Metropolitan Opera Archives

The fact that "Merlin" was successfully represented for the third time at the Metropolitan Opera House last evening is the most important one that claims mention in connection with the latest performance of the opera in New York. Goldmark's suave motives and his admirable orchestration, the fascinating weirdness of the story upon which his libretto is constructed, and the appropriateness and richness of the scenic attire with which "Merlin" has been equipped have had attention again and again, the rendering of the work by the artists of the Metropolitan having also been referred to with sufficient detail when "Merlin" was given for the first and second times to require no supplementary comment. That an achievement of so thoughtful and elaborate a character should reveal new excellences at each successive hearing was to have been inferred; the significance as well as the sensuous loveliness of much of the composer's writing have become apparent, in truth, to an extent scarcely anticipated, by persons who attended its earliest public rehearsal. The music in "Merlin" is certainly not music which can be hummed over as the spectator strolls homeward, and none of it is likely to increase the répertoire of the barrel-organ. It is, however, music of a distinctly expressive and dramatic type - music of the period, in other words, in which the emphasizing of speech by more or less melodious declamation and the allotment to the orchestra of a great deal of what was formerly reserved for the human voice are the chief ends kept in view by the composer. Last night Herr Alvary was Merlin, Herr Robinson King Arthur, Herr Fischer the Demon, Fäulein Lehmann Viviane, and Fäulein Brandt Morgana. The performances of all these singers are familiar, and they were carried forward yesterday on the lines laid down when "Merlin" was first brought forth. Among the striking incidents of the representation was the display of will o' the wisps, in which, as in the luminous headdresses of the corps de ballet, electricity was pressed into service with the happiest results.

Search by season: 1886-87

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