Lan D. Ho!
"At least I know now how not to impress you." //
I Came to Game
February 27, 2011
The seriousness of art:In revolutionizing opera, Wagner realized he would have to revolutionize opera production. What he confronted was a situation where opera was primarily a social rather than a musical event. This was even obvious from the physical arrangements in opera houses. Spectators were seated in hierarchical tiers of boxes in a horseshoe-shaped auditorium where seeing the stage was not as important as seeing, and being seen by, other spectators. The stage itself was small and ornate, and the theatre remained lit throughout a performance. Members of the audience chattering among themselves, were almost as much a part of the show as the singers on stage. The operas themselves were apt to be mangled at the whim of a stage-manager; the music might be cut or altered and the settings for one work were often used for another, irrespective of the dramatic content of either. Soloists usually lacked acting—and at times singing—ability and in any case tended to be more interested in playing to the gallery than in playing a role on stage.
To someone who saw music as a means of redeeming society, such antics were an unspeakable outrage. In Wagner's view the core of the problem was money. That, not art, was what animated impresarios. To them opera was a business and the objective was profit, not musical excellence. But audiences were also at fault. They regarded opera as an evening's light entertainment and a means of flaunting their social status. Wagner wanted opera to convey ideas, explore human relations, portray life at its best and worst, and everything in between. Artistic excellence could not be sustained commercially; it required fewer and better performances and must therefore be supported by state subsidies. Audiences would likewise have to change; they had to learn to treat opera-going as a transcendent aesthetic experience. Ideally the audience and the spectacle were to interact. (Frederic Spotts, Bayreuth: A History of the Wagner Festival, 30–31)
