The Standard Operaglass Part 42

Odysseus comes out of the palace; he cannot sleep; he thinks of his home, his father, his wife and child. He sees a temple to Athene on the right and resolves to spend the night there praying to the G.o.ds to restore him to his home. He pa.s.ses across the stage and goes into the temple.

Nausikaa now comes out of the palace with some of her companions. She presently dismisses them and remains alone in the moonlight. She prays to Aphrodite to deliver her from the {427} importunate wooing of Euryalos and to grant her the love of the stranger.

The vision of Aphrodite appears; with a threatening gesture she seems to refuse Nausikaa's request. While Nausikaa sinks fainting on the steps of the terrace the voice of Euryalos is heard in the background singing a love song, and soon after he comes forward and stormily declares his love to Nausikaa who rushes away from him with a cry into the temple of Athene. As the bold youth is about to follow Odysseus appears at the door of the temple and forces Euryalos to retire. The baffled suitor rushes upon Odysseus with his drawn sword in blind rage; but Odysseus instantly disarms him, breaks the sword, and Euryalos vowing vengeance goes into the palace.

Though deeply moved by Nausikaa's pa.s.sionate grat.i.tude and affection for her protector, Odysseus remains faithful to the memory of his wife and child and prays the G.o.ds to help him to be strong.

Act III.

In a great court in front of the gymnasium where games and wrestling matches are going on a procession of priests and young boys enter singing; they offer prayers and burn incense before the altars of the G.o.ds, particularly before that of Poseidon the special patron of the Phaeakens. Girls and matrons follow in a like procession and deck the statue and altar of Athene with flowers. The shouts of the people in the gymnasium greeting the victors in the games are heard at intervals.

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Among the maidens is Nausikaa. Her brother Leodamus enters soon afterwards in great excitement and begs his sister to come and witness the feats of Euryalos who is victor in all the games. But she coldly asks if the stranger has entered into compet.i.tion with him, and hearing he has not done so she refuses to go into the gymnasium.

Queen Arete enters and Nausikaa throws herself into her mother's arms.

Arete guesses the truth that her daughter loves the stranger; she tenderly warns Nausikaa that life is full of disappointments--of sacrifices.

The King now enters from the gymnasium; beside him walks Odysseus who had at last been persuaded to wrestle with Euryalos and had entirely vanquished him. The people hail Odysseus as victor. Nausikaa hastens to him and crowns him with the victor's wreath; she shows her preference for him in such a marked manner that Euryalos is beside himself with rage and draws his sword upon Odysseus who in selfdefence wounds Euryalos severely.

Odysseus then turns to the King and implores him to give him a ship that he may go back to his own country and family. These words fall like a knell upon the heart of Nausikaa; she is led out fainting by her mother.

The aged poet Homer now enters. All hail him with joy; the King bids him sing them a song about Troy. The blind poet sings the tragic story--the people join in the chorus. Odysseus listens; {429} at last he can keep quiet no longer. Springing up he goes on with the story giving his own share in it with such vividness that Nausikaa, who has stolen back again, rushes forward and cries: "Thou art Odysseus himself!" He acknowledges with tears that he is that unhappy man. The people greet him with joy and wonder; the King embraces him warmly.

Odysseus relates his sorrows, his wanderings; he speaks of his wife and child; he implores the King to give him a ship that he may return home.

The King readily promises his help, he gives orders that a ship shall immediately be prepared and filled with costly gifts.

But the priests see in Odysseus the enemy of their G.o.d Poseidon; they press the King to slay Odysseus--but the King sternly refuses to do so and orders the High Priest to be bound till Odysseus is safely gone.

Nausikaa's hopes are dashed to the ground; heartbroken she murmurs to herself her mother's words: "Each human life is a sacrifice, a death for the dearest in the world." She slowly goes away and is seen later standing on a high wall of Athene's temple overlooking the sea.

In the meantime all is ready, the King, Queen and Laodamus accompany Odysseus to the ship and take leave of him; he goes on board and the ship moves off. At this moment the sky is overcast and Poseidon appears in his car and threatens Odysseus with his trident.

Nausikaa calls to Poseidon to take her for a {430} victim and with a cry springs into the sea. The nymphs bear her dead body to Poseidon.

Zeus suddenly appears and drives Poseidon away, while Athene hovers over Odysseus with shield and lance. He sails away in safety.

MANRU.

Opera in three acts by J. PADEREWSKI.

Text by ALFRED NOSSIG.

Dresden claims the honour of having first represented the celebrated Polish pianist's opera.

The performance took place on May 29th 1901, and a closely packed house showed its approbation in the most enthusiastic manner.

Those who will look out for reminiscences in every new piece of music find of course that Paderewski is an imitator of Wagner, but though Manru would probably not have been written without the composer's intimate knowledge of the Ring of Nibelungen, the melodies and rythm are entirely his own. The music is true gypsy music with very much movement and highly phantastic colouring, reminding us sometimes of Liszt and Bizet.

The best parts of the opera are the choruses of the village maidens in the first act, the charming cradle song, the violin solo and the love-duet in the second and the splendid gipsy music in the last act.

Nossig's libretto is very inferior to the music; its rhymes are often absolutely trivial. The scene is laid in the Hungarian Tatra mountain district.

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Manru a wandering gipsy has fallen in love with a peasant girl Ulana and has married her against her mother's wishes.

In the first act mother Hedwig laments her daughter's loss. While the village la.s.ses are dancing and frolicking Ulana returns to her mother to ask her forgiveness; she is encouraged by a hunchback Urok, who is devoted to her, and who persuades the mother to forgive her child, on condition that she shall leave her husband. As Ulana refuses, though she is in dire need of bread, Hedwig sternly shuts her door upon her daughter. Ulana turns to Urok, who does his best to persuade her to leave her husband.

Urok is a philosopher; he warns the poor woman, that gipsy blood is never faithful, and that the time will come, when Manru will leave wife and child.

Ulana is frightened and finally obtains from Urok a love potion, by which she hopes to secure her husband's constancy.

When she tries to turn back into the mountains she is surrounded by the returning villagers, who tease and torment her and the hunchback, until Manru comes to their rescue. But his arrival only awakes the villagers' wrath, they fall upon him and are about to kill him, when mother Hedwig comes out and warns them not to touch the outlaws on whom her curse has fallen.

The second act takes place in Manru's hiding place in the mountains.

The gipsy is tired of the {432} idyll. He longs for freedom and quarrels with his wife, whose sweetness bores him. She patiently rocks her child's cradle and sings him to rest. Suddenly Manru hears the tones of a gipsy fiddle in the distance; he follows the sound and soon returns with an old gipsy who does his best to lure him back to his tribe. But once more love and duty prevail; and when Ulana sweetly presents him the love-philtre he drains it at one draught, and immediately feeling the fire of the strong and potent drug, he becomes cheerful and receives his wife, who has adorned herself with a wreath of flowers with open arms.

In the third act Manru rushes out of the small, close hut. His intoxication is gone; he gasps for air and freedom. Wearily he stretches himself on the ground and falls asleep. The full moon, shining on him, throws him into a trance, during which he rises to follow the gipsy tribe whose songs he hears. In this state he is found by Asa, the gipsy queen, who loves him and at once claims him as her own.

But the tribe refuses to receive the apostate, and their chief Oros p.r.o.nounces a terrible anathema against him. However Asa prevails with her tribe to pardon Manru.

Oros in anger flings down his staff of office and departs, and Manru is elected chief in his place.

Once more he hesitates, but Asa's beauty triumphs; he follows her and his own people.

At this moment Ulana appears. Seeing that {433} her husband has forsaken her, she implores Urok, who has been present during the whole scene to bring Manru back to her.--Alas, it is in vain. When Ulana sees Manru climbing the mountain path arm in arm with Asa, she drowns herself in the lake.

But Manru does not enjoy his treachery; Oros, hidden behind the rocks is on the watch for him and tearing Asa from him, he precipitates his rival from the rocks into the lake.

FEUERSNOT

(THE PLAGUE OF DARKNESS).

A Lyric Poem (Singgedicht) in one act by ERNST VON WOLZOGEN.

Music by RICHARD STRAUSS.

The new Opera of the highly gifted young Bavarian composer was represented for the first time in Dresden on November 21st 1901.

This absolutely original composition was received with acclamation, and it deserves it. The musical part is so difficult, that it can only be performed on a few very first rate stages, and it wants many hearings to take in all its charm of instrumentation and its eminently modern harmonies and intervals.