Smithsonian Institution The William Steinway Diary: 1861-1896
Steinway & Sons Records and Family Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Background: Damrosch/Seidl Rivalry at The Metropolitan 1884-1891
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The Metropolitan Opera House opened in 1884 with a season of Italian opera that culminated in financial disaster with a loss of $600,000.(5, p. 220) In a city that ranked third in German population(22, p. 137) the Metropolitan directors hired the German conductor, Dr. Leopold Damrosch with his son Walter as his associate to conduct German opera for the 1884-1885 season. In May Dr. Damrosch sailed for Germany to select artists for his troupe(3, p. 53) among these the primary performers Amelia Materna, Lillie Lehmann, Marianne Brandt, August Seidl-Kraus, and Anton Schott(21)(23) who reveled in the opportunity to introduce German opera in German to America.(23)
New York had heard Wagner in the concert hall, and now new audiences? serious listeners with musical knowledge? were excited to hear the music dramas in the theater. Because the German singers were unknown in America the ticket prices were half that of the previous year so the German community as well as others attended in such large numbers that German opera soon surpassed the French and Italian.(5, p. 241)(10)(18, v. XII, p. 497) Damrosch revolutionized the opera productions, proving that with artistic devotion, disciplined musicians, and a generous budget, opera could be both popular and profitable.(18, v. XII, p. 501) During a rehearsal on February 10, 1885, Damrosch became ill and died from pneumonia five days later.(Diary, 1885-02-15)(3, p. 57) After Damrosch's funeral at the Metropolitan Opera House with an immense crowd attending,(Diary, 1885-02-18)(5, pp. 240-241) the New York season continued under the direction of John Lund while Walter completed the season with a tour that included Chicago, Cincinnati, and Boston.(3, pp. 58-60)
Having celebrated Damrosch's triumphs during the 1884-1885 season, the Metropolitan directors decided to continue with German opera. Walter had expected to inherit his father's position, even appealed to the Board of Directors, but at the young age of 23 the directors questioned his ability to conduct the repertoire and doubted his experience and authority.(13) Instead, they hired the Hungarian-born conductor Anton Seidl as first conductor and delegated Walter to the position of second conductor.(3, p. 62-63)(12)(14) With the finest European conductor available, no doubt remained that the directors deigned to elevate New York opera to its highest standards ever.(22, p.147)
Anton Seidl had authentic credentials, having first been Hans Richter's student and choral director,(5, p. 242)(6, p. 7) then Richard Wagner's assistant for six years, living in his home, hand-printing copies of the Ring Cycle, and assisting in the rehearsals and performances of the first Bayreuth Festival in 1876.(6, pp. 8-12) Wagner favored Seidl above all others as an interpreter of his works(6, p. 72) and designated him as his artistic legatee, commissioning him to conduct his music dramas throughout the world.(6, p.140) Seidl introduced Wagner's operas in numerous German cities and five European countries, conducted the first Ring Cycle in London in 1882, then conducted 135 performances of Wagner's operas between September 1882 and June 1883.(6, pp.15, 18-19) While Seidl was assisting Wagner, the conductor Theodore Thomas was introducing the American public to Wagner's works, followed by Leopold Damrosch who continued this trend. Two years after his European tour, at a time when Wagner had few devotees, many detractors, and doctrines that were “new, radical, and revolutionary,” Seidl came to America, his mission to permanently affix America's attitude toward German opera. Everything depended upon him to proclaim the gospel of Wagner.(6, p.141)
Seidl's purpose was strong and clear and filled him with determination.(6, p. 142) Having assisted and studied with Wagner, Seidl was far more knowledgeable and competent than Leopold Damrosch.(22, p. 148) Seidl opened his first season with Lohengrin, and although Damrosch had conducted it the previous year, the audiences puzzled over the significant differences between the two productions. When asked about this, Seidl just smiled and winked. Only later did the public discover that Seidl had corrected over 180 errors left undetected by Damrosch in the Metropolitan score.(5, p. 242)(6, pp. 106-107) The Musical Courier critic pronounced the opera a brilliant success and praised Seidl for accompanying the orchestra and singers while conducting entirely from memory.(7) The New York Daily Tribune proclaimed this the finest representation of Lohengrin ever heard in this country and predicted that Seidl's achievements would eclipse those of Dr. Damrosch.(17)
Under Seidl's baton, German opera at the Metropolitan soared to brilliant heights, transcending the performances at the German and Austrian opera houses.(9) For the first time New York audiences were experiencing an extraordinarily gifted and conscientious opera conductor;(7) each success propelling him to greater popularity.(6, pp. 32, 107) Music critics and opera lovers honored Seidl for his achievements. In January 1886, the music critics celebrated the man “who had taken the town by storm” with a dinner at the Hoffman House.(24) Eleven months later they once again honored Seidl for having introduced a “musically ideal performance” of the long-awaited Tristan und Isolde,(4) thus far the greatest artistic success at the Metropolitan.(5, p.242)(19)(26) At this dinner William Steinway reflected upon Germany's musical influence on America under the leadership of Dr. Damrosch and Mr. Seidl.(Diary, 1886-12-09)(4)
Amid all this adulation for Seidl, Walter Damrosch was shunted to the background and ridiculed by the press. Contrary to his lament that Seidl assigned him only non-Wagnerian operas,(3, p. 66) Damrosch actually conducted Die Walküre in December 1885 during Seidl's first season. The New York Herald critic scoffed that the inexperienced conductor was unfit to cope with the complexities of Wagner's works and his incompetence produced an opera that was “weak, unimaginative, rough and depressingly tame from end to end.”(27) The Musical Courier critic demanded that Damrosch voluntarily retire from Walküre before he jeopardized the future of German opera.(12) The directors heard the critics. Seidl directed the remaining performances,(18, v. III p. 373) the critics proclaiming them the “first performances of the season,” a revelation to the audiences.(8) The critics continued to denounce Damrosch even when he conducted Seidl's “left-overs.” One critic informed him that conducting was more than merely time-beating and further suggested that if he would study the score as thoroughly as did Seidl, he could keep his head out of the score and perhaps produce an acceptable performance of Faust.(20)
Four years later in 1889 Damrosch still lacked the necessary experience to appease the Boston critics when he conducted Lohengrin. Boston’s Home Journal critic, Philip Hale, ridiculed him for being “bewildered,” and incapable of communicating with the orchestra, concluding that he possessed none of the necessary qualifications for conducting. The Musical Courier responded that Damrosch had inherited rather than earned his position. They further accused him of listening to flatterers who blinded him to the hard work conducive to success. Once again they insisted he either learn to conduct or defer to a conductor worthy of the title.(16)
After the first four years of German opera at the Metropolitan under Seidl, mismanagement, unpopular singers, and poor opera choices were beginning to lead people away.(2) The directors had always disliked German opera and had only wanted Damrosch to produce it short term.(11) The German troupe lost several of its most popular singers for the 1889-1890 season, their replacements considered “only fair” at best.(18, XIV, p. 341) When Max Alvary left, some even feared that half the interest would disappear with him.(25) While the individual ticket holders demanded Wagner, the subscribers were becoming increasingly irritated, wanting only to see and be seen and resented the insistence upon silence.(5, p. 243) Chaos ensued during the 1890-1891 season when the Metropolitan produced several novelties including Duke Ernst II's Diana von Solange that outraged critics who questioned the committee's wisdom for foisting such “rubbish” upon the public.(1) William simply opined: “It doesn't amount to much.”(Diary, 1891-01-09) The audiences agreed with the critics: 300 people petitioned the directors demanding Diana never be repeated. The stockholders manipulated the controversy to banish German opera completely. Meeting in a secret conclave, they voted against the desires of the public in favor of French and Italian opera.(5, p. 244)(11) Several days later the Metropolitan impresario Henry Abbey informed William of the Board's decision.(Diary, 1891-01-14)
After reigning for seven years at the Metropolitan, German opera made its final evening appearance to a packed house on Friday March 20, 1891 with Wagner's Tristan und Isolde to a wildly enthusiastic audience that included William’s second wife Elizabeth Steinway.(Diary, 1891-03-20)(15) The audience shouted their ovations, recalling the cast numerous times after each act, then refused to leave at the opera's conclusion.(15) The final matinee, a performance of Die Meistersinger, inspired the audience to a half hour standing ovation as they cheered and wept, then presented flowers to Seidl and Damrosch. The audience calmed only after Seidl acknowledged their great demonstration.(5, p. 244) Emil Fischer addressed the audience to share his dream of singing German opera again on that stage. With the final curtain, German opera faded from memory.(28) The following day The New York Times praised Mr. Seidl, stating that his work stood as a monument that would live in the pages of American music history.(11)
Damrosch and Seidl went their separate ways both personally and professionally when the Metropolitan began production of French and Italian operas.(3, p. 104, 107) Damrosch continued to conduct the Oratorio Society and the New York Symphony Society, both organizations inherited from his father,(3, pp. 171, 187) while Seidl continued to conduct his orchestra in Brooklyn and replaced the recently departed conductor Theodore Thomas at the New York Philharmonic. Neither had an opera company to conduct.(22, p. 184)
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The Formation of the Opera Company: 1894
Second Season: Fall 1895 - Spring 1896
Third Season and Beyond: Fall 1896 - Spring 1898
Sources:
1. “Amusements: Metropolitan Opera House,” The New York Times, January 10, 1891, p. 4.
2. “Damrosch Chats of His Triumph,” The Chicago Daily Tribune, April 21, 1895, p. 38.
3. Damrosch, Walter, My Musical Life, New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1925.
4. “A Dinner to Anton Seidl,” The Musical Courier, December 15, 1886, pp. 373-374.
5. Dizikes, John, Opera in America: A Cultural History, New Haven: Yale University Press, 1993.
6. Finck, Henry Theophilus, ed., Anton Seidl: A Memorial by His Friends, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1899.
7. “German Opera,” The Musical Courier, November 25, 1885, p. 329.
8. “German Opera,” The Musical Courier, January 20, 1886, p. 37.
9. Horowitz, Joseph, Laura Langford and the Seidl Society: Wagner Comes to Brooklyn, www.Cdlib.org/ucpressbooks.
10. Keogel, John, Music in German Immigrant Theater, New York City 1840-1940, Rochester: University of Rochester Press, 2009.
11. “Live Musical Topics,” The New York Times, March 22, 1891, p. 12.
12. “The Metropolitan Conductorship,”The Musical Courier, December 9, 1885, p. 358.
13. “Metropolitan Opera House,” The New York Times, February 18, 1885, p. 5.
14. “Metropolitan Opera House,” The New York Times, March 18, 1885, p. 5.
15. “Metropolitan Opera House,” The New York Times, March 21, 1891, p. 4.
16. “Mr. Hale On Mr. Damrosch,” The Musical Courier, December 11, 1889, p. 486.
17. “Music The Drama: German Opera At The Metropolitan,” The New York Daily Tribune, November 24, 1885, p. 4.
18. Odell, George, C.D., Annals of the New York Stage, New York: AMS Press, 1970.
19. “Opera in German,” The Musical Courier, December 8, 1886, p. 357.
20. “Opera in German,” The Musical Courier, December 15, 1886, p. 373.
21. “Personnel of the German Opera,” The Musical Courier, October 15, 1884, p. 246.
22. Schabas, Ezra, Theodore Thomas, Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1989.
23. “Season of German Opera,” The New York Times, October 11, 1884, p. 5.
24. “A Supper in Honor of Herr Seidl,” The Musical Courier, January 13, 1886, p. 20.
25. (untitled) The Musical Courier, March 20, 1889, p. 222.
26. “Wagner's 'Tristan and Isolde' Brought Out at The Metropolitan,” The New York Herald, December 1, 1886, p. 5.
27. “Die Walküre at The Metropolitan,” The New York Herald, December 1, 1885, p. 5.
28. “A Week's Musical Topics,” The New York Times, February 24, 1895, p. 12.
