THE INFLUENCE OF BAYREUTH

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SOME years ago, in the earlier days of Bayreuth as a centre of Wagnerian music, an appalling amount of literature used to be published in which various German philosophers or quasi-philosophers were wont to discuss the tendency and true inwardness of Wagner's art, and of the institution founded by the munificence of the King of Bavaria. One of these pamphlets, which were formerly hawked about Bayreuth at the time of the summer festivals there, bore for its partial title the words, Was soll Bayreuth?' which might be interpreted, 'What is the intended function of the undertaking, or of the Wagner Theatre, or Wagner's works as a whole?' (for all these meanings have been for a good many years implied in the utterance of the sacred word Bayreuth' by the initiated). Now that the twentieth anniversary of the first performance in the Wagner Theatre at Bayreuth has been celebrated (the 13th of August is the exact day) by a revival of the Nibelungen cycle in the theatre specially built for it, it may not be out of place to review the progress of all that is meant by the mystic word. Has the influence of Wagner himself, of the ideal theatre which he made an accomplished fact, and of the festival performances that are visited by pilgrims from all parts of the world, been a good influence for his own art, for the art of dramatic music in general? or is the astounding statement true, which appeared at the beginning of an article in this Review some years ago, ‘The Wagner bubble has burst'?

That statement seems to have been a little premature, and for a bubble, the creations of Wagner have shown a remarkable unwillingness to vanish. The world in general has accepted Wagner, and the case of the professed anti-Wagnerians is more hopeless than ever. In respect of the permanence of Wagner there seems no room for question; things which, at first received with doubt, if not actual obloquy, live down the prejudices of the world, and increase in general appreciation for many decades, as Wagner's works have done, do not belong to the class of productions which are merely transitory, and have been buoyed up by fashion or the interested admiration of partisans. But it is not simply the popularity of Wagner's music as a whole that need be discussed, but the working of that great plan of his which

included something like the artistic regeneration of German operatic tradition. The central fact of the scheme is, of course, the building itself, that wonderful theatre which proves Wagner to have been as great an architect as he was a poet, a composer, or a designer of pictorial effect. This was not all, however. The master's own home, Wahnfried, was to become the social centre of all that was worthiest in that artistic world which should visit the Bavarian town, and in some sort a school of instruction in the traditions he wished to establish. In addition to this, an actual school was instituted, the first products of which were this year allowed to try their skill in important parts. Bayreuth, in fact, was to be the hub of the universe' as far as the new dramatic music was concerned, and the choice of this dull town, with the departed fragrance of its little Court, and its fast-fading souvenirs of Jean Paul Richter, was eminently a wise one. difficulty of getting there by train was not the only advantage it presented from Wagner's point of view: it is true that he wished to make it more or less hard of access, in order to keep away the average holiday-seeker, and in some measure to make sure that those who came thither should be distracted from the main object of their journey by no rival excitements or dissipations, such as in a large capital must always divert the mind from serious study of an artistic creation, more especially when that artistic creation requires for its embodiment a theatre, with its associations of frivolous pleasure.

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These objects have been fulfilled to a degree that Wagner himself can never have anticipated; and the vogue of Bayreuth has increased with every succeeding festival year. At the same time it has not lost its pleasantly primitive character, nor has the tide of fashion converted the town into a mere pleasure-resort of the usual kind. There are, as there must always be, a certain amount of people who go to Bayreuth mainly out of curiosity, but these form but a very small part of the crowd, and among them there are many who come to gape and remain to admire. The revolution worked in stage illusion by the various ingenious devices that the Bayreuth theatre has been the first to exhibit has had an influence that may be described as world-wide, and although no great theatre has yet been built on the exact model of the Wagner Theatre, yet scarcely a theatre in the world has failed to feel its influence in some degree. In lighting generally, and more particularly in effects of cloud and storm, this stage can still produce pictures altogether beyond the attainment of its rivals; this is in great part owing to the arrangement of the auditorium, which of itself removes many difficulties of ordinary stage perspective. In theatres of the usual shape the scene can only be perfectly illusory to those who sit at a certain distance and look at the stage from a certain angle; generally the front of the dress-circle, or the dividing-line between the pit and the stalls, is the point at which everything falls into its proper place. As a certain amount of

illusion must be secured for the stalls and the boxes, the difficulties of the scene-painter are much increased, some compromise has to be arranged, and some of the illusion is necessarily lost, even by those who sit nearest the points already mentioned. At Bayreuth, for all practical purposes, every spectator occupies a position of equal advantage in relation to the stage. This result is accomplished, of course at considerable sacrifice of space, by setting the whole stage much farther back in the building than is usual, and by placing all the seats on a gradual slope, the number of seats in each row increasing towards the back. The angle at which the seats are raised brings about the delightful result that everyone gets a complete view of the stage, the heads of those in front of him appearing to be in one plane, conveniently below the level of that hood which at once conceals the orchestra from sight, and causes its sounds to blend with the voices on the stage in a way that cannot be described.

As for the influence of Wahnfried, it may be briefly described as resembling more or less closely the influence that is exerted by one of the smaller German Courts, such as Bayreuth itself formerly possessed. That Frau Cosima Wagner should receive from the most ardent Wagnerians the kind of homage that is usually reserved for crowned heads need not be a matter of much surprise, for this lady's work in connection with all the festivals that have taken place since her illustrious husband's death has been far-reaching and all-important. Her quasi-royal position is due not only to the memory of Wagner, but is mainly the result of her own labours in engaging artists, in teaching them every gesture and pose on the stage, and in superintending every detail of the production. The preservation of the Wagnerian tradition, if it is preserved, will be mainly her work, and for this self-appointed mission who shall censure her? smile at the ceremony that is observed at the Wahnfried receptions, but it is impossible to ignore the fact that the reins of government are held in a strong hand, and that the policy adopted has been in general a wise one. As a matter of subordinate importance, it may be observed that the work of the Bayreuth school, as exhibited in two of its pupils, Herr Burgstaller (Siegfried) and Herr Breuer (Mime), has been proved this year most satisfactorily. If the standard of vocal art is in neither case very high (as it can never be where German methods of instruction prevail), the technique of stage business has been thoroughly acquired, and both the young singers move with ease and appropriateness of gesture.

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Frau Wagner's independent work began with the production of Tristan und Isolde for the first time at Bayreuth in 1886; though she had, of course, superintended the Parsifal performances of 1883 and 1884, yet there was nothing to do but see that the composer's intentions were strictly adhered to. With the new production there was also little difficulty, for the German stage could offer superlatively

fine individual impersonations, and the best scene-painters were only too glad to get a chance of their work being seen with all the advantages conferred by the Bayreuth theatre. In 1888, Die Meistersinger was added to the repertory, and the three works were given again in the following year. With this programme, so worthily representing the master's ripest works in three different spheres of dramatic art, the work of Bayreuth may be said to have reached its culminating point. In Parsifal the highest development of the sacred drama or 'mystery-play' is attained; in Tristan we have the supreme achievement in musical tragedy; and in Die Meistersinger the ideal comedy in music. In 1891 and 1892, Tannhäuser formed part of the scheme, and the revival was not uninstructive, for the opera had become sadly conventionalised in the course of years, and it was most desirable to bring it out with all the reverence for the text and the gorgeous mounting that Bayreuth can command. In 1894, Lohengrin was taken up in the same spirit; so that with this the cycle was completed of those works which Wagner would have acknowledged as representing the maturity of his creative faculty.

With these later performances a new question presented itself for consideration by the Bayreuth authorities. That old one, Shall Wagner be allowed to exist?' had long ago been answered; now there arose the discussion as to whether his music was to be the exclusive possession of the German race, or to become the heritage of all the nations in equal measure. At first the singers engaged were all German by birth and education; but the fact that German vocalisation is often far from satisfactory—a fact which, from Wagner's writings, it is clear that he grasped many years before it was generally admitted— was gradually assimilated by his successors, and in some of the later reproductions of Parsifal foreign artists of exceptional ability, such as Van Dyk and Blauwaert, were occasionally seen on the Bayreuth stage. As a natural consequence, their finer methods of singing threw the German singers into the shade, and these were very soon made to feel that with the cosmopolitan Bayreuth audience their popularity was not as great as that of their rivals.

When the later operas were mounted it became ever more and more evident that the many passages requiring beautiful singing could not be safely entrusted to German artists, and thus engagements were given to a wider circle of musicians, including, for the Lohengrin performances, Madame Nordica, Miss Marie Brema, and others, all of whom made acknowledged successes. These successes very naturally stirred up a good deal of artistic jealousy, and gradually a new party has been formed within the Wagnerian camp. This party of protectionists,' as they may be called, has taken for its watchword a certain speech of Wagner's on the memorable occasion when the foundationstone of the new theatre was laid. You have now a German Art' is the equivalent of the famous sentence, and it is contended that the

master intended his music to remain an exclusively German possession. The words spoken in 1872 undoubtedly carried with them an implied reference to the then newly re-created German Empire, whose first, and in some ways greatest, product was, without question, the creation of all that is implied in the word Bayreuth'; but it is clear from many passages in Wagner's writings that he was fully aware of the shortcomings of German singers, and that he was no enemy to his music being sung by vocalists who should also prove themselves persons of ordinary artistic intelligence. In going far afield for her singers Frau Wagner was most amply justified; and, after all, German singers were not forgotten, but whenever a German artist was found to be competent preference was given, as it naturally would be, to the performer who, though possessing no other crowning merit, would yet be able to pronounce the German words as his or her native language.

When the arrangements for this year were being made, it was rumoured that engagements had been offered to, and in some cases contracts actually signed with, a number of distinguished non-German singers. That the De Reszkes were approached on the subject is an open secret, and both Miss Macintyre and Miss Susan Strong were talked of for the part of Sieglinde. Madame Nordica and several other foreigners were contemplated; but when the final cast of the dramas appeared, it was found that all the principal parts had been filled either with old stagers of German origin, or with young aspirants for fame in Germany. Miss Brema was, indeed, engaged as Fricka, and, if the truth must be told, made the part of supreme importance by her fine singing, noble presence, and artistic conception of the character; Miss Marion Weed, an American lady, appeared without much success as Freia, in a particularly hideous costume, but there was hardly another foreign name in the cast. As Frau Sucher was a Sieglinde of absolutely unsurpassable merit, the preference given to her over the foreign singers is amply explained; but the numerous cases in which these rumours of foreign appearances proved false give rise to a strong suspicion that the changes were made in partial deference to the protectionist party. Frl. Gulbrandson, of whose Brünnhilde high opinions have been expressed, is indeed a Swedish lady, but apparently she is an artist of German training, so that she is no representative of the 'bel canto,' as it is called. The other Brünnhilde, Frau Lilli Lehmann-Kalisch, is one of the three artists who took part in the original performance of the Ring in 1876; she then sang one of the Rhine-maidens, but since that time her fine singing has been displayed in more dramatic parts, and though she is now a very mediocre actress, the splendid voice told with all possible effect in the last two acts of Götterdämmerung. the former dramas she was evidently not completely at ease, and her want of conviction was a great surprise to those who remember her

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