Wagner originated the idea of having the stage overshoot the space allotted to the orchestra, the effect of which has been good in most instances where applied. It has two advantages over the common placing,--viz., it brings the singer nearer his audience, which facilitates his task of making himself understood, and it has a grateful tendency to suppress obstreperous brass, who have a way, when placed in front of the stage, of making singers forgotten. I have seen singers struggle with tense muscles and swelling veins to make a vocal climax with no other result than an heroic spectacle. When a conductor allows his brass to bury the more modest elements of his orchestra under their clangor, he shows incapacity,--either a lack of control or a coarse conception of their mission,--and as this incapacity is quite common, any mechanical device which will insure moderation on the part of our assertive friends who play the trumpets and trombones is worthy of commendation. Now let us see what can be done towards putting ourselves still more closely in sympathy with the master, and to better prepare ourselves to follow his creations intelligently. Following intelligently does not imply merely the recognition of episodes of especial significance or beauty, but much more: it implies the loss of no contributive detail and an easy grasp of the combined means. Exhaustive study alone can make this possible. Its importance must serve to excuse my reverting to the subject of texts. One should never take a book into an opera-house, but should make it superfluous through earnest and repeated readings at home. We should at least so familiarize ourselves with the text of works worthy of hearing, that we can anticipate situations and keep in touch with each and every detail of action and shade of meaning. This having been accomplished, and having made ourselves acquainted with the more important Leit Motifs, we shall be intellectually equipped to follow the master in the development of his music-drama on the lines and through the methods we have considered. I do not wish to claim that the most favorable conditions would enable us to fully understand intentions, or to discover all points of beauty and strength in one hearing; our study should, however, have placed us quite inside the cold curiosity line. We would be entitled to a creative sense akin to that felt by a co-worker: our natures would have been made acoustically receptive and responsive. CHAPTER VI WHAT ARE THE INFLUENCING FACTORS IN DECIDING MUSICAL DESTINIES? WHO IS TO BE OUR SEVENTH HIGH-PRIEST?