MUSICIANS AND COMPOSERS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2894, 25 August 1909, Page 80

MUSICIANS AND COMPOSERS.

TWO NEW OPERAS.

The two operaa with which London audiences have been made acquainted during the last few weeks — "Louise" at Covent Garden and "The Wreckers" at the Afternoon Theatre (His Majesty 's)— owe at least some part of their interest to .being attempts at portraying real life. It is perfectly possible (writes a contributer to the Graphic) to find the profoundest interest in abstract music, but in opera the days are past when the abstract pjot, with its artificial situations, was sufficient inspiration to both composer and audience. This is as it should be. ' The ideal opera -would be one in which interest depended not on either the dramatic theme or the music singly, but on tha two together to an equal extent.

— "Louise."-

In "Louise" these two factors are blended to a remarkable degree, no doubt as the I result of M. Gustave Gharpentier being his own librettist. He ha® succeeded in crystal- I Using the spirit of Paris with, equal effect ! -when he as telling the story of the little ' workgirl fascinated by the frolicsome free- ' dom of Montmartre, and . when _he ie re- i producing ir> music, with a felicity little ; short of inspiration, the very street-cries of Paris. As 6eenw .to be fhe tendency in' modern opera, the orchestra is the locus wherein the composer's genius travels wi,th ] greatest freedom. Melodious- and full of feeling as the vocal phrases are, it is to those who have the faculty for closely following instrumental music that "Louise" makes its most complete appeal. N< attempt is made at writing in an heroic style, and' for this very reason, the opera carries an. intimate charm which makes its simple subject all the more vivid. Here is lift as every Parisian — and a good many Londoners — know it. It is every bit as convincing as "Madame Butterfly" and "lia Boheme." Small wonder, then', that it has been a success on practically every Continental stage.

"The Wreokers." —

While we in England have been, giving preference to opera, of foreign origin, "The Wreckers," an English opera with an English story, by Miss Ethel Smyth, was welcomed in Germany three years ago, but has only now been accorded a belated hearing in London.. I* is easy to understand the appeal which it would nvake to the Gemnan mind, for individual and! British as its themes are, the oomposer is indebted to lessons learnt from Wagner in ihe manner in which she employs these ac associated with the oha-raoters of the 6tory. In considering the general effect of "The Wreckers," it seems plain tha>t it would be vastly improved if judiciously compressed. The first performance took just three hours, and the time spent on Ac* H *mib begrudged. This is undoubtedly the weak point in the action. Act I oompek interest by presenting the mental problem, of the Cornish villagers »£ the eigOßteeath century —a people of deeply religious feeling, who yet depend! oh wrecking *for their very existence. We become interested in them, and their doings and feelings, of which the musio is such an admirable reflection. We see wheels moving within wheels ac they are wont to d( with astonishing plainness in a small community such as this, and the mysticism which distinguishes both Mark and Thirza from their fellows prepares -us for the tragedy which follows. The mttsio allotted, to both illuetrat«s this quality to perfection. Both are heard singing Cornish folk songs when they first catch our attention, and it soon becomes evident ttiat both have been able to see with their somewhat quickened senses the evil of the methoa whereby their fellow-villagers exist. It is inevitable that they should be thrown together "by sharing common interests, although M&rfc is betrothed to Avis and Thirza is the wife of Pascoe, the headman and local preacher. But there is far more than this in the first act. The villagers in famine, and the villagers have many effective choruses when praying for a wreck, and later, /when the storm brings a vessel close to the rocks. Then there are the axtstere utterings of Pasooe, the ravings of Avia when cast aside by Mark. All to the accompaniment of the "Amens" of the godly gathered inside the little church. So fax so good. In Act II Mark lights a beacon in a secret cove to guide *k e wandering ship. Thither repairs Tharaa, and while the fire flares the two make passionate avowal of their love. But this is not achieved without a great deal of unnecessary talk, perforce set to_a great deal of unnecessary music — with the "propcrtv bonfrre blazing spasmodically meanwhile. When the act is nearly done the lovers agree to fly together, and ac they depart Pascos stalks on to the stage exclaiming "Is this a fire? Or do my eyes deceive m-e?" — a remark which convulsed the audience : he shortly falls irr a swoon, paralysed at the thought, of such treachery- And here he is found by the balked villagers, who are Teadv to bslieve that the beacon is of his kindling. From here onwards interest revives, aim the drama mm with some movement to its appointed close— the acquittal of Paficoe, brought about by the avowal of Mark as to having lit the beacon, and the condemnation of him and Thirza to be shut into a cave in which they will be drowned at high water. The music of the love scene hae much beauty, but its features are such that t.hev would inevitably pain by being presented at shorter length. The whole of the remainder of the opera, as far as the music is concerned. in extraordinarily vivacious, and thorp is hardly • quiescent moment in Act 111. while tfo< climax iS admirably approached.

—The Score.—

From this brief recapitulation it will be s<n?n that, \'vt libretto has possibilities for firnmatir <?fforf, but unfortunately thc*e ar" not fully rpali=Gcl. Much of the woixlin ? is, of th-> most conventional. .and more than once called up r smile. But there is rry question as to Ihe m^rit of the music. The comnc"r may bo inclined to place too much reliance on trumpet and drum; but, \ipw<»cl as a whole, the scoring of the work is tncH effective, ami the ingenuity with ■\vhk-h the iheir.es ar* interwoven m-akes a substantial appeal to t.h^ musicianlike. The thsm^s thrm"ehc.= arc conceive*! on a lofty plai.e ami ;.rc full of virility, while their treatment 'l:r,«s the frocdom characteristic of m<~ ]->i-n c i>lo. In t*'i- c;>-r> fh-" of the plot is o^jiu-t h-'v fal:ir«j a Hrong grasp of the whoL-' p.obium „r^--rlcd. that th-. most the can do i« to give illuetration to the

situations as they arise. In doing 1 this has been remarkably successful.