More chapters of opera : being historical and critical observations and records concerning the lyric drama in New York from 1908 to 1918 . hout a dissenting vote aresolution offered by Count Seebach, director of the RoyalTheater at Dresden, was unanimously adopted which boundthe members of the society to grant no leave of absence toany singer who wished to go to America and not to engageany singer who accepted an American contract, the agree-ment to last for five years. The action, Count Seebach said,had nothing to do with the war, but was only a measure ofself-protection on the part of German
More chapters of opera : being historical and critical observations and records concerning the lyric drama in New York from 1908 to 1918 . hout a dissenting vote aresolution offered by Count Seebach, director of the RoyalTheater at Dresden, was unanimously adopted which boundthe members of the society to grant no leave of absence toany singer who wished to go to America and not to engageany singer who accepted an American contract, the agree-ment to last for five years. The action, Count Seebach said,had nothing to do with the war, but was only a measure ofself-protection on the part of German theaters. In fact, heprofessed to want it understood as directed against Germanartists rather than American managers. It was intolerable,he said, that German artists after having been trained in theirown country should at the maturity of their powers makethemselves over to American contractors, spend their bestyears abroad, and come back to Germany with an accessionof conceit as well, I suppose, of dollars. Artists shouldtherefore be compelled to chose between America and Ger-many. Frankly he admitted that no injury could result to. Artur BodanzkvConductor at the Metropolitan Opera House AMERICAS ATTITUDE TOWARD GERMANY 379 German influence in America, for Germany no longer hadany influence there and it would be vain to try to winAmericans by civilities and sentimentalities. There had not as yet been the slightest exhibition of hos-tility toward German art in America, and the German sing-ers were as indifferent as was the management of theMetropolitan to the Berlin pronunciamento. Mr. EdwardZiegler, the executive secretary of the Metropolitan Com-pany, declared the action to be purely academic, inasmuchas it did not affect the German singers of the companywhose contracts had not expired while those whose con-tracts had expired would be glad to renew them, since theywould be unable to return to their homes so long as the warlasted. The matter was left to repose on the knees of
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