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Show CATHOLIC HIT UAL AND THE -' STAGE. Catholics' who attend the theatre ;ip frequently amused arid nc: infrequentiy d's justed at the ignorance manifetital concerning Catholic ritual whenever occasion, requires the use of the same in dramatic representations. Catholic play-goers will read with interest in-terest the following timely letter to the New York Simon this subject: As an annual subscriber to the opera of many years' startling. I wki'.i to protect, pro-tect, through the columns of your Valued Val-ued journal, against an abuse of eon-scant eon-scant occurrence in the stage management manage-ment of the Grail Opera company. I refer to tho persi.s'temtly contemptuous treatment of Catholic ritual whenever thii3 is represented in opera. It must be a source cf great offense to the thousand. of Catholics who patronize Mr. Grail's performances, and I think this public protest should appropriately appropriate-ly appf.ii- in the Sim, which has undoubtedly un-doubtedly a larger circulation among Caddies than any other daily newspaper. news-paper. Ihe latent occasion of offence was em Monday in the performance of "Le Pi'i'thtte.' In the coronation sicene twelve women appeared as acolyte.-i bearing cer.cis. No attempt was made, even by t'hi use of boys' wigs, to disguise dis-guise their sex; their long hair was merely brought on top of the head, upon which were roquettishly pinned re'd caps very much after the manner of the familiar advertisements f the Franco-American soups. In the same? procession Walked four Bishops in full canonical bearings meaningless banners in their hand? instead of croz'.e-r.-. while a Cardinal followed in a robe s foc'.vl and dirty that no boarding-house ecok surely would have accepted It a. I a gift. Last year I raw M. Saleza as Romeo twice wear hia cap throughout the marriage scene while he was repress rep-ress n-'tirag the reception of a Catholic picramerrt. It may be that M. Saleza. although a Frenchman, is ala a Jew, and that his action waa instinctive: but thi-3 fact cannot excuse so flagrant an offenre against religious respect, hai-trionif- ,irt ar.J: hiiUorical accuracy on th? part of the si'age management. Again, in the representation of "L'Afri-caine," "L'Afri-caine," last year the Council cf Prelate Pre-late :, ccmpc.-yl not only of member? cf the noblest and richest families, but nf th; highest dignitaries of the Catholic Cath-olic Church in Spain at that time, were dresjt'J in, s flovenP.y and ludicrous ludi-crous a manner, with dirty, ill-firting cassocks- (reaching in many ir.s:anci s), cnJy half way below their knees), that their appearance was as dignafied as a chorua of monkeys. Let me call Mr. Grau's attention to a few mora inaccuracies. A Bishop's cro-zier cro-zier mean 3 a i-Iiepherd's crook and is a, srl'gni rf hip spiritual pastorate. He carries- it in his right hand always, when walking, in all fo-lemn functions. He doe.3 net held it either as a quarter-.ilaff quarter-.ilaff or a pike: he ues it naturally, to nsaly.t his steps. And he does not carry j banners: he might as appropriately ! carry a Thanksgiving turkey. Another instance of irreverent handling and Inartistic In-artistic feeling la the introduction of Mephiittophelea into a Catholic Church, j If there is a spot on earth into which the devil cannot enter it is a church. If in an earlier scene in "Faust" he is driven off in agony merely by the sight of the crcvs'3-hilt of a sword how absurdly ab-surdly inconsistent it i that he should er.it tr with perfect sang-froid into the actual presence of Gcd in His consecrated conse-crated temple. Calve alone has shown ccmbir.ed artistic sense and religious instinct in presenting this scene at the perch of the" church. Now, I maintain that though Mr. Grau may take the liberty to introduce Catholic ritual into his performances. I he has no right to take liberties with it. In every instance the only effect produced is ons cf contempt arid ridicule? ridi-cule? of sacred subjects. It might be pardonable in a "barn-storming" company, com-pany, but it is inexcusable at the Metropolitan Met-ropolitan opera house. If Catholic ritual rit-ual could only be studied like the ancient an-cient Egyptian, from stone inscription and papyri, Mr, Grau and his stage manager might excite only our sympathy sym-pathy in their efforts, but. as a short walk to the Cathedral on any greet feast day, or even a few question to any Catholic ecclesiastic would suffice to brush away their ignorance. Catholics Catho-lics can but feel that the undignified and irreverent manner in which subjects sub-jects aa;l objects sacred to them are represented id due merely to contemptuous contemp-tuous indifference. |