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Show IU Drama. (Standard and Times, Philadelphia.) Huge pictorial posters all over the city proclaim the fact that we are to have a fresh visit from "Parsifal" thi.3 time in an English dress. Last year we found it necessary to warn Catholics against the danger of attending attend-ing this singular production. The real character of it was ably pointed out in the Messenger by a distinguished German priest. It was shown to be a most blasphemous travesty on the Christian religion, and its open immorality im-morality w as the feature that made the introduction of fantastic legend into the most sacred and awful of themes the inexpiable impiety that it is. We hope no decent Catholic will be found patronizing this monstrous hybrid. In German, it was harmful enough; in English it must be a thousand times more so. Last year we gave the verdict ver-dict of an accomplished Catholic critic on this composite production. We have now, from the same observant source, a fresh resume of the work, as it strikes; and we think it deserving of all the prominence that a Catholic paper pa-per can give it. Our esteemed correspondent corres-pondent writes: "'Parsifal is more than an opera: H is a music drama which embodies the profoundest beliefs o,f the Christian religion,' re-ligion,' so statcfi the advertiser of the. coming opera. This, of course, is false. The Holy Grail is a mere legend, which poets of purer mind than Wagner have made immortal. It has nothing whatr ever to do with the mysteries of religion, relig-ion, showing Wagner's ignorance of its truths. What are the deep-seated and cherished beliefs of the Christian peoples peo-ples shown forth in 'Parsifal?' Nothing but a legend favoring superstition rather than religion. "And "that the performances must contain certain elements of reverence and spirituality' is true in one sense; but the reverence and spirituality are swallowed up in its base immorality. Wagner's version of the beautiful legend of 'the Holy Grail is low and repulsive. re-pulsive. He only shows us that the devout de-vout and holy (?) king and all his good knights, who were the x-ustodians of the Hofy Grail, were mere shams of manhood, man-hood, and that common decency could only be found in an idiot! Surely a high idea of man extremely elevating to contemplate. "The plot, if such it could be called, in bad and immoral, and the religious presentations are false. The advertiser adver-tiser sayfl that 'Parsifal' makes of the theatre a temple I would say a temple tem-ple of iniquity. I would draw a veil over the vice portrayed or inferred in 'Parsifal, and warn those who have any regard for decency to st? away. 1 repeat the -words of an . eminent preacher, who said, in condemning the theatres of New York no doubt he had reference to the same 'Parsifal' presented pre-sented there last winter that to witness wit-ness such portrayal of vice, even though virtue triumphed in the end, is equal to going through some of the vile sewers of the city in order to reach clear water." The New York Sun- notes a good point in staje criticism by "an ecclesiastical eccle-siastical thea. re-goer:" "It is a wonder won-der to me." sai 1 the latter, "why managers man-agers are so careless about details when any Catholic rem.ouy or bit of ritual is put on the stage. At the Knickerbocker Knicker-bocker while Borneo and Juliet' was being played. Friar Lawrence insisted on giving his absolutions and blessings with his left hand. This week, in the 'Much Ado,' it is positively grotesque to those who know- better to watch the way in which he acolytes and choristers choris-ters come in :nd genuflect and cress themselves. These are rwo of the simplest sim-plest ceremonial actions a Catholic does, yet these people bungle therrr in a way that ".hows utter lack of competent compet-ent direction." |