dramatic force of the story is splendidly intensified, -the scope of the poetry and the music immeasurably widened. -Especially is the music benefited by the possibility of identifying -the highest ethical idea of the poem with the most beautiful and -potent of its emotions; for it is the peculiar privilege of the music -to voice the emotional content of the drama, and when this becomes -one with the ethical idea, the auditor is led by the music into the -very shrine of the poet's imagination. The reader will note, too, -that in those dramas in which the love of a woman does not figure as -a saving influence, the tragic fate of the hero is accentuated, and -the woman herself is made a more conspicuous embodiment of grief. - -In most of the works of Wagner there is to be found a philosophical -or metaphysical basis, and this is most easily discovered in the -later dramas. The poet-composer was at different times deeply -influenced by the writings of Feuerbach and Schopenhauer. From the -former he obtained some of the vaguer conceptions of his philosophy, -but the latter supplied him with definite ideas. It was in the early -fifties that Wagner was a student of Feuerbach, and his mind eagerly -caught at the thoughts contained indefinitely in such phrases as -"highest being--the community of being," "death, the fulfilment of -love," and such declarations as "only in love does the finite become -the infinite." These ideas later took clearer shape in his mind when -he gathered from Schopenhauer the sharply cut description of the -negation of the will to live as the highest abstraction and elevation -of thought. - -With love figuring as a community of being, with death as its -highest fulfilment, and with the absolute effacement of the desire -of life as the loftiest aspiration of human passion, Wagner was -equipped with a philosophical background for several of his most -dramatic conceptions, notably for "Tristan und Isolde." Yet one has -no difficulty in understanding his own assertion that the negation -of the will to live and the community of being had entered his mind -in an indefinite shape long before he read the works of the two -philosophers, for they may be traced in the story of "Der Fliegende -Holländer." - -Some of Wagner's biographers, notably Houston Stewart Chamberlain, to -whom this master was little short of a divinity, have devoted much -space to the consideration of Wagner as a philosopher. The truth is -that he was never a philosopher at all in the strict sense of that -term. He was a groper after philosophies. He sought for a rational -foundation for his artistic theories and endeavoured to found them -upon metaphysical tenets borrowed from works which seemed to meet -his needs. But there is no difficulty in perceiving that what always -appealed to him in a philosophy was its poetic or dramatic material. -That he was sometimes mistaken as to the real value of that material -is not astonishing. The best text-books of Wagner's philosophy are -his dramas. Therein one finds that the ethical side of a philosophy -was what touched him most directly, and that it did so because of -its close relation to the principles underlying the tragic in human -experience. This is paying a higher compliment to Wagner than to call -him a philosopher, for it is practically asserting that his dramatic -nature was his guiding star. - -It is easy to note that in "Der Fliegende Holländer" Wagner more -nearly rid himself of those hampering historical details to which -he objected than he did in "Tannhäuser," and more especially than -in "Lohengrin." The legend of the "Flying Dutchman" was not one -of the great world-thoughts, but it had the advantages of being -founded on an incident which might be repeated at any time and -in any place--namely, the periodical landing of the wanderer. -In "Tannhäuser" and "Lohengrin," and in "Parsifal," Wagner used -material found in the great cycle of tales belonging to the Christian -mythology of Germany, England, and France. He found himself unable -to avoid introducing some of the historical details contained in -the original stories. Because of their sources and nature these -three dramas have been classed as the Christian trilogy of Wagner in -contradistinction to the Nibelung works, which are called the pagan -trilogy. While this classification is justified by the nature of the -works, it should be remembered that Wagner himself repudiated any -intention to produce works charged with a religious purpose. Ethical -ideas, indeed, he always cherished, but he denied that he taught -Christianity. He recognised the assistance which art had given to -religion, and he saw that in Greece the dramatisation of national -religious beliefs had given to the stage a power unknown in modern -times. But he himself was too wise to dream of making the lyric -drama a mere corollary or illustration to the pulpit text. A passage -in "A Communication to My Friends," quoted in the account of his -resumption of work on "Tannhäuser," explains the mood which governed -him in the composition of the score. He says that at the time he -was yearning for a pure and unapproachable ideal of love. "What, in -fine," he continues, "could this love-yearning, the noblest thing my -heart could feel, what other could it be than a longing for release -from the present, for absorption into an element of endless love, -a love denied to earth and reachable through the gates of death -alone?... How absurd, then, must those critics seem to me, who, -drawing all their wit from modern wantonness, insist on reading into -my 'Tannhäuser' a specifically Christian and impotently pietistic -drift!" - -We may now proceed to the study of the great dramas which have for -so many years been the joy of the artistic mind and the torture -of the indolent. The last word of this author on the subject of -studying these dramas is this: Learn the text. By the text the music -must be measured. By the text the music must be understood. By the -music the text is illuminated and made vital. But every measure of -Wagner's music is explained by the poetry. It is useless to go to the -performance of a Wagner drama with your mind charged with thoughts -of the music. Think of the play and let the music do its own work. -That is what Wagner himself asks you to do, and it is the only fair -test to which to put him. If his music vitalises the drama for you, -it matters not whether you know the leading motives or the harmonic -scheme or the orchestration. The work of the music is accomplished. -But that work cannot be accomplished if you are in the dark as to its -purpose. And in the dark you must always be unless you have a full -knowledge of "what is going forward on the stage." To gain that you -must know the entire text. Therefore the written word of the drama is -your guide to its comprehension. - - - - -RIENZI - -THE LAST OF THE TRIBUNES - -Grand Tragic Opera in Five Acts. - - -First performed at the Royal Saxon Court Theatre, Dresden, October -20, 1842. - -_Original Cast._ - - Cola Rienzi Tichatschek. - Irene Fräulein Wüst. - Steffano Colonna Dettmer. - Adriano Mme. Schroeder-Devrient. - Paolo Orsini Wächter. - Raimondo Vestri. - Baroncelli Reinhold. - Cecco del Vecchio Risse. - A Messenger of Peace Thiele. - -Hamburg, 1844; Königsberg, 1845; Berlin, Oct. 26, 1847; Prague, 1859; -Hanover, 1859; Weimar, Wiesbaden, and Darmstadt, 1860; Mayence, 1863; -Stockholm, 1864; Bremen, Gratz, and Stettin, 1865; Würzburg, 1866; -Schwerin, 1867; Rotterdam, 1868; Leipsic, 1869; Paris (in French -translation by Charles Nuitter and J. Guillaume), April 6, 1869; -Cassel, 1870; Augsburg, Carlsruhe, Vienna, and Munich, 1871; Mannheim -and Magdeburg, 1872; Brunswick, 1873; Venice, 1874; Strassburg and -Breslau, 1875; Bologna and Madrid, 1876; Cologne and Florence, 1877; -Riga, 1878; New York, in German by the Pappenheim-Adams Co., Mar. 4, -1878, and in English, Jan. 27, 1879; London, Italian and English, -1879; St. Petersburg, 1879; Rome, Innspruck, Freiburg, and Ghent, -1880; Frankfort-on-the-Main, 1881, and Basle, 1882. - -First performance in New York, Academy of Music, March 4, 1878, by -the Pappenheim-Adams Company. - -_Cast._ - - Adriano Mme. Eugenia Pappenheim. - Irene Miss Alexandre Human. - Cola Rienzi Charles Adams. - Paolo Orsini A. Blum. - Steffano Colonna H. Wiegand. - Raimondo F. Adolphe. - A Messenger of Peace Miss Cooney. - -Conductor, Max Maretzek. - -The names of the singers of Baroncelli and Cecco del Vecchio were not -advertised nor mentioned in the newspapers. - - -RIENZI - -The first of the series of great musical works by which the fame of -Wagner was made does not call for extended discussion. Its source -is familiar to every reader of English literature, and its method -of construction and style of composition are those employed in the -operas of the Meyerbeerian school. In the fact that Wagner wrote his -own libretto, which awakened the interest even of Hector Berlioz, -and in the immense vigour and wonderful colour of the score, lie the -chief indications of the Wagner of the future. The reader has already -learned how Wagner undertook this work with the deliberate purpose -of making it a lever to pry open the doors of the Paris Grand Opéra. -With that idea in mind it is not at all astonishing that he should -have followed the model of Meyerbeer, who was in Wagner's early days -the master spirit of the world of French music. - -Wagner in subsequent years was extremely particular to keep before -the minds of his friends the fact that it was not simply pecuniary -success that he sought. He was eager to shine as an artist. That -we must concede. He was, indeed, ambitious, and had a profound -conviction of his own genius. But in these early days, when the inner -artistic struggle found its companion piece in the outward fight for -existence, Wagner had not reached the æsthetic convictions which -afterward came to him. Therefore his conception of Bulwer's "Rienzi" -was wholly as material for the libretto of a grand opera of the -Meyerbeerian school. We have seen how his first attempt to enter -Paris was with the scenario of "Die Hohe Braut," which was sent to -Scribe, but lost in the mail for want of proper prepayment of the -postal charges. We then find that Wagner wrote in 1837 to his Leipsic -friend Lewald, who had some acquaintance in Paris, telling him that -he had in his mind the book of "Rienzi." - - "I intend," he said, "to compose it in the German language, - to make an attempt whether there is a possibility of - getting it performed in Berlin in the course of fifty - years, if God grant me so long a life. Perhaps Scribe will - like it, in which case Rienzi will learn to sing French in - a moment; or else this might be a way to goad Berliners - into accepting the opera if they were told that Paris was - ready to bring it out, but that preference was for once - to be given to Berlin; for a stage like that of Berlin or - Paris is absolutely necessary to bring out such a work - properly." - -Nothing came of this correspondence, and Wagner's "Rienzi" was not -permitted to astonish the Parisians. Nevertheless he began himself to -write the libretto at Riga in the summer of 1838. In the spring of -1839 he had composed the music of the first two acts, and with this -uncompleted score he set out from Riga on the voyage which ultimately -landed him in Paris. Of his meeting with Meyerbeer at Boulogne, his -exhibition of his manuscript to the great dictator, his completion -of the work in the days of his hardship in Paris (in 1841), and the -sending of the bulky score to Dresden the story has been told in the -biographical part of this book. It need not now be repeated. Of the -instantaneous success of the opera at Dresden there is plentiful -evidence. It was in the style which the public of the time admired -and it heaped up effects enough to dazzle the crowd. But it must be -said for Wagner that he had some dim thought when he began this work -of producing something really artistic. He was simply mistaken as to -the method. At this point I must ask the reader to accept Wagner's -own words as a better exposition of himself and his purposes than -anything which I can invent. In the "Autobiographic Sketch" he says: - - "Since I was so completely bare of Paris prospects, I took - up once more the composition of my 'Rienzi.' I now destined - it for Dresden: in the first place, because I knew that - this theatre possessed the very best material--Devrient, - Tichatschek, etc.; secondly, because I could more - reasonably hope for an entrée there, relying upon the - support of my earliest acquaintances. My 'Liebesverbot' - I now gave up almost completely; I felt that I could no - longer regard myself as its composer. With all the greater - freedom I followed now my true artistic creed in the - prosecution of the music to my 'Rienzi.'" - -Further, let the reader note well these passages from "A -Communication to My Friends": - - "My home troubles increased; the desire to wrest myself - from a humiliating plight now grew into an eager longing - to begin something on a grand and inspiring scale, even - though it should involve the temporary abandonment of any - practical aim. This mood was fed and fostered by my reading - Bulwer's 'Rienzi.' From the misery of modern private life, - whence I could nowhere glean the scantiest stuff for - artistic treatment, I was borne away by the picture of a - great historico-political event, in lingering on which - I needs must find a salutary distraction from the cares - and conditions that appeared to me as nothing else than - absolutely fatal to art. In accordance with my particular - artistic bent, however, I still kept more or less to the - purely musical, or rather, operatic standpoint. This - Rienzi with great thoughts in his head, great feelings in - his heart, amid an entourage of coarseness and vulgarity, - set all my nerves a-quivering with sympathy and love; yet - my plan for an art-work based thereon sprang first from - the perception of a purely lyric element in the hero's - atmosphere. The 'Messengers of Peace,' the Church's summons - to awake, the Battle hymns--these were what impelled me to - an opera: 'Rienzi.'"... - - "To write an opera for whose production only the most - exceptional means should suffice--a work, therefore, which - I should never feel tempted to bring before the public - amid such cramping relations as those which then oppressed - me, and the hope of whose eventual production should thus - incite me to make every sacrifice in order to extricate - myself from those relations,--this is what resolved me - to resume and carry out with all my might my former plan - for 'Rienzi.' In the preparation of this text also I took - no thought for anything but the writing of an effective - operatic libretto. The 'Grand Opéra' with all its scenic - and musical display, its sensationalism and massive - vehemence, loomed large before me; and not merely to copy - it, but with reckless extravagance to outbid it in its - every detail became the object of my artistic ambition. - However, I should be unjust to myself did I represent this - ambition as my only motive for the conception and execution - of my 'Rienzi.' The stuff really aroused my enthusiasm, and - I put nothing into my sketch which had not a direct bearing - on the grounds of this enthusiasm. My chief concern was - my Rienzi himself; and only when I felt quite contented - with him did I give rein to the notion of a 'grand opera.' - Nevertheless from a purely artistic point of view this - 'grand opera' was the pair of spectacles through which I - unconsciously regarded my Rienzi-stuff; nothing in that - stuff did I find enthrall me but what could be looked at - through these spectacles. True, that I always fixed my gaze - upon the stuff itself, and did not keep one eye open for - certain ready-made musical effects which I might wish to - father on it by hook or crook; only, I saw it in no other - light than that of a 'five-act-opera,' with five brilliant - 'finales,' and filled with hymns, processions, and the - musical clash of arms. Thus I bestowed no greater care upon - the verse and diction than seemed needful for turning out a - good and not trivial opera-text. I did not set out with the - object of writing duets, trios, &c., but they found their - own way in here and there because I looked upon my subject - exclusively through the medium of 'Opera.' For instance, - I by no means hunted about in my stuff for a pretext - for a ballet; but with the eyes of the opera-composer I - perceived in it a self-evident festival that Rienzi must - give to the People, and at which he would have to exhibit - to them in dumb show a drastic scene from their ancient - history: this scene being the story of Lucretia and the - consequent expulsion of the Tarquins from Rome. Thus in - every department of my plan I was certainly ruled by the - stuff alone; but, on the other hand, I ruled this stuff - according to my only chosen pattern, the form of the Grand - Opera. My artistic individuality, in its dealings with the - impressions of life, was still entirely under the influence - of purely artistic, or rather art-formalistic, mechanically - operating impressions."[32] - -[Footnote 32: Prose Works, Vol. I., W.A. Ellis's translation.] - -The reader will now understand the artistic ideas which governed -Wagner in the production of his only "grand opera." He was, as he -himself declares, true to the artistic creed which he cherished at -that time, but that creed was opposed to the one afterward formulated -in his mind. His first artistic beliefs were founded on the theory -that not the ground-plan, but the external treatment, of the grand -opera was at fault. He fancied that he could preserve the element -which he has called "art-formalistic" and yet reach dramatic verity. -He aimed at a consistent embodiment of character in his hero; he -sought to give to all the factors of the opera, even such accessories -as the ballet, a direct and powerful dramatic significance; but it -had not yet come to him that he must, in order to make a consistent -drama in music, sacrifice form to content, and get rid of the -whole mechanical apparatus of the spectacular opera. Here, then, -let me quote the most significant passage of all, one from the -"Autobiographic Sketch": - - "When in the autumn [of 1838] I began the composition - of my 'Rienzi,' I allowed naught to influence me except - the single purpose to answer to my subject. I set myself - no model, but gave myself entirely to the feeling which - now consumed me, the feeling that I had already so far - progressed that I might claim something significant from - the development of my artistic powers, and expect some not - insignificant result. The very notion of being consciously - weak or trivial--even in a single bar--was appalling to me." - -The frequent iteration of such statements shows how anxious Wagner -was in subsequent years lest he should be accused of deliberately -pandering to that depraved public taste which he decried. In his -endeavour to treat the grand-opera form honestly he accepted as his -musical models several of his predecessors. In "Die Feen" he believed -that he was following the lead of Beethoven, Weber, and Marschner, -and in "Das Liebesverbot" he turned for help to Auber and Bellini. -In "Rienzi" he utilised elements from all of these, and added to -them the pomp of Spontini and the external glare of Meyerbeer. The -libretto, as he says, is simply a good opera book. One looks in -vain through it for more than traces of the dramatic power and real -poetry to be found in the later works. Similarly the music is just -good opera music of the most pretentious kind. It glitters, but -seldom glows. It astonishes, but seldom moves. The instrumentation -shows many of the idiosyncrasies of the later Wagner, but it is -generally without inner strength. The whole work is superficial, -and calls for precisely the same sort of criticism as the operas of -Meyerbeer do. And this result came in spite of the fact that Wagner, -according to his own account, was appalled by the very thought of -being consciously weak or trivial for a moment. That he was weak and -trivial often will be patent to any hearer of the opera. Indeed, -one need not go so far as that. The overture is played often in -concert and a novice can easily detect the bombastic emptiness of its -resounding finale, even at the same time as he notes the resemblance -of the sequences of chords in the brass to some afterward heard in -"Der Fliegende Holländer." But Wagner himself tells us that before -he had completed "Rienzi" he became doubtful as to the possibility -of bringing about any real success by the methods which he was -employing. He began to foresee the future with its wide departure for -him from the traditions of opera. He began to realise that he could -not cater to the extant public taste, but must create for himself a -new one. But it was not till despair made him withdraw himself from -all relations to the outer world that he entered upon the development -of the true Wagnerian music drama. - -"Rienzi," then, must be viewed simply as a grand opera of the -old-fashioned sort. We must regard its libretto as an exemplification -of the clever ground-plan of Meyerbeer, its music as the artistic -offspring of the "Jewish banker to whom it occurred to write music," -of Spontini, Rossini, and other composers of the pseudo-grand style. -The story of the opera is substantially that of Bulwer's novel, and -needs no review here. In the making of this book Wagner was simply -an adapter. He re-created nothing. In his other works we shall find -that he added to the literary substance of every subject which he -treated. But such was not the case with "Rienzi." The joints are -plainly visible. The carpenter work is creditable, but it is not -architecture. One might almost say the same thing about the music. -It is in the main good, workmanlike music, with inspiration carefully -fanned by the breaths of older composers. Occasionally the real -Wagner peeps out and there are some passages of fine vigour and even -expressiveness. But this is an opera in which one can go through the -score and pick out the "good things," just as one could from the old -scores of Donizetti and Bellini. - -The reader of Bulwer, for instance, will miss from the opera the -figure of Nina, the wife of Rienzi, but he will find that her -place is well filled by the sister, Irene, of whom Wagner makes a -conspicuously noble character. Furthermore Wagner in drawing the -character of his hero went to the original historical sources and so -made him a stronger personage than Bulwer did. "Un signor valoroso, -accorto, e saggio" is this Rienzi, as Petrarch called him. He speaks -in broad and commanding accents, as in his address to the nobles and -in the prayer. And it is at such points that we find the best music. -The prayer is set to one of the finest melodies in all opera. Again -we see that in the chorus and solo of the messengers of peace Wagner -found material for good writing of both verse and music. The prayer -opens the fifth act, when Rienzi, feeling that the end is near, calls -on the Lord to preserve the work which he has achieved. - - "Allmächt'ger Vater, blick' herab, - Hör mich im Staube zu dir fleh'n! - Die Macht, die mir dein Wunder gab, - Lass jetzt noch nicht zu Grunde geh'n!" - - Almighty Father, look on me! - Hear thou my humble fervent prayer! - Let not the power I had from Thee - Pass from me in this dark despair. - -With the second stanza comes the fine melody heard in the overture: - -[Music: - - Du stärktest mich, du gabst mir hohe Kraft, - du liehest mir erhab'ne Eigenschaft, - zu helfen dem, der niedrig denkt, - zu heben, was im Staub versenkt. &c.] - - Thou gavest me of Thy all-wondrous might, - High gifts, O Lord, didst Thou on me bestow, - To light up those who live in night, - To raise up those who bend so low. - -M. Schuré has said: - - "'Rienzi' is a work of the composer's youth, unequal, but - already full of force and strength, brilliant and full - of fire. The reformatory ideas of the author are not yet - apparent. The libretto is cut according to the rules of - tradition--choruses, ensembles, resounding marches, grand - airs, trios, septets, ballet--nothing is wanting. The - music, without betraying any imitation in particular, - has a strong Italian colouring, but the individuality of - the composer is shown as well in the heroic grandeur of - his broad melodies as in the warmth and riches of his - instrumentation. In short, 'Rienzi' is already the work of - an independent master without being that of an innovator." - -In the last sentence M. Schuré has nearly touched the truth, but I -am inclined to think that he and Mr. Hueffer somewhat overrate the -importance of this work. It is most probable that the melody of the -prayer will come to be accepted as the one inspired thing in the -whole score. Certainly the air of Adriano, so often sung on the -concert stage, is but a weak and bombastic imitation of a Weber grand -aria of the style of "Ocean, thou mighty monster," with leanings -toward the manner employed in the monologue of Ortrud in Act II. of -"Lohengrin." - -We may therefore dismiss "Rienzi" as a mistake of Wagner's youth. He -had not yet found himself. He might have achieved popularity and made -money with this sort of writing, and knowing his great vanity and -love of luxury we should not have been surprised if he had continued -to produce works of this pattern if the first one had brought him -immediate success. We ought, perhaps, to be very grateful to the -years of privation in Paris which developed the real Wagner, though -it is possible that his own ambition to stand alone would have had -the desired result in the course of time, even had the years 1840 and -1841 been easier for him. - - - - -DER FLIEGENDE HOLLÄNDER - -Romantic Opera in Three Acts. - - -First performed at the Royal Saxon Court Theatre, Dresden, Jan. 2, -1843. - -_Original Cast._ - - Senta Mme. Schroeder-Devrient. - The Dutchman Wächter. - Daland Risse. - Erik Reinhold. - Mary Mme. Wächter. - Helmsman Bielezizky. - -Conductor, Richard Wagner. - -Riga and Cassel, 1843; Berlin, 1844; Zurich, 1852; Schwerin, -Weimar, and Breslau, 1853; Frankfort and Wiesbaden, 1854; Hanover, -Carlsruhe, and Prague, 1857; Mayence and Vienna, 1860; Königsberg, -1861; Lucerne, 1862; Munich, 1864; Stuttgart, 1865; Olmütz, 1866; -Rotterdam and Dessau, 1869; Hamburg, Darmstadt, Mannheim, Gratz, -1870; London (Italian), July 23, 1870; Vienna, Brunswick, and Brünn, -1871; Brussels and Stockholm, 1872; Budapesth, Stettin, Augsburg, -Magdeburg, Sondershausen, and Baden, 1874; Strassburg, 1875; Lübeck, -Freiburg, and Salzburg, 1876; Philadelphia, 1876; Dublin and -Bologna, 1877; Würzburg, 1877; New York, Jan. 26, 1877; Innspruck, -1880. - -First performed in America as "Il Vascello Fantasma," in -Philadelphia, Nov. 8, 1876, by the Pappenheim Company. - -First performed in New York at the Academy of Music, Jan. 26, 1877, -by the Kellogg English Opera Company. - -_Cast._ - - Senta Clara Louise Kellogg. - The Dutchman W.T. Carleton. - Daland Mr. Conly. - Erik Mr. Turner. - -Conductor, S. Behrens. - -First performed in New York in German at the Academy of Music, Mar. -12, 1877. - -_Cast._ - - Senta Mme. Eugenia Pappenheim. - The Dutchman A. Blum. - Daland Mr. Preusser. - Erik Christian Fritsch. - Mary Miss Cooney. - Steersman Mr. Lenoir. - -Conductor, A. Neuendorff. - - -THE FLYING DUTCHMAN - -"Der Fliegende Holländer" is the first of the works of Wagner -which shadow forth the style, the system, and the mastery of -lyrico-dramatic art found in his later works. All these elements -of this master's art, however, are here found in an embryonic and -experimental stage. Nothing is developed, and nothing is definite. -Wagner himself did not realise the significance or possible extent -of his movement. He was at this time wholly unconscious of the fact -that he was laying the foundations of a new method of composition in -musical drama. He was aiming only at writing an expressive score, in -which the characters of his play, their emotions and their actions, -should be drawn with all the powers of music. - -The work was written at Meudon in the spring of 1841. All except -the overture was completed in seven weeks. Of the fate of the first -sketch of this lyric drama, of the hardships of the composer's life -at the time of its execution, of the first performances, the reader -has already been told. He has seen also how the stormy voyage to -London impressed upon his mind the legend of the "Flying Dutchman" -with which he had already made acquaintance. It now becomes our duty -to examine the sources from which Wagner derived the poetic materials -of this play and to ascertain how he treated them. In the "Flying -Dutchman" the poetic ability of the master was first exhibited. He -ceased to be a mere libretto-writer and became a dramatic poet. His -version of the famous old legend is a lovely one, and much of its -increased beauty is the product of his own genius. It was, as he -himself said in the oft-quoted "Communication," the "first folk-poem -that forced its way into my heart, and called on me as man and artist -to point its meaning, and mould it in a work of art." - -It was while in Riga that he made his first acquaintance with the -story. "Heine takes occasion to relate it," he says, "in speaking -of the representation of a play founded thereon, which he had -witnessed--as I believe--at Amsterdam. This subject fascinated me, -and made an indelible impression upon my fancy; still it did not as -yet acquire the force needful for its rebirth within me." The story -of Heine was in "The Memoirs of Herr Schnabelewopski." It is not -certain whose play it was that Heine meant. Francis Hueffer, in his -"Richard Wagner,"[33] expresses the belief that the play was that -of Fitzball, which was running at the Adelphi Theatre in 1827, when -Heine visited London. Mr. Hueffer bases his argument largely on the -fact that two features of Fitzball's play, both additions to the old -legend, are mentioned by Heine as appearing in the drama which he -saw. These are the pictures of the Dutchman on the wall of Daland's -house, and the taking of a wife by the wandering seaman. - -[Footnote 33: The Great Musicians Series, Charles Scribner's Sons.] - -Mr. Hueffer adds: - - "Here, however, his indebtedness ends. Fitzball knows - nothing of the beautiful idea of woman's redeeming love. - According to him the Flying Dutchman is the ally of a - monster of the deep, seeking for victims. Wagner, further - developing Heine's idea, has made the hero himself to - symbolise that feeling of unrest and ceaseless struggle - which finds its solution in death and forgetfulness alone. - The gap in Heine's story he has filled up by an interview - of Senta with Erik, her discarded lover, which the Dutchman - mistakes for a breach of faith on the part of his wife, - till Senta's voluntary death dispels his suspicion." - -It should be noted that Mr. W. Ashton Ellis, whose translation -of Wagner's prose works has been so often quoted, wrote a paper -to disprove the theory of Mr. Hueffer as to the play having been -Fitzball's. The matter, after all, is not one of great importance. -Wagner got his materials from Heine's book, which contained a version -of a very old legend, and in making the text of his lyric drama, he -altered and improved that material as Mr. Hueffer has indicated. - -The late Mr. John P. Jackson, formerly musical editor of _The New -York World_, in the admirable introduction to his translation of the -text of this opera, at one time used at the Metropolitan Opera House, -says that the Fitzball play was founded on a version of the legend -printed in _Blackwood's Magazine_ in May, 1821. That version runs -thus: - - "She was an Amsterdam vessel and sailed from port seventy - years ago. Her master's name was Van der Decken. He was a - staunch seaman, and would have his own way in spite of the - devil. For all that, never a sailor under him had reason to - complain; though how it is on board with them nobody knows. - The story is this: that in doubling the Cape they were a - long day trying to weather the Table Bay. However, the - wind headed them, and went against them more and more, and - Van der Decken walked the deck, swearing at the wind. Just - after sunset a vessel spoke him, asking him if he did not - mean to go into the bay that night. Van der Decken replied, - 'May I be eternally damned if I do, though I should beat - about here till the day of judgment.' And to be sure, he - never did go into that bay, for it is believed that he - continues to beat about in these seas still, and will do - so long enough. This vessel is never seen but with foul - weather along with her." - -This is practically the original story of the "Flying Dutchman." It -is no new tale, but, like nearly all myths, a development. In the -literature of Greece we find the wanderer in the person of Ulysses, -yearning for hearth and home and the joys of domestic love. In -the early period of Christianity the myth entered and gave us the -gloomy figure of the Wandering Jew, accursed and hopeless of all -save the end in oblivion. With the Dutch the legend in the Middle -Ages was easily transferred to their own favourite element, the sea, -whereon at that time they were among the most daring and skilful. -The struggle of the Dutchman against contending winds and waves -typified their own battles with the powers of Old Ocean, and their -determination to conquer at all hazards. - -Later writers than those of the dark ages endeavoured to give this -legend an end. In its original form it stands suspended with the -Dutchman a creature without hope. Captain Marryatt, in his "Phantom -Ship," releases the wanderer from his ceaseless journeyings by means -of an amulet, or religious charm. Sir Walter Scott's version of the -tale--wherever he found it--is a curiously poor one. According to -him, the vessel was laden with precious metal. A murder was committed -on board, and as a punishment for it a plague fell upon the crew. -No port would permit the ship to enter, and it was doomed to float -about aimlessly forever. There is no poetry and a total absence of -the personal tragedy in that version. The idea of the salvation of -the wanderer through the self-sacrificing love of woman, an idea to -be found in literatures much older than this, was introduced into -the story before Heine saw the play of which he wrote. It is quite -possible that Heine never saw such a play, yet the fact remains that -in the Fitzball drama the Dutchman did take a wife, only, however, -to make an offering of her to a sea monster--a grotesque and utterly -unpoetical idea. - -Wagner got his beautiful ending from Heine. Mr. Hueffer has taken -the trouble to retail the story as told in "The Memoirs of Herr von -Schnabelewopski." The sentence of Van der Decken is that he shall -wander till doomsday unless he shall be released by a woman faithful -until death. The Devil does not believe in the existence of women -of that sort, and therefore allows the wanderer to go ashore once -every seven years to see if he can find such a one. (How was it that -the Devil was so often mistaken about women?) He meets with failure -after failure, till finally he falls in with a Scotch merchant, -whose daughter has already learned his story and formed a romantic -attachment for him. She has his picture in her room, and when her -father, having accepted the Dutchman's offer for her hand, brings him -home, she at once recognises him and determines to sacrifice herself -to save him. Just at this point Herr von Schnabelewopski is called -away for a short time, and when he returns he sees the Dutchman -about to sail away without his wife. He loves her and would save her -from his fate. But she, true to her vow, ascends a high rock, whence -she throws herself into the sea. The spell is broken and the united -lovers enter eternal rest. The reader will now see that it was the -void occasioned by the temporary absence of von Schnabelewopski -which Wagner filled with the interview between Senta and Erik. Except -for the introduction of this character, a tenor, necessary to afford -both dramatic and musical contrast to the story, Wagner has followed -Heine closely, as lovers of the dramatist's works will at once -perceive. - -Out of this material Wagner constructed a drama which at the time -of its production was as novel as "Tristan und Isolde" was in later -years. In it we first meet with this master's remarkable power of -concentrating in each scene the emotional moods and pouring them out -to us in the music, while in those portions of the score devoted to -musical description, such as the sea music and the sailors' choruses, -we may note his ability to make dramatic atmosphere. How these -powers reveal themselves to us in the grand duo of the last scene of -Siegfried and the Waldweben! It is worth while hearing "Der Fliegende -Holländer" occasionally, if only to study the embryonic Wagner. Now -let us see how Wagner himself regarded the subject-matter of his -story. - -"The figure of the Flying Dutchman," he says, "is a mythical creation -of the folk. A primal trait of human nature speaks out from it with a -heart-enthralling force. This trait, in its most universal meaning, -is the longing after rest from amid the storms of life." He traces -the older forms of the legend as seen in the stories of Ulysses and -the Wandering Jew, and then says: - - "The sea in its turn became the soil of Life; yet no longer - the landlocked sea of the Grecian world, but the great - ocean that engirdles the earth. The fetters of the older - world were broken; the longing of Ulysses, back to home and - hearth and wedded wife, after feeding on the sufferings - of the 'never-dying Jew' until it became a yearning for - Death, had mounted to the craving for a new, an unknown - home, invisible as yet, but dimly boded. This vast-spread - feature fronts us in the mythos of the 'Flying Dutchman,' - that seaman's poem of the world-historical age of journeys - of discovery. Here we light upon a remarkable mixture, a - blend, effected by the spirit of the Folk, of the character - of Ulysses with that of the Wandering Jew. The Hollandic - mariner, in punishment for his temerity, is condemned by - the Devil (here obviously the element of Flood and Storm) - to do battle with the unresting waves to all eternity. - Like Ahasuerus, he yearns for his sufferings to be ended - by Death; the Dutchman, however, may gain this redemption, - denied to the undying Jew, at the hands of--a Woman who, of - very love, shall sacrifice herself for him. The yearning - for death thus spurs him on to seek this Woman; but she is - no longer the home-tending Penelope of Ulysses, as courted - in the days of old, but the quintessence of Womankind; and - yet the still unmanifest, the longed-for, the dreamt-of, - the infinitely womanly Woman--let me out with it in one - word: the _Woman of the Future_." - -With this broad, poetic view of his subject-matter Wagner set out -to write a text book which should be a real drama and not a mere -libretto. "From here," he says, "begins my career as poet, and my -farewell to the mere concoctor of opera texts." In this drama are -embodied the fundamental ideas of the entire Wagnerian system. Here -they appear to us in their first stage of development, incomplete, -unformed, and scarcely recognised by their own creator. The value of -the mythologic matter, however, already forced itself upon the mind, -and the conviction of its suitability to musical embodiment, because -freed from hampering accessories, came to him at this period of his -career. I have already quoted his words as to the employment of myths -as subjects for music dramas. I may be pardoned for quoting here a -passage from my introductory essay in the Schirmer vocal score of the -drama: - - "Wagner divined clearly the necessity of subordinating mere - pictorial movement to the play of emotion, and it will - easily be discerned that the three acts of 'The Flying - Dutchman' reduce themselves to a few broad emotional - episodes. In the first our attention is centred upon the - longing of the Dutchman, and in the second upon the love - of Senta. In the third we have the inevitable and hopeless - struggle of the passion of Erik against Senta's love. All - music not designed to embody these broad emotional states - is scenic, such as the storm music and choruses of the - sailors and the women. Furthermore the student will do well - to note that the chief personages of the story are types. - Van der Decken is typical of the man struggling under the - burden of his own follies, while Senta is the embodiment - of the woman-soul, which, according to Goethe, 'leadeth us - ever upward and on.'" - -In the structure of this drama the reader will find that Wagner -did not abandon the old operatic forms. He employed duets, solos, -choruses, etc., as an opera composer would. He did not use the -leitmotiv system, but only hit upon its fundamental idea. He did not -use the staff-rhyme. In fact we find in this work only a perfectly -sincere attempt to make a good play and to express its feelings in -music. He says himself of this work: - - "In it there is so much as yet inchoate, the joinery of the - situations is for the most part so imperfect, the verse - and diction so often bare of individual stamp, that our - modern playwrights--who construct everything according - to a prescribed formula, and, boastful of their formal - aptitude, start out to glean that matter which shall best - lend itself to handling in the lessened form--will be - the first to count my denomination of this as a 'poem' a - piece of impudence that calls for strenuous castigation. - My dread of such prospective punishment would weigh less - with me than my own scruples as to the poetical form of - the 'Dutchman,' were it my intention to pose therewith - as a fixed and finished entity; on the contrary I find a - private relish in here showing my friends myself in the - process of 'becoming.' The form of the 'Flying Dutchman,' - however, as that of all my later poems, down even to the - minutiæ of their musical setting, was dictated to me by the - subject-matter alone, insomuch as that had become absorbed - into a definite colouring of my life, and in so far as I - had gained by practice and experience on my own adopted - path any general aptitude for artistic construction." - -In the "Autobiographic Sketch" he tells us how, after disposing of -the first sketch to Pillet, he set to work to compose his own music. - - "I had now to work post-haste to clothe my own subject - with German verses. In order to set about its composition - I required to hire a pianoforte; for, after nine months' - interruption of all musical production, I had to try to - surround myself with the needful preliminary of a musical - atmosphere. As soon as the piano had arrived, my heart beat - fast for very fear; I dreaded to discover that I had ceased - to be a musician. I began first with the 'Sailors' Chorus' - and the 'Spinning Song'; everything sped along as though on - wings, and I shouted for joy as I felt within me that I was - still a musician." - -This statement affords sufficient evidence that nothing revolutionary -was in Wagner's mind when he sat down to compose "Der Fliegende -Holländer." No vision of the polyphonic web of "Tristan und Isolde" -rose in his brain; no conception of an operatic score in which every -melodic idea should have a direct message. He began with two purely -lyric numbers, and it was not till he reached the ballad of Senta -in the second act that the first principles of the leitmotiv system -dawned upon him, and then only in such shape as they had occurred to -others before him. The ballad as a whole is a purely lyric number, -written in a plain song form; but in it occur the two principal -typical themes of the drama. The first is that designed to represent -the Dutchman as a wanderer without rest: - -[Music] - -The second theme, a broad, flowing, tender melody, is designed to -typify the redeeming principle, the self-sacrificing love of the -woman. - -[Music] - -In the "Communication to My Friends" he says: - - "In this piece I unconsciously laid the thematic germ - of the whole music of the opera: it was the picture _in - petto_ of the whole drama such as it stood before my soul; - and when I was about to betitle the finished work, I felt - strongly tempted to call it a 'dramatic ballad.' In the - eventual composition of the music the thematic picture, - thus evoked, spread itself quite instinctively over the - whole drama as one continuous tissue; I had only without - further initiative to take the various thematic germs - included in the ballad and develop them to their legitimate - conclusions, and I had all the chief moods of this poem, - quite of themselves, in definite shapes before me. I - should have had stubbornly to follow the example of the - self-willed opera-composer had I chosen to invent a fresh - motive for each recurrence of one and the same mood in - different scenes; a course whereto I naturally did not feel - the smallest inclination, since I had only in mind the most - intelligible portrayal of the subject-matter and not a mere - conglomerate of operatic numbers." - -One other musical thought in this work must here be enumerated -because of a special meaning which it had for its composer. In -1866 Ferdinand Praeger was dining with Wagner in Munich, when the -conversation turned upon "the weary mariner, his yearning for land -and love, and Wagner's own longing for his fatherland at the time he -composed the 'Dutchman.'" Wagner went to the piano, and said, "The -pent-up anguish, the homesickness that then held possession of me, -were poured out in this phrase": - -[Music] - -"At the end of the phrase," continued Wagner, "on the diminished -seventh, in my mind I brooded over the past, the repetitions, each -higher, interpreting the increased intensity of my sufferings." - -The "Flying Dutchman," then, is the product of Wagner's genius in -its embryonic stage. The grasp of tradition and operatic convention -upon his mind is not yet shaken off. The chorus of sailors in the -first finale is in a popular, rhythmical, melodic vein and might -almost have been written by a Frenchman. The opening of Act II. is -constructed on wholly operatic lines, with its gay chorus followed -by the dramatic ballad. Then follow two purely operatic scenes, the -duets of Senta and Erik and Senta and the Dutchman. In the last act -the paucity of material forced Wagner to spin his web very thin -indeed. He consumes as much time as possible with his theatrically -contrasting choruses of merry-making betrothal guests and ghostly -wanderers of the sea. The machinery of the stage creaks through the -whole scene till the entrance of Senta and Erik brings us once more -face to face with human nature. The scene is brief, and it is not to -be praised. It would have been more beautiful to make the Dutchman -depart out of sheer love for Senta and unwillingness to win salvation -through her sacrifice. But the act ends effectively. Perhaps the -most striking proof in all this curious score that Wagner had not -yet found himself is in the duet of Daland and the Dutchman in Act -I. The Dutchman asks if Daland has a daughter and on receiving an -affirmative reply, says, "Let her be my wife." Daland, "joyful yet -perplexed," exclaims: - - "Wie? Hör ich recht? Meine Tochter sein Weib? - Er selbst spricht aus den Gedanken!" - -And with this Wagner ushers in a very Italian duet: - -[Music: - - Wie? Hör' ich recht? Meine Tochter sein Weib? - Er selbst spricht aus den Gedanken.] - -On the other hand, there are not a few manifestations in "Der -Fliegende Holländer" of the future Wagner. In the first place, the -overture is a splendid exemplification of his musical style and -his method of construction and it employs some of the materials of -the opera in a masterly manner. Again the solo of the steersman, -succeeded by the outburst of the storm and the appearance of the -Dutchman's ship upon the raging deep, produces an effect similar -to that of the song of the sailor followed by the passionate -utterances of Isolde in the first scene of "Tristan und Isolde." -The solo of the Dutchman in Act I., while more conventional in its -melodic manner than Wagner's later music, gives a foretaste of the -power exhibited in the second act of "Lohengrin" in expressing dark -and bitter moods. In the musical and dramatic characterisation of -Daland one may discern something of the facility which afterward -made so much of Hans Sachs. Indeed in characterisation more than in -anything else does this opera herald the coming master, for Van der -Decken, Senta and Daland are clearly and completely drawn musically -and dramatically. They are living figures in the gallery of Wagner -portraits; and while we may not deny that "Der Fliegende Holländer" -is a comparatively weak production, we would not readily part with -the dreamful, devoted, ill-fated Senta. - -In the instrumentation, also, one finds evidences of the real Wagner. -The high, shrieking brass chords of the diminished seventh, heard in -the "Rienzi" overture, are here repeated; the rich use of divided -strings is found; and the beautiful employment of wide harmonies -in the wood wind leads the mind forward toward the final exit of -Elizabeth in "Tannhäuser" and the entrance of Elsa in "Lohengrin." -But, view this work as we may, we cannot regard it as standing beside -the two lyric dramas of the transition period. It is the work of an -independent and gifted mind of 28, a work of radiant promise, but not -of mature genius. - - - - -TANNHÄUSER UND DER SÄNGERKRIEG AUF WARTBURG - -Grand Romantic Opera in Three Acts. - - -First performed at the Royal Saxon Court Theatre, Dresden, October -19, 1845. - -_Original Cast._ - - Hermann, Landgrave of Thuringia Dettmer. - Tannhäuser Tichatschek. - Wolfram von Eschenbach Mitterwurzer. - Walther von der Vogelweide Schloss. - Biterolf Wächter. - Heinrich der Schreiber Gurth. - Reimar von Zweter Risse. - Elizabeth, Niece of the Landgrave Fräulein Johanna Wagner. - Venus Mme. Schroeder-Devrient. - A Young Shepherd Fräulein Thiele. - -Weimar, 1849; Schwerin and Breslau, Freiburg and Wiesbaden, 1852; -Königsberg, Hamburg, Darmstadt, Elbing, Cassel, Frankfort, Posen, -Leipsic, Riga, Barmen, Bremen, Bromberg, Cologne, Danzig, Düsseldorf, -Prague, and Stralsund, 1853; Wolfendbüttel, Rostock, Reval, Neisse, -Magdeburg, Glogau, Mayence, Gumbinnen, Gratz, Aix-la-Chapelle, -Augsburg, and Stettin, 1854; Strassburg, Lübeck, Coburg, Bamberg, -Munich, Mannheim, Antwerp, Zurich, Würzburg, Carlsruhe, Hanover, -1855; Berlin, 1856; Vienna, Dessau, and Sondershausen, 1857; -Stuttgart, 1859; New York, April 4, 1859; Rotterdam, 1860; Paris, -1861; Brunswick, 1861; Olmütz and Amsterdam, 1862; Munich, Paris -version, 1867; The Hague, 1870; Budapesth, 1871; Bologna, 1872; -Brussels, 1873; Lucerne, 1874; Copenhagen, 1875; London (Italian), -May 6, 1876; New York (Italian) and Moscow, 1877; Trieste, 1878; -Innspruck and Salzburg, 1880; Ghent and London (English), 1881. - -First performed in America at the Stadt Theater, New York, April 4, -1859. - -_Cast._ - - Hermann Graff. - Tannhäuser Pickaneser. - Wolfram Lehmann. - Walther Lotti. - Biterolf Urchs. - Heinrich der Schreiber Bolten. - Reimar von Zweter Brandt. - Elizabeth Mme. Siedenburg. - Venus Mme. Pickaneser. - Shepherd (Not given). - -Conductor, Carl Bergmann. - - -TANNHÄUSER - -With "Tannhäuser" we enter upon what may fairly be called the -transition period of the genius of Wagner. While in certain passages -this work is quite as much indebted to older opera as "Der Fliegende -Holländer," and in others falls into a cheap and tawdry style of -melody quite unworthy of its composer, it nevertheless contains -parts which rise to heights never before attained except perhaps in -Beethoven's "Fidelio." The book will especially repay study, for in -it we find the first complete demonstration of Wagner's powers as a -dramatist and a dramatic poet. His skilful weaving of the dramatic -web out of materials scattered and apparently unrelated places him -among the masters of theatrical writing. It will be our pleasure -first to examine the sources of the drama and the manner in which -Wagner employed them. - -"Tannhäuser" was first conceived by Wagner in 1841, and the scenic -sketches, with the provisional title "Venusberg, Romantic Opera," -were made in 1842. The poem was finished on May 22, 1843. Owing to -his being occupied with the preparations for the production of "Der -Fliegende Holländer" and with other matters, Wagner did not complete -the score till April 13, 1845. When the work was in preparation for -performance at the Paris Grand Opéra in 1861, Wagner rewrote some -portion of the score. The reader will recall that the members of -the Jockey Club demanded their usual terpsichorean titbit, but that -Wagner would not consent to write an ordinary ballet and thrust it -into his drama at a certain hour. He insisted that the ballet should -take its proper place in the dramatic scheme and that it should have -a meaning. - -He accordingly wrote a new and careful elaboration of the scene in -the Venusberg at the opening of Act I. In the first, or Dresden, -version of the work the overture is a complete number, and as such -is frequently heard on the concert platform. In the Parisian version -the overture does not come to an end, but at the second appearance -of the bacchanalian music the curtain rises and the ballet begins. -It is descriptive of the revels of the realm of Venus--"a wild and -yet seductive chaos of movements and groupings, of soft delight, -of yearning and burning, carried to the most delicious pitch of -frenzied riot."[34] He then extended the dialogue between Venus and -Tannhäuser to a scene of considerable dimensions, its chief purpose -being a further revelation of the character of Venus. Undoubtedly -this Parisian version was nearer to Wagner's heart than his first -one, but its music does not well bear critical examination, for the -style of the added part is that of the "Tristan" period, while the -old "Tannhäuser" music is of a much more primitive sort. - -[Footnote 34: Wagner, "On the Performing of Tannhäuser," Prose Works, -Ellis, Vol. III.] - -So much for the writing of the opera. It is a curious fact that -Wagner has recorded as his sources of inspiration a book which -cannot be found and a condition which did not exist. He says that -while "Rienzi" was in preparation at Dresden, the German "Volksbuch" -of "Tannhäuser" fell into his hands. Now no one has ever been able to -find such a book, and learned authorities declare that there never -was one. But Wagner further says that he had made the acquaintance of -Tannhäuser in Tieck's narrative, which he now reread. He read also -the "Tannhäuserlied." He says: "What most irresistibly attracted -me was the connection, however loose, between Tannhäuser and the -'Singer's Tourney in the Wartburg,' which I found established in -that Folk's book." With this second subject he had already made -some acquaintance in a tale of Hoffmann, and he now decided to -read the mediæval epic, "The Sängerkrieg." There is no connection -at all between the incidents of the old Tannhäuser legend and "The -Sängerkrieg." This is a condition which Wagner himself created, and -his error in supposing that he had discovered it in the legend is an -amusing instance of the occasional inability of genius to analyse its -own workings. What Wagner did was to accept Lucas's identification of -Tannhäuser with one of the personages in the epic, thus bringing the -two stories together, as we shall presently see. - -The legend of Tannhäuser is found in old folk tales, mostly in the -popular form of ballads. An English translation of one of these, -printed with the original music in Böhme's "Altdeutsches Liederbuch," -is reproduced in Jessie Weston's excellent work, "Legends of the -Wagner Drama." The story contained in this is that Tannhäuser, a -knight, has spent much time in the cave of Venus, but has grown -weary and would depart. Venus tells him that he has sworn a solemn -oath with her "for aye to dwell." He denies that he has so sworn. She -offers him her fairest maid as wife if he will stay, but he declines, -saying, - - "Nay, an I took another wife, - I here bethink me well, - My lot for all eternity - Would be the flames of hell." - -Venus still pleads with him and bids him think upon her charms and -the joys of life in the Venusberg. He declares that his "life is -waxen sick and faint," and again begs for leave to go. Finally he -calls upon the Virgin to aid him. Then Venus tells him to go, but -adds that wherever he goes he shall sing her praise. He departs, and -determines to seek Pope Urban at Rome and ask absolution. The Pope, -who holds in his hand a withered staff, says: - - "This staff shall bud and bloom again - Ere grace to thee be shown." - -Tannhäuser in despair returns to the arms of Venus. On the third day -after his departure from Rome the staff buds and blossoms. The Pope -seeks for Tannhäuser, but it is too late; he has returned to his sin, -and for this Pope Urban's soul is to be counted lost on the Judgment -Day. - -There is absolutely nothing in that story to suggest any connection -with the contest of minnesingers in the Castle of Wartburg in 1204 -A.D., the year in which Wolfram von Eschenbach is known -to have been the guest of Hermann, Landgrave of Thuringia. This -contest is described in the poem, or collection of poems called the -"Wartburgkrieg," which dates from the 13th century and gives us an -interesting view of the Court of Hermann of Thuringia. It is not -certain that all of this poem has come down to us, nor do we know who -wrote it. Simrock, the German editor of the work, believed that its -earliest part was written about 1233. Some verses, believed to have -been by Walther von der Vogelweide, appear in the work. The latest -part of it probably dates from 1287. - -The poem contains no such contest in song as that which takes place -in the second act of Wagner's drama, but it does describe a debate as -to the glories of certain princes. Heinrich von Ofterdingen, Heinrich -der Schreiber, Walther von der Vogelweide, Biterolf, and Reimar von -Zweter take part in the discussion, while Wolfram von Eschenbach, the -famous author of "Parzival," is the umpire. It was in reading this -poem that Wagner's attention was called to Wolfram and his works, and -thus he discovered the legendary world of "Lohengrin" and "Parsifal." -The "Wartburgkrieg" contains other matter, but that just summarised -is all that Wagner found for his "Tannhäuser." He got from the -mediæval epic the atmosphere of Hermann's Court, for this potentate -was famous in his day as a patron of poetry and an encourager of -the art of the knightly minnesinger. He obtained also the idea of -the contest of song--which in history was rather one of poetry--and -the names of the historical minnesingers. In adopting this material -to his dramatic purpose Wagner omitted Heinrich of Ofterdingen and -substituted Tannhäuser for him. He furthermore changed the subject -of the controversy. - -Whence came the lovely character, one of the noblest of all Wagner's -heroines, Elizabeth, the Landgrave's niece? She is not to be found in -the Tannhäuser legend nor in the "Wartburgkrieg." It is altogether -certain that Wagner found the suggestion for this beautiful character -in the story of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, the daughter-in-law -of Hermann of Thuringia. She was affianced in childhood to the -Landgrave's eldest son Ludwig; and when married the pair led a -rigorously monastic life and devoted themselves to holiness. Ludwig -died young and his brother Heinrich was harsh to Elizabeth. The pure -and lofty stature of this saintly princess furnished Wagner with -the personality which he needed as the element of opposition to the -baneful influence of Venus. - -We have now before us the sources from which Wagner drew the -materials for this noble drama. Let us see how he utilised his -matter. In the first scene we behold Tannhäuser in the arms of Venus, -sick and weary of sensual delight and eager to return to the smell of -the green grass and the song of birds, and still more to the rhythmic -alternation of pain and pleasure which makes the song of human life. -His senses are nauseated with their own ceaseless gratification. Who, -then, is this Venus, and what is she doing in the subterranean world -of the 12th century? She is plainly the Venus of Roman mythology, -the Aphrodite of the Greeks, the Astarte of the Phoenicians. The -atmosphere which surrounds her is that of the classic Venus. She is -further identified by the pictures of Leda and the Swan and Europa -and the Bull, taken from classic fable and illustrating stratagems -of the passion over which Venus presided. Before the Romans pushed -their way into Germany, the old Teutonic mythology had its goddess -Freya, the wife of Odin, queen and leader of the Valkyrs. But the -Scandinavian myth made Frigg, or Fricka, the queen, and Freya the -second in rank. She was the goddess of love and beauty. The South -German races confounded the two and added qualities not known in the -northern mythology. They made Freya coincident on one side with Hel, -the goddess of the underworld and of the dead, and on the other with -Holda, the goddess of the spring, of budding and fructification. Thus -when the Romans carried their mythology into Germany it was not at -all extraordinary that the attributes of Freya and Venus should have -become mingled in the minds of the people. - -These simple-minded people did not readily part with their poetic -mythology when Christianity mastered their hearts. The old deities -were supposed to have retired into caves or mountains, there to -dwell till recalled to activity. Venus, according to various -traditions, lived in more than one cave, but her favourite abode -was the Hörselberg in Thuringia. The propinquity of this cave to -the Castle of Wartburg naturally led Wagner to choose it as the -scene of Tannhäuser's retirement. In the drama the knight's feelings -and desires are precisely the same as those of the hero of the old -legend. Wagner adds the beautiful poetic touches of his yearning to -hear the song of birds and once more to suffer pain. Furthermore -he makes it clear to us that the Venus of his imagination was -not without womanly feeling, and that her passion for Tannhäuser -was a very real one. She scornfully gives him leave to go, but it -is finally his despairing cry to the Virgin for aid which acts as -a charm to remove the spell of enchantment. He instantly finds -himself in the valley before the Wartburg, and hears the tinkling of -sheep-bells, while a young shepherd carols a lay to the May and to -Holda, the representative of the beneficent side of the evil goddess -just left. It is in such details of fancy as these that Wagner -demonstrates his right to consider himself a poet. - -With the disappearance of the red and glittering cave of Venus and -the appearance of the cool, fresh greens of the landscape--a striking -pictorial contrast, full of theatrical effectiveness, and showing -Wagner's employment of the combined arts of poetry, music, painting, -and action in the new dramatic form--we enter the domain of the -"Wartburgkrieg." The Tannhäuser of the old legend steps into the -shoes of Heinrich of Ofterdingen. The adventure which has befallen -him is not unsuited to his character, for the real Tannhäuser -was a bit of a Don Juan and had many "affairs." It seems that he -repented and became a wiser and a better man in later life. In the -ballad Venus foretold that he would sing her praises wherever he -went, but in the drama this prediction is made by Tannhäuser in the -first scene. That Wagner had a purpose in the change is shown by -Tannhäuser's outbreak in the hall of song. Efforts have been made -to prove that Heinrich of Ofterdingen and Tannhäuser were one and -the same person, for the existence of the former is problematical, -and also to prove that Tannhäuser did really visit the Court of -Hermann. Neither has been established as a fact. The matter is -of little importance to us. The personages in the song contest, -except Tannhäuser, are historical, and Wagner has been faithful in -his representation of their characters. He has chosen for dramatic -purposes to accentuate the poetic side of Wolfram's character. -Wolfram was celebrated as a champion of Christianity, and was an -ardent advocate of nobility of heart in woman in preference to merely -external beauty. In the very beginning of his "Parzival" he says: - - "Many women are praised for beauty; if at heart they shall be untrue, - Then I praise them as I would praise it, the glass of a sapphire hue, - That in gold shall be set as a jewel! Tho' I hold it an evil thing, - If a man take a costly ruby, with the virtue the stone doth bring, - And set it in a worthless setting: I would liken such a costly stone - To the heart of a faithful woman, who true womanhood doth own. - I would look not upon her colour, nor the heart's roof all can see; - If the heart beateth true beneath it, true praise shall she win - from me."[35] - -[Footnote 35: "Parzival," a knightly epic, by Wolfram von Eschenbach. -Translation by Jessie L. Weston. London, David Nutt.] - -In the hall of song the contest is on a similar theme, and Wolfram -was well chosen by Wagner to oppose the passionate ideas of the -wandering Tannhäuser. Walther von der Vogelweide has little -importance in Wagner's "Tannhäuser," but is mentioned again in -"Die Meistersinger," when young Walther von Stolzing claims him as -master. Vogelweide was a poet of renown in his day, a contemporary -of Wolfram, a Tyrolean by birth and a lyric singer. He was a man of -station and had an estate near Würzburg, where he was buried. Reimar -was also a notable poet in his day, but of Biterolf little is known -except that there was such a man. - -These are the personages who greet Tannhäuser when Wagner's -wonderful transformation scene has closed, when the effect of the -beautiful pictorial change has died away, and the solemn strains -of the pilgrims' chorus, so gently beneficent after the passionate -witcheries of the wild bacchanal, have melted into the distance. -And with the advent of these historic figures there begins the -operation of the elevating principle of the drama, the influence of -Elizabeth. With their simple and yet aspiring spirits they furnish -a beautiful contrast to the carnal creatures whom we have just left -in the Hörselberg. The latter typified the gratification of the -senses, while these are an expression of the higher desires of man, -presently to be shown to us in their loftiest embodiment, the eternal -woman-soul, which "leadeth us ever upward and on." - -In the experience of Tannhäuser Wagner has set before us the struggle -of the pure and the impure, the lusts and the aspirations of man's -nature. It is essentially the tragedy of the man. We may try as we -please to exalt the importance of Elizabeth as a dramatic character, -but the truth is that she is merely the embodiment of a force. -Tannhäuser is typical of his sex, beset on the one hand by the desire -of the flesh, which satiates and maddens, and courted on the other by -the undying loveliness of chaste and holy love. If ever a sermon was -preached as to the certainty with which the sins of the flesh will -find a man out it is preached in the second act of this tremendous -tragedy, when the flame of old passions sears the front of new -happiness and drives the errant out of paradise. - -Here Wagner has risen far above his material. In the pomp and -circumstance of the mediæval contest of song he has displayed active -fancy, for the scene as presented is his rather than history's. In -the culmination of the catastrophe he has wrought with the craft of -genius, for in the period of which he wrote the yielding of a man to -sensual temptation would never have caused such a stir. Tannhäuser -would have been damned rather for worshipping a heathen goddess, -an enemy of the Christian Church, than for slumbering in the soft -embraces of a wanton. Hence, though struck to the heart by more than -mortal wound, Elizabeth thinks first of her lover's sin: - - "Was liegt an mir? Doch er--sein Heil! - Wollt Ihr sein ewig Heil ihm rauben?" - -"What matters it for me? But he--his salvation! Would you rob him -of his eternal salvation?" With this beautiful plea of the stricken -Elizabeth Wagner shows how perfectly he understood the tragic -elements of his story, for he makes the saving principle again, as in -"Der Fliegende Holländer," one of self-effacement, a love faithful -unto death. - -In the final act Elizabeth, her last hope of the return of Tannhäuser -gone, consecrates her soul to heaven, relinquishes the desire of -life, and ascends to her last home. Wolfram, who has loved her, and -who thus becomes, in his self-sacrifice, a foil to the passionate -and self-gratifying Tannhäuser, sits at the foot of the Hörselberg -and philosophises to the evening star. Tannhäuser returns, cursed by -Rome, and plunged in despair. His narrative is the climax of power -in the opera, one of the most intensely tragic pieces of writing in -all dramatic literature. His senses reel; the old world of lusts -and passions opens the portals of its rosy dreamland, and the songs -of its sirens again lure him back to the arms of Venus and bury the -newly awakened soul in the depths of sensual debauchery. But no; the -eternal feminine still strives to save. The sainted Elizabeth, dead, -is yet the guardian angel of this poor wanderer, and as her funeral -bier is laid before him he sinks beside it with the last unutterably -pathetic supplication of a still repentant spirit: - - "Heilige Elizabeth, bitte für mich!" - -"Holy Elizabeth, pray for me." And Wolfram pronounces the benediction -in the words, "Er ist erlöst" ("he is redeemed"). The sprouting staff -of the Pope, which has followed him from Rome, is laid upon his dead -body, and the solemn chorus of the pilgrims chant the entrance of his -purified spirit into its eternal rest. Thus did Wagner, out of the -simple and unrelated materials of the old Tannhäuser myth and the -"Wartburgkrieg," fashion the tragedy of a man's soul. Women never -find in "Tannhäuser" all that a man finds there. The experience of -the story lies beyond the pale of the feminine nature, but every -man must bow his head in reverence to the genius which thus made -quick the battle of passion against purity for the possession of the -masculine soul. Wagner wrote no mightier tragedy than this.[36] - -[Footnote 36: It is worthy of note that in 1863 there was printed in -Mobile, Ala., a long blank-verse poem, entitled "Tannhäuser; or, The -Battle of the Bards," by Neville Temple and Edward Trevor. This was -a paraphrase--and in some places a translation--of Wagner's opera -book. It was written by two young men in the English civil service -in Germany and sent over to America by a friend. It transpired that -"Edward Trevor" was no less a personage than Robert, Lord Lytton, -better known as Owen Meredith, author of "Lucile."] - -The music of "Tannhäuser" commands less admiration than the book. -Some of it is worthy of the mature Wagner, but much is trivial and -some is positively weak and puerile. Wagner had not yet grasped a -new conception of the lyric drama; he had thus far only enlarged -and extended the old one. He was not yet ready to set aside all the -old formulæ; but he was striving to give them a new significance. -Hence in "Tannhäuser" there are passages of a familiar operatic cut, -such as the scene of Tannhäuser and the courtiers in the first act, -ending with the finale of that act, the duet between Tannhäuser and -Elizabeth in Act II., and Wolfram's address to the evening star in -Act III. On the other hand, most of the score shows wide departures -from the older operatic manner. There is a sincere attempt to make -the musical forms follow the poem. There is an abundance of real -dialogue, in which the setting of the text is constructed on the -purest dramatic lines. This is especially true of the scene between -Tannhäuser and Venus, the debate in the hall of song, and the -narrative of Tannhäuser. But such admirable pieces of writing as -the address of the Landgrave to the contestants and the pathetic -prayer of Elizabeth have also a large dramatic value because of their -perfect embodiment of the feeling of the scene. - -The leitmotiv is not employed in "Tannhäuser." Arthur Smolian wrote -a pamphlet on the music of this opera. It was prepared for the -_Bayreuther Taschenbuch_ of 1891 and translated into English by the -indefatigable Ashton Ellis. It professes to name and catalogue the -leading motives of "Tannhäuser," but what it really does is to prove -that there are none. The author quotes Wagner: "The essential feature -of Tannhäuser's character is his instant and complete saturation -with the emotions called up by the passing incident, and the lively -contrasts which the sudden changes of situation produce in his -utterance of this fulness of feeling. Tannhäuser is never a 'little' -anything, but each thing fully and completely." Mr. Smolian says: -"With the foregoing words, in which Wagner defines the nature of his -hero, we might also most fittingly describe the individuality of the -'Tannhäuser' music." Here, then, he should have stopped, for he had -spoken the truth, and his thematic catalogue is misleading. The music -of "Tannhäuser" is nearly all written freely for the investiture -of the passing mood, and those portions which are accorded special -meaning and are used for repetition may speedily be enumerated and -dismissed. - -These divide themselves naturally into two classes, representing -respectively the good and the evil principle of the action. These -themes, which have such significance that they are repeated in the -exposition of the drama, are first heard and most easily identified -in the magnificent overture. This opens with a serene statement of -the theme typifying the holy thought, the religious mood of the good -characters in the play. This thought is employed as the melody of a -chorus of pilgrims, and it reappears in a triumphant proclamation at -the end of the drama when the good principle emerges victorious from -the battle against the evil: - -[Music] - -The intoning of this solemn melody is interrupted in the overture by -the intrusion of the music of the bacchanalian orgies in the cave of -Venus, which begins with this phrase, given out by the violas: - -[Music] - -Tannhäuser's hymn in praise of Venus appears in the overture and -is, of course, again heard in the first scene of the drama. It is -repeated with immense significance, but not at all in the manner of a -leitmotiv, in the scene of the hall of song. - -[Music: - - Dir töne Lob! Die Wunder sei'n gepriesen.] - -In the overture the listener will hear after one of the passages of -turbulence this theme intoned by a clarinet. - -[Music: - - Geliebter, komm! Sieh dort die Grotte, - von ros'gen Düften mild durchwallt!] - -Later he will recognise its significance, when in the first scene he -hears it sung by Venus with the words of pleading. The reader is now -in possession of all the thematic ideas of the score of "Tannhäuser" -which approach in their nature the musical phrases employed by Wagner -in later works. And yet it is only an approach. In the second act, -when Wolfram is preaching the beauties of ideal love, thoughts of the -unbridled gratifications of the Hörselberg flash through Tannhäuser's -mind and we are informed of it by the repetition of the bacchanale -motive. And when at length, taunted into recklessness by the words of -his opponents, Tannhäuser launches into the praise of sensual love, -he naturally does so in the hymn to Venus from the first scene. -And that is the extent of the repetition of primary material in the -second act. - -In the third act, when Tannhäuser in his despair calls upon Venus, -we are informed of her appearance before his fancy by the return of -the bacchanalian music. We also see her revealed in the rosy light of -her cavern, but this is a complete concession to the public want of -imagination. Wagner's original intention was to let the music tell -the story of her nearness, but he came to the conclusion that he -would not be understood, and so he placed Venus and her court before -our eyes. With the return of the pilgrims' chorus at the end of the -drama we meet the last repetition of a thematic idea. In none of -these repetitions is the leitmotiv method employed. They are simply -such repetitions as Gounod makes in "Faust" when the mad Marguerite -imagines she hears again the first salutation of Faust, or in "Roméo -et Juliette," when the dying Romeo's disordered mind carries him back -to the chamber scene and "Non, ce n'est pas le jour." - -The dramatic power of "Tannhäuser" is not to be sought in evidences -of the development of the future Wagnerian system except in the -fidelity of the music to the underlying thought, and of the masterful -employment of operatic materials hitherto used wholly with a view to -musical effectiveness. In characterisation, too, this score shows -an advance over that of "Der Fliegende Holländer," which itself was -far ahead of its contemporaries. Wagner himself lays stress upon -the deep significance of passages of free composition. For example, -he says that in the stanza which Tannhäuser sings in the finale of -the second act ("Zum Heil den Sündigen zu Führen")--a stanza which -is usually buried by the ensemble--"lies the whole significance -of the catastrophe of Tannhäuser, and indeed the whole essence -of Tannhäuser; all that to me makes him a touching phenomenon is -expressed here alone." And various remarks in his long and--for the -theatre--important essay on the performing of "Tannhäuser" show how -far from his mind in the preparation of this work was the fully -developed Wagnerian system of "Tristan und Isolde." The union of -the arts tributary to the drama in the "art work of the future" had -already been conceived by him, and the greatness of "Tannhäuser," -together with the causes of its radical difference from the typical -opera of its time, must be sought in the evidences of Wagner's -successful employment of this union. Neither verse nor music had -yet disclosed the complete Wagner; but here we find the master in -his transitional stage. The puissant eloquence of the vital scenes -of "Tannhäuser" will long keep it before the public in spite of its -inherent weaknesses. - - - - -LOHENGRIN - -Romantic Opera in Three Acts. - - -First performed at the Court Theatre, Weimar, August 28, 1850. - -_Original Cast._ - - Lohengrin Beck. - Telramund Milde. - King Henry Höfer. - Herald Pätsch. - Ortrud Fräulein Fastlinger. - Elsa Fräulein Agthe. - -Wiesbaden, 1853; Stettin, Breslau, Frankfort, Schwerin, Leipsic, -1854; Hanover, Darmstadt, Riga, Prague, Hamburg, Cologne, 1855; -Würzburg, Mayence, Carlsruhe, 1856; Munich, Sondershausen, Vienna, -1857; Dresden, Berlin, Mannheim, 1859; Danzig, Königsberg, 1860; -Rotterdam, 1862; Gratz, 1863; Budapesth, 1866; Dessau, 1867; Milan, -Cassel, Baden, St. Petersburg, 1868; Olmütz, Stuttgart, Gotha, 1869; -Brussels, Brunswick, Magdeburg, The Hague, Copenhagen, 1870; Bologna, -New York, 1871; Nuremberg, Florence, 1872; Lübeck, 1873; Stockholm, -Strassburg, 1874; Boston, 1875; London, Covent Garden, May 8, 1875; -Dublin, 1875; Basle, Trieste, 1876; San Francisco, Philadelphia, -Chemnitz, Crefeld, Temesvar, Salzburg, Melbourne, Lemburg, 1877; -Görlitz, Barmen, Regensburg, Rome, 1878; Altona, Liegnitz, 1879; -London (English), Genoa, 1880; Liverpool, Antwerp, Venice, Nice, -Naples, Moscow, Madrid, Münster, 1881; Innspruck, Barcelona, 1882. - -First performed in America in German at the Stadt Theater, New York, -April 3, 1871, under Adolf Neuendorff. - -_Cast._ - - Lohengrin Theodore Habelmann. - Telramund Herr Vierling. - King Henry Herr Franosch. - Herald W. Formes. - Ortrud Mme. Frederici. - Elsa Mme. Louise Lichtmay. - -First performance in Italian, Academy of Music, March 23, 1874. - -_Cast._ - - Lohengrin Italo Campanini. - Telramund Giuseppe del Puente. - King Henry Giovanni Nannetti. - Herald A. Blum. - Ortrud Annie Louise Cary. - Elsa Christine Nilsson. - - -LOHENGRIN - -I.--The Book - -When he was collecting the materials for "Tannhäuser," Wagner, as we -have seen, read the "Parzival" of Wolfram von Eschenbach. The last -one hundred lines of that poem contains one of the versions of the -story of Lohengrin. It is an insufficient story, however, and would -not in itself have provided the foundation of Wagner's most popular -work. As I have said in my introduction to the Schirmer edition -of the vocal score of "Lohengrin," "Wagner's method of literary -composition was to gather all the versions of a national mythological -legend, and select the incidents and characters which fitted into -his plan." This plan, of course, grows out of his perception of the -dramatic possibilities of the story. The sources of Wagner's poem, -then, in addition to "Parzival," were "Der Jüngere Titurel," a poem -by Albrecht von Scharffenberg, giving a full account of the Holy -Grail and its guardians, and also recounting the life and death of -Lohengrin after leaving Brabant; _Der Schwanen-Ritter_, by Konrad -von Würzburg, a poem dating from the latter half of the thirteenth -century; "Lohengrin," a poem by an unknown Bavarian poet, and the -popular form of the legend as given by the Grimm Brothers in the -"Deutsche Sagen." - -At Marienbad in the summer of 1845 he laid down the outlines of his -plan, and in the winter ensuing he wrote the book and invented some -of the melodic ideas. He began the actual composition of the opera -with the narrative of Lohengrin in the final scene, because, like -the ballad of Senta, that monologue contained the most significant -musical germs in the whole score. While living at Grossgraufen, near -Pilnitz, he wrote the music of the third act between September 9, -1846, and March 5, 1847. The first act was composed between May 12 -and June 8, 1847, and the second act between June 18th and August 2d -of the same year. The prelude was finished on August 28, 1847, and -the instrumentation was made during the following winter and spring. -The score of the opera was not published for several years, because -Meser, who had printed the previous works of the composer, had lost -money by the ventures. Breitkopf & Härtel subsequently secured the -score at a small price, not because they were niggardly in offering, -but because Wagner's works had no large market value at the time, and -he was anxious to sell, being in his chronic condition of financial -embarrassment. - -The Lohengrin poem gives the story thus: Elsa, daughter of the Duke -of Brabant, is left in care of Frederic of Telramund. He aspires to -her hand, but she refuses him. He then accuses her before the Emperor -of having promised to be his wife and having broken the promise. The -Emperor declares that the case must be tried by the ordeal of battle. -A passing falcon falls at Elsa's feet with a bell tied to its leg. -In her agitation she rings the bell. The sound reaches Monsalvat, -where it acts as a summons to Lohengrin, the son of Parzival. A -swan appears on the river and Lohengrin knows that he is ordered -to go with it. On arriving at Antwerp, five days later, Lohengrin -is received with honour, and with Elsa sets out for the court of -the Emperor at Mayence. There the combat is fought and Telramund -defeated. Lohengrin marries Elsa, having extracted from her the -promise not to ask his name or country. They live together two years. -Then in a joust Lohengrin conquers the Duke of Cleves and breaks his -arm. The Duchess of Cleves sneers at Lohengrin because no one knows -who he is. This preys on the mind of Elsa till she asks the fatal -question. Then Lohengrin, in the presence of the Emperor and the -Court, tells his story, steps into the swan-boat and vanishes. - -The story of the "Chevalier au Cygne," as found in the Grimm version -also, is evidently a combination of two legends. The first deals -entirely with the transformation of human beings into swans, and -the second with the Swan-Knight. The mother-in-law of a queen, out -of hatred, endeavours to make away with her seven children, each -of whom was born with a silver chain about its neck, and to throw -suspicion on the queen. She gives them to a knight to slay, but he -contents himself with leaving them in a wood, where they are found -and cared for by a hermit. The king's mother subsequently learns that -the children are still alive, and sends a servant to kill them and -bring the chains as evidence. He finds six children, one having gone -on a short journey with the hermit, and when he takes the chains off -their necks they turn into swans and fly away. The king's mother now -brings the false accusation against the queen, and the king declares -that, unless a champion can be found to establish her innocence, she -must die. An angel goes to Helyas, the son who was not found by the -servant, and tells him who he is and of his mother's danger. Helyas -goes to Court, declares himself, fights for his mother, and conquers. -The chains are brought forth, the six swans fly in, Helyas puts the -chains around their necks, and they resume their human forms. - -Subsequently Helyas sees a swan appear, drawing a boat, and knows -that he is summoned. At Nimwegen he finds that before the Emperor -Otto the Duchess of Bouillon has been accused by her brother-in-law -of poisoning her husband. The Emperor has ordered the settlement -of the case by the ordeal of combat. Helyas defends the Duchess, -overthrows her accuser, marries her daughter, and becomes the father -of Godfrey of Bouillon. After seven years the Duchess asks the fatal -question, and Helyas, without answering it, goes away forever in -his swan-boat. The reader will easily discover in the latter part -of this story how the Lohengrin legend has been used to manufacture -a supernatural father for Godfrey of Bouillon. It was not at all -uncommon for the poets of the mediæval period thus to celebrate the -mighty. - -We have now before us the chief materials out of which Wagner made -his beautiful dramatic poem, for the story of Wolfram's "Parzival" -served principally to set him on the track, and to make suggestions -as to the character of Elsa. That story tells simply that the Duchess -of Brabant refused to be the wife of any man save him whom God should -send her, and so Lohengrin came and the marriage took place, with -the stipulation that he should not be asked his name or race. After -some years she asked the fatal question and he returned to Monsalvat. - -The Elsa of Wolfram was evidently inclined to become a nun, but in -two lines of the "Parzival" Wagner found a suggestion as to her -nature of which he made eloquent use in his first act: - - "In God was her trust, whatever men might in their anger speak, - And, guiltless, she bare the vengeance her folks on her head - would wreak." - -The absolute confidence of Wagner's Elsa in the readiness of -Providence to send her the knight of whom she had dreamed and her -unresisting attitude in the presence of her accuser and her king were -certainly drawn from these lines of Wolfram's. - -From the story of the Swan-Knight he gathered the idea of the -transformation of a human being into a swan by a malignant woman, and -his tremendously dramatic development of this idea is seen in the -plot of his opera. The accusation of Telramund is increased by the -assertion that Elsa has murdered her brother, a suggestion drawn, of -course, from the accusation against the queen in the "Chevalier au -Cygne." He has in reality been transformed into a swan by Ortrud, the -wife of Telramund, a character wholly invented by Wagner. It is she -who performs the office attributed in the old story to the Duchess of -Cleves, that of inspiring distrust and questionings in the mind of -Elsa. The character of Telramund is the merest sketch in the sources -of the drama and its individuality is entirely the result of Wagner's -dramatic skill. - -The scene is laid at Antwerp, as it is in the Bavarian poet's -version, but is retained there instead of being shifted to Mayence. -The heroine is the Duchess of Brabant. The monarch, however, is not -Otto, but Henry I., who reigned from 918 to 936. In his treatment -of this character Wagner adheres to historic truth. Henry was a -progressive and an aggressive monarch, and he not only led his -people in successful wars against the Huns, but brought order out of -political chaos at home. It is to these historical matters that the -King refers in the speeches of the opening scene of the opera. - -In the old stories the Knight has several days in which to reach the -woman in distress and fight for her. Wagner has made this episode far -more dramatic by requiring the immediate presence of the champion, by -the ingenious plan of having the first call unanswered, and by making -the fight for Elsa's life and honour take place at once. The arrival -of Lohengrin is one of the most theatrically effective scenes in all -opera, and the sweet and gentle farewell to the swan, following the -hubbub of excitement, affords one of those splendid musical contrasts -which are to be found in all Wagner's works and which are, as in this -case, entirely his own. The first act of the opera leans heavily on -the sources of the story, but the reader can have no difficulty in -seeing how ingeniously Wagner has utilised his materials. At the end -of the combat it has in recent years been the custom to employ a -piece of stage business, authorised by the Bayreuth management, which -is destructive of much of the effect of the scene, and obviously -contrary to Wagner's original conception. Lohengrin does not fell -Telramund "with one mighty stroke," as the stage direction in the -score says he should, but holds his sword on high, while Frederic, -without being struck at all, falls, overcome by the mysterious -power which emanates from it. Of course this belittles the knightly -character of Lohengrin, who conquers not by his prowess, but by the -intervention of supernatural power, and furthermore it is opposed to -the text. The Herald in his address to the combatants just before the -King's prayer says: - - "Durch bösen Zaubers List und Trug - Stört nicht des Urtheils Eigenschaft." - -"By evil magic's cunning and deceit distort not the nature of the -judgment." The meaning of that speech is certainly a prohibition -of the exercise of supernatural power by Lohengrin. And in the old -stories it is always related that he defeated his opponent in equal -combat. The supernatural element is sufficiently to the fore in -this first scene in the appearance of the Swan-Knight in answer to -the prayer and in reward of the faith of the innocent maiden under -accusation. The love of Lohengrin for Elsa is in accordance with -the old stories, and so is Elsa's offer of her crown, her domain, -and herself. To the fall of the curtain at the end of Act I. Wagner -followed the sources of his story closely, the changes being such as -I have pointed out, and chiefly of a kind demanded by the technics of -dramatic construction. - -But with the second act we enter a chapter more fully the product of -Wagner's genius. The original sources give only suggestions of it. -The scene between Telramund and Ortrud at the beginning of this act, -so much disliked by those to whom only the saccharine melodies of -love and mystic knighthood are pleasing, is one of the most important -in the drama. Telramund, robbed of sword and fame, reproaches Ortrud -for inducing him to make the accusation against Elsa. He recognises -the sacred character of Lohengrin, but Ortrud scoffs at it. She -calls her husband's attention to the condition imposed upon Elsa by -Lohengrin, that she must ask neither his name nor the place whence -he came. Ortrud reveals the fact that if he is forced to answer -this question his power is at an end. But Ortrud further counsels -her husband to proclaim that the victory was won by magic, thus -breaking the law of the sacred ordeal. Still further she says that, -if Lohengrin can only be wounded in the slightest way, his power will -vanish. To Telramund she entrusts this part of the task, while for -herself she reserves the business of inspiring distrust in the mind -of Elsa. - -She addresses the maiden on her balcony in the accents of despair. -Elsa in pity descends to lead her into the house. Then Wagner makes -use of the mediæval belief that the old pagan gods had not ceased -to exist, but were temporarily in retirement from the assaults of -Christianity. Ortrud, who is a pagan at heart, calls on the old Norse -gods to aid her in overthrowing these Christian enemies of theirs. -When Elsa appears, this dark woman at once expresses her fear that a -knight who appeared by magic may disappear. Elsa's trust is not yet -to be shaken, and Ortrud follows her into the house. When Elsa and -her train are moving toward the church, Ortrud claims the right of -precedence and, like the Duchess of Cleves in the old tale, flings -the taunt of Lohengrin's namelessness at Elsa. Again the maiden -defends her spouse elect. Lohengrin and the King appear. Telramund, -carrying out his part of the task, comes forward and declares that -Lohengrin conquered him by the aid of magic. The King and the nobles, -with full faith in the nature of the judgment, refuse to listen to -him. He then whispers to Elsa that if she will admit him to the -chamber that night he will clear all doubt. Lohengrin orders him away -and leads Elsa into the minster. - -Throughout this act the immense dramatic skill of Wagner is -manifested. With only a few meagre suggestions from the old -legends,--basic ideas, indeed, but undeveloped,--he built up an -act of extraordinary dramatic power and musical fecundity. In its -construction this act equals anything in the entire range of opera. -The effective series of pictures, ranging from the dismal pair on the -cathedral steps in the gloom, through that of Elsa apostrophising -her lover on the moonlit balcony, the entrance into the house of the -two women in the glimmer of the torches, the break of day, and the -growing glitter of the festal morning with its pageant, up to the -splendid climax of the scene in the denouncement of Frederic and the -final entry into the church, are as ingeniously arranged as anything -in the Meyerbeerian operas; but these scenes succeed one another -in a perfectly natural and poetical sequence, and without forcing -theatrical craft upon our attention. And in this act Wagner develops -with transcendent power the characters of Ortrud and Telramund. Of -the malignant pagan sorceress his own words are the best description. -In one of the letters to Liszt he says: - - "Ortrud is a woman who does not know love. By this - everything most terrible is expressed. Politics are her - essence. A political man is repulsive, but a political - woman is horrible. This horror I had to represent. - There is a kind of love in this woman, the love of the - past, of dead generations, the terribly insane love of - ancestral pride which finds its expression in the hatred - of everything living and actually existing. In man this - love is ludicrous, but in woman it is terrible, because a - woman, with her strong natural desire for love, must love - something; and ancestral pride, the longing after the past, - turns in consequence to murderous fanaticism. In history - there are no more cruel phenomena than political women. It - is not therefore jealousy of Elsa, perhaps for the sake of - Frederic, which inspires Ortrud, but her whole passion is - revealed only in the scene of the second act, where, after - Elsa's disappearance from the balcony, she rises from the - steps of the minster and invokes her old, long-forgotten - gods. She is a reactionary person, who thinks only of the - old and hates everything new in the most ferocious meaning - of the word; she would exterminate the world and nature to - give new life to her decayed gods. But this is not merely - an obstinate, morbid mood in Ortrud; her passion holds - her with the full weight of a misguided, undeveloped, - objectless feminine desire for love; for that reason she is - terribly grand." - -This Ortrud of Wagner's touches hands with the Lady Macbeth of -Shakespeare. The same ambition, the same political, unsexed -womanhood, the same desperate daring, and the same brazen resolve -appear in both. Both seek a throne by foul means. Both are labouring -for their husbands, and both fear the weakness of the spouse. Ortrud -might fairly take from the lips of Lady Macbeth her invocation: - - "Come, you spirits - That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here; - And fill me, from the crown to the toe, top-full - Of direst cruelty! Make my thick blood, - Stop up th' access and passage to remorse; - That no compunctious visitings of nature - Shake my purpose, nor keep peace between - Th' affect and it!" - -Telramund, "infirm of purpose," like Macbeth, is swayed and mastered -by the superior force of his wife's indomitable will and insatiable -ambition. Fate follows his footsteps as relentlessly as it does -those of the Thane of Cawdor, and when he falls a victim to vaulting -ambition, which overleaps itself, he falls a victim of Nemesis. - -The last act places before us several salient features of the -original material. Elsa, not after years of married bliss, but on -the bridal night, asks the fatal question. Here Wagner shows a deep -appreciation of the poetic possibilities of the theme, undoubtedly -suggested to him by the resemblance of the situation to that of -Zeus and Semele in classic fable. Elsa never could have grasped the -essential nature of this sacred messenger, and so Wagner cuts the -knot by ending the marriage at its very outset, before the final -surrender of the heroine's womanhood. Lohengrin was never hers; she -was never his. Frederic's last attempt follows the utterance of the -question, and then before the assembled court, on the river bank -where first he appeared, Lohengrin tells the marvellous, thrilling -tale of Monsalvat, the Holy Grail and his origin, opening to us for a -few moments the cathedral vistas of Wagner's "Te Deum,"--"Parsifal." -Ortrud prematurely triumphs and announces that the swan is the -missing brother: she herself placed the chain about his neck. -Lohengrin calls upon God, and the spell is broken. The rightful heir -of Brabant is restored to his sister's arms, and the Swan-Knight -floats away in his shallop, this time drawn by a dove, the messenger -of heaven. The reader will have no difficulty now in recognising -the sources of these incidents, except, perhaps, in the death of -Telramund, which was suggested to Wagner, as was the idea of robbing -Lohengrin of his saintly power by wounding him, by passages in -"Der Jüngere Titurel." The narrative of Lohengrin is suggested by -Wolfram's "Parzival." - -One more note must be made before we pass to a brief examination -of the music of Wagner's most popular work. There is a strange -resemblance between some of the fundamental features of the story of -"Lohengrin" and those of "Der Fliegende Holländer." Senta and Elsa -are both dream-haunted maidens. Both dream of lovers. About each of -the lovers there is something mystic or supernatural. Each of the -lovers is to come to the maiden from the water. In each case the -maiden is called upon to submit to a certain ordeal, and her failure -is to result in the return of the lover to the element from which -he came. And in one element of the story the fact is similar, but -the relations of the personages changed. In one a maiden is to save -the lover; in the other, the lover comes as a champion and saviour. -Is it not possible that the origin of the two legends is the same, -the story of Skeaf, the mysterious king of the Angles, who drifted -to their shores in a rudderless shallop when a babe, and grew to be -a good and great monarch? When he died, they laid his body in the -shallop and the little vessel floated away into the unknown, whence -it came. - - -II.--The Music - -And now let us look at the music of this opera, music which -is usually listened to with complacent admiration for its -mellifluous melody, but too seldom considered in respect of its -dramatic significance. "Lohengrin" is musically far in advance of -"Tannhäuser." True, there is not in this opera any piece of writing -so puissant in its revelation of a human heart as the narrative of -the returned pilgrim, but the score in its entirety is more closely -knit, more coherent in style, more certain in its characterisations, -more dramatic in its development of emotional climaxes and its -explication of the scenes. In "Lohengrin" we find the grasp of his -material much firmer in Wagner's hands. The organism is higher; the -unity of word, action, and tone nearer to that for which the author -constantly sought. - -"Tannhäuser" is a hybrid. Old forms jostle the new; thin melodic -strophes in conventional song-patterns lower the potency of some -scenes to the level of Italian opera. But in "Lohengrin" the song -form disappears forever from the Wagnerian scheme. The music is -the utterance of speech; the melody, the spontaneous embodiment -of feeling. There is no longer any recitative. There is only -musical dialogue. And the leitmotiv, temporarily laid aside in the -composition of "Tannhäuser," returns with wider and deeper and more -varied meaning. We are at the culmination of the transition period of -Wagner's genius, standing at the outer gates of "Tristan" and "Die -Meistersinger." - -Wagner himself recognised the nature and the limits of the advance -made in this opera. He declares in the "Communication" that he -was here seeking to free himself from the tyranny of the final -cadence--that which tells the ear of the completion of a melodic -form--and to make the music the outgrowth of the speech. But he saw -in later years that he was still under the domination of melodic -fashion in "Lohengrin"; and it is precisely his subservience to this -fashion, with which the easy-going public from long use has become -familiar, that makes "Lohengrin" the favourite of opera-goers the -world over. We find the most potent evidences of the domination of -the closing cadence in Elsa's narrative, in the duet of Ortrud and -Telramund in the second act, and in the passages of the duet in the -chamber scene. On the other hand, there is a close approach in the -score of "Lohengrin" to the endless melody of the later dramas, and -we are not surprised by the recollection that the Nibelungen trilogy -was the next work to which Wagner turned. - -The prelude to "Lohengrin" may be described as an instrumental -representation of the vision of the Holy Grail. The motive on -which it is built is that which throughout the opera typifies the -sacredness of Lohengrin and his identity as a messenger of the Grail. - -[Music: THE GRAIL.] - -This theme is heard at the beginning of the prelude in its first -form. It is heard again when Lohengrin prepares to bid farewell to -the swan which is to return to Monsalvat, the palace of the Grail, -thus announcing the identity of the knight as a messenger of the -Grail. It is not heard again till the third act, except for a passing -moment in Act II., where the Herald's delivery of Lohengrin's -message to the nobles is preceded by the Grail motive, the first -half intoned by the trumpets on the stage and the second half by the -orchestra. It then disappears till the final scene of the opera, when -it sounds forth as the warp and woof of that marvellously lovely -piece of writing, the narrative of Lohengrin's origin. Next to the -Grail motive stands that which is indicative of the knightly nature -of Lohengrin. - -[Music: LOHENGRIN THE KNIGHT.] - -This motive immediately follows the first appearance of the Grail -motive in the first act and becomes the instrumental background to -Elsa's "In lichter Waffen Scheine ein Ritter nahte da" ("I saw in -splendour shining a knight of glorious mien"). It is heard again when -Lohengrin appears in the distance coming down the Scheldt in answer -to Elsa's prayer, and at the end of the first act, when the triumph -is complete, it peals forth fortissimo. It announces Lohengrin's -entrance in Act II. and again in the final scene of the opera. At the -end of all Wagner shows us that the knightly character of Lohengrin -is intimately associated with his position as guardian of Brabant, -for the knighthood motive is transferred in all its splendour to the -rescued Gottfried, while, as Lohengrin disappears in the distance, it -is heard for the first time in the minor mode. Another motive, which -is a companion of Lohengrin's, is the swan motive. - -[Music: THE SWAN.] - -This is heard as the accompaniment to the closing words of -Lohengrin's farewell to the swan in Act I.; again in Act III., when -the half-hysterical Elsa fancies she sees the swan coming to take -Lohengrin away, and finally when the Knight is about to address -the swan preparatory to his departure in the last scene. A part of -the melody which accompanies the entrance of Elsa in the first act -is also evidently designed to act as a leading motive. This may be -called the motive of Elsa's faith. - -[Music: ELSA'S FAITH.] - -It is repeated immediately after the entrance of the maid, when the -King asks her if she will be judged by him, and the stage direction -bids her make a gesture expressive of her complete trust. In the -last scene, when Elsa enters dejected after having broken her vow, -the King asks her the cause of her sadness, and she tries to look him -in the face but cannot. Then we hear the broken faith motive: - -[Music: ELSA'S FAITH BROKEN.] - -Two themes are employed to signify the evil elements of the drama. -The first of these is the prohibition motive: - -[Music: THE PROHIBITION. - - Nie sollst du mich befragen.] - -The ban of secrecy imposed by Lohengrin becomes a potent weapon -for evil in the hands of Ortrud. It is heard ominously in the -introductory measures of the second act, and with portentous meaning -when Ortrud begins to unfold her plan to Frederic. When Ortrud in -the scene with Elsa says, "May he never leave thee who was by magic -hither brought," the prohibition motive is given out adagio by the -wind; and at the end of act, as Ortrud expresses by face and gesture -her triumph over Elsa entering the cathedral, this motive is pealed -forth at full power by the trumpets and trombones. It recurs in most -mournful instrumental colour at the end of the chamber scene in -Act III., when Elsa has asked the fatal question. The other theme -significant of evil is the motive of Ortrud's influence: - -[Music: ORTRUD.] - -This is first heard in the introduction to Act II. It reappears when -Ortrud begins to reveal her ideas to Frederic, and accompanies each -of her suggestions for the overthrow of Lohengrin and destruction of -Elsa. It is heard again in the accompaniment to the short ensemble -which succeeds Lohengrin's appeal to Elsa in the finale of Act II., -when to his dismay he sees that she is wavering. Again it sounds -when Frederic whispers to Elsa in the same scene, and when the maid -declares her doubts in the chamber scene it is repeated to show that -she is acting under the influence of Ortrud. This is a very close -approach to the fully developed employment of the leitmotiv, for in -the later dramas we find these themes frequently used to connect -the passing action with the influences which have led to it or to -associate it with an absent personality. - -A less important motive, but one whose treatment foreshadows Wagner's -later musical method, is that of the ordeal: - -[Music: THE ORDEAL.] - -This makes its appearance in Act I. after the nobles shout "Zum -Gottesgericht!" ("a judgment of God!"), and immediately before the -King addresses Telramund asking him if he will do battle. In the -major mode it is sounded by the trumpets on the stage as the summons -to Elsa's champion to appear, and its fundamental rhythm becomes that -of the music to which the six nobles pace off the measurement of the -ground. In the fight itself this motive is worked out orchestrally -as an accompaniment to the action. It belongs strictly to the music -of the scene, yet it is treated thematically and developed as far as -needed. - -These are all the leading motives of "Lohengrin." The rest of the -music is freely composed, but the attentive hearer will note that -while ethereal string harmonies intone the Grail motive, Lohengrin's -knighthood is announced by the brass, and to the wood wind choir is -allotted Elsa's music. For the rest the lover of this opera must -seek his intellectual enjoyment in the general fidelity of the score -to the thought of the text, to the increasing freedom from the -shackles of formularies, and to the flexible, changeful, constantly -significant harmonic plan. - -The enormous variety of the rhythmic effects is obtained without -frequent changes of time. The first act, for example, is all in -common time up to the beginning of the King's prayer, which is in -three-fourths measure. At the beginning of the combat the common -time returns and is continued till the end of the act. The entire -second act is in common time. In the third act two-fourths time is -used for the "Bridal Chorus" and then the composer returns to common -time and retains it to the end. These facts are alone sufficient to -show the wide gulf which separates the Wagner score from that of the -old-fashioned Italian opera, wherein the elementary dance rhythms -are all used with as much variety as possible. Wagner attains an -infinitely greater variety of styles and expression with only two -interruptions of his original time signature. - -Yet the one thing which Wagner felt most keenly in the composition of -this opera was his subserviency to rhythm--not musical, but poetical. -He admits that he had not yet freed himself from old melodic ideas -and that the dominance of the cadence was still felt in his work, but -his real difficulty was the inflexibility of verse written in modern -metre, which makes such rigorous demands for imitation in the form of -the musical setting. He was in later works to find the solution of -that problem and enter the kingdom of perfect freedom from textual -rule. The music of "Lohengrin," then, must be regarded as standing -midway between the style of "Der Fliegende Holländer" and that of -"Die Meistersinger." Its extraordinary popularity is due to the -external and sensuous charms of its melody, which make their appeal -to the aural palate of those incapable of comprehending a dramatic -scheme such as Wagner's. This outward attractiveness of the music -Wagner himself would have been the first to blame, and he always felt -that his own beautiful conception of the character of Lohengrin was -not revealed to the public. - - - - -TRISTAN UND ISOLDE - -Action in Three Acts. - - -First performed at the Royal Court Theatre, Munich, June 10, 1865. - -_Original Cast._ - - Tristan Ludwig Schnorr von Carolsfeld. - Kurvenal Mitterwurzer. - Melot Heinrich. - Marke Zottmayer. - Isolde Mme. Schnorr von Carolsfeld. - Brangäne Mlle. Deinet. - -Weimar, 1874; Berlin, 1876; Königsberg, Leipsic, 1881; Hamburg, 1882; -London, June 20, 1882. - -First performed in America at the Metropolitan Opera House, New York, -on December 1, 1886. - -_Cast._ - - Tristan Albert Niemann. - Kurvenal Adolph Robinson. - Melot Rudolph von Milde. - Marke Emil Fischer. - Isolde Lilli Lehmann. - Brangäne Marianne Brandt. - Ein Hirt Otto Kemlitz. - Steuermann Emil Saenger. - Seemann Max Alvary. - -Conductor, Anton Seidl. - - -TRISTAN UND ISOLDE - -I.--Sources of the Story - -From the dramatic and musical style of "Lohengrin" to that of -"Tristan und Isolde" is a far cry, and the reader must brace his -intellectual forces to assault a new world. It would be easier for -some reasons to take up the consideration of this work after that -of the "Meistersinger" and "Der Ring," but such a proceeding would -lead to a confusion of historical facts in the mind of the reader, -and therefore we shall take it up in the order of its production. We -must bear in mind that before writing the score of this work Wagner -wrote those of "Das Rheingold" and "Die Walküre," and that therefore -he had entered into his fully developed style. Further than that we -shall see that he went beyond his own conceptions of his theories, -and that in this work he gave us the fullest, freest, and most potent -demonstration of the vitality and justice of his methods and his -style. - -In an undated letter to Liszt, written in the latter part of 1854, -Wagner says: "I have in my head 'Tristan und Isolde,' the simplest -but most full-blooded musical conception: with the 'black flag' which -floats at the end of it I shall cover myself to die." But in the -meantime, as we have seen, he was working on the first parts of the -"Ring" series. When he had about half written "Siegfried" there came -upon him a period of depression. He felt that he was writing works -which he would not live to see produced. He hungered for a closer, -an active connection with the stage, and he needed money, and so he -regretfully laid aside the "Ring" scores and set to work on the poem -of "Tristan und Isolde." This was written at Zurich in 1857. The -music was begun in the same year, and the score of the first act was -finished at Zurich on December 31st. The second act was finished at -Venice in March, 1859, and the third at Lucerne in August of the same -year. - -Many persons labour under the delusion that "Tristan und Isolde" is a -new fancy of Wagner's; they do not know that the tale is one of the -famous old legends of the Arthurian cycle and that it ranks as one of -the great epics of mediæval Europe. First of all, however, this story -belonged to the great English cycle of legends, which have supplied -material to so many poets down to Tennyson and Swinburne. The latter -wrote a version of this very tale under the title of "Tristram of -Lyonnesse," which is only a modern adaptation of the earliest known -title, "Tristam de Leonois," a poem dating from 1190. - -The story is of Celtic origin, yet we find that it first took -definite poetic shape in France. The Arthurian cycle consists of the -"Romance of the Holy Grail," "Merlin," "Launcelot," "The Quest of -the Saint Graal," and "The Mort Artus." From the last was drawn the -beautiful "Morte d'Arthur" of Sir Thomas Mallory, a story of which -about one-third is devoted to the life and adventures of Tristram, -not properly told in this version. How was it that the French -romantic poets were engaged in celebrating the doings of English -heroes? In the heart of the Midi the forerunners of the Troubadours -sang the deeds of Arthur and Launcelot and Merlin, just as Tennyson -did in the latter half of the nineteenth century. As far as we can -ascertain at this time, the exploits of Arthur, which had been -narrated in scattered song and story for many a long year through all -the vales of England, were compiled by Geoffrey of Monmouth. He died -in 1154, the year in which Henry II. ascended the throne of England. -Henry was of the house of Anjou, and united the crowns of England and -Normandy under his sceptre. At about the same period, according to -Professor Morley, Walter Map, an Archdeacon of Oxford (1154-89), is -believed to have introduced the Holy Grail into the romances which -existed before his time. - -The conditions were now precisely right for the introduction of the -Arthurian legends and the Grail into the romantic literature of -France. The Norman Court took great delight in the English tales. -The French poets were only too glad to find new material which was -sure of favour in high places. And their own blood was not averse -to the nature of the poetry. The French of the Middle Ages were a -wonderfully cosmopolitan people. Near Tours, far to the north of the -sunny land of the Troubadour, Charles Martel crushed and scattered -the army of the Prophet, and for centuries after that the Saracen -trod the valleys of the Midi. Long before that the Greeks had sent -settlers into the region, and the old nature-loving Hellenic spirit -found its expression and its means of preservation in the folk songs -and dances of the people. But the inhabitants of the Midi were, -nevertheless, Celts. Matthew Arnold says: "Gaul was Latinised in -language, manners, and laws, and yet her people remained essentially -Celtic." And so we need not be astonished at finding the Celtic -Arthurian legends taking root in the literature of mediæval France. -Robert de Borron, a Trouvère, born near Meaux, wrote about 1170 or -1180 the Provençal version of the Grail legend. Chrétien de Troyes, -another of the French romanticists, wrote a version of the Grail -legend about the same time as Borron. - -Of the oldest French versions of the Tristram tale, two are known. -M. Gaston Paris and Dr. Golther have put forth in their books on -the Tristram legend studies of what is called the minstrel version -of the story. The first was made by Beroul in England out of the -scattered traditions relating to Tristan. It dates from 1150 and -only a fragment of it remains. There was also a very early German -version by Eilhart von Oberge, and from this indirectly originated -the unsatisfactory version given by Mallory. The other old French one -was that of Thomas of Brittany, an Anglo-Norman. This poem was the -previously mentioned "Tristam de Leonois," and from it, about 1210, -Gottfried of Strassburg, a German, drew the great mediæval Teutonic -form of the tale, the direct source of Wagner's work. - -The story as told by Gottfried is briefly as follows: Morold, an -Irish warrior, brother of Ireland's Queen, holds Cornwall in fear, -and demands a tribute to his King and master. Tristan, nephew of -King Mark of Cornwall, challenges him to mortal combat. Morold -wounds Tristan, and declares that, as his sword was poisoned, only -his sister, Queen Isolt of Ireland, can heal the wound. Tristan -smites Morold's head off, but a piece of the sword remains in -the skull. Tristan's wound will not heal, so in company with his -servitor Kurvenal and several other attendants he sails for Ireland -to seek aid of Queen Isolt. Morold's body and head are taken back -to Ireland. Tristan appears before the Queen disguised as a harper, -calling himself Tantris. The Queen, pleased with his music, agrees -to heal him if he will teach music to her daughter, also named -Isolt. He consents, is healed, and returns to Cornwall. There he -sings the praises of the Queen's daughter, the younger Isolt, and -offers to return to Ireland and ask for her hand for his uncle, King -Mark. He goes, and, on his arrival, finding the land devastated by -a dragon, slays the monster and cuts out its tongue. Being overcome -by the creature's foul breath, he sinks unconscious, and the Queen's -steward, who has heard the sound of the conflict, comes and cuts off -the dragon's head to show as evidence that he slew the beast. The -steward claims the hand of the Princess, which has been promised -to the slayer of the dragon, but the Queen Mother by her magic -discovers that another did the deed, and going forth at dawn finds -the unconscious Tristan. - -It is now decided that the question between Tristan and the steward -shall be settled by combat, and the Princess orders Tristan's armour -to be made ready. In looking at the sword she discovers the nick in -the blade, and finds that the splinter from Morold's head, which has -been preserved, fits it. It also dawns upon her that "Tantris" is -"Tristan" reversed. She would slay Tristan, but the Queen desires to -know what matter of great import brought him again to Ireland. He -makes known his mission, and as the Queen professes herself ready to -forgive Tristan for killing Morold, her brother, the compact is made. -Princess Isolt goes with Tristan. As they depart for Cornwall, the -Queen confides to Brangäne, the Princess's kinswoman and companion, -a love potion, to be given to King Mark and the Princess on the -marriage night that they may ever afterward love each other. The -Princess is loath to leave her own people, and she hates Tristan for -having slain her Uncle Morold. - -On the way to Cornwall a serving-maid, who is asked for a drink for -Tristan and Isolt, ignorantly gives them the love potion, and they -love one another. The poem narrates many incidents in the course of -deceit pursued by the lovers, but they need not be recapitulated -here. The King's steward, Majordo, aided by the dwarf, Melot, watches -the lovers and informs the King of their infidelity. But with the -help of Brangäne's cunning, they several times avoid detection. The -King even banishes them from Court, but, finding them asleep in a -forest retreat with a naked sword between them, takes them back, -though he orders them to remain apart. Finally he surprises them in -the garden, and then Tristan is forced to flee from Cornwall. He -finds a refuge in Arundel, the land of Duke Jovelin, whose daughter, -Isolt of the White Hand, falls in love with him. As he is always -singing of his lost Isolt, she thinks that he loves her. He, hearing -nothing from the old Isolt, deems himself forgotten, and concludes -that it would be as well to marry Isolt of the White Hand. - -Gottfried's poem ends here. In the other versions, however, the -tale is completed. Tristan does marry the second Isolt. He receives -a poisoned wound while aiding a friend to meet clandestinely -another man's wife. Knowing that none save his first Isolt can heal -the wound, he sends Kurvenal to bring her, telling him that if he -succeeds in getting her he must hoist a white sail when entering port -on his return, but if he fails he is to hoist a black one. Isolt -of the White Hand hears this, and when the ship is sighted bearing -a white sail, she tells her husband that it is black, whereupon he -turns his face to the wall and dies. Tristan's Isolt arrives to -find him dead. She lays herself on the bier beside him and expires. -King Mark, having learned the story of the love potion, has the two -buried in the same chapel, on opposite sides. A rose tree grows from -Tristan's tomb and a vine from Isolt's, and the branches reach across -the chapel and intertwine. - - -II.--Wagner's Dramatic Poem - -The falsehood of the second Isolt has greatly annoyed some of the -modern writers. Bayard Taylor simply declined to believe that such -a thing happened. Matthew Arnold made the second Isolt faithful to -her love. She nursed her dying husband tenderly even while waiting -for the first Isolt to arrive. But Wagner wisely ignored this part -of the legend. We hear nothing of any second Isolt. As is invariably -the case, his treatment of the story draws together all the beauties -of the original material and moulds them into a compact, consistent -whole, instinct with dramatic force and poetic beauty. In attempting -to set forth the Wagnerian arrangement of the materials, I find it -difficult to proceed coolly and systematically. There is a witchery -in this marvellous drama of fatal love that masters my mind. If the -reader finds me wanting in the calm of judicial equipoise, let him -forgive me, for I am dealing with that which lies next to my heart. -As Louis Ehlert says: - - "When in the second act Isolde is awaiting her lover, when - the orchestra throbs with a thousand pulses and every - nerve becomes a sounding tone, I am no longer the man I am - through the rest of the year, nor am I artistically and - morally a responsible being: I am a Wagnerian." - -For the perfect understanding of the story the first act of the drama -is the most important. It is also that which the fewest persons -closely study. Edward Schuré, in "Le Drame Musicale," says: - - "The fundamental idea of the legend is that of the - love-philtre, fatal, irresistible, overpowering and - uniting two human beings; of love vanquishing everything, - honour, family, society, life and death, but which is - itself ennobled by its very grandeur and fidelity. For - it bears within itself its own punishment as well as its - justification, its religion and its world, its hell and its - heaven, supreme sorrow and supreme consolation." - -While this may be a correct view of the old legend, it is not true of -Wagner's drama. In the latter the philtre performs the office of Fate -in the ancient Greek tragedy. In the plays of Sophocles and Æschylus -mortals fulfil their manifest destinies, but Fate is the secret -agency which hurries them forward to their ends. So, in this drama of -Wagner's, Tristan and Isolde are the victims of a fatal love before -the action begins, and the philtre is only the instrument through -which all restraints are removed and the unhappy pair hurled into the -vortex of their own passion, helpless victims of cruel Destiny. - -Upon the deck of the ship bound for Cornwall Isolde lies silent on -her couch. From aloft floats down the song of a sailor, crooning of -his absent Irish love. Isolde, starting up, demands to know where she -is. Before night, Brangäne tells her, the ship will reach Cornwall. -"Nevermore! To-night nor to-morrow," exclaims Isolde, a dread purpose -in her mind. And then she bursts into rage, she who has hitherto been -silent and even has refused food. Brangäne begs her to free her mind. -"Air!" cries Isolde. The curtain is thrown back, showing the stern of -the ship and Tristan at the helm. Isolde gazes at him and murmurs: - - "To me given; - From me riven; - Leal and trusted, - True and trait-- - Death-devoted head! - Death-devoted heart!" - -In these lines we hear a revelation of Isolde's heart. Tristan was -hers; he is not. Both must die. She sends Brangäne to summon him to -her presence. He offers excuses. Why? Later he tells Isolde, when she -asks him why he has avoided her during the voyage, that it was not -meet that he who escorted a bride across seas should go near her. She -derides the excuse, knowing its shallowness. The man was afraid of -himself. He had once wooed this woman and now in her presence he felt -the old fascination. He dared not trust his heart. - -Brangäne's persistence arouses the squire Kurvenal, who rebuffs her -by singing a popular song about Tristan's victory over Morold. Then -Isolde in her rage tells the whole story to Brangäne. She tells how -the wounded Tristan, calling himself "Tantris," came to Ireland that -she might nurse him when he was suffering from a poisoned wound. -She tells how she found the nick in his sword and fitted to it the -splinter, taken from the head of Morold, not her uncle, as in the -old poem, but her lover--making her wrong a much deeper one. She -tells how she stood ready to slay him with that sword, but he fixed -his melancholy gaze upon her. "Not on the sword, not on my arm; full -to my eyes went his look. His misery pleaded straight to my heart." -This look was her undoing, and Wagner made its musical symbol one -of the salient themes of his score. Tristan swore truth and thanks -eternal, yet no sooner had he returned to Cornwall than he suggested -the expedition to Ireland to get Isolde as a bride for King Mark, his -uncle. It is this for which Isolde craves vengeance. Tristan, having -lightly won her love, would present her as a gift to another. She -curses him in her rage, and cries, "Vengeance! Death! Death to the -two!" Brangäne vainly strives to soothe her. Staring vacantly into -space she murmurs: "Unloved by the noblest of men, must I stand near -and see him? How can I endure the anguish?" That is the future she -dare not, will not face. - -What a vast difference already between the original legend and this -wonderful dramatisation of it by Richard Wagner! Brangäne says it is -foolish for Isolde to fancy that she can remain unloved. Does she -forget her mother's magic art, which has provided her with potions of -strange power? No, Isolde has not forgotten. She asks for the casket, -and when Brangäne shows her the love potion she brushes it aside and -declares that the drink of death is for her. Reader, keep this death -thought always in mind. It is the basic underthought of the entire -drama. In the first act it appears first in the mind of Isolde. She -will renounce life, for there is nothing in it for her but misery. In -the second act both she and Tristan feed upon the dream of death; and -in the third act death unites them. - -At last Tristan and Isolde are face to face. She demands revenge for -Morold. Tristan offers his sword and bids her slay him. She refuses -on the ground that she cannot go before Mark as the slayer of his -favourite knight. She invites Tristan to drink atonement with her. -He understands, and is ready with her to seek oblivion. Brangäne, -bidden to bring the drink of death, hastily substitutes for it the -love potion. She will do anything rather than slay her mistress; she -condemns her to live and suffer. The words of Tristan as he stands -with the cup in hand ready to drink show that he comprehends the -situation. He has discovered that Isolde loves him; he knows that he -loves her. He prefers death to a life of renunciation or dishonour. -He drinks. She seizes the cup and shares the draught. It was not the -drink of death. It was for them the drink of hell. Hurled now by the -unrestrained passion within them into one another's arms, the man -wonders what dream of honour it was that troubled him but a moment -ago, and the woman marvels that she trembled at the thought of shame. - - _Tristan._--"Was träumte mir, - von Tristan's Ehre?" - - _Isolde._--"Was träumte mir - von Isolde's Schmach?" - -"What dreamed I of Tristan's honour?" "What dreamed I of Isolde's -shame?" I have purposely dwelt at length on the incidents and -dialogue of this wonderful first act, because they furnish the key to -the entire drama, and because so many persons, even professed lovers -of Wagner, misconstrue the meaning of the action. The ill-fated pair -are lovers before the drama begins, but both are labouring under a -misunderstanding. She thinks that he does not love her because he -has come to carry her home as a bride for his uncle. He thinks that -she is athirst for vengeance for the death of Morold. She desires to -die rather than face her future. He is ready to die when he divines -the true cause of her rage. Better oblivion than a life of misery. -Brangäne's unwillingness to be a party to the suicide of her mistress -is the motive for the administration of the potion, which simply -bursts the bonds of restraint and shows the two hearts to one another -free of all disguise. - -The rest is simple. In the second act Isolde awaits her lover in the -garden. Brangäne warns her of Melot, but she refuses to accept the -warning. Is not Melot Tristan's friend? Put out the torch! That is -the signal. The burning woman cannot put out the flame of her own -passion, but she can and does turn down the torch. What a portentous -signal! The turning down of the spear and the torch from time -immemorial have meant that death was present. And so Wagner turns -down this torch with the awful music of the death motive. Tristan -rushes to her arms. They sing to one another in ecstatic accents and -in "wrought riddles of the night and day." The torch was the day; it -kept them asunder. Its extinction brought night, the only time when -they may be together. And so in ever-ascending polyphonic utterances -of metaphor, they arrive at last at a naked truth. For them the day -is all separation and lies. Only night eternal, the night of death, -can make them free. Isolde sings: - - "Dem Licht des Tages - wollt' ich entfliehn, - dorthin in die Nacht - dich mit mir ziehn, - wo der Täuschung ende - mein Herz mir verhiess, - wo des Trug's geahnter - Wahn zerinne: - dort dir zu trinken - ew'ge Minne, - mit mir--dich im Verein - wollt' ich dem Tode weih'n." - -Mr. John P. Jackson makes this read in English thus: - - "Day would I flee, - Away to the Night - Take me with thee - To end the deception - For me and for thee! - Where end should all lies - That our hearts could sever, - Where together we'd drink - Of rapture forever-- - And in love united there - Death all-everlasting share!" - -Tristan responds that he drank eagerly what he thought was the -draught of death. Isolde complains that the draught was deceitful, -for instead of sweeping them both into night, it left them in the -cold glare of day, where was only separation for them. Tristan -answers that with honour and fame both destroyed in the glare of day, -their hearts can have but one vast yearning, the yearning for night. -Then he leads her to the embowered seat, and there they sing together -that marvellous duet beginning: - - "O sink' hernieder - Nacht der Liebe, - gieb Vergessen - dass ich lebe." - -"O sink around us, night of love; grant forgetfulness that I live." -From the tower floats down the warning of Brangäne. The lovers heed -it not. Wrapped in each other's arms, they prate of odious day and -love-giving night, the night of eternity. Then comes the awakening. -Mark, led by Melot, surprises them. Tristan murmurs: "Der öde Tag -zum letzten Mal" ("The hated day for the last time"). A moment -later he raves at Mark and his courtiers as "Daylight's phantoms, -morning's dreams." When the King has finished his long and pathetic -address, Tristan turns to Isolde and asks her whether she is willing -to follow him to the land where the sun never shines, the wondrous -abode of night. Well she knows his meaning, and as he hesitated not -on the ship, so she hesitates not now. Melot's sword is ready, and -Tristan hurls himself upon it. The wound becomes a consecration, -a deed of expiation and release. It takes the solemnity of the -loftiest tragedy, leaving, a comet-flight below its elevation, the -melodramatic wound of the legend whence Wagner drew his materials. - -This is the wound that will not heal without the aid of Isolde's -art. There is no jarring note in the Wagnerian version, no libertine -Tristan aiding another in a rude liaison, no Isolde of the White -Hand. There is only the one master passion. There is only one -tragedy. In the third act we find the wounded, wasting, visionary -man lying under a linden tree in the courtyard of his own castle at -Kareol in Brittany, whither the faithful Kurvenal has borne him. A -shepherd draws a melancholy wail from his pipe, and, in answer to -Kurvenal's anxious question sighs, "Lone and bare is the sea." For -these two are watching for the ship which shall bear the healer, -Isolde, to the side of the stricken man. Kurvenal whispers words -of encouragement to his lord, but Tristan shakes his head. He has -awakened once more to the glare of sunlit noon, and once more the old -fantasies of day and night rush through his brain. - -When will the blazing of the torch cease to keep him sundered from -Isolde? When shall it be night for these two? Kurvenal reveals that -he has sent a ship to bring Isolde. The thought is new strength to -Tristan. He bursts into a delirium of joy. He sees the ship, the -flag waving at the mast. "Kurvenal, siehst du es nicht?" ("Kurvenal, -seest thou it not?") Kurvenal sees no sail upon the sea. Again the -weary man sinks back upon his rude couch. He relives the story of his -love. He raves again as he curses the magic draught, which was not -the drink of death. He faints, and for the moment Kurvenal thinks -him dead. But no, he revives. He asks again if the ship is in -sight. Kurvenal says to-day it must surely come. "And on it Isolde!" -cries Tristan. Once more the waning spirit mounts a mighty billow of -emotion. "Isolde, how holy and fair art thou! Kurvenal, man, art thou -blind? Dost thou not see what I see? The ship! The ship! Isolde's -ship! Seest thou it not?" - -A new tune peals from the shepherd's pipe. The ship is sighted! The -flag of good tidings streams from the mast, the flag which means that -Isolde is on board. Fly thou, Kurvenal, to the strand to help her. -To-day shall the lovers be united. Frenzy for the last time seizes -Tristan. Once, wounded and bleeding, well-nigh slain by Morold, -Isolde found him and nursed him back to life. Again shall she find -him so. Off, then, foolish bandages. Let the red blood flow merrily. -Isolde comes! He hears her calling. What is this? "Do I hear the -light? The torch! The signal! It is extinguished! To her! To her!" - -And so the hero sinks dying in her arms, and for him at last the -longed-for night of total oblivion has come. Isolde prostrates -herself upon his body. A second ship is sighted, bearing Mark. -Kurvenal, misunderstanding the purpose of the King, resists the -entrance of his guard and is slain, after himself giving a fatal -wound to the false Melot. Mark has learned the secret of the potion. -He recognises the truth that the unhappy pair have been the victims -of Fate, and he has come to unite them. Alas, too late! The mightiest -of monarchs, Death, has come before him. Isolde, her soul spreading -its wings for flight, sings out her apostrophe to her dead hero, a -marvellous pæan of praise, the echo of the duet of love, and sinks -lifeless on his insensate form. Night and eternal oblivion have come -for both. The tragedy is over. - -That is the marvellous poem which Wagner made of the old story of -Godfrey, a poem in itself worthy, despite its rugged diction, to -stand beside the best dramatic literature of Germany, and never once -to be thought of as an opera libretto. I have briefly noted some of -the points at which Wagner has separated himself from the sources of -his story. The manner in which he has in all his poems utilised the -original suggestions stamps him as a dramatist of the highest rank, -a poet of lofty gifts. In none is this more beautifully demonstrated -than in "Tristan und Isolde." It is true that in some of the later -versions of the old poem, when possibly the early faith in love -philtres was fading, the idea exists that Tristan and Isolde loved -one another from their first meeting; but, as Miss Weston properly -notes, "there is little doubt that the Minstrel held the fatal -passion of the two lovers to be due to the Minnetranc alone." The -frequent appearance of magic drinks in old legends is familiar to all -students of folk-tales and sagas. Wagner himself gives us another -instance of it in the drinks administered to Siegfried by Hagen, an -idea which he obtained from the old tales. In his "Studies in the -Wagnerian Drama" (which I have been forced to parallel in rehearsing -some parts of the story of "Tristan und Isolde") H.E. Krehbiel calls -attention to the fact that the existence of the love before the -incident of the potion provides that element of guilt which all the -ancient dramatists required in order that too much sympathy might not -be excited by the sufferings of the hero or heroine. On the whole, -then, Wagner's treatment of this much-discussed drink is perfectly -clear. There is no excuse for misunderstanding it. And it raises the -tragic element of the drama far beyond the level of the early poems. - -Another element of the classic tragedy preserved in this work is that -of the inevitable doom of the unhappy pair. They are victims of Fate -from the outset, and Wagner has kept the prophecy of death constantly -before our minds by making it appear to the lovers themselves as -the only avenue of escape from their misfortunes. Furthermore, this -forethought of death develops in the second act into a conviction -and a passionate desire. The exclamations "Let me die" ("Lass' mich -sterben") of the lovers are not mere bursts of sensual rhapsodising, -but are expressions of their souls' yearning for the plunge into -oblivion at the moment of perfect ecstasy. For both dread the turning -of the light of day upon them; both foresee a future of separation -and misery. - -The pessimism of this second act is the feature of Wagner's drama -which has aroused the largest amount of discussion. Its peculiarly -illogical deduction from a turbulent, passionate, soul-consuming -love like that of Tristan and Isolde has frequently called forth -unfavourable comment. Yet we are bound to admit that in his treatment -of this element of his work the master has been dramatically -ingenious. In summarising the story I have indicated his poetic -treatment of the cessation of the desire for life and the yearning -for death. That he has made it poetic is not to be denied, but it is -not consistent. If the lovers had sworn renunciation and had suffered -from the enforcement of their vow, there would have been consistency -in their desire to die. But in the midst of unbridled indulgence in -their passion they would have wished to live, unless there had been -surfeit and the subsequent moral reaction. But of this we have no -hint. The yearning for death, however, is an outcome of Wagner's -absorption of the philosophy of Arthur Schopenhauer. This writer was -a subjective realist and regarded extant phenomena as the products -of the will--that is, the world exists because man wishes to think -so. The highest ethical destiny of man is the nullification of the -will by the practice of an asceticism which shall remove from him all -desire for the objects of sense. These, then, being but creations -of the will, shall disappear, and the will, the only reality, shall -quietly renounce itself and vanish into the infinite. The doctrine is -closely allied to that of the Buddhist Nirvana. Wagner's endeavour -to reconcile it with the dramatic ideas of "Tristan und Isolde" was -not successful. Asceticism and adultery are not companions. But from -the Schopenhauerian pessimism he drew the long-continued harping -upon night and death, which is considerably more poetical than the -thoughts of the philosopher. In the second act the music of the duet -breathes all the pulsing and the languors of consuming passion, and -the score effectually masks the dramatic ineffectiveness of the -dialogue. - -Otherwise the second act is a wonderful conception. In no other part -of Wagner's writings is his perfect command of his own union of -the arts tributary to the drama more beautifully demonstrated. The -picture, the action, the music, combine to create a poetic effect -upon the mind of the auditor. The dramatic instincts of Wagner led -him to centralise in one meeting of the lovers all the long-drawn -passion of the old legend. In the drama we have but one meeting, -which brings about the catastrophe. And whatever we may think of -the undramatic character of the Schopenhauerian pessimism, which, -as I have written elsewhere, is dragged into the story by the neck, -it affords ground for a poetic dialogue rich in mysticism and not -shocking in suggestion of mere fleshly desire. The dwarf Melot of the -legend becomes the faithless friend of Tristan in the drama. He is -merely a sketch, for his one action is but a piece of mechanism in -the movement of the story. - -The substitution of a long harangue for a swift blow of the sword has -caused the proverbial finger of scorn to be pointed at King Mark, -who comes upon the stage in this act to discover his bride in the -arms of his knight. But he is certainly a vast improvement on the -Mark of the legend, who was constantly hesitating, who even saw the -guilty pair asleep in the forest, but refused to believe because the -naked sword lay between them. This Mark at least does not suspect -and confide in turns, send them away and then take them back. The -long speech explains certain points which are the best defence of -Mark's "sermonising," as it is often called. It tells us that he wed -a second time only because his court and his people demanded it, and -because Tristan himself declared that he would leave Cornwall unless -the King yielded. The fact that it was a political marriage, and that -the King was old and weary and not prone to emotional flashes, may -serve to explain why he talks instead of slaying Tristan on the spot. -At any rate Wagner's conception of the voluntary release of the -embrace of life by the guilty lovers is carried out, for when Mark -does not cut him down, Tristan throws himself upon Melot's sword. - -Miss Weston, who makes much of the authority of the old legends and -of resemblances in the folk-lore or mythology of antiquity, regrets -that the death of Tristan in the third act is less touching than in -the legend, where, deceived by Isolde of the White Hand and believing -himself forsaken by his own Isolde, he silently turns his face to -the wall and breathes out his life with the name of the loved one on -his lips. And she furthermore repeats the criticism of Gaston Paris -that the final speech of Isolde contains more philosophy than poetry, -a weak criticism as one reading of the text will show. Mr. Krehbiel -more aptly notes that the elimination of the second Isolde removes -from the character of Tristan a stain which was placed upon it by his -loveless second marriage, and saves us the shock of seeing the wife -and the mistress in contest about his dying couch. Furthermore, the -musical treatment of the act is to my mind the most convincing piece -of dramatic writing in the literature of the lyric stage. I say this -without forgetting the wonders of the first and second acts. There -are certain similarities in the musical plans of the three acts. Each -begins with a passage intended to create an atmosphere: the first, -with the sailor's song floating down from aloft; the second, with the -music of the hunt dying away under the black arches of the forest; -and the third with the shepherd's pipe wailing the heart-wrecking -song of the empty sea. Nothing in the lyric drama excels the potency -of the combined scene, action, text, and music at the opening of the -second act except the astonishing effect of the preliminary measures -of the third. - -And then follows a succession of those emotional waves, mounting in -foaming crests of tone and sinking in throbbing refluxes, which no -other composer ever wrote as Wagner did. Tristan's fevered mind, -yearning for the ship, waxes and wanes in crescendi and diminuendi -of passion till the suffering and sympathising spectator fancies -that his nature will endure no more. And then at the apex of one of -the awful upward flights of delirium comes that tremendous climax -made by the changing of the melody of the shepherd's pipe. The ship -is sighted. Now comes a period of vehement action, ending with the -frenzied man's tearing off the bandage, and sinking into Isolde's -arms to breathe out his life. Another burst of action follows this -crisis, and then the stillness of death itself prevails while the -musical finale of the work, the wonderful "Liebestod," falls upon the -audience "like the sound of a great Amen." There is nothing in the -old legend to suggest the astounding effects which Wagner has heaped -up in this last act. It is all the inspiration of a master genius -working without trammels in a field created by its own powers. - - -III.--The Musical Exposition - -Let us turn now to a brief examination of the musical structure of -"Tristan und Isolde." It is not practicable to make this examination -exhaustive, nor would it be profitable. For those who desire to -detect each motive of the score as it passes them in the general -panorama of tone there are many handbooks. The present writer does -not believe that the dramatic influence of Wagner's music upon the -auditor is dependent on the latter's full acquaintance with the -terminology of the significant themes. That a certain intellectual -pleasure is added to the hearing of one of these dramas by a -recognition of the identity of the motives is not to be denied, and -that their dramatic purport should always be clear to the hearer's -mind is beyond dispute; but it should never be the purpose of an -auditor to concentrate his attention on the themes. Learn their -meaning from the text. Then let them alone, and they will do their -work. - -In "Tristan und Isolde" we come upon the Wagnerian system worked out -to its end. Indeed, the composer went even further. In a letter to -Francis Villot in Paris in 1860, afterward published under the title -of "Music of the Future," the poet-composer said of "Tristan und -Isolde": - - "Upon that work I consent to your making the severest - claims deducible from my theoretic premises; not because - I formed it on my system, for every theory was clean - forgotten by me; but since here I moved with fullest - freedom and the most utter disregard of every theoretic - scruple, to such an extent that during the working out I - myself was aware how far I had outstripped my system." - -The composer sought in this drama to free himself from all the -restrictions of historical detail, and to centralise the music upon -the expression of the emotions of his personage, to make the play of -emotions, and not the succession of incidents, the real material of -the drama. This had always been his ideal of the lyric drama, but he -had not been certain of its practicability. In the letter just quoted -he says on this point: - - "All doubt at last was taken from me when I gave myself - up to the 'Tristan.' Here, in perfect trustfulness, I - plunged into the inner depths of soul events, and from - out this inmost centre of the world I fearlessly built - up its outer form. A glance at the volumen of this poem - will show you at once that the exhaustive detail work, - which a historical poet is obliged to devote to clearing - up the outward bearings of his plot, to the detriment of - a lucid exposition of its inner motives, I now trusted - myself to apply to these latter alone. Life and death, the - whole import and existence of the outer world, here hang - on nothing but the inner movements of the soul. The whole - affecting action comes about for reason only that the - inmost soul demands it and steps to light with the very - shape foretokened in the inner shrine." - -In beginning the work, he wrote the text without any thought of -operatic style. The reader will note that it is written in a freely -formed rhymed verse, the rhythms being few, but elastic, and of such -a nature that the poetry suggests the form of the melody without -hampering the composer. This result could have been achieved only -by the procreation of both verse and music by one mind. The organic -union of text and tone was conceived in Wagner's brain before pen -touched paper. In reference to this he says in the "Music of the -Future": - - "Whereas the verses were there [in the Italian opera] - intended to be stretched to the length demanded by that - melody through countless repetitions of words and phrases, - in the musical setting of 'Tristan' not a trace of word - repetition is any longer found, but the weft of words and - verses foreordains the whole dimensions of the melody, - _i.e._, the structure of that melody is already erected by - the poet." - -At a first glance this seems to be a contradiction of Wagner's theory -that the poem should not impose its form on the music. But we must -bear in mind that this poetry was prepared with the avoidance of -text domination in the poet's mind. Wagner wrote to Villot that he -found that his melody and its form were wholly freed from the old -shackles. He composed with the utmost liberty. - -Before noting a few of the most significant phrases of this score, -which is a shimmering web of leading motives, let us take a glance -at the general plan. Here is a work constructed upon a model -diametrically opposed to the familiar one of Meyerbeer, the one -regnant in Europe at the date of "Tristan und Isolde's" production. -Meyerbeer built entirely for the succession of incidents, musical and -pictorial. The dramatic idea had to conform itself to this scheme. -Wagner built wholly on the ground of the thought and feelings of his -personages, and the action and the music had to place themselves as -explicators wholly at the service of these inner governors. Yet we -shall find that each act of the drama has a clear and symmetrical -musical shape, and that although this form is prescribed by the -emotional movement, it is none the less grounded upon the fundamental -laws of musical form. - -Each of the three acts begins with a musical mood picture, in which -the elements of external description and inner feeling are skilfully -combined. The first act opens with the quaint, peaceful song of -the sailor, which suggests a calm sea and a pleasant voyage. The -second begins with the hunting music dying away in the forest, music -which establishes a nature mood, a mood of moonlight and rustling -leaves. The third is ushered in with the music of the empty sea, -a descriptive lament whose profound melancholy is not equalled in -any other score. Starting from each of these pictures, Wagner -develops an act. The sailor's song in Act I. is followed by a sudden -interruption of the peaceful mood. Isolde's passion begins to play. -It bursts into tumult. The curtain is thrown back, and to accompany -the motionless picture of Tristan at the helm, the sailor's song is -repeated. Again the music gradually rises in emotional force, till -another climax is reached, when Kurvenal trolls his ditty and the -insulted Isolde has the curtain closed. Another point of repose, and -again with Isolde's passion the music rises, but sinks to languorous -yearning as she tells of the glance that won her soul. The wave -mounts again as she curses Tristan and cries for vengeance. The -music sinks into impressive depths as Isolde proclaims her purpose -to administer the drink of death, and here Wagner relieves the -strain and makes a sharp contrast by introducing the cries of the -seamen outside. Then follow Kurvenal's boisterous entrance, and at -length the entrance of Tristan, which is heralded by an orchestral -passage voicing the heroism and the fate of the hero, a passage of -extraordinary power. The scene between Tristan and Isolde begins -reposefully and rises to a climax of passion at the taking of the -drink. Then comes a moment of expectancy, followed by an upheaval, -and then each utters the other's name in a phrase of deepest -yearning. The sailor's music again affords the necessary relief, and -the act comes to an end in a turmoil of tone. - -The musical scheme of the second act is simpler because the emotions -are less complex. After the opening mood picture, Isolde has a brief -scene of contest with Brangäne, and at the extinction of the torch -the musical wave, which has been growing, curls and breaks. The next -one starts with Isolde's waving her scarf. Now we have a rapid, -agitated movement, depicting the wild haste of Tristan, the eagerness -of Isolde. The lover enters and this movement becomes tumultuous. -When its climax is reached the necessary point of repose is made as -Tristan leads Isolde to the seat. We have had an allegro agitato; -now follows an adagio appassionata, the love duet. Its long-drawn, -melting measures are broken once by the watch-cry of Brangäne--so -composed that it does not interrupt, but intensifies the mood--and at -last the rude interruption of Kurvenal. The contrast here is short -and sharp. The dramatic situation is enough. Then follows another -slow movement,--the coda of the adagio,--Mark's speech, Tristan's -answer, his appeal to Isolde, her answer. With the few crashing -measures of Melot and of Tristan's self-impalement, the musical -scheme is completed. Its form is perfect; its organic union with the -mood scheme of the act complete. - -The musical plan of the third act has again more detail, because -the story is more incidental. With the melancholy music of the -empty sea as a starting-point, Wagner develops a long adagio, whose -wave-crests are the summits of Tristan's delirious outbursts. This -adagio ends when the shepherd's pipe proclaims the sighting of the -sail. Then enters the allegro agitato of the act, the wild rhapsody -of Tristan, the tearing off of the bandages, and the death of the -hero. With Isolde's mourning over the body we get a point of repose -and contrast. The shepherd announces a second ship. Descriptive music -of rapid movement follows, till the fight is interrupted by Mark's -entrance, and the final slow movement is begun. This movement comes -to its majestic climax with the "Liebestod," and with a few bars of -finale by the orchestra the work ends, like Tschaikowsky's sixth -symphony, with its adagio lamentoso. - -The drama is prefaced by a prelude, in which some of the most -significant themes of the work appear. The thought underlying the -prelude is the insatiable desire of the lovers, ever rising higher -and higher in emotional waves till it sinks exhausted in its vain -endeavour to find its own satisfaction. Several themes are combined -in the musical structure of the Vorspiel, but the most important are -those of Love and the Glance of Tristan; the glance which, Isolde -tells Brangäne, stayed her hand when she had discovered that Tristan -was the slayer of Morold and had lifted the sword to slay him. - -[Music: LOVE.] - -[Music: THE GLANCE.] - -These two marvellously expressive themes are heard frequently -throughout the drama. The sailor's song, with which the first act -begins, contains the melody of the sea music, heard several times in -the course of the act. - -[Music: THE SEA.] - -This theme belongs to what Mr. Krehbiel has well described as the -music of the scene, or scenic music. It deals with the externals of -the drama, not with its emotions. The next significant motive to -appear is that of Death, which is first heard when Isolde exclaims, -"Death-devoted head! Death-devoted heart!" - -[Music: DEATH.] - -Closely associated with this in meaning is the Fate motive, which is -first heard in the harmonic scheme of the prelude. - -[Music: FATE.] - -We have now before us nearly all the significant thematic material -of the first act. Most of the other melodic features are freely -composed and do not figure in the subsequent episodes. The -repetitions of the motives quoted will explain themselves to the -most casual observer. The re-entrances of the Death and Fate motives -are unmistakable in purport, while the reappearance of the Love -and Glance themes after the drinking of the potion brings back the -opening of the prelude with its story of desire insatiable, love -immeasurable. - -The play upon the contrasting fancies of night and day, which forms -the figurative material of the lovers' dialogue in the second -act, suggests new thematic devices, and so the act opens with the -proclamation by the orchestra of the Day theme. - -[Music: DAY.] - -Derived from this is the beautiful motive of the Night, which appears -in Tristan's long speech dealing with the fanciful contrast of the -two. When he says, "Was dort in keuscher Nacht dunkel verschlossen -wacht?" ("What watches yonder darkly concealed in chaste Night?") the -theme sings softly in the orchestral accompaniment: - -[Music: NIGHT.] - -This luscious, languorous theme plays an important part throughout -the act. The hearer will note how beautifully it serves as the -introduction to the cantabile of the duo, "O sink' hernieder," and -how effectively the composer has made the day and night variations -of the one fundamental musical idea carry out the thought of the -dialogue. Another theme which appears in the introductory music of -the second act is that of the Triumph of Love: - -[Music: TRIUMPH OF LOVE.] - -From a development of this theme, by the simple musical device of -augmentation, Wagner constructs the climax of the duo, which becomes -again the climax of the last speech of Isolde over the dead body of -Tristan: - -[Music] - -Another significant motive heard in the opening measures of the act -is the Love Call, which is afterward employed frequently in the -action: - -[Music: LOVE CALL.] - -These are the principal and most significant new motives which appear -in the love music of this wonderful act. Of course, some of the -themes heard in the first act are employed here again, and nothing in -the entire score is more charged with meaning than the combination -of the motive of the Triumph of Love with the harmonies of that of -Death at the instant of Isolde's extinction of the torch. Such feats -of musical depiction the attentive listener will find on every page -of the score, yet the actual number of motives to which special -meanings have been attached is not large enough to tax the memory. -The appearance of King Mark in the action is noted by two motives, -one used to indicate his personality and the other his grief: - -[Music: MARK.] - -[Music: MARK'S GRIEF.] - -The third act opens with music descriptive of bitter grief and -loneliness. The first phrase, that of grief, is a remarkable thematic -development of the second half of the Love motive: - -[Music: GRIEF.] - -The ensuing long ascending passage expresses loneliness most -eloquently. This is interrupted by a new motive, heard frequently in -this act, the motive of Anguish: - -[Music: ANGUISH.] - -The melody played by the shepherd's pipe has received various titles, -but it speaks its own language of melancholy. The music allotted to -Kurvenal in the opening scene of the act is similar in character to -that which he sings in Act I., and at one place is a repetition of -it. In the long speeches of Tristan we hear repeated with powerful -dramatic significance the motives of Day and Night, the Love theme, -the Death theme, the motive of Anguish, and snatches of the love duo -of Act II. The musical material of the entire act is now woven of -what has already been heard. The motives melt and flow in a stream -of marvellous melody, till at the end Isolde proclaims her hero's -greatness in the "Liebestod," which is a repetition, with some -developments, of Tristan's "So stürben wir um ungetrennt, ewig einig -ohne End'," and the motive of the Triumph of Love: - -[Music: - - So stürben wir um ungetrennt, - Ewig, einig ohne End'. - - So die that we together blend, - Living, loving, without end.] - -There are other motives in this stupendous score, but, as I have -already intimated, it would be idle for the music-lover to burden his -memory with them. Many of them are thematic developments of phrases -first heard in the germinal form, and it is in the overwhelming -eloquence of these developments that the power of the score is -largely to be found. With the themes already given the lover of -the true lyric drama should readily understand the purposes of the -composer. For the rest, the perfect organic union of text, tone, and -action in "Tristan und Isolde" makes it the most directly expressive -of all the later dramas. Only those who go to hear it with the -conception of an old-fashioned opera in their minds fail to receive -its message. "Tristan und Isolde" is a drama of human emotions -uttered in tones. As such it must be conceded a place among the -mightiest conceptions of the poetic brain. - - - - -DIE MEISTERSINGER VON NÜRNBERG - -Opera in Three Acts. - - -First performed at the Royal Court Theatre, Munich, June 21, 1868. - -_Original Cast._ - - Hans Sachs Betz. - Veit Pogner Bausewein. - Kunz Vogelgesang Heinrich. - Conrad Nachtigall Sigl. - Sixtus Beckmesser Hölzel - Fritz Kothner Fischer. - Balthazar Zorn Weixlstorfer. - Ulrich Eislinger Hoppe. - Augustin Moser Pöppl. - Hermann Ortel Thoms. - Hans Schwartz Graffer. - Hans Foltz Hayn. - Walther von Stolzing Nachbaur. - David Schlosser. - Eva Fräulein Mallinger. - Magdalene Frau Diez. - Ein Nachtwächter Lang. - -Weimar, Mannheim, Carlsruhe, Dresden, Dessau, 1869; Berlin, Hanover, -Vienna, Leipsic, Stettin, Königsberg, 1870; Hamburg, Prague, Bremen, -1871; Riga, Copenhagen, 1872; Mayence, 1873; Cologne, Nuremberg, -Breslau, 1874; Brunswick, 1876; Strassburg, Augsburg, 1877; Gratz, -Düsseldorf, 1878; Wiesbaden, Rotterdam, Darmstadt, 1879; Schwerin, -1881; London, May 30, 1882. - -First performed in America at the Metropolitan Opera House, New York, -Jan. 4, 1886. - -_Cast._ - - Hans Sachs Emil Fischer. - Veit Pogner Joseph Staudigl. - Kunz Vogelgesang Herr Dworsky. - Conrad Nachtigall Emil Saenger. - Sixtus Beckmesser Otto Kemlitz. - Fritz Kothner Herr Lehmler. - Balthasar Zorn Herr Hoppe. - Ulrich Eislinger Herr Klaus. - Augustin Moser Herr Langer. - Hermann Ortel Herr Doerfler. - Hans Schwartz Herr Eissbeck. - Hans Foltz Herr Anlauf. - Walther von Stolzing Albert Stritt. - David Herr Krämer. - Eva Auguste Krauss (Mrs. Seidl). - Magdalena Marianne Brandt. - Nachtwächter Carl Kauffmann. - -Conductor, Anton Seidl. - - -DIE MEISTERSINGER VON NÜRNBERG - -"Tannhäuser" was finished in April, 1844, and in the summer of -that year, while at Marienbad, Wagner made the sketch of "Die -Meistersinger von Nürnberg." He designed this comic opera as -a pendant to the serious "Tannhäuser" (see Chapter VI. of the -biographical part of this work), and no doubt the historical -relations of the minnesingers, who figured in the tragedy, with the -meistersingers, who provided him with the characters for his comedy, -suggested the nature of the humorous opera and the general manner of -the treatment of the subject. The first drafts of the comedy were -made in the summer of 1844, but the poem was completed in Paris in -the winter of 1861-62. The music was begun in 1862, but, as we have -seen, was laid aside when the composer fled from his creditors, as -narrated in Chapter XI. of the biography. The work was resumed after -King Ludwig had become Wagner's protector, and the score was finished -on Oct. 21, 1867. - -Something of the character of the German minnesinger we have seen in -our study of "Tannhäuser," where Wagner gives an idealised picture of -one of their courtly contests in poetry and song. These minnesingers -were the German companions and imitators of the French troubadours, -from whom they took their origin. Their epoch dates from the reign -of Conrad III., of the Hohenstauffen dynasty, who ascended the throne -in 1138. In 1148, when he undertook a crusade in company with Louis -VII. of France, the nobility of Germany were brought into habitual -acquaintance with the nobility of France, who at that time were -cultivating Provençal poetry and song in the "gay science" of the -Troubadour. The German emperors now began the pursuit of the customs -of chivalry. They and their nobles threw open their courts with a -brilliant hospitality which rivalled that of France. The splendour of -their tournaments, the glitter of their festivals, drew visitors in -throngs from far and near. With them came the poet and the singer, -and thus the German, who in the crusade had caught the infection of -the chanson of Provence, found his first rude attempts brought face -to face with the more polished productions of the visiting chanteurs -and jongleurs. - -The minnelied was the outcome, and for more than a century this -form of courtly song was prized by the German people. While the -Hohenstauffen dynasty remained on the throne (1138-1272), the -literature of chivalry was patronised at court and the song of -the minstrel was heard throughout the land. These singers were -called minnesingers from the old German word "minne," which means -"love"--the topic most dear to the minstrel heart. With the death of -the first Frederick, the great Barbarossa, the star of the Swabian -dynasty set, and the sweet sounds of the Swabian lyre were soon -drowned in the turmoil of the internal disorders which beset Germany -in the period of the Great Interregnum. This was a time after the -death of the last Hohenstauffen, when various minor princes wore the -imperial title without exercising its functions or its authority. -The customs of chivalry naturally fell into disuse when there was -no central home for them, and the minnesinger became a memory. The -period of disturbance was ended with the accession to the throne -of Rudolf of Hapsburg. This monarch was engaged during much of his -reign in putting down the internal disorders, and his chief business -was the overthrow of the powerful and independent nobles. He was -furthermore largely occupied with quarrels with the Huns. The court -language was changed from West Gothic to East Gothic, which was less -national, and much of the southern culture which had characterised -the reign of the Swabian emperors inevitably disappeared. The customs -of chivalry sought shelter in the courts of minor princes, who were -unable to give prizes of sufficient value to attract the knightly -singers, engaged, as most of them were, in their final struggle for -power and privilege. - -The field of poetry and song was left to competitors of lower -social standing. A versifying mania now began to pervade the lower -classes. Blacksmiths, weavers, shoemakers, doctors, and schoolmasters -sought to mend their fortunes by making verses. Poetry became dull, -mechanical, pedantic; poets, conceited, shallow, and arrogant. The -spirit of the age, filled with the instinct of preservation through -co-operation against attack from without, led these people to -form themselves into corporations, and Charles IV. (1346-78) gave -them a charter. They spoke of twelve minnesingers as their models -and masters,[37] and themselves they called mastersingers. They -held periodical meetings to criticise each other's productions. -Correctness was their chief aim, and they seem to have had little -real conception of poetry. Every fault was marked and he who made the -fewest was awarded the prize and permitted to take apprentices in the -meistersinger's art. At the expiration of his apprenticeship a young -man was admitted to the corporation and declared a "Meistersinger." - -[Footnote 37: This explains the meaning of Kothner's question to -Walther in the first act, "What master taught you the art?" To this -Walther answers with the beautiful lyric, "Am stillen Herd," in which -he declares that Walther von der Vogelweide, one of the minnesingers -(see "Tannhäuser"), was his master.] - -The first mastersinger of whom we know anything was Heinrich von -Meissen, called "Frauenlob" because of his fondness for singing the -praise of woman. He founded a guild of meistersingers at Mainz in -1311, and by the end of the fourteenth century most towns in Germany -had similar bodies. The school reached its highest development -in Nuremberg in the time of Hans Sachs (1494-1575). Sachs is an -historical character, and there is abundant opportunity for the study -of his style, as 6048 of his works are extant.[38] It was his period -which Wagner selected for treatment in his comedy. - -[Footnote 38: Many of these works are now regarded as spurious, but -the majority of them are undoubtedly from the pen of the famous -cobbler-poet.] - -The order of meistersingers, however, continued to practise its -calling long after this time. At Ulm the institution survived even -the changes which the French Revolution effected in Europe. As late -as 1830 twelve old mastersingers, after being driven from one refuge -to another, sang their ancient melodies from memory in a little -inn where the working men used to meet to drink their beer in the -evenings. In 1839 only four of the singers survived; and in that -year these remnants assembled with great solemnity and, declaring the -society of mastersingers disbanded forever, presented their songs, -hymn books, and pictures to a musical institution of Ulm. It is said -that the last of the four died in 1876. - -The meisterlied--mastersong--created by these singers was a lineal -descendant of the minnelied, the song of the minnesinger. The -latter was constructed in strophes, and each strophe consisted of -three parts. The first and second parts were alike in metre and -melody, and were called "Stollen." The third part was in a different -metre and had its own melody, and it was called the "Abgesang," -or aftersong. The minnesingers used three forms: the Lied (song), -the Lerch (lay), and the Spruch (proverb). The lay was composed of -differently constructed strophes, each with its own melody. The song -was in several strophes, all built and set alike. The proverb was in -a single strophe. The lied form was that adapted for their use by -the meistersingers. Their songs consisted of three "Bars" (staves). -Each staff was divided into three "Gesätze" (stanzas). The Gesatz was -constructed in three sections, the first two being alike in metre and -melody and called "Stollen." The third section differed in metre and -had its own melody and was called the "Abgesang," or "aftersong." -Thus we see that the "Bar" of the meisterlied corresponded to the -strophe of the minnelied. The subjects treated in their songs were -usually religious, though secular topics were not excluded. Sometimes -didactic or epigrammatic themes were chosen. The tunes were all -fixed, and the meistersinger's art was purely poetic. The tunes were -called tones and had curious names, such as the blue tone, the red -tone, the ape tone, the lily tone. In writing his comedy, Wagner, -aiming, as he did, to reproduce in a lifelike manner the customs of -the time, adhered to the rules of the meistersingers in the matter -of song, and, in selecting a theme to designate the guild, used the -melody of the "long tone" of Heinrich Müglin, a meistersinger of the -early period. For the construction of the song he lays down the law -in the address of Kothner to Walther, when the former reads the rules -from the "Leges Tabulaturæ." These laws prescribe the form which we -recognise as substantially that of the lied of the minnesinger. - -Wagner drew his information as to the manners and customs of the -meistersingers from the principal source of all our knowledge of -them. This is a book entitled "De Sacri Rom. Imperii Libera Civitate -Noribergensi Commentatio," written by Johann Christoph Wagenseil, -Professor of Oriental Languages at the University of Altdorf, and -published in 1697. Not only did the poet-composer find his facts -there, but he took from the volume also the names of his characters, -for Veit Pogner, Fritz Kothner, Conrad Nachtigall, Balthasar Zorn, -Sixtus Beckmesser, and the rest of Wagner's meistersingers all walked -the earth in their day and sang their artificial ditties in imitation -of their masters, the minnesingers. Beckmesser, who appears as the -"low comedian" of Wagner's work, seems to have been a worthy, though -prosaic, person in his time. He was certainly not a butt of derision, -such as Wagner's character becomes through his own stupidity and -vanity. - -The story of "Die Meistersinger" is, of course, Wagner's own. His -representation of the characters of the masters is his own. The real -Hans Sachs is, perhaps, not so well known as the real Wolfram von -Eschenbach, but it is probable that he was only a little better than -his fellow meistersingers. His works were more popular, and he was -doubtless a man of superior ability. But it is not likely that he -excelled the rest in refinement and artistic insight quite as much -as he appears to do in Wagner's comedy. The story tells us that -young Walther von Stolzing, a Franconian knight, has fallen in love, -almost at first sight, with Eva, the daughter of Veit Pogner, the -most substantial member of the guild, a man of some means. Pogner -has decided that his daughter shall wed a meistersinger, and that -she shall be the prize of the winner in the forthcoming contest of -song. Her own choice is to operate only in so far as to permit her -the liberty of rejecting the winner if she does not like him. But she -must, in the end, marry someone chosen by a contest and approved by -all the masters. Sachs endeavours to have the voice of the general -public added to that of the guild, but Pogner is unwilling to -introduce too many novelties into his experiment. - -Walther meets Eva at the morning service of St. Catherine's Church, -in which the principal meetings of the masters were held. She -tells him that she must choose a master, and also that if he be -not a master, she will have no other. David, an apprentice to Hans -Sachs, arrives with other apprentices to prepare the church for an -examination in song, and explains very vaguely to the young knight -what he must do to become a master. Pogner and the other masters -assemble, and Pogner, declaring that the desire of a knight to become -a singer brings back the old times, explains the presence of Walther. -He presently announces to the masters for the first time his plan in -regard to his daughter's choice, a plan which gravely disconcerts -Beckmesser, an aspirant for her hand. Walther is now introduced as -a candidate for the degree of master. Kothner instructs him in the -rules and appoints Beckmesser marker. The marker was a critic whose -business it was to note every offence against the rules. Beckmesser -conceals himself in the marker's booth, and Walther, having announced -love as his theme, sings his song, which is entirely incorrect -according to the laws of the guild, but in which Hans Sachs at once -discovers the force of a new genius. In spite of his appeals the -youth is declared, according to the formula, "outsung," and the -meeting dissolves in confusion, Walther vainly endeavouring to make -himself heard, Sachs pleading for him, the other masters objecting, -Beckmesser scolding and pointing out more faults, and Pogner deeply -troubled lest his daughter's already engaged affections make it -impossible for him to carry out his plan. - -The second act shows us the street, on one side of which is the -house of Pogner and on the other that of Hans Sachs. Pogner brings -his daughter home, still troubled in his mind and striving to fathom -hers. When he has gone into the house, Magdalena, Eva's companion, -tells her of Walther's failure, and she determines to ask Sachs for -advice. Presently the shoemaker seats himself at his work in the door -of his house. The balmy air of the evening, the scent of the elder -tree, turn his thoughts to the poetry which he heard at the trial. -What though it outraged the rules of the masters and even puzzled -him? Within it lay a real power. The singer sang, not to meet rules, -but because utterance was demanded by his feelings. Let the masters -rage; Hans Sachs is well pleased. This is the substance of the famous -monologue of the second act. - -Eva comes from Pogner's house and in a most charming scene with Sachs -hints that as an avenue of escape from the possibility of marriage -with Beckmesser, who intends to compete for her hand, she would be -glad to become Sachs's wife. But he discourages this foolish idea. -Then she tries to learn the details of the defeat of Walther, and -Sachs, to test her feelings, pretends that he and all the other -masters were actuated by mere jealousy in voting against the youth. -Eva discloses her real feelings. Sachs leaves her, and the next -moment she is in the arms of her lover. They plan to elope. Sachs, -who has been listening and watching, throws open his window and lets -a flood of light into the street just as they are about to depart. -Then Beckmesser approaches for the purpose of serenading Eva. Sachs -now brings his bench out into the doorway, and begins to sing lustily -at his work. Eva and Walther hide, and Beckmesser inquires the reason -of Sachs's outbreak. The cobbler protests that he is trying to finish -the pair of shoes which Beckmesser had demanded of him that very day. -Magdalena, personating Eva, appears at the window, and Beckmesser -endeavours to sing his song to her. Sachs's singing and pounding -prevent him. - -Then they come to an agreement. Sachs is to act as marker, and -correct each error with a blow of his hammer. He vows that the shoes -will be finished before the song is. Beckmesser sings and Sachs -strikes many blows. The shoes are finished first. Then Beckmesser -sings desperately and Sachs shouts lustily. The neighbours, aroused -by the outcry, begin to appear at their windows and presently in the -street. David, seeing Magdalena, his sweetheart, at the window, and -Beckmesser serenading her, attacks the singer with a cudgel. The -neighbours take sides, and a general mêlée ensues. Walther decides -to cut his way through the throng with Eva and escape, but Sachs -intercepts him, sends Eva into the arms of her father, and takes -Walther into his own house. At that moment the nightwatchman's horn -is heard. The crowd melts. The beaten Beckmesser limps painfully -away. The watchman passes up the empty street, startled at his own -shadow. The full moon rises over the distant roofs, and as the silent -street is flooded with its mild light, the orchestra breathes a -passage of perfect peace and beauty while the curtain falls. It is -one of Wagner's most potent dramatic and musical achievements. - -The third act opens in the interior of Sachs's house. The -poet-shoemaker is in a reverie, and the prattling of his apprentice -cannot rouse him from it. When he is left alone, he breaks into the -second great monologue, "Wahn, Wahn." One must read the entire text -of this in order to understand it. At its conclusion Walther descends -from the chamber in which he has passed the night, and informs Sachs -that he has had a "wondrous lovely dream." Sachs bids him put it -into verse, and make a mastersong of it. Walther bitterly asks how -he can make a mastersong and one that's good. Sachs reproves him and -bids him observe law in his poetry. Walther begins the song which -he afterward sings for the prize. At the end of the first stanza -Sachs stops him and instructs him as to the nature of a "Stollen." -After the second "Stollen" he requires the young knight to make the -"Abgesang." Giving him several hints as to the construction of his -lay, Sachs writes it down, deeply moved by its beauty. - -When Sachs and Walther have left the room, Beckmesser enters, and, -finding the newly written song, thinks it is by Sachs and that the -shoemaker means to enter the contest. When Sachs returns Beckmesser -charges him with this intention, and to his surprise Sachs gives him -the song, vowing that under no circumstances will he claim it as his -own. Beckmesser departs, almost beside himself with joy. Eva arrives -and declares that one of her shoes hurts. Sachs smiles incredulously, -but pretends to adjust the shoe. Walther, richly clad, appears and -stands spellbound at the sight of Eva. Sachs hints that now the -third stanza of the song might be produced, and Walther sings it. -Eva, deeply moved, throws herself into Sachs's arms, saying that -she has reached a new understanding of him and herself. David and -Magdalena enter, and Sachs announces that a mastersong has been made. -He promotes David from apprentice to journeyman that he may hear the -song, which an apprentice could not honour, and then he invites Eva -to speak. Here is introduced Wagner's one quintet in purely lyric -style, and it is conceded to be one of the loveliest conceptions of -this extraordinary work. The party starts for the field of contest, -and the scene changes to an open place on the banks of the river. - -The various guilds of artisans assemble, and finally the -meistersingers enter in formal procession. Sachs, who is hailed by -the people in glad chorus, announces the terms of the contest and -Beckmesser is summoned to the singer's stand. Trembling in every limb -he makes a futile attempt to sing Walther's song, at which he looks -vainly at every opportunity. He makes a farce of it, and is laughed -to scorn by the people. In a rage he rushes away, pausing only to -declare that the song is by Sachs, and not himself. Sachs, however, -says that the song is not his and that it is a good song if correctly -sung. He calls for some one who can sing it, and Walther appears. -The masters, though they divine Sachs's plan, allow the young knight -to sing, and the entire assembly, seconded by the conquered masters, -declares that he has won the prize. Eva places the crown of laurel -on his head, and with him kneels before the well-pleased Pogner. -But when he would hang around Walther's neck the insignia of a -mastersinger the youth refuses it. Sachs again intervenes and reads -the young knight a little lecture on the importance of honouring -what is established in art. Walther yields; Eva places the laurel -on Sachs's brow, and the curtain falls as the people acclaim him in -joyful chorus. - -In a letter to Dr. Franz Brendel, dated Aug. 10, 1862, Liszt quoted -a part of a letter from his daughter, Cosima, then the wife of Von -Bülow. She said: - - "These 'Meistersinger' are, to Wagner's other conceptions, - much the same as the 'Winter's Tale' is to Shakespeare's - other works. Its phantasy is found in gaiety and drollery, - and it has called up the Nuremberg of the Middle Ages, with - its guilds, its poet-artisans, its pedants, its cavaliers, - to draw forth the most fresh laughter in the midst of - the highest, most ideal poetry. Exclusive of its sense - and the destination of the work, one might compare the - artistic work of it with that of the Sacraments-Häuschen - of St. Lawrence (at Nuremberg). Equally with the sculptor - has the composer lighted upon the most graceful, most - fantastic, most pure form--boldness in perfection; and as - at the bottom of the Sacraments-Häuschen there is Adam - Kraft, holding it up with a grave and collected air, so in - the 'Meistersinger' there is Hans Sachs, calm, profound, - serene, who sustains and directs the action." - -This charming critical view of the work from the woman who was -afterward to be the sharer of Wagner's joys and labours is so apt -that, although this is not a book of criticism, but rather of -exposition, I give it place with pleasure. As a picture of the -pseudo-artistic life and influence of the mastersingers the work, as -genuine and great a comic opera as "Le Nozze di Figaro," is perfect. -Louis Ehlert, in one of his pregnant essays, has disclosed a belief -that Wagner was not a natural humourist, and that the fun of "Die -Meistersinger" is laboured. This is a somewhat severe judgment, -founded chiefly upon observation of the character of Beckmesser. The -unfortunate Marker is, indeed, a somewhat artificial figure, but much -depends upon his impersonator. He may be made a burlesque by very -slight overaccentuation of his peculiarities, and the temptation to -gain the applause and laughter of the unthinking is too strong for -any but a great artist. The true humour of "Die Meistersinger" lies -in its presentation of the shallow, pedantic, poetic art of the time, -the futile methods of the tribunal, the homely bourgeois life, the -quaint pageantry of the guilds, and the pretty plot by which Sachs -overthrows the vainglorious pretender to the hand of Eva, and smooths -the path of true love. - -Behind this delightful comedy there lies a symbolism which should -not be overlooked. The masters represent the tyranny of formalism in -art, the dominance of that opinion which mistakes form for substance, -and attributes to the outward shape of every work the credit for -its merit. Walther von Stolzing, in his efforts as poet and singer, -is the embodiment of the free impulse, the desire for untrammelled -expression. Sachs, without the creative power of the young knight, -is the truer artist. He represents the influence of enlightened and -sympathetic intelligence. He discerns at once the innate power of -the new poesy which Walther brings into the dusty circle of masters, -but at the same time he perceives its need of discipline. It is -he, therefore, who induces the new genius to submit itself to the -sovereignty of the fundamental laws of form--a vastly different thing -from practising mere formalism. - -Students of Wagner's works have often been invited to accept Walther -as a representative of Wagner himself. This is not justified by -anything in the work or in the other writings of its creator. -Nevertheless we have ground, and the support of Wagner, for the -assumption that he really designed Walther to represent the spirit -of progress in music, while the masters embodied that of pure -pedantry. Those two powers have always been at war in the world -of art and always will. Theoreticians and critics publish rules, -which they deduce from the practice of the great artists. The next -original genius who arrives has something new to say and says it in -a new way. He throws overboard some of the old formulas and invents -new ones, as Wagner did, and the theoretical and critical world -bursts into an outcry of indignation at the disturbance of settled -principles. After a time the two forces become reconciled, and the -new rules find their way into the theoretical treatises, while the -critics descant upon the additional flexibility imparted by them -to art. Wagner, in "Die Meistersinger," has shown us the spirit of -progress in its jubilant youth, scoffing at the established rules of -which it is ignorant. One of the finest lessons of the symbolism of -the comedy is that a musician, or any other artist, must master what -has already been learned of his art before he can advance beyond it. - -The musical plan of "Die Meistersinger" embraces such a wealth of -detail that a complete exposition of it would consist of a full -analysis of the score. There are many leading motives, and these are -repeated or developed with all of the wonderful skill which was at -Wagner's command when he undertook this work. While impracticable -to give an exhaustive analysis of the score, it is not too much to -invite the reader to observe the general musical development of the -drama. The prelude contains several of the most important thematic -ideas, and these we may first consider. The Vorspiel begins with the -Meistersinger motive: - -[Music: THE MEISTERSINGERS.] - -A few measures further on appears the Meistersingers' march: - -[Music: THE MASTERS' MARCH.] - -These two themes, with their solidity, breadth, dignity, and -formality, serve admirably to present all the best musical elements -of an art which embodied the glorification of rule and the potency -of tradition. The second theme has a special interest for us because -Wagner built it on the beginning of a genuine Meistersinger tune (the -"long tone" of Heinrich Müglin). This tune begins thus: - -[Music] - -Throughout the drama these Meistersinger themes are employed by -Wagner to typify the art represented by his masters, and, as Mr. -Krehbiel has very pertinently pointed out, their majesty and musical -beauty are satisfactory evidence that the composer did not wish us to -undervalue the artistic movement of which they are typical. Opposed -to these themes we hear in the Vorspiel others associated with the -uprising of emotion, of passion in the young lovers of the play. -These themes, irregular in rhythm, restless in general style, breathe -the leaping aspirations of the romantic personages, and thus embody -the romantic principles which are constantly urging progress in art. -The first of these is a theme designed to express Walther's artistic -emotion and its search for expression: - -[Music: WALTHER'S EMOTION.] - -The second embodies the young knight's love and its longing, and thus -becomes the property also of Eva: - -[Music: YEARNING OF LOVE.] - -Two other themes must here be noted, that of the closing passage of -the prize song, and that of Spring. The latter is employed especially -to designate spring as a period of emotional blossoming rather than a -mere season. It is the springtime of Walther's life and passion and -song: - -[Music: PRIZE SONG.] - -[Music: SPRING.] - -To these themes must be added that of Derision, heard in the last -act, when the people are amazed at the appearance of Beckmesser as a -contestant: - -[Music: DERISION.] - -Out of this material the prelude is built, and its character is that -of a contest of forces with a final reconciliation, which is, as we -have seen, the basis of the artistic symbolism of the comedy. - -The first act begins with a chorale, in which the old-fashioned -style of writing is exhibited. As the congregation disperses, Eva -and Walther enter into eager converse, and the themes of Emotion -and Spring are heard. And here I must ask the reader to note the -wonderful use Wagner has made of this sequence of tones: - -[Music] - -By a very simple change the first three tones are altered to those -of the Spring motive or the closing strain of the prize song. It is -by such logical musical processes that Wagner makes the development -of his dramas so artistic and so convincing, while at the same time -he fascinates the ear by the purely sensuous beauty of the varying -melodies. The Spring theme plays a most important part in the score, -and it is worthy of note that it is so pregnant with meanings that -whether played fast or very slowly it is eloquent, though with a -difference. Note, if you will, the extraordinary force with which it -sings from the orchestra when Sachs's mind, in the second act, is -ruminating on the events of the trial and cannot free itself of the -influence of Walther's song. But to proceed with the first act: After -the scene of the lovers, with the entrance of David, we begin to hear -lively, rhythmic melodies, associated with the youth and gaiety of -the apprentices. A portion of this music signifies the chastisement -afflicted upon an apprentice by a master, and appears several times -in the score to call attention to Sachs's repression of David: - -[Music: CHASTISEMENT.] - -When David tells Walther of the art of a mastersinger we hear the -lovely theme of the Art of Song, plainly enough a variant of the -melodic basis of the prize song: - -[Music: THE ART OF SONG.] - -All of the music of David's scene with Walther is light and airy, but -with the entrance of the masters we hear serious ideas again, the -first of them being the motive of the Council: - -[Music: THE COUNCIL.] - -The second, a very tender and gracious theme, is that of St. John's -Day, the day of the contest for Eva's hand, and it is developed with -wonderful eloquence in the address of Pogner: - -[Music: ST. JOHN'S DAY.] - -When Walther appears, we hear for the first time the theme of his -knighthood: - -[Music: WALTHER, THE KNIGHT.] - -This is heard frequently in the score, and when Beckmesser, acting -as Marker, shows the slate covered with notes of errors in Walther's -song, this theme is heard distorted and caricatured. In answer to -Kothner's inquiry as to who was his master, Walther sings the lyric -"Am stillen Herd," and its second phrase (marked _a_) reveals its -foundation on the Spring theme: - -[Music: "AM STILLEN HERD."] - -The subsequent trial song, as will be noted at a single hearing, -throbs throughout with the Spring theme. Note the fine contrast made -by Kothner's formal statement of the laws of the mastersong, ending -with a fine vocal exfoliation in the old style: - -[Music] - -The act comes to an end with a general discussion among the masters, -while Walther vainly endeavours to make himself heard and the -apprentices sing a chorus of derision. As Sachs remains in the -foreground, moved by the new music which he has heard, we hear once -more its fundamental phrase, the Spring motive. - -The music of the second act is simplicity itself up to the dialogue -of Pogner and Eva. The score is rich with themes already made known, -but when the father tells his daughter how she must on the morrow -make her choice before all the citizens, we hear for the first time a -peculiarly lovely motive intended to designate the old city itself: - -[Music: NUREMBERG.] - -Familiar motives, employed to make a mood-picture of great beauty, -illustrate the scene between Sachs and Eva. But here, indeed, we -must pause to note the wonderful expressiveness of the monologue of -Sachs, preceding his scene with Eva. The orchestral part throbs with -the Spring motive, which finally swells into a broad and beautiful -cantilena. The lyric of the first act is quoted by the orchestra -also, and at length Sachs concludes with a bit of new melody of his -own. He, too, is filled with the spirit of the new music: - -[Music: - -SACHS-- - - The bird who sang to-day, - has got a throat that rightly waxes; - Masters may feel dismay, - but well content with him Hans Sachs is!] - -A prominent part is played in the ensuing scene by the tender Eva -motive: - -[Music: EVA.] - -Walther's entrance brings back the Knight theme, and others which -have been heard before. The music of the summer night, heard when the -watchman is approaching, is very beautiful, and its return at the -close of the act, punctuated by phrases of Beckmesser's serenade, -is still more lovely. A fine contrast is that between Sachs's -uproarious song, which is thoroughly good in the old style, and that -of Beckmesser, which is bad. The development of the turmoil in the -street is worked out with immense contrapuntal skill, and we hear -in the midst of it a new theme, that of the Beating, made skilfully -out of the fourths used in the lute accompaniment to the Marker's -serenade: - -[Music: THE BEATING.] - -The gradual building up of the turmoil at the end of the act, when -the excited people pour into the streets and the general fighting -begins, is wonderfully worked out in the score, in which the Beating -motive plays a prominent and humorously expressive part. In the midst -of the rumpus, the horn of the returning watchman is heard, its -discord making a fine musical effect. After the crowd has dispersed -and the watchman has repeated his droning formula, the music of the -summer night, as I have already mentioned, steals back in an ethereal -whisper, and the act comes to a close with one of those beautiful -points of repose which Wagner knew so well how to make after a -movement of extreme agitation. - -The third act is preceded by an introduction of wonderful beauty and -expressiveness. With the chorale of the last scene, the shoemaker -song sung by Sachs in the second act, and the "Wahn" motive, the -composer paints for us the very soul of the poet-cobbler. The "Wahn" -motive is that on which is founded the great monologue of this act, -beginning with the words "Wahn, Wahn, überall Wahn"--"Madness, -madness, everywhere madness." - -[Music: "WAHN, WAHN."] - -The whole scene between Sachs and Walther is surcharged with melody -of the most luscious kind, and we hear the beginning of Walther's -mastersong, the song which finally wins for him the prize: - -[Music: THE MASTERSONG.] - -The music accompanying the entrance of the sore and limping -Beckmesser is filled with exquisite humour, and perhaps in it all -there is nothing more subtle than the use of the "Wahn" motive when -the Marker, after his agitated rush about the room, sits on the bench -and vainly strives to think of a new song. - -The music of the scene following Eva's entrance is built on familiar -motives, whose significance here is easily traced, and the quintette, -as will be noted at the first hearing, is made from the prize song. -The recitation of Sachs preceding the quintette is one of the most -beautiful passages in the opera, but it is unnecessary to think -of it as built of motives. The last scene opens with much freely -composed music, the entrance of the guilds and the dance. With the -advent of the masters we return to the dignified music associated -with them. The rest of the scene is simple. The people sing the -beautiful chorale, "Wach' auf," Beckmesser makes his foolish attempt -to sing Walther's words to the tune of his own serenade, and then -Walther sings the song as it ought to be sung, slightly altering the -"Abgesang" in his fresh inspiration. - -The principal characteristic of the music of "Die Meistersinger" is -its lyric quality. There are no tragic passions to be depicted, no -evil thoughts to be expressed. Beckmesser alone has malice, and -that is of a petty, foolish sort, best treated, as it is in this -exquisite work, with ridicule. The other personages are all lovable; -the motives all kindly. The underlying elements which are in contest, -the opposing principles, whose workings make the ethical basis of -the drama, are artistic, the old against the new, the formal against -the free. The expression of each must of necessity be lyric, the one -in well-regulated rhythms, the other in rushing bursts of apparently -spontaneous melody. But the total result is one great spring ode, -throbbing with the very heart-beats of young poesy and song, and sure -at all times and in all places to captivate those who have ears to -hear and souls to understand. - - - - -DER RING DES NIBELUNGEN - -A Stage Festival Play - -for - -Three Days and One Preliminary Evening. - - -First performed in its entirety at Bayreuth, August, 1876; Munich, -1878; Vienna, Leipsic, 1879; Hamburg, 1880; Berlin, 1881; London, -Königsberg, Hanover, Danzig, Breslau, Bremen, Barmen, 1882; New York, -Metropolitan Opera House, March 4, 5, 8 and 11, 1889. - - -DAS RHEINGOLD - -Prologue to "Der Ring des Nibelungen." - -First performed at the Royal Court Theatre, Munich, September 22, -1869. - -_Original Cast._ - - Wotan Kindermann. - Donner Heinrich. - Froh Nachbaur. - Loge Vogl. - Alberich Fischer. - Mime Schlosser. - Fasolt Polzer. - Fafner Bausewein. - Fricka Fräulein Stehle. - Freia Fräulein Müller. - Erda Fräulein Seehofer. - Woglinde - Wellgunde Frau Vogel. - Flosshilde Fräulein Ritter. - -This performance was against the wish of Wagner. The first authorised -performance was that at the Festspielhaus, Bayreuth, August 13, 1876, -when the cast was as follows: - - Wotan Franz Betz. - Donner Eugen Gura. - Froh Georg Unger. - Loge Heinrich Vogel. - Alberich Carl Hill. - Mime Carl Schlosser. - Fasolt Albert Eilers. - Fafner Franz von Reichenberg. - Fricka Friedericke Grün. - Freia Marie Haupt. - Erda Luise Jäide. - Woglinde Lilli Lehmann. - Wellgunde Marie Lehmann. - Flosshilde Marie Lammert. - -Weimar, Vienna, Leipsic, Hamburg, Brunswick, 1878; Mannheim, Cologne, -1879; Frankfort, London, 1882. - -First performed in America at the Metropolitan Opera House, New York, -Jan. 4, 1889. - -_Cast._ - - Wotan Emil Fischer. - Donner Alois Grienauer. - Froh Albert Mittelhauser. - Loge Max Alvary. - Alberich Joseph Beck. - Mime Wilhelm Sedlmayer. - Fasolt Ludwig Mödlinger. - Fafner Eugen Weiss. - Fricka Fanny Moran-Olden. - Freia Katti Bettaque. - Erda Hedwig Reil. - Woglinde Sophie Traubmann. - Wellgunde Felice Koschoska. - Flosshilde Hedwig Reil. - -Conductor, Anton Seidl. - - -DIE WALKÜRE - -Music Drama in Three Acts. - -First evening of the trilogy, "Der Ring des Nibelungen." - -First performed at the Royal Court Theatre in Munich, contrary to the -author's wish, on Aug. 26, 1870. - -_Original Cast._ - - Siegmund Vogl. - Hunding Bausewein. - Wotan Kindermann. - Sieglinde Frau Vogl. - Brünnhilde Fräulein Stehle. - Fricka Fräulein Kaufmann. - -First authorised performance in the Festspielhaus at Bayreuth, Aug. -14, 1876. - -_Original Bayreuth Cast._ - - Siegmund Albert Niemann. - Hunding Joseph Niering. - Wotan Franz Betz. - Sieglinde Josephine Scheffsky. - Fricka Friedericke Grün. - Brünnhilde Amalia Friedrich-Materna. - Gerhilde Marie Haupt. - Ortlinde Marie Lehmann. - Waltraute Luise Jäide. - Schwertleite Johanna Jachmann-Wagner. - Helmwige Lilli Lehmann. - Siegrune Antoinie Amann. - Grimgerde Hedwig Reicher-Kindermann. - Rossweisse Minna Lammert. - -Vienna, New York, 1877; Rotterdam, Leipsic, Hamburg, Schwerin, 1878; -Weimar, Mannheim, Cologne, Brunswick, 1879; Königsberg, Frankfort, -1882. - -First performed in America at the Academy of Music, New York, April -2, 1877. - -_Cast._ - - Siegmund Mr. Bischoff. - Hunding Mr. Blum. - Wotan Mr. Preusser. - Sieglinde Mlle. Canissa. - Fricka Mme. Listner. - Brünnhilde Mme. Pappenheim. - -Conductor, Adolf Neuendorff. - - -SIEGFRIED - -Music Drama in Three Acts. - -Second evening of the trilogy, "Der Ring des Nibelungen." - -First performed at the Festspielhaus, Bayreuth, August 16, 1876. - -_Original Cast._ - - The Wanderer Franz Betz. - Siegfried George Unger. - Alberich Carl Hill. - Mime Carl Schlosser. - Fafner Franz von Reichenberg. - Brünnhilde Amalia Friedrich-Materna. - Erda Luise Jäide. - Forest Bird Lilli Lehmann. - -Hamburg, Vienna, Munich, Leipsic, 1878; Schwerin, Brunswick, 1879; -Cologne, 1880. - -First performed in America at the Metropolitan Opera House, New York, -Nov. 9, 1887. - -_Cast._ - - Wanderer Emil Fischer. - Siegfried Max Alvary. - Alberich Rudolph von Milde. - Mime Herr Ferency. - Fafner Johannes Elmblad. - Brünnhilde Lilli Lehmann. - Erda Marianne Brandt. - Forest Bird Auguste Seidl-Kraus. - -Conductor, Anton Seidl. - - -GÖTTERDÄMMERUNG - -Music Drama in Three Acts. - -Third evening of the trilogy, "Der Ring des Nibelungen." - -First performed at the Festspielhaus in Bayreuth, August 17, 1876. - -_Original Cast._ - - Siegfried George Unger. - Gunther Eugen Gura. - Hagen Gustav Siehr. - Alberich Carl Hill. - Brünnhilde Amalia Friedrich-Materna. - Gutrune Mathilde Weckerlin. - Waltraute Luise Jäide. - { Johanna Jachmann-Wagner. - The Three Norns { Josephine Scheffsky. - { Friedericke Grün. - - { Lilli Lehmann. - The Rheindaughters { Marie Lehmann. - { Minna Lammer. - -Munich, Leipsic, 1878; Vienna, Hamburg, Brunswick, 1879; Cologne, -1882. - -First performed in America at the Metropolitan Opera House, New York, -Jan. 25, 1888. - -_Cast._ - - Siegfried Albert Niemann. - Gunther Adolf Robinson. - Hagen Emil Fischer. - Alberich Rudolph von Milde. - Brünnhilde Lilli Lehmann. - Gutrune Auguste Seidl-Kraus. - Woglinde Sophie Traubmann. - Wellgunde Marianne Brandt. - Flosshilde Louise Meisslinger. - -Conductor, Anton Seidl. - -(The Waltraute and Norn scenes were omitted. They were first given at -the Metropolitan on January 24, 1899, when Mme. Schumann-Heink was -the Waltraute, and also one of the Norns. The others were Olga Pevny -and Louise Meisslinger. "Der Ring des Nibelungen" was first performed -without cuts at the Metropolitan on January 12, 17, 19, and 24, -1899.) - - -DER RING DES NIBELUNGEN - -I.--The Sources of the Poems - -The gigantic tetralogy of Wagner must be studied as a single opus, -for such indeed it is. A poem in four cantos, a dramatic sequence -after the manner of the Greeks, it is the story of a single action, -a single crime and its tragic atonement. What that story is we -shall presently see. How Wagner conceived and created his new and -wonderful version of the Norse mythology, the Volsunga Saga, and the -"Nibelungen Lied," is what must first occupy our attention. Wagner's -first mention of this work is found in a letter to Liszt, written in -June, 1849, when he announces his intention of setting to music his -"latest German drama, the 'Death of Siegfried.'" This drama embodied -that part of the story now told in "Götterdämmerung," and in the -composition of it Wagner found that the necessary explanations of -the incidents leading up to the story quickly became too long and -complex. He decided that he must write a prefatory drama on the story -of the young Siegfried, and in doing this he found himself involved -again in explanatory difficulties. Thus he finally decided to make a -trilogy with a prologue. In a long letter of Nov. 20, 1851, to Liszt -he explains how the completed form of "Der Ring" came into existence. - -The books of "Das Rheingold" and "Die Walküre" were finished in the -first week of November, 1852. He then set about reconstructing the -other two, already written, but now in need of extensive alterations. -The story of the completion of the poem in its new form and the -beginning of the music has already been told in the biographical -part of this work. It is necessary only to recapitulate here that -the text was finished in 1853. The music of "Rheingold" was begun -in the autumn of 1853 at Spezzia, and finished in January, 1854. He -wrote to Liszt on Jan. 14: "I went to this music with so much faith, -so much joy; and with a true fury of despair I continued, and have -at last finished it." The music of "Die Walküre" was begun in June, -1854, and finished late in the same year. The instrumentation was -commenced with the opening of the following year. Then came the visit -to London, where the score of the first act was completed in April. -The score of the first two acts was sent to Liszt on Oct. 3. Wagner -having been delayed in the work by many distractions and by mental -depression, it was not till the ensuing year that the score was -wholly written. - -The music of "Siegfried" was begun in 1857, and the first act was -finished in April of that year. The second act was begun, and then -came the interruption caused by Wagner's eagerness to return to -active touch with the stage, his pressing need of money, and his -fear that he would not live to complete his gigantic undertaking. -This second act, therefore, was not completed till June 21, 1865, at -Munich, "Tristan und Isolde" having been written in the meantime. The -third act was finished early in 1869. The music of "Götterdämmerung" -was begun at Lucerne in 1870, and completed at Bayreuth in November, -1874. The point at which the work on this tetralogy was suspended -for that on "Tristan und Isolde" is designated in a letter to Liszt, -dated May 8, 1857. Wagner says: "I have led my young Siegfried to a -beautiful forest solitude, and there have left him under a linden -tree, and taken leave of him with heartfelt tears. He will be better -off there than elsewhere." - -Just how Wagner came to take up the subject of Siegfried's death is -not known. A recent German writer in one of the Munich newspapers -has asserted that the suggestion came from Minna, his first wife. -This assertion is in line with the belief of many that Minna was -more sinned against than sinning, and that Wagner's complaints of -her inability to understand him were intended to divert suspicion -from the real causes of the troubles between them. It seems hardly -likely, however, that a woman of Minna's simple character would have -conceived the availability of the Siegfried legend for Wagner's -ideal music drama. The fact that Siegfried had for centuries been -the popular mythical hero of the German people and that his deeds -and personality had constituted most of the materials of one of the -great mediæval German epics, the "Nibelungen Lied," seems sufficient -to have attracted the attention of the master to the subject. He -himself says in his "Communication" that even while he was at work -on "Lohengrin" he was debating which of two subjects, "Friedrich -Barbarossa" or "Siegfried," he should take up next. He adds: - -"Once again and for the last time did myth and history stand before -me with opposing claims; this while as good as forcing me to decide -whether it was a musical drama or a spoken play that I had to write." - -It was with the decision to utilise only mythical subjects for his -serious dramas that he concluded to lay aside "Barbarossa" and work -upon "The Death of Siegfried." This poem in its original form is -included in the collected writings of Wagner, and is interesting as -being the first attempt of Wagner to embody the legendary tragedy -in a drama. A reading of it will show clearly why he was obliged to -write three other dramas to lead up to this one and make its meaning -comprehensible. In working out the plan as a whole he selected and -utilised with his customary skill the salient points of the Norse and -German forms of the story, and he found more suitable material in the -sagas than in the German epic. And out of the Northern mythology, so -beautifully stored in the sagas, he evolved those ethical features -which raise "Der Ring des Nibelungen" to a position beside the great -Greek tragedies of antiquity. - -We must study these dramas chiefly by tracing their sources and -showing how Wagner utilised his materials. He himself wrote an -article entitled "The Nibelungen Myth as Material for a Drama," -and in it may be found the germinal form of the entire story as it -first took cognisable existence in his mind. In its completed shape, -however, it differs from this embryonic outline in many particulars. - -First, then, the age of the legends upon which these dramas are -founded is not so great as might appear from their mythological -nature, and that will explain some of their curiosities. We are -prone, when watching the actions of Wagner's gods, to think that -these stories date from the antique age of fable, but the truth is -that they came into existence in the modern age of fable, the early -centuries of the Christian era. Furthermore, although Wagner has used -chiefly the Norse forms of the materials, the great Siegfried legend -was originally the production of the German people. The Scandinavian -bards obtained some of their ideas from Germany, and thus came about -the strange mingling of Norse mythology and Teutonic fable. - -When the dominion of Rome in the west of Europe was overthrown in -476 A.D., the Teutonic race occupied the country from the -banks of the Rhine and the Danube to the coasts of Norway. The -invaders who settled in the southern provinces of Europe soon lost -their distinctive speech. But in Germany and Scandinavia the old -tongues remained, and consequently poetic recitation, the custom of -long centuries, continued. Tacitus tells us that the people of these -northern lands were accustomed to store their history in rhyming -chronicles repeated by the bards. It was not till the reign of the -wise and heroic Charlemagne (742-814) that these chronicles were -collected. Nothing remains of the collection which he made, but -it can hardly be doubted that some of the materials found in the -Siegfried legend formed part of the old stories of the bards, for it -has been traced back as far as the sixth century, when its germs were -recognisable. In the first preserved form of the story of this hero's -exploits we find recorded the fabulous history of times not widely -separated from those of the conquest of Rome's western empire, for -in the sixth century appeared in tradition the names not only of -Siegfried and Dietrich von Bern, but Theodoric the Great and Attila. - -This first preserved form of the legend is called the "Heldenbuch" -("Book of Heroes"). In its present shape it dates from the latter -part of the twelfth century, but there is evidence that it was in -existence long before that period. It is a collection of poems -dealing with the events of the time of Attila and the incursions of -the German nations into Rome. The principal personages who appear in -this book are: Etzel, or Attila; Dietrich, or Theodoric the Great; -Siegfried, Gudrune, Hagen, and others who reappear in the "Nibelungen -Lied." The period of the events which occur in the Wagnerian dramas -may be estimated by the formation of a succession of incidents -leading back to Attila, an historical personage with an established -date. In "The Horny Siegfried," one of the poems of the "Heldenbuch," -we find matter which serves as a prelude to the "Nibelungen Lied." -In this poem Siegfried appears as the embodiment of manly heroism, -beauty, and virtue, as he was known to Teutonic song and story -for centuries. From having bathed in the blood of dragons he was -invulnerable except in one spot, between the shoulders, on which a -leaf had happened to fall. Having rescued the beautiful Chriemhild -from dragons (or a giant) and obtained possession of the treasures -of the dwarfs, he returns her to her father, King of Wurms, and then -marries her. - -The "Nibelungen Lied" identifies Chriemhild as the sister of Gunther, -the Gutrune of Wagner's version. Chriemhild, in order to obtain -revenge for the treachery of Siegfried and Brünnhilde, which I shall -recount in the outline of the "Nibelungen Lied," after the death of -the former marries Attila. It was twenty-six years after the death -of Siegfried when she carried out her plan of revenge. How long this -was before the death of Attila is not related, but we know that he -died in 453 A.D. He is supposed to have been born about -406, which would have made him forty-seven years old at the time of -his death. It was thirteen years after her marriage to Attila when -Chriemhild accomplished her revenge. Supposing that Attila's death -took place not less than a year later, that would fix the date of -the marriage at 439, or when this busy warrior was thirty-three and -perhaps ready to rest, and that of the revenge at 452. Therefore, -as the "Nibelungen Lied" tells us that the death of Siegfried took -place twenty-six years before the accomplishment of the revenge, we -may suppose that the hero expired in 426. At any rate, the date of -his death must have been in the early part of the fifth century. -And equally, therefore, much of the supernatural paraphernalia of -"Götterdämmerung" belongs to the store of fable which has come -down from that period. If one is curious to establish dates for -the earlier dramas he must first discover how long Siegfried and -Brünnhilde remained together on the Valkyrs' Hill after the sleeping -beauty was awakened by the young hero. The date of "Die Walküre" -would be some twenty or twenty-two years earlier, for in the last -scene of that work we learn that Sieglinde is to become his mother. -As for "Das Rheingold," that must be left to conjecture entirely. - -From the _Heldenbuch_ the next step in the German versions of the -legend carries us to the "Nibelungen Lied." Here, as I have noted, -we find Chriemhild as the sister of Gunther. Siegfried has heard -of her beauty and determines to win her as his bride. But all his -efforts are in vain. Meanwhile, to the Court news comes of the -beautiful Brunhild, Queen of Isenland, a woman of matchless courage -and strength. Every suitor for her hand must abide three combats with -her, and if vanquished is put to death. Gunther decides to try to -win her, and Siegfried accompanies him on his expedition, with the -understanding that if they succeed he is to have Chriemhild to wife. -Arriving at the Court of Brunhild, Siegfried, in order to increase -respect for the standing of Gunther, poses as his friend's vassal. -The combats take place, and Siegfried, making himself invisible by -the aid of the magic cap which he obtained from the dwarfs, assists -Gunther to conquer the Queen. - -Gunther weds Brunhild and Siegfried marries Gutrune, but the -proud Queen of Isenland does not relish the idea of having for a -sister-in-law the wife of a vassal. Gunther tells her that Siegfried -is a Prince in his own country, but she disbelieves her spouse, and -to punish him for his falsehood denies him her embraces, binds him -with her magic girdle, and hangs him on a nail. Siegfried, having -pity on Gunther, promises to deprive Brunhild of the girdle and make -her a wife in fact as well as in name. So on the following night, -disguised by the Tarnkappe, he takes Gunther's place, embraces the -unwilling Brunhild, and carries off her magic girdle and her ring. -Gutrune misses Siegfried from the chamber, and in the end he is -compelled to explain to her. He foolishly gives her the girdle and -the ring. The two women subsequently come to hot words on a question -of precedence in entering a church (like Elsa and Ortrud), and -Chriemhild in her anger charges Brunhild with her relations with -Siegfried, producing the ring as evidence. Then Brunhild, discovering -the deception of the Tarnkappe, vows vengeance, in the attainment of -which Hagen aids her. Having induced Chriemhild to disclose to him -the mortal spot on Siegfried's body, he drives a spear into it and -slays him. It is to secure revenge for this murder that Chriemhild -marries Attila. - -This is a very brief and imperfect outline of the mighty epic of -mediæval Germany. It breathes the spirit of mediævalism, and it -contains none of the mythological features which appear in the -beautiful Scandinavian version of the story of Siegfried. Yet it -has certain incidents employed by Wagner in the dramas, especially -in "Götterdämmerung." The use of the Tarnhelm, the substitution of -Siegfried for Gunther in the wedding chamber, the discovery of the -deception through the recognition of the ring by Brünnhilde, and the -slaying of Siegfried by Hagen's spear-thrust in the back--all appear -in the drama in most significant forms. - -It is to the Norse forms of the legend, however, that we must turn -for the earlier parts of Wagner's story and for the most significant -features of the undercurrent of ethical thought. This version in its -oldest form is found in the Eddas, some of which are undoubtedly of -great antiquity. Yet in these poems we meet with the historic name -of Attila. No doubt many deeds performed by earlier and forgotten -heroes were attributed to this wonder-worker of the early Middle -Ages, and in this way he became a sort of composite figure, and thus -was thrust into the later versions of the Eddaic tales. All the other -personages in the story are mythical. As Mr. Sparling notes in his -introduction to the translation of the Volsunga Saga made by William -Morris and Eirikr Magnusson,[39] only fragments of the Eddaic poems -still exist, but "ere they perished there arose from them a saga," -that of the race of Volsungs. - -[Footnote 39: London, Walter Scott, 1888.] - -How old the original Eddaic stories are can only be conjectured. -When the Scando-Gothic races overran Europe they carried at least -the germs of these stories with them, but no man knows where they -got them. But it is certain that the northern versions of the -Nibelung tales, as known to us now, must have originated in the -same legends as the "Nibelungen Lied." It was not until the middle -of the seventeenth century that the collection of the rhymed Eddas -made by Saemund the Wise was discovered, and the prose Eddas of -Snorre Sturleson (born 1178, died 1224) were written a century -later than these. For Saemund the Wise was born in 1056 and died in -1131, and therefore the date of his collection of the rhymed Eddas -is not much earlier than that of the "Nibelungen Lied." Both the -Eddas and the Lied were widely diverging branches of an old trunk, -and that accounts in a measure for both their resemblances and -their differences. The southern version is more adulterated with -inexact history, while the northern embodies more of the fundamental -religious mythology of the people. - -Far away in the snowy fastnesses of Iceland were preserved the -ancient stories of the hero Sigurd and the heroine Brünnhilde. Even -to this day these stories are sung or told by the secluded people of -the Faroe Islands. Whence did they procure them? From the scattering -of races, which, begun according to religious history at the end -of the flood, continued through the Dark Ages. So impressed upon -the imaginations of the wanderers were these old tales that they -connected historical personages with the actors in them, not only, -as we have seen, by attributing fabulous deeds to real beings, but -by tracing the descent of actual persons from those of mythical -nature. For example, the first King of Dublin was Olaf the White, -and, according to tradition, he was the son of Ingiald, son of -Thora, daughter of "Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye," son of Ragnar Lodbrok -by Aslaug, daughter of Sigurd by Brünnhilde. And the widow of Olaf -was one of the settlers of Iceland. It was in the ninth century that -Harold Fairhair determined to conquer all Norway. He fought also -in the British Isles, and after a long and bloody struggle made -himself master of Ireland as well as of the northern coasts. Many of -the vanquished, including Olaf's widow, took refuge in the western -islands, and with them went the legends, which had come up from the -Rhine valley, and which, safely buried in the fastnesses of Iceland -and the Faroes, grew into the sagas known to us as the Elder Eddas. -"There also shall we escape the troubling of kings and scoundrels," -says the Vatsdoelsaga. In their security they made their wondrous -songs. - -It was in 1643 that Brynjolf Sveinsson, Bishop of Skalholt, -discovered the manuscripts of Saemund the Wise, and he christened -them the "Edda Saemundar hinns froda," or "Edda of Saemund the -Wise." The term "Edda," which is Icelandic for "grandmother," had -been applied already to the prose tales of Sturleson, though the -latter are of later origin than the former. The two works are -frequently distinguished as the Elder and the Younger Edda. The -Elder is often called the Poetic Edda, because it consists chiefly -of songs, while the Younger is often named the Prose Edda. The -first part of the Elder Edda gives the mythology of the North, -while the lays of the heroes are found in its second part. One of -the translators of the Prose Edda has described it as a sort of -commentary on the Poetic Edda.[40] - -[Footnote 40: For the substance of the Elder Edda consult "Asgard and -the Gods," by Wägner & McDowall; London, Swan, Sonnenschein, Le Bas & -Lowrey, 1886. For the Prose Edda, see "The Younger Edda," translated -by R.B. Anderson, Chicago; Scott, Foresman & Co., 1897.] - -The poems which contain the story of Sigurd and Brünnhilde are -a portion of the second part of the Elder Edda. An important -part, recounting the story of Sigurd's life from his meeting with -Brünnhilde to his death, has been lost, and for that part of the -tale we are compelled to go to the Prose Edda and the Volsunga Saga. -In the second part of his Younger Edda, Snorre Sturleson rehearsed -briefly in simple prose the story of Sigurd the Volsung, which in -the Elder Edda ran through several poems, forming in their natural -connection an epic of great power. As one of the historians of Norse -literature says: - -"The sad and absorbing story here narrated was wonderfully popular -throughout the ancient Scandinavian and Teutonic world, and it -is impossible to say for how many centuries these great tragic -ballads had agitated the hearts of the warlike races of the North. -It is clear that Sigurd and Brynhilda, with all their beauty, noble -endowment, and sorrowful history, were real personages, who had taken -powerful hold on the popular affections in the most ancient times, -and had come down from age to age, receiving fresh incarnations and -embellishments from the popular Scalds." - -It is possible that this is true, but the original history of the -personages is quite lost. The story told in the "Skaldskaparmal," the -second part of the Younger Edda, is a rehearsal of the contents of -the "Short Lay of Sigurd," "The Lay of Fafner," and one or two others -in the Elder Edda bearing on the Volsung tale. Wagner has utilised -certain portions of these original lays, especially that of Fafner. -The words of the Forest Bird to Siegfried come very close to those of -the Eagles, who sang to Sigurd in "The Lay of Fafner": - - "There lies Regin,[41] - Contemplating - How to deceive the man - Who trusts him: - Thinks in his wrath - Of false accusations. - The evil smith plots - Revenge 'gainst the brother." - -[Footnote 41: Mime.] - -Compare this passage with the words of the Forest Bird in Act II. of -"Siegfried": - - "O trust not in Mime, - The treacherous elf! - Heareth Siegfried but sharply - The shifty hypocrite's words, - What at heart he means - Shall by Mime be shown." - -But it was in the Volsunga Saga that Wagner found his material in its -fullest and most available form. None of the editors of the remnants -of Icelandic literature makes it clear, so far as I have been able to -ascertain, whether the Volsunga Saga is older than Snorre's Edda or -not. The facts seem to be that most of the sagas, including this one, -had come into settled form about 900 A.D., and were written -down between 1140 and 1220, or during the lifetime of Snorre. It is -probable, therefore, that Snorre's recapitulation of the Volsung -story was founded as much upon the Volsunga Saga as upon the poems -of the Elder Edda. In all likelihood he knew both, and accepted the -definite outline of the saga as a shape into which to put his recital -of the contents of the lays. - -The value of the Volsunga Saga in relation to the Nibelung tale lies -in the fact that its compiler was acquainted with some of the lays -of the Elder Edda, now lost, and that he recounted their incidents -for us, and that it supplied Wagner with the principal materials -for three out of four of the "Ring" dramas. The origin of this saga -is not known, but may easily be surmised. The Norse sagaman was a -luxury of every Court, as were the Norman minstrel and the Saxon -gleeman, and it was frequently his office to glorify his sovereign in -song by connecting him with the marvellous heroes of ancient fable. -Students of mediæval epics know that it was common for their makers -to seek thus to laud their patrons. An interesting instance of this -is the original French story of the Holy Grail, in which an attempt -is made by Kiot of Provence to show that the sacred vessel was first -consigned to the care of Titurel, a mythical Prince of the Anjou -Dynasty. The Volsunga Saga appears to have been arranged largely for -the purpose of glorifying the children of Olaf. - -As a corollary to the chief saga there may be mentioned the Thidrek -(Dietrich) Saga, which includes the Niflunga Saga, and was, as -its writer states, made from the German stories. This saga agrees -in some parts with the poems of Eddaic origin, and in others with -the "Nibelungen Lied." There is also the Nornagest Saga, in which -Nornagest (the Guest of the Norns) tells how he witnessed some of -Sigurd's deeds and his death. But the fundamental saga is that which -tells the story of the Volsung race. - -The story of the Volsunga Saga is too long to be repeated in full -in this volume, but an outline of its principal incidents must be -given. The genealogy of the Volsung race begins with Odin, whose son -was Sigi, who begat Rerir, the father of Volsung, a mighty king. In -the midst of Volsung's palace, with its branches piercing the roof, -stood the great tree called the Branstock. Volsung had ten sons and -a daughter, the latter born a twin with the eldest son. Their names -were Sigmund and Signy. King Siggeir of Gothland wedded Signy, and -at the feast there came into the hall an old, one-eyed man, wrapped -in a robe, and he struck a sword into the Branstock so that no man -save Sigmund could draw it forth. Siggeir was jealous and when he -had returned to his own land with his bride he invited Volsung and -his sons on a visit. When they had come, he fell upon them and -slew Volsung and set his sons in a wood to be devoured by wolves. -Sigmund escaped and dwelt in the wood. Signy, desiring to avenge the -slaughter of her kin, sent her sons to Sigmund to be tested as to -their fitness for the task. But he, finding them unfit, slew them. -Then Signy put a witch to sleep with her husband and in disguise went -to Sigmund's house and asked for shelter. Sigmund saw she was fair -and he kept her three nights. Then she went to her home. And she bore -another son, whom she called Sinfjotli. And when he was grown she -sent him to his father, Sigmund. - -In time, Sigmund and Sinfjotli slew Siggeir, and Signy, having -revealed the fact that Sinfjotli was a full-blooded Volsung, died -with her husband. Sigmund now married Borghild, who hated Sinfjotli -and poisoned him. Sigmund divorced her and married again, his second -wife being Hjordis, who had rejected Hunding, the son of Lygni. -Hunding came with his followers and fought Sigmund, whose sword was -broken in the battle by the spear of an old, one-eyed man, wrapped -in a mantle. Dying, Sigmund gave the pieces of the broken sword -to Hjordis to keep for her son, who was to be the greatest of the -Volsungs. Hjordis went to the Court of the King of Denmark and bore -the son, who was called Sigurd. Alf, the son of the Danish King, -wedded Hjordis, and Sigurd grew up at the Court. His foster-father -and instructor was Regin, a famous smith, a man of wisdom. Regin saw -that Sigurd would be a hero, and hoped to make use of him. Sigurd -was sent to the woods to choose himself a horse, and on the way he -met an old man with one eye, who bade him drive the horses into the -water. One swam across the river and that one the old man told Sigurd -to choose. This horse's name was Grani, and it was of the strain of -Odin's stable. Now Regin told Sigurd of a dragon, Fafnir, which lay -guarding a mighty store of gold, and he urged Sigurd to slay this -dragon and get the hoard. And Regin told Sigurd the story of the gold. - -One Hreidmar had three sons--Fafnir, Otter, and Regin. Otter was so -called because he was wont to take the form of an otter and go into -the lake called Andvari's Lake to catch fish. One day Odin, Hönir, -and Loki, three of the gods, came to the lake, and Loki threw a -stone at the otter and slew it. They took off the skin and went to -the house of Hreidmar, who recognised the skin and bade them pay -him a ransom of so much gold as should cover the skin as it stood -upright. Now Loki knew that Andvari had a great store of gold, and, -going back to the lake, he caught Andvari, who was swimming in the -guise of a pike, and refused to release him unless he gave up all his -gold and also the ring by whose magic power the gold was obtained. -And in his wrath Andvari cursed the gold and the ring and declared -that they should be the bane of every man who should thereafter own -them. Loki and the gods strove to cover the otter skin with the gold, -but Hreidmar still saw one muzzle-hair of the otter, and they were -obliged to add also the ring to hide this. Then Loki said to Hreidmar: - - "Thou and thy son - Are naught fated to thrive, - The bane it shall be of you both." - -"Thereafter," continued Regin, "Fafnir slew his father and murdered -him, nor got I aught of the treasure, and so evil he grew that he -fell to lying abroad and begrudged any share in the wealth to any -man, and so became the worst of all worms, and ever now lies brooding -upon that treasure." Sigurd bade Regin make him a sword with which -to slay the dragon, but every one which the smith made the youth -broke across the anvil. Then Sigurd bade him weld the shards of the -sword Gram, which had belonged to Sigmund. And when these were welded -Sigurd smote the anvil with the new blade and clove it in twain. - -Then Sigurd went to fight the sons of Hunding and slew them to avenge -his father's death. Next he went in accordance with his promise to -Regin and slew Fafnir, the dragon. And Fafnir told him that the -treasure which he would gain would be his bane. At the desire of -Regin he roasted the dragon's heart, and in preparing it he wet his -finger with the blood and cleansed it with his tongue. Immediately -he understood the language of the birds and heard the woodpeckers -chattering to the effect that he should slay the treacherous Regin, -who desired his death, should secure the gold for himself and ride to -Hindfell, where slept Brynhild, for there he would get great wisdom. -Sigurd slew Regin and rode off in search of Brynhild, who lay in a -castle on a mountain surrounded by fire. Sigurd rode to her through -the fire. He took off her helm and cut the byrny (breast-plate) from -her with his sword. And she awoke and asked the name of her awakener. -And when she had learned it she sang: - - "Long have I slept - And slumbered long, - Many and long are the woes of mankind. - By the might of Odin - Must I abide helpless - To shake from off me the spells of slumber. - - "Hail to the day come back! - Hail, sons of the daylight! - Hail to thee, night, and thy daughter! - Look with kind eyes adown - On us sitting here lonely - And give unto us the gain that we long for." - -She told Sigurd how she had struck down in battle Helm Gunnar, whom -Odin had selected to be victorious. "And Odin, in vengeance for -that deed, stuck the sleep-thorn into me and said I should never -again have the victory, but should be given away in marriage; but -thereagainst I vowed a vow that never would I wed one who knew the -name of fear." Then she taught him all her runes, and they two -plighted their troth. He went his way, but they met again and renewed -their vows and he gave her a ring, the ring of Andvari. Before he -departed again she prophesied that he would wed Gudrun, the daughter -of King Giuki. - -Giuki ruled south of the Rhine. He had three sons, Gunnar (Gunther), -Högni (Hagen) and Guttorm, and one daughter, Gudrun. His wife was -Grimhild, skilled in magic arts. Sigurd went to their court and -stayed five seasons, and Grimhild perceived how dearly Sigurd loved -Brynhild, for he spoke much of her, and she also saw that he was a -goodly man and she wished to have him wed Gudrun. So she mixed him -a drink which caused him to forget Brynhild and he began to love -Gudrun. He married her and swore the oath of brotherhood with Gunnar -and Högni. Brynhild was well known to all these persons, and one day -Grimhild, seeing that Gunnar was still unwed, urged him to go to -court Brynhild, and take Sigurd with him. Gunnar's horse, however, -would not go through the fire. Then he mounted Grani, but he would -not stir. So he and Sigurd changed shapes after a manner taught -them by Grimhild, and Sigurd in the guise of Gunnar rode through -the flames and, reminding Brynhild that she had sworn to wed no one -except him who pierced the fire, claimed her as his bride, and she, -being bound by the oath, yielded. He took the ring of Andvari and -her girdle from her, and rode away. And she went to Gunnar's home -and was married to him. Sigurd gave the ring and the girdle to his -wife Gudrun, and when, some time afterward, the two women fell into -a dispute as to which one's husband was the greater, Gudrun declared -that it was her own husband, Sigurd, who had overcome Brynhild on -the mountain and made her wed Gunnar. And in proof of her words she -showed the ring which Sigurd had taken from Brynhild's finger and -given to her. Brynhild was now eager for revenge, and conspired -with Gunnar and Högni to put Sigurd to death. But they had sworn -brotherhood, and so Guttorm, the youngest brother, who had not sworn, -was chosen; and he slew Sigurd as he lay asleep in his bed. And -Brynhild, aweary of life and the deceits of it, loving no man but -Sigurd, drove a sword into her bosom, and, dying, asked Gunnar to -burn her body with Sigurd's. And it was so done. - -Such is the story of the Volsunga Saga as far as it concerns the -incidents of "Der Ring des Nibelungen." In the remaining part of -it is told how Gudrun became the wife of Atli (Attila) and how he -schemed to get possession of the treasure which Sigurd had taken -from Fafnir. But Gunnar and Högni sank the gold in the Rhine, and -thus it disappeared. Atli slew them, but they had not revealed its -hiding-place. I have rehearsed the tale of the Volsungs at more -length than that of the "Nibelungen Lied" because from it Wagner -obtained much more of his material. It now becomes necessary to -review the mythological elements of the dramas taken from the Eddas -and connected by Wagner with this story from mere hints in the -original. When that is done, we shall be ready to survey the dramas -in their entirety and see what use Wagner made of his materials. - -The injection into the northern legends of the gods and goddesses -of Scandinavian mythology and of the stories of the sins of Wotan -and the certainty of future destruction of the gods furnished Wagner -with the material for all the early portion of his mighty drama. It -provided him with the ethical basis which makes Wotan the real hero -of a tragedy, to end in the extinction not only of himself and his -associate gods, but of the entire old order of the world, and the -establishment of a new one. This last idea is found in the songs of -the Elder Edda, "Odin's Raven Song," and "Song of the Way Tamer." -These relate to the death of Baldur, the favourite son of Odin, -and are dark with the mystery of an unknown terror. The gods are -disturbed to the depths of their beings, and Odin mounts his steed -and rides to Hell to consult the Wala (Erda) and force from her by -means of runes some information as to the death of his son. Compare -this incident with the first scene of the third act of "Siegfried." -Read the "Havamal," the High Song of Odin, which contains also the -rune song and expounds the entire scheme of Norse ethics. As one of -the commentators on it has well said, "It shows a worldly wisdom, -experience, and sagacity to which modern life can add nothing." The -power of runes is explained in this song. It was by runes that the -wicked princesses of mediæval tales cast spells over their enemies, -that sickness was healed, that flying spears were checked in battle, -that ships conquered the storms of Old Ocean. Yet these runes were -nothing but letters of the alphabet, and their mysterious power was -that of knowledge, denied to many in those dark times and seemingly -magical in its use by the few. - -In order that we may understand the true plot of "Der Ring des -Nibelungen," we must briefly examine the mythological basis of it, as -furnished by the Eddas. - -According to the Eddas, then, the gods dwelt in Asgard (the place of -the Ases or Aesir), in the castle named Walhalla, the abode of slain -heroes. These gods were not immortal, but were extraordinary beings -gifted with wonderful length of days. But they knew that at some time -they must meet in final conflict their enemies, of which the chief -were the giants. There was also in the far south a mysterious Surtur, -with a flaming sword, and the sons of Muspel, who would join in the -last great assault on the gods. Allied with these giants would be the -horrible children of Loki--the Midgard Snake, which encircled the -earth, and the Fenris Wolf. Loki was the spirit of evil, the god of -fire, yet he was received among the gods because of his wonderful -cunning. The dwarfs dwelt in the subterranean places and were -wondrous makers of weapons for the gods, whom, nevertheless, they -hated. - -The master of all the gods was Odin, or Wotan, the lord of war and -the hunt. Upon the field of battle he was followed by his Valkyrs, -Wish-Maidens, choosers of the slain, who consecrated the fallen -heroes with kisses and carried them away to Walhalla. There they ate -of the feast of the blessed and waited to aid Wotan in his final -battle with the powers of evil. The mother of the gods was Fricka, -the wife of Wotan, the Juno of the Norse mythology. Freya was the -goddess of Love, the Venus of the assembly. Iduna, another goddess, -had care of the golden apples of endless youth, which the gods ate. -Thor was the wielder of the mighty hammer, made for him by the dwarfs. - -The story runs thus: Fear of the giants led the gods to desire to -have the mighty burg Walhalla surrounded by a strong wall. By the -advice of Loki they swore a great oath to give the goddess Freya and -the sun and the moon to the builder of this wall, provided that he -had it finished before the coming of summer. If the work was then -incomplete, the contract was void. The builder, a Frost-Giant in -disguise, asked only the aid of his horse Svadilfare, and this was -allowed him. The horse carried such vast stones that the work was -almost done several days before the time expired. The gods held a -council, "and asked each other who could have advised to give Freya -in marriage in Jothunheim (the giant's land) or to plunge the air -and the heavens in darkness by taking away the sun and the moon and -giving them to the giant; and all agreed that this must have been -advised by him who gives the most bad counsels,--namely, Loki, the -son of Lauffey,--and they threatened him with a cruel death if he -could not contrive some way of preventing the builder from fulfilling -his part of the bargain."[42] Loki changed himself to the guise of a -mare the next night, and the giant's horse ran after the mare and did -no work. The giant, seeing that he was to lose his bargain, resumed -his natural form, and the gods called upon Thor, who slew him with -his hammer. So, as the "Wala's Prophecy" in the Elder Edda says: - - "Broken were oaths, - And words and promises-- - All mighty speech - That had passed between them." - -[Footnote 42: "The Prose Edda"; translated by R.B. Anderson.] - -Thus did sin enter among the gods, and by the breaking of the oath -they burdened themselves with guilt inexpiable. Evil portents came. -Iduna sank with her golden apples of eternal youth to the lower -depths, and could not be recalled. Baldur, the second son of Wotan, -the holy one, into whose presence no impure thing might come, had -terrible dreams. Hel, the goddess of the lower world and of death, -appeared to him and beckoned him to come to her. - -Now the last scenes begin. Wotan rides to the realm of shades and -summons the Wala, who foretells the death of Baldur. Fricka begs -all things living or inanimate to swear that they will not injure -Baldur. She overlooks the mistletoe. Loki, noting the omission, makes -a dart of this wood and gives it to Hödur, the blind god. He in sport -shoots the dart at Baldur, who is supposed to be safe from harm, and -the bright one falls dead. The death of Baldur is the foreshadowing -of the end of the gods, and the dissolution of the universe. Sin has -entered among the gods, and they and all else must pay the penalty. -Then comes Ragnarök, the German Götterdämmerung, the twilight of the -gods. The hostile forces assemble for the last great battle. The sons -of Muspel, led by Surtur with the flaming sword, gallop from the -south. The Fenris Wolf and the Midgard Snake are loosed. Wotan leads -the gods in battle. A mighty conflict ensues, and all are slain. -Surtur's flames burn the world, and from the ashes arises a new one, -purified by fire. A youth and a maiden, Lif and Lifthrasir, come out -of the wood of Hoddmimir, where, in the innocence of childhood, they -have slept through all the battle, and they begin the population of -the regenerate world. And the gods themselves, purified by the fire, -reappear and dwell in eternal peace on the plain of Ida, on the site -where once stood the mighty Walhalla. - - -II.--The Story as Told by Wagner - -We may now briefly review the four dramas of "Der Ring," and trace -the connection of their incidents. "Das Rheingold" is the prologue of -the whole, and it is essential that we should thoroughly understand -its story, for it lays down the basis, the motive, of the entire -tragedy. We see the Rhine maidens sporting around the Rhine gold -at the bottom of the river. They are interrupted by the appearance -of Alberich, the Nibelung, who comes up from the nether regions -of Nibelheim, and is at once overcome with the desire to possess -one of the maidens. The rising sun lights up the gold. Alberich's -curiosity in regard to it brings out the story of its nature. Here -enters Wagner's first original and highly poetic touch. Only one -who renounces love can make the ring of gold by which power is to -be obtained. That idea is not found in the old legends. Alberich, -failing in his attempt to win one of the maidens, forswears love and -snatches the gold from its resting-place. - -One of the maidens tells us that their father had warned them of a -foe to come from the bottom of the river, but we never learn who -was that father. Nor is any light thrown on the origin of the gold -itself. In the Volsunga Saga we find it in the water, the possession -of Andvari. In the "Nibelungen Lied" Siegfried wins the gold from two -brothers, Schilbung and Nibelung, who brought it forth from a cave. -It had been stored there for centuries. In the Thidrek Saga Siegfried -wins it from a dragon, which he kills. But none of the versions -account for the origin of the gold. All agree that it finally -returned to the Rhine, and that may have been the source of Wagner's -idea. Nor is there any slightest foundation for the proclamation -that only he who forswears love will be able to profit by the gold. -Wagner has simply allowed his fancy to work with the old maxim that -money is the root of all evil, and to represent the gods themselves -as ignorant of the power of gold and innocent of wrong till they -acquired a knowledge of this power. Wotan, in his desire to save -Freia, is ready to yield to the tempter, and his temptation and fall -form the subject of the second scene. - -In order to get at the full meaning of these Nibelung dramas we -must keep ever in mind Wagner's intent to follow in a measure the -methods of the Greek dramatists. Æschylus, the greatest of the Greek -tragic writers, excelled in showing the inexorable workings of Fate, -which in the Greek mind corresponded to the modern conception of the -inevitable punishment for sin. Wagner is purely Æschylean in his -method of constructing his tragedy, and he sets forth the inflexible -processes of Fate with the same high purpose. But as he addressed -himself to a modern audience he offered to it that conception of -Fate with which it was familiar, namely, the absolute certainty of -punishment for transgression of the moral law. That he found in -the old Norse legend a foundation for this idea was fortunate. It -simplified his work, yet left room for him to introduce striking -original matter. The rape of the gold by one who has renounced love -is original with Wagner. - -In the second scene of the prologue, then, we find Wotan and Fricka -before the completed castle of Walhalla, which Wotan salutes in a -speech of majestic dignity. Fricka at once reminds him of the price -to be paid. When Freia enters, calling upon Wotan to release her -from the giants, we quickly learn that it was Loge who devised the -bargain and who is depended upon by Wotan to find a way out of it. -The giants demand their pay. Wotan tells them they cannot have Freia. -Then even the "stupid giant," as he calls himself, warns the god -of the consequences of violating the faith by which he rules. Loge -arrives in the height of the discussion and at once shows the evil, -cunning, flickering nature of his character. The arch-enemy of the -gods, trusted only by Wotan who confesses to a lack of cunning, Loge -has planned a temptation to work the downfall of the Aesir. He tells -the story of his wanderings. In all the earth none values aught more -than the worth of woman--save one, black Alberich alone, who has -forsworn love, stolen the Rhine gold and made from it a ring to give -him the mastery of the world. Donner exclaims that such a ring may -make Alberich master of the gods themselves, and Wotan cries that he -must have the ring. But the giants have also heard, and they offer -to accept the Nibelung hoard, the stolen Rhine gold, in ransom for -Freia, whom they carry off till such time as Wotan is ready to pay. -Here we see that Wagner has followed none of the original material -exactly. In the Eddas the giant is not allowed to complete the burg, -and the hoard does not enter into the matter at all. In the Volsunga -Saga the gold is paid in ransom for the gods held by Hreidmar for the -murder of Otter. The connection of the Rhine gold with the entry of -sin among the gods, as narrated in the Eddas, is Wagner's own work, -and it adds immeasurably to the strength and poetic beauty of the -drama. - -Wotan and Loge in Nibelheim, the abode of the Nibelungs, is the next -picture. Alberich has welded the ring and is the master of his race. -Mime has made for him the Tarnhelm, which is to be the instrument -of much evil. He prates of the power which is yet to be his, and -even threatens the gods. The dwarfs and the giants are alike hostile -to the Aesir. Tempted by Loge's cunning to show the magic of the -Tarnhelm, Alberich changes himself first to a serpent and then to a -toad, and in the latter form the gods make him a captive and drag him -away to the surface of the earth before Walhalla. Then they demand of -him as ransom the Nibelung hoard. He gives it, for with his ring he -can get more. They call for the Tarnhelm. He gives that, too. Then -they demand the ring. Alberich warns Wotan not to rob him of it. - - "Say I have sinned; - The sin on myself but falls: - But on all things that were, - Are, and will be, - Strikes this evil of thine, - If rashly thou seizest my ring." - -The dwarf, like the giant, knows what must be the consequence of the -infraction by the presiding god of the law above all gods. But Wotan -tears the ring from his finger. Then Alberich curses the ring. It -shall deal out death, not power. It shall bring misery, not gladness. -But this curse is, after all, only a piece of stage property. It -makes a theatrical effect, and it marks a climax for the auditor. The -real curse already exists the moment Wotan stains himself with crime. -The thought of the Norse mythology, as set forth in the Eddas, but -lost by the maker of Volsunga Saga, is preserved by Wagner in the -prophecy of Alberich. The law will do its own work; but the curse has -an external and incidental value in the construction of the drama. -Alberich puts into words the inevitable operation of the law. - -The prologue now moves swiftly to its end. The giants return with -Freia, and it is arranged that they are to receive for her enough -gold to hide her. This is Wagner's adaptation of the incident of the -filling of the otter skin in the Volsunga Saga. The hoard proves -insufficient, and the Tarnhelm goes to swell the heap. Fasolt, the -giant who is smitten by the charms of the goddess, still sees the -glorious glance of her eye, and demands that Wotan put the ring on -the pile to stop this last cranny. Compare Hreidmar's discovery of -the muzzle-hair with this poetic idea! The haughty god refuses. The -giants declare the bargain off, and start away again with Freia. -Loge's plan is working perfectly. He never loses any opportunity to -fasten more firmly upon Wotan his burden of guilt. When the giants -demand the ring, Loge interposes, saying that the gods must retain -that because Wotan means to restore it to the Rhine maidens. Wotan at -once falls into the trap, and says: - - "What pratest thou there? - The prize so hardly come by - I shall keep, unawed, for myself." - -When Wotan has flatly refused to give the ring to the giants, Erda, -the embodiment of the earth itself, the impersonation of primeval -elements, arises in pale light and mystery. She warns Wotan to flee -the curse of the ring. She declares herself to be the all-knowing -prophetess, and says: - - "Alles was ist, endet. - Ein düsterer Tag - dämmert den Göttern." - - "All that exists, endeth. - A dismal day - Dawns for the Aesir." - -This brief scene, so charged with dramatic and musical potency, is -Wagner's use of the prophecy of the Wala, as contained in the Elder -Edda. That prophecy foretells the end of the gods, but its situation -in the story is similar to that of the Erda scene in "Siegfried." -It comes near the end of the tragedy. Nevertheless from it Wagner -obtained the character of Erda and the prediction made by her in -"Das Rheingold." The prophecy of the Wala in the Edda does not touch -upon the sin of the gods, but it sets forth in detail the story of -Ragnarök, as I have already given it. Wagner, however, connects -the Wala's utterance with the ethical basis of his tragedy. Wotan, -impressed by the prediction, gives up the ring and ransoms Freia. -The curse at once begins to operate. The giants quarrel over the -division of the hoard and Fafner kills Fasolt. In the Volsunga Saga, -from which this incident is adapted, Fafner slays his father, while -his brother Regin plays the part allotted by Wagner to Mime in -"Siegfried," as we shall presently see. Fafner goes off to the forest -with his hoard, and there, as in the saga, becomes a dragon, by the -aid of the Tarnhelm, and lies guarding the hoard, which he does not -know how to use, for he is too stupid to employ the power of the ring. - -Donner raises a thunderstorm to clear the air after the murder, -and when the rain is gone a rainbow is seen spanning the valley -of the Rhine. The new castle stands forth in all its glory, and -Wotan, inviting Fricka to enter with him, for the first time calls -it Walhalla. The goddess asks the meaning of the name, and Wotan -replies: - - "What might 'gainst our fears - My mind may have found, - If proved a success - Soon shall explain the name." - -The thought in Wotan's mind is that of raising up a race of free -heroes who shall perform vicariously the expiation denied to him. -One of them shall of his own volition rescue the ring and restore it -to its rightful owners, thus satisfying the demands of the law and -removing the curse. The conception of the hero in the mind of Wotan -is made known to us only by the orchestra, which intones the Sword -motive here for the first time. In recent years, with the sanction -of Mme. Wagner, a new idea has been introduced into this scene. In -the hoard is the sword, which is discarded by Fafner as valueless. -When Wotan conceives the hero-thought, he picks up this sword and -raises it aloft while the trumpet peals out the motive. This was -not Wagner's idea, but it is not an unpardonable concession to the -demands of the theatre. It was just a little too much for Wagner to -expect that his auditors would carry the Sword motive in their minds -from "Das Rheingold" to the first act of "Die Walküre," and remember -when hearing it in the latter how it was used in the former and thus -find out what it meant there. - -Over the rainbow--Bifröst, as it is called in the Eddas--the gods -enter Walhalla, the Rhine maidens vainly pleading from the valley -below for the return of their ring, and Loge gloating over the end to -which, as he says, the Aesir are even now hastening. And thus ends -the prologue, to which I have devoted much space because it contains -the foundation of the tragedy. It presents to us the hero foredoomed -to destruction, the crime, and the certainty of its inevitable -punishment. That is the subject-matter of the propositional part of a -classic tragedy. We are now ready to observe the workings of Wotan's -futile plans. - -With the passage from "Das Rheingold" to "Die Walküre" we enter upon -the struggles of the innocent human beings who have been created by -Wotan to work his will. The beautiful drama in which Wagner sets -forth the events leading to the birth of Siegfried and the slumber of -Brünnhilde on the mountain is built from mere hints in the Volsunga -Saga. Volsung is no longer the great-grandson of Wotan, but is Wotan -himself. Siegmund and Sieglinde are Sigmund and Signy of the saga, -twin children of Wotan. The name Sieglinde is that of Siegfried's -mother, according to the "Nibelungen Lied." It is Hunding, not -Siggeir, who marries Sieglinde. The fight between Hunding and -Siegmund takes place, not because of the former's rejection by the -maid, but because of the latter's flight with her. The mysterious -one-eyed man strikes the sword into the tree at the wedding-feast, -and on his spear the sword of Siegmund is broken in the fight. -Siegmund Wagner substitutes for the warrior whom Brünnhilde in the -saga once struck down, contrary to Wotan's wishes, and when she is -put to sleep on the mountain it is for protecting, not slaying, the -wrong man. We find that she is surrounded by fire at her own request, -that Wotan rules that she shall marry only the hero who will know -no fear and can pierce the fire, and that this hero is to be the -offspring of Siegmund and Sieglinde--Siegfried, the full-blooded -Volsung, in whose veins flows the blood and in whose heart, freely -and unconsciously, works the impulse of Wotan. Let the reader review -the story of the saga, and compare it with that of "Die Walküre." - -The first act of the drama is taken up with the mutual recognition -of Siegmund and Sieglinde, their strange love for one another, the -reception of the sword by the hero for whom it was struck into the -tree, and the flight of the lovers. Then comes the deeply significant -opening scene of the second act. The Valkyr Brünnhilde, revealed to -us in all the glory of her divine beauty and strength, starting to -the field, is warned not to carry Hunding to Walhalla. To Wotan now -comes Fricka, stirred to the bottom of her nature by the deep affront -in the action of Siegmund and Sieglinde to her dignity as the goddess -of marriage. She demands the punishment of the erring pair. Wotan -vainly pleads that the gods need the aid of a hero working of his own -free will in their defence. Fricka brushes aside this plea with the -declaration that heroes have no powers which are denied to gods. She -tells Wotan that it is he who breathes courage into Siegmund, that -it was he who struck the sword into the tree, devised the need into -which Siegmund should fall, and guided him to the house of Hunding. -She stands upon her dignity as the celestial queen and demands that -the outrage of her especial laws shall be punished. Wotan must not -protect Siegmund in the coming fight and he must forbid Brünnhilde's -doing so. By hard-wrung oath she binds her spouse to abandon his own -plan and submit to the demands of the inexorable moral law. - -Brünnhilde returns to his side only to learn the story of her sire's -grief. He tells her the history of the rape of the gold, of the -endless scheming of Alberich for the downfall of the gods, of his own -plan to fill Walhalla with defenders, of his search for Erda, and her -becoming Brünnhilde's mother. If Alberich recovers the ring Walhalla -is lost, for only he who forswore love can work evil with the circlet -of Rhine gold. The ring must be taken from Fafner, but Wotan dare not -take it himself because to do so would be a violation of faith and -bring more suffering upon him. Only the free hero can accomplish this -end. But Fricka has unmasked the truth. Siegmund is but the slave of -Wotan's will. And in his final outburst of grief and impotent rage -the god sums up his misery: - - "I have wrested Alberich's ring, - Grasped the coveted gold! - The curse I incurred - Doth cling to me yet:-- - What I love best I must relinquish, - Slay him I hold most sacred; - Trusting belief - Foully betray! - Glory and fame - Fade from my sight! - Heavenly splendour, - Smiling disgrace! - Be laid in ruins - All I have reared! - Over is my work: - But one thing waits me now-- - The ending, - The ending! - And for that ending - Looks Alberich! - Now I measure - The meaning mute - Of what the witch spake in wisdom:-- - "When that love's defiant foe - Grimly getteth a son, - The sway of the gods - Full soon shall end!" - The Nibelung dwarf - I now understand - To have won him a woman, - By gold gaining his hopes. - In lust she bears, - Loveless, a babe, - And hatred's fruit - From her draws life. - The love-scorner well - Can work such wonders; - But he I long for fondly-- - The free one--doth lack me yet! - Then now take my blessing, - Nibelung's babe! - What thus I fling from me - Hold as thy fortune: - Walhalla's sumptuous halls - Shall sate thy unhallowed desires!" - -How Wagner builds upon his material! Hagen, the hatred-born son of -Alberich, offspring of gold, shall cause the downfall of the gods. -He, the child of evil, shall be the instrument of law! And all this -is original with Wagner. To mere hints in the sources he adds the -details of a complete poetic story, and always the development of the -fundamental ethical thought on which the whole tragedy rests is his. -Yet these scenes, in which the god is revealed to us as so intensely -human, are the ones to which the average attendant at Wagner -performances give the least thought. Wagner was much concerned about -this scene, and indeed about the whole act. On October 3, 1855, he -sent the first two acts to Liszt and wrote to him thus: - - "I am anxious for the weighty second act; it contains - two catastrophes, so important and powerful that there - would be sufficient matter for two acts; but then they - are so interdependent and the one implies the other so - immediately, that it was impossible to separate them. If it - is represented exactly as I intend, and if my intentions - are perfectly understood, the effect must be beyond - anything that has hitherto been in existence. Of course - it is written only for people who can stand something - (perhaps in reality for nobody). That incapable and weak - persons will complain cannot in any way move me. You must - decide whether everything has succeeded according to my - own intentions. I cannot do it otherwise. At times, when - I was timid and sobered down, I was chiefly anxious about - the great scene of Wotan, especially when he discloses the - decrees of Fate to Brünnhilde, and in London I was once on - the point of rejecting the whole scene. In order to come to - a decision I took up the sketch and recited the scene with - proper expression, when fortunately I discovered that my - spleen was unjustified, and that, if properly represented, - the scene would have a grand effect even in a purely - musical sense." - -The remainder of the drama is taken up with the development of -what has been prepared. Brünnhilde's mind is distracted. She feels -that Wotan, against his own inclinations, is about to sacrifice -Siegmund to the wrath of Fricka. Presently the fleeing and guilty -lovers approach. Sieglinde, overcome with shame and terrified at -the prospect of Hunding's attack, sinks senseless in the arms of -Siegmund. Brünnhilde appears, and in the beautiful scene, usually -named by its German title, the "Todesverkündigung," announces to -Siegmund his coming death. He passionately refuses to die or to go -to Walhalla without his bride, and Brünnhilde, overcome by his -pleading, promises to aid him in the fight. She does so, and Wotan -thrusts his spear between the combatants, so that Siegmund's sword is -shattered upon it. Hunding slays Siegmund and is himself stricken to -death by the sword of Wotan. Brünnhilde flees to the Valkyr's rock -with Sieglinde, gives her the pieces of the broken sword, foretells -the birth of a son, whom she names Siegfried, and sends Sieglinde -to secrete herself in the forest to the eastward, where Fafner -lies brooding on the hoard. Wotan arrives in hot pursuit of his -disobedient daughter, drives off her frightened, pleading sisters, -and sentences her, as already told. And all this Wagner has evolved -from a few scattered lines in the saga. The marvellous beauty of the -scene between Wotan and his beloved child cannot be described. - -But let the reader remember that the punishment inflicted on her is -not solely because of her disobedience of a command, but also and -chiefly because the salvation of Siegmund would have violated Wotan's -oath to Fricka and thus have increased the burden of guilt already -upon the conscience of this unfortunate and very human god. Again the -ethical basis of the tragedy comes to the front, and the moral law, -operating as Fate, demands a victim. Brünnhilde becomes the Sleeping -Beauty, so familiar to us in the fairy tales, and waits for her -prince to wake her, a prince who shall be without fear, and who shall -see no terrors in the point of All-Father's dread spear. This hero -will be free, "freer than I, the god," as Wotan tells us, while the -majestic pealing of the young hero's motive by the orchestra reveals, -what the text does not, that Siegfried will be the awakener. - -None of the sagas or legends in any way connect Brünnhilde -with the fate of Siegfried's parents or the birth of the hero. -Wagner's invention is here truly dramatic. He has welded separate -incidents into a sequence of beautiful poetry and immense dramatic -significance. In doing so he has greatly increased the splendour -of the character of Brünnhilde. He has enlarged the aspect of her -divinity, and has painted with the hand of a master the strange -commingling in her of godhood and womanhood. Her sympathy with the -doomed pair is wholly womanly, and it leads to her becoming entirely -a woman when Wotan, in the enforcement of the demands of law, kisses -the godhood from her. None of the old poems suggest such a Brünnhilde -as Wagner's. She is a creation as distinct as Shakespeare's Juliet, -as great as his Hamlet. In all dramatic literature there is no more -majestic female figure than the Brünnhilde of "Die Walküre" and -"Siegfried." In the final drama she diminishes in stature, by reason -of the loss of her virginity. Then she is only a weak woman, except -in the last scene, when she rises once more on the wings of grief to -the proudest heights of self-sacrifice. - -And so we pass to the next drama of the trilogy, the second act of -the tragedy. The story of this is simple. Few ethical questions -arise. All is concerned with the acts of the free hero, working -without knowledge of Wotan, while the Nibelungs vainly strive to -divert the results of the action to their own benefit. Again we meet -with the warring forces,--gods, giants, and dwarfs,--but the gods -are passive. Wotan, disguised as a wanderer, watches the progress of -events, but does not interfere in it. The first act takes place in -the cavern occupied as home and smithy by Mime,[43] no longer subject -to his crafty brother, but now in business for himself and scheming -to make the young Siegfried his instrument for the recovery of the -gold and the ring. Sieglinde died in childbirth in Mime's cavern, -and the dwarf, knowing well who she was, has taken good care of her -son. Mime is an infinitely more picturesque character than the Regin -of the saga, and the cavern a far more romantic home for the nurture -of a forest hero than the Court of the Danish King. Wagner keeps -clear of historical surroundings and conventionalities and presents -to us a primal, elementary youth, a being whom we cannot fail to -love. For Siegfried is the free, untrammelled youth of all time, the -young man rejoicing in the strength of his youth, and arriving at -the fundamental laws of life and love by observation, introspection, -and the mighty workings of natural passion. He is a type, freed -from every convention of clothes-philosophy and custom, from every -condition of time or place. Siegfried is Young Manhood. His every -utterance demands of the impersonator a largeness of conception far -and away beyond the requirements of the ordinary operatic rôles. -These are the petty puppets of libretto machinists, who cut and fit -more or less dramatic stories according to the specifications of the -Meyerbeerian plan. But Siegfried must be conceived along the lines of -Brünnhilde's apostrophe: - - "O Siegfried! Herrlicher! - Hort der Welt! - Leben der Erde, - Lachender Held!" - -[Footnote 43: Wagner obtained the name of Mime from the Thidrek Saga, -in which Mimir is a cunning smith, the brother of Regin. In this -saga Regin is the name of the dragon. A naked child comes to Mimir, -and because a hind runs out of the wood and licks the child, Mimir -knows that it is a stray which the animal has cared for. He takes the -child and rears it and calls it Sigfrid. This youth slays the dragon, -and then the tale proceeds along the same lines as the other sagas -connected with Siegfried.] - -"O Siegfried! Lordly one! Shield of the world! Life of the earth! -Smiling hero!" He must be big in every way--big in the brawn of his -brandished limbs, big in the bursts of his blithesome enthusiasm, -and big in the beauty and bloom of his song. For Wagner, in his -"Communication," tells us how, in the endeavour to discover what it -was that drew him to the heart of the sagas, he drove into the deeper -regions of antiquity, - - "where, at last, to my delight and truly in the utmost - reaches of old time, I was to light upon the fair young - form of Man in all the freshness of his force. My studies - thus bore me through the legends of the Middle Ages right - down to their foundation in the old Germanic Mythos; one - swathing after another, which the later legendary lore had - bound around it, I was able to unloose, and thus, at last, - to gaze upon it in its chastest beauty. What here I saw was - no longer the figure of conventional history, whose garment - claims our interest more than does the actual shape inside, - but the real, naked Man, in whom I might spy each throbbing - of his pulses, each stir within his mighty muscles, in - uncramped, freest motion; the type of the true human being." - -It was the recognition of Siegfried in his perfection, not as -belittled in the "Nibelungen Lied," that made Wagner conceive him as -the hero of his drama. That conception, once formed, was not lost in -the subsequent development which made Wotan the real protagonist. -Siegfried, in the first drama in which he appears, stands as the -type of the utmost freedom of human impulse and action, the complete -foil to the far-seeing, law-constrained god. He represents the -complementary element in the ethical basis of the tragedy. He is the -pure one, over whom Fate, in the shape of the inexorable moral law, -has yet no control. He is himself. He makes his own deeds. He is the -free agent for whom the despairing god has yearned. - -Thus, then, we see him in the first act of the drama,--an impulsive, -discontented youth, eager for larger fields of action, moved by -strange emotions which he does not comprehend, and for whose meaning -he vainly questions the cunning dwarf. A sword he needs, but none -which the dwarf makes will bear the force of his blow. At last he -wrings from Mime the true story of his birth, and the pieces of the -broken sword, which Siegmund in his hour of need christened "Nothung" -("Needful"), are produced as evidence. These shall Mime weld, -declares Siegfried, and then the free youth will make his home in the -wide world. But weld that particular sword, the sword which Wotan -struck into the tree Branstock, is just what Mime cannot do. Wotan, -in his wanderer's guise, comes to prophesy to Mime that only one who -never knew fear shall accomplish the task. To him is forfeit the head -which Mime has staked on answering Wotan's questions. - -The scene of the questions between Wotan and Mime was probably -suggested to Wagner by the "Vafthrudnersmal," one of the poems of -the Elder Edda, which shows Odin holding a similar conversation with -the omniscient giant, Vafthrudner. Odin appears as a poor traveller -named Gangrader, and engages in a contest of knowledge with the -giant. Gangrader, in answer to Vafthrudner's questions, tells the -names of the horses that carry Day and Night across the sky and -of the river which divides Asgard from Jotunheim (Riesenheim, the -giant's land) and the field where the last battle is to be fought. -The giant tells the origin of the earth, the story of the creation -of the gods, what the heroes do in Walhalla, what was the origin of -the Norns, who will rule after the world had been destroyed and what -will be the end of the father of the gods. Finally the god asks: -"What did Odin whisper in the ear of his son before he ascended the -funeral pile?" The giant recognises Odin by this question, and says, -"Who can tell what thou didst whisper of old in the ear of thy son? -I have called down my fate upon my own head when I dared to enter on -a strife of knowledge with Odin. All-Father, thou wilt ever be the -wisest." We are not told whether the giant lost his head, but we are -led to believe that the whispered word was "Resurrection." - -When Siegfried returns, Mime vainly endeavours to teach him the -meaning of fear, for he would save his head. Siegfried laughs at the -conception, and forthwith forges anew the broken blade of Nothung, -cleaving in twain the anvil and shouting in the joy of his strength. -As for Mime, he now sees that Siegfried will surely slay Fafner, -of whom he has told the youth. Yet the dwarf is in terror, for if -Siegfried does not learn fear from the dragon, then the dwarf dies; -and if he does learn it, who is to rescue the hoard from Fafner's -grasp? - -To the forest, then, in the second act, we follow the youth and -his scheming preceptor.[44] Alberich lies in watch outside Fafner's -cave, and Wotan comes to warn the giant that his fate draws near. -Alberich listens, wondering, while Wotan addresses the dragon in his -lair. Anon Mime conducts Siegfried to the spot and leaves him. Alone -the hero muses on his life, his birth, his mother's death, his own -lack of a mate. He hears the song of a forest bird and thinks, could -he but understand it, it might tell him of his needs. He fashions a -reed pipe wherewith to talk to the bird, but his effort is futile. -The scene is one of strange beauty, the orchestra imitating the -weaving of the forest leaves and shadows in a wondrous tone-poem, the -"Waldweben." Despairing of success with the reed, Siegfried winds -a blast upon his horn, and Fafner, the dragon, emerges from his -concealment. - -[Footnote 44: In the locale of this scene Wagner follows the Thidrek, -not the Volsunga Saga. The latter makes the place a heath.] - -Siegfried attacks and slays the monster. Dying, the giant tells -him to beware of Mime. Plucking his sword from the beast's heart, -the youth wets his finger with the blood and cleanses it with his -lips. At once he understands the language of the bird. And here -we meet with one of Wagner's dramatic makeshifts, which has often -been ridiculed. Before the hero understands the bird its tones are -represented by the clarionet; afterward it sings German text in a -soprano voice. This is Wagner's plan for conveying the language of -the bird to the audience. It is awkward, but there was plainly no -other way to let the hearer into the secret. One needs the help of -his imagination here, and must bear ever in mind that he is listening -to one of the world's fairy tales. The bird sends Siegfried to get -the helm and the ring and warns the youth to be wary, for Mime is -treacherous. - -And now comes another makeshift. Mime approaches, knowing that -Siegfried has slain the dragon and obtained the helm and the ring. -The dwarf plans to sink the youth in sleep by a potion, slay him, -and secure the treasure. But as he would prattle of his love and -fidelity, he unconsciously reveals the inner workings of his mind, -and to do this he has to utter them aloud. Siegfried and the -audience hear them. It is clumsy, but again there seemed no other -way. Siegfried slays Mime, and again lays himself down under the -linden tree. The "Waldweben" is heard again, and once more the bird -sings to the hero, this time to tell him that Brünnhilde sleeps on -the fire-girt rock, where only he who knows not fear can reach her. -Siegfried springs forward on the path, the bird showing him the way. -The whole structure and fancy of this beautiful act are original with -Wagner. The saga gave the dramatist only the facts of the slaying of -the dragon and the understanding of the language of the birds, which -warned the hero of the dwarf's treachery and told him of the sleeping -beauty. The treatment and development in the drama are infinitely -more poetic than in the original story. - -The third act opens with an interview, suggested by the Elder Edda, -between Wotan and Erda at the foot of the Valkyr's mountain. Wotan -once more consults the Wala, but she tells him naught of value. The -god, now ready to resign the empire of the world and prepared for -the ending of the Aesir, awaits the hero's coming. Siegfried, led -by the bird, confronts him, and with the sword Nothung smites the -opposing spear in twain. I have seen it asked why this sword, which -was shattered upon the spear in "Die Walküre," now cleaves the runic -haft. The ethical basis of the tragedy explains this. Siegmund was -doomed to expiate his crime, a victim to Fricka, the avenger, and to -the law behind her. But, welded anew by the hand of a spotless hero, -the sword is resistless.[45] The law has no hold upon it. Crying "In -vain! I cannot stop thee," Wotan disappears from the tragedy. We hear -of him, but see him no more till the flames of Walhalla reveal him to -us in the blazing sky. - -[Footnote 45: Rassmann holds that the name "Gram" ("Wrath") was given -to the sword in the Volsunga Saga because only Odin's wrath could -break it. See Rassmann's "Heldensage," vol. i.] - -Siegfried penetrates the fire, and finds the sleeping beauty. He -cuts the byrny from her bosom, as in the saga, and wakes her with a -kiss. She sings her hymn to the sun and the light and the earth, and -proclaims herself Siegfried's from the beginning. One last struggle -for her maidenhood, and she yields herself. The union is made. The -old order is done. The new race is to come and rule the world. The -drama closes with a duo of passionate beauty, and we are ready for -"Götterdämmerung," the last act of "Der Ring des Nibelungen." - -No doubt the legend of Sigurd's penetration of the flames was taken -from the old story of Freyr, the sun-god, who rode through a hedge, -guarded by fierce dogs, and a flame-circle within it, to win Gerda -for his bride. In the later form of the legend, as told in the -Elder Edda, Freyr once saw Gerda afar off and fell in love with -her. He pined, and his son told Skirnir, his faithful servant, of -this. Skirnir took Freyr's horse and magic sword, rode through the -flames, and conquered the unwilling Gerda by means of runes. Among -the things she refused before he employed the runes was the magic -ring which the dwarfs had made. From it eight new ones dropped each -ninth night. Thus we see that the myth is related to both of Sigurd's -exploits,--that in which he penetrated the flames for himself, and -that in which he represented Gunnar. The ring made by the dwarfs, of -course, became in the saga tale the ring of Andvari, carrying its -curse, and was given to Brünnhilde after the hero had won her. - -The last drama of the series opens with a scene taken directly from -the Norse mythology. On the Valkyr's rock sit the three Norns, -weaving their rope of runes and peering into the events of the past, -the present, and the future. For such is their vocation. They are -the Fates of older legend. In the Scandinavian mythology they were -called Urd, who looked into the past; Verdandi, who surveyed the -present, and Skuld, the youngest, who gazed into the future. Wagner -does not use the names, nor does he discriminate in the occupations -of the three. Indeed, the scene has no close dramatic relation to -the drama about to be enacted, but is rather a pictorial and musical -mood tableau, designed to fill the mind of the auditor with portents. -In the narrative of the first Norn we hear how Wotan lost his eye, -selling it for a draught from the fountain of knowledge, and how -he broke a limb from the great ash Yggdrasil itself to fashion his -spear. These are incidents in the old mythology. The ash tree was -watered daily from Urd's fountain, and it could not wither till the -last battle was about to be fought. From the first Norn's tale we -learn that the tree has withered and the fountain dried. This is a -portent of the end. - -From the stories of the other Norns we learn that as soon as -Siegfried had broken Wotan's spear the god summoned his heroes to -the world's ash tree and cut it down. From it were hewn fagots, and -these were piled high in Walhalla. Wotan and the heroes sit in state, -waiting for the flames which shall consume their abode. The dusk of -the gods is at hand. While the Norns are trying to fathom the outcome -of the curse on the ring, their rope breaks. With frightened cries -they sink into the earth, declaring that the world shall no more hear -their wisdom. - -Siegfried and Brünnhilde, in the dawn of the new day, come forth -from their cavern home. The young hero has matured into a man. He -is clad in Brünnhilde's armor and wears her cloak. How long they -were together on the mountain no one knows. It was long enough for -the youth to become a man, and to learn all Brünnhilde's wisdom. -She is sending him forth to new exploits, fearing only that she may -not hold his heart in absence. She has taught him all her runes, -and surrendered to him her maidenhood's strength. What these runes -were we can learn from the Lay of Sigdrifa in the Elder Edda, but -they have no bearing upon the story of Wagner. The statement that -Brünnhilde has lost her maiden strength is of importance, for it -helps to explain why Siegfried is afterward able to snatch the ring -from her. With her maidenhood, departed the last vestige of her -divinity, her strength. Henceforth she is all woman. The decree of -Wotan is fulfilled. She says: - - "My wisdom fails, - But good-will remains; - So full of love - But failing in strength, - Thou wilt despise - Perchance the poor one, - Who, having giv'n all, - Can grant thee no more." - -Siegfried gives her the ring with a casual and insignificant remark -that he owes all his strength to it. Brünnhilde gives him her steed, -Grani, which has lost its magic powers together with her. Compare -this with the saga story of Sigurd's choice of a horse. The hero -now sets forth, and as the scene changes we hear his horn echoing -down the Rhine valley, and the orchestra paints his journey. The -second scene shows us the interior of the home of Gunther, the son of -Gibich, who is seated at a table with his sister, Gutrune, and his -half-brother, Hagen. Gunther is the Gunnar of the saga, but Wagner -uses the name from the "Nibelungen Lied" because it is German. The -name of Gibich is obtained from the "Lex Burgundionum" of Gundohar, -a Burgundian king of the fifth century, who in it names, as one of -his ancestors, Gibica. The word is derived from the same root as -Giuki, the name used in the Volsunga Saga. Wagner gets the character -of Gunther from the "Nibelungen Lied," where he is represented as -a weak person, usually under the influence of others. Gutrune is -the Gudrun of the saga, the daughter of Grimhild, who employs magic -to win Siegfried for her child's spouse. In the "Nibelungen Lied" -Chriemhild is Gutrune; the two personages have been moulded into one -and the magic eliminated. Wagner, as we shall see, identifies the -characters of Gutrune and Chriemhild as the Lied does, but retains -the magic, which is wielded by Hagen in furtherance of the Nibelung's -plan to recover the ring. He also retains the fact that Grimhild -was Gunther's mother. She was also the mother of Hagen, having been -overcome by an elf--an idea which Wagner borrowed from the Thidrek -Saga. - -This idea was essential to his plan of making Hagen appear in the -drama as the son of Alberich. It does not consist with Wotan's -statement that the Nibelung had won a woman with gold, but that -discrepancy is unimportant. The point is that Gunther's half-brother -is a Nibelung, and has been entrusted by his father with the task of -bringing about the downfall of Siegfried. Wagner has developed the -character of Hagen according to this idea, and not according to the -original sources. In the Thidrek Saga and the "Nibelungen Lied" Hagen -is represented as a crafty villain, while in the Volsunga Saga he -is of noble nature and will have naught to do with the plot against -Siegfried. In the other two poems he has no motive but malice, while -Wagner raises the character to a high tragic plane by giving Hagen -the purpose of the Nibelungs' revenge. - -The second scene opens, then, with Hagen telling Gunther that he is -too long unwed, and that there sleeps on a mountain surrounded by -fire the woman who should be his bride. But she is to be reached only -by him who never knew fear. This leads to a narration of the exploits -of Siegfried, suggested by the narrative of Hagen in the "Nibelungen -Lied," when he sees Siegfried approaching the Court of Gunther. -Neither Gunther nor Gutrune learns what Hagen has already been told -by Alberich, that Siegfried has wed Brünnhilde; and so they readily -fall in with his suggestion that Gutrune administer a magic potion -to bind this great hero's heart to her. Siegfried arrives at the -castle, and is welcomed by Gunther, who in the mediæval style says -in effect: "All that I have and am is yours." Siegfried answers that -he has nothing but his good limbs and his home-made sword to offer -in return. Hagen immediately asks him where the Nibelungs' hoard is. -The hero replies that he deemed it worthless and left it in the cave, -except the Tarnhelm, which he has with him, but does not know how to -use. Hagen thereupon explains the virtue of it, and inquires where -the ring is. Siegfried says it is worn by a woman, and Hagen mutters, -"Brünnhilde." Gutrune proffers the magic draught. Siegfried drinks -to Brünnhilde and--forgets her. For the drink, artfully prepared by -Hagen, was one of forgetfulness. And here we come upon a weak spot in -the drama. The drink does not, as we shall see, make Siegfried forget -all the incidents leading up to his winning of Brünnhilde, but only -their relations. The only plea that can be entered here is that if we -accept a magic drink at all, we must not put logical limitations on -its powers. - -Siegfried now falls in with Hagen's plan. He agrees to go through the -fire and get Brünnhilde for Gunther, provided he, in return for the -service, receives the hand of Gutrune. There is no talk of a futile -attempt on the part of Gunther to penetrate the flames. Siegfried and -Gunther swear blood-brotherhood, and the two start for the Valkyr's -rock, where, with the help of the Tarnhelm, they are to exchange -shapes, as in the saga. Hagen, left alone, gloats over the fact that -Siegfried will bring him the ring. Once more the scene changes to -the Valkyr's rock, and we meet with an episode in the story entirely -original with Wagner, an episode of great beauty and significance. -Brünnhilde hears once again the sounds of the passage of a -wind-horse, a Valkyr steed. A moment later her sister, Waltraute, is -clasped in her embrace. Why has she broken Wotan's command against -visiting Brünnhilde? Waltraute says she has fled hither from Walhalla -in anguish. "What has befallen the eternal gods?" asks Brünnhilde, -in fear. Then Waltraute gives a majestic description of the last -gathering of the gods in Walhalla, as already narrated in the Norns' -scene. Deep dismay has fallen on the gods. Wotan has sent his ravens -out to seek for tidings. This, according to the Eddas, he did daily. -Waltraute, weeping on her father's breast, has heard him say: - - "The day the Rhine's three daughters - Gain by surrender from her the ring, - From the curse's load - Released are gods and men." - -This is why Waltraute has come. Wotan dare not act, does not dream -of doing so; for the atonement must be the work of a free agent. -But a Valkyr is a wish-maiden, Wotan's will, and so Waltraute, like -Brünnhilde in "Die Walküre," strives to realise her father's wish. -Will Brünnhilde give back the ring? But Brünnhilde is no more a -virgin Valkyr, a mere daughter of the gods. She is a beloved and -loving woman. The ring is Siegfried's bridal gift. Perish the -world; perish the eternal gods; but the ring shall not leave her -finger where love kissed it into place. Even as Brünnhilde speaks, -the orchestra sings the motive of Renunciation, for, as Waltraute -flees in despair, the fire springs up in defence of Brünnhilde and -the beguiled Siegfried comes in the Tarnhelm, wearing the face -and form of Gunther, to wrest the ring from her and make her the -bride of the son of Gibich. This is tremendous tragedy; tenfold -more tremendous than anything that entered the minds of the sagamen -or the fashioners of the "Nibelungen Lied." The Waltraute scene, -accentuating, as it does, Wagner's connection of the Nibelung ring -with the burden of guilt resting on the gods, presents in a powerful -light the human tragedy leading to the restoration of the ring -to its rightful owners. Furthermore, the scene is essential to a -complete understanding of the character of Brünnhilde in the final -drama of the series. The last despairing appeal of Waltraute for the -Aesir meets with an answer which fully exhibits the change wrought -in Brünnhilde. When Wotan put her to sleep, saying, "So küsst er -die Gottheit von dir," he was the familiar Wotan of the trilogy, -planning, but seeing only half the issue of his plan. When Siegfried -laid the kiss of human love upon the virgin lips of the Valkyr, he it -was who truly kissed the godhood from her, and left her with a wholly -human disregard for the fading Aesir. All she has given for love, and -now comes a second claimant for her. Stricken with horror and shame, -she is driven into the cavern. Siegfried, following, announces that -his sword shall lie between them. - -The second act brings us back to the castle of Gunther. Hagen, still -watching, is visited by Alberich, who urges him to persistence. -Alberich's speeches impress upon us two important points, namely: -that the curse cannot fall upon Siegfried, because he is ignorant -of the powers of the ring, and therefore does not use them; and, -secondly, that if he should give the ring back to the Rhine maidens -no art could fashion a new one. Both of these ideas are Wagner's. -The first is a natural outgrowth of the ethical basis of the drama; -the second was doubtless suggested by the old legends, which always -finish the story of the hoard by returning it to the waters. -Siegfried returns and announces his success, quieting the fears of -Gutrune by telling her that his sword lay between him and Brünnhilde. -Here we have an alteration of the original stories to suit modern -taste. In the legends there was no question of the relations of -the disguised Siegfried and Brünnhilde, and they existed with the -consent of Gunther. But in Wagner's drama it is made plain to us that -Siegfried was loyal in the modern sense, though he used an ancient -symbol of honour, the sword. - -Gunther arrives with Brünnhilde, and she, seeing Siegfried there -with Gutrune, at once suspects treachery. She perceives the ring on -Siegfried's finger, and demands an explanation as to how he came by -the circlet which Gunther had wrenched from her hand the previous -night. This episode of the ring is entirely different, as the reader -will note, from those of the Volsunga Saga and the "Nibelungen Lied." -But it had to be so, because Wagner had already omitted the incident -which, in the sources of his story, led to Siegfried's presenting -the ring to his wife. Brünnhilde's questions about the ring evoke no -satisfactory answers, and she bursts out with the charge that not -Gunther, but Siegfried married her. "He forced delights of love from -me!" she cries. Siegfried avows that his sword lay between them. But -Brünnhilde is talking of a night long previous to that just passed, -a night of which only she and Siegfried should know, but which he, -under the influence of the drink, has forgotten. Brünnhilde knows -that her hearers are ignorant of that night, but she is bent upon -implicating Siegfried, and she lets the assembly believe that she is -speaking of the night just passed. Much good ink has been spilled -over this scene, one party contending that Brünnhilde was guilty of -deceit, and the other that Siegfried had been false to his trust. The -intent of the scene is, it seems to me, perfectly plain, but to quiet -all doubts we may go to Wagner's own sketch, "The Nibelung Myth as -Sketch for a Drama." He describes this point thus: - -"Siegfried charges her with shamelessness: faithful had he been -to this blood brothership,--his sword he laid between Brünnhilde -and himself:--he calls on her to bear him witness. Purposely, and -thinking only of his ruin, she will not understand him." - -In a speech of double meaning, she declares that the sword hung in -its scabbard on the wall on the night when its master gained him a -true love. Siegfried swears to his truth on the point of Hagen's -spear, calling upon it to pierce him if he is false. This is a purely -theatric touch. This spear does pierce him, yet was he not false. -Brünnhilde swears upon the same spear that Siegfried has committed -perjury. Thereupon Siegfried lightly says that she is daft, and bids -the guests to let the festivities proceed. Brünnhilde now suspects -some deviltry, but her runic wisdom is gone and she cannot fathom -it. But she can and does confide to Hagen that she had made her hero -invulnerable, except in the back. Gunther discerns that he has been -dishonoured, yet he is loath, for his sister's sake, to be revenged -upon Siegfried. This makes Brünnhilde all the more furious, and she -readily assents to Hagen's proposition that Siegfried must die. The -vacillating Gunther is overcome. Hagen shouts in triumph; the ring -and the power will soon be his. - -The last act shows the Rhine maidens sporting on the surface of the -water in a little cove of the river. Siegfried, hunting and strayed -from his party, appears on the rocks above them. They beg him to -return the ring, and he is almost on the point of doing so when -they warn him of its curse. He refuses to be scared into parting -with it. This meeting with the Rhine maidens is not found in any -of the old stories, because the ring which causes the trouble in -"Götterdämmerung" is not in any way associated in the legends with -the end of the gods. In both the Thidrek Saga and the "Nibelungen -Lied," Hagen is warned of an evil by mermaids, and this may barely -have suggested this scene, which so accentuates the immediately -succeeding tragedy of Siegfried's death. - -The hunting party arrives, and to cheer the gloomy Gunther Siegfried -volunteers to tell the story of his youth. All this is original with -Wagner. The hero narrates the incidents of the drama "Siegfried" to -a wonderful epitome of its music, up to the slaying of Mime. Then -Hagen administers an antidote to the drink of forgetfulness, and the -hero reveals his discovery of Brünnhilde. Gunther is shocked as he -realises Hagen's perfidy. Wotan's ravens fly past, and Hagen calls on -Siegfried to interpret their tones. As the hero turns his back, Hagen -drives the spear into it. Siegfried dies apostrophising his Valkyr -love. To the strains of the great funeral march, the body is borne -back to the home of the Gibichs, and laid at the feet of Gutrune, who -is told, as in the Thidrek Saga, that a wild boar slew her lord. She -accuses Gunther, who promptly denounces Hagen. The Nibelung demands -the ring; Gunther opposes him; they fight, and Gunther is slain. -Hagen reaches for the ring, but the dead hand of Siegfried rises in -solemn warning, and sends him staggering back in terror. At this -juncture Brünnhilde, who, as we vaguely learn from the text, has -heard the truth from the Rhine maidens, enters the hall, a picture of -outraged majesty. - -After informing Gutrune that she was never the real wife of -Siegfried, Brünnhilde sums up the dénouement of the entire tragedy -in a speech which must be carefully read by anyone desiring -thoroughly to understand Wagner's design. She perceives the whole -of Wotan's plan, and upbraids him for throwing on a guiltless man -the curse of his own crime. Let the ravens tell Wotan that his -plan is accomplished. And let the weary god have rest. She takes -the ring from Siegfried's finger, and places it upon her own. When -she is burned with him on the funeral pyre, the Rhine maidens may -get the ring again. And now fly home, ravens. Pass by the Valkyr's -rock and bid the flickering Loge once more visit Walhalla, for the -dusk of the gods is at hand, and with this torch will the bride of -Siegfried fire the towers of Asgard. Then she addresses the wondering -retainers and bids them, when she is gone, to put aside treaties and -treacherous bonds as laws of life, and in their place to let Love -rule alone. With her steed, Grani, she mounts Siegfried's funeral -pyre. The flames rise to heaven. Upon the Rhine are seen the three -maidens, one of them holding aloft the ring. Hagen madly springs -into the water after the accursed bauble, and is drawn under by the -maidens and drowned. The sky blazes and we see the assembled gods, as -described by Waltraute, sitting in the burning Walhalla. It is the -"Götterdämmerung." - -So ends the tragedy. Nothing in the final scenes closely resembles -the original legends except the burning of Walhalla. In the legends -the gods are destroyed in battle with the powers of evil. Here -they die in solemn atonement for sin. And their punishment, which -is their release, is accomplished by the voluntary sacrifice of a -woman through love. Brünnhilde, wiser in the end than Wotan himself, -perfects and completes his plan. The death of the hero, innocent and -unoffending, was not enough. The intentional sacrifice, hallowed by -love, accomplishes what all Wotan's schemes failed to achieve. The -ethical plot of the drama is finished. "The eternal feminine leadeth -us upward and on." - -This glorious Brünnhilde of Wagner is a grander figure than any -conceived by the sagamen. Dimly, indeed, may her sacrifice be -connected with the death of Nanna, the wife of Baldur, the bright -one, who could not outlive her husband. But that death was merely -from a broken heart. This one is a magnificent atonement. - -Baldur's horse, fully caparisoned, was led to his master's pyre. -Wotan placed on the pile his ring, Draupner, which every ninth night -produced eight other rings. But none of these incidents have the -enormous significance of Wagner's final scene. His reconstruction of -the story of the end of the gods, of their release from the burden -of sin by a voluntary, vicarious sacrifice, raises the poetic issue -of his drama to a plane far above the conceptions of the old Norse -and Teutonic skalds. With "Der Ring des Nibelungen," in spite of its -defects, Wagner set himself beside the Greek dramatists. - - -III.--The Music of the Trilogy - -In "Der Ring des Nibelungen" the leitmotiv system is found at its -best. In this gigantic and complex drama it provides a musical -aid to an understanding of the intent of the dramatist. It is a -running commentary on the action, a ceaseless revealer of inner -thoughts and motives. And, owing to the development of plot and -character, the musical device of thematic development is employed -with admirable effect in this work. Unfortunately for the credit of -Wagner, the typical handbook of these dramas, and the fashionable -"Wagner Lecture," which consists of telling the story and playing -the principal motives on a piano, have gone far to convey wholly -erroneous ideas of this unique musical system. The hearer of the -lecture and the reader of the handbook are led to suppose that the -score consists of a string of disconnected phrases, arbitrarily -formed and capriciously titled, and that this is the whole result of -the system. - -The truth is that the score becomes symphonic in scope. The various -motives are invented with a profound insight into the philosophy of -musical expression and are repeated or developed according to the -principles of musico-dramatic art formulated in the mind of Wagner -when he had fully elaborated his theory of the organic union of the -text and the music. Reading the handbooks or hearing the lectures -and afterward recognising the motives as they appear in the dramas, -even when their significance is known, is not all that Wagner asks of -one who attempts to understand his system. It is necessary to study -the scores very thoroughly, to note the intimate union of text and -music, to observe the changes which motives undergo when new shades -of meaning are to be expressed, to grasp the treatment of rhythm and -tonality and the formation and expansion of themes, and generally to -follow the composer through the various ramifications of the most -elaborate plan for dramatic expression in music ever invented. - -On the other hand, none of this study is essential to a mere -enjoyment of these dramas. For that, only a perfect comprehension of -the text is necessary; if you know what the characters are saying and -doing, the music will do its own work. It will create the right mood -for you, though you do not know the name of a single leading theme. -But the thematic system is there, and to understand it will add -enormously to your intellectual and artistic pleasure and give Wagner -a far higher position in your estimation than he would otherwise -occupy. Only, if you intend to study it, do not treat it as if it -were nothing more than a thematic catalogue. What I am about to put -before the reader cannot claim to be more than some pertinent hints. -An exhaustive study of these scores would fill a volume. - -Let the reader refer to the classification of motives given in -Chapter III. of "The Artistic Aims of Wagner" (page 193), and apply -it to the themes now to be considered. He will find in these scores -all the classes there enumerated and will note that they are used and -developed with extraordinary skill. - -After the preliminary measures of the introduction to "Das -Rheingold," we hear the first guiding theme of the drama, the motive -of the Primeval Elements: - -[Music: PRIMEVAL ELEMENTS.] - -This motive plays an important part in the trilogy. When Erda rises -from the earth in the last scene of the prologue we hear this same -theme in the minor mode, and we at once perceive that by this -simple process of musical development Wagner associates her with -the primeval elements (earth, air, and water), but emphasises the -sadness of her character and her peculiar office in the tragedy as -a prophetess of woe. When she utters the words, "Ein düst'rer Tag -dämmert den Göttern" ("A dismal day dawns for the Aesir"), we hear -her motive first in its natural form, and then inverted, and we then -learn that this inversion has an especial meaning, the end of the -gods, the "Götterdämmerung": - -[Music: A--ERDA. B--GÖTTERDÄMMERUNG. - - Ein düst'rer Tag dämmert den Göttern] - -Now let us turn to the scene in which Waltraute comes to tell -Brünnhilde how Wotan has had the ash cut down, hewn into faggots, -and assembled the gods to wait for the end. In the accompaniment to -her words appears the Erda theme, originally that of the Primeval -Elements which surrounded the Rhinegold, transformed into a stately -progression of octaves. Presently over these we hear the Walhalla -theme, and then the octaves descend in a new development of the -"Götterdämmerung" theme: - -[Music: WALTRAUTE. - - The stem in sticks he bade them to stack - and arrange in a bulk, 'round the Aesir's sanctified seat. - The Gods he called unto the council;] - -Turn next to the last scene of all, to the entrance of Brünnhilde. We -find that the music is this: - -[Music] - -Brünnhilde has come to fulfil the prophecy of Erda; the dusk of the -gods is at hand. And so when she commands the retainers to erect the -funeral pyre, which is kindled at Walhalla, we hear once again the -"Götterdämmerung" theme as it was introduced to us in the Waltraute -scene: - -[Music] - -This is an excellent demonstration of the leitmotiv system in its -fullest expansion, and it should warn the reader against accepting -these themes as merely arbitrary labels. Let him always seek for -their musical philosophy and their relations to one another. - -When the Rhine maidens appear swimming around the rock in which lies -the gold, they sing these cabalistic words and this melodious music: - -[Music: RHINE DAUGHTERS. - - Weia waga! Woge, du Welle, - walle zur Wiege! Wagala Weia! - Wallala, weiala, weia!] - -Presently, as narrated in the story, the gold discloses itself, and -we hear the ascending theme of the Appearing Gold: - -[Music: THE APPEARING GOLD.] - -But when the maidens burst into song in its praise, they sing this: - -[Music: THE GLEAMING GOLD. - - Rheingold! Rheingold! - Leuchtende Lust, wie lachst du so hell und hehr! - - Rheingold! Rheingold! - Lust'rous delight, thou laughest in radiance rare!] - -The first measures of this melody are employed throughout the -drama to signify the gold. Examination will show that the words -"Rheingold! Rheingold!" are sung to precisely the same melodic form -as "Weia" at the beginning and the end of the phrase quoted from -the Rhine daughters' music. Here, again, we see how Wagner persists -in preserving the musical associations of allied themes, and of -deriving one from the other in the symphonic style. In the last act -of "Götterdämmerung," when the maidens warn Siegfried of coming evil, -they sing his name to the Rhinegold theme in the minor mode. The -significance of this is unmistakable. - -At the first mention of the ring, we hear the Ring theme: - -[Music: THE RING.] - -This theme is subjected to so many developments that they cannot be -enumerated in a work of this kind. A single glance, however, will -show the reader how closely related it is to the "Götterdämmerung" -motive. In certain passages, as in the scene between Brünnhilde and -the disguised Siegfried in "Götterdämmerung" this theme and the -Walhalla theme are combined, by an ingenious use of the rhythm and -melodic sequence of the one with the melody and harmony of the -other, to identify Brünnhilde's personality with possession of the -ring. Other important motives introduced early in the "Rheingold" are -the following: - -[Music: RENUNCIATION. - - Nun wer der Minne Macht entsagt, - nur wer der Liebe Lust verjagt - - But he who passion's power forswears, - and from delights of love forbears] - -[Music: WALHALLA.] - -[Music: COMPACT.] - -[Music: GIANTS.] - -The Renunciation theme is employed throughout the tragedy to -signify renunciation without regard to its original connection -with the ring. The Walhalla motive indicates not only the place, -but the origin of persons who come thence. In this sense it is -sometimes applied to Brünnhilde, as well as to Wotan. The next -theme of significance is that of the Tarnhelm (see page 195). Here, -again, we meet with a theme for which there is a companion closely -associated with it in form and in the action of the drama. This is -the theme of Forgetfulness, heard in "Götterdämmerung" when Siegfried -takes the drink offered him by Gutrune. The close relationship in -the meaning of these themes is best displayed in the scene of -Siegfried's arrival at the Valkyr's rock in the guise of Gunther. -Brünnhilde says: "What man art thou?" And, as Siegfried stands at -the rear and begins his answer, we hear these three motives in -succession--Forgetfulness, Gibichung, and Tarnhelm. - -[Music: FORGETFULNESS. GIBICHUNG. - -SIEGFRIED. - - Brünnhild'! A lover comes! - -TARNHELM.] - -The meaning is clear, and the kinship of the Forgetfulness and -Tarnhelm themes unmistakable. Siegfried uses the Tarnhelm but this -once in the whole tragedy, and uses it because of the forgetfulness -and in the guise of a Gibichung. - -When Freia has been carried off by the giants to wait for Wotan's -decision as to the ransom, Loge taunts the gods with their pallor and -failing glory. As part of the accompaniment to his speech, we hear -the motive of Departing Divinity: - -[Music: DEPARTING DIVINITY.] - -Now turn to the last scene of "Die Walküre," and when Wotan tells -Brünnhilde that he will plunge her into unbreaking sleep we hear this -same motive in this form: - -[Music] - -The theme is heard again in its fullest harmonies when the god kisses -her eyes and she sinks to sleep. Here, again, Wagner uses uncertainty -of tonality to produce an effect of mystery in his music. - -At the entrance of Loge we hear another important motive, that of the -fire-god: - -[Music: LOGE.] - -From this is developed the magic fire music of "Die Walküre," and -the theme is heard frequently throughout the trilogy. Sometimes -it ascends, and again it descends, and at times it becomes purely -melodic in the diatonic scale and the major mode, but it never loses -its flickering, wavering character. When Wotan and Loge descend into -Nibelheim, we hear the important theme of the Nibelungs, the smiths: - -[Music: NIBELUNG SMITHS.] - -This is heard very often in the tragedy, and always signifies -the Nibelung race. Alberich's appearance, driving before him the -Nibelungs, who have become his slaves through the power of the ring, -introduces the theme of Alberich's mastery: - -[Music: ALBERICH, MASTER OF THE NIBELUNGS. - -RHINEGOLD. NIBELUNG SMITHS.] - -As it was the Rhinegold which made him lord of the Nibelungs, -the theme is compounded of the Rhinegold motive and that of the -Nibelungs, the latter being brought to a firm and definite close with -a major chord. With the entrance of the dwarfs carrying the gold, we -hear the theme of the Hoard: - -[Music: THE HOARD.] - -The Dragon motive appears when Alberich transforms himself for the -first time: - -[Music: THE DRAGON.] - -This theme is employed again in "Siegfried" for the transformed -"Fafner." The motive of the Nibelung's Hate is used very often in -"Siegfried" and "Götterdämmerung," as well as in the prologue: - -[Music: THE NIBELUNG'S HATE.] - -The instrumentation of this theme, the lower part being given to -strings and the upper to clarinets, is especially expressive. It -has a snarl and a sneer. The next important theme introduced in the -prologue is that of the Curse: - -[Music: THE CURSE. - -ALBERICH.-- - - Wie durch Fluch er mir geriet, - verflucht sei dieser Ring! - - As through curse to me it came, - accursed be this ring!] - -This is heard when Fafner kills Fasolt, and throughout the drama at -points where the curse is especially significant, as at the death -of Siegfried. The Sword theme (see page 195) appears when Wotan -conceives his plan. I have not given the minor themes, which are -heard only in the "Vorabend," such as those of Fricka, Froh, and -Freia. Donner's theme is of little import, being heard again only in -the storm music in "Walküre." There is a long list of minor themes, -but their significance can always be learned from the text. - -In "Die Walküre" a number of significant motives not heard in the -prologue are brought forward. The first of these indicates the gentle -and sympathetic personality of Sieglinde: - -[Music: SIEGLINDE'S SYMPATHY.] - -Next comes the Love motive, a melody of some length, written for -celli, and full of feeling: - -[Music: LOVE.] - -These two motives belong particularly to this drama; they do not -figure in the other works. In the first act, however, appear two -themes which are used thereafter throughout the tragedy, the themes -of the Volsungs' sorrow and the Volsung race: - -[Music: SORROW OF THE VOLSUNGS.] - -[Music: THE VOLSUNG RACE.] - -The reappearance of the Sword motive (see page 195) in this act -should be noted for its pregnant meaning. Siegmund calls upon his -father and says, "Where is the promised sword?" The firelight at this -instant strikes the hilt of the sword in the tree, and the orchestra -gives out the Sword theme with almost startling effect. It would be -superfluous to trace the manifold treatment of the various melodic -fragments through the score. The hearer of the works cannot fail -to become acquainted with their import. The motive of the Volsung -race is especially touching in its noble dignity and melancholy. -It epitomises in a fragment of music the nature and suffering of -the unhappy Volsungs. Much of the music of the first act is freely -composed, the love song and most of the duet being thus written. -A motive indicative of the personality of Hunding will be easily -recognised when heard. With the opening of the second act we make -the acquaintance of two motives associated with Brünnhilde in her -character of Valkyr: - -[Music: THE VALKYR'S CALL.] - -[Music: THE VALKYRS.] - -The second of these is afterward used whenever the nature of the -Valkyr is of significance in the drama. The theme, it will be noted, -is designed rhythmically to suggest the motion of the Valkyr steed. -When Fricka imposes upon Wotan the oath to honour her rights, we hear -the theme of Wotan's Wrath, a wrath in which there is a deep note of -pathos: - -[Music: WOTAN'S WRATH.] - -When Wotan informs Brünnhilde that only a free hero can make the -atonement, we hear this theme beautifully combined with the Erda -theme and a suggestion of the "Götterdämmerung" motive: - -[Music: WOTAN. - - Nur einer könnte, was ich nicht darf: - Ein Held, dem helfend nie ich mich neigte, - - But one may compass what I must leave, - A hero held by none of our number,] - -It is by such wonderful combinations of the guiding themes that -the scores of these dramas become so rich in variety, beauty, and -meaning. The significance of this passage is clear and eloquent. -The plan must fail and the dusk of the gods must come. The phrase -marked A is usually designated the theme of the "Gods' Stress." -It is plainly, however, the Erda theme and a variant of the -"Götterdämmerung." When Siegmund sits on the rock with Sieglinde -fainting in his arms, we hear for the first time the motive of Fate, -often used afterward: - -[Music: FATE.] - -The treatment of the "Todesverkündigung" is free, the theme being -heard only in that scene. Motives already made known form the warp -of the score to the end of the act, and the third act opens with the -familiar "Ride of the Valkyrs" built on the Valkyr's Call and the -Valkyr theme. When Brünnhilde informs Sieglinde that she is to be the -mother of the "highest hero of worlds," we hear for the first time -the magnificent Siegfried theme, which is to play such an important -part in the remainder of the tragedy: - -[Music] - -And in response to this announcement Sieglinde sings thus: - -[Music: SIEGLINDE-- - - O hehrstes Wunder! - Herrlichste Maid! - - O glorious wonder! - Maiden divine!] - -This theme is heard again at the close of the last scene of -"Götterdämmerung," and there we instantly recognise its significance -as an embodiment of the glorious divinity of Brünnhilde, the divinity -of ideal womanhood, ennobled by love and sanctified by sacrifice. -Another significant motive heard in this scene is that of Slumber: - -[Music: SLUMBER.] - -This, with the Fire and Siegfried themes, forms the magnificent -closing passage of this drama. The melody of Wotan's farewell, though -it can hardly be described as a leitmotiv, reappears with beautiful -effect in Waltraute's narrative, when she tells of Wotan's sadness. - -In "Siegfried" we meet with a score which contains a great amount -of freely composed music. There is so much that is external and -incidental in this work that the constant employment of guiding -themes was unnecessary. The result is that we enter an atmosphere of -buoyant, jubilant out-door life, full of the vigour and sweetness of -spring and young manhood. The whole of the scene of the forging of -the sword is sung in music aglow with the flame of the forge, alive -with the rhythm of the bellows and the hammer. The forest scene -gives us the bird music and the "Waldweben," freely written, the -latter a mood picture, using only the Volsung theme as a reminder. -Wotan's splendid summons to Erda is free music, and in the matchless -scene of the awakening we hear much that is new and belongs only to -"Siegfried." - -The first of the important new themes is that intoned by the young -hero's horn. It is the theme of Siegfried, the buoyant, fearless, -militant youth: - -[Music: SIEGFRIED, THE YOUTH.] - -Out of this theme and that of the Sword, the melodies and rhythms -being combined perfectly, is made the brilliant motive of Siegfried, -the hero who welds and wields the sword: - -[Music: SIEGFRIED, THE SWORD WIELDER.] - -This is heard often in the early part of the work. Wotan, disguised -as a wanderer, is indicated by a theme without tonality, which, -therefore, belongs to the same class as the Tarnhelm and Departing -Divinity motives: - -[Music: WOTAN, THE WANDERER.] - -In the second act, while Siegfried is alone in the forest, is heard -this beautiful and significant theme: - -[Music: YEARNING FOR LOVE.] - -After this, till the first scene of the third act, the listener will -not hear any motive of high import. All is either free music or the -employment of themes whose significance has been previously made -known. But in the opening of the last act appears the splendid melody -of the Heritage of the World, which is used to embody the readiness -of Wotan to resign himself to his approaching fate and to hand over -his kingdom to the new race: - -[Music: THE WORLD'S HERITAGE.] - -Wonderful, too, are the strains which accompany the arrival of -Siegfried at the top of the Valkyr's mountain, but most wonderful is -the music of Brünnhilde's Awakening: - -[Music: BRÜNNHILDE'S AWAKENING.] - -This is only a fragment of it, but it contains the pregnant phrase of -marvellous beauty which returns with such agonising eloquence in the -final speeches of the dying Siegfried in "Götterdämmerung." When the -Valkyr maid is awake and has recognised Siegfried, their voices unite -in the passionate measure of a duet, founded on the motive of Love's -Greeting: - -[Music: LOVE'S GREETING.] - -In "Götterdämmerung," when Siegfried raises the drink of -forgetfulness to his lips, he drinks to the memory of Brünnhilde -and intones the words to this very theme. That is one of Wagner's -most poignant strokes of musical pathos. The drama of "Siegfried" -comes to its end with a sweep of overmastering passion. The themes -are peculiar to this work, but most of them are heard in the lovely -"Siegfried Idyl," so often played in concert. - -"Götterdämmerung" opens with a repetition of known themes in the Norn -scene. In the second scene we meet with two new ideas, the themes of -Brünnhilde, the woman, and Siegfried, the mature hero: - -[Music: BRÜNNHILDE, THE WOMAN.] - -[Music: SIEGFRIED, THE MAN.] - -The first of these expresses very beautifully the loving, clinging -nature of the transformed Valkyr. The second is a thematic -development of the motive of Siegfried, the youth. The change is -chiefly one of rhythm. Siegfried, the youth, is depicted musically -in six-eighth measure, a rhythm buoyant and piquant. For Siegfried, -the mature hero, the melodic sequence is preserved, but the -rhythm is changed to a dual one. The change is one founded on the -nature of music, for the dual rhythm is firm, square, and solid. -The injection of minor harmony at the end is heard in the first -announcement of this theme and serves to indicate approaching sorrow. -This motive rises to its grandest development in the funeral march -after Siegfried's death, when the orchestra passes in review, in a -composition of wonderful beauty and power, the themes most closely -associated with him. This theme forms the climax of the march and is -pealed forth by the brass in this form: - -[Music] - -Two other new themes heard in "Götterdämmerung" are worthy of note. -They are that of Gutrune and that of Brünnhilde's Despair, the former -appearing in the third scene of the first act and the latter in the -second act: - -[Music] - -[Music: BRÜNNHILDE'S DESPAIR.] - -There are also themes for Gunther, the Gibichung (already quoted), -and for Hagen. But "Götterdämmerung" is most wonderful, musically, -for the manner in which the themes of the earlier dramas are repeated -in it. The expressiveness of the system is nowhere more forcibly -illustrated than in the hero's narrative of his youthful days, when -the most significant themes of "Siegfried" pass before us, bringing -the whole story back in all its vitality. And in the death of the -hero and the wonderful apostrophe of Brünnhilde again we find that -the recapitulation or development of familiar themes knits for us -the substance of the long tragedy into a perfect texture of poetry. -And with the use of the many-voiced orchestra Wagner weaves these -motives into a glittering web of counterpoint, which cannot be copied -even faintly by the piano arrangement. Several motives are sometimes -heard at once, and by the aid of the device of instrumental colouring -their expressiveness is greatly heightened. - -Thus the orchestra becomes an actor in the drama, continually -commenting on the passing action, revealing to us the hidden -well-springs of emotion, explaining thoughts to us and flooding -the whole drama with the light of its eloquence. Not by the mere -cataloguing then of these themes are we to arrive at a full -understanding of the composer's intent, but by a careful study of -their repetitions and developments. The knowledge thus gained will -add immeasurably to the intellectual pleasure of the hearer; but, as -I have already said, Wagner's music makes the right mood pictures -even for him who does not know the guiding themes. And that is one of -the most satisfying proofs of his greatness. - - - - -PARSIFAL - -A Sacred Stage Festival Play in Three Acts. - - -First Performed at Bayreuth, July 26, 1882. - -_Original Cast._ - - Parsifal Winkelmann. - Amfortas Reichmann. - Titurel Kindermann. - Klingsor Hill. - Gurnemanz Scaria. - Kundry Materna. - -The copyright of this work is still held by the Wagner family, and -hence the drama has not yet been performed outside of the Festival -Playhouse at Bayreuth. - - -PARSIFAL - -I.--The Original Legends - -The last of the great music dramas of Richard Wagner began to -occupy his mind as early as 1857. Professor William Tappert says: -"Wagner told me (in 1877) that in the fifties, when in Zurich, he -took possession of a charming new house, and that, inspired by the -beautiful spring weather, he wrote out the sketch that very day of -the Good Friday music." A letter to the tenor Tichatschek defines -the year as 1857. The poem was completed in 1877, and on May 17 -of that year was read to an assembly of Wagner's friends at the -house of Mr. Edward Dannreuther, in Orme Square, London. It was -read to the delegates of the Wagner Societies at Villa Wahnfried, -Bayreuth, on Sept. 16, and was published in December. Wagner was in -his sixty-fifth year when he set to work to write out the music. -The sketch of the first act was finished in the spring of 1878. -The second act was completed on Oct. 11, and the sketch of the -third, begun after Christmas, was finished in April, 1879. The -instrumentation was begun almost immediately afterwards, and was -completed at Palermo, Jan. 13, 1882. - -As we have already seen, it was while gathering the materials for -"Tannhäuser" and "Lohengrin" that the character and writings of -Wolfram von Eschenbach became known to Wagner. His famous epic, -"Parzival," is the immediate source of Wagner's drama, but the origin -of such a remarkable art-product cannot be dismissed with this simple -statement. Wagner's drama opens to us the entire field of Arthurian -romance and the whole circle of legends of the Holy Grail. These old -tales have played so important a part in the literature of our own -time, as well as in that of the Middle Ages, that it seems fitting -and proper that we should seize this opportunity for a glance over -the whole ground. Wagner, as we shall find, has in this work, as in -his others, taken hints from all the sources, and has introduced -special and highly significant ideas of his own. - -Wolfram's history I must recount but briefly, for little is known -of his life. We learn from his name that he was probably born -(about 1170) at Eschenbach in Bavaria, and it is certain that he -was buried there; for toward the end of the seventeenth century his -tomb, with an inscription, could be seen in the Frauen-Kirche of -Ober-Eschenbach. He tells us that he was of the knightly order and -with some humour refers often to his poverty. It does not appear, -however, that he was obliged to roam about, reciting his verse for -a living. He was extremely proud of his knighthood, and his entire -poem breathes the spirit of chivalry. It was probably written--or -dictated, for Wolfram was ignorant of writing--in the early years of -the thirteenth century, and it was published in 1477. - -According to Wolfram, the source of his work was a story of the Holy -Grail by one Kiot of Provence. No such poem is now known. According -to Wolfram, Kiot found at Toledo an ancient black-letter manuscript -in Arabic, and learned from it that Flagetanis, a heathen, born -before Christ and celebrated for his acquaintance with occult arts, -had read in the stars that there would at some time appear a thing -called the Grail, and that whosoever should be its servitor would be -blest among men. Kiot set out to ascertain whether anyone had ever -been worthy of this service, and, as the house of Anjou was then -in power, he had no difficulty in discovering that one Titurel, a -very ancient king of this dynasty, had once been the keeper of the -Grail. Of course this story was invented by Kiot to do honour to -his sovereign liege. Wolfram declares that Kiot related the tale -incorrectly, and at any rate his version, so far as reported by -Wolfram, contains nothing about Parsifal. And this brings us to an -important point. - -How far back the legends of the Grail go, is unknown. No matter -how far we trace them, we always find references to a source. But -it seems almost certain that in their earliest forms they had no -relation to the tale of Perceval, or Peredur, the Parsifal of later -versions. The story as it is now known to us is a union of two -originally separate legends. There is good ground, according to -all the folk-lorists, for believing that in its original form the -Celtic, or, more exactly, Kymric, legend of Peredur was independent -of the Grail stories. The latter appeared between 1170 and 1220, -and constituted a large body of literature, dealing with a talisman -not at first distinctly Christian. For half a century poets sang -this legend enthusiastically and then suddenly dropped it. A few -scattered and worthless Grail romances date from a later period, -and, with Mallory's "Morte d'Arthur," written 300 years later,--a -noble fragment, indeed,--they came to an end. Mr. David Nutt, in his -"Studies on the Legends of the Holy Grail," holds, with apparently -excellent reason, that the Grail was originally a Pagan talisman, -and that a history of the legend is the history of the development -of this talisman into a Christian symbol. He further shows that the -legends may be divided into two classes, one dealing entirely with -the talisman itself, and being largely influenced by Christian ideas, -and the other treating of the quest of the Grail. Somewhere or other -in the stories of the adventures of Peredur was found a resemblance -to some legend of the search after the Grail, and thus the Kymric -folk-hero became the protagonist of the Grail-drama. - -The Arthurian legends are British; the Grail stories are French. Let -us see how they came together. Undoubtedly the former went first from -France to England, and the latter followed them. To understand this -we must bear in mind that France was ancient Gaul, and that a large -part of the ancient population was Celtic. The Celts fairly filled -all that part of France extending from the Garonne River to the Seine -and the Marne. In this land dwelt the Celtae proper, but their speech -and their influence spread beyond its confines. For these Celts in -France were but a surviving and compressed fragment of the great -vanguard of the Aryan race, which, issuing from its forest cradle in -Asia Minor, and carrying in its bosom the nursling star of empire, -swept westward toward the Atlantic. It peopled most of Europe and -the isles of the sea, and it planted among the sunny fields of the -Midi and the verdant vales of Britain the seeds of the Arthurian -legends, the Nibelung tales, the Norse Sagas, all garnered first from -some great parent stem of folk-lore in the Eastern jungles. How it -chanced that the Arthurian tales blossomed into full fancy in England -first no one knows, but it is equally inexplicable how the Grail -legends were first developed in France. For the Grail was originally -a vessel in which was offered a draught of wisdom or youth, and its -transformation into a sacred cup dates from a period considerably -later than the time of Christ. - -In Gaelic chants descended from remote times we read of a vase or -basin which conferred upon its possessor superhuman power. This -basin was always placed by the legends in the hands of some famous -warrior by a giant or a dwarf, or both, emerging from the waters. -The possession of the vase caused him to be envied, and so arose -many fierce combats. Not unlike the hoard of the Nibelungs was this -famous basin. It is not difficult to see how, as Christianity spread, -the wondrous powers of the vessel were attributed to its connection -with the Saviour. Wolfram von Eschenbach does not agree with older -writers as to the origin of the Grail. He accepted the version of the -mediæval poem called the "Wartburgkrieg." - -According to this, sixty thousand angels, who wished to drive God -out of Heaven, made a crown for Lucifer. When the archangel Michael -struck it from his head a stone fell to the earth, and this became -the Grail. In the latest mediæval French version the Grail was the -cup in which was received the sacred blood from the wounds of the -dying Saviour. Indeed, the etymology of the word itself has been a -subject of inquiry and dispute. In the Middle Ages it was thought -that the name "san-gral" was a corruption of the words "sang real," -"blood royal," referring to the office of the cup. Dr. Gustave Oppert -has written a long and ingenious argument to prove that "coral" -was derived from "cor-alere," and this theory consists well with -Wolfram's story of the origin of the Grail as a precious stone. The -word, however, is most rationally derived from the Provençal word -"grial," a vessel. This derivation accords best with the finest of -the early versions of the story, that written by the remarkable -French poet, Chrétien de Troyes; and the word "grial" in its several -forms is still used in Provence to signify a vessel. - -Efforts have been made by tracing the derivation of "Perceval" -to show that he was connected with the earliest forms of the -Grail legends. One writer derives the name from "perchen," a root -signifying possession, and "mail," a cup. The latter word by -inflection becomes "vail," and we get as a result "Perchen-vail" or -"Perchenval,"--whence Perceval,--a cup-holder or Grail-keeper. This -derivation is of little value in face of the undeniable fact that in -the Mabinogi version of the Peredur story he is not the holder of the -Grail. Indeed, the Grail itself appears here only in one of its early -forms, that of a charger on which lay a bleeding head. This head was -afterward decided to be that of John the Baptist. Peredur becomes a -searcher after this, and that is the foundation of his connection -with later forms of the legend. - -We may now review briefly the manner in which the Grail entered the -Arthurian romances, and then take a glance at the principal versions -which were of value to Wagner. In 1154, died Geoffrey of Monmouth, -a learned Welsh monk, who is celebrated for his work entitled "The -History of the Britons." In this we find set forth in full for the -first time the account of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round -Table. Fact and fiction were, of course, curiously mingled in this -work, and historical personages were accredited with some of the -deeds narrated in the ancient legends. But here, at any rate, we find -the Arthurian cycle in its earliest recorded form. The old Welsh -collection of romances known as the Mabinogi, which is sometimes said -to be the oldest version of these tales, shows too many evidences of -influence from the Grail stories. It must be of a later date than -the work of Geoffrey, and certainly much later than the fundamental -utterance of the Perceval legend. - -In the year in which Geoffrey died, Henry II. of Anjou ascended -the throne, uniting under his sceptre the sovereignty of England, -Normandy, Anjou, and a great part of Southern France. In this reign -flourished Walter Map, or Mapes, the great son of Hertfordshire, -who, under Richard I., in 1197, became Archdeacon of Oxford. His -chief work seems to have been the introduction of the Holy Grail -into the legendary romances. He systematised the Arthurian tales by -spiritualising them and making them essentially Christian. This he -accomplished largely by the employment of the Grail, an element which -he undoubtedly obtained from French sources through the unification -of the kingdoms under Henry. Map created Sir Galahad, the stainless -knight, and it is regarded as probable that he wrote the Latin -original of the "Romance of the Saint Grail." It is accepted as -certain that he wrote the original of "Lancelot of the Lake," "The -Quest of the Grail," and the "Mort Artus." - -German scholars accept as the next version of the story the Provençal -poem, written by Robert Borron, a trouvère, born near Meaux. Borron's -labours consisted in introducing into the Breton Epic, as it is -called,--namely, the French version of the Arthurian tales,--the -active workings of the Holy Grail. His labour seems to have been -precisely the same as that of Geoffrey, and he has even been credited -with liberally helping himself to the Latin works of the British -writer. In his "Joseph of Arimathea" he makes the Grail the vessel -in which Joseph received the blood of Christ on the cross. This -vessel was none other than the cup used at the Last Supper, and had -been given to Joseph by our Lord himself. French savants have pretty -thoroughly proved that Borron's work was not written about 1170 or -1180, as the Germans believe, but something like forty-five years -later. It gives, in fact, one of the latest French versions of the -Grail legend and is valuable for that reason. Gaston Paris, a high -authority on French mediæval literature, has taken the ground that -this version belongs to the thirteenth century, and his views have -been supported by other French investigators. The French version -which lies nearest to the works of Geoffrey is that of Chrétien de -Troyes, who died about 1195. - -Little is known of the life of Chrétien, except that he was a native -of Champagne and spent most of his time in Courts. About 1160 he -wrote his lost "Tristan," which he followed with "Erec," a Breton -legend. Then he wrote his "Cligés," on an Oriental legend dealing -with the abduction of a wife of Solomon (with her own assistance). -About 1170 he wrote his "Lancelot of the Lake," and soon afterward -"Ivain; or, The Chevalier of the Lion." About 1175 he wrote "Perceval -the Gaul; or, The Story of the Grail." This he tells us he adapted -from a book lent to him by Philip of Alsace, who, in 1172, fought in -England against Henry II. It seems altogether probable that this book -was either Geoffrey's, or one utilising its materials. - -According to Chrétien, Perceval is the son of a widow, Kamuellés, -whose husband has been slain in a tournament and who therefore -is desirous that her son shall never hear of the allurements of -knighthood. She retires with him to a forest and seeks to bring him -up in ignorance of all the customs of chivalry. But one day in the -depths of the wood Perceval sees five knights, and from them learns -what knighthood and the Round Table are. He returns to his mother -and tells her what he has learned. Now he will not rest till he may -be a knight. The poor mother, knowing that it is useless to oppose -him, tells him how to be knightly and sends him forth on his travels. -Utterly ignorant, almost foolishly simple in mind, the youth makes -many errors, and at the Court of Arthur is ridiculed by the knights. -But he engages in combat with one and slays him with a single blow. -Equipped with this knight's arms, he sets out again. - -He falls in with an aged and wise man, named Gonemans de Gelbert, -who for nearly a year instructs him in the use of arms and in other -matters. Then Perceval, whose foolish mind is gradually becoming -enlightened, begins to feel the emotion of pity for his mother, -and he goes forth once more, hoping that he may see her again. -His wanderings and adventures are numerous and not especially -significant. He fights with the King of Deadly Castle. He meets and -consoles Gonemans's niece, the beautiful Blanchefleur, who tells -him of her many sorrows and bids him rescue the knights and ladies -imprisoned in Gringaron. He does her bidding. He is constantly riding -on knightly errands, and his nature is expanding and his wisdom -deepening. - -At length he comes to the Court of a king who is suffering from an -incurable wound. While seated at the bedside of this king, he sees -for the first time the Grail and a bleeding spear, but gazes upon -them in silent wonder, not asking their meaning. The next morning he -is ready to ask, but to his amazement he finds the castle deserted. -He departs, but as he crosses the drawbridge it is raised, and his -horse has to leap. He turns and asks who raised the bridge, what the -Grail is, and why the spear bleeds, but no one answers. After he has -travelled some distance he meets a maiden, his cousin, who tells him -of the death of his mother, and of his error in not asking about the -things he had seen. Now Perceval falls in love, with whom we are not -told, and his nature becomes tender and affectionate. - -He returns to Arthur's Court, where he is visited by a strange wild -woman. She tells him that if he had asked the needed question about -the Grail, the sick king would have been healed. She also tells him -of knights and ladies imprisoned in Castle Orguellous. Perceval and -other knights swear to release them, and Perceval vows that he will -never rest till he knows what the Grail is, and finds the bleeding -lance. He goes to seek a certain wise hermit, who gives him much -advice about seeking for the Grail and the spear. A little further on -the story comes to an end unfinished. The tale of Perceval's finding -of the Grail was told by others, or it may be that Chrétien completed -his work and the latter part was lost. Chrétien's successors, -however, provided the conclusion of the story, no doubt adding many -unessential details, but preserving the vital point of the original. - -For example, according to Borron, Bron, the brother-in-law of Joseph, -received the Grail into his care and became the head of the line -of Grail-warders. Bron remained on the Continent, but his son Alan -settled in Britain, and was the father of Perceval. This youth was to -see the Grail, but only after many trials. He made two journeys. On -the first he saw the sacred relics, but asked no question. The second -time he did ask, and learned the mysteries of the Grail, of which he -became the keeper. Other writers, who followed Chrétien, narrated how -Perceval found the castle of the sick king again, and asked the vital -question, thus restoring the sufferer. Out of these materials Wolfram -von Eschenbach made his version of the story, the completest and most -beautiful that has come down to us, and the direct basis of Wagner's -work. - -Wolfram's first two books are introductory to the story of his -hero.[46] In the first, however, it may be noted that he devotes -some space to the praise of true womanhood as contrasted with -merely external beauty. This reminds us of the position taken by -Wagner's Wolfram in "Tannhäuser." The main portion of the first two -books is taken up with the adventures of Parzifal's father, here -called Gamuret. This knight is not slain in a tournament, but is -killed through treachery while serving in the army of the Caliph of -Bagdad. The widow, Herzeleide, tries to bring up the son, Parzifal, -in ignorance of everything pertaining to chivalry, but one day he -sees three knights and is entranced. The story now follows closely -that of Chrétien, and is filled with interesting details well worth -reading, indeed, but not germane to the subject-matter of Wagner's -drama. It is well to bear in mind, however, that in this version, as -in Chrétien's, Parzifal is so simple-minded and so ignorant as to be -fitly described as a "guileless fool." His mother in Wolfram's tale -dresses him in fool's clothes, and in these he appears at Arthur's -Court and asks to be made a knight. His immediately subsequent -adventures are the same in all the legends. He slays a knight, -obtains his armour and equipments, and reaches the castle of an -old knight named Gurnemanz, the Gonemans of Chrétien. From him he -receives much instruction, being particularly warned against asking -too many questions. - -[Footnote 46: See "Parzifal," translated by Jessie L. Weston, London, -David Nutt, 1894; Book V., "Anfortas."] - -Setting out again, Parzifal arrives at a city which is besieged. He -aids the besieged people, and when they have won their victory, he -marries their Queen, the beautiful Conduiramour. After a time he -leaves her to seek his mother, of whose death he is ignorant, and -to find new adventures. He comes to the bank of a lake where some -men are fishing, and asks for shelter for the night. He is taken to -a magnificent castle, and shown into a great hall where there are -four hundred knights. The master of the castle invites Parzifal to -recline beside him on a couch. A squire enters, bearing a bleeding -lance, whereupon all burst into loud wailings. Then a steel door -opens and there enters a procession of twenty-four beautiful women, -splendidly attired, bearing various articles seemingly of import -and value. Finally appears "our lady and queen," Repanse de Schoie, -bearer of the Holy Grail, for which exalted office we learn she has -been designated by the Grail itself. The Grail is placed on a table -before Parzifal and the master of the castle, Anfortas, whose face -shows that he suffers intense pain, both bodily and spiritual. There -is a feast, for which the food is provided by the power of the Grail. -Anfortas presents to Parzifal a magnificent sword, his own. Through -all the guileless fool, remembering that Gurnemanz had told him not -to be too "swift to question," asks nothing, but thinks that if he -stays there long enough he will learn without asking. Whereupon -Wolfram moralises: - - "But he who his story aimeth at the ear of a fool shall find - His shaft go astray, for no dwelling it findeth within his mind." - -Parzifal retires to his sleeping apartment, but in the morning he -finds no attendants, and the castle is apparently empty. He mounts -his horse and departs, but as he goes a squire scolds him for not -asking a question, on which depended the recovery of the afflicted -Anfortas and his own happiness. Still confused in mind, Parzifal -rides away. Again his adventures have no relation to the Wagnerian -drama, though they are extremely interesting. Some of the incidents -in this part of the story rise to high beauty. One of these is the -effect of a bird's blood on the snow, which so forcibly reminds -Parzifal of the red lips and fair brow of his wife that he is -overcome. Finally, however, he returns to the Court of Arthur, and -while a feast is in progress there appears a woman of dreadful -appearance, called Kondrie the Sorceress. She fiercely denounces -Parzifal for not asking the essential question at Monsalvasch, the -castle of the Grail. Parzifal renounces the Round Table, believes -himself unworthy, despairs of mercy in the hereafter, and declares -that his wife's love is henceforth his only shield. - -Parzifal is now for some time relegated to the background of the -story, which occupies itself with the adventures of Gawain, another -of the Knights of the Round Table. Finally, we learn how Parzifal -meets with an aged knight and his wife, walking barefoot through -deep snow, on a pilgrimage to the dwelling of an holy hermit. They -reproach Parzifal for not remembering the season. The words of -Wolfram's poem here are nearly the same as those of Chrétien, which -are these: - - "Knowest thou not the day, sweet youth? - 'T is holy Friday, in good sooth, - When all bewail their guilt." - -Parzifal arrives at the cell of the hermit, whose name is Trevrezent. -The hermit tells Parzifal the story of the Grail and the bleeding -spear. Anfortas had yielded to the temptation of lust, and as a -punishment he had received in combat a wound from a poisoned lance, -and this wound would not heal, while the sight of the Holy Grail kept -him from dying. A prophecy finally appeared on the Grail itself, -announcing that if a knight came and asked of his own accord the -cause of the King's sufferings, they should end, and the inquiring -knight should become the Grail king. Parzifal confesses that he once -went to the castle, but did not ask the question. Trevrezent now -gives him further instruction, absolves him of his sins, and sends -him on his way. - -We now read of many struggles between the Knights of the Round Table, -as representatives of Christianity, and the agents of the evil one. -Gawain frees the maidens imprisoned by the magician Klingsor in -Chateau Merveil. But Gawain goes no further than this. Parzifal, -being the more pious of the two, is permitted after many adventures, -including a fight with Gawain, whom he does not recognise, to ride -to Monsalvasch, ask the cause of the King's suffering, free him from -his agony, and receive the crown. Now his wife arrives with his two -sons, one of whom is Lohengrin, and destined to succeed his father as -the keeper of the Grail. The story of Lohengrin and Elsa is told, and -there are other details, which, fascinating in themselves, have no -bearing on the materials used by Wagner. - - -II.--The Drama of Wagner - -Let us now briefly review the story of the drama. According to -Wagner, the castle of Monsalvat, as he calls it, stands upon a -mountain just above the valley in which is situated the castle of -the magician, Klingsor. Monsalvat is the temple of the Holy Grail -and the dwelling of its knights. Klingsor's castle is the abode of -temptation. The magician represents the powers of evil. He rages -against the servants of the Grail, because he for his sinfulness -has been refused admission to their number. Therefore he spends his -life in trying to corrupt them and for this purpose he has a garden -of wonders, the chief of which is a company of fascinating women. -Amfortas, the keeper of the Grail, once succumbed to the allurements -of one of these, whereby he lost the sacred lance and was wounded by -it. This lance is that which was thrust into the side of the Saviour -on the cross and was placed in the keeping of the knights of the -Grail. The touch of the spear which gave the wound alone can heal it. -But the spear is in the hands of Klingsor. - -All this we learn from the conversation of Gurnemanz and several -esquires in the first scene. Kundry, the strangest and most potent -character of the drama, sometimes the repentant servant of the -Grail, at others the unwilling and agonised slave of Klingsor, -appears with balsam for the King, but it can give him only temporary -relief. Gurnemanz tells us that the King will be healed through the -instrumentality of a sinless fool, enlightened by pity. This person -presently appears in the character of Parsifal. He shoots a wild swan -and when he rejoices in the accuracy of his aim Gurnemanz reproaches -him. The aged knight asks him whence he came, who is his father, who -is his mother, and what is his name, but to all of these questions -he can only reply, "I do not know." Gurnemanz, astonished at his -ignorance, questions him further, and finds that he remembers his -mother and her goodness. He tells how he saw the knights in armour, -and followed in the hope of becoming like them. Kundry, who is an -interested listener to the conversation, contributes some items of -information, and finally informs Parsifal that his mother is dead. He -flies into a rage, and attacks Kundry, but is withheld by Gurnemanz. -And now Kundry is suddenly overwhelmed by a mysterious sleep. This is -the result of a spell which has been cast upon her by the magician -Klingsor. When she is herself, she struggles always for good; but -when Klingsor's power is operating, she becomes the most seductive of -his agents. This is one of Wagner's most striking ideas. It is his -own, for although in a way Kundry is a composite of characters found -in the old epics, she is, in Wagner's drama, a new creation. But of -that I shall speak further. - -Gurnemanz surmises that Parsifal may be the pure fool destined to -save Amfortas, and therefore escorts him to the castle of Monsalvat. -There he sees the ceremony of the unveiling of the Grail. Amfortas, -dreading the ordeal, prays most pitifully for release from his -sufferings, but the voice of his father Titurel, too weak to sustain -the duties of Grail-warder and living a kind of life in death, bids -him face his duty. Amfortas unveils the Grail, and the ceremony of -the Lord's Supper is performed. Gurnemanz invites Parsifal to partake -of it, but he stands dumbfounded and silent. The Grail is borne away -again, and when the knights have disappeared, Gurnemanz pushes the -still stupefied Parsifal out of the hall, saying: - - "Letting in future the swans alone, - Go seek thee, thou gander, a goose." - -The rising of the curtain on the second act reveals to us the chamber -of Klingsor in a tower of his castle. He is there awaiting the -arrival of Parsifal, who he knows has been cast out of Monsalvat and -is approaching his domain. He summons Kundry, calling her she-devil, -rose of hell, and Herodias, the daughter of Herod. She arises in a -cloud of vapour, apparently in the sleep into which we saw her sink -in the first act. Klingsor orders her to tempt the pure fool, whose -very foolishness makes him dangerous to the powers of evil. Kundry -struggles in vain. Her will is mastered by Klingsor, for she is not -pure. The scene changes to the magic garden. Parsifal is standing -upon the wall lost in amazement. Beautiful maidens, half clad, -changing presently to something almost like flowers, allure him with -blandishments of the most seductive kind. These are the servants -of Klingsor and they do his bidding. But the pure fool does not -understand them. Presently from a thicket comes the voice of Kundry, -calling, "Parsifal." - -It is the first time the name has been uttered, and he remembers it -as in a dream. He now sees Kundry, who has changed from the wild, -dishevelled, weeping creature of the first scene to a young woman of -surpassing beauty. She tells Parsifal the story of his origin, of -his mother's woes and death, and, when his heart is touched, bids -him learn the mystery of love. She presses her lips upon his in a -long kiss. The result is startling; Parsifal springs up in terror and -appears to suffer suddenly intense pain. Then he cries: "Amfortas! -The wound, the wound!" He has received the needed enlightenment, -through the pity for his mother. His own breast is now torn with the -anguish of Amfortas, and with the terrible self-accusation of his -own failure to save the sufferer. He realises that the seductions -aimed at him are those to which Amfortas succumbed, and he bids the -accursed sorceress begone. In her rage she discloses to Parsifal -that it was Klingsor who wounded Amfortas with the sacred spear. -The magician comes to aid Kundry in her struggle with Parsifal. The -flower maidens also return. Klingsor, enraged, hurls the spear at -Parsifal to slay him, but the sacred weapon remains suspended above -his head. He grasps it, and, making with it the sign of the cross, -bids the castle disappear. At once the whole is wrecked, and, as the -curtain falls, Parsifal, standing on the ruined wall, tells Kundry -that she knows where she may find him again. - -The third act shows us Gurnemanz, now very old, living as a hermit -in a little hut at the edge of a forest. It is Good Friday, and the -loveliness of spring is in the land. To Gurnemanz comes Kundry, -clothed in the garb of a penitent, and without her early wildness of -mien. She begs leave to serve, and goes about it at once. Parsifal, -clad in black armour with closed helmet visor, and bearing the holy -spear, approaches. He plants the spear in the earth, takes off his -helmet, kneels, and prays before the lance. Gurnemanz, amazed, -recognises him. Parsifal expresses his gratitude at finding the -aged man once more, and we learn from his speech that he has passed -through many experiences since he left the garden of Klingsor. Now -he has only one thought, to return to the castle of the Grail and -release Amfortas from his sufferings. Gurnemanz tells him that -Titurel has died and Amfortas has refused longer to perform his -office as Grail-warder. No more is the sacred vessel revealed, for -thus Amfortas hopes to win release by death. Parsifal is deeply -moved by the consciousness that he might have prevented all this. -He almost faints, and Kundry eagerly brings water to revive him. -She bathes his feet, and at his request Gurnemanz baptises him. -Kundry produces a phial of ointment and anoints his feet. Again at -his request, Gurnemanz anoints his head. Then Parsifal, with water -from the spring, baptises Kundry, bidding her trust in the Redeemer. -Kundry weeps. Parsifal is clad in the mantle of a knight of the -Grail, and with Gurnemanz and Kundry he goes to the great hall at -Monsalvat. The body of Titurel is borne in, followed by Amfortas on -his litter. The knights conjure him once more to reveal the Grail, -but he, in desperate agony, discloses his terrible, unhealing wound, -and beseeches the knights to bury their swords in it. - -At this moment Parsifal, accompanied by Gurnemanz and Kundry, -advances. Parsifal says solemnly that but one weapon will suffice, -the spear which made the wound. With it he touches Amfortas's side, -and the wound is healed. Parsifal declares the identity of the spear -and holds it aloft, while all gaze upon it in rapture. Parsifal -commands the pages to uncover the Grail, which he takes out and -swings gently before the kneeling knights. Kundry sinks expiring to -the floor. Gurnemanz and Amfortas kneel in homage to Parsifal, while -from the dome above voices are heard singing, "O heavenly mercy's -marvel, redemption to the redeemer!" - -No other drama of Wagner shows wider departures from the original -material or more condensation of it than this, the last of his -works. Here, as in other dramas, he has not rested upon any one -foundation, but, using the story of Wolfram as his chief guide, he -has selected from other versions of the Grail legend such ideas -as were in harmony with his own poetic purpose. Thus he discards -Wolfram's conception of the Grail as a stone from the crown of -Lucifer and goes back to the Provençal idea of it as the vessel -in which Joseph of Arimathea, the rich man who bought the body of -Christ from Pilate, received the precious blood from the wounds. From -Wolfram he took the idea that the knights who dwell in Monsalvat, and -who went forth to aid the needy in distress (as in "Lohengrin"), were -fed and strengthened by the Grail itself. The significance of the -bleeding spear he obtained from Chrétien de Troyes. Wolfram, it will -be remembered, made it simply a poisoned lance, with which an unknown -pagan, in the strife for the Grail, had wounded Amfortas. Chrétien -described it as the spear with which Longinus had pierced the side of -the crucified Saviour. This idea could not fail to attract Wagner, -for it gave him an opportunity to strengthen the ethical basis of his -drama. Amfortas, yielding to the seductions of Kundry, the temptress, -becomes the prey of the powers of evil, represented by Klingsor, is -robbed of the sacred lance, and wounded with it. Such a wound is more -than physical; it is a mortal hurt of the soul. The cure comes only -through the touch of the spear itself in the hands of one who is -pure. The wounded King exists in all the versions of the legend, and -is always to be made whole by the expected knight, who is to ask the -essential question. - -But in Wagner's version the question is not asked. It has no -dramatic value. As Wolzogen has well noted, for an audience a visible -and symbolic act is far more effective; and so, instead of hearing -Parsifal say, as in Wolfram's epic, "What ails thee, uncle?" we -see him touch the wound with the spear and bid Amfortas "be whole, -forgiven, and absolved." By this simple change of the original -story the conclusion of the drama is infinitely improved. But the -alteration goes farther than that, for it touches the character of -Parsifal. He is, in Wagner's book, the same guileless fool as he -is in the original legends, but his enlightenment comes to him in -another way. Wagner has subjected his hero to the temptation which in -Wolfram's story is undergone by Gawain. - -The psychologic plan of the garden scene is subtle, but not at all -difficult of comprehension. Parsifal has known but one love; he -remembers but one tenderness. The sorest spot in his conscience -is that where dwells the memory of the dear mother whom he left. -Kundry, acting as the agent of the evil powers, seeks to touch that -spot. She awakens in her intended victim the divine spark of pity, -akin to love, and then she strives to lead him onward to love itself -by the imprint of a passionate kiss. But the influence of pity has -enlightened the inexperienced heart of the guileless fool, and the -kiss which would draw his soul from him serves but to reveal to -him the nature of the sin for which Amfortas suffers. He cries out -with the anguish of the very wound itself, and bids the temptress -begone. This is a conception of unusual power, and for the purpose of -exposition through music it is most admirable, in that it centralises -the dramatic action entirely upon the play of emotion. Here we find -the Wagnerian theory of the music drama working in its fullest -freedom and completeness. Parsifal needs no question. He never -hears of one. His awakened soul has already given him the necessary -information, and when, after long and weary wanderings, he once more -finds the domain of the Grail he is ready to heal the sufferer by the -only means capable of performing that merciful act. - -Kundry is entirely Wagner's creation. In Wolfram's story Condrie is -the messenger who upbraids Parsifal for not healing the sick King, -and Orgeluse is the beautiful woman who tempts Gawain. Wagner has -united the two, but has created a personality of his own. According -to one of the legends, Kundry was Herodias, the daughter of Herod, -and had been cursed for having laughed at the head of John the -Baptist on a charger. Wagner makes her a woman who had laughed -at the suffering Christ and had been condemned by him to endless -laughter. Thenceforward she wanders through the world in search of -her redeemer. This wandering is common to heroines of the old German -legends, and shows us that Kundry had certain traits in common with -the Valkyrs of the Northern mythology. One of the names applied to -her by Klingsor, Gundryggia, we find also in the Eddas as that of a -Valkyr, and we further recognise the Valkyr nature in the union of -hostile and helpful traits which was characteristic of the Choosers -of the Slain. - -Wagner's Kundry seeks to expiate her sin by serving the Grail, -but the curse prevents her. Through it she becomes the slave of -the powers of evil, represented by Klingsor, and, when under the -spell, exercises her entire force in seducing the defenders of the -right. Not until one of the righteous resists her can the power of -the evil one be overthrown, and not till then can she be released -from the burden of her sin. In other words, through resisting her, -Parsifal becomes her redeemer, and it is thus natural and proper -that he should baptise her, and that in the scene of the baptism the -laughter-cursed woman should receive the blessing of tears. - -The relation of Kundry and Parsifal as temptress and tempted was one -which had long dwelt in Wagner's mind. When in 1852 he revived the -idea, conceived in 1849, of writing a drama on incidents in the life -of Jesus, he told Mrs. Wille, his Zurich friend, that he thought of -showing Christ as beloved by Mary Magdalene and resisting her. Again -in "The Victors," the Buddhistic drama, which he only sketched, we -find that Ananda, the hero, renounced love and was perfectly pure, -while Prakriti, the heroine, after loving him in vain, herself -renounced love and was received by him into the true faith. It -was with these plans still in his mind that Wagner developed the -suggestions of the original sources of his drama into the wonderful -scene of the temptation in "Parsifal," and their influence also was -potent in the composition of the character of Kundry. Mr. Kufferath, -in his interesting study of "Parsifal," says that Kundry was to -Wagner's mind simply another incarnation of the eternal woman, of -whom Mary and Prakriti were earlier embodiments. And, indeed, the -extraordinary capacity of Kundry's nature makes this theory more -than merely plausible. Another fact which adds to the value of Mr. -Kufferath's idea is that, according to one of the earlier German -legends, the real cause of the enmity of Herodias for John the -Baptist was his refusal of her love. When the head was presented to -her on a charger, she wished to kiss the dead lips, but from them -was breathed upon her a blast of breath so fierce that it sent her -wandering through the world as the unfortunate Francesca flew through -the Inferno forever. This stormy wandering was a peculiarity of the -Valkyrs, and thus with the union of so many elements in the history -and nature of Kundry, we come easily to a belief that Wagner intended -to make her one of the aspects of the "eternal feminine." Beautifully -he gives her rest when the same blessing is conferred upon the man -whose life she ruined. She has repented, but till her victim is freed -from the consequences of the joint sin, she, too, must suffer her -punishment. - -In the character of Parsifal himself certain traits are accentuated -by Wagner. These are the complete innocence and the compassionate -nature. With compassion Wagner had a deep sympathy. He was so tender -to dumb animals and to animate creatures in general that he felt -readily the essence of pity which plays so important a part in the -old legends. But the older Parsifals, when on their travels, were -warriors; they fought their way through life, felling ruthlessly all -who opposed them. Wagner's Parsifal is all tenderness and pity. Here, -again, we meet with the powerful influence on Wagner of Schopenhauer. -Enlightenment by pity is the ethical principle of Schopenhauer's -philosophy. Something, too, must be attributed to Wagner's interest -in religion. Liszt, an emotionalist in worship, inspired Wagner with -emotionalism in sacred matters, and we may infer that certain rapt -states of mind, not uncommon to thinkers of the hysteric sort, -worked in the formation of "Parsifal." - -For the rest there is little to say. Gurnemanz combines the persons -and acts of the Gurnemanz and Trevrezent of the epics. Klingsor -follows the outline provided by the earlier stories, but Wagner has -added one feature not found in them. This magician, with his soul -tainted with some unknown sin, was unable to slay the lust which -ever burned in his bosom, and in order that he might win the Grail -he mutilated himself. Here we come upon another resemblance between -this story and that of the Nibelung hoard. To win the gold Alberich -renounced love. We have already seen how the Grail resembles the -hoard, and this incident in the life of Klingsor, added by Wagner, -brings the two stories even closer together. - -In telling the story, Wagner has pushed to the front all the most -beautiful elements, and has accentuated the Christianity of the tale. -He has preached a sermon on the necessity of personal purity in the -service of God, on the beauty of renunciation of sensual delight, -on the depth of the curse of self-indulgence, and on the nature -of repentance. But let it not be supposed that the influence of -"Parsifal" rests wholly on the ethical truths contained in it. Its -real power is in Wagner's perception of the emotional force of the -action of certain ethical ideas upon human nature. By centralising -the action of his drama on these emotions, he has put before us a -tremendous play of the inner life of man's soul when struggling with -its most formidable problems, its own most irresistible passions. -"Parsifal" is a religious drama, but it is one for the same reason -that the "Prometheus" of Æschylus was. It is a problem play also, -and for the same reason as any modern French social drama is. Its -boldness lies in the fact that it readopts the stage as the medium -for the publication of tenets of religious belief and for the -exhibition of the naked soul besieged by lust and tried by the moral -law. That use was common in the time of the Greek tragedians. It is -an exemplification of Wagner's theory that the theatre ought to be an -artistic expression of the thoughts and the aspirations of a people. -Its moving power lies in its grasp on the secret life of every man -and woman who goes to witness its performance. - - -III.--The Musical Plan - -The musical plan of "Parsifal" is one of peculiar power and its -outward aspects are of great beauty. The first act is almost wholly -devoted to an exposition of the fundamental thoughts of the drama. We -are introduced to the realm of the Grail, the suffering of Amfortas, -the eagerness of Kundry to serve and her enslavement to the will -of Klingsor, to the "guileless fool" and his failure to ask the -question, and to the solemn ceremony of the Last Supper. The second -act is devoted to a presentation of the working of the evil element. -Klingsor through his flower-maidens strives to seduce the guileless -fool, who is saved largely by his own guilelessness. Here we have all -the most sensuous and freely composed music. The first act teems with -the fundamental and significant motives of the score. The second is -rich in luscious melody, spontaneous, dance-like in form and colour, -and asking of the hearer nothing but self-relaxation. The third act -again becomes solemn, but in its first scene the solemnity is charged -with the deep and quiet joy of Good Friday. With the return to the -castle of the Grail, the fundamental motives are once more brought -into action and the development of themes reaches its climax. - -The prelude to the drama sets forth some of the principal musical -ideas and attunes the mind to the key of the first act. It opens with -the solemn strains of the theme of the Last Supper. - -[Music: THE LAST SUPPER.] - -This theme becomes one of the principal elements of the score, being -utilised throughout the drama to signify the sacredness of the -association of the knights of the Grail. The second theme of the -prelude is that of the Grail itself, which is here presented to us in -a different musical aspect from that of the "Lohengrin" score. There -the Grail was celebrated as a potency by which the world was aided, -while here it is brought before us as the visible embodiment of a -faith, the memento of a crucified Saviour. The theme is, therefore, -one of much solemnity. - -[Music: THE GRAIL.] - -The Vorspiel next proclaims, in a manner which leaves us no doubt of -its purport, the triumphant motive of Belief: - -[Music: BELIEF.] - -These three ideas--the Last Supper, the Grail, and Belief--form the -materials of the prelude, and become of fundamental importance in -the score of the drama proper. They play their parts chiefly in the -first and third acts in putting the hearer in the proper mood for the -appreciation of the solemn ceremonials in the Grail castle and for a -full comprehension of the religious elements of the drama. For the -suffering of Amfortas, with which we are made acquainted in the first -scene, there is a musical symbol, which is utilised throughout the -score at the proper places: - -[Music: AMFORTAS'S SUFFERING.] - -A very beautiful answer to this is the music with which the promise -of the healing knight is introduced. It is sung by Gurnemanz, and -repeated by the young knights who are with him: - -[Music: THE PROMISE. - - Durch Mitleid wissend, - der reine Tor. - - By pity 'lightened - The guileless fool.] - -With Kundry we find associated three principal musical ideas. The -first of these is that which places before us the wildness of her -nature, the stormy flight, and the curse of laughter: - -[Music: THE WILD KUNDRY.] - -The second is a theme designed to represent the element of magic, as -exercised by Klingsor in the control of Kundry: - -[Music: SORCERY.] - -Lastly, we have one of those simple themes in thirds which always -seemed to mean sympathy or helpfulness to the mind of Wagner. It -first appears in the score when Gurnemanz asks Kundry whence she -brought the balsam: - -[Music: KUNDRY THE HELPFUL.] - -The personality of Klingsor himself is indicated by this theme: - -[Music: KLINGSOR.] - -Two themes are especially associated with Parsifal. The first is -that of his mother, Herzeleide. This theme has importance because of -Kundry's use of the history of the mother to touch the heart of the -son: - -[Music: HERZELEIDE.] - -The Parsifal theme, however, is used to designate directly the -personality of the guileless knight: - -[Music: PARSIFAL.] - -Let the reader compare this motive with that of Lohengrin (see -page 286), and note the close musical relationship. This is in -part an inversion of that, while the triple rhythm here used -robs the Parsifal theme of the militant brilliancy found in that -of the rescuing knight of the earlier drama. At the entrance of -Parsifal, who has just shot a swan, we hear again the Swan motive -from "Lohengrin" (see page 287). The interval between the first -and second scenes of the first act introduces a new theme of great -beauty. Gurnemanz leads Parsifal toward the castle of the Grail, and -a remarkable change of scene is effected by the use of a panorama. -During this change an instrumental passage is built up on the tones -of the castle bells, which, at first heard distantly, gradually swell -to a grand peal: - -[Music: THE BELLS.] - -As we come with the two to the hall of the Grail we hear the musical -representation of the cry or lament of the Saviour: - -[Music: THE LAMENT.] - -The love-feast scene, which follows, is made up of the principal -themes relating to the Grail and the faith of the knights, which are -developed in choruses of wonderful beauty. The opening of the second -act brings the motives of Klingsor, sorcery, and the suffering of -Amfortas all into active use. The music is stormy, passionate, at -times furious, till the flower-maidens appear to tempt Parsifal, and -then we come to the long passage of freely written melody already -described. The significant themes return in the scene between -Kundry and Parsifal, but their use is so obvious that it requires -no comment. With the awakening of Parsifal's understanding and his -recital of his new discoveries, there enters a motive not previously -heard, that of Good Friday: - -[Music: GOOD FRIDAY.] - -In the first scene of the third act another new theme, that of the -atonement, comes forward: - -[Music: ATONEMENT.] - -We have now before us the principal musical materials of the score. -But in no other of Wagner's dramas is the mere enumeration of themes -so unsatisfactory as it is in "Parsifal." The combination of the -musical ideas is so subtle, the building of the large mood pictures, -of which they are the elements, so masterly, the effect of the -general result so potent with the hearer, that in "Parsifal" one -may with the most perfect security throw aside all study of the -thematic catalogues and abandon himself to the dramatic influence -of the music. This does not mean that "Parsifal" is a more artistic -work than Wagner's other dramas, but that the moods are so large -and so elementary that music very readily embodies them and brings -the auditor under their influence. Much of this is due no doubt -to the atmosphere of the Bayreuth Theatre, where alone up to the -present this work can be heard. What the effect of "Parsifal" will -be when divorced from its present surroundings must be a matter of -speculation, but the most devoted Wagnerites will continue to hope -that this art-work will not speedily become the property of the -ordinary opera-house. - - - - -APPENDIX A - -THE YOUTHFUL SYMPHONY - - -Most of Wagner's biographers have underestimated the historical -importance of the juvenile symphony of the master. Mr. Seidl wrote: -"As one takes off his hat in Leipsic before the house in which Wagner -was born, in order to honour the spot where a great genius first saw -the light, so the musician of the future will take this symphony -into his hands with the greatest interest and amazement, since it is -one of the foundation-blocks of the structure whose capstones are -'Tristan,' 'Götterdämmerung,' and 'Parsifal.'" The truth is, that -most of the biographers never heard the symphony performed. It was -produced by the late Anton Seidl in Chickering Hall, New York, on -Friday evening, March 2, 1888, and it was my fortune to hear the -performance. At that time Mr. Seidl wrote to the _New York Tribune_ -the letter from which the foregoing quotation was taken, and gave an -account of the finding of the lost parts of the work. He said: - -"He [Wagner] was continually recurring to a symphony which he had -lost sight of after one performance in Leipsic at a concert of the -Euterpe, and one performance in Würzburg. In the latter place it -was that the trombone parts were lost. Letters were written in all -directions to all his friends and acquaintances, but no trace of the -symphony was found. Then he requested the littérateur Tappert, of -Berlin, a zealous and lucky discoverer of Wagnerian relics, to make -journeys wherever he thought it advisable in the interest of the -symphony. Tappert, after many inquiries and much reflection, drafted -a plan of discovery following lines suggested by the biography of -the master, and set out upon a tour through Würzburg, Magdeburg, -Leipsic, Prague, and finally Dresden. In each place he ransacked -all the dwellings, inns, theatres and concert-rooms in which -Wagner had lived or laboured; but in vain. At last in Dresden he -visited Tichatschek, the famous tenor, who at this time was already -bedridden. He knew all the houses in which Wagner had lived while -he was Hofkapellmeister, but nothing was to be found in any of them. -Tichatschek got a little disgruntled at the much questioning to which -he was subjected and Tappert had to return to Berlin. Before doing -so, however, he requested Fürstenau, the flautist, to cross-question -Tichatschek thoroughly some day, when he was in a good humour, -concerning the possible whereabouts of some trunks which Wagner had -left behind him in Dresden; for Wagner had once said that when he -fled from Dresden he left all his possessions and did not know what -had become of them. - -"The scheme was successful. Tichatschek remembered that in his own -attic were several old trunks belonging to he did not know whom. -Fürstenau looked through them, but soon came down and declared that, -though musical manuscripts were in the attic, they were only unknown -parts and that none bore Wagner's handwriting. Tappert called for -the parts to be sent to Berlin for his inspection. He recognised at -a glance that they were not in his handwriting, but on carefully -examining the separate sheets he found memoranda in lead pencil -which he thought looked like the youthful handwriting of Wagner. To -assure himself, he copied the first theme of the first violin part -and sent it to Wagner's wife, who played it on a pianoforte in a room -adjoining that in which Wagner, suspecting nothing, sat at breakfast. -The master listened a moment in silence and then ran into the room, -joyfully shouting that it was the theme of the symphony for which he -was hunting. The discovery was made! The parts were sent at once to -Bayreuth, and I was called upon to make the score out of them." - -The trombone parts of the last movement were missing, but Wagner -subsequently discovered the key to the leading of these voices in the -elaborately contrapuntal scheme of the movement and rewrote them. The -symphony was then ready for performance. It was Wagner's original -intention to play the symphony on the fiftieth anniversary of the -beginning of his artistic career. But he was unable to carry out this -plan. He subsequently decided to have it given for the Christmas -celebration of 1882, and accordingly it was played under his own -bâton in Venice at the birthday fête of his wife. - -The symphony, which is in the conventional four movements, and is -in the key of C major, contains a curious mingling of juvenility in -ideas with maturity of handling. It shows that Weinlig's lessons in -counterpoint were not lost, for its polyphony is masterly, and the -close working out of the last movement, in the style of Mozart's -fugal "Jupiter" symphony, may well have aroused the admiration of -Rochlitz. - -The symphony begins with an introduction marked sostenuto e maestoso, -built on this theme. - -[Music] - -It will readily be seen that this is a simple and effective theme, -designed with a view to contrapuntal treatment. Free modulation, -transposition of parts, and alteration of details make up the general -treatment of this motive. The first movement, allegro con brio, is -built on a first subject, inspiringly vigorous in movement, but quite -devoid of originality in melodic form. - -[Music] - -This is announced in a forcible manner, copied after some of the -Titanic outbursts of Beethoven. There is a short development of this -theme, in the course of which the germ of the second subject appears. -Thus Wagner early endeavoured to follow the plan of Beethoven in -making his second subjects grow out of his first. The second theme, -when revealed in its entirety, proves to be this: - -[Music] - -The master utilised the rhythmic clearness of this thought in the -production of bold, march-like effects. Two episodes are introduced, -and in these one hears the voice of the future Wagner. One of them -bears a striking resemblance in character to the music of the fight -between Siegfried and the dragon. The working out is confined almost -wholly to the first subject, with occasional use of the episodes, and -the recapitulation is reached by a strenuous climax, in which the -orchestral thunderer of the future may be heard. - -The second movement, andante, opens with two sustained notes, C and -E, given out by the oboes and clarinets, followed by a graceful -introductory phrase, prefatory to a lovely melody of folk-song -character, which is announced by the violas and gradually spread -among the entire body of instruments. - -[Music] - -Wagner himself said that this movement could never have been written -had not the fifth and seventh symphonies of Beethoven been known -to him, but although his method of construction follows that of -the sovereign of the symphonic world, his ideas and his orchestral -expression of them are his own. The second theme of the andante, -which need not be quoted, is martial, thus giving the necessary -contrast to the movement. - -The third movement is the scherzo, marked allegro assai. The movement -is decidedly imitative, yet it shows that the youth had attained a -remarkable mastery of form and style. The first theme is this: - -[Music] - -This sweeps along in a bright and vivacious manner, full of sunny -simplicity. Then comes the trio founded on this idea: - -[Music] - -The working out of the ideas is really very ingenious, and despite -the imitations the movement goes far to demonstrate the possession of -high gifts by the young composer. The last movement, allegro molto -vivace, is the least pleasing to the average hearer, but it is an -amazing exhibition of contrapuntal mastery in one so immature. The -principal theme is this: - -[Music] - -Here the model in thought is Mozart, and the same master is followed -in the working out. Wagner, in later years, speaking of the boy -who wrote this symphony, said: "He cares no more for melodies, only -for themes and their treatment; he delights in the stretti of the -fugue, in the combination of two or three motives; he enters into -orgies of counterpoint; he exhausts every imaginable artifice." This -is a sufficient description of this new "Jupiter" movement, which -ends with a stirring peroration, presto, closing with as many chords -of the tonic and dominant as there are at the finish of the fifth -symphony of Beethoven. - - - - -APPENDIX B - -WAGNER AND THE BALLET - - -The difficulties which have always stood in the path of a realisation -of Wagner's ideals in regard to the ballet in opera are worthy of -some consideration, because they are the results of a high conception -of the functions of the dance in the drama. Wagner's troubles in -this department began with his "Rienzi." In his "Communication" he -says: "I by no means hunted about in my material for a pretext for -a ballet, but with the eyes of the opera composer I perceived in it -a self-evident festival that Rienzi must give to the people, and at -which he would have to exhibit to them in dumb show a drastic scene -from their ancient history, this scene being the story of Lucretia -and the consequent expulsion of the Tarquins from Rome." He confesses -in a note that this ballet had to be omitted from all the stage -performances of "Rienzi." - -Why? Simply because the pantomimic ballet called for imagination on -the part of the ballet-master and mimetic skill in the dancers. If -these elements in the ballet were wanting in Wagner's day, they are -almost wholly absent now. Yet, except in cases where the ballet is -seen by the spectator to be a mere entertainment for the personages -on the stage, as in the garden scene of "Les Huguenots," it ought -to have some connection with the drama. That later composers than -Wagner have had some desires of this sort is proved by the presence -of the Brocken scene in Boïto's "Mefistofele," the inferno scene in -Franchetti's "Asrael," and other such episodes. But nowhere is there -such an opportunity for a highly significant ballet as in the first -scene of "Tannhäuser." - -Whoever cares to read it, may find in the essay of Wagner on the -"Art-work of the Future" a long disquisition on the nature of the -dance. In brief, he says that in the dance the material is man -himself, and the method of expression is motion. This motion is -governed by rhythm, but its purpose is the communication of the -essence of the material to the spectator. In other words--not -Wagner's--dance approaches speech from one side just as absolute -music does from the other. It is a painter of mood pictures, just as -an orchestra is. It therefore reaches its highest form in pantomime, -or mimetic action. Again, in "Opera and Drama," Wagner tells us at -some length how ballet music as written by the conventional opera -composer has cramped the development of this beautiful art of mimetic -dancing, the very art, in a sense, from which the drama itself -originated at the altar of Bacchus. By writing in the prescribed -dance-forms and rhythms the composer compelled the dancer to confine -himself to certain conventional steps and figures. Wagner's ideal -was a symphonic poem of motion, mimetic in its essence, following -the incidents of a story, and moving to the strains of an orchestral -background which should free the dancer from formulas and at the same -time paint in tone-colours the moods of the pantomime. - -The difficulty in the way of realising this ideal at present is the -total separation of the arts of dancing and pantomime. Only a few -of the dancers of to-day possess the old-fashioned schooling which -would make possible a performance of Auber's "La Muette de Portici." -To this unique work Wagner owed much of the food for thought which -resulted in his opinions upon the office of the ballet in opera. -I have witnessed some representations of this work in recent -years--not many--but always with sorrow at the utter inability of the -impersonator of the dumb girl to realise the author's conception. -She has always been a mere ballet-dancer, striving to perform her -work on the strict lines of the conventional stage dance. Now what -such a part requires is some one who can dance, but who does act. And -that is what the Wagner ballet, especially in "Tannhäuser," needs. -The conventional ballet steps and arm movements are at once seen to -be absurd, or else they make the scene appear so to the thoughtless -spectator, who notes only what he sees. To interpret properly the -Venusberg scene of Wagner's third opera there should really be a -corps of Pilar-Morins. But just here again would come a difficulty. -The Pilar-Morins would not be dancers, and, while they might perform -an intelligible pantomime, they would obliterate from their work -every trace of rhythm, and thus once more be untrue to Wagner's -almost intangible, yet not impracticable, ideal. - -And of course in the end we have to reckon with a public which has -no skill in the comprehension of pantomime, and hardly any in the -appreciation of the dance. For in this frivolous age of pictorial -dramatic art the dance means coloured lights and high kicking. Hélas! -Yet I still believe that if Wagner's designs in such scenes as that -of the Venusberg and the Roman festival in "Rienzi" could be properly -carried out, the public would awake to the existence of a poetic and -beautifully graphic art which is now quite unknown to it. - - -THE END - - - - -INDEX - - -EXPLANATORY NOTE.--Subjects directly connected with -the personal experiences of Wagner will be found alphabetically -indexed under WAGNER, RICHARD. Names of persons and topics -associated with Wagner's life and works, but having importance in -themselves, will be found in the general index. All topics directly -connected with the great music dramas (except leading motives) are -indexed under the titles of the works. All the musical illustrations, -with their explanations, are indexed under LEADING MOTIVES. - - - A - - "Allons à la Courtille," 41 - - Ander, 118 - - Anderson, 98 - - "A Pilgrimage to Beethoven," 42 - - "Art and Climate," 86 - - "Art and Revolution," 76, 86, 179, 180 - - Art, as found by Wagner, 176 - - Arthurian legends, _see_ "Parsifal" and "Tristan und Isolde" - - Artistic career of Wagner, periods of, 213, 214 - - ART-THEORIES OF WAGNER, 167 _et seq._; - alliteration, 200 _et seq._; - ballet, 487; - commercialism opposed to, 174, 176; - discovery of, 176; - drama, not opera, 204; - early, 18 _et seq._, 228; - emotions, musical treatment of, 183, 185, 197, 205, 208, 209, 216; - ethical ideas, 215; - feeling and understanding, 182; - form, adopted, 186 _et seq._, 198, 199; - forms, abolished, 178, 185 _et seq._, 197; - fully developed, nature of, 167 _et seq._; - good and evil principles, war of, 216; - Greek drama, relations to, 179, 184, 207, 218; - historical drama as opposed to mythical, 183 _et seq._; - ideal of his work, 206; - incompatibility with "opera" discovered, 177; - later, conceived, 53; - later, expanded, 61, 74; - leitmotiv system, 186, 187, 190 _et seq._; - leitmotive classified, 193; - leitmotive, development of, 193 _et seq._; - libretto a drama, 178; - lyric drama, relation to, 168 _et seq._; - materials of poetic drama, 182, 183; - melody, endless, 186, 187; - metaphysics, 216, 217; - misunderstood by admirers, 161; - misunderstood by public, 167; - moods, embodiment of, 198, 205, 206; - music for music's sake, 178; - music, office of, in drama, 190; - musical system, 186, 189 _et seq._, 196, 197, 198, 208, 209; - myth, advantage of in drama, 183 _et seq._; - nationalism, 167, 208; - opera, old style, differences of, 168 _et seq._; - opposed to public taste, 61, 66, 67, 69, 70, 160, 161; - orchestra, 189, 190, 206; - organic union of arts, 178, 180, 186; - philosophical basis of dramas, 216; - propagation of, 67, 85 _et seq._; - prose works embodying, 86 _et seq._, 179 _et seq._; - realism as opposed to high art, 206, 207; - reforms included in, 178; - Schopenhauer's ideas, 184, 216, 217; - staff-rhyme, 200 _et seq._; - symbolism in drama, 204 _et seq._; - text and music, union of, 186, 202, 203, 219; - understood by Liszt, 81; - verse-form, 200 _et seq._; - woman, saving grace, 215; - "Word-tone-speech," 204 - - "Art-work of the Future," 86, 179, 180 - - Attila, 369 _et seq._ - - Auber, "La Muette de Portici," influence on Wagner, 18, 43 - - Auditorium darkened, 140 - - Autobiographic sketch, 52 - - - B - - Ballet in "Tannhäuser," 114, 115 - - Ballet, Wagner and the, 114, 487 - - Barbarossa, Friedrich, 72 - - Bayreuth, becomes famous, 140; - festivals, deficit of first, 144, 146; - festivals, directed by Mme. Wagner, 153; - festivals, still popular, 153; - plan nearly fails, 139; - theatre, _see_ Festspielhaus; Wagner goes to, 136; - why selected, 137 - - _Bayreuther Blätter_, 147, 150 - - "Beethoven," essay by Wagner, 134 - - Beethoven influences Wagner, 6 - - Belart, Hans, "Richard Wagner in Zurich," 111 - - Bellini, Wagner's admiration for, 18, 33 - - Belloni, 82 - - Berlioz, Hector, 42, 43, 57, 112 - - Beroul, 297 - - Bertram-Mayer, Mme., 131 - - Borron, Robert de, 297, 454 - - Boston, Wagner nights, 104 - - Brandt, Karl, 143 - - Bruckwald, Otto, 143 - - Brückner Brothers, 143 - - - C - - Caedmon, "Beowulf," 201 - - "Centennial March," 139 - - Chivalry, German age of, 331 - - Chrétien de Troyes, 454 - - Christian trilogy, 218 - - "Christopher Columbus" overture, 20, 43 - - "Communication to My Friends," 16, 30, 61, 66, 67, 92 - - Concert Ouvertüre mit Fuge, 10 - - "Conducting," essay on, 58, 134 - - Conrad III., 331 - - Cornelius, Peter, 125 - - Costa, Michael, 100 - - - D - - Dannreuther, Edward, on Wagner's character, 154, 156 - - "Das Liebesverbot," 19 _et seq._ - - "DAS RHEINGOLD," 388 _et seq._; - _see also_ "Der Ring des Nibelungen"; - Alberich, warning and curse, 392; - book finished, 365; - curse, the, 392, 394; - Erda, significance of, 393; - ethical ideas in, 389-392, 394; - first performances, 356; - gold, the, origin of, 389; - gold, the root of evil, 389; - music, 424; - _see also_ LEADING MOTIVES; - music, when written, 365; - mythologic basis, 384; - original casts, 356, 357; - produced at Munich, 131, 132; - renunciation of love, 389; - score written, 94; - sin, entry of among the gods, 391; - sin of gods, connected with "Götterdämmerung" by Wagner, 394; - sin, Wotan's, burden of, 392; - story of, 388 _et seq._; - sword, stage business with, 395; - Wotan's plan, 395; - Wotan's sin, 392 - - Davidson, _Musical World_, 100 - - Deputy, 41 - - "DER FLIEGENDE HOLLÄNDER", 234 _et seq._; - art theories in, 213, 236; - book, Wagner's view of, 243; - book written, 45; - characterisation in, 248; - composition of, 244; - conception of, 237; - Daland as a character, 248; - duet of Dutchman and Daland, Italian style of, 247; - elements of Wagner's system in, 242; - embryonic, 213, 236, 242, 246; - emotional states in, 243; - failure of, 54 _et seq._; - first performances, 234, 235; - Fitzball's play, 237; - foreshadows future Wagner, 248, 249; - Heine's story, 237, 240; - instrumentation, 248; - Italian music in, 247; - legend of, 34, 238; - leitmotiv foreshadowed, 243; - "Lohengrin," resemblance to, 283; - lyricism of, 244; - Marryatt's version, 239; - music, character of, 246, 248; - music, plan of, 243; - music, principal ideas, 244 _et seq._; - mythical development, 239; - original casts, 234, 235; - original story, 238; - overture, 248; - produced at Cassel and Riga, 55; - Dresden, 54; - Munich, 126; - Zurich, 97; - Senta's ballad, 244, 245; - Senta's character, 248; - sources of book, 236 _et seq._, 283; - Spohr on, 55; - thematic germs, 245; - Van der Decken, character of, 248; - Wagner's additions to story, 241; - Wagner's view of story, 241, 242; - when written, 236; - woman's sacrifice in, 240 - - "Der Liebesmahl der Apostel," 59 - - "DER RING DES NIBELUNGEN," 355 _et seq._; - _see also_ "Das Rheingold," "Die Walküre," "Siegfried," and - "Götterdämmerung"; - abandoned for "Tristan und Isolde," 106, 107, 109, 366; - Æschylean methods in, 390; - art-theories in, 74; - begun, 93; - book completed, 93; - book, conception of, 72 _et seq._, 366; - book published, 120; - Brünnhilde, 401, 402, 416; - critics confused by, 142; - curse, the, 392, 398; - dates of events in the dramas, 370; - Eddas and, 372, 373; - ethical basis of story, 384, 385, 394, 416; - expanded into tetralogy, 93, 364; - expenses of production, how provided, 137, 138; - fate and punishment for sin, 390; - "Final Report" on, 129; - first mentioned by Wagner, 364; - first performances, 355; - free hero, 405; - Hagen, significance of, 399; - "Heldenbuch" and, 369; - King Ludwig and, 126; - legends in, age of, 367; - legends in, origin of, 368; - leitmotiv, method of developing, 424 _et seq._; - leitmotiv system in, 422, 423, 424 _et seq._; - Liszt on, 94, 106; - motives, classification of, 424; - music, 422 _et seq._; - music, advances in, 74; - music, how to enjoy, 423; - music, philosophic nature of, 423; - music, relation of certain themes, 424-426, 428; - myth and history, 366; - "Nibelungen Lied," story of, 371; - Norse legends of, 372 _et seq._; - Norse mythology in, 384 _et seq._; - opposition to, at Munich, 129; - orchestra in, 445; - period of events in, 369, 370; - production at Bayreuth, 140; - resurrection in, 405, 406; - revenge of the Nibelungs, 413; - rights sold to Munich, 144; - Ring, the, Nibelungen Lied account of, 371, 372; - Ring, the Volsunga Saga account of, 380, 382, 383; - Ring, the, Wagner's use of, 389, 391-393, 398, 416, 417, 419; - scenery of, 143; - Sigurd and Brünnhilde, story of, 374, 375; - sin of gods, how treated by Wagner, 391, 394; - sources of, 367 _et seq._; - sources of, historical connections of, 370, 374; - story as told by Wagner, 388 _et seq._; - Volsunga Saga, 373 _et seq._; - Volsunga Saga, story of, 378 _et seq._; - work on in London, 99; - Wotan's eye, how lost, 410; - Wotan's plan, 395-398, 405, 437; - Wotan's sin, 392 - - "Die Feen," 16 _et seq._, 148 - - "Die Glückliche Bärenfamilie," 32 - - "Die Hochzeit," 14, 15 - - "Die Hohe Braut," 30, 31 - - "DIE MEISTERSINGER VON NÜRNBERG", study of, 328 _et seq._; - artistic doctrine of, 343, 344; - Beckmesser, character of, 335; - begun, 64, 330; - book finished, 120, 330; - characters historical, 333, 335; - Cosima Wagner on, 341; - critical view of, 342; - first performances, 328, 329; - meisterlied and minnelied, construction and relations of, 334; - meistersingers, customs of, 333; - meistersingers, origin of, 332; - minnesingers, forerunners of meistersingers, 330-332; - Müglin, Heinrich, his "Long Tone" used by Wagner, 345; - music, 344 _et seq._; - music, Act II., finale of, 352; - music, begun, 120, 330; - music, characteristics of, 353; - music, chorale, Act I., and theme, 347; - music, completed, 330; - music, monologue of Sachs, 350; - music, significant beauty of Meistersinger themes, 345; - original casts, 328, 329; - pendant to "Tannhäuser," 330; - period of the comedy, 333; - prelude, 344; - prize song, 340; - produced at Munich, 131, 328; - quintet in, 340; - Sachs, history of, 333, 336; - story of, 336 _et seq._; - symbolism in, 343; - Walther not Wagner, 343 - - "Die Sarazener," 50, 61; - _see also_ "Manfred" - - Dietsch, Pierre Louis, 46, 115 - - "DIE WALKÜRE," 396 _et seq._; - _see also_ "Der Ring des Nibelungen"; begun, 94; - book finished, 365; - Brünnhilde, character of, 402; - Brünnhilde's punishment, meaning of, 401; - curse, 398; - ethical ideas in, 397-399, 401, 402; - finished, 105; - first performances, 358; - Fricka's importance, 397 _et seq._; - music, 434; - _see also_ LEADING MOTIVES; - when written, 365; - original casts, 358, 359; - produced at Bayreuth, 141; - produced at Munich, 132; - rehearsal at Zurich, 105; - second act, meaning of, 397; - second act, Wagner on, 400; - sin and its punishment in, 397; - sources of, 396; - story of, 396 _et seq._; - sword in, 397; - "Todesverkündigung," 400; - work on at Zurich, 121; - Wotan's plan, 401; - Wotan's plan overthrown by Fricka, 397 - - "Die Wibelungen," 72 - - Dom Pedro of Brazil, 109 - - Dorn, Heinrich, 8, 9, 31 - - "Dors, mon enfant," 42 - - Drama, spoken, Wagner's study, 181 - - Dramas, Wagner's, 213 _et seq._ - - Dumersan, 38, 41 - - "Du Métier de Virtuose," 44 - - - E - - Edda, the Elder, discovered, 373, 374; - mythology in, 385; - Poetic, 375; - Sigurd and Brünnhilde in, 375 - - Edda, the Prose, or Younger, mythology in, 385 _et seq._; - when written, 373 - - Eilhart von Oberge, 297 - - "Eine Faust" overture, 38-40, 97 - - Ellis, W.A., "1849, A Vindication," 78; - translation of Wagner's Prose Works, 16 - - "End of a Musician in Paris," 47 - - - F - - Festspielhaus at Bayreuth, 136, 138; - builders and artists of, 143; - described, 142 - - Feuerbach, 216 - - Feustel, Frederick, 138, 152 - - Fischer, Wilhelm, 45, 47 - - "Flying Dutchman," _see_ "Der Fliegende Holländer" - - France, mixture of peoples in, 296 - - - G - - Gasparini, A., 41 - - Geoffrey of Monmouth, 296, 453 - - German Music, Wagner's essay on, 41 - - Geyer, Ludwig, 2, 3; - "Slaughter of the Innocents," 3 - - Gluck, 169 _et seq._ - - "GÖTTERDÄMMERUNG," 410, _et seq._, - _see also_ "Der Ring des Nibelungen"; - Brünnhilde, character of, 416; - Brünnhilde, divinity gone, 411, 416; - Brünnhilde imparts wisdom and strength to Siegfried, 411; - Brünnhilde's deception, 418; - Brünnhilde's self-sacrifice, 421; - curse, in operation on Siegfried, 417; - drink of forgetfulness, 414; - drink of forgetfulness, antidote, 419; - "Dusk of the Gods," described, 415; - ethical ideas in, 416, 417, 421, 422; - expiation of sin of gods, 421, 422; - first performances, 362, 363; - Gibichung, origin of name, 412; - Grani, 412; - Gunther identified, 412; - Gutrune, identified, 412; - Hagen, character of, 413; - Hagen, mother of, 413; - Hagen, the ring and, 420; - music, 442; - _see also_ LEADING MOTIVES; - music, when written, 366; - "Nibelungen Lied," ideas taken from, 372; - Norns scene, 410; - original casts, 362, 363; - penetration of the fire, 409, 410; - produced at Bayreuth, 141; - return of ring to Rhine daughters, 417, 419, 421; - Rhine daughters, meeting with Siegfried, 419; - ring, connected with sin of gods, 416; - runes, Brünnhilde's, 411; - Siegfried matured, 411; - story of, 410 _et seq._; - sword, between Siegfried and Brünnhilde, 417, 418; - Waltraute's narrative, 415; - Wotan's eye, how lost, 410; - Wotan's plan in, 420; - Wotan's spear, 410 - - Gottfried von Strassburg, 108, 297 - - Grail, Holy, _see_ "Parsifal" - - Greek drama, 168, _see also_ ART-THEORIES of Wagner - - Grimm Brothers, "Deutsche Sagen," 272 - - Gross, Adolph, 152, 153 - - - H - - Heine, Ferdinand, 45, 47 - - "Heldenbuch," 369 - - Hoffmann, E.T., influence on Wagner, 7, 8 - - Hoffmann, Joseph, 143 - - Hohenstauffen dynasty, 331 - - Holtei, Karl von, 32 - - "Huldigungs Marsch," 124 - - - J - - "Jesus von Nazareth," 71, 72 - - Jockey Club, of Paris, and "Tannhäuser," 114, 115 - - Joukowsky, 150 - - "Judaism in Music," 86, 87 - - Jullien, Adolphe, 38, 39 - - - K - - "Kaisermarsch," 134 - - Krehbiel, H.E., "Studies in the Wagnerian Drama," 310 - - - L - - "La Déscente de la Courtille," 41 - - "L'Attente," 42 - - Laube, Heinrich, 41 - - Leading Motives, _see_ Art-Theories of Wagner, leitmotiv; - leading motives, not essential to know, 219 - - LEADING MOTIVES. - "Das Rheingold": - Alberich, master of the Nibelungs, 432; - Compact, 429; - Curse, 433; - Departing divinity, 431; - Dragon, 433; - Erda, 424, 425; - Giants, 429; - Gold, the appearing, 427; - Gold, the gleaming, 428; - Götterdämmerung, 425, 428; - Hoard, 433; - Loge, 431; - Nibelung, smiths, 432; - Nibelung's hate, 433; - Primeval Elements, 424; - Renunciation, 429; - Rhine daughters, 427; - "Rhinegold," theme explained, 428; - Ring, 428; - Sword, 195, 395, 434; - Tarnhelm, 195, 429; - Walhalla, 429. - "Der Fliegende Holländer": - Dutchman theme, 245; - Senta, the redeeming element, 245; - Yearning, 246; - "Wie, hor' ich recht?" 247. - "Der Ring das Nibelungen": - _see_ "Das Rheingold," "Die Walküre," "Siegfried," "Götterdämmerung." - "Die Meistersinger": - "Am stillen Herd," 349; - Art of Song, 348; - Beating, the, 350; - Chastisement, 348; - Council, 348; - Derision, 347; - Eva, 351; - Kothner's song, 349; - Meistersinger march, 345; - Meistersingers, 344; - Nuremberg, 350; - Prize Song, 346, 353; - Sachs's monologue, 350; - St. John's Day, 349; - Spring, 346, 347, 349; - "Wahn, Wahn," 352; - Walther's emotion, 346; - Walther, the Knight, 349; - Yearning of Love, 346. - "Die Walküre": - Brünnhilde's divinity, 438; - Departing divinity, 431; - Fate, 437; - Götterdämmerung, 437; - Love, 434; - Siegfried, 438; - Sieglinde's sympathy, 434; - Slumber, 439; - Sword, 435; - "Todesverkündigung," 438; - Valkyr's call, 436; - Valkyrs, 436; - Volsung race, 435; - Volsungs, sorrow of, 435; - Wotan's wrath, 436. - "Götterdämmerung": - Brünnhilde and the Ring, 428, 429; - Brünnhilde, entrance of, 426; - Brünnhilde's despair, 444; - Brünnhilde's divinity, 438; - Brünnhilde the woman, 443; - Forgetfulness, 430; - Gibichung, 430; - Götterdämmerung, 425, 426; - Gutrune, 444; - Rhinegold, 428; - Siegfried, the Man, 443, 444; - Tarnhelm, 430. - "Lohengrin": - Elsa's faith, 287; - Elsa's faith broken, 288; - Grail, 285; - Lohengrin, 286; - Ordeal, 290; - Ortrud, 289; - Prohibition, 288; - Swan, 287. - "Parsifal": - Amfortas's suffering, 475; - Atonement, 479; - Belief, 475; - bells, 478; - Good Friday, 479; - Grail, 474; - Herzeleide, 477; - Klingsor, 477; - Kundry, the helpful, 477; - Lament, the, 478; - Last Supper, 474; - Parsifal, 477; - Promise, the, 476; - Sorcery, 476; - Swan, 478; - Wild Kundry, 476. - "Siegfried": - Brünnhilde's awakening, 441; - Dragon, 433; - Love's greeting, 442; - Siegfried, the sword wielder, 440; - Siegfried, the youth, 440; - World's Heritage, 440; - Wotan, the Wanderer, 440; - Yearning for love, 440. - "Tannhäuser": - Bacchanale, 266; - Pilgrims' Chorus, 266; - Praise of Venus, 267; - Venus's pleading, 267. - "Tristan und Isolde": - Anguish, 326; - Day, 323; - Death, 322; - Fate, 322; - Glance, 321; - Grief, 325; - "Liebestod," themes of, 324, 327; - Love, 321; - Love Call, 324; - Love, Triumph of, 324; - Mark, 325; - Mark's Grief, 325; - Sea, 322. - - Lehmann, Lilli, 138 - - Leitmotiv, _see_ Leading Motives; - not necessary to recognise, 190, 191 - - "Le Vaisseau-Fantôme," Dietsch, 46 - - "Liebesmahl der Apostel, der," _see_ "Der Liebesmahl" - - "Liebesverbot, das," _see_ "Das Liebesverbot" - - Liszt, Franz, 44, 73, 78-84, 93, 94, 98, 104, 105, 150-152 - - "LOHENGRIN," study of, 270, _et seq._; - Act I. compared with sources, 277; - Act II. compared with sources, 278; - Act III. compared with sources, 282; - begun, 64, 273; - book written, 273; - cadence, dominance of, 284, 285; - combat, use of sword in, 277; - conception of, 51; - "Der Fliegende Holländer," resemblance of story to, 283; - "Der Schwanen-Ritter" ("Chevalier au Cygne"), story of, 274; - dialogue, not recitative, 284; - Elsa, character of, 276, 282, 283; - endless melody approached, 285; - finale to Act III. at Dresden, 70; - first heard by Wagner, 117; - first performances, 270 _et seq._; - Godfrey of Bouillon, relation to, 275; - instrumentation, significant features, 290; - King Henry, character of, 277; - letters on performance of, 91; - Lohengrin's narrative, source of, 283; - music, analysed, 283 _et seq._; - _see also_ LEADING MOTIVES; - music, classification of, 291; - music, popularity, reason for, 291; - music, when written, 273; - old poem, 273; - organic union of text and music, 284; - original casts, 270, 271; - original materials, 273, _et seq._; - Ortrud, character of, 276,279, 280, 281; - prelude, 285, 286; - produced at Munich, 130, 131; - produced at Weimar, 90, 91; - power of Lohengrin to be taken away by a wound, 283; - recitative, abolished in, 284; - rhythm, dominance of, 291; - score sold, 273; - score sent to Liszt, 81; - sources of, 272 _et seq._; - sources, treatment by Wagner, 276 _et seq._; - stage pictures in Act II., 280; - story according to Wagner, 277; - sword, Telramund felled by, 278; - Telramund, character of, 282; - Telramund, his death, source of idea, 283; - time signatures in score, 290, 291 - - London critics offended, 100 - - London Philharmonic Society, 97 _et seq._ - - Ludwig, King of Bavaria, 122, 123, 128, 139, 148, 152 - - Lully, 170 - - Lüttichau, von, 44 - - Lyric drama, birth and development of, 168 - - - M - - Mackaye, Steele, 142 - - "Manfred," 50, 61; - _see also_ "Die Sarazener" - - Map, Walter, 296, 453 - - Meissen, Heinrich von, 333 - - Meisterlied, nature of, 234 - - "Meistersinger von Nürnberg, die," _see_ "Die Meistersinger" - - Meistersingers, history of, 332 _et seq._ - - Metternich, Princess, 113 - - Meyerbeer, 36, 38, 43, 44, 89, 174 - - Meyerbeer, "Les Huguenots," 89 - - "Mignonne," 42 - - Minnelied, nature of, 334; - origin of, 331 - - Minnesingers, history of, 332, _et seq._ - - Monteverde, Claudio, 169 - - Morelli, 113 - - Mozart, 170 - - Müglin, Heinrich, 335 - - Müller, Gottlieb, 7 - - Muncker, Franz, 138, 152 - - Munich Conservatory, 125, 126 - - Munich, new Wagner theatre, 128 - - Munich, proposed Wagner theatre, 126, 128 - - "Music of the Future," the, 114 - - Music, theories as to, _see_ Art-Theories; - _also works under separate titles_ - - Mystic gulf, the, 141 - - Myths as subject for drama, 182 - - - N - - Neumann, Angelo, 145 - - Nibelungen Lied, 73, 369 - - "Nibelung Myth as sketch for a Drama," the, 73 - - Niemann, Albert, 113 - - - O - - "On the Performance of 'Tannhäuser,'" 86 - - Opera, birth of, 168; - development of, 168 _et seq._; - Wagner's study of, 181; - Meyerbeerian ground-plan, 174 - - "Opera and Drama," 86, 88, 180, 181 - - Orchestra, concealed, 140 - - - P - - Pagan trilogy, 218 - - "PARSIFAL," 446 _et seq._; - Arthurian legends, 450 _et seq._; - Arthurian legends, entry of Grail into, 453; - book completed, 447; - book read to friends, 144, 477; - Borron's story of, 457; - Breton epic, 454; - Chrétien's story of, 455 _et seq._; - conception, 447; - conception of, 51, 71; - Celtic legend of Peredur, 449; - date of production changed, 145; - enlightenment of Parsifal, 464; - ethical ideas in, 472; - finished, 147; - first performance, 446; - garden scene, plan of, 468; - Grail, nature of, 449, 450, 451, 452; - Grail stories, origin of, 449 _et seq._; - Grail, the word, origin of, 452; - Kundry, character of, 462, 464, 469, 470; - Kundry the temptress, 470; - Kundry's wandering, 471; - music, 473, - _see also_ LEADING MOTIVES; - music, plan of, 473, 479; - music, second act, 479; - music, when written, 447; - original cast, 446; - panorama's failure, 149; - Parsifal's character, 471; - "Parzival," Wolfram's, 448, 449, 457; - Perceval, derivation of name, 452; - pity, enlightenment by, 471; - prelude played at Wahnfried, 148, 474; - preparations to produce, 146; - problem play, 473; - produced at Bayreuth, 149, 152; - Provençal versions of story, 452; - question, not asked, 467-469; - rehearsals begun, 148; - ended, 149; - relation of "The Victors" to, 470; - religious drama, 472; - score completed, 148; - sources of, 447 _et seq._; - sources of, compared with drama, 467; - subscriptions for production, 148; - Wagner's drama, story of, 461 _et seq._; - Wolfram's story of, 457; - working on, 145, 147. - - Patron's certificates, 137, 139. - - Peri, Jacopo, 168 - - Perl, Henry, "Richard Wagner in Venice," 150 - - Pillet, 45, 46 - - Plan for music school at Munich, 125 - - Planer, Minna, death of, 30; - jealousy of, 110; - Wagner's alleged neglect of, 130; - Wagner's marriage to, 27; - Wagner's separation from, 30, 119; - unsuited to Wagner, 27 _et seq._, 62, 63, 83, 160 - - "Polonia," overture to, 40, 41 - - Praeger, Ferdinand, account of revolution of 1848, 76 _et seq._; - relations with Wagner, 97; - "Wagner as I Knew Him," 25, 35, 70 - - Prince Albert, 102 - - - Q - - Queen Victoria, 102 - - - R - - Rameau, 170 - - Recitative, early, 168 _et seq._ - - "Recollections of Spontini," 86 - - Reissiger, 45, 51 - - "Rheingold, das," _see_ "Das Rheingold" - - Richter, Hans, 125, 130-132, 134, 144 - - "RIENZI," 221 _et seq._; - Adriano, air of, 232; - art-theories in, 52, 172, 176, 223, 225, 227, 228; - Berlin performances, 70, 71; - character of hero, 230; - completed, 44; - conception of, 223, 224; - divided into two parts, 52; - first performances to 1882, 221, 222; - first mentioned by Wagner, 31; - libretto begun, 224; - libretto, nature of, 228, 229, 230; - materials of, 176, 225, 226; - music begun, 224; - music, nature of, 228, 229; - music, Rienzi's prayer, 231; - offered to Dresden, 44; - opera instead of music-drama, why, 225 _et seq._; - performance of, suggestions as to, 47; - prayer in, 230, 231; - preparations to produce, 47, 48, 51; - produced at Dresden, 51; - Berlin, 52; - Schuré's criticism of, 232 - - "Ring des Nibelungen, der," _see_ "Der Ring" - - Rinuccini, Ottavio, 168 - - Rochlitz, 11 - - Roeckel, August, 53, 64 - - Rossini, 89 - - Royer, Alphonse, 114, 116 - - Rudolf of Hapsburg, 332 - - "Rule Britannia" overture, 30, 31 - - - S - - Sachs, Hans, 333, 336 - - Saemund the Wise, 373-375 - - Sainton, Prosper, 98 - - "Sarazener, die," _see_ "Die Sarazener" - - Saxe, Marie, 113 - - Scharfenberg, Albrecht von, "Der Jüngere Titurel," 272 - - Schladebach, 67, 68 - - Schlesinger, 38 - - Schnorr, Ludwig, 125, 127, 128 - - Schopenhauer, A., 108, 184 - - Schroeder-Devrient, Wilhelmina, 18, 48, 54, 65 - - Schumann, Robert, 68 - - Seidl, Anton, 145 - - Semper, Gottfried, 126 - - Siegfried, date of his death, 370; - character as conceived by Wagner, 403; - German hero, 369 - - "SIEGFRIED," 402 _et seq._; - _see also_ "Der Ring des Nibelungen"; - bird's voice a soprano, 407; - book written, 93; - conception of, 93; - conception of hero, 404; - Erda, 408; - first performances, 360; - Forest Bird, voice of, 407; - Forest Bird and the "Lay of Fafner," 376; - free hero, 405; - Mime, origin of name, 403; - Mime, Regin compared with, 403; - Mime's betrayal of himself, Act II., 408; - music, 439, - _see also_ LEADING MOTIVES; - music, when written, 365; - original casts, 360, 361; - originality of Act II., 408; - penetration of the fire, legend of, 409; - produced at Bayreuth, 141; - question scene in Act I., origin of, 405; - Siegfried's nature and character, 403, 404; - story of, 405 _et seq._; - sword, power and name of, 409; - "Vafthrudnersmal," 405; - "Waldweben," 407; - Wotan's plan in, 405, 408 - - "Siegfried's Death," 367 - - "Siegfried Idyl," 134 - - Smolian, Arthur, 265 - - Snorre Sturleson, 373 - - Spontini, 60, 68 - - Standthartner, Dr., 149 - - "State and Religion," 124 - - Symphony in C, 11, 12, 151; - analysis of, 482 _et seq._; - history of, 481 - - - T - - "TANNHÄUSER," 250 _et seq._; - additions to story by Wagner, 258; - Biterolf, 261; - book written, 50, 252; - characterisation in, 268; - characters historical, 260; - completed, 62; - conception of, 50, 252; - contest of song, origin of idea, 256; - Elizabeth, character of, 257, 261; - essay on performance of, 253; - essence of, Wagner's words on, 269; - ethics of the drama, 261, 262; - failure of, 65; - first performances, 250, 251; - good and evil principles, 261-263; - good and evil principles, music of, 265; - grotto of Venus, 258; - Heinrich of Ofterdingen, identified with Tannhäuser, 256, 259; - Hermann the Landgrave, 256; - Jockey Club of Paris and, 114, 115; - legend of, 254, 255; - leitmotive, absence of, 265; - letter to Carl Galliard on, 65; - Lord Lytton's, 264; - man, a drama for, 263; - misunderstood, 65, 66; - music, analysed, 264 _et seq._; - music, finished, 252; - music, nature of, 264 _et seq._; - music, principal ideas, _see_ LEADING MOTIVES; - mythology, Roman and Teutonic, 257, 258; - narrative of Tannhäuser, 263; - original casts, 250, 251; - original ideas in, 254; - overture in London, 101; - Paris version, nature of, 253; - Paris version, origin of, 114, 115, 252, 253; - praise of Venus, 259; - preparations for production, 64; - produced at: Dresden, 65; - Munich, 130, 131; - Paris, 112 _et seq._; - Weimar, 81; - Zurich, 97; - provisional title, 252; - Reimar, 260; - relations to "Tristan und Isolde," 253, 269; - "Sängerkrieg," 254; - score completed, 252; - Smolian, Arthur, pamphlet on music, 265; - sources of, 254 _et seq._; - Tannhäuser, character of, 258, 259, 261; - "Tannhäuser Lied," 254; - transition period, belongs to, 213, 252; - Venus, 257, 258, 259; - "Venusberg, Romantic Opera," 252; - "Volksbuch," 254; - Wartburg Castle, 255; - "Wartburgkrieg," 256, 259; - Wogelweide, Walther von der, 256, 260; - Wolfram, 255, 256, 260; - woman, the saving grace of, 262, 263 - - Tausig, Carl, 109, 110, 137 - - Text of Wagner Dramas, importance of knowing, 219 - - Thomas, Theodore, 139 - - Tichatschek, 48, 51, 131 - - "TRISTAN UND ISOLDE," study of, 293 _et seq._; - Act I., 302; - Act II., 305; - Act III., 308; - abandoned, as impossible, 118; - accepted at Vienna, 118; - art-theories in, 316; - Arthurian legends, now Gallicised, 296; - begun, 109; - book written, 295; - Celtic origin of story, 295 _et seq._; - conception of, 106, 107, 108, 294; - day and night, riddles of, 306-308; - death, basic thought of drama, 304, 306, 311, 312; - death, idea in Isolde's mind, 302, 303; - death, yearning for, 311, 312; - emotions, treatment of, 316 _et seq._; - Fate, workings of, in drama, 311; - finished, 110; - first act written, 109; - first performances, 293; - Gottfried's version, 297; - Isolt of the White Hand, 299, 300, 314; - King Mark, his "sermon," 313, 314; - legend, fundamental idea of, 301; - leitmotiv system in, 315, 316; - love of Tristan and Isolde not caused by the magic drink, 301, 310; - "Liebestod," musical germs of, 324, 327; - Liszt on, 107; - metaphysics in, 312; - musical plan of drama, 314; - music, 315 _et seq._; - _see also_ LEADING MOTIVES; - music, general plan of, 318 _et seq._; - music, third act, 314, 320; - music, when written, 295; - narrative of Isolde, 303; - organic union of arts in, 312, 317, 318; - original casts, 293; - "O sink' hernieder," 307, 324; - pessimism in Act II., 310, 313; - potion, office of, 301, 304, 305, 310; - prelude, 321; - produced at Munich, 127; - production, difficulties of, 111, 125; - pronounced impossible, 122; - Schopenhauer's influence in, 312, 313; - second act sketched, 110; - sources of, 108, 295 _et seq._; - sources of, Wagner's treatment, 300 _et seq._; - story, completions of, 299, 300, 314; - story, Gottfried's, 297; - story, oldest versions of, 297; - story, origin of, 295 _et seq._; - story, Wagner's version, 300 _et seq._; - text, character of, 317; - torch in Act II., 305; - wound, Tristan's, meaning of, 307, 308 - - Troubadours, influence on German song, 330 - - Troyes, Chrétien de, 297 - - "Two Grenadiers," 42 - - - U - - "Ueber das Dirigen," 58, 134 - - Unger, George, 141 - - - V - - Viceroy of Egypt, 139 - - "Victors, The," 108 - - "Victory," the, 108 - - Vogl, Heinrich, 131; - Therese, 131, 132 - - Volsunga Saga, 73; - corollaries of, 378; - origin of, 377; - story told in, 378 _et seq._ - - Von Bülow, Cosima, 90, 112, 125, 130, 132, 133 - - Von Bülow, Hans, 90, 112, 124, 130, 131, 132 - - Von Bülows, the, separation of, 130, 132; - divorce of, 133 - - - W - - Wagenseil, Johann Christoph, 335 - - Wagner, Albert, 2, 15; - wife and daughter, 2 - - Wagner, Cosima, 133, 134, 153, 160; - _see also_ Von Bülow - - Wagner, Friedrich, 1 - - Wagner, Johanna, 2, 65, 138 - - WAGNER, RICHARD, abandonment of career contemplated, 119; - affection of, 103; - ambition to reach Paris, 30; - America, asked to visit, 104, 159; - amnesty, 118; - ancestry, 1; - appearance of, 162; - appreciates his own genius, 121; - approach of death, 149, 150; - artistic aims of, 167 _et seq._; - artistic impulse, 158, 159; - art-theories, _see separate title_; - attachment to Cosima von Bülow, beginning of, 125; - attitude toward public, 55, 67; - autobiographic sketch, 52; - autobiography, unpublished, 153; - ballet and, 487; - Bayreuth, goes to, 136; - Bayreuth, work at, 137 _et seq._; - Biebrich, visit to, 120; - birth, 2; - boyhood, 3 _et seq._; - boyish tragedies, 4; - Buddhistic drama, rumours about, 153; - burial of, 152; - calumniated, 130; - character of, 29, 103, 154 _et seq._; - chorus master at Würzburg, 15; - church music, director of, 58; - clothes, rich, love of, 157; - "Communication to My Friends," _see separate title_; - concert tours, 118, 119, 144; - conducting, essay on, 48; - conductor at Dresden, 56, 59, 60; - conductor at Königsberg, 25, 27 _et seq._; - conductor at London, 94 _et seq._, 144; - conductor at Magdeburg, 19; - conductor at Riga, 31; - conducts at Zurich, 89; - conducts juvenile symphony, 151; - conducts "Flying Dutchman," 54, 97; - corner-stone of Festspielhaus laid by, 138; - Cosima von Bülow, love for, 125, 130; - critics on, 69, 142; - death, 152; - debts, troubled by, 74, 85, 95, 116, 120; - depression, 158; - despair, period of, 119-121; - disappointed by public misunderstanding, 53, 55, 119, 121, 147, - 148, 160, 161; - dissatisfied with theatre, 32, 174, 175, 179; - Dresden, flight from, 79; - Dresden, work in, 59 _et seq._; - drudgery in Paris, 46, 47 _et seq._; - dual individuality, 154 _et seq._; - dyspepsia, 92, 94, 151; - early models, 16; - early musical studies, 5 _et seq._; - enemies of, 155; - erysipelas, 92; - extravagant habits, 157 _et seq._; - faints at rehearsal, 149; - Fantaisie Castle, lives in, 136; - Fatherland Union, speech before, 75; - final illness, 151; - finding himself, 53-56; - first compositions, 7, 8; - first compositions published, 9 _et seq._; - _see also separate titles_; - friendship with Liszt, 74, 80; - friends of, 155; - funeral in Venice, 152; - funeral in Bayreuth, 152; - Geneva, visits, 129; - habits of, 156; - heart trouble, 149-151; - household, 150; - improvidence of, 83, 85, 86, 157, 158; - insomnia, 94; - Italy, visits to, 94, 110, 147; - King Ludwig's friendship, 122 _et seq._, 128; - King Ludwig's friendship, scandals about, 114, 128; - Königsberg period, 25, 27 _et seq._; - Lachner's prize symphony, objects to conducting, 99; - Leipsic period, 17; - "Lohengrin," first heard by Wagner, 92, 117; - London, concerts in, 100, 101; - London, criticism in, 102; - London, critics offended, 100; - London, first visit to, 34; - London, residences in, 99; - London, second visit to, 96 _et seq._; - London Philharmonic Society, conductor of, 97 _et seq._; - Lucerne, visits, 110, 129; - luxury, love of, 156, 157; - manners of, 156; - Marienbad, visit to, 64; - marriage to Minna Planer, 25, 27 _et seq._, 83, 160; - marriage to Cosima von Bülow, 132-134, 160; - meets Meyerbeer, 36; - mother of, 2; - Munich, goes to, 123; - Munich, leaves, 129; - Munich, opposition in, 128; - myth in dramas, 72; - _see also separate title_; - Nibelungen Lied taken up as a subject, 73; - _see also separate titles_: "Nibelungen Lied," "Siegfried's - Death," and "Der Ring des Nibelungen"; - opposition to, 63, 67, 68, 94, 100, 102, 112, 114; - Palace, Vendramin, 150; - Palestrina, admirer of, 58; - Paris, first sojourn in, 36, 37, 38 _et seq._; - Paris, revisited, 82, 103; - Paris, second sojourn in, 112; - Paris, concerts in, 112; - Paris, leaves for Germany, 48; - Paris, leaves for Vienna, 116; - Paris, residences in, 39, 46, 112; - "Parsifal," work during rehearsals of, 149; - Penzing, visit to, 120; - Peps, his dog, 92, 103; - performances unsatisfactory to, 161; - poverty, 95; - Prague, visit to, 14; - prose writings, beginning of, 67; - _see also separate titles_; - purpose of his life, 167; - Queen Victoria and, 102; - Religious mysticism, 148; - Revolution of 1848, 71, 73 _et seq._; - Riga engagement, 31; - Riga engagement, its end, 33; - rudeness of, 155; - school days, 4; - Schopenhauer's influence on, 108; - search for by King Ludwig's messengers, 123; - Seelisberg, visit to, 103; - sense of humour, 99, 100; - sensuous enjoyment, 19; - separation from first wife, 119; - silk garments, fond of, 157; - songs, 42; - _see also separate titles_; - Starnberg, Lake, villa on, 123; - starving his wife, charged with, 130; - suicidal thoughts, 158; - symphony in C, 11, 12; - symphony in C performed in Venice, 151; - "Tannhäuser," effect of its failure on Wagner's life, 67; - Teplitz, visit to, 19, 50; - Triebschen, settles at, 129; - Vendramin Palace, goes to, 150; - Vendramin Palace, household in, 150; - Vendramin Palace, life in, 150; - Venice, first visit, 110; - Venice, last days in, 150 _et seq._; - Vevay, visits, 129; - Vienna, visits, 117; - Wahnfried, goes to, 136; - weakness in character, 158; - Weber's remains removed by, 60; - Weimar, goes to, 80, 118; - Wesendonck, Mrs., intrigue with, 110, 111; - worship of Weber, 5, 6; - Würzburg period, 15 _et seq._; - Zurich, concerts at, 106; - Zurich, goes to, 81; - Zurich, return to from London, 103 - - Wagner, Rosalie, 2, 15 - - Wagner, Siegfried, 133, 153 - - Wagner Societies formed, 138; - consolidated, 153 - - Wagnerites, English, 103 - - "Walküre, die"; _see_ "Die Walküre" - - Weber, art-theories of, 175 - - Weber, influence on Wagner, 175 - - Weber's remains removed by Wagner, 60 - - Weinlig, Theodore, 9 - - Wesendonck, letter to, 111 - - Wesendonck, Mathilde, 107, 110, 111 - - "Wieland the Smith," 89 - - Wilhelmj, 144 - - Wille, 94, 120, 121, 123 - - Wittgenstein, Countess, 105 - - Wolff, O.L.B., 81 - - Wolfram von Eschenbach, history of, 448; - "Parzival," story of, 457 - - Wolzogen, Hans von, 147 - - Würzburg, Konrad von, "Der Schwanen-Ritter," 272 - - - - -_Belles-Lettres_ - - -BROWNING, POET AND MAN - - A Survey. 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