The new spirit in drama & art . ct that they will stand the impositions of the Festival agentswithout a protest. In another way Wagner contrived to defeat his main pur-pose. He wrote extremely long-winded operas that requirea deal of patience to sit out ; unlike Strauss, who has goneto the other extreme, and is writing extremely short-windedoperas in which there is practically nothing to sit out. Inconsequence, intervals of an hour between each act of theWagner music-drama have been introduced apparently toenable the intellectuals to revive, but in reality to allow theneighbouring restaurant t
The new spirit in drama & art . ct that they will stand the impositions of the Festival agentswithout a protest. In another way Wagner contrived to defeat his main pur-pose. He wrote extremely long-winded operas that requirea deal of patience to sit out ; unlike Strauss, who has goneto the other extreme, and is writing extremely short-windedoperas in which there is practically nothing to sit out. Inconsequence, intervals of an hour between each act of theWagner music-drama have been introduced apparently toenable the intellectuals to revive, but in reality to allow theneighbouring restaurant to conduct a flourishing the intervals of the Meistersingers one could see howadmirably the arrangement worked. The people who visitBeyreuth to-day are vastly different from those who cameto the Bavarian town years ago. In former days the Ringbrought forth the earnest student, and fearful- and wonderful-looking persons who were prepared to sit out each operawithout a break, even though it meant breaking the Bible. J3 THE NEW SPIRIT IN BEYREUTH 109 record for fasting. Now the wealthy class have taken topatronising Wagner, and it is the well-fed, comfortableperson, not the neurotic, extra-cultured out for new sensa-tions, who visits Beyreuth. Wagner, in fact, makes his appealto persons to whom the mood is not complete without a visitto the theatre bar. Accordingly, it is not surprising to find therestaurants crowded with the elite, who are not averse fromdiscussing the first act over a savoury dish, and arriving atthe Wagnerian leit-motiv by the aid of a light lager. So Ifound the affair full of strange contradictions. I knew thatWagner had been at great pains to devise means to preservethe mood of the spectator, while here everything con-tributed to destroy it. In fact, the whole affair has too many loose ends to holdones undivided attention. Apart from the food festival,which quite destroyed my interest in the representation ofthe Meistersingers, there was the un
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, booksubjecttheater, bookyear1912
