A prejudice, a premature judgment
The Neues Wiener Tagblatt reports:
At the charity performance at the Residenzbühne two days ago, Ms. Käte Pasqué, who played Lotte in Massenet’s Werther, gave quite the performance with her excellent portrayal of the character. The young artist’s dulcet voice was brilliant.
The report is right—only that it ought to have read “two days from now” instead of “two days ago.” For, at the time, it was still believed that the charity performance was going to take place. But there’d been an impediment, it didn’t take place, there was no Werther, no one gave any performance, and no one’s voice was brilliant. It’s no matter, though, as long as the main point is right.
Karl Kraus
Translated by Peter Winslow
Source text
Kraus, K. “Ein Vorurteil.” Die Fackel, No. 378-380 (1913), 24. Print.