THEATRE TENOR 1907 (022)
Lohengrin, an opera first performed in 1850, is Romantic to its core. That is partly because of its musical language and partly because of its theming. For the subject of Lohengrin is Medieval German legend. Romanticism (1800-1890) as a cultural force - in art, literature, and music - was intimately tied up both with nascent nationalism, especially in Germany, and a resurgent Medievalism. Artists turned away from the rationality and reason of the Enlightenment and of the Classics, and looked to the Middle Ages for inspiration. That's why I've combined it with Two Men Contemplating the Moon (1820) by Caspar David Friedrich, another of the great German Romantics.
In his 1853 essay Opera and Drama, which serves as the manifesto for Wagner's musical world-view, he theorised that music should always be subservient to emotion and storytelling. Hence he argued that leitmotifs - themes for particular people, places, or feelings - should act as the basic building blocks of opera rather than the traditional mixture of aria and and recitative. You can feel that emotional and dramatic weight here.
I should add that the Lohengrin Prelude is often performed as a standalone orchestral piece. Such is true of many preludes and overtures. They developed in the Baroque Era as the opening for operas and other large-scale works, setting the scene both musically and thematically. But, during the Romantic Era, many preludes and overtures were written as standalone atmospheric and storytelling pieces.
Who was Richard Wagner?
Richard Wagner (1813-1883) is a giant of musical history. He took Romantic Music to its limits - and beyond. For Wagner was more of an innovator than a traditionalist, and for a long time German music was defined by him: either you were one of his followers or you were not. For example, Wagner wrote his own librettos - sort of like operatic screenplays - which was fairly unusual. But such was Wagner's unique energy and passion.
He wanted to achieve a total work of art where music, text, story, and performance were all deeply intertwined and inseparable. Hence the magnitude of Wagner's compositions. His masterpiece was the Ring Cycle, which comprises four separate operas with a total runtime of about fifteen hours; it took over two decades to write. Wagner achieved his dream here; a total synthesis of art in which music was the vehicle for storytelling of the highest and most dramatic order.
For some idea of Wagner's fame and popularity, even his own lifetime, it should suffice to know that an entire opera house was built for the debut performance of his Ring Cycle in 1876, the Bayreuth Festspielhaus. Ever since its opening an annual festival has been held where Wagner's major works are performed. It continues to this day.
A.170 THEATRE
A.171 THEATRE
A.172 THEATRE, GENTSE BURGERS.
nDe vergelijking tusschen den ‘Straat-veger’ en den ‘Engelenbak’ wijst beter nog, allicht, op zulke gemoedsverandering. Niet meer dan elders gaf, weliswaar, De Bruycker hier het zeer bijzondere, zoo in décor als in personnages van het gekozen geval op in deze wakke en
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walmende, onreine en stofferige schouwburg-galerij, met de zee-groene schilder-muren en de harde, zwarte, vuil glimmige banken, waar de plaats-nummers nog nauwelijks leesbaar zijn, onder de schaarsche verlichting en 't hellende dak, dat den rug kromt: de sjofele menschen, de armzalige breinen, die zich zat laten zingen aan muziek. En zij luisteren, weinig-bekommerd om de sierlijkheid der houding of de snede der kleeding. Zij luisteren met alle hunne gespannen aandacht, de nederige schooiers om schoonheid, de bedelaars om kunst. Iedere week vindt gij ze terug op vaste dagen; zij zijn strenge critici, maar verworven dat recht door hunne onafwendbare oplettendheid en de jaren-lange ondervinding, die de vergelijking leert... En zie ze nu maar: den dikken, gulzigen puffer die door het kijk-glas de vormen bestudeert der ‘forte-chanteuse’, den slungelig-langen kerel, die geblaseerd de meest-afdoende uitspraak weet te geven; de ‘geloovige’ eindelijk, geheel overgeleverd aan wat op tooneel gebeurt... En hiervan hadde De Bruycker in anderen tijd, misschien, alleen het leelijke en dierlijke van getoond. Zie echter, hoe meer-innige communie met het leven hem thans eene atmospheer liet treffen, van, onmiddellijk-aandoende, vroomheid, van - laat het woord herhaald wezen - onmiskenbaar ‘geloof.’
Van de Woestijne:
“Hij zou ze ontmoeten onder de gewone bezoekers van den Engelenbak en van de Wacht-zaal-derde-klasse, aan de ‘Visch-mijn’ en op den ‘Prondel-markt’. En 't werden, naast de armzalige voet-slepers van op straat, de schaarsche star-luisterende, schichtig, geëxalteerde smoelen, die hoog bij de zoldering hunne tooneel-woede bot-vieren aan gillende tenors en de weinig-gekleede danseresjes".(Van de Woestijne 1912 in Elseviers Geïllustreerd Maandschrift. Jaargang 22 (1912).
Verkocht bij De Vuyst
A.164 DE VIOLIST
A.204 LE VIOLIST
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JULES DE BRUYCKER (1870-1945)
JULES DE BRUYCKER (1870-1945) Eau-forte sur simili-Japon. Signée et titrée à la mine de plomb. Encadrée. Lit.: JDB Online nr. 28. 345 x 245 mm
J.D.B. 027 THEATRE PARADIS 1907
H 350-B 250
L.R.22
Vernis Mou:
Theatre, Le Paradis (Grande Planche)- etching and soft ground etching, good condition. 15 1/4 x 11 1/4''
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