Studio: international art (39.1907)

Modern Stage Mounting in Germany

delighting the few connoisseurs with his fine dis-
crimination between French fifteenth-century and
Bavarian fifteenth-century dress.

If, however, the whole of what Mr. Fanto has
accomplished were to be summed up in the state-
ment that he unfolded an historically faithful picture
before our eyes, there would be little reason to
make much ado about it, especially in the columns
of a magazine like The Studio. Anybody, I
suppose, who really takes the trouble could in
time learn to drawn dalmatics, kirtles, poulaines,
tabards, gypcieres, etc., correctly, or to understand
the looks and structure of the horned, the hennin,
the butterfly head-dresses, and thus rival Mr. Fanto.
But Fanto adds a rare accomplishment thereto by
displaying an exquisite taste, a refined sense for
charming combinations of colour when he designs
these things, and this is what 'renders his work so
remarkable. Evincing taste in this way is the
second chance open to men of his profession which
I referred to above; and here is where the great
educational possibilities of art upon the stage come
into play. The seeing of good specimens refines,
of bad ones corrupts, the taste of the audience;
and if nothing more be achieved than the spread-
ing of a dislike for crude contrasts and of an
appreciation of beautiful harmonies of colour—
symphonies, as Whistler called them—a world of
good will accrue to the public at large therefrom.

Naturally this good taste, as far as it depends
upon a fine feeling for colour, can be made
manifest upon almost any occasion, and just as
naturally the artist can give himself up to it
best whenever he is least hampered by actual
historical exigencies. One of the most splendid
displays of it, at the Dresden opera-house,
occurred in the setting of Richard Strauss's
" Salome " (Wilde). It was a wonderful scene
where the Tetrarch appeared, preceded and
surrounded by his retinue. The stage business
here calls upon this mass of people to burst
through the gate and spread out like a fan.
Through the consummate art of Mr. Fanto the
picture thus unfolded was overwhelmingly
beautiful, and an uncommon degree of de-
liberation and tact was displayed in the
balancing of colour.

The most recent labour of Mr. Fanto was
done in connection with the revival of an
opera which should possess especial interest
for Englishmen, since its very first perform-
ance took place in London. On the 12th
of April, 1826, Weber brought out his
" Oberon " at Covent Garden. It is a curious
246

fact, by the way, that yon faithful chronicler
of the stage, Genest, dwells upon the perform-
ance at length—speaks of its success, too—but
never mentions Weber's name! He has, how-
ever, some words of praise for the manufacturer of
the wretched libretto, Planche, now all but forgotten.

The closing scene of " Oberon " offers an oppor-
tunity for the correct application of historical
costume. For the rest, fancy may reign supreme,
even with regard to the Oriental incidents in the
opera—in other words, an artist is free to show what
he can do. Two of the most captivating scenes are
that of the mermaids and that in which Roxana tries
to seduce Huon. Fanto had in his mind's eye for
the mermaids' scene something similar to Boeck-
lin's wonderful paintings: a dark stage, with
groups ot mermaids lolling about on rocks
scattered here and there, scarcely discernible in
the dim blue light. While the famous song is
going on they are supposed to be frolicking, and
now and then a flash is sent out by one of those
wonderful, silvery-scaled tails as its possessor tosses
over, diving into the water. The Roxana-Huon
scene, it will be remembered, is a sort of Parsifal-
flower-girls scene. Roxana has been rebuffed by
Huon and calls her dancing-girls to assist her in
corrupting the hero. Huon is clad in a kind of
domino of a wonderful purple colour, the dancers

BOOK-COVER 1 BY MISS PHILLPOTT

(See London Studio- Talk, p. 248)