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diff --git a/16248.txt b/16248.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..dc8aaea --- /dev/null +++ b/16248.txt @@ -0,0 +1,9607 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Opera, by R.A. Streatfeild + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Opera + A Sketch of the Development of Opera. With full Descriptions + of all Works in the Modern Repertory + +Author: R.A. Streatfeild + +Other: J. A. Fuller-Maitland + +Release Date: July 9, 2005 [EBook #16248] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE OPERA *** + + + + +Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Chuck Greif and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + + +THE OPERA + +A Sketch of the Development of Opera. With full Descriptions of all +Works in the Modern Repertory. + +BY R.A. STREATFEILD + +WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY J.A. FULLER-MAITLAND + +_THIRD EDITION, REVISED AND ENLARGED_ + +LONDON + +GEORGE ROUTLEDGE & SONS, LIMITED + +PHILADELPHIA: J.B. LIPPINCOTT CO. + + + + +CONTENTS + +CHAP. PAGE + +INTRODUCTION vii + +I. THE BEGINNINGS OF OPERA 1 + +PERI--MONTEVERDE--CAVALLI--CESTI--CAMBERT--LULLI--PURCELL-- +KEISER--SCARLATTI--HANDEL + +II. THE REFORMS OF GLUCK 19 + +III. OPERA BUFFA, OPERA COMIQUE, AND SINGSPIEL 40 + +PERGOLESI--ROUSSEAU--MONSIGNY--GRETRY--CIMAROSA--HILLER + +IV. MOZART 52 + +V. THE CLOSE OF THE CLASSICAL PERIOD 74 + +MEHUL--CHERUBINI--SPONTINI--BEETHOVEN--BOIELDIEU + +VI. WEBER AND THE ROMANTIC SCHOOL 87 + +WEBER--SPOHR--MARSCHNER--KREUTZER--LORTZING--NICOLAI--FLOTOW-- +MENDELSSOHN--SCHUBERT--SCHUMANN + +VII. ROSSINI, DONIZETTI, AND BELLINI 106 + +VIII. MEYERBEER AND FRENCH OPERA 126 + +HEROLD--MEYERBEER--BERLIOZ--HALEVY--AUBER + +IX. WAGNER'S EARLY WORKS 151 + +X. WAGNER'S LATER WORKS 176 + +XL. MODERN FRANCE 214 + +GOUNOD--THOMAS--BIZET--SAINT SAENS--REYER---MASSENET--BRUNEAU-- +CHARPENTIER--DEBUSSY + +XII. MODERN ITALY 262 + +VERDI--BOITO--PONCHIELLI--PUCCINI--MASCAGNI--LEONCAVALLO--GIORDANO + +XIII. MODERN GERMAN AND SLAVONIC OPERA 302 + +CORNELIUS--GOETZ---GOLDMARK--HUMPERDINCK--STRAUSS--SMETANA-- +GLINKA--PADEREWSKI + +XIV. ENGLISH OPERA 323 + +BALFE--WALLACE--BENEDICT--GORING THOMAS--MACKENZIE--STANFORD-- +SULLIVAN--SMYTH + +INDEX OF OPERAS 351 + +INDEX OF COMPOSERS 361 + + + + +INTRODUCTION + + +If Music be, among the arts, 'Heaven's youngest-teemed star', the +latest of the art-forms she herself has brought forth is +unquestionably Opera. Three hundred years does not at first seem a +very short time, but it is not long when it covers the whole period of +the inception, development, and what certainly looks like the +decadence, of an important branch of man's artistic industry. The art +of painting has taken at least twice as long to develop; yet the three +centuries from Monteverde to Debussy cover as great a distance as that +which separates Cimabue from Degas. In operatic history, revolutions, +which in other arts have not been accomplished in several generations, +have got themselves completed, and indeed almost forgotten, in the +course of a few years. Twenty-five years ago, for example, Wagner's +maturer works were regarded, by the more charitable of those who did +not admire them, as intelligible only to the few enthusiasts who had +devoted years of study to the unravelling of their mysteries; the +world in general looked askance at the 'Wagnerians', as they were +called, and professed to consider the shyly-confessed admiration of +the amateurs as a mere affectation. In that time we have seen the +tables turned, and now there is no more certain way for a manager to +secure a full house than by announcing one of these very works. An +even shorter period covers the latest Italian renaissance of music, +the feverish excitement into which the public was thrown by one of its +most blatant productions, and the collapse of a set of composers who +were at one time hailed as regenerators of their country's art. + +But though artistic conditions in opera change quickly and continually, +though reputations are made and lost in a few years, and the real +reformers of music themselves alter their style and methods so radically +that the earlier compositions of a Gluck, a Wagner, or a Verdi present +scarcely any point of resemblance to those later masterpieces by which +each of these is immortalised, yet the attitude of audiences towards +opera in general changes curiously little from century to century; and +plenty of modern parallels might be found, in London and elsewhere, to +the story which tells of the delay in producing 'Don Giovanni' on +account of the extraordinary vogue of Martini's 'Una Cosa Rara', a work +which only survives because a certain tune from it is brought into the +supper-scene in Mozart's opera. + +There is a good deal of fascination, and some truth, in the theory +that different nations enjoy opera in different ways. According to +this, the Italians consider it solely in relation to their sensuous +emotions; the French, as producing a titillating sensation more or +less akin to the pleasures of the table; the Spaniards, mainly as a +vehicle for dancing; the Germans, as an intellectual pleasure; and the +English, as an expensive but not unprofitable way of demonstrating +financial prosperity. The Italian might be said to hear through what +is euphemistically called his heart, the Frenchman through his palate, +the Spaniard through his toes, the German through his brain, and the +Englishman through his purse. But in truth this does not represent the +case at all fairly. For, to take only modern instances, Italy, on +whose congenial soil 'Cavalleria Rusticana' and the productions it +suggested met with such extraordinary success, saw also in 'Falstaff' +the wittiest and most brilliant musical comedy since 'Die +Meistersinger', and in 'Madama Butterfly' a lyric of infinite +delicacy, free from any suggestion of unworthy emotion. Among recent +French operas, works of tragic import, treated with all the intricacy +of the most advanced modern schools, have been received with far +greater favour than have been shown to works of the lighter class +which we associate with the genius of the French nation; and of late +years the vogue of such works as 'Louise' or 'Pelleas et Melisande' +shows that the taste for music without any special form has conquered +the very nation in which form has generally ranked highest. In +Germany, on the other hand, some of the greatest successes with the +public at large have been won by productions which seem to touch the +lowest imaginable point of artistic imbecility; and the +ever-increasing interest in musical drama that is manifested year +after year by London audiences shows that higher motives than those +referred to weigh even with Englishmen. The theory above mentioned +will not hold water, for there are, as a matter of fact, only two ways +of looking at opera: either as a means, whether expensive or not, of +passing an evening with a very little intellectual trouble, some +social _eclat_, and a certain amount of pleasure, or as a form of art, +making serious and justifiable claims on the attention of rational +people. These claims of opera are perhaps more widely recognised in +England than they were some years ago; but there are still a certain +number of persons, and among them not a few musical people, who +hesitate to give opera a place beside what is usually called +'abstract' music. Music's highest dignity is, no doubt, reached when +it is self-sufficient, when its powers are exerted upon its own +creations, entirely without dependence upon predetermined emotions +calling for illustration, and when the interest of the composition as +well as the material is conveyed exclusively in terms of music. But +the function of music in expressing those sides of human emotion which +lie too deep for verbal utterance, a function of which the gradual +recognition led on to the invention of opera, is one that cannot be +slighted or ignored; in it lies a power of appeal to feeling that no +words can reach, and a very wonderful definiteness in conveying exact +shades of emotional sensation. Not that it can of itself suggest the +direction in which the emotions are to be worked upon; but this +direction once given from outside, whether by a 'programme' read by +the listener or by the action and accessories of the stage, the force +of feeling can be conveyed with overwhelming power, and the whole +gamut of emotion, from the subtlest hint or foreshadowing to the fury +of inevitable passion, is at the command of him who knows how to wield +the means by which expression is carried to the hearer's mind. And in +this fact--for a fact it is--lies the completest justification of +opera as an art-form. The old-fashioned criticism of opera as such, +based on the indisputable fact that, however excited people may be, +they do not in real life express themselves in song, but in +unmodulated speech, is not now very often heard. With the revival in +England of the dramatic instinct, the conventions of stage declamation +are readily accepted, and if it be conceded that the characters in a +drama may be allowed to speak blank verse, it is hardly more than a +step further to permit the action to be carried on by means of vocal +utterance in music. Until latterly, however, English people, though +taking pleasure in the opera, went to it rather to hear particular +singers than to enjoy the work as a whole, or with any consideration +for its dramatic significance. We should not expect a stern and +uncompromising nature like Carlyle's to regard the opera as anything +more than a trivial amusement, and that such was his attitude towards +it appears from his letters; but it is curious to see that a man of +such strongly pronounced dramatic tastes as Edward FitzGerald, though +devoted to the opera in his own way, yet took what can only be called +a superficial view of its possibilities. + +The Englishman who said of the opera, 'At the first act I was +enchanted; the second I could just bear; and at the third I ran away', +is a fair illustration of an attitude common in the eighteenth +century; and in France things were not much better, even in days when +stage magnificence reached a point hardly surpassed in history. La +Bruyere's 'Je ne sais comment l'opera avec une musique si parfaite, et +une depense toute royale, a pu reussir a m'ennuyer', shows how little +he had realised the fatiguing effect of theatrical splendour too +persistently displayed. St. Evremond finds juster cause for his bored +state of mind in the triviality of the subject-matter of operas, and +his words are worth quoting at some length: 'La langueur ordinaire ou +je tombe aux operas, vient de ce que je n'en ai jamais vu qui ne m'ait +paru meprisable dans la disposition du sujet, et dans les vers. Or, +c'est vainement que l'oreille est flattee, et que les yeux sont +charmes, si l'esprit ne se trouve pas satisfait; mon ame +d'intelligence avec mon esprit plus qu'avec mes sens, forme une +resistance aux impressions qu'elle peut recevoir, ou pour le moins +elle manque d'y preter un consentement agreable, sans lequel les +objets les plus voluptueux meme ne sauraient me donner un grand +plaisir. Une sottise chargee de musique, de danses, de machines, de +decorations, est une sottise magnifique; c'est un vilain fonds sous de +beaux dehors, ou je penetre avec beaucoup de desagrement.' + +The cant phrase in use in FitzGerald's days, 'the lyric stage', might +have conveyed a hint of the truth to a man who cared for the forms of +literature as well as its essence. For, in its highest development, +opera is most nearly akin to lyrical utterances in poetry, and the most +important musical revolution of the present century has been in the +direction of increasing, not diminishing, the lyrical quality of +operatic work. The Elizabethan writers--not only the dramatists, but the +authors of romances--interspersed their blank verse or their prose +narration with short lyrical poems, just as in the days of Mozart the +airs and concerted pieces in an opera were connected by wastes of +recitative that were most aptly called 'dry'; and as it was left to a +modern poet to tell, in a series of lyrics succeeding one another +without interval, a dramatic story such as that of _Maud_, so was it a +modern composer who carried to completion, in 'Tristan und Isolde', the +dramatic expression of passion at the highest point of lyrical +utterance. It is no more unnatural for the raptures of Wagner's lovers, +or the swan-song of ecstasy, to be sung, than for the young man whose +character Tennyson assumes, to utter himself in measured verse, +sometimes of highly complex structure. The two works differ not in kind, +but in degree of intensity, and to those whose ears are open to the +appeal of music, the power of expression in such a case as this is +greater beyond all comparison than that of poetry, whether declaimed or +merely read. That so many people recognise the rational nature of opera +in the present day is in great measure due to Wagner, since whose +reforms the conventional and often idiotic libretti of former times have +entirely disappeared. In spite of the sneers of the professed +anti-Wagnerians, which were based as often as not upon some ineptitude +on the part of the translator, not upon any inherent defect in the +original, the plots invented by Wagner have won for themselves an +acceptance that may be called world-wide. And whatever be the verdict on +his own plots, there can be no question as to the superiority of the +average libretto since his day. No composer dare face the public of the +present day with one of the pointless, vapid sets of rhymes, strung +together with intervals of bald recitative, that pleased our +forefathers, and equally inconceivable is the re-setting of libretti +that have served before, in the manner of the eighteenth century +composers, a prodigious number of whom employed one specially admired +'book' by Metastasio. + +Unfortunately those who take an intelligent interest in opera do not +even yet form a working majority of the operatic audience in any +country. While the supporters of orchestral, choral, or chamber music +consist wholly of persons, who, whatever their degree of musical +culture, take a serious view of the art so far as they can appreciate +it, and therefore are unhampered by the necessity of considering the +wishes of those who care nothing whatever about the music they perform. +In connection with every operatic enterprise the question arises of how +to cater for a great class who attend operatic performances for any +other reason rather than that of musical enjoyment, yet without whose +pecuniary support the undertaking must needs fail at once. Nor is it +only in England that the position is difficult. In countries where the +opera enjoys a Government subsidy, the influences that make against true +art are as many and as strong as they are elsewhere. The taste of the +Intendant in a German town, or that of the ladies of his family, may be +on such a level that the public of the town, over the operatic +arrangement of which he presides, may very well be compelled to hear +endless repetitions of flashy operas that have long passed out of every +respectable repertory; and in other countries the Government official +within whose jurisdiction the opera falls may, and very often does, +enforce the engagement of some musically incompetent prima donna in whom +he, or some scheming friend, takes a particular interest. + +The moral conditions of the operatic stage are no doubt far more +satisfactory than they were, and in England the general deodorisation of +the theatre has not been unfelt in opera; but even without the unworthy +motives which too often drew the bucks and the dandies of a past day to +the opera-house, the influence of the unintelligent part of the +audience upon the performers is far from good in an artistic sense. It +is this which fosters that mental condition with which all who are +acquainted with the operatic world are only too familiar. Now, just as +in the days when Marcello wrote his _Teatro alla moda_, there is +scarcely a singer who does not hold, and extremely few who do not +express, the opinion that all the rest of the profession is in league +against them; and by this supposition, as well as by many other +circumstances, an atmosphere is created which is wholly antagonistic to +the attainment of artistic perfection. All honour is due to the purely +artistic singers who have reached their position without intrigue, and +whose influence on their colleagues is the best stimulus to wholesome +endeavour. It is beyond question that the greater the proportion of +intelligent hearers in any audience or set of subscribers, the higher +will the standard be, not only in vocalisation, but in that combination +which makes the artist as distinguished from the mere singer. For every +reason, too, it is desirable that opera should be given, as a general +rule, in the language of the country in which the performance takes +place, and although the system of giving each work with its own original +words is an ideally perfect one for trained hearers, yet the +difficulties in the way of its realisation, and the absurdities that +result from such expedients as a mixture of two or more languages in the +same piece, render it practically inexpedient for ordinary operatic +undertakings. The recognition of English as a possible medium of vocal +expression may be slow, but it is certainly making progress, and in the +last seasons at Covent Garden it was occasionally employed even before +the fashionable subscribers, who may be presumed to have tolerated it, +since they did not manifest any disapproval of its use. Since the first +edition of this book was published, the Utopian idea, as it then seemed, +of a national opera for London has advanced considerably towards +realisation, and it is certain that when it is set on foot, the English +language alone will be employed. + +While opera is habitually performed in a foreign language, or, if in +English, by those who have not the art of making their words +intelligible, there will always be a demand for books that tell the +story more clearly than is to be found in the doggerel translations of +the libretti, unless audiences return with one accord to the attitude of +the amateurs of former days, who paid not the slightest attention to the +plot of the piece, provided only that their favourite singers were +taking part. Very often in that classic period the performers themselves +knew nothing and cared less about the dramatic meaning of the works in +which they appeared, and a venerable anecdote is current concerning a +certain supper party, the guests at which had all identified themselves +with one or other of the principal parts in 'Il Trovatore'. A question +being asked as to the plot of the then popular piece, it was found that +not one of the company had the vaguest notion what it was all about. +The old lady who, during the church scene in 'Faust', asked her +grand-daughter, in a spirit of humble inquiry, what the relationship was +between the two persons on the stage, is no figment of a diseased +imagination; the thing actually happened not long ago, and one is left +to wonder what impression the preceding scenes had made upon the hearer. + +Of books that profess to tell the stories of the most popular operas +there is no lack, but, as a rule, the plots are related in a 'bald and +unconvincing' style, that leaves much to be desired, and sometimes in a +confused way that necessitates a visit to the opera itself in order to +clear up the explanation. There are useful dictionaries, too, notably +the excellent 'Opern-Handbuch' of Dr Riemann, which gives the names and +dates of production of every opera of any note; but the German scientist +does not always condescend to the detailed narration of the stories, +though he gives the sources from which they may have been derived. Mr +Streatfeild has hit upon the happy idea of combining the mere +story-telling part of his task with a survey of the history of opera +from its beginning early in the seventeenth century to the present day. +In the course of this historical narrative, the plots of all operas that +made a great mark in the past, or that have any chance of being revived +in the present, are related clearly and succinctly, and with a rare and +delightful absence of prejudice. The author finds much to praise in +every school; he is neither impatient of old opera nor intolerant of +new developments which have yet to prove their value; and he makes us +feel that he is not only an enthusiastic lover of opera as a whole, but +a cultivated musician. The historical plan adopted, in contradistinction +to the arrangement by which the operas are grouped under their titles in +alphabetical order, involves perhaps a little extra trouble to the +casual reader; but by the aid of the index, any opera concerning which +the casual reader desires to be informed can be found in its proper +place, and the chief facts regarding its origin and production are given +there as well as the story of its action. + + +J.A. FULLER-MAITLAND + +_June 1907_ + + + + +THE OPERA + + + + +CHAPTER I + +THE BEGINNINGS OF OPERA + + +PERI--MONTEVERDE--CAVALLI--CESTI--CAMBERT--LULLI--PURCELL-- +KEISER--SCARLATTI--HANDEL + + +The early history of many forms of art is wrapped in obscurity. Even in +music, the youngest of the arts, the precise origin of many modern +developments is largely a matter of conjecture. The history of opera, +fortunately for the historian, is an exception to the rule. All the +circumstances which combine to produce the idea of opera are known to +us, and every detail of its genesis is established beyond the +possibility of doubt. + +The invention of opera partook largely of the nature of an accident. +Late in the sixteenth century a few Florentine amateurs, fired with the +enthusiasm for Greek art which was at that time the ruling passion of +every cultivated spirit in Italy, set themselves the task of +reconstructing the conditions of the Athenian drama. The result of their +labours, regarded as an attempted revival of the lost glories of Greek +tragedy, was a complete failure; but, unknown to themselves, they +produced the germ of that art-form which, as years passed on, was +destined, in their own country at least, to reign alone in the +affections of the people, and to take the place, so far as the altered +conditions permitted, of the national drama which they had fondly hoped +to recreate. + +The foundations of the new art-form rested upon the theory that the +drama of the Greeks was throughout declaimed to a musical accompaniment. +The reformers, therefore, dismissed spoken dialogue from their drama, +and employed in its place a species of free declamation or recitative, +which they called _musica parlante_. The first work in which the new +style of composition was used was the 'Dafne' of Jacopo Peri, which was +privately performed in 1597. No trace of this work survives, nor of the +musical dramas by Emilio del Cavaliere and Vincenzo Galilei to which the +closing years of the sixteenth century gave birth. But it is best to +regard these privately performed works merely as experiments, and to +date the actual foundation of opera from the year 1600, when a public +performance of Peri's 'Euridice' was given at Florence in honour of the +marriage of Maria de' Medici and Henry IV. of France. A few years later +a printed edition of this work was published at Venice, a copy of which +is now in the library of the British Museum, and in recent times it has +been reprinted, so that those who are curious in these matters can study +this protoplasmic opera at their leisure. Expect for a few bars of +insignificant chorus, the whole work consists of the accompanied +recitative, which was the invention of these Florentine reformers. The +voices are accompanied by a violin, _chitarone_ (a large guitar), _lira +grande_, _liuto grosso_, and _gravicembalo_ or harpsichord, which filled +in the harmonies indicated by the figured bass. The instrumental +portions of the work are poor and thin, and the chief beauty lies in the +vocal part, which is often really pathetic and expressive. Peri +evidently tried to give musical form to the ordinary inflections of the +human voice, how successfully may be seen in the Lament of Orpheus which +Mr. Morton Latham has reprinted in his 'Renaissance of Music,' The +original edition of 'Euridice' contains an interesting preface, in which +the composer sets forth the theory upon which he worked, and the aims +which he had in view. It is too long to be reprinted here, but should be +read by all interested in the early history of opera. + +With the production of 'Euridice' the history of opera may be said to +begin; but if the new art-form had depended only upon the efforts of +Peri and his friends, it must soon have languished and died. With all +their enthusiasm, the little band of Florentines had too slight an +acquaintance with the science of music to give proper effect to the +ideas which they originated. Peri built the ship, but it was reserved +for the genius of Claudio Monteverde to launch it upon a wider ocean +than his predecessor could have dreamed of. Monteverde had been trained +in the polyphonic school of Palestrina, but his genius had never +acquiesced in the rules and restrictions in which the older masters +delighted. He was a poor contrapuntist, and his madrigals are chiefly +interesting as a proof of how ill the novel harmonies of which he was +the discoverer accorded with the severe purity of the older school But +in the new art he found the field his genius required. What had been +weakness and license in the madrigal became strength and beauty in the +opera. The new wine was put into new bottles, and both were preserved. +Monteverde produced his 'Arianna' in 1607, and his 'Orfeo' in 1608, and +with these two works started opera upon the path of development which +was to culminate in the works of Wagner. 'Arianna,' which, according to +Marco da Gagliano, himself a rival composer of high ability, 'visibly +moved all the theatre to tears,' is lost to us save for a few +quotations; but 'Orfeo' is in existence, and has recently been reprinted +in Germany. A glance at the score shows what a gulf separates this work +from Peri's treatment of the same story. Monteverde, with his orchestra +of thirty-nine instruments--brass, wood, and strings complete--his rich +and brilliant harmonies, sounding so strangely beautiful to ears +accustomed only to the severity of the polyphonic school, and his +delicious and affecting melodies, sometimes rising almost to the dignity +of an aria, must have seemed something more than human to the eager +Venetians as they listened for the first time to music as rich in colour +as the gleaming marbles of the Ca d'Oro or the radiant canvases of +Titian and Giorgione. + +The success of Monteverde had its natural result. He soon had pupils +and imitators by the score. The Venetians speedily discovered that they +had an inherent taste for opera, and the musicians of the day delighted +to cater for it. Monteverde's most famous pupil was Cavalli, to whom may +with some certainty be attributed an innovation which was destined to +affect the future of opera very deeply. In his time, to quote Mr. +Latham's 'Renaissance of Music,' 'the _musica parlante_ of the earliest +days of opera was broken up into recitative, which was less eloquent, +and aria, which was more ornamental. The first appearance of this change +is to be found in Cavalli's operas, in which certain rhythmical +movements called "arias" which are quite distinct from the _musica +parlante_, make their appearance. The music assigned by Monteverde to +Orpheus when he is leading Eurydice back from the Shades is undoubtedly +an air, but the situation is one to which an air is appropriate, and +_musica parlante_ would be inappropriate. If the drama had been a play +to be spoken and not sung, there would not have been any incongruity in +allotting a song to Orpheus, to enable Eurydice to trace him through the +dark abodes of Hades. But the arias of Cavalli are not confined to such +special situations, and recur frequently,' Cavalli had the true Venetian +love of colour. In his hands the orchestra began to assume a new +importance. His attempts to give musical expression to the sights and +sounds of nature--the murmur of the sea, the rippling of the brook and +the tempestuous fury of the winds--mark an interesting step in the +history of orchestral development. With Marcantonio Cesti appears +another innovation of scarcely less importance to the history of opera +than the invention of the aria itself--the _da capo_ or the repetition +of the first part of the aria in its entirety after the conclusion of +the second part. However much the _da capo_ may have contributed to the +settlement of form in composition, it must be admitted that it struck at +the root of all real dramatic effect, and in process of time degraded +opera to the level of a concert. Cesti was a pupil of Carissimi, who is +famous chiefly for his sacred works, and from him he learnt to prefer +mere musical beauty to dramatic truth. Those of his operas which remain +to us show a far greater command of orchestral and vocal resource than +Monteverde or Cavalli could boast, but so far as real expression and +sincerity are concerned, they are inferior to the less cultured efforts +of the earlier musicians. It would be idle to attempt an enumeration of +the Venetian composers of the seventeenth century and their works. Some +idea of the musical activity which prevailed may be gathered from the +fact that while the first public theatre was opened in 1637, before the +close of the century there were no less than eleven theatres in the city +devoted to the performance of opera alone. + +Meanwhile the enthusiasm for the new art-form spread through the cities +of Italy. According to an extant letter of Salvator Rosa's, opera was in +full swing in Rome during the Carnival of 1652. The first opera of +Provenzale, the founder of the Neapolitan school, was produced in 1658. +Bologna, Milan, Parma, and other cities soon followed suit. France, too, +was not behindhand, but there the development of the art soon deserved +the name a new school of opera, distinct in many important particulars +from its parent in Italy. The French nobles who saw the performance of +Peri's 'Euridice' at the marriage of Henry IV. may have carried back +tales of its splendour and beauty to their own country, but Paris was +not as yet ripe for opera. Not until 1647 did the French Court make the +acquaintance of the new art which was afterwards to win some of its most +brilliant triumphs in their city. In that year a performance of Peri's +'Euridice' (which, in spite of newer developments, had not lost its +popularity) was given in Paris under the patronage of Cadinal Mazarin. +This was followed by Cavalli's 'Serse,' conducted by the composer +himself. These performances quickened the latent genius of the French +people, and Robert Cambert, the founder of their school, hastened to +produce operas, which, though bearing traces of Italian influence, were +nevertheless distinctively French in manner and method. His works, two +of which are known to us, 'Pomone' and 'Les Peines et les Plaisirs de +l'Amour,' were to a certain extent a development of the masques which +had been popular in Paris for many years. They are pastoral and +allegorical in subject, and are often merely a vehicle for fulsome +adulation of the 'Roi Soleil.' But in construction they are operas pure +and simple. There is no spoken dialogue, and the music is continuous +from first to last. Cambert's operas were very successful, and in +conjunction with his librettist Perrin he received a charter from the +King in 1669, giving him the sole right of establishing opera-houses in +the kingdom. Quarrels, however, ensued. Cambert and Perrin separated. +The charter was revoked, or rather granted to a new-comer, Giovanni +Battista Lulli, and Cambert, in disgrace, retired to England, where he +died. Lulli (1633-1687) left Italy too young to be much influenced by +the developments of opera in that country, and was besides too good a +man of business to allow his artistic instinct to interfere with his +chance of success. He found Cambert's operas popular in Paris, and +instead of attempting any radical reforms, he adhered to the form which +he found ready made, only developing the orchestra to an extent which +was then unknown, and adding dignity and passion to the airs and +recitatives. Lulli's industry was extraordinary. During the space of +fourteen years he wrote no fewer than twenty operas, conceived upon a +grand scale, and produced with great magnificence. His treatment of +recitative is perhaps his strongest point, for in spite of the beauty of +one or two isolated songs, such as the famous 'Bois epais' in 'Amadis' +and Charon's wonderful air in 'Alceste,' his melodic gift was not great, +and his choral writing is generally of the most unpretentious +description. But his recitative is always solid and dignified, and often +impassioned and pathetic. Music, too, owes him a great debt for his +invention of what is known as the French form of overture, consisting +of a prelude, fugue, and dance movement, which was afterwards carried to +the highest conceivable pitch of perfection by Handel. + +Meanwhile an offshoot of the French school, transplanted to the banks of +the Thames, had blossomed into a brief but brilliant life under the +fostering care of the greatest musical genius our island has ever +produced, Henry Purcell. Charles II. was not a profound musician, but he +knew what sort of music he liked, and on one point his mind was made +up--that he did not like the music of the elderly composers who had +survived the Protectorate, and came forward at his restoration to claim +the posts which they had held at his father's court. Christopher +Gibbons, Child, and other relics of the dead polyphonic school were +quietly dismissed to provincial organ-lofts, and Pelham Humphreys, the +most promising of the 'Children of the Chapel Royal,' was sent over to +Paris to learn all that was newest in music at the feet of Lulli. +Humphreys came back, in the words of Pepys, 'an absolute Monsieur,' full +of the latest theories concerning opera and music generally, and with a +sublime contempt for the efforts of his stay-at-home colleagues. His own +music shows the French influence very strongly, and in that of his pupil +Henry Purcell (1658-1695) it may also be perceived, although coloured +and transmuted by the intensely English character of Purcell's own +genius. For many years it was supposed that Purcell's first and, +strictly speaking, his only opera, 'Dido and AEneas,' was written by him +at the age of seventeen and produced in 1675. Mr. Barclay Squire has now +proved that it was not produced until much later, but this scarcely +lessens the wonder of it, for Purcell can never have seen an opera +performed, and his acquaintance with the new art-form must have been +based upon Pelham Humphrey's account of the performances which he had +seen in Paris. Possibly, too, he may have had opportunities of studying +the engraved scores of some of Lulli's operas, which, considering the +close intercourse between the courts of France and England, may have +found their way across the Channel. 'Dido and AEneas' is now universally +spoken of as the first English opera. Masques had been popular from the +time of Queen Elizabeth onwards, which the greatest living poets and +musicians had not disdained to produce, and Sir William Davenant had +given performances of musical dramas 'after the manner of the Ancients' +during the closing years of the Commonwealth, but it is probable that +spoken dialogue occurred in all these entertainments, as it certainly +did in Locke's 'Psyche,' Banister's 'Circe,' in fact, in all the +dramatic works of this period which were wrongly described as operas. In +'Dido and AEneas,' on the contrary, the music is continuous throughout. +Airs and recitatives, choruses and instrumental pieces succeed each +other, as in the operas of the Italian and French schools. 'Dido and +AEneas' was written for performance at a young ladies' school kept by +one Josias Priest in Leicester Fields and afterwards at Chelsea. The +libretto was the work of Nahum Tate, the Poet Laureate of the time. The +opera is in three short acts, and Virgil's version of the story is +followed pretty closely save for the intrusion of a sorceress and a +chorus of witches who have sworn Dido's destruction and send a messenger +to AEneas, disguised as Mercury, to hasten his departure. Dido's death +song, which is followed by a chorus of mourning Cupids, is one of the +most pathetic scenes ever written, and illustrates in a forcible manner +Purcell's beautiful and ingenious use of a ground-bass. The gloomy +chromatic passage constantly repeated by the bass instruments, with +ever-varying harmonies in the violins, paints such a picture of the +blank despair of a broken heart as Wagner himself, with his immense +orchestral resources, never surpassed. In the general construction of +his opera Purcell followed the French model, but his treatment of +recitative is bolder and more various than that of Lulli, while as a +melodist he is incomparably superior. Purcell never repeated the +experiment of 'Dido and AEneas.' Musical taste in England was presumably +not cultivated enough to appreciate a work of so advanced a style. At +any rate, for the rest of his life, Purcell wrote nothing for the +theatre but incidental music. Much of this, notably the scores of 'Timon +of Athens,' 'Bonduca,' and 'King Arthur,' is wonderfully beautiful, but +in all of these works the spoken dialogue forms the basis of the piece, +and the music is merely an adjunct, often with little reference to the +main interest of the play. In 'King Arthur' occurs the famous 'Frost +Scene,' the close resemblance of which to the 'Choeur de Peuples des +Climats Glaces' in Lulli's 'Isis' would alone make it certain that +Purcell was a careful student of the French school of opera. + +Opera did not take long to cross the Alps, and early in the seventeenth +century the works of Italian composers found a warm welcome at the +courts of southern Germany. But Germany was not as yet ripe for a +national opera. During the first half of the century there are records +of one or two isolated attempts to found a school of German opera, but +the iron heel of the Thirty Years' War was on the neck of the country, +and art struggled in vain against overwhelming odds. The first German +opera, strictly so called, was the 'Dafne' of Heinrich Schuetz, the words +of which were a translation of the libretto already used by Peri. Of +this work, which was produced in 1627, all trace has been lost. +'Seelewig,' by Sigmund Staden, which is described as a 'Gesangweis auf +italienische Art gesetzet,' was printed at Nuremberg in 1644, but there +is no record of its ever having been performed. To Hamburg belongs the +honour of establishing German opera upon a permanent basis. There, in +1678, some years before the production of Purcell's 'Dido and AEneas,' an +opera-house was opened with a performance of a Singspiel entitled 'Der +erschaffene, gefallene und aufgerichtete Mensch,' the music of which was +composed by Johannn Theile. Three other works, all of them secular, +were produced in the same year. The new form of entertainment speedily +became popular among the rich burghers of the Free City, and composers +were easily found to cater for their taste. + +For many years Hamburg was the only German town where opera found a +permanent home, but there the musical activity must have been +remarkable. Reinhard Keiser (1673-1739), the composer whose name stands +for what was best in the school, is said alone to have produced no fewer +than a hundred and sixteen operas. Nearly all of these works have +disappeared, and those that remain are for the most part disfigured by +the barbarous mixture of Italian and German which was fashionable at +Hamburg and in London too at that time. The singers were possibly for +the most part Italians, who insisted upon singing their airs in their +native language, though they had no objection to using German for the +recitatives, in which there was no opportunity for vocal display. +Keiser's music lacks the suavity of the Italian school, but his +recitatives are vigorous and powerful, and seem to foreshadow the +triumphs which the German school was afterwards to win in declamatory +music. The earliest operas of Handel (1685-1759) were written for +Hamburg, and in the one of them which Fate has preserved for us, +'Almira' (1704), we see the Hamburg school at its finest. In spite of +the ludicrous mixture of German and Italian there is a good deal of +dramatic power in the music, and the airs show how early Handel's +wonderful gift of melody had developed. The chorus has very little to +do, but a delightful feature of the work is to be found in the series of +beautiful dance-tunes lavishly scattered throughout it. One of these, a +Sarabande, was afterwards worked up into the famous air, 'Lascia ch' io +pianga,' in 'Rinaldo.' When the new Hamburg Opera-House was opened in +1874, it was inaugurated by a performance of 'Almira,' which gave +musicians a unique opportunity of realising to some extent what opera +was like at the beginning of the eighteenth century. In 1706 Handel left +Hamburg for the purpose of prosecuting his studies in Italy. There he +found the world at the feet of Alessandro Scarlatti (1659-1725), a +composer whose importance to the history of opera can scarcely be +over-estimated. He is said, like Cesti, to have been a pupil of +Carissimi, though, as the latter died in 1674, at the age of seventy, he +cannot have done much more than lay the foundation of his pupil's +greatness. The invention of the _da capo_ is generally attributed to +Scarlatti, wrongly, as has already been shown, since it appears in +Cesti's opera 'La Dori,' which was performed in 1663. But it seems +almost certain that Scarlatti was the first to use accompanied +recitative, a powerful means of dramatic expression in the hands of all +who followed him, while his genius advanced the science of +instrumentation to a point hitherto unknown. + +Nevertheless, Scarlatti's efforts were almost exclusively addressed to +the development of the musical rather than the dramatic side of opera, +and he is largely responsible for the strait-jacket of convention in +which opera was confined during the greater part of the eighteenth +century, in fact until it was released by the genius of Gluck. + +Handel's conquest of Italy was speedy and decisive. 'Rodrigo,' produced +at Florence in 1707, made him famous, and 'Agrippina' (Venice, 1708) +raised him almost to the rank of a god. At every pause in the +performance the theatre rang with shouts of 'Viva il caro Sassone,' and +the opera had an unbroken run of twenty-seven nights, a thing till then +unheard of. It did not take Handel long to learn all that Italy could +teach him. With his inexhaustible fertility of melody and his complete +command of every musical resource then known, he only needed to have his +German vigour tempered by Italian suppleness and grace to stand forth as +the foremost operatic composer of the age. His Italian training and his +theatrical experience gave him a thorough knowledge of the capabilities +of the human voice, and the practical common-sense which was always one +of his most striking characteristics prevented him from ever treating it +from the merely instrumental point of view, a pitfall into which many of +the great composers have fallen. He left Italy for London in 1710, and +produced his 'Rinaldo' at the Queen's Theatre in the Haymarket the +following year. It was put upon the stage with unexampled magnificence, +and its success was prodigious. 'Rinaldo' was quickly followed by such +succession of masterpieces as put the ancient glories of the Italian +stage to shame. Most of them were produced at the Haymarket Theatre, +either under Handel's own management or under the auspices of a company +known as the Royal Academy of Music. Handel's success made him many +enemies, and he was throughout his career the object of innumerable +plots on the part of disappointed and envious rivals. The most active of +these was Buononcini, himself a composer of no mean ability, though +eclipsed by the genius of Handel. Buononcini's machinations were so far +successful--though he himself was compelled to leave England in disgrace +for different reasons--that in 1741, after the production of his +'Deidamia,' Handel succumbed to bankruptcy and a severe attack of +paralysis. After this he wrote no more for the stage, but devoted +himself to the production of those oratorios which have made his name +famous wherever the English language is spoken. + +In spite of their transcendent beauties, the form of Handel's operas has +long banished them from the stage. Handel, with all his genius, was not +one of the great revolutionists of the history of music. He was content +to bring existing forms to the highest possible point of perfection, +without seeking to embark upon new oceans of discovery. Opera in his day +consisted of a string of airs connected by recitative, with an +occasional duet, and a chorus to bring down the curtain at the end of +the work. The airs were, as a rule, fully accompanied. Strings, +hautboys, and bassoons formed the groundwork of the orchestra. If +distinctive colouring or sonority were required, the composer used +flutes, horns, harps, and trumpets, while to gain an effect of a special +nature, he would call in the assistance of lutes and mandolins, or +archaic instruments such as the viola da gamba, violetta marina, +cornetto and theorbo. The _recitativo secco_ was accompanied by the +harpsichord, at which the composer himself presided. The _recitativo +stromentato_, or accompanied recitative, was only used to emphasise +situations of special importance. Handel's incomparable genius infused +so much dramatic power into this meagre form, that even now the truth +and sincerity of his songs charm us no less than their extraordinary +melodic beauty. But it is easy to see that in the hands of composers +less richly endowed, this form was fated to degenerate into a mere +concert upon the stage. The science of vocalisation was cultivated to +such a pitch of perfection that composers were tempted, and even +compelled, to consult the tastes of singers rather than dramatic truth. +Handel's successors, such as Porpora and Hasse, without a tithe of his +genius, used such talent as they possessed merely to exhibit the vocal +dexterity of popular singers in the most agreeable light. The favourite +form of entertainment in these degraded times was the pasticcio, a +hybrid production composed of a selection of songs from various popular +operas, often by three or four different composers, strung together +regardless of rhyme or reason. Even in Handel's lifetime the older +school of opera was tottering to its fall. Only the man was needed who +should sweep the mass of insincerity from the stage and replace it by +the purer ideal which had been the guiding spirit of Peri and +Monteverde. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +THE REFORMS OF GLUCK + + +The death of Lulli left French opera established upon a sure foundation. +The form which he perfected seemed, with all its faults, to commend +itself to the genius of the nation, and for many years a succession of +his followers and imitators, such as Campra and Destouches, continued to +produce works which differed little in scope and execution from the +model he had established. The French drama of the seventeenth century +had reached such a high point of development that its influence over the +sister art was all-powerful. The composers of the French court willingly +sacrificed musical to declamatory interest, and thus, while they steered +clear of the mere tunefulness which was the rock on which Italian +composers made shipwreck, they fell into the opposite extreme and wrote +works which seem to us arid and jejune. Paris at this time was curiously +isolated from the world of music, and it is strange to find how little +the development of Italian opera affected the French school. Marais +(1650-1718) was more alive to Southern influences than most of his +contemporaries, and in his treatment of the aria there is a perceptible +approach to Italian methods; but Rameau (1683-1764) brought back French +opera once more to its distinctive national style. Though he followed +the general lines of Lulli's school, he brought to bear upon it a richer +sense of beauty and a completer musical organisation than Lulli ever +possessed. In his treatment of declamation pure and simple, he was +perhaps Lulli's inferior, but in all other respects he showed a decided +advance upon his predecessor. He infused new life into the monotonous +harmony and well-worn modulations which had done duty for so many years. +His rhythms were novel and suggestive, and the originality and resource +of his orchestration opened the eyes of Frenchmen to new worlds of +beauty and expression. Not the least important part of Rameau's work lay +in the influence which his music exerted upon the genius of the man to +whom the regeneration of opera is mainly due. Christoph Willibald Gluck +(1714-1787) was the son of a forester. Such musical education as he +received he acquired in Italy, and his earlier works are written in the +Italian style which was fashionable at the time. There are few +indications in his youthful operas of the power which was destined later +to work such changes in the world of opera. He was at first +whole-hearted in his devotion to the school of Porpora, Hasse and the +others who did so much to degrade Italian opera. 'Artaserse,' his first +work, was produced in 1741, the year in which Handel bade farewell for +ever to the stage. It was successful, and was promptly followed by +others no less fortunate. In 1745 Gluck visited England where he +produced 'La Caduta de' Giganti,' a work which excited the contempt of +Handel. In the following year he produced 'Piramo e Tisbe,' a pasticcio, +which failed completely. Its production, however, was by no means labour +lost, if it be true, as the story goes, that it was by its means that +Gluck's eyes were opened to the degradation to which opera had been +reduced. It was about this time that Gluck first heard Rameau's music, +and the power and simplicity of it compared with the empty sensuousness +of Italian opera, must have materially strengthened him in the desire to +do something to reform and purify his art. Yet, in spite of good +resolutions, Gluck's progress was slow. In 1755 he settled at Vienna, +and there, under the shadow of the court, he produced a series of works +in which the attempt to realise dramatic truth is often distinctly +perceptible, though the composer had as yet not mastered the means for +its attainment. But in 1762 came 'Orfeo ed Euridice,' a work which +placed Gluck at the head of all living operatic composers, and laid the +foundation of the modern school of opera. + +The libretto of 'Orfeo' was by Calzabigi, a prominent man of letters, +but it seems probable that Gluck's own share in it was not a small one. +The careful study which he had given to the proper conditions of opera +was not likely to exclude so important a question as that of the +construction and diction of the libretto, and the poem of 'Orfeo' shows +so marked an inclination to break away from the conventionality and sham +sentiment of the time that we can confidently attribute much of its +originality to the influence of the composer himself. The opening scene +shows the tomb of Eurydice erected in a grassy valley. Orpheus stands +beside it plunged in the deepest grief, while a troop of shepherds and +maidens bring flowers to adorn it. His despairing cry of 'Eurydice' +breaks passionately upon their mournful chorus, and the whole scene, +though drawn in simple lines, is instinct with genuine pathos. When the +rustic mourners have laid their gifts upon the tomb and departed, +Orpheus calls upon the shade of his lost wife in an air of exquisite +beauty, broken by expressive recitative. He declares his resolution of +following her to the underworld, when Eros enters and tells him of the +condition which the gods impose on him if he should attempt to rescue +Eurydice from the shades. Left to himself, Orpheus discusses the +question of the rescue in a recitative of great intrinsic power, which +shows at a glance how far Gluck had already distanced his predecessors +in variety and dramatic strength. The second act takes place in the +underworld. The chorus of Furies is both picturesque and effective, and +the barking of Cerberus which sounds through it is a touch, which though +its _naivete_ may provoke a smile, is characteristic of Gluck's +strenuous struggle for realism. Orpheus appears and pleads his cause in +accents of touching entreaty. Time after time his pathetic song is +broken by a sternly decisive 'No,' but in the end he triumphs, and the +Furies grant him passage. The next scene is in the Elysian fields. +After an introduction of charming grace, the spirits of the blessed are +discovered disporting themselves after their kind. Orpheus appears, lost +in wonder at the magical beauty of all around him. Here again is a +remarkable instance of Gluck's pictorial power. Simple as are the means +he employs, the effect is extraordinary. The murmuring of streams, the +singing of birds, and the placid beauty of the landscape are depicted +with a touch which, if light, is infallibly sure. Then follows the +famous scene in which Orpheus, forbidden to look at the face of his +beloved, tries to find her by touch and instinct among the crowd of +happy spirits who pass him by. At last she approaches, and he clasps her +in his arms, while a chorus of perfect beauty bids him farewell as he +leads her in triumph to the world above. The third act shows the two +wandering in a cavern on their way to the light of day. Eurydice is +grieved that her husband should never look into her eyes, and her faith +is growing cold. After a scene in which passionate beauty goes side by +side with strange relapses into conventionality, Orpheus gives way to +her prayers and reproaches, and turns to embrace her. In a moment she +sinks back lifeless, and he pours forth his despair in the immortal +strains of 'Che faro senza Euridice.' Eros then appears, and tells him +that the gods have had pity upon his sorrow. He transports him to the +Temple of Love, where Eurydice, restored to life, is awaiting him, and +the opera ends with conventional rejoicings. + +Beautiful as 'Orfeo' is--and the best proof of its enduring beauty is +that, after nearly a hundred and fifty years of change and development, +it has lost none of its power to charm--we must not be blind to the fact +that it is a strange combination of strength and weakness. Strickly +speaking, Gluck was by no means a first-rate musician, and in 1762 he +had not mastered his new gospel of sincerity and truth so fully as to +disguise the poverty of his technical equipment. Much of the orchestral +part of the work is weak and thin. Berlioz even went so far as to +describe the overture as _une niaiserie incroyable_, and the vocal part +sometimes shows the influence of the empty formulas from which Gluck was +trying to escape. Throughout the opera there are unmistakable traces of +Rameau's influence, indeed it is plain that Gluck frankly took Rameau's +'Castor et Pollux' as his model when he sat down to compose 'Orfeo.' The +plot of the earlier work, the rescue of Pollux by Castor from the +infernal regions, has of course much in common with that of 'Orfeo' and +it is obvious that Gluck took many hints from Rameau's musical treatment +of the various scenes which the two works have in common. + +In spite, however, of occasional weaknesses, 'Orfeo' is a work of +consummate loveliness. Compared to the tortured complexity of our modern +operas, it stands in its dignified simplicity like the Parthenon beside +the bewildering beauty of a Gothic cathedral; and its truth and grandeur +are perhaps the more conspicuous because allied to one of those classic +stories which even in Gluck's time had become almost synonymous with +emptiness and formality. + +Five years elapsed between the production of 'Orfeo' and of Gluck's next +great opera, 'Alceste'; but that these years were not wasted is proved +by the great advance which is perceptible in the score of the later +work. The libretto of 'Alceste' is in many ways superior to that of +'Orfeo,' and Gluck's share of the work shows an incontestable +improvement upon anything he had yet done. His touch is firmer, and he +rarely shows that inclination to drop back into the old conventional +style, which occasionally mars the beauty of 'Orfeo.' Gluck wrote a +preface to the published score of 'Alceste,' which is one of the most +interesting documents in the history of music. It proves +conclusively--not that any proof is necessary--that the composer had +thought long and seriously about the scope of his art, and that the +reforms which he introduced were a deliberate attempt to reconstruct +opera upon a new basis of ideal beauty. If he sometimes failed to act up +to his own theories, it must be remembered in what school he had been +trained, and how difficult must have been the attempt to cast off in a +moment the style which had been habitual to him for so many years. + +When 'Alceste' was produced in Paris in 1776, Gluck made some +alterations in the score, some of which were scarcely improvements. In +his later years he became so completely identified with the French +school that the later version is now the more familiar. + +The opera opens before the palace at Pherae, where the people are +gathered to pray Heaven to spare the life of Admetus, who lies at the +point of death. Alcestis appears, and, after an air of great dignity and +beauty, bids the people follow her to the temple, there to renew their +supplications. The next scene shows the temple of Apollo. The high +priest and the people make passionate appeal to the god for the life of +their king, and the oracle replies that Admetus must perish, if no other +will die in his place. The people, seized with terror, fly from the +place, and Alcestis, left alone, determines to give up her own life for +that of her husband. The high priest accepts her devotion, and in the +famous air 'Divinites du Styx,' she offers herself a willing sacrifice +to the gods below. In the original version the second act opened with a +scene in a gloomy forest, in which Alcestis interviews the spirits of +Death, and, after renewing her vow, obtains leave to return and bid +farewell to her husband. The music of this scene is exceedingly +impressive, and intrinsically it must have been one of the finest in the +opera, but it does not advance the action in the least, and its omission +sensibly increases the tragic effect of the drama. In the later version +the act begins with the rejoicings of the people at the recovery of +Admetus. Alcestis appears, and after vainly endeavouring to conceal her +anguish from the eyes of Admetus is forced to admit that she is the +victim whose death is to restore him to life. Admetus passionately +refuses the sacrifice, and declares that he will rather die with her +than allow her to immolate herself on his account. He rushes wildly into +the palace, and Alcestis bids farewell to life in an air of +extraordinary pathos and beauty. The third act opens with the +lamentations of the people for their departed queen. Hercules, released +for a moment from his labours, enters and asks for Admetus. He is +horrified at the news of the calamity which has befallen his friend, and +announces his resolve of rescuing Alcestis from the clutches of Death. +Meanwhile Alcestis has reached the portals of the underworld, and is +about to surrender herself to the powers of Hell. Admetus, who has not +yet given up hope of persuading her to relinquish her purpose, appears, +and pleads passionately with her to leave him to his doom. His prayers +are vain, and Alcestis is tearing herself for the last time from his +arms, when Hercules rushes in. After a short struggle he defeats the +powers of Death and restores Alcestis to her husband. The character of +Hercules did not appear in the earlier version of the opera, and in fact +was not introduced until after Gluck had left Paris, a few days after +the production of 'Alceste.' Most of the music allotted to him is +probably not by Gluck at all, but seems to have been written by Gossec, +who was at that time one of the rising musicians in Paris. The close of +the opera is certainly inferior to the earlier parts, but the +introduction of Hercules is a great improvement upon the original +version of the last act, in which the rescue of Alcestis is effected by +Apollo. The French librettist did not treat the episode cleverly, and +indeed all the last scene is terribly prosaic, and lacking in poetical +atmosphere. To see how the appearance of the lusty hero in the halls of +woe can heighten the tragic interest by the sheer force of contrast, we +must turn to the 'Alcestis' of Euripides, where the death of Alcestis +and the strange conflict of Hercules with Death is treated with just +that touch of mystery and unearthliness which is absent from the +libretto which Gluck was called upon to set. Of the music of 'Alceste,' +its passion and intensity, it is impossible to speak too highly. It has +pages of miraculous power, in which the deepest tragedy and the most +poignant pathos are depicted with unfaltering certainty. It is strange +to think by what simple means Gluck scaled the loftiest heights. +Compared with our modern orchestra the poverty of the resources upon +which he depended seems almost ludicrous. Even in the vocal part of +'Alceste' he was so careful to avoid anything like the sensuous beauty +of the Italian style, that sometimes he fell into the opposite extreme +and wrote merely arid rhetoric. Yet he held so consistently before him +his ideal of dramatic truth, that his music has survived all changes of +taste and fashion, and still delights connoisseurs as fully as on the +day it was produced. 'Paride ed Elena,' Gluck's next great work, shows +his genius under a more lyrical aspect. Here he gives freer reign to the +romanticism which he had designedly checked in 'Alceste,' and much of +the music seems in a measure to anticipate the new influences which +Mozart was afterwards to infuse into German music. Unfortunately the +libretto of 'Paride ed Elena,' though possessing great poetical merit, +is monotonous and deficient in incident, so that the opera has never won +the success which it deserves, and is now almost completely forgotten. + +The admiration for the French school of opera which had been aroused in +Gluck by hearing the works of Rameau was not by any means a passing +fancy. His music proves that the French school had more influence upon +his development than the Italian, so it was only natural that he should +wish to have an opportunity of introducing his works to Paris. That +opportunity came in 1774, when, after weary months of intrigue and +disappointment, his 'Iphigene en Aulide' was produced at the Academie +Royale de Musique. After that time Gluck wrote all his greatest works +for the French stage, and became so completely identified with the +country of his adoption, that nowadays we are far more apt to think of +him as a French than as a German composer. 'Iphigenie en Aulide' is +founded upon Racine's play, which in its turn had been derived from the +tragedy of Euripides. The scene of the opera is laid at Aulis, where the +Greek fleet is prevented by contrary winds from starting for Troy. +Diana, who has been unwittingly insulted by Agamemnon, demands a human +sacrifice, and Iphigenia, the guiltless daughter of Agamemnon, has been +named by the high priest Calchas as the victim. Iphigenia and her mother +Clytemnestra are on their way to join the fleet at Aulis, and Agamemnon +has sent a despairing message to bid them return home, hoping thus to +avoid the necessity of sacrificing his child. Meanwhile the Greek hosts, +impatient of delay, clamour for the victim, and are only appeased by the +assurance of Calchas that the sacrifice shall take place that very day. +Left alone with Agamemnon, Calchas entreats him to submit to the will of +the gods. Agamemnon, torn by conflicting emotions, at first refuses, but +afterwards, relying upon the message which he has sent to his wife and +daughter, promises that if Iphigenia sets foot in Aulis he will give her +up to death. He has hardly spoken the words when shouts of joy announce +the arrival of Clytemnestra and Iphigenia. The message has miscarried, +and they are already in the camp. As a last resource Agamemnon now tells +Clytemnestra that Achilles, the lover of her daughter, is false, hoping +that this will drive her from the camp. Clytemnestra calls upon +Iphigenia to thrust her betrayer from her bosom, and Iphigenia replies +so heroically that it seems as though Agamemnon's plot to save his +daughter's life might actually succeed. Unfortunately Achilles himself +appears, and, after a scene of reproach and recrimination, succeeds in +dispelling Iphigenia's doubts and winning her to complete +reconciliation. + +The second act begins with the rejoicings over the marriage of +Iphigenia. The general joy is turned to lamentation by the discovery of +Agamemnon's vow and the impending doom of Iphigenia. Clytemnestra +passionately entreats Achilles to save her daughter, which he promises +to do, though Iphigenia professes herself ready to obey her father. In +the following scene Achilles meets Agamemnon, and, after a long +altercation, swears to defend Iphigenia with the last drop of his blood. +He rushes off, and Agamemnon is left in anguish to weigh his love for +his daughter against his dread of the angry gods, Love triumphs and he +sends Areas, his attendant, to bid Clytemnestra fly with Iphigenia home +to Mycenae. + +In the third act the Greeks are angrily demanding their victim. Achilles +prays Iphigenia to fly with him, but she is constant to her idea of +duty, and bids him a pathetic farewell. Achilles, however, is not to be +persuaded, and in an access of noble rage swears to slay the priest upon +the steps of the altar rather than submit to the sacrifice of his love. +After another farewell scene with her mother Iphigenia is led off, while +Clytemnestra, seeing in imagination her daughter under the knife of the +priest, bursts forth into passionate blasphemy. Achilles and his +Thessalian followers rush in to save Iphigenia, and for a time the +contest rages fiercely, but eighteenth-century convention steps in. +Calchas stops the combat, saying that the gods are at length appeased; +Iphigenia is restored to Achilles, and the opera ends with general +rejoicings. + +'Iphigenie en Aulide' gave Gluck a finer opportunity than he had yet +had. The canvas is broader than in 'Alceste' or 'Orfeo,' and the +emotions are more varied. The human interest, too, is more evenly +sustained, and the supernatural element, which played so important a +part in the two earlier works, is almost entirely absent. Nevertheless, +fine as much of the music is, the restraint which Gluck exercised over +himself is too plainly perceptible, and the result is that many of the +scenes are stiff and frigid. There is scarcely a trace of the delightful +lyricism which rushes through 'Paride ed Elena' like a flood of +resistless delight. Gluck had set his ideal of perfect declamatory truth +firmly before him, and he resisted every temptation to swerve into the +paths of mere musical beauty. He had not yet learnt how to combine the +two styles. He had not yet grasped the fact that in the noblest music +truth and beauty are one and the same thing. + +In 'Armide,' produced in 1777, he made another step forward. The +libretto was the same as that used by Lulli nearly a hundred years +before. The legend, already immortalised by Tasso, was strangely +different from the classical stories which had hitherto inspired his +greatest works. The opening scene strikes the note of romanticism which +echoes through the whole opera. Armida, a princess deeply versed in +magic arts, laments that one knight, and one only, in the army of the +Crusaders has proved blind to her charms. All the rest are at her feet, +but Rinaldo alone is obdurate. She has had a boding dream, moreover, in +which Rinaldo has vanquished her, and all the consolations of her +maidens cannot restore her peace of mind. Hidraot, her uncle, entreats +her to choose a husband, but she declares that she will bestow her hand +upon no one but the conqueror of Rinaldo. While the chorus is +celebrating her charms, Arontes, a Paynim warrior, enters bleeding and +wounded, and tells how the prowess of a single knight has robbed him of +his captives. Armida at once recognises the hand of the recalcitrant +Rinaldo, and the act ends with her vows of vengeance against the +invincible hero. + +The second act shows Rinaldo in quest of adventures which may win him +the favour of Godfrey of Bouillon, whose wrath he has incurred. Armida's +enchantments lead him to her magic gardens, where, amidst scenes of +voluptuous beauty, he yields to the fascinations of the place, lays down +his arms, and sinks into sleep. Armida rushes in, dagger in hand, but +the sight of the sleeping hero is too potent for her, and overcome by +passion, she bids the spirits of the air transport them to the bounds of +the universe. In the third act we find that Rinaldo has rejected the +love of the enchantress. Armida is inconsolable; she is ashamed of her +weakness, and will not listen to the well-meaning consolations of her +attendants. She calls upon the spirit of Hate, but when he appears she +rejects his aid, and still clings desperately to her fatal passion. The +fourth act, which is entirely superfluous, is devoted to the adventures +in the enchanted garden of Ubaldo and a Danish knight, two Crusaders who +have set forth with the intention of rescuing Rinaldo from the clutches +of the sorceress. The fifth act takes place in Armida's palace. +Rinaldo's proud spirit has at length been subdued, and he is completely +the slave of the enchantress. The duet between the lovers is of the most +bewitching loveliness, and much of it curiously anticipates the romantic +element which was to burst forth in a future generation. Armida tears +herself from Rinaldo's arms, and leaves him to be entertained by a +ballet of spirits, while she transacts some business with the powers +below. Ubaldo and the Danish knight now burst in, and soon bring Rinaldo +to a proper frame of mind. He takes a polite farewell of Armida, who in +vain attempts to prevent his going, and is walked off by his two +Mentors. Left alone, Armida calls on her demons to destroy the palace, +and the opera ends in wild confusion and tumult. + +To say that 'Armide' recalls the romantic grace of 'Paride ed Elena,' is +but half the truth. The lyrical grace of the earlier work is as it were +concentrated and condensed in a series of pictures which for voluptuous +beauty surpass anything that had been written before Gluck's day. +Against the background formed by the magical splendour of the enchanted +garden, the figure of Armida stands out in striking relief. The mingled +pride and passion of the imperious princess are drawn with wonderful +art. Even while her passion brings her to the feet of her conqueror, her +haughty spirit rebels against her fate. Such weaknesses as the opera +contains are principally attributable to the libretto, which is +ill-constructed, and cold and formal in diction. Rinaldo is rather a +colourless person, and the other characters are for the most part merely +lay-figures, though the grim figure of Hate is drawn with extraordinary +power. But upon Armida the composer concentrated the full lens of his +genius, and for her he wrote music which satisfies every requirement of +dramatic truth, without losing touch of the lyrical beauty and +persuasive passion which breathes life into soulless clay. + +In 'Iphigenie en Tauride,' the last of his great works, which was +produced in 1778, Gluck reached his highest point. Here he seems for the +first time thoroughly to fuse and combine the two elements which are for +ever at war in his earlier operas, musical beauty and dramatic truth. +Throughout the score of 'Iphigenie en Tauride' the declamation is as +vivid and true as in 'Alceste,' while the intrinsic loveliness of the +music yields not a jot to the passion-charged strains of 'Armide.' The +overture paints the gradual awakening of a tempest, and when the storm +is at its height the curtain rises upon the temple of Diana at Tauris, +where Iphigenia, snatched by the goddess from the knife of the +executioner at Aulis, has been placed as high priestess. The priestesses +in chorus beseech the gods to be propitious, and when the fury of the +storm is allayed, Iphigenia recounts her dream of Agamemnon's death, and +laments the woes of her house. She calls upon Diana to put an end to her +life, which already has lasted too long. Thoas, the king of the country, +now enters, alarmed by the outcries of the priestesses. He is a prey to +superstitious fears, and willingly listens to the advice of his +followers, that the gods can only be appeased by human blood. A message +is now brought that two young strangers have been cast upon the +rock-bound coast, and Thoas at once decides that they shall be the +victims. Orestes and Pylades are now brought in. They refuse to make +themselves known, and are bidden to prepare for death, while the act +closes with the savage delight of the Scythians. + +The second act is in the prison. Orestes bewails his destiny, and +refuses the consolation which Pylades offers in a noble and famous song. +Pylades is torn from his friend's arms by the officers of the guard, and +Orestes, left to himself, after a paroxysm of madness sinks to sleep +upon the prison floor. His eyes are closed, but his brain is a prey to +frightful visions. The Furies surround him with horrible cries and +menaces, singing a chorus of indescribable weirdness. Lastly, the shade +of the murdered Clytemnestra passes before him, and he awakes with a +shriek to find his cell empty save for the mournful form of Iphigenia, +who has come to question the stranger as to his origin and the purpose +of his visit to Tauris. In broken accents he tells her--what is new to +her ears--the tale of the murder of Agamemnon, and the vengeance taken +upon Clytemnestra by himself; adding, in order to conceal his own +identity, that Orestes is also dead, and that Electra is the sole +remnant of the house of Atreus. Iphigenia bursts into a passionate +lament, and the act ends with her offering a solemn libation to the +shade of her brother. + +In the third act Iphigenia resolves to free one of the victims, and to +send him with a message to Electra. A sentiment which she cannot explain +bids her choose Orestes, but the latter refuses to save his life at the +expense of that of his friend. A contention arises between the two, +which is only decided by Orestes swearing to take his own life if +Pylades is sacrificed. The precious scroll is thereupon entrusted to +Pylades, who departs, vowing to return and save his friend. + +In the fourth act Iphigenia is a prey to conflicting emotions. A +mysterious sympathy forbids her to slay the prisoner, yet she tries to +steel her heart for the performance of her terrible task, and calls upon +Diana to aid her. Orestes is brought on by the priestesses, and while +urging Iphigenia to deal the blow, blesses her for the pity which stays +her hand. Just as the knife is about to descend, the dying words of +Orestes, 'Was it thus thou didst perish in Aulis, Iphigenia my sister?' +bring about the inevitable recognition, and the brother and sister rush +into each other's arms. But Thoas has yet to be reckoned with. He is +furious at the interruption of the sacrifice, and is about to execute +summary vengeance upon both Iphigenia and Orestes, when Pylades returns +with an army of Greek youths--whence he obtained them is not +explained--and despatches the tyrant in the nick of time. The opera +ends with the appearance of Pallas Athene, the patroness of Argos, who +bids Orestes and his sister return to Greece, carrying with them the +image of Diana, too long disgraced by the barbarous rites of the +Scythians. + +'Echo et Narcisse,' an opera cast in a somewhat lighter mould, which was +produced in 1779, seems to have failed to please, and 'Iphigenie en +Tauride' may be safely taken as the climax of Gluck's career. It is the +happiest example of his peculiar power, and shows more convincingly than +any of its predecessors where the secret of his greatness really lay. He +was the first composer who treated an opera as an integral whole. He was +inferior to many of his predecessors, notably to Handel, in musical +science, and even in power of characterisation. But while their works +were often hardly more than strings of detached scenes from which the +airs might often be dissociated without much loss of effect, his operas +were constructed upon a principle of dramatic unity which forbade one +link to be taken from the chain without injuring the continuity of the +whole. In purely technical matters, too, his reforms were far-reaching +and important. He was first to make the overture in some sort a +reflection of the drama which it preceded, and he used orchestral +effects as a means of expressing the passion of his characters in a way +that had not been dreamed of before. He dismissed the harpsichord from +the orchestra, and strengthened his band with clarinets, an instrument +unknown to Handel. His banishment of _recitativo secco_, and his +restoration of the chorus to its proper place in the drama, were +innovations of vast importance to the history of opera, but the chief +strength of the influence which he exerted upon subsequent music lay in +his power of suffusing each of his operas in an atmosphere special to +itself. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +OPERA BUFFA, OPERA COMIQUE, AND SINGSPIEL + +PERGOLESI--ROUSSEAU--MONSIGNY--GRETRY-- + +CIMAROSA--HILLER + + +While Gluck was altering the course of musical history in Vienna, +another revolution, less grand in scope and more gradually accomplished, +but scarcely less important in its results, was being effected in Italy. +This was the development of opera buffa, a form of art which was +destined, in Italy at any rate, to become a serious rival to the older +institution of opera seria, and, in the hands of Mozart, to produce +masterpieces such as the world had certainly not known before his day, +nor is ever likely to see surpassed. There is some uncertainty about the +actual origin of opera buffa. A musical comedy by Vergilio Mazzocchi and +Mario Marazzoli, entitled 'Chi sofre speri,' was produced in Florence +under the patronage of Cardinal Barberini as early as 1639. The poet +Milton was present at this performance, and refers to it in one of his +_Epistolae Familiares_. In 1657 a theatre was actually built in Florence +for the performance of musical comedies. For some reason, however, it +did not prove a success, and after a few years was compelled to close +its doors. After these first experiments there seems to have been no +attempt made to resuscitate opera buffa until the rise of the Neapolitan +school in the following century. The genesis of the southern branch of +opera buffa may with certainty be traced to the intermezzi, or musical +interludes, which were introduced into the course of operas and dramas, +probably with the object of relieving the mental strain induced by the +effort of following a long serious performance. The popularity of these +intermezzi throws a curious light upon the character of Italian +audiences at that time. We should think it strange if an audience +nowadays refused to sit through 'Hamlet' unless it were diversified by +occasional scenes from 'Box and Cox.' As time went on, the proportions +and general character of these intermezzi acquired greater importance, +but it was not until the eighteenth century was well advanced that one +of them was promoted to the rank of an independent opera, and, instead +of being performed in scraps between the acts of a tragedy, was given +for the first time as a separate work. This honour was accorded to +Pergolesi's 'La Serva Padrona,' in 1734, and the great success which it +met with everywhere soon caused numberless imitations to spring up, so +that in a few years opera buffa in Italy was launched upon a career of +triumph. + +Founded as it was in avowed imitation of the tragedy of the Greeks, +opera had never deigned to touch modern life at any point. For a long +time the subjects of Italian operas were taken solely from classical +legend, and though in time librettists were compelled to have recourse +to the medieval romances, they never ventured out of an antiquity more +or less remote. Thus it is easy to conceive the delight of the +music-loving people of Naples when they found that the opera which they +adored could be enjoyed in combination with a mirthful and even farcical +story, interpreted by characters who might have stepped out of one of +their own market-places. But, apart from the freedom and variety of the +subjects with which it dealt, the development of opera buffa gave rise +to an art-form which is of the utmost importance to the history of +opera--the concerted finale. Nicolo Logroscino (1700-1763) seems to have +been the first composer who conceived the idea of working up the end of +an act to a musical climax by bringing all his characters together and +blending their voices into a musical texture of some elaboration. +Logroscino wrote only in the Neapolitan dialect, and his works had +little success beyond the limits of his own province; but his invention +was quickly adopted by all writers of opera buffa, and soon became an +important factor in the development of the art. Later composers +elaborated his idea by extending the finale to more than one movement, +and by varying the key-colour. Finally, but not until after many years, +it was introduced into opera seria, when it gave birth to the idea of +elaborate trios and quartets, which were afterwards to play so important +a part in its development. Logroscino's reputation was chiefly local, +but the works of Pergolesi (1710-1736) and Jomelli (1714-1774) made the +Neapolitan school famous throughout Europe. Both these composers are now +best known by their sacred works, but during their lives their operas +attained an extraordinary degree of popularity. Both succeeded equally +in comedy and tragedy, but Jomelli's operas are now forgotten, while +Pergolesi is known only by his delightful intermezzo 'La Serva Padrona,' +This diverting little piece tells of the schemes of the chambermaid, +Serpina, to win the hand of her master, Pandolfo. She is helped by +Scapin, the valet, who, disguised as a captain, makes violent love to +her, and piques the old gentleman into proposing, almost against his +will. 'La Serva Padrona' made the tour of Europe, and was received +everywhere with tumultuous applause. In Paris it was performed in 1750, +and may be said at once to have founded the school of French opera +comique. Rousseau extolled its beauty as a protest against the arid +declamation of the school of Lulli, and it was the subject of one of the +bitterest dissensions ever known in the history of music. But the +'Guerre des Bouffons,' as the struggle was called, proved one thing, +which had already been satisfactorily decided in Italy, namely, that +there was plenty of room in the world for serious and comic opera at the +same time. + +There had been a kind of opera comique in France for many years, a +species of musical pantomime which was very popular at the fairs of St. +Laurent and St. Gervais. This form of entertainment scarcely came +within the province of art, but it served as a starting-point for the +history of opera comique, which was afterwards so brilliant. The success +of the Italian company which performed the comic operas of Pergolesi, +Jomelli, and others, fired the French composers to emulation, and in +1753 the first French opera comique, in the strict sense of the word, +'Le Devin du Village,' by the great Rousseau, was performed at the +Academie de Musique. Musically the work is feeble and characterless, but +the contrast which it offered to the stiff and serious works of the +tragic composers made it popular. Whatever its faults may be, it is +simple and natural, and its tender little melodies fell pleasantly upon +ears too well accustomed to the pomposities of Rameau and his school. At +first lovers of opera comique in Paris had to subsist chiefly upon +translations from the Italian; but in 1755 'Ninette a la Cour,' a dainty +little work written by a Neapolitan composer, Duni, to a French +libretto, gained a great success. Soon afterwards, Monsigny, a composer +who may well be called the father of opera comique, produced his first +work, and started upon a career of success which extended into the next +century. + +The early days of opera comique in Paris were distracted by the jealousy +existing between the French and Italian schools, but in 1762 peace was +made between the rival factions, and by process of fusion the two became +one. With the opening of the new Theatre de l'Opera Comique--the Salle +Favart, as it was then called--there began a new and brilliant period +for the history of French art. It is a significant fact, and one which +goes far to prove how closely the foundation of opera comique was +connected with a revolt against the boredom of grand opera, that the +most successful composers in the new _genre_ were those who were +actually innocent of any musical training whatsoever. Monsigny +(1729-1817) is a particularly striking instance of natural genius +triumphing in spite of a defective education. Nothing can exceed the +thinness and poverty of his scores, or their lack of all real musical +interest; yet, by the sureness of his natural instinct for the stage, he +succeeded in writing music which still moves us as much by its brilliant +gaiety as by its tender pathos. 'Le Deserteur,' his most famous work, is +a touching little story of a soldier who deserts in a fit of jealousy, +and is condemned to be shot, but is saved by his sweetheart, who begs +his pardon from the king. Much of the music is almost childish in its +_naivete_, but there is real pathos in the famous air 'Adieu, Louise,' +and some of the lighter scenes in the opera are touched off very +happily. + +The musical education of Gretry (1741-1831) was perhaps more elaborate +than that of Monsigny, but it fell very far short of profundity. His +music excels in grace and humour, and he rarely treated serious subjects +with success. Such works as 'Le Tableau Parlant,' 'Les Deux Avares,' and +'L'Amant Jaloux' are models of lightness and brilliancy, whatever may be +thought of their musicianship. 'Richard Coeur de Lion' is the one +instance of Gretry having successfully attempted a loftier theme, and +it remains his masterpiece. The scene is laid at the castle of +Duerrenstein in Austria, where Richard lies imprisoned, and deals with +the efforts of his faithful minstrel Blondel to rescue him. In this work +Gretry adapted his style to his subject with wonderful versatility. Much +of the music is noble and dignified in style, and Blondel's air in +particular, 'O Richard, O mon roi,' has a masculine vigour which is +rarely found in the composer's work. But as a rule Gretry is happiest in +his delicate little pastorals and fantastic comedies, and, for all their +slightness, his works bear the test of revival better than those of many +of his more learned contemporaries. Philidor (1726-1797) was almost more +famous as a chess-player than as a composer. He had the advantage of a +sound musical education under Campra, one of the predecessors of Rameau, +and his music has far more solid qualities than that of Gretry or +Monsigny. His treatment of the orchestra, too, was more scientific than +that of his contemporaries, but he had little gift of melody, and he was +deficient in dramatic instinct. He often visited England, and ended by +dying in London. One of the best of his works, 'Tom Jones,' was written +upon an English subject. Philidor was popular in his day, but his works +have rarely been heard by the present generation. + +With Gretry the first period of opera comique may be said to close; +indeed, the taste of French audiences had begun to change some years +before the close of the eighteenth century. The mighty wave of the +Revolution swept away the idle gallantries of the sham pastoral, while +Ossian newly discovered and Shakespeare newly translated opened the eyes +of cultivated Frenchmen to the possibilities of poetry and romance. At +the same time, the works of Haydn and Mozart, which had already crossed +the frontier, disturbed preconceived notions about the limits of +orchestral colouring, and made the thin little scores of Gretry and his +contemporaries seem doubly jejune. The change in public taste was +gradual, but none the less certain. The opening years of the nineteenth +century saw a singular evolution, if not revolution, in the history of +opera comique. + +Meanwhile opera in Italy was pursuing its triumphant course. The +introduction of the finale brought the two great divisions of opera into +closer connection, and most of the great composers of this period +succeeded as well in opera buffa as in opera seria. The impetus given to +the progress of the art by the brilliant Neapolitan school was ably +sustained by such composers as Nicolo Piccinni (1728-1800), a composer +who is now known principally to fame as the unsuccessful rival brought +forward by the Italian party in Paris in the year 1776 in the vain hope +of crushing Gluck. Piccinni sinks into insignificance by the side of +Gluck, but he was nevertheless an able composer, and certainly the +leading representative of the Italian school at the time. He did much to +develop the concerted finale, which before his day had been used with +caution, not to say timidity, and was so constant in his devotion to +the loftiest ideal of art that he died in poverty and starvation. +Cimarosa (1749-1801) is the brightest name of the next generation. He +shone particularly in comedy. His 'Gli Orazi e Curiazi,' which moved his +contemporaries to tears, is now forgotten, but 'Il Matrimonio Segreto' +still delights us with its racy humour and delicate melody. The story is +simplicity itself, but the situations are amusing in themselves, and are +led up to with no little adroitness, Paolino, a young lawyer, has +secretly married Carolina, the daughter of Geronimo, a rich and +avaricious merchant. In order to smooth away the difficulties which must +arise when the inevitable discovery of the marriage takes place, he +tries to secure a rich friend of his own, Count Robinson, for Geronimo's +other daughter, Elisetta. Unfortunately Robinson prefers Carolina, and +proposes himself as son-in-law to Geronimo, who is of course delighted +that his daughter should have secured so unexceptionable a _parti_, +while the horrified Paolino discovers to his great dissatisfaction that +the elderly Fidalma, Geronimo's sister, has cast languishing eyes upon +himself. There is nothing for the young couple but flight, but +unfortunately as they are making their escape they are discovered, and +their secret is soon extorted. Geronimo's wrath is tremendous, but in +the end matters are satisfactorily arranged, and the amiable Robinson +after all expresses himself content with the charms of Elisetta. 'Il +Matrimonio Segreto' was produced at Vienna in 1792, and proved so very +much to the taste of the Emperor Leopold, who was present at the +performance, that he gave all the singers and musicians a magnificent +supper, and then insisted upon their performing the opera again from +beginning to end. Cimarosa was a prolific writer, the number of his +operas reaching the formidable total of seventy-six; but, save for 'Il +Matrimonio Segreto,' they have all been consigned to oblivion. Although +he was born only seven years before Mozart, and actually survived him +for ten years, he belongs entirely to the earlier school of opera buffa. +His talent is thoroughly Italian, untouched by German influence, and he +excels in portraying the gay superficiality of the Italian character +without attempting to dive far below the surface. + +Even more prolific than Cimarosa was Paisiello (1741-1815), a composer +whose works, though immensely popular in their day, did not possess +individuality enough to defy the ravages of time. Paisiello deserves to +be remembered as the first man to write an opera on the tale of 'Il +Barbiere di Siviglia.' This work, though coldly received when it was +first performed, ended by establishing so firm a hold upon the +affections of the Italian public, that when Rossini tried to produce his +opera on the same subject, the Romans refused to give it a hearing. + +Paer (1771-1839) belongs chronologically to the next generation, but +musically he has more in common with Paisiello than with Rossini. His +principal claim to immortality rests upon the fact that a performance +of his opera 'Eleonora' inspired Beethoven with the idea of writing +'Fidelio'; but although his serious efforts are comparatively worthless, +many of his comic operas are exceedingly bright and attractive. 'Le +Maitre de Chapelle,' which was written to a French libretto, is still +performed with tolerable frequency in Paris. + +It is hardly likely that the whirligig of time will ever bring Paisiello +and his contemporaries into popularity again in England, but in Italy +there has been of late years a remarkable revival of interest in the +works of the eighteenth century. Some years ago the Argentina Theatre in +Rome devoted its winter season almost entirely to reproductions of the +works of this school. Many of these old-world little operas, whose very +names had been forgotten, were received most cordially, some of +them--Paisiello's 'Scuffiara raggiratrice,' for instance--with genuine +enthusiasm. + +Wars and rumours of wars stunted musical development of all kinds in +Germany during the earlier years of the eighteenth century. After the +death of Keiser in 1739, the glory departed from Hamburg, and opera +seems to have lain under a cloud until the advent of Johann Adam Hiller +(1728-1804), the inventor of the Singspiel. Miller's Singspiele were +vaudevilles of a simple and humorous description interspersed with +music, occasionally concerted numbers of a very simple description, but +more often songs derived directly from the traditions of the German +Lied. These operettas were very popular, as the frequent editions of +them which were called for, prove. Yet, in spite of their success, it +was felt by many of the composers who imitated him that the combination +of dialogue and music was inartistic, and Johann Friedrich Reichardt +(1752-1814) attempted to solve the difficulty by relegating the music to +a merely incidental position and conducting all the action of the piece +by means of the dialogue. Nevertheless the older form of the Singspiel +retained its popularity, and, although founded upon incorrect aesthetic +principles--for no art, however ingenious, can fuse the convention of +speech and the convention of song into an harmonious whole--was the +means in later times of giving to the world, in 'Die Zauberfloete' and +'Fidelio,' nobler music than had yet been consecrated to the service of +the stage. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +MOZART + + +Although Mozart's (1756-1791) earliest years were passed at Salzburg, +the musical influences which surrounded his cradle were mainly Italian. +Salzburg imitated Vienna, and Vienna, in spite of Gluck, was still +Italian in its sympathies, so far at any rate as opera seria was +concerned. Mozart wrote his first opera, 'La Finta Semplice,' for +Vienna, when he was twelve years old. It would have been performed in +1768 but for the intrigues of jealous rivals and the knavery of an +impresario. It was not actually produced until the following year, when +the Archbishop of Salzburg arranged a performance of it in his own city +to console his little _protege_ for his disappointment at Vienna. It is +of course an extraordinary work when the composer's age is taken into +account, but intrinsically differs little from the thousand and one +comic operas of the period, Mozart's first German opera, 'Bastien und +Bastienne,' though written after 'La Finta Semplice,' was performed +before it. It was given in 1768 in a private theatre belonging to Dr. +Anton Meszmer, a rich Viennese bourgeois. It follows the lines of +Miller's Singspiele closely, but shows more originality, especially in +the orchestration, than 'La Finta Semplice.' The plot of the little work +is an imitation of Rousseau's 'Devin du Village,' telling of the +quarrels of a rustic couple, and their reconciliation through the good +offices of a travelling conjurer. It was significant that the Italian +and German schools should be respectively represented in the two infant +works of the man who was afterwards to fuse the special beauties of each +in works of immortal loveliness. Mozart's next four operas were, for the +most part, hastily written--'Mitridate, Re di Ponto' (1770) and 'Lucio +Silla' (1775) for Milan, "La Finta Giardiniera' (1775) for Munich, and +'Il Re Pastore' (1775) for Salzburg. They adhere pretty closely to the +conventional forms of the day, and, in spite of the beauty of many of +the airs, can scarcely be said to contain much evidence of Mozart's +incomparable genius. In 1778 the young composer visited Paris, where he +stayed for several months. This period may be looked upon as the +turning-point in his operatic career. In Paris he heard the operas of +Gluck and Gretry, besides those of the Italian composers, such as +Piccinni and Sacchini, whose best works were written for the French +stage. He studied their scores carefully, and from them he learnt the +principles of orchestration, which he was afterwards to turn to such +account in 'Don Giovanni' and 'Die Zauberfloete,' The result of his +studies was plainly visible in the first work which he produced after +his return to Germany, 'Idomeneo.' This was written for the Court +Theatre at Munich, and was performed for the first time on the 29th of +January, 1781. The libretto, by the Abbe Giambattista Varesco, was +modelled upon an earlier French work which had already been set to music +by Campra. Idomeneo, King of Crete, on his way home from the siege of +Troy, is overtaken by a terrific storm. In despair of his life, he vows +that, should he reach the shore alive, he will sacrifice the first human +being he meets to Neptune. This proves to be his son Idamante, who has +been reigning in his stead during his absence. When he finds out who the +victim is--for at first he does not recognise him--he tries to evade +his vow by sending Idamante away to foreign lands. Electra the daughter +of Agamemnon, driven from her country after the murder of her mother, +has taken refuge in Crete, and Idomeneo bids his son return with her to +Argos, and ascend the throne of the Atreidae. Idamante loves Ilia, the +daughter of Priam, who has been sent to Crete some time before as a +prisoner from Troy, and is loved by her in return. Nevertheless he bows +to his father's will, and is preparing to embark with Electra, when a +storm arises, and a frightful sea monster issues from the waves and +proceeds to devastate the land. The terror-stricken people demand that +the victim shall be produced, and Idomeneo is compelled to confess that +he has doomed his son to destruction. All are overcome with horror, but +the priests begin to prepare for the sacrifice. Suddenly cries of joy +are heard, and Idamante, who has slain the monster single-handed, is +brought in by the priests and people. He is ready to die, and his father +is preparing to strike the fatal blow, when Ilia rushes in and entreats +to be allowed to die in his place. The lovers are still pleading +anxiously with each other when a subterranean noise is heard, the statue +of Neptune rocks, and a solemn voice pronounces the will of the gods in +majestic accents. Idomeneo is to renounce the throne, and Idamante is to +marry Ilia and reign in his stead. Every one except Electra is vastly +relieved, and the opera ends with dances and rejoicings. + +The music of 'Idomeneo' is cast for the most part in Italian form, +though the influence of Gluck is obvious in many points, particularly in +the scene of the oracle. Here we find Mozart in his maturity for the +first time; he has become a man, and put away childish things. In two +points 'Idomeneo' is superior to any opera that had previously been +written--in the concerted music (the choruses as well as the trios and +quartets), and in the instrumentation. The chorus is promoted from the +part which it usually plays in Gluck, that of a passive spectator. It +joins in the drama, and takes an active part in the development of the +plot, and the music which it is called upon to sing is often finer and +more truly dramatic than that allotted to the solo singers. But the +chorus had already been used effectively by Gluck and other composers; +it is in his solo concerted music that Mozart forges ahead of all +possible rivals. The power which he shows of contrasting the conflicting +emotions of his characters in elaborate concerted movements was +something really new to the stage. The one quartet in Handel's +'Radamisto' and the one trio in his 'Alcina,' magnificent as they are, +are too exceptional in their occurrence to be quoted as instances, while +the attempts of Rameau and his followers to impose dramatic significance +into their concerted music, though technically interesting, do but +faintly foreshadow the glory of Mozart. The orchestration of 'Idomeneo,' +too, is something of the nature of a revelation. At Munich, Mozart had +at his disposal an excellent and well-trained band, and this may go far +to explain the elaborate care which he bestowed upon the instrumental +side of his opera. The colouring of the score is sublime in conception +and brilliant in detail. Even now it well repays the closest and most +intimate study. 'Idomeneo' is practically the foundation of all modern +orchestration. + +Mozart's next work was very different both in scope and execution. It +has already been pointed out that the two first works which the +composer, as a child, wrote for the stage, followed respectively the +Italian and German models. Similarly, he signalised his arrival at the +full maturity of his powers by producing an Italian and German +masterpiece side by side. 'Die Entfuehrung aus dem Serail' was written +for the Court Theatre at Vienna, in response to a special command of the +Emperor Joseph II. It was produced on July 13, 1782. The original +libretto was the work of C.F. Bretzner, but Mozart introduced so many +alterations and improvements into the fabric of the story that, as it +stands, much of it is practically his own work. + +The Pasha Selim has carried off a Christian damsel named Constanze, whom +he keeps in close confinement in his seraglio, in the hope that she may +consent to be his wife. Belmont, Constanze's lover, has traced her to +the Pasha's country house with the assistance of Pedrillo, a former +servant of his own, now the Pasha's slave and chief gardener. Belmont's +attempts to enter the house are frustrated by Osmin, the surly +major-domo. At last, however, through the good offices of Pedrillo, he +contrives to gain admission in the character of an architect. Osmin has +a special motive for disliking Pedrillo, who has forestalled him in the +affections of Blondchen, Constanze's maid; nevertheless he is beguiled +by the wily servant into a drinking bout, and quieted with a harmless +narcotic. This gives the lovers an opportunity for an interview, in +which the details of their flight are arranged. The next night they make +their escape. Belmont gets off safely with Constanze, but Pedrillo and +Blondchen are seen by Osmin before they are clear of the house. The hue +and cry is raised, and both couples are caught and brought back. They +are all condemned to death, but the soft-hearted Pasha is so much +overcome by their fidelity and self-sacrifice that he pardons them and +sends them away in happiness. + +Much of 'Die Entfuehrung' is so thoroughly and characteristically +German, that at first sight it may be thought surprising that it should +have succeeded so well in a city like Vienna, which was inclined to look +upon the Singspiel as a barbarian product of Northern Germany. But there +is a reason for this, and it is one which goes to the root of the whole +question of comic opera. Mozart saw that Italian comic operas often +succeeded in spite of miserable libretti, because the entire interest +was concentrated upon the music, and all the rest was forgotten. The +German Singspiel writers made the mistake of letting their music be, for +the most part, purely incidental, and conducting all the dramatic part +of their plots by dialogue. Mozart borrowed the underlying idea of the +opera buffa, applied it to the form of the Singspiel, which he kept +intact, and produced a work which succeeded in revolutionising the +history of German opera. But, apart from the question of form, the music +of 'Die Entfuehrung' is in itself fine enough to be the foundation even +of so imposing a structure as modern German music. The orchestral forces +at Mozart's disposal were on a smaller scale than at Munich; but though +less elaborate than that of 'Idomeneo,' the score of 'Die Entfuehrung' is +full of the tenderest and purest imagination. But the real importance of +the work lies in the vivid power of characterisation, which Mozart here +reveals for the first time in full maturity. It is by the extraordinary +development of this quality that he transcends all other writers for +the stage before or since. It is no exaggeration to say that Mozart's +music reveals the inmost soul of the characters of his opera as plainly +as if they were discussed upon a printed page. In his later works the +opportunities given him of proving this magical power were more frequent +and better. The libretto of 'Die Entfuehrung' is a poor affair at best, +but, considering the materials with which he had to work, Mozart never +accomplished truer or more delicate work than in the music of Belmont +and Constanze, of Pedrillo, and greatest of all, of Osmin. + +In 1786 Mozart wrote the music to a foolish little one-act comedy +entitled 'Der Schauspieldirektor,' describing the struggles of two rival +singers for an engagement. A sparkling overture and a genuinely comic +trio are the best numbers of the score; but the libretto gave Mozart +little opportunity of exercising his peculiar talents. Since his +original production various attempts have been made to fit 'Der +Schauspieldirektor' with new and more effective libretti, but in no case +has its performance attained any real success. + +For the sake of completeness it may be well to mention the existence of +a comic opera entitled 'L'Oie du Caire,' which is an exceedingly clever +combination of the fragments left by Mozart of two unfinished operas, +'L'Oca del Cairo' and 'Lo Sposo Deluso,' fitted to a new and original +libretto by the late M. Victor Wilder. In its modern form, this little +opera, in which a lover is introduced into his mistress's garden inside +an enormous goose, has been successfully performed both in France and +England. + +Not even the success of 'Die Entfuehrung' could permanently establish +German opera in Vienna. The musical sympathies of the aristocracy were +entirely Italian, and Mozart had to bow to expediency. His next work, +'Le Nozze de Figaro' (1786), was written to an adaptation of +Beaumarchais's famous comedy 'Le Mariage de Figaro,' which had been +produced in Paris a few years before. Da Ponte, the librettist, wisely +omitted all the political references, which contributed so much to the +popularity of the original play, and left only a bustling comedy of +intrigue, not perhaps very moral in tendency, but full of amusing +incident and unflagging in spirit. It speaks volumes for the ingenuity +of the librettist that though the imbroglio is often exceedingly +complicated, no one feels the least difficulty in following every detail +of it on the stage, though it is by no means easy to give a clear and +comprehensive account of all the ramifications of the plot. + +The scene is laid at the country-house of Count Almaviva. Figaro, the +Count's valet, and Susanna, the Countess's maid, are to be married that +day; but Figaro, who is well aware that the Count has a penchant for his +_fiancee_, is on his guard against machinations in that quarter. Enter +the page Cherubino, an ardent youth who is devotedly attached to his +mistress. He has been caught by the Count flirting with Barberina, the +gardener's daughter, and promptly dismissed from his service, and now +he comes to Susanna to entreat her to intercede for him with the +Countess. While the two are talking they hear the Count approaching, and +Susanna hastily hides Cherubino behind a large arm-chair. The Count +comes to offer Susanna a dowry if she will consent to meet him that +evening, but she will have nothing to say to him. Basilio, the +music-master, now enters, and the Count has only just time to slip +behind Cherubino's arm-chair, while the page creeps round to the front +of it, and is covered by Susanna with a cloak. Basilio, while repeating +the Count's proposals, refers to Cherubino's passion for the Countess. +This arouses the Count, who comes forward in a fury, orders the +immediate dismissal of the page, and by the merest accident discovers +the unlucky youth ensconced in the arm-chair. As Cherubino has heard +every word of the interview, the first thing to do is to get him out of +the way. The Count therefore presents him with a commission in his own +regiment, and bids him pack off to Seville post-haste. Figaro now +appears with all the villagers in holiday attire to ask the Count to +honour his marriage by giving the bride away. The Count cannot refuse, +but postpones the ceremony for a few hours in the hope of gaining time +to prosecute his suit. Meanwhile the Countess, Susanna, and Figaro are +maturing a plot of their own to discomfit the Count and bring him back +to the feet of his wife. Figaro writes an anonymous letter to the Count, +telling him that the Countess has made an assignation with a stranger +for that evening in the garden, hoping by this means to arouse his +jealousy and divert his mind from the wedding. He assures him also of +Susanna's intention to keep her appointment in the garden, intending +that Cherubino, who has been allowed to put off his departure, shall be +dressed up as a girl and take Susanna's place at the interview. The page +comes to the Countess's room to be dressed, when suddenly the +conspirators hear the Count approaching. Cherubino is hastily locked in +an inner room, while Susanna slips Into an alcove. While the Count is +plying his wife with angry questions, Cherubino clumsily knocks over a +chair. The Count hears the noise, and quickly jumps to the conclusion +that the page is hiding in the inner room. The Countess denies +everything and refuses to give up the key, whereupon the Count drags her +off with him to get an axe to break in the door. Meanwhile Susanna +liberates Cherubino, and takes his place in the inner room, while the +latter escapes by jumping down into the garden. When the Count finally +opens the door and discovers only Susanna within, his rage is turned to +mortification, and he is forced to sue for pardon. The Countess is +triumphant, but a change is given to the position of affairs by the +appearance of Antonio, the gardener, who comes to complain that his +flowers have been destroyed by someone jumping on them from the window. +The Count's jealous fears are returning, but Figaro allays them by +declaring that he is the culprit, and that he made his escape by the +window in order to avoid the Count's anger. Antonio then produces a +paper which he found dropped among the flowers. This proves to be +Cherubino's commission. Once more the secret is nearly out, but Figaro +saves the situation by declaring that the page gave it to him to get the +seal affixed. The Countess and Susanna are beginning to congratulate +themselves on their escape, when another diversion is created by the +entrance of Marcellina, the Countess's old duenna, and Bartolo, her +ex-guardian. Marcellina has received a promise in writing from Figaro +that he will marry her if he fails to pay a sum of money which he owes +her by a certain date, and she comes to claim her bridegroom. The Count +is delighted at this new development, and promises Marcellina that she +shall get her rights. + +The second act (according to the original arrangement) is mainly devoted +to clearing up the various difficulties. Figaro turns out to be the +long-lost son of Marcellina and Bartolo, so the great impediment to his +marriage is effectually removed, and by the happy plan of a disguise the +Countess takes Susanna's place at the assignation, and receives the +ardent declarations of her husband. When the Count discovers his mistake +he is thoroughly ashamed of himself, and his vows of amendment bring the +piece to a happy conclusion. + +It seems hardly possible to write critically of the music of 'Le Nozze +di Figaro,' Mozart had in a superabundant degree that power which is +characteristic of our greatest novelists, of infusing the breath of life +into his characters. We rise from seeing a performance of 'Le Nozze,' +with no consciousness of the art employed, but with a feeling of having +assisted in an actual scene in real life. It is not until afterwards +that the knowledge is forced upon us that this convincing presentment of +nature is the result of a combination of the purest inspiration of +genius with the highest development of art. Mozart knew everything that +was to be known about music, and 'Le Nozze di Figaro,' in spite of its +supreme and unapproachable beauty, is really only the legitimate outcome +of two centuries of steady development. Perhaps the most striking +feature of the work is the absolute consistency of the whole. In spite +of the art with which the composer has Individualised his characters, +there is no clashing between the different types of music allotted to +each. As for the music itself, if the exuberant youthfulness of 'Die +Entfuehrung' has been toned down to a serener flow of courtliness, we are +compensated for the loss by the absence of the mere _bravura_ which +disfigures many of the airs in the earlier work. The dominant +characteristic of the music is that wise and tender sympathy with the +follies and frailties of mankind, which moves us with a deeper pathos +than the most terrific tragedy ever penned. It is perhaps the highest +achievement of the all-embracing genius of Mozart that he made an +artificial comedy of intrigue, which is trivial when it is not squalid, +into one of the great music dramas of the world. + +Mozart's next work, 'Don Giovanni' (October 29, 1787), was written for +Prague, a city which had always shown him more real appreciation than +Vienna. It was adapted by Da Ponte from a Spanish tale which had already +been utilised by Moliere. Although, so far as incident goes, it is not +perhaps an ideal libretto, it certainly contains many of the elements of +success. The characters are strongly marked and distinct, and the +supernatural part of the story, which appealed particularly to Mozart's +imagination and indeed determined him to undertake the opera, is managed +with consummate skill. + +Don Giovanni, a licentious Spanish nobleman, who is attracted by the +charms of Donna Anna, the daughter of the Commandant of Seville, breaks +into her palace under cover of night, in the hope of making her his own. +She resists him and calls for help. In the struggle which ensues the +Commandant is killed by Don Giovanni, who escapes unrecognised. Donna +Elvira, his deserted wife, has pursued him to Seville, but he employs +his servant Leporello to occupy her attention while he pays court to +Zerlina, a peasant girl, who is about to marry an honest clodhopper +named Masetto. Donna Anna now recognises Don Giovanni as her father's +assassin, and communicates her discovery to her lover, Don Ottavio; +Elvira joins them, and the three vow vengeance against the libertine. +Don Giovanni gives a ball in honour of Zerlina's marriage, and in the +course of the festivities seizes an opportunity of trying to seduce her. +He is only stopped by the interference of Anna, Elvira, and Ottavio, who +have made their way into his palace in masks and dominoes. In the next +act the vengeance of the three conspirators appears to hang fire a +little, for Don Giovanni is still pursuing his vicious courses, and +employing Leporello to beguile the too trustful Elvira. After various +escapades he finds himself before the statue of the murdered Commandant. +He jokingly invites his old antagonist to sup with him, an invitation +which the statue, to his intense surprise, hastens to accept. Leporello +and his master return to prepare for the entertainment of the evening. +When the merriment is at its height, a heavy step is heard in the +corridor, and the marble man enters. Don Giovanni is still undaunted, +and even when his terrible visitor offers him the choice between +repentance and damnation, yields not a jot of his pride and insolence. +Finally the statue grasps him by the hand and drags him down, amid +flames and earthquakes, to eternal torment. + +The taste of Mozart's time would not permit the drama to finish here. +All the other characters have to assemble once more. Leporello gives +them an animated description of his master's destruction, and they +proceed to draw a most edifying moral from the doom of the sinner. The +music to this finale is of matchless beauty and interest, but modern +sentiment will not hear of so grievous an anti-climax, and the opera now +usually ends with Don Giovanni's disappearance. + +The music of 'Don Giovanni' has so often been discussed, that brief +reference to its more salient features will be all that is necessary. +Gounod has written of it: 'The score of "Don Giovanni" has influenced +my life like a revelation. It stands in my thoughts as an incarnation of +dramatic and musical impeccability,' and lesser men will be content to +echo his words. The plot is less dramatically coherent than that of 'Le +Nozze di Figaro,' but it ranges over a far wider gamut of human feeling. +From the comic rascality of Leporello to the unearthly terrors of the +closing scene is a vast step, but Mozart is equally at home in both. His +incomparable art of characterisation is here displayed in even more +consummate perfection than in the earlier work. The masterly way in +which he differentiates the natures of his three soprani--Anna, a type +of noble purity; Elvira, a loving and long-suffering woman, alternating +between jealous indignation and voluptuous tenderness; and Zerlina, a +model of rustic coquetry--may especially be remarked, but all the +characters are treated with the same profound knowledge of life and +human nature. Even in his most complicated concerted pieces he never +loses grip of the idiosyncrasies of his characters, and in the most +piteous and tragic situations he never relinquishes for a moment his +pure ideal of intrinsic musical beauty. If there be such a thing as +immortality for any work of art, it must surely be conceded to 'Don +Giovanni.' + +'Cosi fan tutte,' his next work, was produced at Vienna in January, +1790. It has never been so successful as its two predecessors, chiefly +on account of its libretto, which, though a brisk little comedy of +intrigue, is almost too slight to bear a musical setting. The plot +turns upon a wager laid by two young officers with an old cynic of their +acquaintance to prove the constancy of their respective sweethearts. +After a touching leave-taking they return disguised as Albanians and +proceed to make violent love each one to the other's _fiancee_. The +ladies at first resist the ardent strangers, but end by giving way, and +the last scene shows their repentance and humiliation when they discover +that the too attractive foreigners are their own lovers after all. There +is much delightful music in the work, and it is greatly to be regretted +that it should have been so completely cast into the shade by 'Le Nozze +di Figaro,' + +Mozart's next opera, 'La Clemenza di Tito,' was hastily written, while +he was suffering from the illness which in the end proved fatal. The +libretto was an adaptation of an earlier work by Metastasio. Cold and +formal, and almost totally devoid of dramatic interest, it naturally +failed to inspire the composer. The form in which it was cast compelled +him to return to the conventions of opera seria, from which he had long +escaped, and altogether, as an able critic remarked at the time, the +work might rather be taken for the first attempt of budding talent than +for the product of a mature mind. The story deals with the plotting of +Vitellia, the daughter of the deposed Vitellius, to overthrow the +Emperor Titus. She persuades her lover Sextus to conspire against his +friend, and he succeeds in setting the Capitol on fire. Titus, however, +escapes by means of a disguise, and not only pardons all the +conspirators, but rewards Vitellia with his hand. The opera was produced +at Prague on the 6th of September, 1791, and the cold reception which it +experienced did much to embitter the closing years of Mozart's life. + +'Die Zauberfloete,' his last work, was written before 'La Clemenza di +Tito,' though not actually produced until September 30, 1791. The +libretto, which was the work of Emanuel Schikaneder, is surely the most +extraordinary that ever mortal composer was called upon to set. + +At the opening of the opera, the Prince Tamino rushes in, pursued by a +monstrous serpent, and sinks exhausted on the steps of a temple, from +which three ladies issue in the nick of time and despatch the serpent +with their silver spears. They give Tamino a portrait of Pamina, the +daughter of their mistress, the Queen of Night, which immediately +inspires him with passionate devotion. He is informed that Pamina has +been stolen by Sarastro, the high-priest of Isis, and imprisoned by him +in his palace. He vows to rescue her, and for that purpose is presented +by the ladies with a magic flute, which will keep him safe in every +danger, while Papageno, a bird-catcher, who has been assigned to him as +companion, receives a glockenspiel. Three genii are summoned to guide +them, and the two champions thereupon proceed to Sarastro's palace. +Tamino is refused admittance by the doorkeeper, but Papageno in some +unexplained way contrives to get in, and persuades Pamina to escape with +him. They fly, but are recaptured by Monostatos, a Moor, who has been +appointed to keep watch over Pamina. Sarastro now appears, condemns +Monostatos to the bastinado, and decrees that the two lovers shall +undergo a period of probation in the sanctuary. In the second act the +ordeal of silence is imposed upon Tamino. Pamina cannot understand his +apparent coldness, and is inclined to listen to the counsels of her +mother, who tries to induce her to murder Sarastro. The priest, however, +convinces her of his beneficent intentions. The lovers go through the +ordeals of fire and water successfully, and are happily married. The +Queen of Night and her dark kingdom perish everlastingly, and the reign +of peace and wisdom is universally established. The humours of Papageno +in his search for a wife have nothing to do with the principal interest +of the plot, but they serve as an acceptable contrast to the more +serious scenes of the opera. + +The libretto of the 'Die Zauberfloete' is usually spoken of as the climax +of conceivable inanity, but the explanation of many of its absurdities +seems to lie in the fact that it is an allegorical illustration of the +struggles and final triumph of Freemasonry. Both Mozart and Schikaneder +were Freemasons, and 'Die Zauberfloete' is in a sense a manifesto of +their belief. Freemasonry in the opera is represented by the mysteries +of Isis, over which the high-priest Sarastro presides. The Queen of +Night is Maria Theresa, a sworn opponent of Freemasonry, who interdicted +its practice throughout her dominions, and broke up the Lodges with +armed force. Tamino may be intended for the Emperor Joseph II., who, +though not a Freemason himself as his father was, openly protected the +brotherhood; and we may look upon Pamina as the representative of the +Austrian people. The name of Monostatos seems to be connected with +monasticism, and may be intended to typify the clerical party, which, +though outwardly on friendly terms with Freemasonry, seems in reality to +have been bent upon its destruction. Papageno and his wife Papagena are +excellent representatives of the light-hearted and pleasure-loving +population of Vienna. It is difficult to make any explanation fit the +story very perfectly, but the suggestion of Freemasonry is enough to +acquit Mozart of having allied his music to mere balderdash; while, +behind the Masonic business, the discerning hearer will have no +difficulty in distinguishing the shadowy outlines of another and a far +nobler allegory, the ascent of the human soul, purified by suffering and +love, to the highest wisdom. It was this, no doubt, that compelled +Goethe's often expressed admiration, and even tempted him to write a +sequel to Schikaneder's libretto. 'Die Zauberfloete' is in form a +Singsgiel--that is to say, the music is interspersed with spoken +dialogue--but there the resemblance to Hiller's creations ceases. From +the magnificent fugue in the overture to the majestic choral finale, the +music is an astonishing combination of divinely beautiful melody with +marvels of contrapuntal skill. Perhaps the most surprising part of 'Die +Zauberfloete' is the extraordinary ease and certainty with which Mozart +manipulates what is practically a new form of art. Nursed as he had been +in the traditions of Italian opera, it would not have been strange if he +had not been able to shake off the influences of his youth. Yet 'Die +Zauberfloete' owes but little to any Italian predecessor. It is German to +the core. We may be able to point to passages which are a development of +something occurring in the composer's earlier works, such as 'Die +Entfuehrung,' but there is hardly anything in the score of 'Die +Zauberfloete' which suggests an external influence. Its position in the +world of music is ably summarised by Jahn: 'If in his Italian operas +Mozart assimilated the traditions of a long period of development and in +some sense put the finishing stroke to it, with "Die Zauberfloete" he +treads on the threshold of the future, and unlocks for his country the +sacred treasure of national art.' + +Of Mozart's work as a whole, it is impossible to speak save in terms +which seem exaggerated. His influence upon subsequent composers cannot +be over-estimated. Without him, Rossini and modern Italian opera, Weber +and modern German, Gounod and modern French, would have been impossible. +It may be conceded that the form of his operas, with the alternation of +airs, concerted pieces and _recitativo secco_, may conceivably strike +the ears of the uneducated as old-fashioned, but the feelings of +musicians may best be summed up in the word of Gounod: 'O Mozart, divin +Mozart! Qu'il faut peu te comprendre pour ne pas t'adorer! Toi, la +verite constante! Toi, la beaute parfaite! Toi, le charme inepuisable! +Toi, toujours profond et toujours limpide! Toi, l'humanite complete et +la simplicite de l'enfant! Toi, qui as tout ressenti, et tout exprime +dans une langue musicale qu'on n'a jamais surpassee et qu'on ne +surpassera jamais.' + + + + +CHAPTER V + +THE CLOSE OF THE CLASSICAL PERIOD + +MEHUL--CHERUBINI--SPONTINI--BEETHOVEN--BOIELDIEU + + +Mozart and Gluck, each in his respective sphere, carried opera to a +point which seemed scarcely to admit of further development. But before +the advent of Weber and the romantic revolution there was a vast amount +of good work done by a lesser order of musicians, who worked on the +lines laid down by their great predecessors, and did much to familiarise +the world with the new beauties of their masters' work. The history of +art often repeats itself in this way. First comes the genius burning +with celestial fire. He sweeps away the time-worn formulas, and founds +his new art upon their ruins. Then follows the crowd of disciples, men +of talent and imagination, though without the crowning impulse that +moves the world. They repeat and amplify their leader's maxims, until +the world, which at first had stood aghast at teaching so novel, in time +grows accustomed to it, and finally accepts it without question. Next +comes the final stage, when what has been caviare to one generation is +become the daily bread of the next. The innovations of the master, +caught up and reproduced by his disciples, in the third generation +become the conventional formulas of the art, and the world is ripe once +more for a revolution! + +Deeply as Gluck's work affected the history of music, his immediate +disciples were few. Salieri (1750-1825), an Italian by birth, was +chiefly associated with the Viennese court, but wrote his best work, +'Les Danaides,' for Paris. He caught the trick of Gluck's grand style +cleverly, but was hardly more than an imitator. Sacchini (1734-1786) had +a more original vein, though he too was essentially a composer of the +second class. He was not actually a pupil of Gluck, though his later +works, written for the Paris stage, show the influence of the composer +of 'Alceste' very strongly. The greatest of Gluck's immediate +followers--the greatest, because he imbibed the principles of his +master's art without slavishly reproducing his form--was Mehul +(1763-1817), a composer who is so little known in England that it is +difficult to speak of him in terms which shall not sound exaggerated to +those who are not familiar with his works. How highly he is ranked by +French critics may be gathered from the fact that when 'Israel in Egypt' +was performed for the first time in Paris some years ago, M. Julien +Tiersot, one of the sanest and most clear-headed of contemporary writers +on music, gave it as his opinion that Handel's work was less conspicuous +for the qualities of dignity and sonority than Mehul's 'Joseph.' +Englishmen can scarcely be expected to echo this opinion, but as to the +intrinsic greatness of Mehul's work there cannot be any question. He +was far more of a scientific musician than Gluck, and his scores have +nothing of his master's jejuneness. His melody, too, is dignified and +expressive, but he is sensibly inferior to Gluck in what may be called +dramatic instinct, and this, coupled with the fact that the libretti of +his operas are almost uniformly uninteresting, whereas Gluck's are drawn +from the immortal legends of the past, is perhaps enough to explain why +the one has been taken and the other left. Mehul's last and greatest +work, 'Joseph,' is still performed in France and Germany, though our +national prejudices forbid the hope that it can ever be heard in this +country except in a mutilated concert version. The opera follows the +Biblical story closely, and Mehul has reproduced the large simplicity of +the Old Testament with rare felicity. From the magnificent opening air, +'Champs paternels,' to the sonorous final chorus, the work is rich in +beauty of a very high order. Of his other serious works few have +remained in the current repertory, chiefly owing to their stupid +libretti, for there is not one of them that does not contain music of +rare excellence. 'Stratonice,' a dignified setting of the pathetic old +story of the prince who loves his father's betrothed, deserves to live +if only for the sake of the noble air, 'Versez tous vos chagrins,' a +masterpiece of sublime tenderness as fine as anything in Gluck. 'Uthal,' +a work upon an Ossianic legend, has recently been revived with success +in Germany. It embodies a curious experiment in orchestration, the +violins being entirely absent from the score. The composer's idea, no +doubt, was to represent by this means the grey colouring and misty +atmosphere of the scene in which his opera was laid, but the originality +of the idea scarcely atones for the monotony in which it resulted. +Although his genius was naturally of a serious and dignified cast, Mehul +wrote many works in a lighter vein, partly no doubt in emulation of +Gretry, the prince of opera comique. Mehul's comic operas are often +deficient in sparkle, but their musical force and the enchanting +melodies with which they are begemmed have kept them alive, and several +of them--'Une Folie,' for instance, and 'Le Tresor Suppose'--have been +performed in Germany during the last decade, while 'L'Irato,' a +brilliant imitation of Italian opera buffa, has recently been given at +Brussels with great success. + +Although born in Florence and educated in the traditions of the +Neapolitan school, Cherubini (1760-1842) belongs by right to the French +school. His 'Lodoiska,' which was produced in Paris in 1791, established +his reputation; and 'Les Deux Journees' (1800), known in England as 'The +Water-Carrier,' placed him, in the estimation of Beethoven, at the head +of all living composers of opera. Posterity has scarcely endorsed +Beethoven's dictum, but it is impossible to ignore the beauty of +Cherubini's work. The solidity of his concerted pieces and the +picturesqueness of his orchestration go far to explain the enthusiasm +which his works aroused in a society which as yet knew little, if +anything, of Mozart. Cherubini's finest works suffer from a frigidity +and formality strangely in contrast with the grace of Gretry or the +melody of Mehul, but the infinite resources of his musicianship make +amends for lack of inspiration, and 'Les Deux Journees' may still be +listened to with pleasure, if not with enthusiasm. The scene of the +opera is laid in Paris, under the rule of Cardinal Mazarin, who has been +defied by Armand, the hero of the story. The gates of Paris are strictly +guarded, and every precaution is taken to prevent Armand's escape; but +he is saved by Mikeli, a water-carrier, whose son he had once +befriended, and who now repays the favour by conveying him out of Paris +in his empty water-cart. Armand escapes to a village near Paris, but is +captured by the Cardinal's troops while protecting his wife Constance, +who has followed him, from the insults of two soldiers. In the end a +pardon arrives from the Queen, and all ends happily. In spite of the +serious and even tragic cast of the plot, the use of spoken dialogue +compels us to class 'Les Deux Journees' as an opera comique; and the +same rule applies to 'Medee,' Cherubini's finest work, an opera which +for dignity of thought and grandeur of expression deserves to rank high +among the productions of the period. Lesueur (1763-1837) may fitly be +mentioned by the side of Mehul and Cherubini. His opera 'Les Bardes,' +though now forgotten, has qualities of undeniable excellence. Its faults +as well as its beauties are those of the period which produced it. It is +declamatory rather than lyrical, and decorative rather than dramatic, +but in the midst of its conventions and formality there is much that is +true as well as picturesque. + +During the closing years of the eighteenth and at the beginning of the +nineteenth century the activity of the French school of opera is in +remarkable contrast with the stagnation which prevailed in Italy and +Germany. Italy, a slave to the facile graces of the Neapolitan school, +still awaited the composer who should strike off her chains and renew +the youth of her national art; while Germany, among the crowds of +imitators who clung to the skirts of Mozart's mantle, could not produce +one worthy to follow in his steps. Yet though French opera embodied the +finest thought and aspiration of the day, it is only just to observe +that the impetus which impelled her composers upon new paths of progress +came largely from external sources. It is curious to note how large a +share foreigners have had in building up the fabric of French opera. +Lulli, Gluck, and Cherubini in turn devoted their genius to its service. +They were followed by Spontini (1774-1851), who in spite of chauvinistic +prejudice, became, on the production of 'La Vestale' in 1807, the most +popular composer of the day. Spontini's training was Neapolitan, but his +first visit to Paris showed him that there was no place upon the French +stage for the trivialities which still delighted Italian audiences. He +devoted himself to careful study, and his one-act opera 'Milton,' the +first-fruits of his musicianship, showed a remarkable advance upon his +youthful efforts. Spontini professed an adoration for Mozart which +bordered upon idolatry, but his music shows rather the influence of +Gluck. He is the last of what may be called the classical school of +operatic composers, and he shows little trace of the romanticism which +was beginning to lay its hand upon music. He was accused during his +lifetime of overloading his operas with orchestration, and of writing +music which it was impossible to sing--accusations which sound strangely +familiar to those who are old enough to remember the reception of Wagner +in the seventies and eighties. His scores would not sound very elaborate +nowadays, nor do his melodies appear unusually tortuous or exacting, but +he insisted upon violent contrasts from his singers as well as from his +orchestra, and the great length of his operas, a point in which he +anticipated Meyerbeer and Wagner, probably reduced to exhaustion the +artists who were trained on Gluck and Mozart. 'La Vestale' was followed +in 1809 by 'Fernand Cortez,' and in 1819 by 'Olympie,' both of which +were extremely successful, the latter in a revised form which was +produced at Berlin in 1821. Spontini's operas are now no longer +performed, but the influence which his music exercised upon men so +different as Wagner and Meyerbeer makes his name important in the +history of opera. + +Although Paris was the nursery of all that was best in opera at this +period, to Germany belongs the credit of producing the one work dating +from the beginning of the nineteenth century which deserves to rank with +the masterpieces of the previous generation--Beethoven's 'Fidelio.' +Beethoven's (1770-1827) one contribution to the lyric stage was written +in 1804 and 1805, and was produced at Vienna in the latter year, during +the French occupation. The libretto is a translation from the French, +and the story had already formed the basis of more than one opera; +indeed, it was a performance of Paer's 'Eleonora' which originally led +Beethoven to think of writing his work. Simple as it is, the plot has +true nobility of design, and the purity of its motive contrasts +favourably with the tendency of the vast majority of lyric dramas. +Florestan, a Spanish nobleman, has fallen into the power of his +bitterest enemy, Pizarro, the governor of a state prison near Madrid. +There the unfortunate Florestan is confined in a loathsome dungeon +without light or air, dependent upon the mercy of Pizarro for the merest +crust of bread. Leonore, the unhappy prisoner's wife, has discovered his +place of confinement, and, in the hope of rescuing him, disguises +herself in male attire and hires herself as servant to Rocco, the head +gaoler, under the name of Fidelio. In this condition she has to endure +the advances of Marcelline, the daughter of Rocco, who neglects her +lover Jaquino for the sake of the attractive new-comer. Before Leonore +has had time to mature her plans, news comes to the prison of the +approaching visit of the Minister Fernando on a tour of inspection. +Pizarro's only chance of escaping the detection of his crime is to put +an end to Florestan's existence, and he orders Rocco to dig a grave in +the prisoner's cell. Leonore obtains leave to help the gaoler in his +task, and together they descend to the dungeon, where the unfortunate +Florestan is lying in a half inanimate condition. When their task is +finished Pizarro himself comes down, and is on the point of stabbing +Florestan, when Leonore throws herself between him and his victim, a +pistol in her hand, and threatens the assassin with instant death if he +advance a step. At that moment a flourish of trumpets announces the +arrival of Fernando. Pizarro is forced to hurry off to receive his +guest, and the husband and wife rush into each other's arms. The closing +scene shows the discomfiture and disgrace of Pizarro, and the +restoration of Florestan to his lost honours and dignity. + +The form of 'Fidelio,' like that of "Die Zauberfloete," is that of the +Singspiel. In the earlier and lighter portions of the work the +construction of the drama does not differ materially from that of the +generality of Singspiele, but in the more tragic scenes the spoken +dialogue is employed with novel and extraordinary force. So far from +suggesting any feeling of anti-climax, the sudden relapse into agitated +speech often gives an effect more thrilling than any music +could command. At two points in the drama this is especially +remarkable--firstly, in the prison quartet, after the flourish of +trumpets, when Jaquino comes in breathless haste to announce the arrival +of the Minister; and secondly, in the brief dialogue between the husband +and wife which separates the quartet from the following duet. Leonore's +famous words, 'Nichts, nichts, mein Florestan,' in particular, if +spoken with a proper sense of their exquisite truth and beauty, sum up +the passionate devotion of the true-hearted wife, and her overflowing +happiness at the realisation of her dearest hopes, in a manner which for +genuine pathos can scarcely be paralleled upon the operatic stage. + +It is hardly necessary to point out to the student of opera the steady +influence which Mozart's music exercised upon Beethoven's development. +Yet although Beethoven learnt much from the composer of 'Don Giovanni,' +there is a great deal in 'Fidelio' with which Mozart had nothing to do. +The attitude of Beethoven towards opera--to go no deeper than questions +of form--was radically different from that of Mozart. Beethoven's talent +was essentially symphonic rather than dramatic, and magnificent as +'Fidelio' is, it has many passages in which it is impossible to avoid +feeling that the composer is forcing his talent into an unfamiliar if +not uncongenial channel. This is especially noticeable in the concerted +pieces, in which Beethoven sometimes seems to forget all about opera, +characters, dramatic situation and everything else in the sheer delight +of writing music. No one with an ounce of musical taste in his +composition would wish the canon-quartet, the two trios or the two +finales, to take a few instances at random, any shorter or less +developed than they are, but one can imagine how Mozart would have +smiled at the lack of dramatic feeling displayed in their construction. + +'Fidelio,' as has already been said, is the only opera produced in +Germany at this period which is deserving of special mention. Mozart's +success had raised up a crop of imitators, of whom the most meritorious +were Suessmayer, his own pupil; Winter, who had the audacity to write a +sequel to 'Die Zauberfloete'; Weigl, the composer of the popular +'Schweizerfamilie' the Abbe Vogler, who, though now known chiefly by his +organ music, was a prolific writer for the stage; and Dittersdorf, a +writer of genuine humour, whose spirited Singspiel, 'Doktor und +Apotheker,' carried on the traditions of Hiller successfully. But though +the lighter school of opera in Germany produced nothing of importance, +upon the more congenial soil of France opera comique, in the hands of a +school of earnest and gifted composers, was acquiring a musical +distinction which it was far from possessing in the days of Gretry and +Monsigny. Strictly speaking, the operas of Mehul and Cherubini should be +ranked as operas comiques, by reason of the spoken dialogue which takes +the place of the recitative; but the high seriousness which continually +animates the music of these masters makes it impossible to class their +works with operas so different in aim and execution as those of Gretry. +Of the many writers of opera comique at the beginning of this century, +it will be enough to mention two of the most prominent, Nicolo and +Boieldieu. Nicolo Isouard (1777-1818), to give him his full name, shone +less by musical science or dramatic instinct than by a delicate and +pathetic grace which endeared his music to the hearts of his +contemporaries. He had little originality, and his facility often +descends to commonplace, but much of the music in 'Joconde' and +'Cendrillon' lives by grace of its inimitable tenderness and charm. +Nicolo is the Greuze of music. Boieldieu (1775-1834) stands upon a very +different plane. Although he worked within restricted limits, his +originality and resource place him among the great masters of French +music. His earlier works are, for the most, light and delicate trifles; +but in 'Jean de Paris' (1812) and 'La Dame Blanche' (1825), to name only +two of his many successful works, he shows real solidity of style and no +little command of musical invention, combined with the delicate melody +and pathetic grace which rarely deserted him. The real strength and +distinction of 'La Dame Blanche' have sufficed to keep it alive until +the present day, although it has never, in spite of the Scottish origin +of the libretto, won in this country a tithe of the popularity which it +enjoys in France. The story is a combination of incidents taken from +Scott's 'Monastery' and 'Guy Mannering.' The Laird of Avenel, who was +obliged to fly from Scotland after the battle of Culloden, entrusted his +estates to his steward Gaveston. Many years having passed without +tidings of the absentee, Gaveston determines to put the castle and lands +up for sale. He has sedulously fostered a tradition which is current +among the villagers, that the castle is haunted by a White Lady, hoping +by this means to deter any of the neighbouring farmers from competing +with him for the estate. The day before the sale takes place, Dickson, +one of the farmers, is summoned to the castle by Anna, an orphan girl +who had been befriended by the Laird. Dickson is too superstitious to +venture, but his place is taken by George Brown, a young soldier, who +arrived at the village that day. George has an interview with the White +Lady, who is of course Anna in disguise. She recognises George as the +man whose life she saved after a battle, and knowing him to be the +rightful heir of Avenel, promises to help him in recovering his +property. She has discovered that treasure is concealed in a statue of +the White Lady, and with this she empowers George to buy back his +ancestral lands and castle. Gaveston is outbidden at the sale, and +George weds Anna. Boieldieu's music has much melodic beauty, though its +tenderness is apt to degenerate into sentimentality. In its original +form the opera would nowadays be unbearably tiresome, and only a +judicious shortening of the interminable duets and trios can make them +tolerable to a modern audience. In spite of much that is conventional +and old-fashioned, the alternate vigour and grace of 'La Dame Blanche' +and the genuine musical interest of the score make it the most +favourable specimen of this period of French opera comique. It is the +last offspring of the older school. After Boieldieu's time the influence +of Rossini became paramount, and opera comique, unable to resist a spell +so formidable, began to lose its distinctively national characteristics. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +WEBER AND THE ROMANTIC SCHOOL + + +WEBER--SPOHR--MARSCHNER--KREUTZER--LORTZING-- +NICOLAI--FLOTOW--MENDELSSOHN--SCHUBERT--SCHUMANN + + +Although, for the sake of convenience, it is customary to speak of Weber +as the founder of the romantic school in music, it must not be imagined +that the new school sprang into being at the production of 'Der +Freischuetz.' For many years the subtle influence of the romantic school +in literature--the circle which gathered round Tieck, Fichte, and the +Schlegels--had been felt in music. We have seen how the voluptuous +delights of Armida's garden affected even the stately muse of Gluck; and +in the generation which succeeded him, though opera still followed +classic lines of form, in subject and treatment it was tinged with the +prismatic colours of romance. Mehul's curious experiments in +orchestration, and the solemn splendour of Mozart's Egyptian mysteries, +alike show the influence of the romantic spirit as surely as the +weirdest piece of _diablerie_ ever devised by Weber or his followers. +Yet though intimations of the approaching change had for long been +perceptible to the discerning eye, it was not until the days of Weber +that the classical forms and methods which had ruled the world of opera +since the days of Gluck gave way before the newer and more vivid passion +of romance. Even then it must not be forgotten that the romantic school +differed from the classic more in view of life and treatment of subject +than in actual subject itself. The word romance conjures up weird +visions of the supernatural or glowing pictures of chivalry; but +although it is true that Weber and his followers loved best to treat of +such themes as these, they had by no means been excluded from the +repertory of their classical predecessors. The supernatural terrors of +'Der Freischuetz' must not make us forget the terrific finale to 'Don +Giovanni,' nor can the most glowing picture from 'Euryanthe' erase +memories of Rinaldo and the Crusaders in 'Armide.' The romantic +movement, however, as interpreted by Weber, aimed definitely at certain +things, which had not previously come within the scope of music, though +for many years they had been the common property of art and literature. +The romantic movement was primarily a revolt against the tyranny of man +and his emotions. It claimed a wider stage and an ampler air. Nature was +not henceforth to be merely the background against which man played his +part. The beauty of landscape, the glory of the setting sun, the +splendour of the sea, the mystery of the forest--all these the romantic +movement taught men to regard not merely as the accessories of a scene +in which man was the predominant figure, but as subjects in themselves +worthy of artistic treatment. The genius of Weber (1786-1826) was a +curious compound of two differing types. In essence it was thoroughly +German--sane in inspiration, and drawing its strength from the homely +old Volkslieder, so dear to every true German heart. Yet over this solid +foundation there soared an imagination surely more delicate and ethereal +than has ever been allotted to mortal musician before or since, by the +aid of which Weber was enabled to treat all subjects beneath heaven with +equal success. He is equally at home in the eerie horrors of the Wolf's +Glen, in the moonlit revels of Oberon, and in the knightly pomp and +circumstance of the Provencal court. + +Weber's early years were a continual struggle against defeat and +disappointment. His musical education was somewhat superficial, and his +first works, 'Sylvana' and 'Peter Schmoll,' gave little promise of his +later glory. 'Abu Hassan,' a one-act comic opera, which was produced in +1811, at Munich, was his first real success. Slight as the story is, it +is by no means unamusing, and the music, which is a piece of the +daintiest filagree-work imaginable, has helped to keep the little work +alive to the present day. Such plot as there is describes the shifts of +Hassan and Fatima, his wife, to avoid paying their creditors, who are +unduly pressing in their demands. Finally they both pretend to be dead, +and by this means excite the regret of their master and mistress, the +Sultan and Sultana, a regret which takes the practical form of +releasing them from their embarrassments. + +In 'Der Freischuetz' Weber was at last in his true element. The plot of +the opera is founded upon an old forest legend of a demon who persuades +huntsmen to sell their souls in exchange for magic bullets which never +miss their mark. Caspar, who is a ranger in the service of Prince +Ottokar of Bohemia, had sold himself to the demon Samiel. The day is +approaching when his soul will become forfeit to the powers of evil, +unless he can bring a fresh victim in his place. He looks around him for +a possible substitute, and his choice falls upon Max, another ranger, +who had been unlucky in the preliminary contest for the post of chief +huntsman, and is only too ready to listen to Caspar's promise of +unerring bullets. Max loves Agathe, the daughter of Kuno, the retiring +huntsman, and unless he can secure the vacant post, he has little hope +of being able to marry her. He agrees eagerly to Caspar's proposal, and +promises to meet him at midnight in the haunted Wolf's Glen, there to go +through the ceremony of casting the magic bullets. Meanwhile Agathe is +oppressed by forebodings of coming evil. The fall of an old picture +seems to her a presage of woe, and her lively cousin Aennchen can do +little to console her. The appearance of Max on his way to the Wolf's +Glen, cheers her but little. He too has been troubled by strange +visions, and as the moment of the rendezvous approaches his courage +begins to fail. Nevertheless he betakes himself to the Glen, and there, +amidst scenes of the wildest supernatural horror, the bullets are cast +in the presence of the terrible Samiel himself. Six of them are for Max, +to be used by him in the approaching contest, while the seventh will be +at the disposal of the demon. In the third act Agathe is discovered +preparing for her wedding. She has dreamed that, in the shape of a dove, +she was shot by Max, and she cannot shake off a sense of approaching +trouble. Her melancholy is not dissipated by the discovery that, instead +of a bridal crown, a funeral wreath has been prepared for her; however, +to console herself, she determines to wear a wreath of sacred roses, +which had been given her by the hermit of the forest. The last scene +shows the shooting contest on which the future of Max and Agathe +depends. Max makes six shots in succession, all of which hit the mark. +At last, at the Prince's command, he fires at a dove which is flying +past. Agathe falls with a shriek, but is protected by her wreath, while +Samiel directs the bullet to Caspar's heart. At the sight of his +associate's fate Max is stricken with remorse, and tells the story of +his unholy compact. The Prince is about to banish him from his service, +when the hermit appears and intercedes for the unfortunate youth. The +Prince is mollified, and it is decided that Max shall have a year's +probation, after which he shall be permitted to take the post of chief +huntsman and marry Agathe. + +'Der Freischuetz' is, upon the whole, the most thoroughly characteristic +of Weber's works. The famous passage for the horns, with which the +overture opens, strikes the note of mystery and romance which echoes +through the work. The overture itself is a notable example of that new +beauty which Weber infused into the time-honoured form. If he was not +actually the first--for Beethoven had already written his 'Leonore' +overtures--to make the overture a picture in brief of the incidents of +the opera, he developed the idea with so much picturesque power and +imagination that the preludes to his operas remain the envy and despair +of modern theatrical composers. The inspiration of 'Der Freischuetz' is +drawn so directly from the German Volkslied, that at its production +Weber was roundly accused of plagiarism by many critics. Time has shown +the folly of such charges. 'Der Freischuetz' is German to the core, and +every page of it bears the impress of German inspiration, but the +glamour of Weber's genius transmuted the rough material he employed into +a fabric of the richest art. Of the imaginative power of such scenes as +the famous incantation it is unnecessary to speak. It introduced a new +element into music, and one which was destined to have an almost +immeasurable influence upon modern music. Weber's power of +characterisation was remarkable, as shown particularly in the music +assigned to Agathe and Aennchen, but in this respect he was certainly +inferior to some of his predecessors, notably to Mozart. But in +imaginative power and in the minute knowledge of orchestral detail, +which enabled him to translate his conceptions into music, he has never +been surpassed among writers for the stage. Modern opera, if we may +speak in general terms, may be said to date from the production of 'Der +Freischuetz.' + +Operatic composers are too often dogged by a fate which seems to compel +them to wed their noblest inspirations to libretti of incorrigible +dulness, and Weber was even more unfortunate in this respect than his +brethren of the craft. After 'Der Freischuetz,' the libretti which he +took in hand were of the most unworthy description, and even his genius +has not been able to give them immortality. 'Euryanthe' was the work of +Helmine von Chezy, the authoress of 'Rosamunde,' for which Schubert +wrote his entrancing incidental music. Weber was probably attracted by +the romantic elements of the story, the chivalry of mediaeval France, the +marches and processions, the pomp and glitter of the court, and +overlooked the weak points of the plot. To tell the truth, much of the +libretto of 'Euryanthe' borders upon the incomprehensible. The main +outline of the story is as follows. At a festival given by the King of +France, Count Adolar praises the beauty and virtue of his betrothed +Euryanthe, and Lysiart, who also loves her, offers to wager all he +possesses that he will contrive to gain her love. Adolar accepts the +challenge, and Lysiart departs for Nevers, where Euryanthe is living. +The second act discovers Euryanthe and Eglantine, an outcast damsel whom +she has befriended. Eglantine secretly loves Adolar, but extracts a +promise from Lysiart, who has arrived at Nevers, that he will marry +her. In return for this she gives him a ring belonging to Euryanthe, +which she has stolen, and tells him a secret relating to a mysterious +Emma, a sister of Adolar, which Euryanthe has incautiously revealed to +her. Armed with these Lysiart returns to the court, and quickly +persuades Adolar and the King that he has won Euryanthe's affection. No +one listens to her denials; she is condemned to death, and Adolar's +lands and titles are given to Lysiart. Euryanthe is led into the desert +to be killed by Adolar. On the way he is attacked by a serpent, which he +kills, though not before Euryanthe has proved her devotion by offering +to die in her lover's place. Adolar then leaves Euryanthe to perish, +declaring that he has not the heart to kill her. She is found in a dying +condition by the King, whom she speedily convinces of her innocence. +Meanwhile Adolar has returned to Nevers, to encounter the bridal +procession of Eglantine and Lysiart. Eglantine confesses that she helped +to ruin Euryanthe in the hope of winning Adolar, and is promptly stabbed +by Lysiart. Everything being satisfactorily cleared up, Euryanthe +conveniently awakes from a trance into which she had fallen, and the +lovers are finally united. Puerile as the libretto is, it inspired Weber +with some of the finest music he ever wrote. The spectacular portions of +the opera are animated by the true spirit of chivalry, while all that is +connected with the incomprehensible Emma and her secret is unspeakably +eerie. The characters of the drama are such veritable puppets, that no +expenditure of talent could make them interesting; but the resemblance +between the general scheme of the plot of 'Euryanthe' and that of +'Lohengrin' should not be passed over, nor the remarkable way in which +Weber had anticipated some of Wagner's most brilliant triumphs, notably +in the characters of Eglantine and Lysiart, who often seem curiously to +foreshadow Ortrud and Telramund, and in the finale to the second act, in +which the single voice of Euryanthe, like that of Elisabeth in +'Tannhaeuser,' is contrasted with the male chorus. + +Weber's last opera, 'Oberon,' is one of the few works written in recent +times by a foreign composer of the first rank for the English stage. The +libretto, which was the work of Planche, is founded upon an old French +romance, 'Huon of Bordeaux,' and though by no means a model of lucidity, +it contains many scenes both powerful and picturesque, which must have +captivated the imagination of a musician so impressionable as Weber. The +opera opens in fairyland, where a bevy of fairies is watching the +slumbers of Oberon. The fairy king has quarrelled with Titania, and has +vowed never to be reconciled to her until he shall find two lovers +constant to each other through trial and temptation. Puck, who has been +despatched to search for such a pair, enters with the news that Sir Huon +of Bordeaux, who had accidentally slain the son of Charlemagne, has been +commanded, in expiation of his crime, to journey to Bagdad, to claim the +Caliph's daughter as his bride, and slay the man who sits at his right +hand. Oberon forthwith throws Huon into a deep sleep, and in a vision +shows him Rezia, the daughter of the Caliph, of whom the ardent knight +instantly becomes enamoured. He then conveys him to the banks of the +Tigris, and giving him a magic horn, starts him upon his dangerous +enterprise. In the Caliph's palace Huon fights with Babekan, Rezia's +suitor, rescues the maiden, and with the aid of the magic horn carries +her off from the palace, while his esquire Sherasmin performs the same +kind office for Fatima, Rezia's attendant. On their way home they +encounter a terrific storm, raised by the power of Oberon to try their +constancy. They are ship-wrecked, and Rezia is carried off by pirates to +Tunis, whilst Huon is left for dead upon the beach. At Tunis more +troubles are in store for the hapless pair. Huon, who has been +transported by the fairies across the sea, finds his way into the house +of the Emir, where Rezia is in slavery. There he is unlucky enough to +win the favour of Roshana, the Emir's wife, and before he can escape +from her embraces he is discovered by the Emir himself, and condemned to +be burned alive. Rezia proclaims herself his wife, and she also is +condemned to the stake; but at this crisis Oberon intervenes. The lovers +have been tried enough, and their constancy is rewarded. They are +transported to the court of Charlemagne, where a royal welcome awaits +them. + +Although written for England, 'Oberon' has never achieved much +popularity in this, or indeed in any country. The fairy music is +exquisite throughout, but the human interest of the story is after all +slight, and Weber, on whom the hand of death was heavy as he wrote the +score, failed to infuse much individuality into his characters. 'Oberon' +was his last work, and he died in London soon after it was produced. +During the last few years of his life he had been engaged in a desultory +way upon the composition of a comic opera, 'Die drei Pintos,' founded +upon a Spanish subject. He left this in an unfinished state, but some +time after his death it was found that the manuscript sketches and notes +for the work were on a scale sufficiently elaborate to give a proper +idea of what the composer's intentions with regard to the work really +were. The work of arrangement was entrusted to Herr G. Mahler, and under +his auspices 'Die drei Pintos' was actually produced, though with little +success. + +At the present time the only opera of Weber which can truthfully be said +to belong to the current repertory is 'Der Freischuetz,' and even this is +rarely performed out of Germany. The small amount of favour which +'Euryanthe' and 'Oberon' enjoy is due, as has been already pointed out, +chiefly to the weakness of their libretti, yet it seems strange that the +man to whom the whole tendency of modern opera is due should hold so +small a place in our affections. The changes which Weber and his +followers effected, though less drastic, were in their results fully as +important as those of Gluck. In the orchestra as well as on the stage +he introduced a new spirit, a new point of view. What modern music owes +to him may be summed up in a word. Without Weber, Wagner would have been +impossible. + +Louis Spohr (1784-1859) is now almost forgotten as an operatic composer, +but at one time his popularity was only second to that of Weber. Many +competent critics have constantly affirmed that a day will come when +Spohr's operas, now neglected, will return to favour once more; but +years pass, and there seems no sign of a revival of interest in his +work. Yet he has a certain importance in the history of opera; for, so +far as chronology is concerned, he ought perhaps to be termed the +founder of the romantic school rather than Weber, since his 'Faust' was +produced in 1818, and 'Der Freischuetz' did not appear until 1821. But +the question seems to turn not so much upon whether Spohr or Weber were +first in the field, as whether Spohr is actually a romantic composer at +all. If the subjects which he treated were all that need be taken into +account, the matter could easily be decided. No composer ever dealt more +freely in the supernatural than Spohr. His operas are peopled with +elves, ghosts, and goblins. Ruined castles, midnight assassins, and +distressed damsels greet us on every page. But if we go somewhat deeper, +we find that the real qualities of romanticism are strangely absent from +his music. His form differs little from that of his classical +predecessors, and his orchestration is curiously arid and unsuggestive; +in a word, the breath of imagination rarely animates his pages. Yet the +workmanship of his operas is so admirable, and his vein of melody is so +delicate and refined, that it is difficult to help thinking that Spohr +has been unjustly neglected. His 'Faust,' which has nothing to do with +Goethe's drama, was popular in England fifty years ago; and 'Jessonda,' +which contains the best of his music, is still occasionally performed in +Germany. The rest of his works, with the exception of a few scattered +airs, such as 'Rose softly blooming,' from 'Zemire und Azor,' seem to be +completely forgotten. + +Heinrich Marschner (1796-1861), though not a pupil of Weber, was +strongly influenced by his music, and carried on the traditions of the +romantic school worthily and well. He was a man of vivid imagination, +and revelled in uncanny legends of the supernatural. His works are +performed with tolerable frequency in Germany, and still please by +reason of their inexhaustible flow of melody and their brilliant and +elaborate orchestration. 'Hans Heiling,' his masterpiece, is founded +upon a sombre old legend of the Erzgebirge. The king of the gnomes has +seen and loved a Saxon maiden, Anna by name, and to win her heart he +leaves his palace in the bowels of the earth and masquerades as a +village schoolmaster under the name of Hans Heiling. Anna is flattered +by his attentions, and promises to be his wife; but she soon tires of +her gloomy lover, and ends by openly admitting her preference for the +hunter Conrad. Her resolution to break with Hans is confirmed by an +apparition of the queen of the gnomes, Hans Heiling's mother, surrounded +by her attendant sprites, who warns her under fearful penalties to +forswear the love of an immortal. Hans Heiling is furious at the perfidy +of Anna, and vows terrible vengeance upon her and Conrad, which he is +about to put into execution with the aid of his gnomes. At the last +moment, however, his mother appears, and persuades him to relinquish all +hopes of earthly love and to return with her to their subterranean home. +There is much in this strange story which suggests the legend of the +Flying Dutchman, and, bearing in mind the admiration which in his early +days Wagner felt for the works of Marschner, it is interesting to trace +in 'Hans Heiling' the source of much that is familiar to us in the score +of 'Der Fliegende Hollaender.' Of Marschner's other operas, the most +familiar are 'Templer und Juedin,' founded upon Sir Walter Scott's +'Ivanhoe,' a fine work, suffering from a confused and disconnected +libretto; and 'Der Vampyr,' a tale of unmitigated gloom and horror. + +Weber and Marschner show the German romantic school at its best; for the +lesser men, such as Hoffmann and Lindpaintner, did little but reproduce +the salient features of their predecessors more or less faithfully. The +romantic school is principally associated with the sombre dramas, in +which the taste of that time delighted; but there was another side to +the movement which must not be neglected. The Singspiel, established by +Hiller and perfected by Mozart, had languished during the early years +of the century, or rather had fallen into the hands of composers who +were entirely unable to do justice to its possibilities. The romantic +movement touched it into new life, and a school arose which contrived by +dint of graceful melody and ingenious orchestral device to invest with +real musical interest the simple stories in which the German +middle-class delights. The most successful of these composers were +Kreutzer and Lortzing. + +Conradin Kreutzer (1782-1849) was a prolific composer, but the only one +of his operas which can honestly be said to have survived to our times +is 'Das Nachtlager von Granada.' This tells the tale of an adventure +which befell the Prince Regent of Spain. While hunting in the mountains +he falls in with Gabriela, a pretty peasant maiden who is in deep +distress. She confides to him that her affairs of the heart have gone +awry. Her lover, Gomez the shepherd, is too poor to marry, and her +father wishes her to accept the Croesus of the village, a man whom she +detests. The handsome huntsman--for such she supposes him to +be--promises to intercede for her with his patron the Prince, and when +her friends and relations, a band of arrant smugglers and thieves, +appear, he tries to buy their consent to her union with Gomez by means +of a gold chain which he happens to be wearing. The sight of so much +wealth arouses the cupidity of the knaves, and they at once brew a plot +to murder the huntsman in his sleep. Luckily Gabriela overhears their +scheming, and puts the Prince upon his guard. The assassins find him +prepared for their assault, and ready to defend himself to the last +drop of blood. Fortunately matters do not come to a climax. A body of +the Prince's attendants arrive in time to prevent any bloodshed, and the +opera ends with the discomfiture of the villains and the happy +settlement of Gabriela's love affairs. Kreutzer's music is for the most +part slight, and occasionally borders upon the trivial, but several +scenes are treated in the true romantic spirit, and some of the +concerted pieces are admirably written. Lortzing (1803-1852) was a more +gifted musician than Kreutzer, and several of his operas are still +exceedingly popular in Germany. The scene of 'Czar und Zimmermann,' +which is fairly well known in England as 'Peter the Shipwright,' is laid +at Saardam, where Peter the Great is working in a shipyard under the +name of Michaelhoff. There is another Russian employed in the same yard, +a deserter named Peter Ivanhoff, and the very slight incidents upon +which the action of the opera hinges arise from the mistakes of a +blundering burgomaster who confuses the identity of the two men. The +music is exceedingly bright and tuneful, and much of it is capitally +written. Scarcely less popular in Germany than 'Czar und Zimmermann' is +'Der Wildschuetz' (The Poacher), a bustling comedy of intrigue and +disguise, which owes its name to the mistake of a foolish old village +schoolmaster, who fancies that he has shot a stag in the baronial +preserves. The chief incidents in the piece arise from the humours of a +vivacious baroness, who disguises herself as a servant in order to make +the acquaintance of her _fiance_, unknown to him. The music of 'Der +Wildschuetz' is no less bright and unpretentious than that of 'Czar und +Zimmermann'; in fact, these two works may be taken as good specimens of +Lortzing's engaging talent. His strongest points are a clever knack of +treating the voices contrapuntally in concerted pieces, and a humorous +trick of orchestration, two features with which English audiences have +become pleasantly familiar in Sir Arthur Sullivan's operettas, which +works indeed owe not a little to the influence of Lortzing and Kreutzer. + +Inferior even to the slightest of the minor composers of the romantic +school was Flotow, whose 'Martha' nevertheless has survived to our time, +while hundreds of works far superior in every way have perished +irretrievably. Flotow (1812-1883) was a German by birth, but his music +is merely a feeble imitation of the popular Italianisms of the day. +'Martha' tells the story of a freakish English lady who, with her maid, +disguises herself as a servant and goes to the hiring fair at Richmond. +There they fall in with an honest farmer of the neighbourhood named +Plunket, and his friend Lionel, who promptly engage them. The two +couples soon fall in love with each other, but various hindrances arise +which serve to prolong the story into four weary acts. Flotow had a +certain gift of melody, and the music of 'Martha' has the merit of a +rather trivial tunefulness, but the score is absolutely devoid of any +real musical interest, and the fact that performances of such a work as +'Martha' are still possible in London gives an unfortunate impression of +the standard of musical taste prevailing in England. Otto Nicolai +(1810-1849) began by imitating Italian music, but in 'Die lustigen +Weiber von Windsor,' a capital adaptation of Shakespeare's 'Merry Wives +of Windsor,' which was only produced a few months before his death, he +returned to the type of comic opera which was popular at that time in +Germany. He was an excellent musician, and the captivating melody of +this genial little work is supplemented by excellent concerted writing +and thoroughly sound orchestration. + +To this period belong the operas written by three composers who in other +branches of music have won immortality, although their dramatic works +have failed to win lasting favour. + +Mendelssohn's (1809-1847) boyish opera 'Die Hochzeit des Camacho' is too +inexperienced a work to need more than a passing word, and his +Liederspiel 'Heimkehr aus der Fremde' is little more than a collection +of songs; but the finale to his unfinished 'Lorelei' shows that he +possessed genuine dramatic power, and it must be a matter for regret +that his difficulties in fixing on a libretto prevented his giving +anything to the permanent repertory of the stage. + +Schubert (1797-1828) wrote many works for the stage--romantic operas +like 'Fierrabras' and 'Alfonso und Estrella,' operettas like 'Der +haeusliche Krieg,' and farces like 'Die Zwillingsbrueder.' Most of them +were saddled by inane libretti, and though occasionally revived by +enthusiastic admirers of the composer, only prove that Schubert's talent +was essentially not dramatic, however interesting his music may be to +musicians. + +Schumann's (1810-1856) one contribution to the history of opera, +'Genoveva,' is decidedly more important, and indeed it seems possible +that after many years of neglect it may at last take a place in the +modern repertory. It is founded upon a tragedy by Hebbel, and tells of +the passion of Golo for Genoveva, the wife of his patron Siegfried, his +plot to compromise her, and the final triumph of the constant wife. The +music cannot be said to be undramatic; on the contrary, Schumann often +realises the situations with considerable success: but he had little +power of characterisation, and all the characters sing very much the +same kind of music. This gives a feeling of monotony to the score, which +is hardly dispelled even by the many beauties with which it is adorned. +Nevertheless 'Genoveva' has been revived in several German towns of late +years, and its music has always met with much applause from +connoisseurs, though it is never likely to be generally popular. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +ROSSINI, DONIZETTI, AND BELLINI + + +While Weber was reconstructing opera in Germany and laying the +foundations upon which the vast structure of modern lyrical drama was +afterwards reared by the composers of our own day, reforms, or at any +rate innovations, were being introduced into Italian opera by a musician +scarcely less gifted even than the founder of the romantic school +himself. Rossini (1792-1868) owed but little of his fame to instruction +or study. As soon as he had been assured by his master that he knew +enough of the grammar of music to write an opera, he relinquished his +studies once for all, and started life as a composer. In this perhaps he +showed his wisdom, for his natural gifts were of such a nature as could +scarcely have been enhanced by erudition, and the mission which he so +amply fulfilled in freeing his national art from eighteenth-century +convention was certainly not one which depended upon a profound +knowledge of counterpoint. Nature had fortunately endowed him with +precisely the equipment necessary for the man who was to reform Italian +opera. The school of Paisiello, notwithstanding its many merits, had +several grievous weaknesses, of which the most prominent were +uniformity of melodic type, nerveless and conventional orchestration, +and intolerable prolixity. Rossini brought to his task a vein of melody +as inexhaustible in inspiration as it was novel in form, a natural +instinct for instrumental colour, and a firm conviction that brevity was +the soul of wit. He leapt into fame with 'Tancredi,' which was produced +in 1813 and established his reputation as a composer of opera seria. In +opera buffa, a field in which his talents shone even more brilliantly, +his earliest success was made with 'L'Italiana in Algeri' (1813), which +was followed in 1815 by the world-famous 'Barbiere di Siviglia.' This +was originally produced in Rome under the name of 'Almaviva,' and +strangely enough, proved an emphatic failure. For this, however, the +music was scarcely responsible. The people of Rome were at that time +devotees of the music of Paisiello, and resented the impertinence of the +upstart Rossini in venturing to borrow a subject which had already been +treated by the older master. 'Il Barbiere' soon recovered from the shock +of its unfriendly reception, and is now one of the very few of Rossini's +works which have survived to the present day. The story is bright and +amusing and the music brilliant and exhilarating, but it is to be feared +that the real explanation of the continued success of the little opera +lies in the opportunity which it offers to the prima donna of +introducing her favourite _cheval de bataille_ in the lesson scene. The +scene of the opera is laid at Seville. Count Almaviva has fallen in +love with Rosina, a fascinating damsel, whose guardian, Bartolo, keeps +her under lock and key, in the hope of persuading her to marry himself. +Figaro, a ubiquitous barber, who is in everybody's confidence, takes the +Count under his protection, and contrives to smuggle him into the house +in the disguise of a drunken soldier. Unfortunately this scheme is +frustrated by the arrival of the guard, who arrest the refractory hero +and carry him off to gaol. In the second act the Count succeeds in +getting into the house as a music-master, but in order to gain the +suspicious Bartolo's confidence he has to show him one of Rosina's +letters to himself, pretending that it was given him by a mistress of +Almaviva. Bartolo is delighted with the news of the Count's infidelity +and hastens to tell the scandal to Rosina, whose jealousy and +disappointment nearly bring Almaviva's deep-laid schemes to destruction. +Happily he finds an opportunity of persuading her of his constancy while +her guardian's back is turned, and induces her to elope before Bartolo +has discovered the fraud practised upon him. The music is a delightful +example of Rossini in his gayest and merriest mood. It sparkles with wit +and fancy, and is happily free from those concessions to the vanity or +idiosyncrasy of individual singers which do so much to render his music +tedious to modern ears. Of Rossini's lighter works, 'Il Barbiere' is +certainly the most popular, though, musically speaking, it is perhaps +not superior to 'La Gazza Ladra,' which, however, is saddled with an +idiotic libretto. None of his tragic operas except 'Guillaume Tell,' +which belongs to a later period, have retained their hold upon the +affections of the public. Nevertheless there is so much excellent music +in the best of them, that it would not be strange if the course of time +should bring them once more into favour, provided always that singers +were forthcoming capable of singing the elaborate _fioriture_ with which +they abound. Perhaps the finest of the serious operas of Rossini's +Italian period is 'Semiramide' a work which is especially interesting as +a proof of the strong influence which Mozart exercised upon him. The +plot is a Babylonian version of the story of Agamemnon, telling of the +vengeance taken by Arsaces, the son of Ninus and Semiramis, upon his +guilty mother, who, with the help of her paramour Assur, had slain her +husband. Much of the music is exceedingly powerful, notably that which +accompanies the apparition of the ghost of Ninus (although this is +evidently inspired by 'Don Giovanni'), and the passionate scene in which +the conscience-stricken Assur pours forth his soul in tempest. More +thoroughly Italian in type is 'Mose in Egitto,' a curious though +effective version of the Biblical story, which is still occasionally +performed as an oratorio in this country, a proceeding which naturally +gives little idea of its real merits. In 1833 it was actually given +under the proper conditions, as a sacred opera, strengthened by a +generous infusion of Handel's 'Israel in Egypt,' under the direction of +Mr. Rophino Lacy. It would be an idle task to give even the names of +Rossini's many operas. Suffice it to say that between 1810 and 1828 he +produced upwards of forty distinct works. In 1829 came his last and +greatest work, 'Guillaume Tell,' which was written for the Grand Opera +in Paris. The libretto was the work of many hands, and Rossini's own +share in it was not a small one. It follows Schiller with tolerable +closeness. In the first act Tell saves the life of Leuthold, who is +being pursued by Gessler's soldiers; and Melchthal, the patriarch of the +village, is put to death on a charge of insubordination. His son Arnold +loves Matilda, the sister of Gessler, and hesitates between love and +duty. Finally, however, he joins Tell, who assembles the men of the +three forest cantons, and binds them with an oath to exterminate their +oppressors or perish in the attempt. In the third act comes the famous +archery scene. Tell refuses to bow to Gessler's hat, and is condemned to +shoot the apple from his son's head. This he successfully accomplishes, +but the presence of a second arrow in his quiver arouses Gessler's +suspicions. Tell confesses that had he killed his son, the second arrow +would have despatched the tyrant, and is at once thrown into prison. In +the last act we find Arnold raising a band of followers and himself +accomplishing the rescue of Tell; Gessler is slain, and Matilda is +united to her lover. + +'Guillaume Tell' is not only indisputably Rossini's finest work, but it +also give convincing proof of the plasticity of the composer's genius. +Accustomed as he had been for many years to turning out Italian operas +by the score--graceful trifles enough, but too often flimsy and +conventional--it says much for the character of the man that, when the +occasion arrived, he could attack such a subject as that of Tell with +the proper seriousness and reserve. He took what was best in the style +and tradition of French opera and welded it to the thoroughly Italian +fabric with which he was familiar. He put aside the excessive +ornamentation with which his earlier works had been overladen, and +treated the voices with a simplicity and dignity thoroughly in keeping +with the subject. The choral and instrumental parts of the opera are +particularly important; the latter especially have a colour and variety +which may be considered to have had a large share in forming the taste +for delicate orchestral effects for which modern French composers are +famous. 'Guillaume Tell' was to have been the first of a series of five +operas written for the Paris Opera by special arrangement with the +government of Charles X. The revolution of 1830 put an end to this +scheme, and a few years later, finding himself displaced by Meyerbeer in +the affections of the fickle Parisian public, Rossini made up his mind +to write no more for the stage. He lived for nearly forty years after +the production of 'Guillaume Tell,' but preferred a life of ease and +leisure to entering the lists once more as a candidate for fame. What +the world lost by this decision, it is difficult to say; but if we +remember the extraordinary development which took place in the style and +methods of Wagner and Verdi, we cannot think without regret of the +composer of 'Guillaume Tell' making up his mind while still a young man +to abandon the stage for ever. Nevertheless, although much of his music +soon became old-fashioned, Rossini's work was not unimportant. The +invention of the cabaletta, or quick movement, following the cavatina or +slow movement, must be ascribed to him, an innovation which has affected +the form of opera, German and French, as well as Italian, throughout +this century. Even more important was the change which he introduced +into the manner of singing _fioriture_ or florid music. Before his day +singers had been accustomed to introduce cadenzas of their own, to a +great extent when they liked. Rossini insisted upon their singing +nothing but what was set down for them. Naturally he was compelled to +write cadenzas for them as elaborate and effective as those which they +had been in the habit of improvising, so that much of his Italian music +sounds empty and meaningless to our ears. But he introduced the thin +edge of the wedge, and although even to the days of Jenny Lind singers +were occasionally permitted to interpolate cadenzas of their own, the +old tradition that an opera was merely an opportunity for the display of +individual vanity was doomed. + +The music of Donizetti (1798-1848) is now paying the price of a long +career of popularity by enduring a season of neglect. His tragic operas, +which were the delight of opera-goers in the fifties and sixties, sound +cold and thin to modern ears. There is far more genuine life in his +lighter works, many of which still delight us by their unaffected +tunefulness and vivacity. Donizetti had little musical education, and +his spirit rebelled so strongly against the rules of counterpoint that +he preferred to go into the army rather than to devote himself to church +music. His first opera, 'Enrico di Borgogna,' was produced in 1818, and +for the next five-and-twenty years he worked assiduously, producing in +all no fewer than sixty-five operas. + +'Lucia di Lammermoor' (1835), which was for many years one of the most +popular works in the Covent Garden repertory, has now sunk to the level +of a mere prima donna's opera, to be revived once or twice a year in +order to give a popular singer an opportunity for vocal display. Yet +there are passages in it of considerable dramatic power, and many of the +melodies are fresh and expressive. The plot is founded upon 'The Bride +of Lammermoor,' but it is Scott's tragic romance seen through very +Italian spectacles indeed. Henry Ashton has promised the hand of his +sister Lucy to Lord Arthur Bucklaw, hoping by means of this marriage to +recruit the fallen fortunes of his house. Lucy loves Edgar Ravenswood, +the hereditary foe of her family, and vows to be true to him while he is +away on an embassy in France. During his absence Ashton contrives to +intercept Ravenswood's letters to his sister, and finally produces a +forged paper, which Lucy accepts as the proof of her lover's infidelity. +She yields to the pressure of her brother's entreaties, and consents to +marry Lord Arthur. No sooner has she set her name to the contract than +the door opens and Edgar appears. Confronted with the proof of Lucy's +inconstancy, he curses the house of Lammermoor and rushes away. Ashton +follows him, and, after a stormy interview, challenges him to mortal +combat. Meanwhile, on her bridal night Lucy has lost her reason and in +her frenzy stabbed her unfortunate bridegroom. On coming once more to +her senses, she puts an end to her own life; while Edgar, on hearing of +the tragedy, betakes himself to the tombs of his ancestors and there +commits suicide. Much of the music suffers from the conventionality to +which Donizetti was a slave, notably the ridiculous mad scene, a +delightfully suave melody ending with an elaborate cadenza divided +between the voice and flute; but there are passages of real power, such +as the fine sextet in the contract scene, and the gloomy air in which +the hero calls upon the spirits of his forefathers. + +Less sombre than 'Lucia,' and quite as tuneful, is 'Lucrezia Borgia,' +once a prime favourite at Covent Garden, but now rarely heard. Lucrezia +Borgia, the wife of Alfonso of Ferrara, has recognised Gennaro, a young +Venetian, as an illegitimate son of her own, and watches over him with +tender interest, though she will not disclose the real relation in which +they stand to one another. Gennaro, taunted by his friends with being a +victim of Lucrezia's fascinations, publicly insults her, and is +thereupon condemned to death by the Duke, who is glad of the opportunity +of taking vengeance upon the man whom he believes to be his wife's +paramour. Gennaro is poisoned in the presence of his mother, who, +however, directly the Duke's back is turned, gives him an antidote which +restores him to health. In the last act Lucrezia takes comprehensive +vengeance upon the friends of Gennaro, whose taunts still rankle in her +bosom, by poisoning all the wine at a supper party. Unfortunately +Gennaro happens to be present, and as this time he refuses to take an +antidote, even though Lucrezia reveals herself as his mother, he expires +in her arms. + +There is little attempt at dramatic significance in the music of +'Lucrezia Borgia,' but the score bubbles over with delicious and wholly +inappropriate melodies. Occasionally, as in the final scene, there is a +touch of pathos, and sometimes some rather effective concerted music; +but, for the most part, Donizetti was content to write his charming +tunes, and to leave all expression to the singers. The orchestration of +his Italian operas is primitive in the extreme, and amply justifies +Wagner's taunt about the 'big guitar.' In works written for foreign +theatres Donizetti took more pains, and 'La Favorite,' produced in Paris +in 1840, is in many ways the strongest of his tragic works. The story is +more than usually repulsive. Fernando, a novice at the convent of St. +James of Compostella, is about to take monastic vows, when he catches +sight of a fair penitent, and bids farewell to the Church in order to +follow her to court. She turns out to be Leonora, the mistress of the +King, for whose _beaux yeux_ the latter is prepared to repudiate the +Queen and to brave all the terrors of Rome. Fernando finds Leonora +ready to reciprocate his passion, and by her means he obtains a +commission in the army. He returns covered with glory, and is rewarded +by the King, who has discovered his connection with Leonora, with the +hand of his cast-off mistress. After the marriage ceremony is over, +Fernando hears for the first time of Leonora's past. He flies to the +convent for consolation, followed by his unfortunate wife, who dies in +his arms after she has obtained forgiveness. 'La Favorite' is more +carefully written than was Donizetti's wont, and some of the concerted +music is really dramatic. There is a tradition that the last act, which +was an after-thought, was written in an incredibly short space of time, +but it is significant that the beautiful romanza 'Spirto gentil,' to +which the act and indeed the whole opera owes most of its popularity, +was transferred from an earlier and unperformed work, 'Le Duc d'Albe.' +It would be waste of time to describe the plots of any other serious +works by this composer. Many of them, such as 'Betly,' 'Linda di +Chamonix,' and 'Anna Bolena,' were successful when produced; but +Donizetti aimed merely at satisfying the prevailing taste of the day, +and when a new generation sprang up with different sympathies from that +which had preceded it, the operas which had seemed the most secure of +popularity were soon consigned to oblivion. It is a significant fact +that Donizetti's lighter works have stood the test of time more +successfully than his more serious efforts. Though the grandiose airs +and sham tragedy of 'Lucia' have long since ceased to impress us, we can +still take pleasure in the unaffected gaiety of 'La Fille du Regiment' +and 'Don Pasquale.' These and many similar works were written _currente +calamo_, and though their intrinsic musical interest is of course very +slight, they are totally free from the ponderous affectations of the +composer's serious operas. Here we see Donizetti at his best, because +here he writes according to the natural dictates of his imagination, not +in accordance with the foolish or depraved taste of fashionable +connoisseurs. + +The scene of 'La Fille du Regiment' is laid in the Tyrol, where Tonio, a +peasant, has had the good fortune to save the life of Marie, the +vivandiere of a French regiment. Many years before the opening of the +story, Marie had been found upon the battle-field by Sergeant Sulpice, +and adopted by the regiment whose name she bears. The regiment, as a +body, has the right of disposing of her hand in marriage, and when Tonio +presses his claim, which is not disallowed by the heroine, it is decided +that he shall be allowed to marry her if he will consent to join the +regiment. Everything goes well, when a local grandee in the shape of the +Marchioness Berkenfeld suddenly appears, identifies Marie as her niece +by means of a letter which was found upon her by the Sergeant, and +carries her off to her castle hard by, leaving the unfortunate Tonio to +the bitterest reflections. In the second act Marie is at the castle of +Berkenfeld though by no means at ease in her unaccustomed surroundings. +Her efforts to imbibe the principles of etiquette are pleasantly +interrupted by the unexpected arrival of the regiment, with Tonio now as +Colonel at its head. But even his promotion will not soften the +Marchioness's heart. She discloses the fact that she is in reality +Marie's mother, and adjures her by her filial respect to give up the +thought of her low-born lover. Marie consents in an agony of grief. The +lovers part with many tears, and at the psychological moment the +Marchioness relents, and all ends happily. + +Even slighter in scope is 'Don Pasquale,' a brilliant trifle, written +for the Theatre des Italiens in Paris, and there sung for the first time +in 1843, by Grisi, Mario, Tamburini, and Lablache. The story turns upon +a trick played by Ernesto and Norina, two young lovers, upon the uncle +and guardian of the former, Don Pasquale. Ernesto will not marry to +please his uncle, so the old gentleman determines to marry himself. +Norina is introduced to Don Pasquale as his sister by a certain Dr. +Malatesta, a friend of Ernesto, and the amorous old gentleman at once +succumbs to her charms. No sooner is the marriage contract signed than +Norina, acting upon her instructions, launches forth upon a career of +unexampled shrewishness, extravagance, and flirtation. Her poor old +lover is distracted by her wild vagaries, and in the end is only too +thankful to hand her over bag and baggage to his nephew, who generously +consents to relieve his uncle of his unlucky bargain. + +The music of 'L'Elisir d'Amore' is not inferior to that of 'Don +Pasquale' in sparkle and brilliancy, but the plot is tame and childish +compared to the bustle and intrigue of the latter work. It turns upon a +sham love potion sold by a travelling quack to Nemorino, a country lout +who is in love with Adina, the local beauty. Adina is divided between +the attractions of Nemorino and those of the Sergeant Belcore, who is +quartered in the village. In order to get money to pay for the potion +Nemorino joins the army, and this proof of his devotion has so +convincing an effect upon the affections of Adina that she discards the +soldier and bestows her hand upon Nemorino. To this silly plot is allied +some of the most delightful music Donizetti ever wrote. Fresh, graceful, +and occasionally tender, it forms the happiest contrast to the grandiose +nonsense which the composer was in the habit of turning out to suit the +vitiated taste of the day, and is a convincing proof that if he had been +permitted to exercise his talent in a congenial sphere, Donizetti would +be entitled to rank with the most successful followers of Cimarosa and +Paisiello, instead of being degraded to the rank of a mere purveyor to +the manufacturers of barrel-organs. + +Different as was the talent of Bellini (1802-1835) from that of +Donizetti, his fate has been the same. After holding the ear of Europe +for many years, he has fallen at the present time completely into the +background, and outside the frontiers of Italy his works are rarely +heard. Bellini had no pretensions to dramatic power. His genius was +purely elegiac in tone, and he relied entirely for the effect which he +intended to produce upon the luscious beauty of his melodies, into +which, it must be admitted, the great singers of his time contrived to +infuse a surprising amount of dramatic force. + +The story of 'La Sonnambula' is rather foolish, but it suited Bellini's +idyllic style, and the work is perhaps the happiest example of his +_naif_ charm. Amina, a rustic damsel, betrothed to Elvino, is a +confirmed somnambulist, and her nocturnal peregrinations have given the +village in which she dwells the reputation of being haunted by a +spectre. One night, Amina, while walking in her sleep, enters the +chamber in the inn where Rodolfo, the young lord of the village, happens +to be located. There she is discovered by Lisa, the landlady, to the +scandal of the neighbourhood and the shame of her lover Elvino, who +casts her from him and at once makes over his affections to the +landlady. Amina's sorrow and despair make her more restless than ever, +and the following night she is seen walking out of a window of the mill +in which she lives, and crossing the stream by a frail bridge which +totters beneath her weight. Providence guards her steps, and she reaches +solid earth in safety, where Elvino is waiting to receive her, fully +convinced of her innocence. Bellini's music is quite the reverse of +dramatic, but the melodies throughout 'La Sonnambula' are graceful and +tender, and in the closing scene he rises to real pathos. + +In 'Norma' Bellini had the advantage of treating a libretto of great +power and beauty, the work of the poet Romani, a tragedy which, both in +sentiment and diction, contrasts very strongly with the ungrammatical +balderdash which composers are so often called upon to set to music. +Norma, the high priestess of the Druids, forgetting her faith and the +traditions of her race, has secretly wedded Pollio, a Roman general, and +borne him two children. In spite of the sacrifices which she has made +for his sake, he proves faithless, and seduces Adalgisa, one of the +virgins of the temple, who has consented to abandon her people and her +country and to fly with him to Rome. Before leaving her home, Adalgisa, +ignorant of the connection between Norma and Pollio, reveals her secret +to the priestess, and begs for absolution from her vows. At the news of +her husband's faithlessness Norma's fury breaks forth, and her +indignation is equalled by that of Adalgisa, who is furious at finding +herself the mere plaything of a profligate. Pollio, maddened by passion, +endeavours to tear Adalgisa from the altar of the temple, but is checked +by Norma, who strikes the sacred shield and calls the Druids to arms. +Pollio, now a prisoner, is brought before her for judgment, and she +gives him a last choice, to renounce Adalgisa or to die. He refuses to +give up his love, whereupon Norma, in a passion of self-sacrifice, tears +the sacred wreath from her own brow and declares herself the guilty one. +Pollio is touched by her magnanimity, and together they ascend the +funeral pyre, in its flames to be cleansed from earthly sin. + +It would be too much to assert that Bellini has risen to the level of +this noble subject, but parts of his score have a fervour and a dignity +which might scarcely have been expected from the composer of 'La +Sonnambula.' We may smile now at the trio between Pollio and his two +victims, in which the extremes of fury and indignation are expressed by +a lilting tune in 9-8 time, but it is impossible to deny the truth and +beauty of Norma's farewell to her children, and in several other scenes +there are evidences of real dramatic feeling, if not of the power to +express it. It is important to remember, in discussing the works of +Bellini and the other composers of his school, that in their day the art +of singing was cultivated to a far higher pitch of perfection than is +now the case. Consequently the composer felt that he had done his duty +if, even in situations of the most tragic import, he provided his +executant with a broad, even melody. Into this the consummate art of the +singer could infuse every gradation of feeling. The composer presented a +blank canvas, upon which the artist painted the required picture. + +Unlike that of 'Norma,' the libretto of 'I Puritani,' Bellini's last +opera, is a dull and confused affair. The scene is laid in England, +apparently at the time of the Civil War, but the history and chronology +throughout are of the vaguest description. Queen Henrietta Maria is +imprisoned in the fortress of Plymouth, under the guardianship of Lord +Walton, the Parliamentary leader, whose daughter Elvira loves Lord +Arthur Talbot, a young Cavalier, Elvira's tears and entreaties have so +far softened her stern parent that Arthur is to be admitted into the +castle in order that the nuptials may be celebrated. He takes advantage +of the situation to effect the escape of the Queen, disguising her in +Elvira's bridal veil. When his treachery is discovered Arthur is at once +proscribed, and Elvira, believing him to be faithless, loses her reason. +Later in the opera Arthur contrives to meet Elvira and explains his +conduct satisfactorily, but their interview is cut short by a party of +Puritans, who arrest him. He is condemned to be shot on the spot, but, +before the sentence can be carried out, a messenger arrives with the +news of the king's defeat and the pardon of Arthur. Elvira, whose +insanity has throughout been of an eminently harmless description, at +once recovers her reason, and everything ends happily. + +'I Puritani' is in some respects Bellini's best work. Foolish as the +libretto is, the bitterest opponent of Italian _cantilena_ could +scarcely refuse to acknowledge the pathetic beauty of many of the songs. +It is a matter for regret, as well as for some surprise, that Bellini's +works should now be entirely banished from the Covent Garden repertory, +while so many inferior operas are still retained. In an age of fustian +and balderdash, Bellini stood apart, a tender and pathetic figure, with +no pretensions to science, but gifted with a command of melody as +copious, unaffected, and sincere as has ever fallen to the lot of a +composer for the stage. + +The other Italian writers of this period may be briefly dismissed, +since they did little but reproduce the salient features of their more +famous contemporaries in a diluted form. Mercadante (1797-1870) lived to +an advanced age, and wrote many operas, comic and serious, of which the +most successful was 'Il Giuramento,' a gloomy story of love and revenge, +treated with a certain power of the conventional order, and a good deal +of facile melody. Pacini (1796-1867) is principally known by his +'Saffo,' an imitation of Rossini, which achieved a great success. Vaccai +(1790-1848) also imitated Rossini, but his 'Giulietta e Romeo' has +intrinsic merits, which are not to be despised. + +After the days of Rossini, opera buffa fell upon evil days. Although the +most famous musicians of the day did not disdain occasionally to follow +in the footsteps of Cimarosa, for the most part the task of purveying +light operas for the smaller theatres of Italy fell into the hands of +second and third rate composers. Donizetti, as we have seen, enriched +the repertory of opera buffa with several masterpieces of gay and +brilliant vivacity, but few of the lighter works of his contemporaries +deserve permanent record. + +The brothers Ricci, Luigi (1805-1859) and Federico (1809-1877), wrote +many operas, both singly and in collaboration, but 'Crispino e la +Comare' is the only one of their works which won anything like a +European reputation. The story is a happy combination of farce and +_feerie_. Crispino, a half-starved cobbler, is about to throw himself +into a well, when La Comare, a fairy, rises from it and bids him +desist. She gives him a purse of gold, and orders him to set up as a +doctor, telling him that when he goes to visit a patient he must look to +see whether she is standing by the bedside. If she is not there, the +sick man will recover. Crispino follows her directions, and speedily +becomes famous, but success turns his head, and he is only brought back +to his senses by a strange dream, in which the fairy takes him down to a +subterranean cavern where the lamp of each man's life is burning and he +sees his own on the point of expiring. After this uncomfortable vision +he is thankful to find himself still in the bosom of his family, and the +opera ends with his vows of amendment. The music is brilliant and +sparkling, and altogether the little opera is one of the best specimens +of opera buffa produced in Italy after the time of Rossini. The other +men who devoted themselves to opera buffa during this period my be +briefly dismissed. Carlo Pedrotti (1817-1893), whose comic opera 'Tutti +in Maschera,' after a brilliant career in Italy, was successfully +produced in Paris, and Antonio Cagnoni (1828-1896), were perhaps the +best of them. A version of the latter's 'Papa Martin' was performed in +London in 1875, under the name of 'The Porter of Havre.' + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +MEYERBEER AND FRENCH OPERA + +HEROLD--MEYERBEER--BERLIOZ--HALEVY--AUBER + + +The romantic movement was essentially German in its origin, but its +influence was not bounded by the Rhine. As early as 1824 Weber's +'Freischuetz' was performed in Paris, followed a few years later by +'Oberon' and 'Euryanthe.' French musicians, always susceptible to +external influences, could not but acknowledge the fascination of the +romantic school, and the works of Herold (1791-1833) show how powerfully +the new leaven had acted. But Weber was not the only foreigner at this +time who helped to shape the destiny of French music. The spell of +Rossini was too potent for the plastic Gauls to resist, and to his +influence may be traced the most salient features of the school of opera +comique which is best represented by Auber. Herold, though divided +between the camps of Germany and Italy, had individuality enough to +write music which was independent of either. Yet it is significant +that his last two works--the only two, in fact, which have +survived--represent with singular completeness the two influences which +affected French music most potently during his day. 'Zampa' has been +called a French 'Don Giovanni,' but the music owes far more to Weber +than to Mozart, while the fantastic and absurd incidents of the plot +have little of the supernatural terror of Mozart's opera. Zampa is a +famous pirate, who, after having dissipated his fortune and made Italy, +generally speaking, too hot to hold him, has taken to the high seas in +self-defence. In his early days he had seduced a girl named Alice +Manfredi, who after his desertion found a home in the house of a +Sicilian merchant named Lugano. There she died, and there Lugano caused +a statue to be set up in her honour. When the story of the opera begins, +Lugano is a prisoner in the hands of the redoubtable Zampa. The pirate +himself comes to Sicily to obtain his prisoner's ransom, bringing +directions to Lugano's daughter Camilla to pay him whatever he may ask. +Zampa at once falls a victim to the _beaux yeux_ of Camilla, and demands +her hand as the price of her father's safety. Camilla loves Alfonso, a +Sicilian officer, but is prepared to sacrifice herself to save her +father. At the marriage feast, Zampa, recognising the statue of the +betrayed Alice, jokingly puts his ring upon her finger, which +immediately closes upon it. The opera ends by the statue claiming Zampa +as her own, snatching him from the arms of Camilla, and descending with +him into the abyss. + +It would be in vain to look in Herold's score for an echo of the passion +and variety of Mozart, but much of the music of 'Zampa' is picturesque +and effective. Herold's tunes sound very conventional after Weber, but +there is a good deal of skill in the way they are presented. His +orchestration is of course closely modelled on that of his German +prototype, and if it is impossible to say much for his originality, we +can at any rate admire his taste in choosing a model. + +'Le Pre aux Clercs' is more popular at the present moment than 'Zampa,' +though it is far inferior in musical interest. If 'Zampa' showed the +influence of Weber, 'Le Pre aux Clercs' is redolent of Rossini. The +overture, with its hollow ring of gaiety, strikes the note of Italianism +which echoes throughout the opera. The plot is full of intrigues and +conspiracies, and is decidedly confusing. Mergy, a young Bernese +gentleman, aspires to the hand of Isabelle, who is one of the Queen of +Navarre's maids of honour. The Queen favours their love, but the King +wishes Isabelle to marry Comminges, a favourite of his own. The young +couple gain their point, and are married secretly in the chapel of the +Pre aux Clercs, but only at the expense of as much plotting and as many +disguises as would furnish the stock-in-trade of half-a-dozen detective +romances. + +French music, as has often been pointed out, owes much to foreign +influence, but very few of the strangers to whom the doors of Parisian +opera-houses were opened left a deeper impression upon the music of +their adopted country than Meyerbeer (1791-1864). Giacomo Meyerbeer, to +give him the name by which he is now best known, underwent the same +influence as Herold. As a youth he was intimate with Weber, and his +first visit to Italy introduced him to Rossini, whose brilliant style he +imitated successfully in a series of Italian works which are now +completely forgotten. From Italy Meyerbeer came to Paris, and there +identified himself with the French school so fully that he is now +regarded with complete propriety as a French composer pure and simple. +Meyerbeer's music is thoroughly eclectic in type. He was a careful +student of contemporary music, and the various phases through which he +passed during the different stages of his career left their impress upon +his style. It says much for the power of his individuality that he was +able to weld such different elements into something approaching an +harmonious whole. Had he done more than he did, he would have been a +genius; as it is, he remains a man of exceptional talent, whose +influence on the history of modern music is still important, though his +own compositions are now slightly superannuated. 'Robert le Diable,' the +first work of his third or French period, was produced in 1831. The +libretto, which, like those of all the composer's French operas, was by +Eugene Scribe, is a strange tissue of absurdities, though from the +merely scenic point of view it may be thought fairly effective. Robert, +Duke of Normandy, the son of the Duchess Bertha by a fiend who donned +the shape of man to prosecute his amour, arrives in Sicily to compete +for the hand of the Princess Isabella, which is to be awarded as the +prize at a magnificent tournament. Robert's daredevil gallantry and +extravagance soon earn him the sobriquet of 'Le Diable,' and he puts the +coping-stone to his folly by gambling away all his possessions at a +single sitting, even to his horse and the armour on his back. Robert has +an _ame damnee_ in the shape of a knight named Bertram, to whose malign +influence most of his crimes and follies are due. Bertram is in reality +his demon-father, whose every effort is directed to making a +thorough-paced villain of his son, so that he may have the pleasure of +enjoying his society for all eternity. In strong contrast to the +fiendish malevolence of Bertram stands the gentle figure of Alice, +Robert's foster-sister, who has followed him from Normandy with a +message from his dead mother. Isabella supplies Robert with a fresh +horse and arms; nevertheless he is beguiled away from Palermo by some +trickery of Bertram's, and fails to put in an appearance at the +tournament. The only means, therefore, left to him of obtaining the hand +of Isabella is to visit the tomb of his mother, and there to pluck a +magic branch of cypress, which will enable him to defeat his rivals. The +cypress grows in a deserted convent haunted by the spectres of +profligate nuns, and there, amidst infernal orgies, Robert plucks the +branch of power. By its aid he sends the guards of the Princess into a +deep sleep, and is only prevented by her passionate entreaties from +carrying her off by force. Yielding to her prayers, he breaks the +branch, and his magic power at once deserts him. He seeks sanctuary from +his enemies in the cathedral, and there the last and fiercest strife +for the possession of his soul is waged between the powers of good and +evil. On the one hand is Bertram, whose term of power on earth expires +at midnight. He has now discovered himself as Robert's father, and +produces an infernal compact of union which he entreats his son to sign. +On the other is Alice, pleading and affectionate, bearing the last words +of Robert's dead mother, warning him against the fiend who had seduced +her. While Robert is hesitating between the two, midnight strikes, and +Bertram sinks with thunder into the pit. The scene changes, and a +glimpse is given of the interior of the cathedral, where the marriage of +Robert and Isabella is being celebrated. + +'Robert le Diable' was an immense success when first produced. The +glitter and tinsel of the story suited Meyerbeer's showy style, and +besides, even when the merely trivial and conventional had been put +aside, there remains a fair proportion of the score which has claims to +dramatic power. The triumph of 'Robert' militated against the success of +'Les Huguenots' (1836), which was at first rather coldly received. +Before long, however, it rivalled the earlier work in popularity, and is +now generally looked upon as Meyerbeer's masterpiece. The libretto +certainly compares favourably with the fatuities of 'Robert le Diable.' + +Marguerite de Valois, the beautiful Queen of Navarre, who is anxious to +reconcile the bitterly hostile parties of Catholics and Huguenots, +persuades the Comte de Saint Bris, a prominent Catholic, to allow his +daughter Valentine to marry Raoul de Nangis, a young Huguenot noble. +Valentine is already betrothed to the gallant and amorous Comte de +Nevers, but she pays him a nocturnal visit in his own palace, and +induces him to release her from her engagement. During her interview +with Nevers she is perceived by Raoul, and recognised as a lady whom he +lately rescued from insult and has loved passionately ever since. In his +eyes there is only one possible construction to be put upon her presence +in Nevers' palace, and he hastens to dismiss her from his mind. +Immediately upon his decision comes a message from the Queen bidding him +hasten to her palace in Touraine upon important affairs of state. When +he arrives she unfolds her plan, and he, knowing Valentine only by +sight, not by name, gladly consents. When, in the presence of the +assembled nobles, he recognises in his destined bride the presumed +mistress of Nevers, he casts her from him, and vows to prefer death to +such intolerable disgrace. + +The scene of the next act is in the Pre aux Clercs, in the outskirts of +Paris. Valentine, who is to be married that night to Nevers, obtains +leave to pass some hours in prayer in a chapel. While she is there she +overhears the details of a plot devised by Saint Bris for the +assassination of Raoul, in order to avenge the affront put upon himself +and his daughter. Valentine contrives to warn Marcel, Raoul's old +servant, of this, and he assembles his Huguenot comrades hard by, who +rush in at the first clash of steel and join the combat. The fight is +interrupted by the entrance of the Queen. When she finds out who are the +principal combatants, she reproves them sharply and tells Raoul the real +story of Valentine's visit to Nevers. The act ends with the marriage +festivities, while Raoul is torn by an agony of love and remorse. + +In the next act Raoul contrives to gain admittance to Nevers' house, and +there has an interview with Valentine. They are interrupted by the +entrance of Saint Bris and his followers, whereupon Valentine conceals +Raoul behind the arras. From his place of concealment he hears Saint +Bris unfold the plan of the massacre of Saint Bartholomew, which is to +be carried out that night. The conspirators swear a solemn oath to +exterminate the Huguenots, and their daggers are consecrated by +attendant priests. Nevers alone refuses to take part in the butchery. +When they all have left, Raoul comes out of his hiding-place, and in +spite of the prayers and protestations of Valentine, leaps from the +window at the sound of the fatal tocsin, and hastens to join his +friends. In the last act, which is rarely performed in England, Raoul +first warns Henry of Navarre and the Huguenot nobles, assembled at the +Hotel de Sens, of the massacre, and then joins the _melee_ in the +streets. Valentine has followed him, and after vainly endeavouring to +make him don the white scarf which is worn that night by all Catholics, +she throws in her lot with his, and dies in his arms, after they have +been solemnly joined in wedlock by the wounded and dying Marcel. + +'Les Huguenots' shows Meyerbeer at his best Even Wagner, his bitterest +enemy, admitted the dramatic power of the great duet in the fourth act, +and several other scenes are scarcely inferior to it in sustained +inspiration. The opera is marred as a whole by Meyerbeer's invincible +self-consciousness. He seldom had the courage to give his genius full +play. He never lost sight of his audience, and wrote what he thought +would be effective rather than what he knew was right. Thus his finest +moments are marred by lapses from sincerity into the commonplace +conventionality of the day. Yet the dignity and power of 'Les Huguenots' +are undeniable, and it is unfortunate that its excessive length should +prevent it from ever being heard in its entirety. + +In 'Le Prophete' Meyerbeer chose a subject which, if less rich in +dramatic possibility than that of 'Les Huguenots,' has a far deeper +psychological interest. Unfortunately, Scribe, with all his cleverness, +was quite the worst man in the world to deal with the story of John of +Leyden. In the libretto which he constructed for Meyerbeer's benefit the +psychological interest is conspicuous only by its absence, and the +character of the young leader of the Anabaptists is degraded to the +level of the merest puppet. John, an innkeeper of Leyden, loves Bertha, +a village maiden who dwells near Dordrecht. Unfortunately, her liege +lord, the Count of Oberthal, has designs upon the girl himself, and +refuses his consent to the marriage. Bertha escapes from his clutches +and flies to the protection of her lover, but Oberthal secures the +person of Fides, John's old mother, and by threats of putting her to +death, compels him to give up Bertha. Wild with rage against the vice +and lawlessness of the nobles, John joins the ranks of the Anabaptists, +a revolutionary sect pledged to the destruction of the powers that be. +Their leaders recognise him as a prophet promised by Heaven, and he is +installed as their chief. The Anabaptists lay siege to Munster, which +falls into their hands, and in the cathedral John is solemnly proclaimed +the Son of God. During the ceremony he is recognised by Fides, who, +believing him to have been slain by the false prophet, has followed the +army to Munster in hopes of revenge. She rushes forward to claim her +son, but John pretends not to know her. To admit an earthly relationship +would be to prejudice his position with the populace, and he compels her +to confess that she is mistaken. The coronation ends with John's +triumph, while the hapless Fides is carried off to be immured in a +dungeon. John visits her in her cell, and obtains her pardon by +promising to renounce his deceitful splendour and to fly with her. Later +he discovers that a plot against himself has been hatched by some of the +Anabaptist leaders, and he destroys himself and them by blowing up the +palace of Munster. Meyerbeer's music, fine as much of it is, suffers +chiefly from the character of the libretto. The latter is merely a +string of conventionally effective scenes, and the music could hardly +fail to be disjointed and scrappy. Meyerbeer had little or no feeling +for characterisation, so that the opportunities for really dramatic +effect which lay in the character of John of Leyden have been almost +entirely neglected. Once only, in the famous cantique 'Roi du Ciel,' did +the composer catch an echo of the prophetic rapture which animated the +youthful enthusiast. Meyerbeer's besetting sin, his constant search for +the merely effective, is even more pronounced in 'Le Prophete' than in +'Les Huguenots.' The coronation scene has nothing of the large +simplicity necessary for the proper manipulation of a mass of sound. The +canvas is crowded with insignificant and confusing detail, and the +general effect is finicking and invertebrate rather than solid and +dignified. + +Meyerbeer was constantly at work upon his last opera, 'L'Africaine,' +from 1838 until 1864, and his death found him still engaged in +retouching the score. It was produced in 1865. With a musician of +Meyerbeer's known eclecticism, it might be supposed that a work of which +the composition extended over so long a period would exhibit the +strangest conglomeration of styles and influences. Curiously enough, +'L'Africaine' is the most consistent of Meyerbeer's works. This is +probably due to the fact that in it the personal element is throughout +outweighed by the picturesque, and the exotic fascination of the story +goes far to cover its defects. + +Vasco da Gama, the famous discoverer, is the betrothed lover of a maiden +named Inez, the daughter of Don Diego, a Portuguese grandee. When the +opera opens he is still at sea, and has not been heard of for years. Don +Pedro, the President of the Council, takes advantage of his absence to +press his own suit for the hand of Inez, and obtains the King's sanction +to his marriage on the ground that Vasco must have been lost at sea. At +this moment the long-lost hero returns, accompanied by two swarthy +slaves, Selika and Nelusko, whom he has brought home from a distant isle +in the Indian Ocean. He recounts the wonders of the place, and entreats +the government to send out a pioneer expedition to win an empire across +the sea. His suggestions are rejected, and he himself, through the +machinations of Don Pedro, is cast into prison. There he is tended by +Selika, who loves her gentle captor passionately, and has need of all +her regal authority--for in the distant island she was a queen--to +prevent the jealous Nelusko from slaying him in his sleep. Inez now +comes to the prison to announce to Vasco that she has purchased his +liberty at the price of giving her hand to Don Pedro. In the next act, +Don Pedro, who has stolen a march on Vasco, is on his way to the African +island, taking with him Inez and Selika. The steering of the vessel is +entrusted to Nelusko. Vasco da Gama, who has fitted out a vessel at his +own expense, overtakes Don Pedro in mid-ocean, and generously warns his +rival of the treachery of Nelusko, who is steering the vessel upon the +rocks of his native shore. Don Pedro's only reply is to order Vasco to +be tied to the mast and shot, but before the sentence can be carried out +the vessel strikes upon the rocks, and the aborigines swarm over the +sides. Selika, once more a queen, saves the lives of Vasco and Inez from +the angry natives. In the next act the nuptials of Selika and Vasco are +on the point of being celebrated with great pomp, when the hero, who has +throughout the opera wavered between the two women who love him, finally +makes up his mind in favour of Inez. Selika thereupon magnanimously +despatches them home in Vasco's ship, and poisons herself with the +fragrance of the deadly manchineel tree. The characters of +'L'Africaine,' with the possible exception of Selika and Nelusko, are +the merest shadows, but the music, though less popular as a rule than +that of 'Les Huguenots,' or even 'Le Prophete,' is undoubtedly +Meyerbeer's finest effort. In his old age Meyerbeer seems to have looked +back to the days of his Italian period, and thus, though occasionally +conventional in form, the melodies of 'L'Africaine' have a dignity and +serenity which are rarely present in the scores of his French period. +There is, too, a laudable absence of that ceaseless striving after +effect which mars so much of Meyerbeer's best work. + +Besides the great works already discussed, Meyerbeer wrote two works for +the Opera Comique, 'L'Etoile du Nord' and 'Le Pardon de Ploermel.' +Meyerbeer was far too clever a man to undertake anything he could not +carry through successfully, and in these operas he caught the trick of +French opera comique very happily. + +'L'Etoile du Nord' deals with the fortunes of Peter the Great, who, when +the opera opens, is working as a shipwright at a dockyard in Finland. He +wins the heart of Catherine, a Cossack maiden, who has taken up her +quarters there as a kind of vivandiere. Catherine is a girl of +remarkable spirit, and after repulsing an incursion of Calmuck Tartars +single-handed, goes off to the wars in the disguise of a recruit, in +order to enable her brother to stay at home and marry Prascovia, the +daughter of the innkeeper. The next act takes place in the Russian camp. +Catherine, whose soldiering has turned out a great success, is told off +to act as sentry outside the tent occupied by two distinguished officers +who have just arrived. To her amazement she recognises them as Peter and +his friend Danilowitz, a former pastry-cook, now raised by the Czar to +the rank of General. Catherine's surprise and pleasure turn to +indignation when she sees her lover consoling himself for her absence +with the charms of a couple of pretty vivandieres, and when her senior +officer reprimands her for eavesdropping, she bestows upon him a sound +box on the ears. For this misdemeanour she is condemned to be shot, but +she contrives to make her escape, first sending a letter to Peter +blaming him for his inconstancy, and putting in his hand the details of +a conspiracy against his person which she has been fortunate enough to +discover. Peter's anguish at the loss of his loved one is accentuated by +the nobility of her conduct. At first it is supposed that Catherine is +dead, but by the exertions of Danilowitz she is at length discovered, +though in a lamentable plight, for her troubles have cost her her +reason. She is restored to sanity by the simple method of reconstructing +the scene of the Finnish dockyard in which she first made Peter's +acquaintance, and peopling it with the familiar forms of the workmen. +Among the latter are Peter and Danilowitz, in their old dresses of +labourer and pastry-cook, and, to crown all, two flutes are produced +upon which Peter and her brother play a tune known to her from +childhood. The last charm proves effectual, and all ends happily. + +The lighter parts of 'L'Etoile du Nord' are delightfully arch and +vivacious, and much of the concerted music is gay and brilliant. The +weak point of the opera is to be found in the tendency from which +Meyerbeer was never safe, to drop into mere pretentiousness when he +meant to be most impressive. In some of the choruses in the camp scene +there is a great pretence at elaboration, with very scanty results, and +the closing scena, which is foolish and wearisome, is an unfortunate +concession to the vanity of the prima donna. But on the whole 'L'Etoile +du Nord' is one of Meyerbeer's most attractive works, besides being an +extraordinary example of his inexhaustible versatility. + +'Le Pardon de Ploermel,' known in Italy and England as 'Dinorah,' shows +Meyerbeer in a pastoral and idyllic vein. The story is extremely silly +in itself, and most of the incidents take place before the curtain +rises. The overture is a long piece of programme music, which is +supposed to depict the bridal procession of Hoel and Dinorah, two Breton +peasants, to the church where they are to be married. Suddenly a +thunderstorm breaks over their heads and disperses the procession, while +a flash of lightning reduces Dinorah's homestead to ashes. Hoel, in +despair at the ruin of his hopes, betakes himself to the village +sorcerer, who promises to tell him the secret of the hidden treasure of +the local gnomes or Korriganes if he will undergo a year of trial in a +remote part of the country. On hearing that Hoel has abandoned her +Dinorah becomes insane, and spends her time in roving through the woods +with her pet goat in search of her lover. The overture is a picturesque +piece of writing enough, though much of it would be entirely meaningless +without its programme. When the opera opens, Hoel has returned from his +probation in possession of the important secret. His first care is to +find some one to do the dirty work of finding the treasure, for the +oracle has declared that the first man who shall lay hands upon it will +die. His choice falls upon Corentin, a country lout, whom he persuades +to accompany him to the gorge where the treasure lies hidden. Corentin +is not so stupid as he seems, and, suspecting something underhand, he +persuades the mad Dinorah to go down into the ravine in his place. +Dinorah consents, but while she is crossing a rustic bridge, preparatory +to the descent, it is struck by lightning, and she tumbles into the +abyss. She is saved by Hoel in some inexplicable way, and, still more +inexplicably, regains her reason. The music is bright and tuneful, and +the reaper's and hunter's songs (which are introduced for no apparent +reason) are delightful; but the libretto is so impossibly foolish that +the opera has fallen into disrepute, although the brilliant music of the +heroine should make it a favourite role with competent singers. + +Meyerbeer was extravagantly praised during his lifetime; he is now as +bitterly decried. The truth seems to lie, as usual, between the two +extremes. He was an unusually clever man, with a strong instinct for the +theatre. He took immense pains with his operas, often rewriting the +entire score; but his efforts were directed less towards ideal +perfection than to what would be most effective, so that there is a +hollowness and a superficiality about his best work which we cannot +ignore, even while we admit the ingenuity of the means employed. His +influence upon modern opera has been extensive. He was the real founder +of the school of melodramatic opera which is now so popular. Violent +contrasts with him do duty for the subtle characterisation of the older +masters. His heroes rant and storm, and his heroines shriek and rave, +but of real feeling, and even of real expression, there is little in his +scores. + +The career of Hector Berlioz (1803-1869) was in striking contrast to +that Meyerbeer. While Meyerbeer was earning the plaudits of crowded +theatres throughout the length and breadth of Europe, Berlioz sat alone, +brooding over the vast conceptions to which it taxed even his gigantic +genius to give musical shape. Even now the balance has scarcely been +restored. Though Meyerbeer's popularity is on the wane, the operas of +Berlioz are still known for the most part only to students. Before the +Berlioz cycle at Carlsruhe in 1893, 'La Prise de Troie' had never been +performed on any stage, and though the French master's symphonic works +now enjoy considerable popularity, his dramatic works are still looked +at askance by managers. There is a reason for this other than the +hardness of our hearts. Berlioz was essentially a symphonic writer. He +had little patience with the conventions of the stage, and his attempts +to blend the dramatic and symphonic elements, as in 'Les Troyens,' can +scarcely be termed a success. Yet much may be pardoned for the sake of +the noble music which lies enshrined in his works. 'Benvenuto Cellini' +and 'Beatrice et Benedict,' which were thought too advanced for the +taste of their day, are now perhaps a trifle old-fashioned for our +times. The first is a picturesque story of Rome in Carnival time. The +interest centres in the casting of the sculptor's mighty Perseus, which +wins him the hand of the fair Teresa. The Carnival scenes are gay and +brilliant, but the form of the work belongs to a bygone age, and it is +scarcely possible that a revival of it would meet with wide acceptance. +'Beatrice et Benedict' is a graceful setting of Shakespeare's 'Much Ado +about Nothing.' It is a work of the utmost delicacy and refinement. +Though humour is not absent from the score, the prevailing impression is +one of romantic charm, passing even to melancholy. Very different is the +double drama 'Les Troyens.' Here Berlioz drew his inspiration directly +from Gluck, and the result is a work of large simplicity and austere +grandeur, which it is not too much to hope will some day take its place +in the world's repertory side by side with the masterpieces of Wagner. +The first part, 'La Prise de Troie,' describes the manner in which the +city of Priam fell into the hands of the Greeks. The drama is dominated +by the form of the sad virgin Cassandra. In vain she warns her people of +their doom. They persist in dragging up the wooden horse from the +sea-beach, where it was left by the Greeks. The climax of the last act +is terrific. AEneas, warned by the ghost of Hector of the approaching +doom of Troy, escapes; but the rest of the Trojans fall victims to the +swords of the Greeks in a scene of indescribable carnage and terror. +Cassandra and the Trojan women, driven to take shelter in the temple of +Cybele, slay themselves rather than fall into the hands of their +captors. 'La Prise de Troie' is perhaps epic rather than dramatic, but +as a whole it leaves an impression of severe and spacious grandeur, +which can only be paralleled in the finest inspirations of Gluck. In +the second division of the work, 'Les Troyens a Carthage,' human +interest is paramount. Berlioz was an enthusiastic student of Virgil, +and he follows the tragic tale of the AEneid closely. The appearance of +AEneas at Carthage, the love of Dido, the summons of Mercury, AEneas' +departure and the passion and death of Dido, are depicted in a series of +scenes of such picturesqueness and power, such languor and pathos, as +surely cannot be matched outside the finest pages of Wagner. A time will +certainly come when this great work, informed throughout with a +passionate yearning for the loftiest ideal of art, will receive the +recognition which is its due. Of late indeed there have been signs of a +revival of interest in Berlioz's mighty drama, and the recent +performances of 'Les Troyens' in Paris and Brussels have opened the eyes +of many musicians to its manifold beauties. Some years ago the +experiment was made of adapting Berlioz's cantata, 'La Damnation de +Faust,' for stage purposes. The work is of course hopelessly undramatic, +but the beauty of the music and the opportunities that it affords for +elaborate spectacular effects have combined to win the work a certain +measure of success, especially in Italy where Gounod's 'Faust' has never +won the popularity that it enjoys north of the Alps. 'La Damnation de +Faust' is hardly more than a string of incidents, with only the most +shadowy semblance of connection, but several of the scenes are effective +enough on the stage, notably that in Faust's study with the march of +Hungarian warriors in the distance, the exquisite dance of sylphs and +the ride to the abyss. Nevertheless, when the success of curiosity is +over, the work is hardly likely to retain its place in the repertory. + +Unperformed as he was, Berlioz of course could not be expected to found +a school; but Meyerbeer's success soon raised him up a host of +imitators. Halevy (1799-1862) drew his inspiration in part from Herold +and Weber; but 'La Juive,' the work by which he is best known, owes much +to Meyerbeer, whose 'Robert le Diable' had taken the world of music in +Paris by storm a few years before the production of Halevy's work. In +turn Halevy reacted upon Meyerbeer. Many passages in 'Les Huguenots' +reflect the sober dignity of 'La Juive'; indeed, it is too often +forgotten that the production of Halevy's opera preceded its more famous +contemporary by a full year. + +The scene of 'La Juive' is laid in Constance, in the fifteenth century. +Leopold, a Prince of the Empire, in the disguise of a young Israelite, +has won the heart of Rachel, the daughter of the rich Jew Eleazar. When +the latter discovers the true nationality of his prospective son-in-law +he forbids him his house, but Rachel consents, like another Jessica, to +fly with her lover. Later she discovers that Leopold is a Prince, and +betrothed to the Princess Eudoxia. Her jealousy breaks forth, and she +accuses him of having seduced her--a crime which in those days was +punishable by death. Rachel, Leopold, and Eleazar are all thrown into +prison. There Rachel relents, and retracts her accusation. Leopold is +accordingly released, but the Jew and his daughter are condemned to be +immersed in a cauldron of boiling oil. There is a rather meaningless +underplot which results in a confession made by Eleazar on the scaffold, +that Rachel is not a Jewess at all, but the daughter of a Cardinal who +has taken a friendly interest in her fortunes throughout the drama. + +Halevy's music is characterised by dignity and sobriety, but it rarely +rises to passion. He represents to a certain extent a reaction towards +the pre-Rossinian school of opera, but, to be frank, most of 'La Juive' +is exceedingly long-winded and dull. Besides his serious operas, Halevy +wrote works of a lighter cast, which enjoyed popularity in their time. +But the prince of opera comique at this time was Auber (1782-1871). +Auber began his career as a musician comparatively late in life, but _en +revanche_ age seemed powerless to check his unflagging industry. His +last work, 'Le Reve d'Amour,' was produced in the composer's +eighty-eighth year. Auber is a superficial Rossini. He borrowed from the +Italian master his wit and gaiety; he could not catch an echo of his +tenderness and passion. Auber has never been so popular in England as +abroad, and the only two works of his which are now performed in this +country--'Fra Diavolo' and 'Masaniello'--represent him, curiously +enough, at his best and worst respectively. The scene of 'Fra Diavolo' +is laid at a village inn in Italy. Lord and Lady Rocburg, the +conventional travelling English couple, arrive in great perturbation, +been stopped by brigands and plundered of some of their property. At the +inn they fall in with a distinguished personage calling himself the +Marquis di San Marco, who is none other than the famous brigand chief +Fra Diavolo. He makes violent love to the silly Englishwoman, and soon +obtains her confidence. Meanwhile Lorenzo, the captain of a body of +carabineers, who loves the innkeeper's daughter Zerlina, has hurried off +after the brigands. He comes up with them and kills twenty, besides +getting back Lady Rocburg's stolen jewels. Fra Diavolo is furious at the +loss of his comrades, and vows vengeance on Lorenzo. That night he +conceals himself in Zerlina's room, and, when all is still, admits two +of his followers into the house. Their nocturnal schemes are frustrated +by the return of Lorenzo and his soldiers, who have been out in search +of the brigand chief. Fra Diavolo is discovered, but pretends that +Zerlina has given him an assignation. Lorenzo is furious at this +accusation, and challenges the brigand to a duel. Before this comes off, +however, Fra Diavolo's identity is discovered, and he is captured by +Lorenzo and his band. 'Fra Diavolo' shows Auber in his happiest vein. +The music is gay and tuneful, without dropping into commonplace; the +rhythms are brilliant and varied, and the orchestration neat and +appropriate. + +'La Muette de Portici,' which is known in the Italian version as +'Masaniello,' was written for the Grand Opera. Here Auber vainly +endeavoured to suit his style to its more august surroundings. The +result is entirely unsatisfactory; the more serious parts of the work +are pretentious and dull, and the pretty little tunes, which the +composer could not keep out of his head, sound absurdly out of place in +a serious drama. Fenella, the dumb girl of Portici, has been seduced by +Alfonso, the son of the Spanish Viceroy of Naples. She escapes from the +confinement to which she had been subjected, and denounces him on the +day of his marriage to the Spanish princess Elvira. Masaniello, her +brother, maddened by her wrongs, stirs up a revolt among the people, and +overturns the Spanish rule. He contrives to save the lives of Elvira and +Alfonso, but this generous act costs him his life, and in despair +Fenella leaps into the stream of boiling lava from an eruption of +Vesuvius. The part of Fenella gives an opportunity of distinction to a +clever pantomimist, and has been associated with the names of many +famous dancers; but the music of the opera throughout is one of the +least favourable examples of Auber's skill. Auber had many imitators, +among whom perhaps the most successful was Adolphe Adam (1803-1856), +whose 'Chalet' and 'Postillon de Longjumeau' are still occasionally +performed. They reproduce the style of Auber with tolerable fidelity, +but have no value as original work. The only other composer of this +period who deserves to be mentioned is Felicien David (1810-1876). His +'Lalla Rookh,' a setting of Moore's story, though vastly inferior to his +symphonic poem 'Le Desert,' is a work of distinction and charm. To +David belongs the credit of opening the eyes of musicians to the +possibilities of Oriental colour. Operas upon Eastern subjects have +never been very popular in England, but in France many of them have been +successful. 'Le Desert' founded the school, of which 'Les Pecheurs de +Perles,' 'Djamileh,' 'Le Roi de Lahore,' and 'Lakme' are well-known +representatives. The career of the other musicians--many in number--of +this facile and thoughtless epoch may be summed up in a few words. They +were one and all imitators; Clapisson (1808-1866), Grisar (1808-1869), +and Maillart (1817-1871), clung to the skirts of Auber; Niedermeyer +(1802-1861), threw in his lot with Halevy. So far as they succeeded in +reproducing the external and superficial features of the music of their +prototypes, they enjoyed a brief day of popularity. But with the first +change of public taste they lapsed into oblivion, and their works +nowadays sound far more old-fashioned than those of the generation which +preceded them. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +WAGNER'S EARLY WORKS + + +Richard Wagner (1813-1883) is by far the most important figure in the +history of modern opera. With regard to the intrinsic beauty of his +works, and the artistic value of the theories upon which they are +constructed, there have been, and still are, two opinions; but his most +bigoted opponents can scarcely refuse to acknowledge the extent of the +influence which he has had upon contemporary and subsequent music--an +influence, in fact, which places him by the side of Monteverde and Gluck +among the great revolutionists of musical history. As in their case, the +importance of his work rests upon the fact that, although to a certain +extent an assimilation and development of the methods of his +predecessors, it embodied a deliberate revolt against existing musical +conditions. + +From one point of view Wagner's revolt is even more important than that +of either of his forerunners, for they were men who, having failed to +win success under the existing conditions of music, revolted--so to +speak--in self-preservation, while he was an accomplished musician, and +the author of a successful work written in strict accordance with the +canons of art which then obtained. Had Wagner pleased, there was +nothing to hinder his writing a succession of 'Rienzis,' and ending his +days, like Spontini, rich and ennobled. To his eternal honour he +rejected the prospect, and chose the strait and narrow way which led, +through poverty and disgrace, to immortality. In spite of the +acknowledged success of 'Rienzi,' Wagner's enemies were never tired of +repeating that, like Monteverde, he had invented a new system because he +could not manipulate the old. It seems hardly possible to us that +musicians could ever have been found to deny that the composer of 'Die +Meistersinger' was a consummate master of counterpoint. Fortunately the +discovery of his Symphony in C finally put an end to all doubts relative +to the thoroughness of Wagner's musical education. In this work, which +was written at the age of eighteen, the composer showed a mastery of the +symphonic form which many of his detractors might have envied. The fact +is, that Wagner was a man of a singularly flexible habit of mind. He was +a careful student of both ancient and modern music, and a study of his +works shows us that, so far from despising what had been done by his +predecessors, he greedily assimilated all that was best in their +productions, only rejecting the narrow conventions in which so many of +them had contentedly acquiesced. His music is the logical development of +that of Gluck and Weber, purified by a closer study of the principles of +declamation, and enriched by a command of orchestral resource of which +they had never dreamed. + +Wagner's first opera, 'Die Feen,' was written in 1833, when the +composer was twenty years old. Wagner always wrote his own libretti, +even in those days. The story of 'Die Feen' was taken from one of +Gozzi's fairy-tales, 'La Donna Serpente.' Wagner himself, in his +'Communication to my Friends,' written in 1851, has given us a _resume_ +of the plot: 'A fairy, who renounces immortality for the sake of a human +lover, can only become a mortal through the fulfilment of certain hard +conditions, the non-compliance wherewith on the part of her earthly +swain threatens her with the direst penalties; her lover fails in the +test, which consists in this, that, however evil and repulsive she may +appear to him (in the metamorphosis which she has to undergo), he shall +not reject her in his unbelief. In Gozzi's tale the fairy is changed +into a snake; the remorseful lover frees her from the spell by kissing +the snake, and thus wins her for his wife. I altered this denouement by +changing the fairy into a stone, and then releasing her from the spell +by her lover's passionate song; while the lover, instead of being +allowed to carry off his bride into his own country, is himself admitted +by the fairy king to the immortal bliss of fairyland, together with his +fairy wife.' + +When Wagner wrote 'Die Feen' he was under the spell of Weber, whose +influence is perceptible in every page of the score. Marschner, too, +whose 'Vampyr' and 'Templer und Juedin' had been recently produced at +Leipzig, which was then Wagner's headquarters, also appealed very +strongly to the young musician's plastic temperament. 'Die Feen' +consequently has little claim to originality, but the work is +nevertheless interesting to those who desire to trace the master's +development _ab ovo_. Both in the melodies and rhythms employed it is +possible to trace the germs of what afterwards became strongely marked +characteristics. Wagner himself never saw 'Die Feen' performed. In 1833 +he could not persuade any German manager to produce it, and, in the +changes which soon came over his musical sympathies, 'Die Feen' was laid +upon the shelf and probably forgotten. It was not until 1888, five years +after the composer's death, that the general enthusiasm for everything +connected with Wagner induced the authorities at Munich to produce it. +Since then it has been performed with comparative frequency, and formed +a part of the cycles of Wagner's works which were given in 1894 and +1895. Wagner's next work was of a very different nature. 'Das +Liebesverbot' was a frank imitation of the Italian school. He himself +confesses that 'if any one should compare this score with that of "Die +Feen" he would find it difficult to understand how such a complete +change in my tendencies could have been brought about in so short a +time.' The incident which turned his thoughts into this new channel was +a performance of Bellini's 'Capuletti e Montecchi,' in which Madame +Schroeder-Devrient sang the part of Romeo. This remarkable woman +exercised in those days an almost hypnotic influence upon Wagner, and +the beauty and force of this particular impersonation impressed him so +vividly that he relinquished his admiration of Weber and the Teutonic +school and plunged headlong into the meretricious sensuousness of Italy. +The libretto of 'Das Liebesverbot' is founded upon Shakespeare's +'Measure for Measure,' It was performed for the first and only time at +Magdeburg in 1836, and failed completely; but it is only just to say +that its failure seems to have been due more to insufficient rehearsal +than to the weakness of the score. After the success of 'Die Feen' at +Munich, it naturally occurred to the authorities there to revive +Wagner's one other juvenile opera. The score of 'Das Liebesverbot' was +accordingly unearthed, and the parts were allotted. The first rehearsal, +however, decided its fate. The opera was so ludicrous and unblushing an +imitation of Donizetti and Bellini, that the artists could scarcely sing +for laughter. Herr Vogl, the eminent tenor, and one or two others were +still in favour of giving it as a curiosity, but in the end it was +thought better to drop it altogether, less on account of the music than +because of the licentious character of the libretto. + +'Rienzi,' the next in order of Wagner's operas, was written on the lines +of French opera. Wagner hoped to see it performed in Paris, and +throughout the score he kept the methods of Meyerbeer and Spontini +consistently in his mind's eye. There is very little attempt at +characterisation, but the opportunities for spectacular display are many +and various. In later years Meyerbeer paid Wagner the compliment of +saying that the libretto of 'Rienzi' was the best he had ever read. +'Rienzi' was produced at Dresden in 1842. + +The opera opens at night. The scene is laid in a street near the Lateran +Church in Rome. Orsini, a Roman nobleman, and his friends are attempting +to abduct Irene, the sister of Rienzi, a Papal notary. They are +disturbed by the entrance of Colonna, another Roman noble, and his +adherents. The two ruffians quarrel over the unfortunate girl; their +followers eagerly join in the fray; and in a moment, as it seems, the +quiet street is alive with the _cliquetis_ of steel and the flash of +sword-blades. Adriano, Colonna's son, loves Irene, and when he discovers +who the trembling victim of patrician lust really is, he hastens to +protect her. The tumult soon attracts a crowd to the spot. Last comes +Rienzi, indignant at the insult offered to his sister, and bent upon +revenge. Adriano, torn by conflicting emotions, decides to throw in his +lot with Rienzi, and the act ends with the appointment of the latter to +the post of Tribune--- he refuses the title of King--and the marshalling +of the plebeians against the recreant aristocracy. The arms of the +people carry the day, and in the second act the nobles appear at the +Capitol to sue for pardon. Rienzi, though warned of their treachery by +Adriano, accepts their promise of submission. During the festivities +which celebrate the reconciliation Orsini attempts to assassinate +Rienzi, who is only saved by the steel breastplate which he wears +beneath his robes. For this outrage the nobles are condemned to death. +Adriano begs for his father's life, and Rienzi weakly relents, and +grants his prayer on condition of the nobles taking an oath of +submission. + +In the third act the struggle between the nobles and the people advances +another stage. The nobles have once more broken their oath, and are +drawn up in battle array at the gates of Rome. Rienzi marshals his +forces and prepares to march forth against them. In vain Adriano pleads +once more for pardon. The fortune of war goes in favour of the +plebeians. The nobles are routed, Colonna is slain, and the scene closes +as Adriano vows vengeance over his father's body upon his murderer. + +In the fourth act the tide has turned against Rienzi. The citizens +suspect him of treachery to their cause. Adriano joins the ranks of +malcontents, and does all in his power to fire them to vengeance. Rienzi +appears, and is at once surrounded by the conspirators, but in a speech +of noble patriotism he convinces them of their mistakes, and wins them +once more to allegiance. Suddenly the doors of the Lateran Church are +thrown open; the Papal Legate appears, and reads aloud the Bull of +Rienzi's excommunication. Horror-stricken at the awful sentence, the +Tribune's friends forsake him and fly, all save Irene, who, deaf to the +wild entreaties of Adriano, clings to her brother in passionate +devotion. + +In the fifth act, Rienzi, after a last vain attempt to arouse the +patriotism of the people, seeks refuge in the Capitol, which is fired by +the enraged mob. The Tribune and Irene perish in the flames, together +with Adriano, whose love for Irene proves stronger than death. + +Wagner himself has described the frame of mind in which he began to work +at 'Rienzi': "To do something grand, to write an opera for whose +production only the most exceptional means should suffice...this is +what resolved me to resume, and carry out with all my might, my former +plan of 'Rienzi.' In the preparation of this text I took no thought for +anything but the writing of an effective operatic libretto." In the +light of this confession, it is best to look upon 'Rienzi' merely as a +brilliant exercise in the Grand Opera manner. Much of the music is showy +and effective; there is a masculine vigour about the melodies, and the +concerted pieces are skilfully treated, but, except to the student of +Wagner's development, its intrinsic value is very small. + +Appropriately enough, the idea of writing an opera upon the legend of +the Flying Dutchman first occurred to Wagner during his passage from +Riga to London in the year 1839. The voyage was long and stormy, and the +tempestuous weather which he encountered, together with the fantastic +tales which he heard from the lips of the sailors, made so deep an +impression upon his mind, that he determined to make his experiences the +groundwork of an opera dealing with the fortunes of the 'Wandering Jew +of the Ocean.' When he was in Paris, the stress of poverty compelled him +to treat the sketch, which he had made for a libretto, as a marketable +asset. This he sold to a now forgotten composer named Dietsch, who wrote +an opera upon the subject, which failed completely. The disappearance of +this work left Wagner's hands free once more, and some years later he +returned _con amore_ to his original idea. 'Der Fliegende Hollaender' was +produced at Dresden in 1843. + +The legend of the Flying Dutchman is, of course, an old one. The idea of +the world-wearied wanderer driven from shore to shore in the vain search +for peace and rest dates from Homer. Heine was the first to introduce +the motive of the sinner's redemption through the love of a faithful +woman, which was still further elaborated by Wagner, and really forms +the basis of his drama. The opera opens in storm and tempest. The ship +of Daland, a Norwegian mariner, has just cast anchor at a wild and +rugged spot upon the coast not far from his own home, where his daughter +Senta is awaiting him. He can do nothing but wait for fair weather, and +goes below, leaving his steersman to keep watch. The lad drops asleep, +singing of his home, and through the darkness the gloomy vessel of the +Dutchman is seen approaching with its blood-red sails. The Dutchman +anchors his ship close to the Norwegian barque, and steps ashore. Seven +years have passed since he last set foot upon earth, and he comes once +more in search of a true woman who will sacrifice herself for his +salvation, for this alone can free him from the curse under which he +suffers. But hope of mortal aid is dead within his breast. In wild and +broken accents he tells of his passionate longing for death, and calls +upon the Judgment Day to put an end to his pilgrimage. 'Annihilation be +my lot,' he cries in his madness, and from the depths of the black +vessel the weird crew echoes his despairing cry. Daland issues from his +own vessel and gives the stranger a hearty greeting. The name of Senta +arrests the Dutchman's attention, and after a short colloquy and a +glimpse of the untold wealth which crams the coffers of the Dutchman, +the old miser consents to give his daughter to the stranger. The wind +meanwhile has shifted, and the two captains hasten their departure for +the port. + +In the second act we are at Daland's house. Mary, the old housekeeper, +and a bevy of chattering girls are spinning by the fireside, while +Senta, lost in gloomy reverie, sits apart gazing at a mysterious picture +on the wall, the portrait of a pale man clad in black, the hero of the +mysterious legend of the Flying Dutchman. The girls rally Senta upon her +abstraction, and as a reply to their idle prattle she sings them the +ballad of the doomed mariner. Throughout the song her enthusiasm has +been waxing, and at its close, like one inspired, she cries aloud that +she will be the woman to save him, that through her the accursed wretch +shall find eternal peace. Erik, her betrothed lover, who enters to +announce the approach of Daland, hears her wild words, and in vain +reminds her of vows and promises made long ago. When Daland brings the +Dutchman in, and Senta sees before her the hero of her romance, the +living embodiment of the mysterious picture, she gazes spell-bound at +the weird stranger, and seems scarcely to hear her father's hasty +recommendation of the new suitor's pretensions. Left alone with the +Dutchman, Senta rapturously vows her life to his salvation, and the +scene ends with the plighting of their troth. + +In the last act we are once more on the seashore. The Dutch and +Norwegian vessels are moored side by side, but while the crew of the +latter is feasting and making merry, the former is gloomy and silent as +the grave. A troop of damsels runs on with baskets of food and wine; +they join with the Norwegian sailors in calling upon the Dutchmen to +come out and share their festivities, but not a sound proceeds from the +phantom vessel. Suddenly the weird mariners appear upon the deck, and +while blue flames hover upon the spars and masts of their fated vessel, +they sing an uncanny song taunting their captain with his failure as a +lover. The Norwegian sailors in terror hurry below, the girls beat a +hasty retreat, and silence descends once more upon the two vessels. +Senta issues from Daland's house, followed by Erik. In spite of his +importunity, her steadfast purpose remains unmoved; but the Dutchman +overhears Erik's passionate appeal and, believing Senta to be untrue to +himself, rushes on board his ship and hastily puts out to sea. Senta's +courage rises to the occasion. Though the Dutchman has cast her off, +she remains true to her vows. She hastens to the edge of the cliff hard +by, and with a wild cry hurls herself into the sea. Her solemn act of +renunciation fulfils the promise of her lips. The gloomy vessel of the +Dutchman, its mission accomplished, sinks into the waves, while the +forms of Senta and the Dutchman transfigured with unearthly light are +seen rising from the bosom of the ocean. + +The music of 'Der Fliegende Hollaender' may be looked at from two points +of view. As a link in the chain of Wagner's artistic development, it is +of the highest interest. In it we see the germs of those theories which +were afterwards to effect so formidable a revolution in the world of +opera. In 'Der Fliegende Hollaender' Wagner first puts to the proof the +_Leit-Motiv_, or guiding theme, the use of which forms, as it were, the +base upon which the entire structure of his later works rests. In those +early days he employed it with timidity, it is true, and with but a +half-hearted appreciation of the poetical effect which it commands; but +from that day forth each of his works shows a more complete command of +its resources, and a subtler instinct as to its employment. The +intrinsic musical interest of 'Der Fliegende Hollaender' is unequal. +Wagner had made great strides since the days of 'Rienzi,' but he had +still a vast amount to unlearn. Side by side with passages of vital +force and persuasive beauty there are dreary wastes of commonplace and +the most arid conventionality. The strange mixture of styles which +prevails in 'Der Fliegende Hollaender' makes it in some ways even less +satisfactory as a work of art than 'Rienzi,' which at any rate has the +merit of homogeneity. Wagner is most happily inspired by the sea. The +overture, as fresh and picturesque a piece of tone-painting as anything +he ever wrote, is familiar to all concert-goers, and the opening of the +first act is no less original. But perhaps the most striking part of the +opera, certainly the most characteristic, is the opening of the third +act, with its chain of choruses between the girls and the sailors. A +great deal of 'Der Fliegende Hollaender' might have been written by any +operatic composer of the time, but this scene bears upon it the +hall-mark of genius. + +If 'Der Fliegende Hollaender' proved that the descriptive side of +Wagner's genius had developed more rapidly than the psychological, the +balance was promptly re-established in 'Tannhaeuser,' his next work. Much +of the music is picturesque and effective, even in the lowest sense, but +its strength lies in the extraordinary power which the composer displays +of individualising his characters--a power of which in 'Der Fliegende +Hollaender' there was scarcely a suggestion. + +So far as mere form is concerned, 'Tannhaeuser' (1845) is far freer from +the conventionalities of the Italian school than 'Der Fliegende +Hollaender,' but this would not have availed much if Wagner's +constructive powers had not matured in so remarkable a way. It would +have been useless to sweep away the old conventions if he had had +nothing to set in their place. Apart from the strictly musical side of +the question, Wagner had in 'Tannhaeuser' a story of far deeper human +interest than the weird legend of the Dutchman, the tale which never +grows old of the struggle of good and evil for a human soul, the tale of +a remorseful sinner won from the powers of hell by the might of a pure +woman's love. + +There is a legend which tells that when the gods and goddesses fled from +their palace on Olympus before the advance of Christianity, Venus betook +herself to the North, and established her court in the bowels of the +earth, beneath the hill of Hoerselberg in Thuringia. There we find the +minstrel Tannhaeuser at the opening of the opera. He has left the world +above, its strifes and its duties, for the wicked delights of the grotto +of Venus. There he lies in the embraces of the siren goddess, while life +passes in a ceaseless orgy of sinful pleasure. But the poet wearies of +his amorous captivity, and would fain return to the earth once more. In +vain the goddess pleads, in vain she calls up new scenes of ravishing +delight, he still prays to be gone. Finally he calls on the sainted name +of Mary, and Venus with her nymphs, grotto, palace and all, sink into +the earth with a thunder-clap, while Tannhaeuser, when he comes to his +senses once more, finds himself kneeling upon the green grass on the +slope of a sequestered valley, lulled by the tinkling bells of the flock +and the piping of a shepherd from a rock hard by. The pious chant of +pilgrims, passing on their way to Rome, wakens his slumbering +conscience, and bids him expiate his guilt by a life of abstinence and +humiliation. His meditations are interrupted by the appearance of the +Landgrave of Thuringia, his liege lord, who is hunting with Wolfram von +Eschinbach, Walther von der Vogelweide, and other minstrel-knights of +the Wartburg; but his newly awakened sense of remorse forbids him to +return with them to the castle, until Wolfram breathes the name of the +Landgrave's niece Elisabeth, the saintly maiden who has drooped and +pined since Tannhaeuser disappeared from the singing contests at the +Wartburg. The thought of human love touches his heart with warm +sympathy, and he gladly hastens to the castle with his newly found +friends. + +In the second act we are at the Wartburg, in the Hall of Song in which +those tournaments of minstrelsy were held, for which the castle was +celebrated in the middle ages. Elisabeth enters, bringing a greeting to +the hall, whose threshold she has not crossed since Tannhaeuser's +mysterious departure. Her joyous tones have scarcely ceased when +Tannhaeuser, led by Wolfram, appears and falls at the feet of the +youthful Princess. Her pure spirit cannot conceive aught of dishonour in +his absence, and she welcomes him back to her heart with girlish trust. +Now the guests assemble and, marshalled in order, take their places for +the singers' tourney. The Landgrave announces the subject of the +contest--the power Of love--and more than hints that the hand of +Elisabeth is to be the victor's prize. The singers in turn take their +harps and pour forth their improvisations; Wolfram sings of the chaste +ideal which he worships from afar, Walther of the pure fount of virtue +from which he draws his inspiration, and the warrior Biterolf praises +the chivalrous passion of the soldier. + +Each in turn is interrupted by Tannhaeuser, who, with ever-growing +vehemence, scoffs at the pale raptures of his friends. A kind of madness +possesses him, and as the hymns in praise of love recall to his memory +the amorous orgies of the Venusberg, he gradually loses all +self-control, and ends by bursting out with a wild hymn in praise of the +goddess herself. The horror-stricken women rush from the hall, and the +men, sword in hand, prepare to execute summary justice upon the +self-convicted sinner; but Elisabeth dashes in before the points of +their swords, and in broken accents begs pardon for her recreant lover +in the name of the Saviour of them all. Touched by her agonised pleading +the angry knights let fall their weapons, while Tannhaeuser, as his +madness slips from him and he realises all that he has lost, falls +repentant and prostrate upon the earth. The Landgrave bids him hasten to +Rome, where alone he may find pardon for a sin so heinous. Far below in +the valley a band of young pilgrims is passing, and the sound of their +solemn hymn rises to the castle windows; the pious strains put new life +into the despairing Tannhaeuser, and crying 'To Rome, to Rome,' he +staggers from the hall. + +The scene of the third act is the same as that of the first, a wooded +valley beneath the towers of the Wartburg; but the fresh beauty of +spring has given place to the tender melancholy of autumn. No tidings of +the pilgrim have reached the castle, and Elisabeth waits on in patient +hope, praying that her lost lover may be given back to her arms free and +forgiven. While she pours forth her agony at the foot of a rustic cross, +the faithful Wolfram watches silently hard by. Suddenly the distant +chant of the pilgrims is heard. Elisabeth rises from her knees in an +agony of suspense. As the pilgrims file past one by one, she eagerly +scans their faces, but Tannhaeuser is not among them. With the failure of +her hopes she feels that the last link which binds her to earth is +broken. Committing her soul to the Virgin, she takes her way slowly back +to the castle, the hand of death already heavy upon her, after bidding +farewell to Wolfram in a passage which, though not a word is spoken, is +perhaps more poignantly pathetic than anything Wagner ever wrote. Alone +amid the gathering shades of evening, Wolfram sings the exquisite song +to the evening star which is the most famous passage in the opera. The +last strains have scarcely died away when a gloomy figure slowly enters +upon the path lately trodden by the rejoicing pilgrims. It is Tannhaeuser +returning from Rome, disappointed and despairing. His pilgrimage has +availed him nothing. The Pope bade him hope for no pardon for his sin +till the staff which he held in his hand should put forth leaves and +blossom. With these awful words ringing in his ears, Tannhaeuser has +retraced his weary steps. He has had enough of earth, and thinks only of +returning to the embraces of Venus. In response to his cries Venus +appears, in the midst of a wild whirl of nymphs and sirens. In vain +Wolfram urges and appeals; Tannhaeuser will not yield his purpose. He +breaks from his friend, and is rushing to meet the extended arms of the +goddess, when Wolfram adjures him once more by the sainted memory of +Elisabeth. At the sound of that sinless name Venus and her unhallowed +crew sink with a wild shriek into the earth. The morning breaks, and the +solemn hymn of the procession bearing the corpse of Elisabeth sounds +sweetly through the forest. As the bier is carried forward Tannhaeuser +sinks lifeless by the dead body of his departed saint, while a band of +young pilgrims comes swiftly in, bearing the Pope's staff, which has put +forth leaves and blossomed--the symbol of redemption and pardon for the +repentant sinner. + +It will generally be admitted that the story of 'Tannhaeuser' is better +suited for dramatic purposes than that of 'Der Fliegende Hollaender,' +apart from the lofty symbolism which gives it so deeply human an +interest. This would go far to account for the manifest superiority of +the later work, but throughout the score it is easy to note the enhanced +power and certainty of the composer in dealing even with the less +interesting parts of the story. Much of 'Tannhaeuser' is conventional, +but it nevertheless shows a great advance on 'Der Fliegende Hollaender,' +in the disposal of the scenes as much as in the mere treatment of the +voices. But in the orchestra the advance is even more manifest. The +guiding theme, which in 'Der Fliegende Hollaender' only makes fitful and +timid appearances, is used with greater boldness, and with increased +knowledge of its effect. Wagner had as yet, it is true, but little +conception of the importance which this flexible instrument would assume +in his later works; but such passages as the orchestral introduction to +the third act, and Tannhaeuser's narration, give a foretaste of what the +composer was afterwards to achieve by this means. So far as orchestral +colour is concerned, too, the score of Tannhaeuser is deeply interesting +to the student of Wagner's development. Here we find Wagner for the +first time consistently associating a certain instrument or group of +instruments with one of the characters, as, for instance, the trombones +with the pilgrims, and the wood-wind with Elisabeth. This plan--which is +in a certain sense the outcome of the guiding theme system--he was +afterwards to develop elaborately. It had of course been employed +before, notably by Gluck, but Wagner with characteristic boldness +carried it at once to a point of which his predecessor can scarcely have +dreamed. As an illustration, the opening of the third act may be quoted, +in which Elisabeth is represented by the wood-wind--by the clarinets and +bassoons in the hour of her deep affliction and abasement, and by the +flutes and hautboys when her soul has finally cast off all the trammels +of earth--and Wolfram by the violoncello. The feelings of the two are so +exquisitely portrayed by the orchestra, that the scene would be easily +comprehensible if it were carried on--as indeed much of it is--without +any words at all. + +'Lohengrin' (1850) was the first of Wagner's operas which won general +acceptance, and still remains the most popular. The story lacks the deep +human interest of 'Tannhaeuser,' but it has both power and +picturesqueness, while the prominence of the love-interest, which in the +earlier work is thrust into the background, is sufficient to explain the +preference given to it. Elsa of Brabant is charged by Frederick of +Telramund, at the instigation of his wife Ortrud, with the murder of her +brother Godfrey, who has disappeared. King Henry the Fowler, who is +judging the case, allows Elsa a champion; but the signal trumpets have +sounded twice, and no one comes forward to do battle on her behalf. +Suddenly there appears, in a distant bend of the river Scheldt, a boat +drawn by a swan, in which is standing a knight clad in silver armour. +Amidst the greatest excitement the knight gradually approaches, and +finally disembarks beneath the shadow of the king's oak. He is accepted +by Elsa as her champion and lover on the condition that she shall never +attempt to ask his name. If she should violate her promise, +Lohengrin--for it is he--must return at once to his father's kingdom. +Telramund is worsted in the fight, having no power to fight against +Lohengrin's sacred sword, and the act ends with rejoicings over the +approaching marriage of Lohengrin and Elsa. + +In the second act it is night; Telramund and Ortrud are crouching upon +the steps of the Minster, opposite the palace, plotting revenge. +Suddenly Elsa steps out upon the balcony of the Kemenate, or women's +quarters, and breathes out the tale of her happiness to the breezes of +night. Ortrud accosts her with affected humility, and soon succeeds in +establishing herself once more in the good graces of the credulous +damsel. She passes into the Kemenate with Elsa, first promising to use +her magic powers so as to secure for ever for Elsa the love of her +unknown lord. Elsa rejects the offer with scorn, but it is evident that +the suggestion has sown the first seeds of doubt in her foolish heart. +As the day dawns the nobles assemble at the Minster gate, and soon the +long bridal procession begins to issue from the Kemenate. But before +Elsa has had time to set foot upon the Minster steps, Ortrud dashes +forward and claims precedence, taunting the hapless bride with ignorance +of her bridegroom's name and rank. Elsa has scarcely time to reply in +passionate vindication of her love, when the King and Lohengrin approach +from the Pallas, the quarters of the knights. Lohengrin soothes the +terror of his bride, and the procession starts once more. Once more it +is interrupted. Telramund appears upon the threshold of the cathedral +and publicly accuses Lohengrin of sorcery. The King, however, will not +harbour a suspicion of his spotless knight. Telramund is thrust aside, +though not before he has had time to whisper fresh doubts and suspicions +to the shuddering Elsa, and the procession files slowly into the +Minster. + +A solemn bridal march opens the next act, while the maids of honour +conduct Elsa and Lohengrin to the bridal chamber. There, after a love +scene of enchanting beauty, her doubts break forth once more. 'How is +she to know,' she cries, 'that the swan will not come some day as +mysteriously as before and take her beloved from her arms?' In vain +Lohengrin tries to soothe her; she will not be appeased, and in frenzied +excitement puts to him the fatal question, 'Who art thou?' At that +moment the door is burst open, and Telramund rushes in followed by four +knights with swords drawn. Lohengrin lifts his sacred sword, and the +false knight falls dead at his feet. The last scene takes us back to the +banks of the Scheldt. Before the assembled army Lohengrin answers Elsa's +question. He is the son of Parsifal, the lord of Monsalvat, the keeper +of the Holy Grail. His mission is to succour the distressed, but his +mystic power vanishes if the secret of its origin be known. Even as he +speaks the swan appears once more, drawing the boat which is to bear him +away. Lohengrin bids a last farewell to the weeping Elsa, and turns once +more to the river. Now is the moment of Ortrud's triumph. She rushes +forward and proclaims that the swan is none other than Godfrey, Elsa's +brother, imprisoned in this shape by her magic arts. But Lohengrin's +power is not exhausted; he kneels upon the river bank, and in answer to +his prayer the white dove of the Grail wheels down from the sky, +releases the swan, and, while Elsa clasps her restored brother to her +breast, bears Lohengrin swiftly away over the waters of the Scheldt. + +The interest of 'Lohengrin' lies rather in the subtle treatment of the +characters than in the intrinsic beauty of the story itself. Lohengrin's +love for Elsa, and his apparent intention of settling in Brabant for +life, seem scarcely consistent with his duties as knight of the Grail, +and, save for their mutual love, neither hero nor heroine have much +claim upon our sympathies. But the grouping of the characters is +admirable; the truculent witch Ortrud is a fine foil to the ingenuous +Elsa, and Lohengrin's spotless knighthood is cast into brilliant relief +by the dastardly treachery of Telramund. The story of 'Lohengrin' lacks +the deep human interest of 'Tannhaeuser,' and the music never reaches the +heights to which the earlier work sometimes soars. But in both respects +'Lohengrin' has the merit of homogeneity; the libretto is laid out by a +master hand, and the music, though occasionally monotonous in rhythm, +has none of those strange relapses into conventionality which mar the +beauty of 'Tannhaeuser.' Musically 'Lohengrin' marks the culminating +point of Wagner's earlier manner. All the links with the Italian school +are broken save one, the concerted finale. Here alone he adheres to the +old tradition of cavatina and cabaletta--the slow movement followed by +the quick. The aria in set form has completely disappeared, while the +orchestra, though still often used merely as an accompaniment, is never +degraded, as occasionally happens in 'Tannhaeuser,' to the rank of a 'big +guitar.' + +The opening notes of 'Lohengrin' indeed prove incontestably the +increased power and facility with which Wagner had learnt to wield his +orchestra since the days of 'Tannhaeuser.' The prelude to 'Lohengrin'--a +mighty web of sound woven of one single theme--is, besides being a +miracle of contrapuntal ingenuity, one of the most poetical of Wagner's +many exquisite conceptions. In it he depicts the bringing to earth by +the hands of angels of the Holy Grail, the vessel in which Joseph of +Arimathea caught the last drops of Christ's blood upon the cross. With +the opening chords we seem to see the clear blue expanse of heaven +spread before us in spotless radiance. As the Grail motive sounds for +the first time _pianissimo_ in the topmost register of the violins, a +tiny white cloud, scarcely perceptible at first, but increasing every +moment, forms in the zenith. Ever descending as the music gradually +increases in volume, the cloud resolves itself into a choir of angels +clad in white, the bearers of the sacred cup. Nearer and still nearer +they come, until, as the Grail motive reaches a passionate _fortissimo_, +they touch the earth, and deliver the Holy Grail to the band of faithful +men who are consecrated to be its earthly champions. Their mission +accomplished the angels swiftly return. As they soar up, the music +grows fainter. Soon they appear once more only as a snowy cloud on the +bosom of the blue. The Grail motive fades away into faint chords, and +the heaven is left once more in cloudless radiance. + +A noticeable point in the score of 'Lohengrin' is the further +development of the beautiful idea which appears in 'Tannhaeuser,' of +associating a certain instrument or group of instruments with one +particular character. The idea itself, it may be noticed in passing, +dates from the time of Bach, who used the strings of the orchestra to +accompany the words of Christ in the Matthew Passion, much as the old +Italian painters surrounded his head with a halo. In 'Lohengrin' Wagner +used this beautiful idea more systematically than in 'Tannhaeuser'; +Lohengrin's utterances are almost always accompanied by the strings of +the orchestra, while the wood-wind is specially devoted to Elsa. This +plan emphasises very happily the contrast, which is the root of the +whole drama, between spiritual and earthly love, typified in the persons +of Lohengrin and Elsa, which the poem symbolises in allegorical fashion. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +WAGNER'S LATER WORKS + + +The attempt to divide the life and work of a composer into fixed periods +is generally an elusive and unsatisfactory experiment, but to this rule +the case of Wagner is an exception. His musical career falls naturally +into two distinct divisions, and the works of these two periods differ +so materially in scope and execution that the veriest tyro in musical +matters cannot fail to grasp their divergencies. In the years which +elapsed between the composition of 'Lohengrin' and 'Das Rheingold,' +Wagner's theories upon the proper treatment of lyrical drama developed +in a surprising manner. Throughout his earlier works the guiding theme +is used with increasing frequency, it is true, so that in 'Lohengrin' +its employment adds materially to the poetical interest of the score; +but in 'Das Rheingold' we are in a different world. Here the guiding +theme is the pivot upon which the entire work turns. The occasional use +of some characteristic musical phrase to illustrate the recurrence of a +special personality or phase of thought has given way to a deliberate +system in which not only each of the characters in the drama, but also +their thoughts, feelings, and aspirations are represented by a distinct +musical equivalent. These guiding themes are by no means the mere labels +that hostile critics of Wagner would have us believe. They are subject, +as much as the characters and sentiments which they represent, to +organic change and development. By this means every incident in the +progress of the drama, the growth of each sentiment or passion, the play +of thought and feeling, all find a close equivalent in the texture of +the music, and the connection between music and drama is advanced to an +intimacy which certainly could not be realised by any other means. + +The difference in style between 'Lohengrin' and 'Das Rheingold' is so +very marked that it is only natural to look for some explanation of the +sudden change other than the natural development of the composer's +genius. Wagner's social position at this point in his career may have +reacted to a certain extent upon his music. An exile from his country, +his works tabooed in every theatre, he might well be pardoned if he felt +that all chance of a career as a popular composer was over for him, and +decided for the future to write for himself alone. This may explain the +complete renunciation of the past which appears in 'Das Rheingold,' the +total severance from the Italian tradition which lingers in the pages of +'Lohengrin,' and the brilliant unfolding of a new scheme of lyric drama +planned upon a scale of unexampled magnificence and elaboration. + +Intimately as Wagner's theory of the proper scope of music drama is +connected with the system of guiding themes which he elaborated, it +need hardly be said that he was very far from being the first to +recognise the importance of their use in music. There are several +instances of guiding themes in Bach. Beethoven, too, and even Gretry +used them occasionally with admirable effect. But before Wagner's day +they had been employed with caution, not to say timidity. He was the +first to realise their full poetic possibility. + +'Das Rheingold,' the first work in which Wagner put his matured musical +equipment to the proof, is the first division of a gigantic tetralogy, +'Der Ring des Nibelungen,' The composition of this mighty work extended +over a long period of years. It was often interrupted, and as often +recommenced. In its completed form it was performed for the first time +at the opening of the Festspielhaus at Bayreuth in 1876, but the first +two divisions of the work, 'Das Rheingold' and 'Die Walkuere,' had +already been given at Munich, in 1869 and 1870 respectively. It will be +most convenient in this place to treat 'Der Ring des Nibelungen' as a +complete work, although 'Tristan und Isolde' and 'Die Meistersinger' +were written and performed before 'Siegfried' and 'Goetterdaemmerung.' + +Wagner took the main incidents of his drama from the old Norse sagas, +principally from the two Eddas, but in many minor points his tale varies +from that of the original authorities. Nevertheless he grasped the +spirit of the myth so fully, that his version of the Nibelung story +yields in harmony and beauty to that of none of his predecessors. There +is one point about the Norse mythology which is of the utmost importance +to the proper comprehension of 'Der Ring des Nibelungen.' The gods of +Teutonic legend are not immortal. In the Edda the death of the gods is +often mentioned, and distinct reference is made to their inevitable +downfall. Behind Valhalla towers the gigantic figure of Fate, whose +reign is eternal. The gods rule for a limited time, subject to its +decrees. This ever-present idea of inexorable doom is the guiding idea +of Wagner's great tragedy. Against the inevitable the gods plot and +scheme in vain. + +The opening scene of 'Das Rheingold' is in the depths of the Rhine. +There, upon the summit of a rock, lies the mysterious treasure of the +Rhine, the Rhine-gold, guarded night and day by the three Rhine-maidens +Wellgunde, Woglinde, and Flosshilde, who circle round the rock in an +undulating dance, joyous and light-hearted 'like troutlets in a pool.' +Alberich, the prince of the Nibelungs, the strange dwarf-people who +dwell in the bowels of the earth, now appears. Clumsily he courts the +maidens, trying unsuccessfully to catch first one, then another. +Suddenly the rays of the rising sun touch the treasure on the rock and +light it into brilliant splendour. The maidens, in delight at its +beauty, incautiously reveal the secret of the Rhine-gold to the +inquisitive dwarf. The possessor of it, should he forge it into a ring, +will become the ruler of the world. But, to that end, he must renounce +the delights of love for ever. Alberich, fired with the lust of power, +hastily climbs the rock, tears away the shining treasure, and plunges +with it into the abyss, amidst the cries of the maidens, who vainly +endeavour to pursue him. The scene now changes, the waves gradually +giving place to clouds and vapour, which in turn disclose a lofty +mountainous region at the foot of which is a grassy plateau. Here lie +the sleeping forms of Wotan, the king of the gods, and Fricka, his wife. +Behind them, upon a neighbouring mountain, rise the towers of Valhalla, +Wotan's new palace, built for him by the giants Fafner and Fasolt in +order to ensure him in his sovereignty of the world. In exchange for +their labours Wotan has promised to give them Freia, the goddess of love +and beauty, but he hopes by the ingenuity of Loge, the fire-god, to +escape the fulfilment of his share of the contract. While Fricka is +upbraiding him for his rash promise Freia enters, pursued by the giants, +who come to claim their reward. Wotan refuses to let Freia go, and Froh +and Donner come to the protection of their sister. The giants are +prepared to fight for their rights, but the entrance of Loge fortunately +effects a diversion. He has searched throughout the world for something +to offer to the giants instead of the beautiful goddess, but has only +brought back the news of Alberich's treasure-trove, and his forswearing +of love in order to rule the world. The lust of power now invades the +minds of the giants, and they agree to take the treasure in place of +Freia, if Wotan and Loge can succeed in stealing it from Alberich. On +this quest therefore the two gods descended through a cleft in the earth +to Nibelheim, the abode of the Nibelungs. There they find Alberich, by +virtue of his magic gold, lording it over his fellow-dwarfs. He has +compelled his brother Mime, the cleverest smith of them all, to fashion +him a Tarnhelm, or helmet of invisibility, and the latter complains +peevishly to the gods of the overbearing mastery which Alberich has +established in Nibelheim. When Alberich appears, Wotan and Loge +cunningly beguile him to exhibit the powers of his new treasures. The +confiding dwarf, in order to display the quality of the Tarnhelm, first +changes himself into a snake and then into a toad. While he is in the +shape of the latter, Wotan sets his foot upon him, Loge snatches the +Tarnhelm from his head, and together they bind him and carry him off to +the upper air. When he has conveyed his prisoner in safety to the +mountain-top, Wotan bids him summon the dwarfs to bring up his treasures +from Nibelheim. Alberich reluctantly obeys. His treasure is torn from +him, his Tarnhelm, and last of all the ring with which he hoped to rule +the world. Bereft of all, he utters a terrible curse upon the ring, +vowing that it shall bring ruin and death upon every one who wears it, +until it returns to its original possessor. The giants now appear to +claim their reward. They too insist upon taking the whole treasure. +Wotan refuses to give up the ring until warned by the goddess Erda, the +mother of the Fates, who rises from her subterranean cavern, that to +keep it means ruin. The ring passes to the giants, and the curse at once +begins to work. Fafner slays Fasolt in a quarrel for the gold, and +carries off the treasure alone. Throughout this scene the clouds have +been gathering round the mountain-top. Donner, the god of thunder, now +ascends a cliff, and strikes the rock with his hammer. Thunder rolls and +lightning flashes, the dark clouds are dispelled, revealing a rainbow +bridge thrown across the chasm, over which the gods solemnly march to +Valhalla, while from far below rise the despairing cries of the +Rhine-maidens lamenting their lost treasure. + +'Das Rheingold' is conspicuous among the later works of Wagner for its +brevity and concentration. Although it embraces four scenes, the music +is continuous throughout, and the whole makes but one act. Wagner's aim +seems to have been to set forth in a series of brilliant pictures the +medium in which his mighty drama was to unfold itself. Human interest of +course there is none, but the supernatural machinery is complete. The +denizens of the world are grouped in four divisions--the gods in heaven, +the giants on the earth, the dwarfs beneath, and the water-sprites in +the bosom of the Rhine. 'Das Rheingold' has a freshness and an open-air +feeling which are eminently suitable to the prologue of a work which +deals so much with the vast forces of nature as Wagner's colossal drama. +There is little scope in it for the delicate psychology which enriches +the later divisions of the tetralogy, but, on the other hand, Wagner +has reproduced the 'large utterance of the early gods' with exquisite +art. Musically it can hardly rank with its successors, partly no doubt +because the plot has not their absorbing interest, partly also because +'Das Rheingold' is the first work in which Wagner consciously worked in +accordance with his theory of guiding themes, and consequently he had +not as yet gained that complete mastery of his elaborate material which +he afterwards attained. Yet some of the musical pictures in 'Das +Rheingold' would be difficult to match throughout the glowing gallery of +'Der Ring des Nibelungen,' such as the beautiful opening scene in the +depths of the Rhine, and the magnificent march to Valhalla with which it +closes. + +Before the opening of 'Die Walkuere,' the next work of the series, much +has happened. Wotan has begotten the nine Valkyries (_Walkueren_, or +choosers of the slain), whose mission is to bring up dead heroes from +the battle-field to dwell in Valhalla, and, if need be, help to defend +it. He determines, too, since he may not possess the ring himself, to +beget a hero of the race of men who shall win it from Fafner (who has +changed himself into a dragon in order to guard the treasure more +securely), and so prevent it falling into the hands of an enemy of the +gods. For this purpose he descends to earth and, under the name of +Volse, unites himself with a mortal woman, who bears him the Volsung +twins, Siegmund and Sieglinde. Bound by his oath to Fafner, Wotan may +not openly assist Siegmund in the enterprise, but he dwells with him on +the earth, and trains him in all manly exercises. Sieglinde is carried +off by enemies and given as wife to Hunding, and Siegmund returning one +day from the chase finds his father gone, and nothing but an empty +wolf-skin left in the hut. Alone he has to wage continual war with the +enemies who surround him. One day, in defending a woman from wrong, he +is overpowered by numbers, and losing his sword, has to fly for his +life. With this 'Die Walkuere' opens. A violent storm is raging when +Siegmund reaches Hunding's hut. Exhausted by fatigue, he throws himself +down by the hearth, and is soon fast asleep. Sieglinde entering offers +him food and drink. Soon Hunding appears, and, after hearing his guest's +name and history, discovers in him a mortal foe. Nevertheless the rights +of hospitality are sacred. He offers Siegmund shelter for the night, but +bids him be ready at dawn to fight for his life. Left alone, Siegmund +muses in the dying firelight on the promise made him by his father, that +at the hour of his direst need he should find a sword. His reverie is +interrupted by the entrance of Sieglinde, who has drugged Hunding's +night draught, and now urges Siegmund to flee. Each has read in the +other's eyes the sympathy which is akin to love, and Siegmund refuses to +leave her. Thereupon she tells him of a visit paid to the house upon the +day of her marriage to Hunding by a mysterious stranger, who thrust a +sword into the stem of the mighty ash-tree which supports the roof, +promising it to him who could pull it out. Siegmund draws the sword +(which he greets with the name of Nothung) in triumph from the tree, and +the brother and sister, now united by a yet closer tie, fall into each +other's arms as the curtain falls. + +The scene of the next act is laid in a wild, mountainous region. Wotan +has summoned his favourite daughter, the Valkyrie Bruennhilde, and +directs her to protect Siegmund in the fight with Hunding which is soon +to take place. Bruennhilde departs with her wild Valkyrie cry, and Fricka +appears in a car drawn by two rams. She is the protectress of marriage +rites, and come to complain of Siegmund's unlawful act in carrying off +Sieglinde. A long altercation ensues between the pair. In the end Fricka +is triumphant. She extorts an oath from Wotan that he will not protect +Siegmund, and departs satisfied. Bruennhilde again appears, and another +interminable scene follows between her and Wotan. The father of the gods +is weighed down by the sense of approaching annihilation. He now +realises that the consequences of his lawless lust of power are +beginning to work his ruin. He tells Bruennhilde the whole story ot his +schemes to avert destruction by the help of Siegmund and the Valkyries, +ending by commanding her, under dreadful penalties, to leave the Volsung +hero to his fate. Siegmund and Sieglinde now appear, flying from the +vengeful Hunding. Sieglinde's strength is almost spent, and she sinks +exhausted in a death-like swoon. While Siegmund is tenderly watching +over her, Bruennhilde advances. She tells Siegmund of his approaching +doom, and bids him prepare for the delights of Valhalla. He refuses to +leave Sieglinde, and, rather than that they should be separated, he is +ready to plunge his sword into both their hearts. His noble words melt +Bruennhilde's purpose, and, in defiance of Wotan's commands, she promises +to protect him. Hunding's horn is now heard in the distance, and +Siegmund leaves Sieglinde still unconscious and rushes to the encounter. +Amid the gathering storm-clouds the two men meet upon a rocky ridge. +Bruennhilde protects Siegmund with her shield, but just as he is about to +deal Hunding a fatal blow, Wotan appears in thunder and lightning and +thrusts his spear between the combatants. Siegmund's sword is shivered +to fragments upon it, and Hunding strikes him dead. Bruennhilde hastily +collects the splinters of the sword, and escapes with Sieglinde upon her +horse, while Hunding falls dead before a contemptuous wave of Wotan's +hand. + +The third act shows a rocky mountain-top in storm and tempest. One by +one the Valkyries appear riding on their horses through the driving +clouds. Last comes Bruennhilde, with the terrified and despairing +Sieglinde. Sieglinde wishes to die, but Bruennhilde entreats her to live +for the sake of her child that is to be, and giving her the splintered +fragments of Siegmund's sword, bids her escape to the forest, where +Fafner watches over his treasure. The voice of the wrathful Wotan is now +heard in the distance. He appears, indignant at Bruennhilde's +disobedience, dismisses the other Valkyries, and tells Bruennhilde what +her punishment is to be. She is to be banished from the sisterhood of +Valkyries, and Valhalla is to know her no more. Thrown into a deep +sleep, she shall lie upon the mountain-top, to be the bride of the first +man who finds and wakens her. Bruennhilde pleads passionately for a +mitigation of the cruel sentence, or at least that a circle of fire +shall be drawn around her resting-place, so that none but a hero of +valour and determination can hope to win her. Moved by her entreaties, +Wotan consents. He kisses her fondly to sleep, and lays her gently upon +a mossy couch, covered with her shield. Then he strikes the earth with +his spear, calling on the fire-god Loge. Tongues of fire spring up +around them, and leaving her encircled with a rampart of flame, he +passes from the mountain-top with the words, 'Let him who fears my +spear-point never dare to pass through the fire.' + +With 'Die Walkuere' the human interest of 'Der Ring des Nibelungen' +begins, and with it Wagner rises to greater heights than he could hope +to reach in 'Das Rheingold.' In picturesque force and variety 'Die +Walkuere' does not yield to its predecessors, while the passion and +beauty of the immortal tale of the Volsungs lifts it dramatically into a +different world. 'Die Walkuere' is the most generally popular of the four +works which make up Wagner's great tetralogy, for the inordinate length +of some of the scenes in the second act is amply atoned for by the +immortal beauties of the first and third. Twenty years ago Wagner's +enemies used to make capital out of the incestuous union of Siegmund +and Sieglinde, but it is difficult to believe in the sincerity of their +virtuous indignation. No sane person would conceivably attempt to judge +the personages of the Edda by a modern code of ethics; nor could any one +with even a smattering of the details of Greek mythology affect to +regard such a union as extraordinary, given the environment in which the +characters of Wagner's drama move. It may be noted in passing that 'Die +Walkuere' is the latest of Wagner's works in which the traces of his +earlier manner are still perceptible. For the most part, as in all his +later works, the score is one vast many-coloured web of guiding themes, +'a mighty maze, but not without a plan!' Here and there, however, occur +passages, such as the Spring Song in the first act and the solemn melody +which pervades Bruennhilde's interview with Siegmund in the second, +which, beautiful in themselves as they are, seem reminiscent of earlier +and simpler days, and scarcely harmonise with the colour scheme of the +rest of the work. + +With 'Siegfried' the drama advances another stage. Many years have +elapsed since the tragic close of 'Die Walkuere.' Sieglinde dragged +herself to the forest, and there died in giving birth to a son, +Siegfried, who has been brought up by the dwarf Mime in the hope that +when grown to manhood the boy may slay the dragon and win for him the +Nibelung treasure. The drama opens in Mime's hut in the depths of the +forest. The dwarf is engaged in forging a sword for Siegfried, +complaining the while that the ungrateful boy always dashes the swords +which he makes to pieces upon the anvil as though they were toys. +Siegfried now comes in, blithe and boisterous, and treats Mime's new +sword like its predecessors, blaming the unfortunate smith for his +incompetence. Mime reproaches Siegfried for his ingratitude, reminding +him of the care with which he nursed him in childish days. Siegfried +cannot believe that Mime is his father, and in a fit of passion forces +the dwarf to tell him the real story of his birth. Mime at length +reluctantly produces the fragments of Siegmund's sword, and Siegfried, +bidding him forge it anew, rushes out once more into the forest. The +dwarf is settling down to his task, when his solitude is disturbed by +the advent of a mysterious stranger. It is Wotan, disguised as a +wanderer, who has visited the earth to watch over the offspring of his +Volsung son, and to see how events are shaping themselves with regard to +the Nibelung treasure. The scene between him and Mime is exceedingly +long, and, though of the highest musical interest and beauty, does very +little to advance the plot. The god and the dwarf ask each other a +series of riddles, each staking his head upon the result. Mime breaks +down at the question, 'Who is to forge the sword Nothung anew?' Wotan +tells him the answer, 'He who knows not fear,' and departs with the +contemptuous reminder that the dwarf has forfeited his head to the +fearless hero. Siegfried now returns, and is very angry when he finds +that Mime has not yet forged the sword. The frightened dwarf confesses +that the task is beyond his powers, and finding that Siegfried does not +know what fear is, tells him to forge his sword for himself. Siegfried +then proceeds to business. He files the pieces to dust and melts them in +a melting-pot, singing a wild song as he fans the flames with a huge +bellows. Next he pours the melted steel into a mould and plunges it into +water to cool, heats it red-hot in the furnace, and lastly hammers it on +the anvil. When all is finished he brandishes the sword, and, to the +mingled terror and delight of Mime, with one mighty stroke cleaves the +anvil in twain. + +The next act shows a glen in the gloomy forest close to Fafner's lair. +Alberich is watching in the darkness, in the vain hope of finding an +opportunity of recovering his lost treasure. Wotan appears, and taunts +him with his impotence, telling him meanwhile of Siegfried's speedy +arrival. Mime and Siegfried soon appear. The dwarf tries to excite the +feeling of fear in Siegfried's bosom by a blood-curdling description of +the terrible dragon, but finding it useless, leaves Siegfried at the +mouth of Fafner's cave and retires into the brake. Left alone, Siegfried +yields to the fascination of the summer woods. Round him, as he lies +beneath a giant linden-tree, the singing of birds and the murmur of the +forest blend in a mysterious symphony. His thoughts fly back to his dead +mother and his lonely childhood. But his reverie is interrupted by the +awakening of Fafner, who resents his intrusion. Siegfried boldly attacks +his terrible foe, and soon puts an end to him. As he draws his sword +from the dragon's heart, a rush of blood wets his hand. He feels it +burn, and involuntarily puts his hand to his lips. Forthwith, by virtue +of the magic power of the blood, he understands the song of the birds, +and as he listens he hears the warning voice of one of them in the +linden-tree telling him of the Tarnhelm and the ring. Armed with these +he comes forth from the dragon's cave to find Mime, who has come to +offer him a draught from his drinking-horn after his labours. But the +dragon's blood enables him to read the thoughts in the dwarf's heart +under his blandishing words. The draught is poisoned, and Mime hopes by +slaying Siegfried to gain the Nibelung hoard. With one blow of his sword +Siegfried slays the treacherous dwarf, and, guided by his friendly bird, +hastens away to the rock where Bruennhilde lies within the flaming +rampart awaiting the hero who shall release her. + +The third act represents a wild landscape at the foot of Bruennhilde's +rock. Wotan once more summons Erda, and bids her prophesy concerning the +doom of the gods. She knows nothing of the future, and Wotan professes +himself resigned to hand over his sovereignty to the youthful Siegfried, +who shall deliver the world from Alberich's curse. Erda sinks once more +into her cavern, and Siegfried appears, led by the faithful bird. Wotan +attempts to bar his passage, but Siegfried will brook no interference, +and he shivers Wotan's spear (the emblem of the older rule of the gods) +with a blow of his sword. Gaily singing, he passes up through the fire, +and finds Bruennhilde asleep upon her rock. Love teaches him the fear +which he could not learn from Fafner. He awakens the sleeper, and would +clasp her in his arms, but Bruennhilde, who fell asleep a goddess, knows +not that she has awaked a woman. She flies from him, but his passion +melts her, and, her godhead slipping from her, she yields to his +embrace. + +'Siegfried,' as has been happily observed, is the scherzo of the great +Nibelung symphony. After the sin and sorrow of 'Die Walkuere' the change +to the free life of the forest and the boyish innocence of the youthful +hero is doubly refreshing. 'Siegfried' is steeped in the spirit of +youth. There breathes through it the freshness of the early world. +Wagner loved it best of his works. He called it 'the most beautiful of +my life's dreams.' Though less stirring in incident than 'Die Walkuere,' +it is certainly more sustained in power. It is singularly free from +those lapses into musical aridity which occasionally mar the beauty of +the earlier work. If the poem from time to time sinks to an inferior +level, the music is instinct with so much resource and beauty that there +can be no question of dulness. In 'Siegfried,' in fact, Wagner's genius +reaches its zenith. In power, picturesqueness, and command of orchestral +colour and resource, he never surpassed such scenes as the opening of +the third act, or Siegfried's scaling of Bruennhilde's rock. It is worth +while remarking that an interval of twelve years elapsed between the +composition of the second and third acts of 'Siegfried.' In 1857, +although 'Der Ring des Nibelungen' was well advanced towards completion, +Wagner's courage give way. The possibility of seeing his great work +performed seemed so terribly remote, that he decided for the time being +to abandon it and begin on a work of more practicable dimensions. In +1869 King Ludwig of Bavaria induced him to return to the attack, and +with what delight he did so may easily be imagined. At first sight it +seems strange that there should be such complete harmony between the +parts of the work, which were written at such different times. The +explanation of course lies in the firm fabric of guiding themes, which +is the sure foundation upon which the score of 'Siegfried' is built. Had +Wagner trusted merely to the casual inspiration of the moment, it is +possible that the new work would have harmonised but ill with the old; +as it was, he had but to gather up the broken threads of his unfinished +work to find himself once more under the same inspiration as before. His +theory still held good; his materials were the same; he had but to work +under the same conditions to produce work of the same quality as before. + +In 'Goetterdaemmerung' we leave the cool forest once more for the haunts +of men, and exchange the sinless purity of youth for envy, malice, and +all uncharitableness. The prologue takes us once more to the summit of +Bruennhilde's rock. There, in the dim grey of early dawn, sit the three +Norns, unravelling from their thread of gold the secrets of the +present, past, and future. As the morning dawns the thread snaps, and +they hurry away. In the broadening light of day Siegfried and Bruennhilde +appear. The Valkyrie has enriched her husband from her store of hidden +wisdom, and now sends him forth in quest of new adventures. She gives +him her shield and Grane, her horse, and he in turn gives her his ring, +as a pledge of his love and constancy. He hastens down the side of the +mountain, and the note of his horn sounds fainter and fainter as he +takes his way across the Rhine. + +The first act shows the hall of the castle of the Gibichungs near the +Rhine. Here dwell Gunther and his sister Gutrune, and their half-brother +Hagen, whose father was the Nibelung Alberich. Hagen knows the story of +the ring, and that its present possessor is Siegfried, and he devises a +crafty scheme for getting Siegfried into his power. Gunther is still +unmarried, and, fired by Hagen's tale of the sleeping Valkyrie upon the +rock of fire, yearns to have Bruennhilde for his wife. Hagen therefore +proposes that Gutrune should be given to Siegfried, and that the latter, +who is the only hero capable of passing through the fire, should in +return win Bruennhilde for Gunther. In the nick of time Siegfried +arrives. Hagen brews him a magic potion, by virtue of which he forgets +all his former life, and his previous love for Bruennhilde is swallowed +up in a burning passion for Gutrune. He quickly agrees to Hagen's +proposal, and assuming the form of Gunther by means of the Tarnhelm, he +departs once more for Bruennhilde's rock. Meanwhile Bruennhilde sits at +the entrance to her cave upon the fire-girt cliff, musing upon +Siegfried's ring. Suddenly she hears the old well-known Valkyrie war-cry +echoing down from the clouds. It is her sister Waltraute, who comes to +tell her of the gloom that reigns in Valhalla, and to entreat her to +give up the ring once more to the Rhine-maidens, that the curse may be +removed and that the gods may not perish. Bruennhilde, however, treasures +the symbol of Siegfried's love more than the glory of heaven, and +refuses to give it up. She defies the gods, and Waltraute takes her way +sadly back to Valhalla. Now Siegfried's horn sounds in the distance far +below. Bruennhilde hurries to meet him, and is horrified to see, not her +beloved hero, but a stranger appear upon the edge of the rocky platform. +The disguised Siegfried announces himself as Gunther, and after a +struggle overcomes Bruennhilde's resistance and robs her of the ring. +This reduces her to submission; he bids her enter her chamber and +follows her, first drawing his sword, which is to lie between them, a +proof of his fidelity to his friend. + +The second act begins with the appearance of Alberich, who comes to +incite his son Hagen to further efforts to regain the ring. Siegfried +appears, and announces the speedy arrival of Gunther and Bruennhilde. +Hagen thereupon collects the vassals, and tells them the news of their +lord's approaching marriage, which is received with unbounded delight. +Bruennhilde's horror and amazement at finding Siegfried in the hall of +the Gibichungs, wedded to Gutrune and with the ring so lately torn from +her upon his finger, are profound. She accuses him of treachery, +declaring that she is his real wife. Siegfried, for whom the past is a +blank, protests his innocence, declaring that he has dealt righteously +with Gunther and not laid hands upon his wife. Bruennhilde, however, +convinces Gunther of Siegfried's deceit, and together with Hagen they +agree upon his destruction. + +The scene of the third act is laid in a forest on the banks of the +Rhine. The three Rhine-maidens are disporting themselves in the river +while they lament the loss of their beautiful treasure. Siegfried, who +has strayed from his companions in the chase, now appears, and they beg +him for the ring upon his finger, at first with playful banter, and +afterwards in sober earnest, warning him that if he does not give it +back to them he will perish that very day. He laughs at their womanly +wiles, and they vanish as his comrades appear. After the midday halt, +Siegfried tells Gunther and his vassals the story of his life. In the +midst of his tale Hagen gives him a potion which restores his faded +memory. He tells the whole story of his discovery of Bruennhilde, and his +marriage with her, to the horror of Gunther. At the close of his tale +two ravens, the birds of Wotan, fly over his head. He turns to look at +them, and Hagen plunges his spear into his back. The vassals, in silent +grief, raise the dead body upon their shields, and carry it back to the +castle through the moonlit forest, to the immortal strains of the +Funeral March. + +At the castle Gutrune is anxiously waiting for news of her husband. +Hagen tells her that he has been slain by a boar. The corpse is brought +in and set down in the middle of the hall, amidst the wild lamentations +of the widowed Gutrune. Hagen claims the ring, and stabs Gunther, who +tries to prevent his taking it; but as he grasps at it, Siegfried's hand +is raised threateningly, and Hagen sinks back abashed. Bruennhilde now +comes in, sorrowful but calm. She understands the whole story of +Siegfried's unwitting treachery, and has pardoned him in his death. She +thrusts the weeping Gutrune aside, claiming for herself the sole right +of a wife's tears. The vassals build a funeral pyre, and place the body +of Siegfried upon it. Bruennhilde takes the ring from his finger, and +with her own hand fires the wood. She then leaps upon her horse Grane, +and with one bound rides into the towering flames. The Rhine, which has +overflowed its banks, now invades the hall. Hagen dashes into the flood +in search of the ring, but the Rhine-maidens have been before him. +Flosshilde, who has rescued the ring from the ashes of the pyre, holds +it exultantly aloft, while Wellgunde and Woglinde drag Hagen down to the +depths. Meanwhile a ruddy glow has overspread the heavens behind. +Valhalla is burning, and the gods in calm resignation await their final +annihilation. The old order yields, giving place to the new. The +ancient heaven, sapped by the lust of gold, has crumbled, and a new +world, founded upon self-sacrificing love, rises from its ashes to usher +in the era of freedom. + +'Goetterdaemmerung' is prevented by its portentous length from ever +becoming popular to the same extent as Wagner's other works, but it +contains some of the noblest music he ever wrote. The final scene, for +sublimity of conception and grandeur of execution, remains unequalled in +the whole series of his writings. It fitly gathers together the many +threads of that vast fabric, 'Der Ring des Nibelungen.' Saint Saens says +of it that 'from the elevation of the last act of "Goetterdaemmerung," the +whole work appears, in its almost supernatural grandeur, like the chain +of the Alps seen from the summit of Mont Blanc.' + +The literature of 'Der Ring des Nibelungen' is already very large, and +not a year passes without some addition to the long catalogue of works +dealing with Wagner's mighty drama. Readers desirous of studying the +tetralogy more closely, whether from its literary, ethical, or musical +side, must refer to one or more of the many handbooks devoted to its +elucidation for criticism on a more elaborate scale than is possible +within the narrow limits of such a work as the present. + +It has already been related how Wagner broke off, when midway through +'Der Ring des Nibelungen,' and devoted himself to the composition of a +work of more conventional dimensions. The latter was 'Tristan und +Isolde.' Produced as it was in 1865, four years before 'Das Rheingold,' +it was the first of Wagner's later works actually to see the light. +Round its devoted head, therefore, the war of controversy raged more +fiercely than in the case of any of Wagner's subsequent works. Those +days are long past, and 'Tristan' is now universally accepted as a work +of supreme musical loveliness, although the lack of exciting incident in +the story must always prevent the _profanum vulgus_ from sharing the +musician's rapture over the deathless beauties of the score. + +Isolde, the daughter of the King of Ireland, is sought in marriage by +Marke, the King of Cornwall, and Tristan, his nephew, has been sent to +bring the princess to England. Before the beginning of the drama Tristan +had slain Morold, Isolde's lover, and sent his head to Ireland in place +of the tribute due from Cornwall. He himself had been wounded in the +fight, and when washed by the tide upon the shores of Ireland, had been +tended by Isolde. To conceal his identity he assumed the name of +Tantris, but Isolde had recognised him by a notch in his sword, which +corresponded with a splinter which she had found imbedded in Morold's +head. Finding the murderer of her lover in her power, her first impulse +had been to slay him, but as she lifted the sword she found that love +had conquered hate, and she let Tristan depart unscathed. When he +returned as the ambassador of his uncle, her love changed to indignation +that he who had won her heart should dare to woo her for another. The +scene of the first act is laid on board the vessel which is conveying +her to Cornwall. She vows never to become the bride of Marke, and +opening a casket of magic vials, bids Brangaene, her attendant, pour one +which contains a deadly poison into a goblet. Then she summons Tristan +from his place at the helm, and bids him share the draught with her. +Tristan gladly obeys, for he loves Isolde passionately, and prefers +death to a life of hopeless yearning. But Brangaene has substituted a +love philtre for the poison, and the lovers, instead of the pangs of +death, feel themselves over-mastered by an irresistible wave of passion. +As the shouts of the sailors announce the arrival of the ship, Tristan +and Isolde meet in a long embrace. + +The second act is practically one vast love duet. Isolde is waiting in +the castle garden, listening to the distant horns of the King's +hunting-party, and longing for the approach of night, when she may meet +her lover. In spite of the entreaties of Brangaene, she extinguishes the +torch which is to be the signal to Tristan, and soon she is in his arms. +In a tender embrace they sink down among the flowers of the garden, +murmuring their passion in strains of enchanting loveliness. Brangaene's +warning voice falls upon unheeding ears. The King, followed by his +attendants, rushes in, and overwhelmed with sorrow and shame, reproaches +his nephew for his treachery. Tristan can only answer by calling upon +Isolde to follow him to death, whereupon Melot, one of the King's men, +rushes forward, crying treason, and stabs him in the breast. + +In the last act Tristan is lying wounded and unconscious in his castle +in Brittany, tended by Kurwenal, his faithful squire. He is roused by +the news of Isolde's approach, and as her ship comes in sight he rises +from his couch and in wild delirium tears the bandages from his wounds. +Isolde rushes in in time to receive his parting sigh. As she bends over +his lifeless body, another ship is seen approaching. It is the King, +come not to chide but to pardon. Kurwenal, however, does not know this, +and defends his master's castle with the last drop of his blood, dying +at last at Tristan's feet, while Isolde chants her death-song over the +fallen hero in strains of celestial loveliness. + +'Tristan und Isolde' is the 'Romeo and Juliet' of music. Never has the +poetry and tragedy of love been set to music of such resistless beauty. +But love, though the guiding theme of the work, is not the only passion +that reigns in its pages. The haughty splendour of Isolde's injured +pride in the first act, the beautiful devotion of the faithful Kurwenal, +and the blank despair of the dying Tristan, in the third, are depicted +with a magical touch. + +Some years ago it was the fashion, among the more uncompromising +adherents of Wagner, to speak of 'Tristan und Isolde' as the completest +exposition of their master's theories, because the chorus took +practically no share in the development of the drama. Many musicians, +on the other hand, have felt Wagner's wilful avoidance of the +possibilities of choral effect to detract seriously from the musical +interest of the opera, and for that reason have found 'Tristan und +Isolde' less satisfying as a work of art than 'Parsifal' or 'Die +Meistersinger,' in which the chorus takes its proper place. It is +scarcely necessary to point out that, opera being in the first instance +founded upon pure convention, there is nothing more illogical in the +judicious employment of the chorus than in the substitution of song for +speech, which is the essence of the art-form. + +Wagner's one comic opera was born under a lucky star. Most of his operas +had to wait many years for production, but the kindly care of Ludwig of +Bavaria secured the performance of 'Die Meistersinger' a few months +after the last note had been written. Unlike many of his other +masterpieces, too, 'Die Meistersinger' (1868) was a success from the +first. There were critics, it is true, who thought the opera 'a +monstrous caterwauling,' but it had not to wait long for general +appreciation, and performances in Berlin, Vienna, and Dresden soon +followed the initial one at Munich. + +The scene of 'Die Meistersinger' is laid in sixteenth-century Nuremberg. +Walther von Stolzing, a young Franconian knight, loves Eva, the daughter +of Pogner the goldsmith; but Pogner has made up his mind that Eva shall +marry none but a Mastersinger, that is to say, a member of the guild +devoted to the cultivation of music and poetry, for which the town was +famous. Eva, on the contrary, is determined to marry no one but Walther, +and tells him so in a stolen interview after service in St Catherine's +Church. It remains therefore for Walther to qualify as a master, and +David, the apprentice of Hans Sachs the cobbler, the most popular man in +Nuremberg, is bidden by his sweetheart Magdalena, Eva's servant, to +instruct the young knight in the hundred and one rules which beset the +singer's art. The list of technicalities which David rattles off fills +Walther with dismay, and he makes up his mind to trust to his native +inspiration. The Mastersingers now assemble, and Pogner announces that +Eva's hand is to be the prize of the singing contest next day. Walther +now steps forward as a candidate for admission to the guild. First he +must sing a trial song, and Beckmesser, the malicious little ape of a +town-clerk, is appointed marker, to sit in a curtained box and note down +upon a slate every violation of the rules of singing which may occur in +the candidate's song. Walther sings from his heart of love and spring. +The untutored loveliness of his song fills the hide-bound Mastersingers +with dismay, and Beckmesser's slate is soon covered. Walther, angry and +defeated, rushes out in despair, and the assembly breaks up in +confusion. Only the genial Hans Sachs finds truth and beauty in the +song, and cautions his colleagues against hasty judgment. + +The scene of the second act is laid at a delightfully picturesque +street-corner. Sachs is musing before his shop-door when Eva comes to +find out how Walther had fared before the Mastersingers. Hans tells her +of his discomfiture, and, by purposely belittling Walther's claims to +musicianship, discovers what he had before suspected, that she loves the +young knight. Sachs loves Eva himself, but finding out the state of her +affections, nobly determines to help her to win the man of her heart. +Walther now comes to meet his love, and, full of resentment against the +Masters, proposes an elopement. Eva readily agrees, but Sachs, who has +overheard them, frustrates the scheme by opening his window and throwing +a strong light upon the street by which they would have to pass. +Beckmesser, lute in hand, now comes down the street and begins a +serenade under Eva's window. Sachs drowns his feeble piping with a lusty +carol, hammering away meanwhile at a pair of shoes which he must finish +that night for Beckmesser to wear on the morrow. Beckmesser is in +despair. Finally they come to an arrangement. Beckmesser shall sing his +song, and Sachs shall act as 'marker,' noting every technical blunder in +the words and tune with a stroke of his hammer. The result is such a din +as disturbs the slumbers of the neighbours. David, the apprentice, comes +out and recognises his sweetheart Magdalena at Eva's window. He scents a +rival in Beckmesser, and begins lustily to cudgel the unfortunate +musician. Soon the street fills with townsfolk and apprentices, all +crying and shouting together. Eva and Walther, under cover of the +uproar, are making their escape, when Sachs, who has been on the watch, +steps out and stops them. He bids Eva go home, and takes Walther with +him into the house. Suddenly the watchman's horn is heard in the +distance. Every one rushes off, and the street is left to the quiet +moonlight and the quaint old watchman, who paces up the street solemnly +proclaiming the eleventh hour. + +In the third act we find Sachs alone in his room, reading an ancient +tome, and brooding over the follies of mankind. David interrupts him +with congratulations on his birthday, and sings a choral in his honour. +Walther now appears, full of a wonderful dream he has had. Sachs makes +him sing it, and writes down the words on a piece of paper. After they +have gone out, Beckmesser creeps in, very lame and sore after his +cudgelling. He finds the paper and appropriates it. Sachs comes in and +discovers the theft, but tells Beckmesser he may keep the poem. The +latter is overjoyed at getting hold of a new song, as he supposes, by +Sachs, and hurries off to learn it in time for the contest. Eva now +comes in under the pretence of something being amiss with one of her +shoes, and, while Sachs is setting it right, Walther sings her the last +verse of his dream-song. The scene culminates in an exquisite quintet in +which David and Magdalena join, after which they all go off to the +festivities in a meadow outside the town. There, after much dancing and +merry-making, the singing contest comes off. Beckmesser tries to sing +Walther's words to the melody of his own serenade, the result being +such indescribable balderdash that the assembled populace hoots him +down, and he rushes off in confusion, Walther's turn then comes, and he +sings his song with such success that the prize is awarded to him with +acclamation. He wins his bride, but he will have nothing to say to the +Mastersingers and their pedantry, until Hans Sachs has shown him that in +them lies the future of German art. + +Although it contains comic and even farcical scenes, 'Die Meistersinger' +is in fact not so much a comedy as a satire, with a vein of wise and +tender sentiment running through it. It has also to a certain extent the +interest of autobiography. It is not difficult to read in the story of +Walther's struggles against the prejudice and pedantry of the +Mastersingers a suggestion of Wagner's own life-history, and if +Beckmesser represents the narrow malice of critics who are themselves +composers--and these were always Wagner's bitterest enemies--Sachs may +stand for the enlightened public, which was the first to appreciate the +nobility of the composer's aim. It is not surprising that 'Die +Meistersinger' was one of the first of Wagner's mature works to win +general appreciation. The exquisite songs, some of them easily +detachable from their context, scattered lavishly throughout the work, +together with the important share of the music allotted to the chorus, +constitute a striking contrast to 'Tristan und Isolde' or 'Der Ring des +Nibelungen.' It has been suggested that this was due to a +half-unconscious desire on Wagner's part to write music which should +appeal more to the popular ear than was possible in 'Tristan und +Isolde.' One of the most striking features of the opera is the mastery +with which Wagner has caught and reproduced the atmosphere of +sixteenth-century Nuremberg without sacrificing a jot of the absolute +modernity of his style. 'Die Meistersinger' yields to none of the +composer's work in the complexity and elaboration of the score--indeed, +the prelude may be quoted as a specimen of Wagner's command of all the +secrets of polyphony at its strongest and greatest. + +'Parsifal,' Wagner's last and in the opinion of many his greatest work, +was produced in 1882 at the Festspielhaus in Bayreuth. The name by which +the composer designated his work, _Buehnenweihfestspiel_ which may be +translated 'Sacred Festival Drama,' sufficiently indicates its solemn +import, and indeed both in subject and treatment it stands remote from +ordinary theatrical standards. The subject of 'Parsifal' is drawn from +the legends of the Holy Grail, which had already furnished Wagner with +the tale of 'Lohengrin.' Titurel, the earthly keeper of the Holy Grail, +has built the castle of Monsalvat, and there established a community of +stainless knights to guard the sacred chalice, who in their office are +miraculously sustained by its life-giving power. Growing old, he has +delegated his headship to his son Amfortas. Near to the castle of +Monsalvat dwells the magician Klingsor, who, having in vain solicited +entry to that pure company, is now devoted to the destruction of the +knights. He has transformed the desert into a garden of wicked +loveliness, peopled by beautiful sirens, through whose charms many of +the knights have already fallen from their state of good. Lastly +Amfortas, sallying forth in the pride of his heart to subdue the +sorcerer, armed with the sacred spear that clove the Saviour's side, has +succumbed to the charms of the beauteous Kundry, a strange being over +whom Klingsor exercises an hypnotic power. He has lost the spear, and +further has sustained a grievous wound from its point dealt by Klingsor, +which no balm or balsam can heal. + +The first scene opens in a cool woodland glade near the castle of +Monsalvat, where Gurnemanz, one of the knights, and two young esquires +of the Grail are sleeping. Their earnest converse is interrupted by +Kundry, who flies in with a healing medicine for the wounded King, which +she has brought from Arabia. This strange woman is that Herodias who +laughed at our Saviour upon the Cross, and thenceforth was condemned to +wander through the world under a curse of laughter, praying only for the +gift of tears to release her weary soul. Klingsor has gained a magic +power over her, and, to use the language of modern theosophy, can summon +her astral shape at will to be the queen of his enchanted garden, +leaving her body stark and lifeless; but when not in his power she +serves the ministers of the Grail in a wild, petulant, yet not wholly +unloving manner. Gurnemanz tells the young esquires the story of the +Grail, and together they repeat the prophecy which promises relief to +their suffering King:-- + + Wise through pity, + The sinless fool. + Look thou for him + Whom I have chosen. + +Their words are interrupted by loud cries from without, and several +knights and esquires rush in, dragging with them Parsifal, who has slain +one of the sacred swans with his bow and arrow. Gurnemanz protects +Parsifal from their violence, and seeing that the youth, who has lived +all his life in the woods, is as innocent as a child, leads him up to +the castle of the Grail, in the hope that he may turn out to be the +sinless fool of the prophecy. In the vast hall of the Grail the knights +assemble, and fulfil the mystic rites of the love-feast. Amfortas, the +one sinner in that chaste community, pleads to be allowed to forgo his +task of uncovering the Grail, the source to him of heartburning remorse +and anguish; but Titurel, speaking from the tomb where he lies between +life and death, sustained only by the miraculous power of the Grail, +urges his son to the duty. Amfortas uncovers the Grail, which is +illumined with unearthly light, and the solemn ceremony closes in peace +and brotherly love. Parsifal, who has watched the whole scene from the +side, feels a strange pang of sympathy at Amfortas's passionate cry, but +as yet he does not understand what it means. He is not yet 'wise +through pity,' and Gurnemanz, disappointed, turns him from the temple +door. + +In the second act we are in Klingsor's magic castle. The sorcerer, +knowing of the approach of Parsifal, summons Kundry to her task, and +with many sighs she has to submit to her master. Parsifal vanquishes the +knights who guard the castle, and enters the enchanted garden, a +wilderness of tropical flowers, vast in size and garish in colour. There +he is saluted by troops of lovely maidens, who play around him until +dismissed by a voice sounding from a network of flowers hard by. +Parsifal turns and sees Kundry, now a woman of exquisite loveliness, +advancing towards him. She tells him of his dead mother, and drawing him +towards her, presses upon his lips the first kiss of love. The touch of +defilement wakens him to a sense of human frailty. The wounded +Amfortas's cry becomes plain to him. He starts to his feet, throbbing +with compassion for a world of sin. No thought of sensual pleasure moves +him. He puts Kundry from him, and her endearments move him but to pity +and horror. Kundry in her discomfiture cries to Klingsor. He appears on +the castle steps, brandishing the sacred spear. He hurls it at Parsifal, +but it stops in the air over the boy's head. He seizes it and with it +makes the sacred sign of the Cross. With a crash the enchanted garden +and castle fall into ruin. The ground is strewn with withered flowers, +among which Kundry lies prostrate, and all that a moment before was +bright with exotic beauty now lies a bare and desert waste. + +Many years have passed before the third act opens. Evil days have fallen +upon the brotherhood of the Grail. Amfortas, in his craving for the +release of death, has ceased to uncover the Grail. Robbed of their +miraculous nourishment, the knights are sunk in dejection. Titurel is +dead, and Gurnemanz dwells in a little hermitage in a remote part of the +Grail domain. There one morning he finds the body of Kundry cold and +stiff. He chafes her to life once more, and is surprised to see in her +face and gestures a new and strange humility. A warrior now approaches +clad in black armour. It is Parsifal returned at length after long and +weary wanderings. Gurnemanz recognises the spear which he carries, and +salutes its bearer as the new guardian of the Grail. He pours water from +the sacred spring upon Parsifal's head, saluting him in token of +anointment, while Kundry washes his feet and wipes them with her hair. +The first act of Parsifal in his new office is to baptize the regenerate +Kundry, redeemed at length by love from her perpetual curse. Bowing her +head upon the earth, she weeps tears of repentant joy. The three now +proceed to the temple, where the knights are gathered for Titurel's +burial. Amfortas still obstinately refuses to uncover the Grail, and +calls upon the knights to slay him. Parsifal heals his wound with a +touch of the sacred spear, and taking his place, unveils the sacred +chalice, and kneels before it in silent prayer. Once more a sacred glow +illumines the Grail, and while Parsifal gently waves the mystic cup from +side to side, in token of benediction alike to the pardoned Amfortas +and the ransomed Kundry, a snowy dove flies down from above, and hovers +over his anointed head. + +It would be in vain to attempt to treat, within the restricted limits of +these pages, of the manifold beauties of 'Parsifal,' musical, poetical, +and scenical. Many books have already been devoted to it alone, and to +these the reader must be referred for a subtler analysis of this +extraordinary work. It is difficult to compare 'Parsifal' with any of +Wagner's previous works. By reason of its subject it stands apart, and +performed as it is at Bayreuth and there, save for sacrilegious New +York, alone, with the utmost splendour of mounting, interpreted by +artists devoted heart and soul to its cause, and listened to by an +audience of the elect assembled from the four corners of the earth, +'Parsifal,' so to speak, is as yet surrounded by a halo of almost +unearthly splendour. It is difficult to apply to it the ordinary canons +of criticism. One thing however, may safely be said, that it stands +alone among works written for theatrical performance by reason of its +absolute modernity coupled with a mystic fervour such as music has not +known since the days of Palestrina. + +Of Wagner's work as a whole it is as yet too early to speak with +certainty. The beauty of his works, and the value of the system upon +which they are founded, must still be to a certain extent a matter of +individual taste. One thing, at any rate, may safely be said: he has +altered the whole course of modern opera. It is inconceivable that a +work should now be written without traces more or less important of the +musical system founded and developed by Richard Wagner. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +MODERN FRANCE + +GOUNOD--THOMAS--BIZET--SAINT +SAENS--REYER--MASSENET--BRUNEAU--CHARPENTIER--DEBUSSY + + +If one were set upon paradox, it would not be far from the truth to say +that up to the middle of the nineteenth century the most famous French +composers had been either German or Italian. Certainly if Lulli, Gluck, +Rossini and Meyerbeer--to name only a few of the distinguished aliens +who settled in Paris--had never existed, French opera of the present day +would be a very different thing from what it actually is. Yet in spite +of the strangely diverse personalities of the men who had most influence +in shaping its destiny, modern French opera is an entity remarkable for +completeness and homogeneity, fully alive to tendencies the most +advanced, yet firmly founded upon the solid traditions of the past. + +Gounod (1818-1893) was trained in the school of Meyerbeer, but his own +sympathies drew him rather towards the serene perfection of Mozart. The +pure influence of that mighty master, combined with the strange mingling +of sensuousness and mysticism which was the distinguishing trait of his +own character, produced a musical personality of high intrinsic +interest, and historically of great importance to the development of +music. If not the actual founder of modern French opera, Gounod is at +least the source of its most pronounced characteristics. + +His first opera, 'Sapho' (1851), a graceful version of the immortal +story of the Lesbian poetess's love and death, has never been really +popular, but it is interesting as containing the germs of much that +afterwards became characteristic in Gounod's style. In the final scene +of Sappho's suicide, the young composer surpassed himself, and struck a +note of sensuous melancholy which was new to French opera. 'La Nonne +Sanglante' (1854), his next work, was a failure; but in 'Le Medecin +malgre lui' (1858), an operatic version of Moliere's comedy, he scored a +success. This is a charming little work, instinct with a delicate +flavour of antiquity, but lacking in comic power. It has often been +played in England as 'The Mock Doctor.' Sganarelle is a drunken +woodcutter, who is in the habit of beating his wife Martine. She is on +the look-out for a chance of paying him back in his own coin. Two +servants of Geronte, the Croesus of the neighbourhood, appear in search +of a doctor to cure their master's daughter Lucinde, who pretends to be +dumb in order to avoid a marriage she dislikes. Martine sends them to +the place where her husband is at work, telling them that they will find +him an able doctor. She adds that he has one peculiarity, namely, that +he will not own to his profession unless he is soundly thrashed. Under +the convincing arguments of the two men, Sganarelle admits that he is a +doctor, and follows them to their master's house. Leandre, Lucinde's +lover, persuades Sganarelle to smuggle him into the house as an +apothecary. The two young people with Sganarelle's help contrive an +elopement, but when the marriage is discovered, Geronte visits his wrath +upon the mock doctor, and is only pacified by the news that Leandre has +just inherited a fortune. + +The year 1859 saw the production of 'Faust,' the opera with which +Gounod's name is principally associated. The libretto, by MM. Barbier +and Carre does not of course claim to represent Goethe's play in any +way. The authors had little pretension to literary skill, but they knew +their business thoroughly. They fastened upon the episode of Gretchen, +and threw all the rest overboard. The result was a well-constructed and +thoroughly comprehensible libretto, with plenty of love-making and +floods of cheap sentiment, but as different in atmosphere and suggestion +from Goethe's mighty drama as could well be imagined. + +The first act shows us Faust as an old man, sitting in his study weary +and disappointed. He is about to end his troubles and uncertainty in +death, when an Easter hymn sung in the distance by a chorus of villagers +seems to bid him stay his hand. With a quick revulsion of feeling he +calls on the powers below, and, rather to his surprise, Mephistopheles +promptly appears. In exchange for his soul, the devil offers him youth, +beauty, and love, and, as an earnest of what is to come, shows him a +vision of the gentle Margaret sitting at her spinning wheel. Faust is +enraptured, hastily signs the contract, and hurries away with his +attendant fiend. + +The next act is taken up with a Kermesse in the market-place of a +country town. Valentine, the brother of Margaret, departs for the wars, +after confiding his sister to the care of his friend Siebel. During a +pause in the dances Faust salutes Margaret for the first time as she +returns from church. The third act takes place in Margaret's garden. +Faust and Mephistopheles enter secretly, and deposit a casket of jewels +upon the doorstep. Margaret, woman-like, is won by their beauty, and +cannot resist putting them on. Faust finds her thus adorned, and wooes +her passionately, while Mephistopheles undertakes to keep Dame Martha, +her companion, out of the way. The act ends by Margaret yielding to +Faust's prayers and entreaties. In the fourth act Margaret is left +disconsolate. Faust has deserted her, and Valentine comes home to find +his sister's love-affair the scandal of the town. He fights a duel with +Faust, whom he finds lurking under his sister's window, and dies cursing +Margaret with his last breath. During this act occurs the church scene, +which is sometimes performed after Valentine's death and sometimes +before it. Margaret is kneeling in the shadowy minster, striving to +pray, but the voice of conscience stifles her half-formed utterances. In +Gounod's libretto, the intangible reproaches which Margaret addresses +to herself are materialised in the form of Mephistopheles, a proceeding +which is both meaningless and inartistic, though perhaps dramatically +unavoidable. In the,' last act, after a short scene on the Brocken and a +conventional ballet, which are rarely performed in England, we are taken +to the prison where Margaret lies condemned to death for the murder of +her child. Faust is introduced by the aid of Mephistopheles, and tries +to persuade her to fly with him. Weak and wandering though she is, she +refuses, and dies to the chant of an angelic choir, while Faust is +dragged down to the abyss by Mephistopheles. Gounod's music struggles +nobly with the tawdriness and sentimentality of the libretto. A good +deal of the first and last acts is commonplace and conventional, but the +other three contain beauties of a high order. The life and gaiety of the +Kermesse scene in the second act, the sonorous dignity of Valentine's +invocation of the cross, and the tender grace of Faust's salutation--the +last a passage which might have been written by Mozart--are too familiar +to need more than a passing reference. In the fourth act also there is +much noble music. Gounod may be forgiven even for the soldiers' chorus, +in consideration of the masculine vigour of the duel terzetto--a +purified reminiscence of Meyerbeer--and the impressive church scene. But +the most characteristic part of the work is, after all, the love music +in the third act. The dreamy languor which pervades the scene, the +cloying sweetness of the harmonies, the melting beauty of the +orchestration, all combine to produce an effect; which was at that time +entirely new to opera, and had no little share in forming the modern +school. With all his admiration of Mozart, Gounod possessed little of +his idol's genius for characterisation. The types in 'Faust' do not +stand out clearly. Margaret, for instance, is merely a sentimental +school-girl; she has none of the girlish freshness and innocence of +Goethe's Gretchen, and Mephistopheles is much more of a tavern bully +than a fallen angel. Yet with all its faults 'Faust' remains a work of a +high order of beauty. Every page of the score tells of a striving after +a lofty ideal, and though as regards actual form Gounod made no attempt +to break new ground, the aim and atmosphere of 'Faust,' no less than the +details of its construction, contrast so strongly with the conventional +Italianism of the day, that it may well be regarded as the inauguration +of a new era in French music. + +'Faust' marks the zenith of Gounod's career. After 1859 he was content +for the most part merely to repeat the ideas already expressed in his +_chef-d'oevre_, while in form his later works show a distinctly +retrograde movement. He seems to have known nothing of the inward +impulse of development which led Wagner and Verdi from strength to +strength. + +Philemon et Baucis' (1860) is a charming modernisation of a classical +legend. Jupiter and Vulcan, visiting earth for the purpose of punishing +the impiety of the Phrygians, are driven by a storm to take refuge in +the cottage of an aged couple, Philemon and Baucis. Pleased with the +hospitable treatment which he receives at their hands, and touched by +the mutual affection of the old people, which time has done nothing to +impair, Jupiter restores their lost youth to them. This leads to +dangerous complications. The rejuvenated Baucis is so exceedingly +attractive that Jupiter himself falls a victim to her charms, and +Philemon becomes jealous and quarrelsome. Baucis finally persuades +Jupiter to promise her whatever she wishes, and having extorted the oath +compels him to return to Olympus, leaving Philemon and herself to enjoy +another lifetime of uninterrupted happiness. 'Philemon et Baucis' +adheres strictly to the conventional lines of opera comique, and has +little beyond its tuneful grace and delicate orchestration to recommend +it. Nevertheless it is a charming trifle, and has survived many of +Gounod's more pretentious works. 'La Reine de Saba' (1862) and 'La +Colombe' (1866) are now forgotten, but 'Mireille' (1864), one of the +composer's most delightful works, still enjoys a high degree of +popularity. The story, which is founded upon Mistral's Provencal romance +'Mireio,' is transparently simple. Vincent, a young basket-maker, loves +the fair Mireille, who is the daughter of a rich farmer named Raymond. +Raymond will have nothing to say to so humble a suitor, and favours the +pretensions of Ourrias, a herdsman. While making a pilgrimage to a +church in the desert of Crau, Mireille has a sunstroke, and her life is +despaired of. In an access of grief and remorse her father promises to +revoke his dismissal of Vincent, whereupon Mireille speedily recovers +and is united to her lover. Gounod's music seems to have borrowed the +warm colouring of the Provencal poet's romance. 'Mireille' glows with +the life and sunlight of the south. There is little attempt at dramatic +force in it, and the one scene in which the note of pathos is attempted +is perhaps the least successful in the whole opera. But the lighter +portions of the work are irresistible. 'Mireille' has much of the charm +of Daudet's Provencal stories, the charm of warmth and colour, +independent of subject. More than one version of the opera exists. That +which is now most usually played is in three acts. In the first version +of the work there is a curious scene, in which Ourrias is drowned by a +spectral ferryman in the waters of the Rhone, but this is now rarely +performed. + +In 1869 was produced 'Romeo et Juliette,' an opera which, in the +estimation of the majority of Gounod's admirers, ranks next to 'Faust' +in the catalogue of his works. The libretto, apart from one or two +concessions to operatic convention, is a fair piece of work, and at any +rate compares favourably with the parodies of Shakespeare which so often +do duty for libretti. The opening scene shows the ball in Capulet's +house and the first meeting of the lovers. The second act is the balcony +scene. The third includes the marriage of Romeo and Juliet in Friar +Laurence's cell, with the duels in the streets of Verona, the death of +Mercutio, and the banishment of Romeo. The fourth act opens with the +parting of the lovers in Juliet's chamber, and ends with Friar Laurence +giving Juliet the potion. The last act, after an elaborate orchestral +movement describing the sleep of Juliet, takes place in the tomb of the +Capulets. MM. Barbier and Carre could not resist an opportunity of +improving upon Shakespeare, and prolonged Romeo's death agony, in order +to enable him to join in a final duet with Juliet. + +The composer of the third act of 'Faust' could hardly fail to be +attracted by 'Romeo and Juliet.' Nevertheless Gounod was too pronounced +a mannerist to do justice to Shakespeare's immortal love-story. He is, +of all modern composers, the one whose method varies least, and +throughout 'Romeo et Juliette' he does little more than repeal in an +attenuated form the ideas already used in 'Faust.' Yet there are +passages in the opera which stand out in salient contrast to the +monotony of the whole, such as the exquisite setting of Juliet's speech +in the balcony scene, beginning-- + + 'Thou knowest the mask of night is on my face,' + +which conveys something more than an echo of the virginal innocence and +complete self-abandonment of Shakespeare's lines, or the more +commonplace but still beautiful passage at the close of the act; +suggested by Romeo's line-- + + 'Sleep dwell upon thine eyes.' + +The duel scene is vigorous and effective, and the song allotted to +Romeo's page--an impertinent insertion of the librettists--is +intrinsically delightful. It is typical of the musician that he should +put forth his full powers in the chamber duet, while he actually omits +the potion scene altogether, which is the legitimate climax of the act. +In the original version of the opera there was a commonplace cavatina +allotted to Juliet at this point, set to words which had but a remote +connection with Shakespeare's immortal lines, but it was so completely +unworthy of the situation that it was usually omitted, and when the +opera was revised for production at the Grand Opera in 1888, Gounod +thought it wiser to end the act with the Friar's discourse to Juliet, +rather than attempt once more to do justice to a scene which he knew to +be beyond his powers. The last act is perhaps the weakest part of the +opera. MM. Barbier and Carre's version of Shakespeare's magnificent +poetry is certainly not inspiring; but in any case it is difficult to +believe that Gounod's suave talent could have done justice to the +piteous tragedy of that terrible scene. Gounod's last three operas did +not add to his reputation. 'Cinq Mars' (1877) made little impression +when it was first produced, but it has recently been performed by the +Carl Rosa Company in English with some success. The libretto is a poor +one. It deals in conventional fashion with the conspiracy of Cinq Mars +against Richelieu, but the incidents are not well arranged and the +characters are the merest shadows. Much of the music is tuneful and +attractive, though cast in a stiff and old-fashioned form, and the +masquemusic in the second act is as fresh and melodious as anything +Gounod ever wrote. In 'Polyeucte' (1878) he attempted a style of severe +simplicity in fancied keeping with Corneille's tragedy. There are some +noble pages in the work, but as a whole it is distressingly dull, and +'Le Tribut de Zamora' (1881) was also an emphatic failure. + +Gounod's later works, as has already been pointed out, show a distinct +falling off from the standard attained in 'Faust,' as regards form as +well as in ideas. As he grew older he showed a stronger inclination to +return to obsolete models. 'Le Tribut de Zamora' reproduces the type of +opera which was popular in the days of Meyerbeer. It is cut up into airs +and recitatives, and the accompaniment is sedulously subordinated to the +voices. Without desiring to discredit the beauties of 'Mireille' or +'Romeo et Juliette,' one cannot help thinking that it would have been +better for Gounod's reputation if he had written nothing for the stage +after 'Faust.' + +Very soon after its production Gounod's masterpiece began to exert a +potent influence upon his contemporaries. One of the first French +composers to admit its power was Ambroise Thomas (1811-1896). Thomas was +an older man than Gounod, and had already written much for the stage +without achieving any very decisive success. He was a man of plastic +mind, and was too apt to reproduce in his own music the form and even +the ideas which happened to be popular at the time he wrote. Most of his +early works are redolent of Auber or Halevy. Gounod's influence acted +upon him like a charm, and in 'Mignon' (1866) he produced a work which, +if not strictly original, has an element of personality too distinctive +to be ignored. + +If we can dismiss all thoughts of Goethe and his 'Wilhelm Meister' from +our minds, it will be possible to pronounce MM. Barbier and Carre's +libretto a creditable piece of work. Mignon is a child who was stolen in +infancy by a band of gipsies. She travels with them from town to town, +dancing in the streets to the delight of the crowd. One day in a German +city she refuses to dance, and Jarno the gipsy chief threatens her with +his whip. Wilhelm Meister, who happens to be passing, saves her from a +beating, and, pitying the half-starved child, buys her from the gipsies. +Among the spectators of this scene are Laertes, the manager of a troupe +of strolling players, and Philine, his leading lady. Philine is an +accomplished coquette, and determines to subjugate Wilhelm. In this she +easily succeeds, and he joins the company as poet, proceeding with them +to the Castle of Rosenberg, where a grand performance of 'A Midsummer +Night's Dream' is to be given. Mignon, at her earnest request, +accompanies him, disguised as a page. While at the castle Mignon is +distracted by Wilhelm's infatuation for Philine, and when Wilhelm, +prompted by Philine, tries to dismiss her, she puts on her old gipsy +clothes and rushes away. Outside the walls of the castle she meets with +an old half-witted harper, Lothario, who soothes the passion of her +grief. In a moment of jealous fury at the thought of Philine she utters +a wish that the castle were in flames. Lothario hears her words and +proves his devotion by setting fire to the theatre while the performance +is in progress. Mignon had been sent by Philine to fetch her bouquet +from the green-room. The fire breaks out while the unfortunate girl is +in the building, and she is given up for lost, but is saved by Wilhelm. +The last act takes place in Italy. Mignon's devotion has won Willielm's +heart, and the opera ends by the discovery that she is the long-lost +daughter of Lothario, who is actually the Count of Cipriani, but after +the disappearance of his daughter had lost his reason, and wandered +forth in the guise of a harper to search for her. The score of 'Mignon' +reveals the hand of a sensitive and refined artist upon every page. It +has no claims to greatness, and few to real originality, but it is full +of graceful melody, and is put together with a complete knowledge of +stage effect. + +Thomas's 'Hamlet' (1868) is accepted as a masterpiece in Paris, where +the absurdities of the libretto are either ignored or condoned. In +England Shakespeare's tragedy is fortunately so familiar that such a +ridiculous parody of it as MM. Barbier and Carre's libretto has not been +found endurable. Much of Thomas's music is grandiose rather than grand, +but in the less exacting scenes there is not a little of the plaintive +charm of 'Mignon,' Ophelia's mad scene, which occupies most of the last +act, is dramatically ludicrous, but the music is brilliant and +captivating, and the ghost scene, earlier in the opera, is powerful and +effective. Thomas employs several charming old Scandinavian tunes in the +course of the work, which give a clever tinge of local colour to the +score. + +With Bizet (1838-1875), the influence of Wagner is felt in French music +for the first time. 'Les Pecheurs de Perles' (1863), his first work, +follows traditional models pretty closely for the most part, and though +containing music of charm and originality, does not, of course, +represent Bizet's genius in its most characteristic aspects. It tells +the story of the love of two Cingalese pearl-fishers for the priestess +Leila. There are only three characters in the piece, and very little +incident. The score owes a good deal to Felicien David's 'Le Desert,' +but there is a dramatic force about several scenes which foreshadows the +power and variety of 'Carmen.' 'La Jolie Fille de Perth' (1867), is to a +great extent a tribute to the powerful influence of Verdi. It is a +tuneful and effective work, but cannot be called an advance on 'Les +Pecheurs de Perles,' In 'Djamileh' (1872), we find the real Bizet for +the first time. The story tells of the salvation of a world-wearied +youth, who is won back to life by the love and devotion of his slave. It +is a clever study in Oriental colour, but has little dramatic value, +though it was thought very advanced at the time of its production. In +1875, the year of Bizet's death, 'Carmen' was produced. The libretto is +founded upon Merimee's famous novel. Carmen, a sensual and passionate +gipsy girl, is arrested for stabbing one of her comrades in a cigarette +manufactory at Seville. She exercises all her powers of fascination upon +the soldier, Jose by name, who is told off to guard her, and succeeds in +persuading him to connive at her escape. For this offence he is +imprisoned for a month, but Carmen contrives to communicate with him in +gaol, and at the expiration of his sentence he meets her once more in an +inn at the outskirts of the town. The passionate animalism of the gipsy +completely captivates him, and forgetting Micaela, the country damsel to +whom he is betrothed, he yields himself entirely to Carmen's +fascinations. He quarrels with one of his officers about her, and to +escape punishment flies with Carmen to join a band of smugglers in the +mountains. Carmen's capricious affection for Jose soon dies out, and she +transfers her allegiance to the bull-fighter Escamillo, who follows her +to the smugglers' lair, and is nearly killed by the infuriated Jose. +Micaela also finds her way up to the camp, and persuades Jose to go home +with her and tend the last moments of his dying mother. The last act +takes place outside the Plaza de Toros at Seville. Jose has returned to +plead once more with Carmen, but her love has grown cold and she rejects +him disdainfully. After a scene of bitter recrimination he kills her, +while the shouts of the people inside the arena acclaim the triumph of +Escamillo. 'Carmen' was coldly received at first. Its passionate force +was miscalled brutality, and the suspicion of German influence which +Bizet's clever use of guiding themes excited, was in itself enough to +alienate the sympathies of the average Frenchman in the early seventies. +Since its production 'Carmen' has gradually advanced in general +estimation, and is now one of the most popular operas in the modern +repertory. It is unnecessary to do more than allude to its many +beauties, the nervous energy of the more declamatory parts, the +brilliant and expressive orchestration, the extraordinarily clever use +of Spanish rhythms, and the finished musicianship displayed upon every +page of the score. The catalogue of Bizet's works is completed by 'Don +Procopio,' an imitation of Italian opera buffa dating from his student +days in Rome. It was unearthed and produced at Monte Carlo in 1906. It +is a bright and lively little work, but has no pretensions to original +value. Bizet's early death deprived the French school of one of its +brightest ornaments. To him is largely due the development of opera +comique which has taken place within the last twenty years, a +development which has taken it almost to the confines of grand opera. + +Jacques Offenbach (1819-1880), though German by birth, may fitly be +mentioned here, since the greater part of his life was spent in Paris, +and his music was more typically French than that of any of his Gallic +rivals. His innumerable operas bouffes scarcely come within the scope of +this work, but his posthumous opera comique, 'Les Contes d'Hoffman +(1881), is decidedly more ambitious in scope, and still holds the stage +by virtue of its piquant melody and clever musicianship. In Germany, +where 'Les Contes d' Hoffmann' is still very popular under the name of +'Hoffmann's Erzaehlungen,' it is usually performed in a revised version, +which differs considerably from the French original as regards plot and +dialogue, though the music is practically the same. Hoffmann, the famous +story-teller, is the hero of the opera, which, after a prologue in a +typically German beer-cellar, follows his adventures through three +scenes, each founded upon one of his famous tales. In the first we see +him fascinated by the mechanical doll Olympia, in the second he is at +the feet of the Venetian courtesan Giulietta, while in the third we +assist at his futile endeavours to save the youthful singer Antonia from +the clutches of the mysterious Dr. Miracle. + +The career of Cesar Franck (1822-1890), offers a striking contrast to +that of his famous contemporary Gounod. Fame came betimes to Gounod. +While he was still a young man his reputation was European. He wrote his +masterpiece at forty, and lived on its success for the remaining thirty +years of his life. Since his death his fame has sadly shrunk, and even +'Faust' is beginning to 'date' unmistakably. The name of Cesar Franck, +on the other hand, until his death was hardly known beyond a narrow +circle of pupils, but during the last fifteen years his reputation has +advanced by leaps and bounds. At the present moment there is hardly a +musician in Paris who would not call him the greatest French +composer--he was a Belgian by birth, but what of that?--of the +nineteenth century. His fame was won in the concert-room rather than in +the theatre, but the day may yet come when his 'Hulda' will be a +familiar work to opera-goers. It was produced in 1894 at Monte Carlo, +but, in spite of the deep impression which it created, has not yet been +heard in Paris. The action passes in Norway in the times of the Vikings. +Hulda is carried off by a band of marauders, whose chief she is +compelled to wed. She loves Eyolf, another Viking, and persuades him to +murder her husband. After a time he proves faithless to her, whereupon +she kills him and throws herself into the sea. This gloomy tale is +illustrated by music of extraordinary power and beauty. Although Franck +only avails himself of guiding themes to a limited extent, in mastery of +the polyphonic style his work will compare with Wagner's most elaborate +scores. In fact, the opulence of orchestral resource and the virility of +inspiration displayed in 'Hulda' strikingly recall the beauties of +'Tristan und Isolde.' 'Ghiselle,' a work left unfinished by the composer +and completed by several of his pupils, was produced in 1896 at Monte +Carlo. Although by no means upon the same level as 'Hulda,' 'Ghiselle' +also contains much fine music, and will doubtless be heard of again. + +Leo Delibes (1836-1891) made no pretensions to the dignity and solidity +of Cesar Franck's style. He shone principally in ballet-music, but +'Lakme' (1883), his best-known opera, is a work of much charm and +tenderness. It tells the story of a Hindoo damsel who loves an English +officer. Her father, a priest, discovering the state of her affections, +tries to assassinate the Englishman, but Lakme saves his life, and +conveys him to a place of concealment in the jungle. There she find that +his heart is set upon a beautiful English 'miss,' and, in despair, +poisons herself with the flowers of the Datura. Delibes's music never +rises to passion, but it is unfailingly tender and graceful, and is +scored with consummate dexterity. He has a pretty feeling too for local +colour, and the scene in Lakme's garden is full of a dreamy sensuous +charm. 'Le Roi l'a dit' (1873) is a dainty little work upon an old +French subject, as graceful and fragile as a piece of Sevres porcelain. +'Kassya,' which the composer left unfinished, was orchestrated by +Massenet, and produced in 1893. In this work Delibes attempted a tragic +story to which his delicate talent was ill suited, and the opera +achieved little success. Delibes is a typically French musician. Slight +as his works often are, the exquisite skill of the workmanship saves +them from triviality. He made no pretensions to advanced views, and +though he occasionally trifles with guiding themes, the interest of his +works rests almost entirely upon his dainty vein of melody and the +finish of his orchestration. + +With Delibes may be classed Ferdinand Poise (1828-1892), a composer who +made a speciality of operas founded upon the comedies of Moliere and his +contemporaries, and Ernest Guiraud (18371892), whose 'Piccolino' (1876) +is one of the daintiest of modern comic operas. His 'Fredegonde,' +produced in Paris in 1895, proved emphatically that his talent did not +lie in the direction of grand opera. Edouard Lalo (1823-1892), a +composer of no little charm and resource, owes his fame chiefly to 'Le +Roi d'Ys,' which was successfully produced at the Opera Comique in 1888, +and was played in London in 1901. It is a gloomy story, founded upon a +Breton legend. Margared and Rozenn, the two daughters of the King of Ys, +both love the warrior Mylio, but Mylio's heart is given to Rozenn. The +slighted Margared in revenge betrays her father's city to Karnac, the +defeated enemy of her country, giving him the keys of the sluices which +protect the town from the sea. Karnac opens the sluices and the tide +rushes in. The town and its people are on the point of being +overwhelmed, when Margared, stricken by remorse, throws herself into the +waters. St. Corentin, the patron saint of Ys, accepts the sacrifice, and +the sea retires. 'Le Roi d'Ys' is an excellent specimen of the kind of +opera which French composers of the second rank used to write before the +sun of Wagner dawned upon their horizon. It is redolent of Meyerbeer and +Gounod, and though some of the scenes are not without vigour, it is +impossible to avoid feeling that in 'Le Roi d'Ys' Lalo was forcing a +graceful and delicate talent into an uncongenial groove. He is at his +best in the lighter parts of the work, such as the pretty scene of +Rozenn's wedding, which is perfectly charming. Emmanuel Chabrier +(1842-1894), after writing a comic opera of thoroughly Gallic _verve_ +and grace, 'Le Roi malgre lui,' announced himself as a staunch adherent +of Wagner in the interesting but unequal 'Gwendoline,' which was +performed at Brussels in 1886. Benjamin Godard (1849-1895), one of the +most prolific of modern composers, won no theatrical success until the +production of 'La Vivandiere' (1895), an attractive work constructed +upon conventional lines, in which the banality of the material employed +is often redeemed by clever treatment. Emile Paladilhe won a brilliant +success in 1886 with 'Patrie,' and among other meritorious composers of +what may be called the pre-Wagnerian type are Victorin Joncieres +(1839-1903) and Thodeore Dubois. + +Of living French composers Camille Saint Saens is the unquestioned head, +but he is known to fame principally by his successes in the +concert-room. Many of his operas achieved only _succes d'estime_, though +not one of them is without beauty of a high order. Over 'La Princesse +Jaune' (1872) and 'Le Timbre d' Argent' (1877) there is no need to +linger. 'Samson et Dalila,' his first work of importance, was produced +at Weimar in 1877, but, in spite of its success there and in other +German towns, did not find its way on to a Parisian stage until 1890. +The libretto follows the Biblical narrative with tolerable fidelity. In +the first act, Samson rouses the Israelites to arms, kills the +Philistine leader and disperses their army. In the second he visits +Dalila in the Vale of Sorek, tells her the secret of his strength, and +is betrayed into the hands of the Philistines. The third act shows +Samson, blind and in chains, grinding at a mill. The scene afterwards +changes to the temple of Dagon, where a magnificent festival is in +progress. Samson is summoned to make sport for the Philistine lords, and +the act ends with the destruction of the temple, and the massacre of the +Philistines. Saint Saens is the Proteus of modern music, and his scores +generally reveal the traces of many opposing influences. The earlier +scenes of 'Samson et Dalila' are conceived in the spirit of oratorio, +and the choral writing, which is unusually solid and dignified, often +recalls the massive style of Handel. In the second act he exhausts the +resources of modern passion and colour, and in the Philistine revels of +the third act he makes brilliant and judicious use of Oriental rhythms +and intervals. Guiding themes are used in the opera, but not to any +important extent, and the construction of the score owes very little to +Wagner. Yet though the main outlines of the work adhere somewhat closely +to a type which is now no longer popular, there is little fear of +'Samson et Dalila' becoming old-fashioned. The exquisite melody with +which it overflows, combined with the inimitable art of the +orchestration, make it one of the most important and attractive works of +the modern French school. 'Etienne Marcel' (1879) and 'Proserpine' +(1887) must be classed among Saint Saens's failures, but 'Henry VIII.' +is a work of high interest, which, though produced so long ago as 1883, +is still popular in Paris. The action of the piece begins at the time +when Henry is first smitten with the charms of Anne Boleyn, who for his +sake neglects her former admirer, Don Gomez, the Spanish Ambassador. +Negotiations regarding the King's divorce with Catherine of Aragon are +set on foot, and, when the Pope refuses to sanction it, Henry proclaims +England independent of the Roman Church, amidst the acclamations of the +people. In the last act Anne is queen. Catherine, who is at the point of +death, has in her possession a compromising letter from Anne to Don +Gomez. Henry is devoured by jealousy, and comes, accompanied by Don +Gomez, to try to obtain possession of the incriminating document. Anne +comes also for the same purpose. This is the strongest scene in the +opera. Henry, in order to incite Catherine to revenge, speaks to Anne in +his tenderest tones, but the divorced queen rises to the occasion. +Praying for strength to resist the temptation, she throws the letter +into the fire and falls down dead. + +Saint Saens has treated this scene with uncommon variety and force, and +indeed the whole opera is a masterly piece of writing. He uses guiding +themes with more freedom than in 'Samson et Dalila,' but the general +outline of 'Henry VIII.' is certainly not Wagnerian in type. The same +may be said of 'Ascanio,' a work produced in 1890, with only partial +success. 'Phryne,' which was given at the Opera Comique in 1893, is on a +much less elaborate scale. It is a musicianly little work, but in form +follows the traditions of the older school of opera comique with almost +exaggerated fidelity. 'Les Barbares' (1901), a story of the Teutonic +invasion of Gaul, did not enhance the composer's reputation. The plot +is of a well-worn kind. Marcomir, the leader of the barbarian invaders, +is subjugated by the charms of the priestess Floria, who, after the +requisite amount of hesitation, falls duly into his arms. Finally +Marcomir is stabbed by Livia, whose husband he had killed in battle. +Saint Saens's music is admirable from the point of view of workmanship, +but it is singularly devoid of anything like inspiration. 'Les Barbares' +was received with all the respect due to a work from the pen of the +leading musician of modern France, but it would be useless to pretend +that it is likely to keep its place in the current repertory. + +'Helene' (1904) is a more favourable example of Saint Saens's many-sided +talent. The libretto, which is the work of the composer himself, deals +with the flight of Helen and Paris from Sparta, and the greater part of +the one act of which the opera consists is devoted to an impassioned +duet between the lovers. The apparitions of Venus and Pallas, the one +urging Helen upon her purposed flight, the other dissuading her from it, +give variety to the action, but the work as a whole lacks dramatic +intensity, though it rises to a climax of some power. Saint Saens's +music is interesting and musicianly from first to last. Like Berlioz in +his 'Prise de Troie' he has plainly gone to Gluck for his inspiration, +and in its sobriety and breadth of design no less than in its classic +dignity of melody and orchestration, his music often recalls the style +of the mighty composer of 'Alceste.' + +Saint Saens's latest opera, 'L'Ancetre' (1906), has not added materially +to his reputation. It is a gloomy and, to tell the truth, somewhat +conventional story of a Corsican vendetta. The instrumental part of the +work is treated in masterly fashion, but the opera as a whole met with +little favour at its production at Monte Carlo, and it has not been +performed elsewhere. + +Saint Saens's theory of opera has been to combine song, declamation, and +symphony in equal proportions, and thus, though he has written works +which cannot fail to charm, he seems often to have fallen foul of both +camps in the world of music. The Wagnerians object to the set form of +his works, and the reactionaries condemn the prominence which he often +gives to the declamatory and symphonic portions of his score. He is by +nature a thorough eclectic, and his works possess a deep interest for +musicians, but it may be doubted whether, in opera at any rate, a more +masterful personality is not necessary to produce work of really +permanent value. + +To Ernest Reyer success came late. The beauties of his early works, +'Erostrate' (1852) and 'La Statue' (1861), were well known to musicians; +but not until the production of 'Sigurd' in 1884 did he gain the ear of +the public. Sigurd is the same person as Siegfried, and the plot of +Reyer's opera is drawn from the same source as that of 'Goetterdaemmerung.' +Hilda, the youthful sister of Gunther, the king of the Burgundians, +loves the hero Sigurd, and at the instigation of her nurse gives him a +magic potion, which brings him to her feet. Sigurd, Gunther, and Hagen +then swear fealty to each other and start for Iceland, where +Brunehild lies asleep upon a lofty rock, surrounded by a circle +of fire. There Sigurd, to earn the hand of Hilda, passes through +the flames and wins Brunehild for Gunther. His face is closely hidden by +his visor, and Brunehild in all innocence accepts Gunther as her +saviour, and gives herself to him. The secret is afterwards disclosed by +Hilda in a fit of jealous rage, whereupon Brunehild releases Sigurd from +the enchantment of the potion. He recognises her as the bride ordained +for him by the gods, but before he can taste his new-found happiness he +is treacherously slain by Hagen, while by a mysterious sympathy +Brunehild dies from the same stroke that has killed her lover. Although +not produced until 1884, 'Sigurd' was written long before the first +performance of 'Goetterdaemmerung,' but in any case no suspicion of +plagiarism can attach to Reyer's choice of Wagner's subject. There is +very little except the subject common to the two works. 'Sigurd' is a +work of no little power and beauty, but it is conceived upon a totally +different plan from that followed in Wagner's later works. Reyer uses +guiding themes, often with admirable effect, but they do not form the +foundation of his system. Vigorous and brilliant as his orchestral +writing is, it is generally kept in subservience to the voices, and +though in the more declamatory parts of the opera he writes with the +utmost freedom, he has a lurking affection for four-bar rhythm, and many +of the songs are conveniently detachable from the score. 'Sigurd' is +animated throughout by a loftiness of design worthy of the sincerest +praise. Reyer's melodic inspiration is not always of the highest, but he +rarely sinks below a standard of dignified efficiency. In 'Salammbo,' a +setting of Flaubert's famous romance which was produced at Brussels in +1890, he did not repeat the success of 'Sigurd.' 'Salammbo' is put +together in a workmanlike way, but there is little genuine inspiration +in the score. The local colour is not very effectively managed, and +altogether the work is lacking in those qualities of brilliancy and +picturesqueness which Flaubert's Carthaginian story seems to demand. + +Reyer and Saint Saens both show traces of the influence of Wagner, but +though guiding themes are often employed with excellent effect in their +works, the general outlines of their operas remain very much in +accordance with the form handed down by Meyerbeer. Massenet, on the +other hand, has drunk more deeply at the Bayreuth fountain. His early +comic operas, 'La Grand' Tante' (1867) and 'Don Cesar de Bazan' (1872) +are purely French in inspiration, and even 'Le Roi de Lahore' (1877), +his first great success, does not show any very important traces of +German influence. Its success was largely due to the brilliant spectacle +of the Indian Paradise in the third act. The score is rich in sensuous +melody of the type which we associate principally with the name of +Gounod, and the subtle beauties of the orchestration bear witness to the +hand of a master. + +In 'Herodiade' (1881) the influence of Wagner becomes more noticeable, +though it hardly amounts to more than an occasional trifling with +guiding themes. The libretto is a version of the Biblical story of St. +John the Baptist, considerably doctored to suit Parisian taste. When +'Herodiade' was performed in London in 1904, under the title of +'Salome,' the names of some of the characters were altered and the scene +of the story was transferred to Ethiopia, in order to satisfy the +conscientious scruples of the Lord Chamberlain. Thus according to the +newest version of Massenet's opera 'Jean' is a mysterious +prophet--presumably a species of Mahdi--who makes his appearance at the +court of Moriame, King of Ethiopia. He denounces the sins of Queen +Hesatoade in no measured terms, but the latter cannot induce her husband +to avenge her wrongs, since Moriame dare not venture for political +reasons to proceed to extreme measures against so popular a character as +Jean. Jean has an ardent disciple in Salome, a young lady whose position +in Ethiopian society is not very clearly defined by the librettist, +though in the end she turns out to be Hesatoade's long-lost daughter. +Jean's regard for Salome is purely Platonic, but Moriame loves her +passionately, and when he finds out that Jean is his rival he promptly +orders him to prison where he is put to death after a passionate scene +with Salome, who kills herself in despair. Massenet has taken full +advantage of the passionate and voluptuous scenes of the libretto, which +lend themselves well to his peculiar style. In certain scenes his +treatment of guiding themes reaches an almost symphonic level, and the +opera is throughout a singularly favourable specimen of his earlier +manner. He has recently revised the score, and added a scene between the +Queen and a Chaldean soothsayer, which is one of the most powerful in +the opera. + +'Manon,' which was first performed in 1884, shows perhaps no advance in +the matter of form upon 'Herodiade,' but the subject of the opera is so +admirably suited to Massenet's tender and delicate talent that it +remains one of his most completely successful works. The Abbe Prevost's +famous romance had already been treated operatically by Auber, but his +'Manon Lescaut' was never really a success, and had been laid upon the +shelf many years before Massenet took the story in hand. + +The action of Massenet's opera begins in the courtyard of an inn at +Amiens, where the Chevalier des Grieux happens to fall in with Manon +Lescaut, who is being sent to a convent under the charge of her brother, +a bibulous guardsman. Manon does not at all like the prospect of convent +life, and eagerly agrees to Des Grieux's proposal to elope with him to +Paris. The next act shows them in an apartment in Paris. Des Grieux has +tried in vain to obtain his father's consent to his marriage, and the +capricious Manon, finding that the modest style of their _menage_ +hardly agrees with her ideas of comfort, listens to the advances made to +her by a nobleman named Bretigny, and ends by conniving at a scheme, +planned by the elder Des Grieux, for carrying off his son from his +questionable surroundings. In the next act Manon is the mistress of +Bretigny, feted and admired by all. During an entertainment at +Cours-la-Reine, she overhears a conversation between Bretigny and the +Count des Grieux, and learns from the latter that his son is a novice at +Saint Sulpice. Seized by a sudden return of her old love, she hastens +away to the seminary, and after a passionate interview persuades Des +Grieux to come back once more to her arms. In the next act Manon +beguiles Des Grieux to a gambling-house, where he quarrels with Guillot, +one of her numerous admirers. The latter revenges himself by denouncing +the place to the police, who effect a successful raid upon it and carry +off Manon to St. Lazare. The last scene takes place upon the road to +Havre. Manon, who is condemned to transportation, is passing by with a +gang of criminals. Lescaut persuades the sergeant in charge to allow her +an interview with Des Grieux. She is already exhausted by ill-treatment +and fatigue, and dies in his arms. Massenet's dainty score reproduces +the spirit of the eighteenth century with rare felicity. A note of +genuine passion, too, is not wanting, and an ingenious use of guiding +themes binds the score together into a harmonious whole. A novelty in +its arrangement is the plan of an orchestral accompaniment to the +dialogue. AEsthetically this is perhaps hardly defensible, but in several +scenes--notably that of Cours-la-Reine, in which Manon's agitated +interview with the Count stands out in forcible relief against the +graceful background formed by a minuet heard in the distance--the result +is completely successful. 'Le Cid' (1885) and 'Le Mage' (1891), two +works produced at the Paris Opera, may be passed over as comparative +failures, but 'Esclarmonde' (1889) marks an important stage in +Massenet's career. The libretto is drawn from an old French romance. +Esclarmonde, the Princess of Byzantium, who is a powerful enchantress, +loves Roland, the French knight, and commands her minion spirits to +guide him to a distant island, whither she transports herself every +night to enjoy his company. He betrays the secret of their love, and +thereby loses Esclarmonde, but by his victory in a tournament at +Byzantium he regains her once more. + +Massenet's music is a happy combination of Wagner's elaborate system of +guiding themes with the sensuous beauty of which he himself possesses +the secret. As regards the plan of 'Esclarmonde' his indebtedness to +Wagner was so patent, that Parisian critics christened him 'Mlle. +Wagner,' but nevertheless he succeeded in preserving his own +individuality distinct from German influence. No one could mistake +'Esclarmonde' for the work of a German; in melodic structure and +orchestral colouring it is French to the core. + +'Werther' was written in 1886, though not actually produced until 1892, +when it was given for the first time at Vienna. The plot of Goethe's +famous novel is a rather slight foundation for a libretto, but the +authors did their work neatly and successfully. In the first act Werther +sees Charlotte cutting bread and butter for her little brothers and +sisters, and falls in love with her. In the second, Charlotte, now +married to Albert, finding that she cannot forget Werther and his +passion, sends him from her side. He departs in despair, meditating +suicide. In the last act Charlotte is still brooding over the forbidden +love, and will not be comforted by the artless prattle of her sister +Sophie. Werther suddenly returns, and after a passionate and tearful +scene, extorts from Charlotte the confession that she loves him. He then +borrows Albert's pistols, and shoots himself in his lodgings, where +Charlotte finds him, and he breathes his last sigh in her arms. Though +in tone and sentiment more akin to 'Manon,' in form 'Werther' resembles +'Esclarmonde.' It is constructed upon a basis of guiding themes, which +are often employed with consummate skill. The uniform melancholy of the +story makes the music slightly monotonous, and though the score cannot +fail to delight musicians, it has hardly colour or variety enough to be +generally popular. 'Le Portrait de Manon,' a delicate little sketch in +one act, and 'Thais,' a clever setting of Anatole France's beautiful +romance, both produced in 1894, will not be likely to add much to +Massenet's reputation. 'La Navarraise,' produced during the same year in +London, was apparently an attempt to imitate the melodramatic +extravagance of Mascagni. The action takes place under the walls of +Bilbao during the Carlist war. Anita loves Araquil, a Spanish soldier, +but his father will not permit the marriage because of her poverty. +Seeing that a reward is offered for the head of the Carlist general, +Anita goes forth like a second Judith, trusting to her charms to win +admittance to the hostile camp. She wins her reward, but Araquil, who is +brought in from a battle mortally wounded, knowing the price at which it +was won, thrusts her from him, and she sinks a gibbering maniac upon his +corpse. There is little in Massenet's score but firing of cannons and +beating of drums. The musical interest centres in a charming duet in the +opening scene, and a delicious instrumental nocturne. The action of the +piece is breathless and vivid, and the music scarcely pretends to do +more than furnish a suitable accompaniment to it. Of late years Massenet +has confined himself principally to works of slight calibre, which have +been on the whole more successful than many of his earlier and more +ambitious efforts. 'Sapho' (1897), an operatic version of Daudet's +famous novel, and 'Cendrillon' (1899), a charming fantasia on the old +theme of Cinderella, both succeeded in hitting Parisian taste. No less +fortunate was 'Griselidis' (1901), a quasi-mediaeval musical comedy, +founded upon the legend of Patient Grizel, and touching the verge of +pantomime in the characters of a comic Devil and his shrewish spouse. Of +Massenet's later works none has been more successful than 'Le Jongleur +de Notre Dame' (1902), which, besides winning the favour of Paris, has +been performed at Covent Garden and in many German towns with much +success. Here we find Massenet in a very different vein from that of +'Manon,' or indeed any of his earlier works. The voluptuous passion of +his accustomed style is exchanged for the mystic raptures of +monasticism. Cupid has doffed his bow and arrows and donned the +conventual cowl. 'Le Jongleur' is an operatic version of one of the +prettiest stories in Anatole France's 'Etui de Nacre.' Jean the juggler +is persuaded by the Prior of the Abbey of Cluny to give up his godless +life and turn monk. He enters the monastery, but ere long is distressed +to find that while his brethren prove their devotion to the Blessed +Virgin by their skill in the arts of painting, music and the like, he +can give no outward sign of the faith that is in him. At last he +bethinks him of his old craft. He steals into the chapel and performs +before the image of Our Lady the homely antics which in old days +delighted the country people at many a village fair. He is discovered by +the Prior, who is preparing to denounce the sacrilege when the image +comes to life and bends down to bless the poor juggler who has sunk +exhausted on the steps of the altar. The Prior bows in awe before this +manifestation of divine graciousness and the juggler dies in the odour +of sanctity. Massenet's music catches the spirit of the story with +admirable art. As regards melodic invention it is rather thin, but the +workmanship is beyond praise. The opening scene at the village fair is +appropriately bright and gay, but the best music comes in the second act +where the monks are gathered together in the convent hall, each busied +over his particular task. Here occurs the gem of the work, the Legend of +the Sage-bush, which is sung to the juggler-monk by his good friend the +convent cook. Rarely has Massenet written anything more delightful than +this exquisite song, so fresh in its artful simplicity, so fragrant with +the charm of mediaeval monasticism. + +Mention must be made, for the sake of completeness, of the performance +at Nice in 1903 of Massenet's thirty--year--old oratorio, 'Marie +Magdeleine,' in the guise of a 'drame lyrique.' French taste, it need +hardly be said, is very different from English with regard to what +should and should not be placed upon the stage, but once granted the +permissibility of making Jesus Christ the protagonist of an opera, there +is comparatively little in 'Marie Magdeleine' to offend religious +susceptibilities. The work is divided into four scenes: a palm-girt well +outside the city of Magdala, the house of Mary and Martha, Golgotha, and +the garden of Joseph of Arimathea, where occurs what a noted French +critic in writing about the first performance described as 'l'apparition +tres reussie de Jesus.' + +In 'Cherubin' (1905) Massenet returned to his more familiar manner. The +story pursues the adventures of Beaumarchais's too fascinating page +after his disappearance from the scene of 'Le Mariage de Figaro.' What +these adventures are it is needless to detail, save that they embrace a +good deal of duelling and even more love-making. Massenet's music is as +light as a feather. It ripples along in the daintiest fashion, sparkling +with wit and gaiety, and if it leaves no very definite impression of +originality, its craftsmanship is perfection itself. 'Ariane' (1906) is +a far more serious affair. It is a return to the grander manner of +'Herodiade' and 'Le Cid,' and proves conclusively that the musician's +hand has not lost its cunning. Catulle Mendes's libretto is a clever +embroidery of the world-old tale of Ariadne and Theseus, the figure of +the gentle Ariadne being happily contrasted with that of the fiery and +passionate Phaedra, who succeeds her sister in the affections of the +fickle Theseus. The death of Phaedra, who is crushed by a statue of +Adonis which she had insulted, is followed by a curious and striking +scene in Hades, whither Ariadne descends in order to bring her sister +back to the world of life. The opera, according to tradition, ends with +the flight of Theseus and Phaedra, while the deserted Ariadne finds death +in the arms of the sirens, who tempt her to seek eternal rest in the +depths of the sea. Massenet's music is conspicuous for anything rather +than novelty of invention or treatment, but though he is content to +tread well-worn paths, he does so with all his old grace and distinction +of manner, and many of the scenes in 'Ariane' are treated with an +uncommon degree of spirit and energy. + +Massenet's latest work, 'Therese' (1907), is a return to the breathless, +palpitating style of 'La Navarraise.' It is a story of the revolution, +high-strung and emotional. Therese is the wife of the Girondin Thorel, +who has bought the castle of Clerval, in the hope of eventually +restoring it to its former owner, Armand de Clerval. Armand returns in +disguise, on his way to join the Royalists in Vendee. He and Therese +were boy-and-girl lovers in old days, and their old passion revives. +Armand entreats her to fly with him, which after the usual conflict of +emotions she consents to do. But meanwhile Thorel, who has been amiably +harbouring the emigre, is arrested and dragged to the scaffold. This +brings about a change in Therese's feelings. She sends Armand about his +business and throws in her lot with Thorel, defying the mob and +presumably sharing her husband's fate. Massenet's music is to a certain +extent thrust into the background by the exciting incidents of the plot. +The cries of the crowd, the songs of the soldiers and the roll of the +drums leave but little space for musical development. Still 'Therese' +contains many passages of charming melody and grace, though it will +certainly not rank among the composer's masterpieces, Massenet is one of +the most interesting of modern French musicians. On the one hand, he +traces his musical descent from Gounod, whose sensuous charm he has +inherited to the full; on the other he has proved himself more +susceptible to the influence of Wagner than any other French composer +of his generation. The combination is extremely piquant, and it says +much for Massenet's individuality that he has contrived to blend such +differing elements into a fabric of undeniable beauty. + +Alfred Bruneau is a composer whose works have excited perhaps more +discussion than those of any living French composer. By critics who +pretend to advanced views he has been greeted as the rightful successor +of Wagner, while the conservative party in music have not hesitated to +stigmatise him as a wearisome impostor. 'Kerim' (1887), his first work, +passed almost unnoticed. 'Le Reve,' an adaptation of Zola's novel, was +produced in 1891 at the Opera Comique, and in the same year was +performed in London. The scene is laid in a French cathedral city. The +period is that of the present day. + +Angelique, the adopted child of a couple of old embroiderers, is a +dreamer of dreams. All day she pores over the lives of the saints until +the legends of their miracles and martyrdoms become living realities to +her mind, and she hears their voices speaking to her in the silence of +her chamber. She falls in love with a man who is at work upon the +stained glass of the Cathedral windows. This turns out to be the son of +the Bishop. The course of their love does not run smooth. The Bishop, in +spite of the protestations of his son, refuses his consent to their +marriage. Angelique pines away, and is lying at the point of death when +the Bishop relents, and with a kiss of reconciliation restores her to +life. She is married to her lover, but in the porch of the Cathedral +dies from excess of happiness. The entire work is rigorously +constructed upon Wagner's system of representative themes. Each act runs +its course uninterruptedly without anything approaching a set piece. Two +voices are rarely heard together, and then only in unison. So far +Bruneau faithfully follows the system of Wagner. Where he differs from +his master is in the result of his efforts; he has nothing of Wagner's +feeling for melodic beauty, nothing of his mastery of orchestral +resource, and very little of his musical skill. The melodies in 'Le +Reve'--save for an old French _chanson_, which is the gem of the +work--are for the most part arid and inexpressive. Bruneau handles the +orchestra like an amateur, and his attempts at polyphony are merely +ridiculous. Yet in spite of all this, the vocal portions of the work +follow the inflections of the human voice so faithfully as to convey a +feeling of sincerity. Ugly and monotonous as much of 'Le Reve' is, the +music is alive. In its strange language it speaks with the accent of +truth. Here at any rate are none of the worn-out formulas which have +done duty for so many generations. In defence of Bruneau's work it may +be urged that his dreary and featureless orchestration, so wholly +lacking in colour and relief, may convey to some minds the cool grey +atmosphere of the quiet old Cathedral town, and that much of the +harshness and discordance of his score is, at all events, in keeping +with the iron tyranny of the Bishop. 'Le Reve' at any rate was not a +work to be passed over in silence: it was intended to create discussion, +and discussion it certainly created. + +In 'L'Attaque du Moulin' (1893), another adaptation of Zola, Bruneau set +himself a very different task. The contrast between the placid Cathedral +close and the bloody terrors of the Franco-Prussian war was of the most +startling description. 'L'Attaque du Moulin' opens with the festivities +attendant upon the betrothal of Francoise, the miller's daughter, to +Dominique, a young Fleming, who has taken up his quarters in the +village. In the midst of the merry-making comes a drummer, who announces +the declaration of war, and summons all the able-bodied men of the +village to the frontier. In the second act, the dogs of war are loose. +The French have been holding the mill against a detachment of Germans +all day, but as night approaches they fall back upon the main body. +Dominique, who is a famous marksman, has been helping to defend his +future father-in-law's property. Scarcely have the French retired when a +division of Germans appears in the courtyard of the mill. The captain +notices that Dominique's hands are black with powder, and finding that, +though a foreigner, he has been fighting for the French in defiance of +the rules of war, orders him to be shot. By the help of Francoise, +Dominique kills the sentinel who has been set to watch him, and escapes +into the forest; but the German captain, suspecting that the miller and +his daughter have had a hand in his escape, orders the old man to be +shot in Dominique's place. Dominique creeps back in the grey dawn from +the forest, and Francoise, torn by conflicting emotions, knows not +whether she should wish him to stay and face his sentence or escape +once more and leave her father to his fate. The miller determines to +sacrifice himself for his daughter's lover, and by pretending that his +sentence has been revoked induces Dominique to depart. The old man is +shot by the Germans just as the French rush in triumphant with Dominique +at their head. + +'L'Attaque du Moulin' was received with more general favour than 'Le +Reve.' In it Bruneau shows an inclination to relax the stern principles +of his former creed. The action is often interrupted by solos and duets +of a type which approaches the conventional, though for the most part +the opera follows the Wagnerian system. The result of this mixture of +styles is unsatisfactory. 'L'Attaque du Moulin' has not the austere +sincerity of 'Le Reve,' and the attempts to bid for popular favour are +not nearly popular enough to catch the general ear. Bruneau has little +melodic inspiration, and when he tries to be tuneful he generally ends +in being merely commonplace. The orchestral part of the opera, too, is +far less satisfactory than in 'Le Reve.' There, as has already been +pointed out, the monotony and lack of colour were to a certain extent in +keeping with the character of the work, but in 'L'Attaque du Moulin,' +where all should be colour and variety, the dull and featureless +orchestration is a serious blot. 'Messidor' (1897) and 'L'Ouragan' +(1901) had very much the same reception as the composer's earlier +operas. The compact little phalanx of his admirers greeted them with +enthusiasm, but the general public remained cold. 'Messidor,' written +to a prose libretto by Zola, is a curious mixture of socialism and +symbolism. The foundation of the plot is a legend of the gold-bearing +river Ariege, which is said to spring from a vast subterranean +cathedral, where the infant Christ sits on his mother's lap playing with +the sand which falls from his hands in streams of gold. Intertwined with +this strange story is a tale of the conflict between a capitalist and +the villagers whom his gold-sifting machinery has ruined. There are some +fine moments in the drama, but the allegorical element which plays so +large a part in it makes neither for perspicacity nor for popularity. +'L'Ouragan' is a gloomy story of love, jealousy, and revenge. The scene +is laid among the fisher-folk of a wild coast--presumably +Brittany--where the passions of the inhabitants seem to rival the +tempests of their storm-beaten shores in power and intensity. It +contains music finely imagined and finely wrought, and it is impossible +not to feel that if Bruneau's sheer power of invention were commensurate +with his earnestness and dramatic feeling he would rank very high among +contemporary composers. In 'L'Enfant Roi' (1905), a 'comedie lyrique' +dealing with _bourgeois_ life in modern Paris, which plainly owed a good +deal to Charpentier's 'Louise,' the composer essayed a lighter style +with no very conspicuous success, but his latest work,'Nais Micoulin' +(1907), a Provencal tale of passion, revenge and devotion seems to +contain more of the elements of lasting success. + +Bruneau's later works can hardly be said to have fulfilled the promise +of 'Le Reve,' but they unquestionably show a fuller command of the +resources of his art. He is a singular and striking figure in the world +of modern music, and it is impossible to believe that he has spoken his +last word as yet. His career will be watched with interest by all who +are interested in the development of opera. + +Of the younger men the most prominent are Vincent d'Indy, Gustave +Charpentier, and Claude Debussy. Vincent d'Indy's 'Fervaal' was produced +at Brussels in 1897 and was given in Paris shortly afterwards. It is a +story of the Cevennes in heroic times, somewhat in the Wagnerian manner, +and the music is defiantly Wagnerian from first to last Clever as +'Fervaal' unquestionably is, it is valuable less as a work of art than +as an indication of the real bent of the composer's talent. The dramatic +parts of the opera suggest nothing but a brilliant exercise in the +Wagnerian style, but in the lyrica scenes, such as the last act in its +entirety, there are evidences of an individuality of conspicuous power +and originality. 'L'Etranger' (1903) hardly bore out the promise of +'Fervaal,' in spite of much clever musicianship. The plot is an +adaptation of the legend of the Flying Dutchman, and the unmitigated +gloom of the work prevented it from winning the degree of favour to +which its many merits entitled it. Gustave Charpentier's 'Louise,' +produced in 1900, hit the taste of the Parisian public immediately and +decisively. It tells the story of the loves of Louise, a Montmartre +work-girl, and Julien, a poet of Bohemian tendencies. Louise's parents +refuse their consent to the marriage, whereupon Louise quits her home +and her work and follows Julien. Together they plunge into the whirl of +Parisian life. Louise's mother appears, and persuades her daughter to +come home and nurse her sick father. In the last act, the parents, +having, as they think, snatched their child from destruction, do all in +their power to keep her at home. At first she is resigned, but +afterwards revolts, and the curtain falls as she rushes out to rejoin +Julien with her father's curses ringing in her ears. The strongly marked +Parisian flavour of the libretto ensured the success of 'Louise' in +Paris, but the music counts for a good deal too. Charpentier owes much +to Bruneau, but his music is more organic in quality, and his +orchestration is infinitely superior. Nothing could be more brilliant +than his translation into music of the sights and sounds of Parisian +street life. The vocal parts of 'Louise' are often ugly and +expressionless, but they are framed in an orchestral setting of curious +alertness and vivacity. It remains to be seen how Charpentier's +unquestionable talent will adapt itself to work of a wider scope than +'Louise.' + +The fame of Claude Debussy is a plant of recent growth, and dates, so +far as the general public is concerned, from the production of his +'Pelleas et Melisande' in 1902, though for some years before he had been +the idol of an intimate circle of adorers. 'Pelleas et Melisande' is +founded upon Maeterlinck's play of that name, the action of which it +follows closely, but not closely enough, it seems, to please the poet, +who publicly dissociated himself from the production of Debussy's opera +and, metaphorically speaking, cursed it root and branch. Golaud, the son +of King Arkel, wandering in the wood finds the damsel Melisande sitting +by a fountain. He falls in love with her and carries her back to the +castle as his wife. At the castle dwells also Pelleas, Golaud's brother, +whose growing love for Melisande is traced through a succession of +interviews. In the end, Golaud kills the lovers after a striking scene +in which, as he stands beneath the window of the room in which Pelleas +and Melisande have secretly met, he is told what is passing within by a +child whom he holds in his arms. The story is of course merely that of +Paolo and Francesca retold, but placed in very different surroundings +and accompanied by music that certainly could never have been written by +an Italian, of Dante's or any other time. + +Debussy has aimed at creating a musical equivalent for the Maeterlinck +'atmosphere,' The score of 'Pelleas et Melisande' is a pure piece of +musical impressionism, an experiment in musical pioneering the value of +which it is difficult to judge offhand. He has wilfully abjured melody +of any accepted kind and harmony conforming to any established +tradition. His music moves in a world of its own, a dream-world of +neutral tints, shadowy figures, and spectral passions. The dreamy +unreality of the tale is mirrored in the vague floating discords of the +music, and whatever the critics may say the effect is singularly +striking and persuasive. At present there are no rumours of a successor +to 'Pelleas et Melisande,' but whatever the future of Debussy may be, he +at any rate deserves the credit of striking a note entirely new to the +history of music. + +There are many other living French composers who, if not destined to +revolutionise the world of opera, have already done admirable work, and +may yet win a more than local reputation. Charles Marie Widor has +recently in 'Les Pecheurs de Saint Jean' (1905) given a worthy success +to his twenty-year-old 'Maitre Ambros.' Navier Leroux, a pupil of +Massenet, has carried on his master's traditions, somewhat Wagnerised +and generally speaking brought up to date, in 'Astarte' (1900), 'La +Reine Fiammette' (1903), 'William Ratcliff' (1906), and 'Theodora' +(1907). Remarkable promise has been shown by Paul Dukas in 'Ariane et +Barbe-Bleue' (1907); by Camille d'Erlanger in 'Le Fils de l'Etoile' +(1904) and 'Aphrodite' (1906); by Georges Marty in 'Daria' (1905); by +Georges Huee in 'Titania' (1903), and by Gabriel Dupont in 'La Cabrera +(1905), while a characteristic note of tender sentiment was struck by +Reynaldo Hahn in 'La Carmelite' (1902). + +Andre Messager's name is chiefly associated in England with work of a +lighter character, but it must not be forgotten that he is the composer +of two of the most charming operas comiques of modern times, 'La +Basoche' (1890) and 'Madame Chrysantheme' (1893). + +This is perhaps the most convenient place to refer to the remarkable +success recently achieved by the Flemish composer Jan Blockx, whose +'Herbergprinses,' originally produced at Antwerp in 1896, has been given +in French as 'Princesse d'Auberge' in Brussels and many French towns. +The heroine is a kind of Flemish Carmen, a wicked siren named Rita, who +seduces the poet Merlyn from his bride, and after dragging him to the +depths of infamy and despair, dies in the end by his hand. The music, +though not without a touch of coarseness, overflows with life and +energy, and one scene in particular, that of a Flemish Kermesse, is +masterly in its judicious and convincing use of local colour. Jan +Blockx's later works, 'Thyl Uylenspiegel' (1900), 'De Bruid van der Zee' +(1901) and 'De Kapelle' (1903) do not appear to have met with equal +success. Another Belgian composer, Paul Gilson, has of late won more +than local fame by his 'Princesse Rayon de Soleil,' produced at Brussels +in 1905. + +In modern times the stream of opera comique has divided into two +channels. The first, as we have seen, under the guidance of such men as +Bizet, Delibes, and Massenet, has approached so near to the confines of +grand opera, that it is often difficult to draw the line between the two +_genres_ The second, under the influence of Offenbach, Herve, and +Lecocq, has shrunk into opera bouffe, a peculiarly Parisian product, +which, though now for some reason under a cloud, has added sensibly to +the gaiety of nations during the past thirty years. The productions of +this school, though scarcely coming within the scope of the present +work, are by no means to be despised from the merely musical point of +view, and though the recent deaths of Audran, Planquette and other +acknowledged masters of the _genre_ have left serious gaps in the ranks +of comic opera writers, there seems to be no valid reason for despairing +of the future of so highly civilised and entertaining a form of musical +art. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +MODERN ITALY + +VERDI--BOITO--PONCHIELLI--PUCCINI--MASCAGNI--LEONCAVALLO--GIORDANO + + +The death of Verdi occurred so recently that it is still possible to +speak of him as representing the music of modern Italy in its noblest +and most characteristic manifestation, but his life's record stretches +back to a very dim antiquity. His first work, 'Oberto, Conte di San +Bonifacio,' was performed in 1839, when 'Les Huguenots' was but three +years old, and 'Der Fliegende Hollaender' still unwritten. It is +thoroughly and completely Italian in type, and, though belonging to a +past age in the matter of form, contains the germs of those qualities +which were afterwards to make Verdi so popular, the rough, almost brutal +energy which contrasted so strongly with the vapid sweetness of +Donizetti, and the vigorous vein of melody which throughout his career +never failed him. Verdi's next work, a comic opera known alternatively +as 'Un Giorno di Regno' and 'Il Finto Stanislao' (1840) was a failure. +'Nabucodonosor' (1842) and 'I Lombardi' (1843) established his +reputation in his own country and won favour abroad; but the opera +which gave him European fame was 'Ernani' (1844). The story is an +adaptation of Victor Hugo's famous play. Elvira, the chosen bride of Don +Silva, a Spanish grandee, loves Ernani, an exiled nobleman, who has had +to take refuge in brigandage. Silva discovers their attachment, but +being connected with Ernani in a plot against Charles V., he defers his +vengeance for the moment. He yields his claim upon Elvira's affection, +but exacts a promise from his rival, that when he demands it, Ernani +shall be prepared to take his own life. Charles's magnanimity frustrates +the conspiracy, and Silva, defeated alike in love and ambition, claims +the fulfilment of Ernani's oath, despite the prayers of Elvira, who is +condemned to see her lover stab himself in her presence. Hugo's +melodrama suited Verdi's blood-and-thunder style exactly. 'Ernani' is +crude and sensational, but its rough vigour never descends to weakness, +though it often comes dangerously near to vulgarity. 'Ernani' is the +opera most typical of Verdi's earliest period. With all its blemishes, +it is easy to see how its masculine vigour and energy must have +captivated the audiences of the day. But there were political as well as +musical reasons for the instantaneous success of Verdi's early operas. +Italy in the forties was a seething mass of sedition. Verdi's strenuous +melodies, often allied to words in which the passionate patriotism of +his countrymen contrived to read a political sentiment, struck like a +trumpet-call upon the ears of men already ripe for revolt against the +hated Austrian rule. Such strains as the famous 'O mia patria, si bella +e perduta' in 'Nabucodonosor' proclaimed Verdi the Tyrtaeus of awakened +Italy. + +'Ernani' was followed by a series of works which, for the sake of +Verdi's reputation, it is better to pass over as briefly as possible. +His success provided him with more engagements than he could +conscientiously fulfil, and the quality of his work suffered in +consequence. There are some fine scenes in 'I Due Foscari' (1844), but +it has little of the vigour of 'Ernani.' 'Giovanna d'Arco' (1845), +'Alzira' (1845), and 'Attila' (1846), were almost total failures. In +'Macbeth' (1847), however, Verdi seems to have been inspired by his +subject, and wrote better music than he had yet given to the world. The +libretto is a miserable perversion of Shakespeare, and for that reason +the opera has never succeeded in England, but in countries which can +calmly contemplate a ballet of witches, or listen unmoved to Lady +Macbeth trolling a drinking-song, it has had its day of success. +'Macbeth' is interesting to students of Verdi's development as the first +work in which he shows signs of emerging from his _Sturm und Drang_ +period. There is some admirable declamatory music in it, which seems to +foreshadow the style of 'Rigoletto,' and the sleep-walking scene, though +old-fashioned in structure, is really impressive. After 'Macbeth' came +another series of works which are now forgotten. Among them was 'I +Masnadieri,' which was written for Her Majesty's Theatre in 1847. +Although the principal part was sung by Jenny Lind, the work was a +complete failure, and was pronounced by the critic Chorley to be the +worst opera ever produced in England. Passing quickly by 'Il Corsaro' +(1848), 'La Battaglia di Legnano' (1849), 'Luisa Miller' (1849) and +'Stiffelio' (1850), all of which have dropped completely out of the +current repertory, we come to the brilliant period in which Verdi +produced in succession three works which, through all changes of +taste and fashion, have manfully held their place in popular +favour--'Rigoletto,' 'Il Trovatore,' and 'La Traviata.' 'Rigoletto' +(1851) is founded upon Victor Hugo's drama, 'Le Roi s'amuse.' The +_locale_ of the story is changed, and the King of France becomes a Duke +of Mantua, but otherwise the original scheme of the work remains +unaltered. Rigoletto, the Duke's jester, has an only daughter, Gilda, +whom he keeps closely immured in an out-of-the-way part of the city, to +preserve her from the vicious influence of the court. The amorous Duke, +however, has discovered her retreat, and won her heart in the disguise +of a student. The courtiers, too, have found out that Rigoletto is in +the habit of visiting a lady, and jumping to the conclusion that she is +his mistress, determine to carry her off by night in order to pay the +jester out for the bitter insults which he loves to heap upon them. +Their plan succeeds, and Gilda is conveyed to the Palace. There she is +found by her father, and to his horror she confesses that she loves the +Duke. He determines to punish his daughter's seducer, and hires a bravo +named Sparafucile to put him out of the way. This worthy beguiles the +Duke, by means of the charms of his sister Maddalena, to a lonely inn on +the banks of the river, promising to hand over his body to Rigoletto at +midnight. Maddalena pleads tearfully for the life of her handsome lover, +but Sparafucile is a man of honour, and will not break his contract with +the jester. Rigoletto has paid for a body, and a body he must have. +However, he consents, should any stranger visit the inn that night, to +kill him in the Duke's place. Gilda, who is waiting in the street, hears +this and makes up her mind to die instead of her lover. She enters the +house, and is promptly murdered by Sparafucile. Her body, sewn up in a +sack, is handed over at the appointed hour to Rigoletto. The jester, in +triumph, is about to hurl the body into the river, when he hears the +Duke singing in the distance. Overcome by a horrible suspicion, he opens +the sack and is confronted by the body of his daughter. + +The music of 'Rigoletto' is on a very different plane from that of +'Ernani.' Verdi had become uneasy in the fetters of the +cavatina-cabaletta tradition--the slow movement followed by the +quick--which, since the day of Rossini, had ruled Italian opera with a +rod of iron. In 'Rigoletto,' although the old convention still survives, +the composer shows a keen aspiration after a less trammelled method of +expressing himself. Rigoletto's great monologue is a piece of +declamation pure and simple, and as such struck a note till then +unheard in Italy. The whole of the last act is a brilliant example of +Verdi's picturesque power, combined with acute power of +characterisation. The Duke's gay and lightsome _canzone_, the +magnificent quartet, in which the different passions of four personages +are contrasted and combined with such consummate art, and the sombre +terrors of the tempest, touch a level of art which Verdi had not till +then attained, nor was to reach again until the days of 'Aida,' twenty +years later. + +'Il Trovatore' (1853) is melodrama run mad. The plot is terribly +confused, and much of it borders on the incomprehensible, but the +outline of it is as follows. The mother of Azucena, a gipsy, has been +burnt as a witch by order of the Count di Luna. In revenge Azucena +steals one of his children, whom she brings up as her own son under the +name of Manrico. Manrico loves Leonora, a lady of the Spanish Court, who +is also beloved by his brother, the younger Count di Luna. After various +incidents Manrico falls into the Count's hands, and is condemned to +death. Leonora offers her hand as the price of his release, which the +Count accepts. Manrico refuses liberty on these terms, and Leonora takes +poison to escape the fulfilment of her promise. + +The music of 'Il Trovatore' shows a sad falling off from the promise of +'Rigoletto.' Face to face with such a libretto, Verdi probably felt that +refinement and characterisation were equally out of the question, and +fell back on the coarseness of his earlier style. 'Il Trovatore' abounds +with magnificent tunes, but they are slung together with very little +feeling for appropriateness. There is a brutal energy about the work +which has been its salvation, for of the higher qualities, which make a +fitful appearance in 'Rigoletto,' there is hardly a trace. + +'La Traviata' (1853) is an operatic version of Dumas's famous play, 'La +Dame aux Camellias.' The sickly tale of the love and death of Marguerite +Gauthier, here known as Violetta, is hardly an ideal subject for a +libretto, and it says much for Verdi's versatility that, after his +excursions into transpontine melodrama, he was able to treat +'drawing-room tragedy' with success. Alfredo Germont loves Violetta, the +courtesan, and establishes himself with her in a villa outside Paris. +There his old father pays Violetta a visit, and, by representing that +the matrimonial prospects of his daughter are injured by Violetta's +connection with Alfredo, induces her to leave him. Alfredo is indignant +at Violetta's supposed inconstancy, and insults her publicly at a ball +in Paris. In the last act Violetta dies of consumption after an +affecting reconciliation with her lover. The music of 'La Traviata' is +in strong contrast to Verdi's previous work. The interest of Dumas's +play is mainly psychological, and demands a delicacy of treatment which +would have been thrown away upon the melodramatic subjects which Verdi +had hitherto affected. Much of his music is really graceful and +refined, but his efforts to avoid vulgarity occasionally land him in +the slough of sentimentality. Nevertheless, the pathos which +characterises some of the scenes has kept 'La Traviata' alive, though +the opera is chiefly employed now as a means of allowing a popular prima +donna to display her high notes and her diamonds. + +'Les Vepres Siciliennes,' which was produced in Paris in 1855, during +the Universal Exhibition, only achieved a partial success, and 'Simon +Boccanegra' (1857), even in the revised and partly re-written form which +was performed in 1881, has never been popular out of Italy. 'Un Ballo in +Maschera' (1861), on the other hand, was for many years a great +favourite in this country, and has recently been revived with remarkable +success. The scene of the opera is laid in New England. Riccardo, the +governor of Boston, loves Amelia, the wife of his secretary, Renato. +After a scene in a fortune-teller's hut, in which Riccardo's death is +predicted, the lovers meet in a desolate spot on the seashore. Thither +also comes Renato, who has discovered a plot against his chief and +hastens to warn him of his danger. In order to save Riccardo's life +Renato resorts to the time-honoured device of an exchange of cloaks. +Thus effectually disguised Riccardo makes his escape, leaving Amelia, +also completely unrecognisable in a transparent gauze veil, in charge of +her unsuspecting husband, who has promised to convey her home in safety. +Enter the conspirators, who attack Renato; Amelia rushes between the +combatants, and at the psychological moment her veil drops off. Tableau +and curtain to a mocking chorus of the conspirators, which forms a +sinister background to the anguish and despair of the betrayed husband +and guilty wife. In the next act Renato joins forces with the +conspirators, and in the last he murders Riccardo at the masked ball +from which the opera takes its name. 'Un Ballo in Maschera' is one of +the best operas of Verdi's middle period. Like 'Rigoletto' it abounds in +sharp and striking contrasts of character, the gay and brilliant music +of the page Oscar, in particular, forming an effective foil to the more +tragic portions of the score. The same feeling for contrast is +perceptible in 'La Forza del Destino,' in which the gloom of a most +sanguinary plot is relieved by the humours of a vivandiere and a comic +priest. This work, which was produced at St. Petersburg in 1862, has +never been popular out of Italy, and 'Don Carlos,' which was written for +the Paris Exhibition of 1867, seems also to be practically laid upon the +shelf. It tells of the love of Don Carlos for his stepmother, Elizabeth, +the wife of Philip II. of Spain, and apart from the dulness of the +libretto, has the faults of a work of transition. Verdi's earlier manner +was beginning to lie heavily upon his shoulders, but he was not yet +strong enough to sever his connection with the past. There are scenes in +'Don Carlos' which foreshadow the truth and freedom of 'Aida,' but their +beauty is often marred by strange relapses into conventionality. + +'Aida' (1871) was the result of a commission from Ismail Pacha, who +wished to enhance the reputation of his new opera-house at Cairo by the +production of a work upon an Egyptian subject from the pen of the most +popular composer of the day. The idea of the libretto seems to have been +originally due to Mariette Bey, the famous Egyptologist, who had +happened to light upon the story in the course of his researches. It was +first written in French prose by M. Camilla du Locle in collaboration +with Verdi himself, and afterwards translated by Signor Ghislanzoni. + +Aida, the daughter of Amonasro, the King of Ethiopia, has been taken +prisoner by the Egyptians, and given as a slave to the princess Amneris. +They both love the warrior Radames, the chosen chief of the Egyptian +army, but he cares nothing for Amneris, and she vows a deadly vengeance +against the slave who has supplanted her. Radames returns in triumph +from the wars, bringing with him a chain of prisoners, among whom is +Amonasro. The latter soon finds out Aida's influence over Radames, and +half terrifies, half persuades her into promising to extract from her +lover the secret of the route which the Egyptian army will take on the +morrow on their way to a new campaign against the Ethiopians. Aida +beguiles Radames with seductive visions of happiness in her own country, +and induces him to tell her the secret. Amonasro, who is on the watch, +overhears it and escapes in triumph, while Radames, in despair at his +own treachery, gives himself up to justice. Amneris offers him pardon +if he will accept her love, but he refuses life without Aida, and is +condemned to be immured in a vault beneath the temple of Phtha. There he +finds Aida, who has discovered a means of getting in, and has made up +her mind to die with her lover. They expire in each other's arms, while +the solemn chant of the priestesses in the temple above mingles with the +sighs of the heart-broken Amneris. + +'Aida' was an immense advance upon Verdi's previous work. The Egyptian +subject, so remote from the ordinary operatic groove, seems to have +tempted him to a fresher and more vivid realism, and the possibilities +of local colour opened a new world to so consummate a master of +orchestration. The critics of the day at once accused Verdi of imitating +Wagner, and certain passages undoubtedly suggest the influence of +'Lohengrin,' but as a whole the score is thoroughly and radically +Italian. In 'Aida' Verdi's vein of melody is as rich as ever, but it is +controlled by a keen artistic sense, which had never had full play +before. For the first time in his career he discovered the true balance +between singers and orchestra, and at once took his proper place among +the great musicians of the world. Special attention must be directed to +Verdi's use of local colour in 'Aida.' This is often a dangerous +stumbling-block to musicians, but Verdi triumphed most where all the +world had failed. In the scene of the consecration of Radames, he +employs two genuine Oriental tunes with such consummate art that this +scene is not only one of the few instances in the history of opera in +which Oriental colour has been successfully employed, but, in the +opinion of many, is the most beautiful part of the whole opera. Another +magnificent scene is the judgment of Radames, in the fourth act, where +an extraordinary effect is gained by the contrast of the solemn voices +of the priests within the chamber with the passionate grief of Amneris +upon the threshold. The love scene, in the third act, shows the lyrical +side of Verdi's genius in its most voluptuous aspect. The picture of the +palm-clad island of Philae and the dreaming bosom of the Nile is +divinely mirrored in Verdi's score. The music seems to be steeped in the +odorous charm of the warm southern night. + +Sixteen years elapsed before the appearance of Verdi's next work. It was +generally supposed that the aged composer had bidden farewell for ever +to the turmoil and excitement of the theatre, and the interest excited +by the announcement of a new opera from his pen was proportionately +keen. The libretto of 'Otello' (1887), a masterly condensation of +Shakespeare's tragedy, was from the pen of Arrigo Boito, himself a +musician of no ordinary accomplishment. The action of the opera opens in +Cyprus, amidst the fury of a tempest. Othello arrives fresh from a +victory over the Turks, and is greeted enthusiastically by the people, +who light a bonfire in his honour. Then follows the drinking scene. +Cassio, plied by Iago, becomes intoxicated and fights with Montano. The +duel is interrupted by the entrance of Othello, who degrades Cassio +from his captaincy, and dismisses the people to their homes. The act +ends with a duet of flawless loveliness between Othello and Desdemona, +the words of which are ingeniously transplanted from Othello's great +speech before the Senate. In the second act Iago advises Cassio to +induce Desdemona to intercede for him, and, when left alone, pours forth +a terrible confession of his unfaith in the famous 'Credo.' This, one of +the few passages in the libretto not immediately derived from +Shakespeare, is a triumph on Boito's part. The highest praise that can +be given to it is to say, which is the literal truth, that it falls in +no way beneath the poetical and dramatic standard of its context. +Othello now enters, and Iago contrives to sow the first seeds of +jealousy in his breast by calling his attention to Cassio's interview +with Desdemona. Then follows a charming episode, another of Boito's +interpolations, in which a band of Cypriotes bring flowers to Desdemona. +Othello is won for the moment by the guileless charm of her manner, but +his jealousy is revived by her assiduous pleading for Cassio. He thrusts +her from him, and the handkerchief with which she offers to bind his +brow is secured by Iago. Left with his chief, Iago fans the rising flame +of jealousy, and the act ends with Othello's terrific appeal to Heaven +for vengeance upon his wife. In the third act, after an interview of +terrible irony and passion between Othello and Desdemona, in which he +accuses her to her face of unchastity, and laughs at her indignant +denial. Cassio appears with the handkerchief which he has found in his +chamber. Iago ingeniously contrives that Othello shall recognise it, and +at the same time arranges that he shall only hear as much of the +conversation as shall confirm him in his infatuation. Envoys from Venice +arrive, bearing the order for Othello's recall and the appointment of +Cassio in his place. Othello, mad with rage and jealousy, strikes +Desdemona to the earth, and drives every one from the hall. Then his +overtaxed brain reels, and he sinks swooning to the floor. The shouts of +the people outside acclaim him as the lion of Venice, while Iago, his +heel scornfully placed on Othello's unconscious breast, cries with +ghastly malevolence, 'Ecco il Leone.' The last act follows Shakespeare +very closely. Desdemona sings her Willow Song, and, as though conscious +of approaching calamity, bids Emilia a pathetic farewell. Scarcely are +her eyes closed in sleep, when Othello enters by a secret door, bent on +his fell purpose. He wakes her with a kiss, and after a brief scene +smothers her with a pillow. Emilia enters with the news of an attempt to +assassinate Cassio. Finding Desdemona lead, she calls for help. Cassio, +Montano, and others rush in; Iago's treachery is unmasked, and Othello +in despair stabs himself, dying in a last kiss upon his dead wife's +lips. + +In 'Otello' Verdi advanced to undreamed-of heights of freedom and +beauty. 'Aida' was a mighty step towards the light, but with 'Otello' he +finally shook off the trammels of convention. His inexhaustible stream +of melody remained as pure and full as ever, while the more declamatory +parts of the opera, down to the slightest piece of recitative, are +informed by a richness of suggestion, and an unerring instinct for +truth, such as it would be vain to seek in his earlier work. Rich and +picturesque as much of the orchestral writing is, the voice remains, as +in his earlier works, the key-stone of the whole structure, and though +motives are occasionally repeated with exquisite effect--as in the case +of the 'Kiss' theme from the duet in the first act, which is heard again +in Othello's death scene--Verdi makes no pretence at imitating Wagner's +elaborate use of guiding themes. There is an artistic reason for this, +apart from the radical difference between the German and Italian views +of opera. In 'Otello' the action is rapid for the most part, and in many +scenes the music only aims at furnishing a suitable accompaniment to the +dialogue. A symphonic treatment of the orchestra, in such scenes as that +between Iago and Othello in the second act, would tend to obscure the +importance of the dialogue upon the stage, every word of which for the +proper comprehension of the drama, must be forcibly impressed upon the +listener's attention. In such a scene as the handkerchief trio, in which +the situation remains practically the same for some time, a symphonic +treatment of the orchestra is thoroughly in place, and here Verdi +displays extraordinary skill in working out his theme, though even here +his method has very little resemblance to that of Wagner. + +Six years after 'Otello' came 'Falstaff,' produced in 1893, when Verdi +was in his eightieth year. Boito's libretto is a cleverly abbreviated +version of Shakespeare's 'Merry Wives of Windsor,' with the addition of +two or three passages from 'Henry IV.' There are three acts, each of +which is divided into two scenes. The first scene takes place in the +Garter Inn at Windsor. Falstaff and his trusty followers, Bardolph and +Pistol, discomfit Dr. Caius, who comes to complain of having been +robbed. Falstaff then unfolds his scheme for replenishing his coffers +through the aid of Mrs. Ford and Mrs. Page, and bids his faithful +esquires carry the famous duplicate letters to the comely dames. Honour, +however intervenes, and they refuse the office. Falstaff then sends his +page with the letters, pronounces his celebrated discourse upon honour, +and hunts Bardolph and Pistol out of the house. In the second scene, we +are in Ford's garden. The letters have arrived, and the merry wives +eagerly compare notes and deliberate upon a plan for avenging themselves +upon their elderly wooer. Dame Quickly is despatched to bid Falstaff to +an interview. Meanwhile Nannetta Ford, the 'Sweet Anne Page' of +Shakespeare, has contrived to gain a stolen interview with her lover +Fenton, while the treacherous Bardolph and Pistol are telling Ford of +their late master's designs on is wife's honour. Ford's jealousy is +easily aroused, and he makes up his mind to carry the war into the +enemy's country by visiting Falstaff in disguise. The second act takes +us back to the Garter. Dame Quickly arrives with a message from Mrs. +Ford. Falstaff is on fire at once, and agrees to pay her a visit between +the hours of two and three. Ford now arrives, calling himself Master +Brook, and paves his way with a present of wine and money. He tells +Falstaff of his hopeless passion for a haughty dame of Windsor, Mrs. +Alice Ford, begging the irresistible knight to woo the lady, so that, +once her pride is broken, he too may have a chance of winning her +favour. Falstaff gladly agrees, and horrifies the unlucky Ford by +confiding the news to him that he already has an assignation with the +lady fixed for that very afternoon. The second scene is laid in a room +in Ford's house. The merry wives are assembled, and soon Falstaff is +descried approaching. Mrs. Ford entertains him for a few minutes, and +then, according to their arrangement, Dame Quickly runs in to say that +Mrs. Page is at the door. Falstaff hastily hides himself behind a large +screen, but the jest changes to earnest when Mrs. Page herself rushes in +to announce that Ford, mad with jealousy and rage, has raised the whole +household and is really coming to look for his wife's lover. The women +quickly slip Falstaff into a huge basket and cover him with dirty linen, +while Nannetta and Fenton who have been indulging in another stolen +interview slip behind the screen. Ford searches everywhere for Falstaff +in vain, and is beginning to despair of finding him, when the sound of a +kiss behind the screen arrests his attention. He approaches it +cautiously, and thrusts it aside only to find his daughter in Fenton's +arms. Meanwhile Mrs. Ford calls on her servants. Between them they +manage to lift the gigantic basket, and, while she calls her husband to +view the sight, carry it to the window and pitch it out bodily into the +Thames. The first scene of the third act is devoted to hatching a new +plot to humiliate the fat knight, and the second shows us a moonlit +glade in Windsor Forest, whither he has been summoned by the agency of +Dame Quickly. There all the characters assemble disguised as elves and +fairies. They give Falstaff a _mauvais quart d'heure_, and end by +convincing him that his amorous wiles are useless against the virtue of +honest burghers' wives. Meanwhile Nannetta has induced her father, by +means of a trick, to consent to her marriage with Fenton, and the act +ends with a song of rejoicing in the shape of a magnificent fugue in +which every one joins. + +Perhaps the most extraordinary thing about 'Falstaff' is that it was +written by a man eighty years old. It is the very incarnation of youth +and high spirits. Verdi told an interviewer that he thoroughly enjoyed +writing it, and one can well believe his words. He has combined a +schoolboy's sense of fun with the grace and science of a Mozart. The +part-writing is often exceedingly elaborate, but the most complicated +concerted pieces flow on as naturally as a ballad. The glorious final +fugue is an epitome of the work. It is really a marvel of contrapuntal +ingenuity, yet it is so full of bewitching melody and healthy animal +spirits that an uncultivated hearer would probably think it nothing but +an ordinary jovial finale. In the last act Verdi strikes a deeper note. +He has caught the charm and mystery of the sleeping forest with +exquisite art. There is an unearthly beauty about this scene, which is +new to students of Verdi. In the fairy music, too, he reveals yet +another side of his genius. Nothing so delicate nor so rich in +imaginative beauty has been written since the days of Weber. + +It is impossible as yet to speak with any degree of certainty as to +Verdi's probable influence upon posterity. With all his genius he was +perhaps hardly the man to found a school. He was not, like his great +contemporary Wagner, one of the world's great revolutionists. His genius +lay not in overturning systems and in exploring paths hitherto +untrodden, but in developing existing materials to the highest +conceivable pitch of beauty and completeness. His music has nothing to +do with theories, it is the voice of nature speaking in the idiom of +art. + +Of the composers who modelled their style upon Verdi's earlier manner, +the most important were Petrella (1813-1877); Apolloni (1822-1889), the +composer of 'L'Ebreo,' a melodrama of a rough and ready description, +which was produced in 1855 and went the round of all the theatres of +Italy; and Carlos Gomez (1839-1896), a Brazilian composer, whose opera, +'Il Guarany,' was performed in London in 1872. In him Verdi's vigour +often degenerated into mere brutality, but his work is by no means +without power, though he has little claim to distinction of style. Of +the many operas written by Marchetti (1835-1902) only one, 'Ruy Blas,' +founded upon Victor Hugo's play, achieved anything like permanent +success. In form and general outline it owes much to Verdi's influence, +but the vein of tender melody which runs through it strikes a note of +individual inspiration. It was performed in London in 1877. + +Arrigo Boito, to whom the University of Cambridge accorded the honour of +an honorary degree in 1893, has written but one opera, 'Mefistofele,' +but his influence upon modern Italian music must be measured in inverse +ratio to his productive power. When 'Mefistofele' was originally +produced in 1868, Verdi's genius was still in the chrysalis stage, and +the novelty and force of Boito's music made 'Mefistofele,' even in its +fall--for the first performance was a complete failure--a rallying point +for the Italian disciples of truth and sincerity in music. In 1875 it +was performed in a revised and abbreviated form, and since then has +taken its place among the masterpieces of modern Italy. Boito's libretto +reproduces the atmosphere of Goethe's drama far more successfully than +any other of the many attempts to fit 'Faust' to the operatic stage. It +is a noble poem, but from the merely scenic point of view it has many +weaknesses. Its principal failing is the lack of one continuous thread +of interest. The opera is merely a succession of episodes, each nicely +calculated to throw fresh light upon the character of Faust, but by no +means mutually connected. The prologue opens in Heaven, where the +compact is made regarding the soul of Faust. The next scene shows the +Kermesse, changing to Faust's study, where Mephistopheles appears and +the contract is signed which binds him to Faust's service. We then pass +to the garden scene, in which Faust is shown as Margaret's lover. Then +come the Witches' Sabbath on the summit of the Brocken, and the prison +scene with the death of Margaret. After this we have two scenes from the +second part of Goethe's 'Faust,' the classical Sabbath, in which the +union of Helen and Faust symbolises the embrace of the Greek and +Germanic ideals, and the redemption of Faust with the discomfiture of +Mephistopheles, which ends the work. Although 'Mefistofele' is +unsatisfactory as a whole, the extraordinary beauty of several single +scenes ought to secure for it such immortality as the stage has to +offer. Boito is most happily inspired by Margaret, and the two scenes in +which she appears are masterpieces of beauty and pathos. In the garden +scene he has caught the ineffable simplicity of her character with +astonishing success. The contrast between her girlish innocence and the +voluptuous sentiment of Gounod's heroine cannot fail to strike the most +careless listener. The climax of this scene, the delightfully tender and +playful quartet, which culminates in a burst of hysterical laughter, is +a stroke of genius. In the prison scene Boito rises to still greater +heights. The poignant pathos of the poor maniac's broken utterances, the +languorous beauty of the duet, and the frenzied terror and agony of the +finale, are beyond praise. + +Amilcare Ponchielli (1834-1886) owed much to both Verdi and Boito, and +his best work, 'La Gioconda,' which was produced in 1876, bears +unmistakable traces of the influence of 'Mefistofele' and 'Aida.' The +libretto of 'La Gioconda' is founded upon a gloomy play by Victor Hugo, +'Angelo, Tyran de Padoue.' La Gioconda, a Venetian street singer, buys +the safety of her lover Enzo from the spy Barnaba with her own hand, +only to find that the former uses his new-found liberty to prosecute an +intrigue with another woman. She generously contrives to save the lives +of Enzo and his mistress, which are threatened by the vengeance of the +latter's husband, and commits suicide in order to escape falling into +the hands of Barnaba. Ponchielli's opera overflows with melody of a +rather commonplace description. He has, besides, a certain dramatic +gift, and the concerted music in 'La Gioconda' is powerful and +effective. The ballet music is unusually good, and shows many favourable +examples of Ponchielli's fondness for fanciful melodic designs, a +mannerism which has been freely imitated by his pupils and followers. +Another meritorious composer of the same school was Alfredo Catalani +(1854-93), whose 'Lorelei' (1890) and 'La Wally' (1892) still hold the +stage. + +The most important of the younger men is Giacomo Puccini, a composer who +during the last decade has come to the front in a decisive manner. His +first opera, 'Le Villi,' was produced in 1884. The subject is a strange +one to have taken the fancy of a southern composer. It is founded upon +one of those weird traditions which seem essentially the property of +Northern Europe. Villi, or in English, Wilis, are the spirits of +affianced damsels, whose lovers have proved untrue. They rise from the +earth at midnight, and assemble upon the highway attired in all their +bridal finery. From midnight until dawn they wheel their wild dances and +watch for their faithless lovers. If one of the latter happen to pass, +he is beguiled into the magic circle, and in the grasp of the relentless +Wilis is whirled round and round until he sinks expiring upon the +ground. In Puccini's opera, the scene is laid in the Black Forest. The +characters are three in number--- Anna, her _fiance_ Robert, and her +father Wilhelm Wulf. The first act opens with the betrothal of the +lovers. After the usual festivities Robert departs for Mayence, whither +he has to go to claim an inheritance. Six months elapse between the +first and second acts. Robert has fallen into the toils of an abandoned +woman, and is still at Mayence; Anna has died of a broken heart. The +second act opens with two orchestral movements, 'L'Abbandono,' which +describes the funeral of Anna, and 'La Tregenda,' the dance of the +Wilis. Robert now appears, torn by remorse, and pours forth his +unavailing regrets. But the hour of repentance is past. Anna and her +attendant Wilis rush on. The unfortunate man, in a kind of hypnotic +trance, is drawn into their circling dance. They whirl him round and +round in ever wilder and more fantastic gambols, until he drops lifeless +upon the ground, and the avenging spirits disappear with a Hosanna of +triumph. There is little attempt at local colour in 'Le Villi,' but the +music is full of imaginative power. In the purely orchestral parts of +the work the composer seems to have escaped from convention altogether, +and has written music instinct with weird suggestion and unearthly +force. + +Puccini's next opera, 'Edgar' (1889), was a failure, but in 'Manon +Lescaut' (1893) he once more achieved success. His treatment of the Abbe +Prevost's romance, as may well be imagined, differs _in toto_ from that +of Massenet. The libretto, in the first place, is laid out upon an +entirely different plan. It consists of a string of detached scenes with +but little mutual connection, which, without some previous knowledge of +the story, would be barely comprehensible. The first act deals with the +meeting of the lovers at Amiens and their flight to Paris. In the second +act we find Manon installed as the mistress of Geronte di Lavoir, +surrounded by crowds of admirers. Des Grieux penetrates to her +apartment, and after a scene of passionate upbraiding persuades her to +fly with him. But before they can depart they are interrupted by the +entrance of Manon's irate protector, who, in revenge for her +faithlessness, summons the police and consigns her to St. Lazare. The +third act shows the quay at Havre, and the embarkation of the _filles de +joie_ for New Orleans; and the last act, which takes place in America, +is one long duet between Manon and Des Grieux, ending with Manon's +death. Puccini looked at the story of Manon through Italian spectacles. +His power of characterisation is limited, and there is little in his +music to differentiate Manon and her lover from the ordinary hero and +heroine of Italian opera. The earlier scenes of the opera demand a +lighter touch than he could then command, but in the tragic scene at +Havre he is completely successful. Here he strikes the true note of +tragedy. The great concerted piece with which the act ends is a masterly +piece of writing, and proves that Puccini can handle a form, which as +employed by lesser men is a synonym for stereotyped conventionality, +with superb passion and sincerity. + +But Puccini's earlier successes sank into insignificance by the side of +the triumph of 'La Boheme,' which was produced in 1896. It was +impossible to weave a connected story from Murger's famous novel. +Puccini's librettists attempted nothing of the kind. They took four +scenes each complete in itself and put them before the audience without +any pretence of a connecting thread of interest. In the first act we see +the joyous quartet of Bohemians in their Paris attic--Rodolphe the poet, +Marcel the painter, Colline the philosopher, and Schaunard the musician. +Rodolphe sacrifices the manuscript of his tragedy to keep the fire +going, and Marcel keeps the landlord at bay, until the arrival of +Schaunard with an unexpected windfall of provisions raises the spirits +of the company to the zenith of rapture. Three of the Bohemians go out +to keep Christmas Eve at their favourite cafe, leaving Rodolphe to +finish an article. To him enters Mimi, an embroiderer, who lodges on the +same floor, under pretence of asking for a light. A delicious love-duet +follows, and the lovers go off to join their friends. The next scene is +at the Cafe Momus, where Musette appears with a wealthy banker. She +speedily contrives to get the banker out of the way and rushes into the +arms of her old lover, Marcel. This scene, which is very short, is a +carnival of bustle and gaiety, and is a brilliant example of Puccini's +happy knack of handling concerted music. The next scene is a series of +quarrels and reconciliations between the two pairs of lovers, while in +the last act Mimi, who has deserted Rodolphe, comes back to see him once +more before she dies, and breathes her last on the little bed in the +attic. Puccini's music echoes the spirit of Murger's romance with +marvellous sincerity. It paints the mingled joy and grief of Bohemian +life in hues the most delicate and tender. Like Murger, though dealing +with things often squalid and unlovely, he never forgets that he is an +artist. The sordid facts of life are gilded by the rainbow colours of +romance. Puccini has caught the fanciful grace of Murger's style with +the dexterity of genius. His music is thoroughly Italian in style, but +he never strikes a false note. He dashes off the irresponsible gaiety of +the earlier scenes with a touch which though light is always sure, and +when the action deepens to tenderness, and even to pathos, he can be +serious without falling into sentimentality and impressive without +encroaching upon the boundaries of melodrama. 'La Boheme' is one of the +few operas of recent years which can be described as a masterpiece. + +With 'La Tosca,' which was produced in 1899, Puccini won another +success, though for very different reasons from those which made 'La +Boheme' so conspicuous a triumph. The libretto is a clever condensation +of Sardou's famous drama. The scene is laid in Rome in the year 1800. In +the first act we are introduced to Mario Cavaradossi, a painter, who is +at work in a church, and to Flora Tosca, his mistress, a famous singer, +who pays him a visit and teases him with her jealous reproaches. +Cavaradossi befriends Angelotti, a victim of Papal tyranny, who has +escaped from the castle of St Angelo, and despatches him by a secret +path to his villa in the outskirts of Rome. Scarpia, the chief of +police, who is close upon Angelotti's heels, suspects Cavaradossi of +being implicated in Angelotti's escape, and uses La Tosca's jealous +suspicions to help him in securing the prisoner. In the next act +Angelotti is still at large, but Cavaradossi has been arrested. Scarpia, +who has meanwhile conceived a violent passion for La Tosca, extracts +from her the secret of Angelotti's hiding-place by putting her lover to +the torture in an adjoining room, whence his cries penetrate to her +distracted ears. La Tosca buys her lover's safety by promising herself +to Scarpia. The latter gives orders that Cavaradossi's execution shall +only be a sham one, blank cartridge being substituted for bullets. When +they are left alone, La Tosca murders Scarpia with a carving-knife when +he tries to embrace her. In the last act, after a passionate duet +between the lovers, Cavaradossi is executed--Scarpia having given a +secret order to the effect that the execution shall be genuine after +all--and La Tosca in despair throws herself into the Tiber. + +In 'La Tosca' we are in a world very different from that of 'La Boheme.' +Here there is very little scope for grace and tenderness. All is deadly +earnest. The melodramatic incidents of the story crowd one upon another, +and in the rush and excitement of the plot the music often has to take a +secondary place. Whenever the composer has a chance he utilises it with +rare skill. There are passages in 'La Tosca' of great lyrical beauty, +but as a rule the exigencies of the stage give little room for musical +development, and a great deal of the score is more like glorified +incidental music than the almost symphonic fabric to which we are +accustomed in modern opera. + +The history of 'Madama Butterfly' (1904), Puccini's latest opera, is a +strange one. At its production in Milan it was hissed off the stage and +withdrawn after a single performance. No one seems to know why it failed +to please the Scala audience, with whom Puccini had previously been a +great favourite. Possibly the unfamiliar Japanese surroundings +displeased the conservative Milanese, or the singers may have been +inadequate. At any rate, when it was revived a few months later at +Brescia, in a slightly revised form, it won more favour, and its London +appearance the following year was a brilliant triumph. Since then it has +gone the round of Europe and America, and is now probably the most +popular opera in the modern repertory. The story of 'Madama Butterfly' +is familiar to English hearers, the opera being founded upon the drama +by David Belasco, which was played here with great success some years +ago. Peculiarly apt for musical setting is the tale of the fascinating +little 'mousme' who contracts a so-called Japanese marriage with a +lieutenant in the American navy, and after a brief union is driven by +his perfidy to suicide. That the story is what may be called edifying +can hardly be claimed, but the world has long since ceased to +expect--perhaps even to desire--that opera should inculcate a lofty +moral code. + +However, to come to business, the scene opens in the garden of a country +house among the hills above Nagasaki. Lieutenant Pinkerton and his +friend Sharpless, the American consul, are inspecting the retreat which +the former has prepared for his Japanese wife. The voices of Butterfly +and her girl friends are soon heard in the distance as they ascend the +hill. After an amusing scene of greeting and introduction comes the +marriage ceremony and its attendant festivities, which are interrupted +by the arrival of Butterfly's uncle. This venerable person, who is a +priest in a neighbouring temple, has discovered that Butterfly has +renounced her own religion and adopted that of her 'husband.' He +pronounces the most portentous maledictions upon her and is bundled out +by Pinkerton. The act ends with a love-duet of extraordinary beauty, +breathing tenderness and passion in strains which seem to embody all the +charm and mystery of the perfumed eastern night. Three years have passed +when the next act begins. Butterfly is deserted and lives with her +two-year-old baby and her faithful maid Suzuki, praying and waiting for +the husband who never comes. The friendly consul tries to break to her +the news of Pinkerton's marriage with an American girl, but Butterfly +cannot comprehend such perfidy. She sees Pinkerton's ship entering the +harbour and calls Suzuki to help her deck the house with flowers. The +music of this scene is exquisite, as is also that of the scene in which +Sharpless reads Pinkerton's letter to Butterfly; but the whole act is a +treasure-house of delicious melody and tender pathos. It ends curiously, +but not the less effectively, with a short orchestral movement, played +whilst Butterfly, Suzuki, and the child post themselves at the windows +to watch through the night for the coming of Pinkerton. The grey dawn +shows Butterfly still at her post, though the others have fallen asleep, +but no Pinkerton appears. A little later that singularly unheroic person +sneaks in with his wife, whom he commissions to interview Butterfly +while he waits in the garden outside. Mrs. Pinkerton rather +cold-bloodedly offers to take charge of the child, to which Butterfly +agrees, and, after a passionate farewell, kills herself behind a +screen. Puccini's music is unquestionably the strongest thing he has +done yet. The score is richer and more solid than that of any of his +earlier works, and the orchestration shows no falling off in ingenuity +and resource. Melodically 'Madama Butterfly' is perhaps not so fresh or +abundant as 'La Boheme,' but the composer's touch is firmer and surer in +handling dramatic situations. 'Madama Butterfly' is unquestionably one +of the most interesting and important operas of modern times, as it is +one of the most attractive. It has established Puccini more firmly than +ever in the position of the leading operatic composer of the day. + +The name of Pietro Mascagni is chiefly connected in the minds of +opera-goers with 'Cavalleria Rusticana,' This work, which was produced +in 1890, lifted its composer at once into popularity. The story is +founded upon one of Verga's Sicilian tales. Turiddu, a village Adonis, +is beloved by the fair Lola. He enlists as a soldier, and on his return +from the wars finds that the fickle damsel has married Alfio, a carter. +He looks round him for fresh conquests, and his choice falls upon +Santuzza. This arouses all Lola's latent coquetry, and she soon +contrives to win him back to her side. The deserted Santuzza appeals in +vain to his love and pity. He repulses her roughly, and in despair she +tells Alfio the story of his wife's inconstancy. Alfio challenges +Turiddu to mortal combat, and kills him as the curtain falls. Squalid as +the story is, it is full of life and movement, and has that simple +directness which is essential to success. The music is melodious, if +not very original, and vigorous even to brutality. Mascagni here shows a +natural instinct for the theatre. His method is often coarse, but his +effects rarely miss their mark. At its production 'Cavalleria' was +absurdly overpraised, but it certainly is a work of promise. +Unfortunately the promise so far has not been fulfilled. 'L'Amico Fritz' +and 'I Rantzau,' two adaptations of novels by Erckmann-Chatrian, +produced respectively in 1891 and 1892, have almost disappeared from the +current repertory. The first is a delicate little story of an old +bachelor's love for a pretty country girl, the second a village 'Romeo +and Juliet,' showing how an internecine feud between two brothers is +ended by the mutual love of their children. Mascagni's melodramatic +style was ill suited to idylls of this kind. He drowned the pretty +little stories in oceans of perfervid orchestration, and banged all the +sentiment out of them with drums and cymbals. Yet, in the midst of the +desert of coarseness and vulgarity came oases of delicate fancy and +imagination. The 'Cherry Duet' in 'L'Amico Fritz,' and the _Cicaleccio_ +chorus in 'I Rantzau,' are models of refinement and finish, which are +doubly delightful by reason of their incongruous environment. +Unfortunately such gems as these only make the coarseness of their +setting the more conspicuous, and on the whole the sooner the world +forgets about 'L'Amico Fritz' and 'I Rantzau' the better it will be for +Mascagni's reputation. 'Guglielmo Ratcliff' and 'Silvano,' both produced +in 1895, have not been heard out of Italy, nor is there much +probability that they will ever cross the Alps. 'Zanetto' (1896), on +the other hand, seems to contain the best work which Mascagni has yet +given to the world. It is founded upon Francois Coppee's charming +duologue, 'Le Passant,' a graceful scene between a world-weary courtesan +and a youthful troubadour who passes beneath her balcony. Mascagni's +music, which is scored only for strings and harp, is both delicate and +refined, and instinct with a tender melancholy, for which it would be +vain to look in his earlier works. 'Iris' (1898), an opera on a rather +unpleasant Japanese story, has met with a certain degree of favour, but +'Le Maschere' (1901), an attempt to introduce Harlequin and Columbine to +the lyric stage, failed completely, nor does 'Amica' (1905) seen to have +done much to rehabilitate the composer's waning reputation. Mascagni has +as yet done little to justify the extravagant eulogies with which his +first work was greeted, and his warmest admirers are beginning to fear +that the possibility of his doing something to redeem the early promise +of 'Cavalleria' is getting rather remote. + +Leoncavallo, though older than Mascagni, must be regarded as in a +certain sense his follower, since his most popular work, 'Pagliacci,' +was undoubtedly inspired by 'Cavalleria Rusticana.' The story begins +with the arrival of a troupe of travelling comedians, or _Pagliacci_, in +an Italian village. All is not harmony in the little company. Tonio (the +Taddeo, or clown) loves Nedda (Columbine), the wife of Canio +(Pagliaccio), but she already has a lover in the shape of Silvio, a +young villager, and rejects the clumsy advances of the other with scorn. +Tonio overhears the mutual vows of Nedda and her lover, and bent upon +vengeance, hurries off to bring the unsuspecting Canio upon the scene. +He only arrives in time to see the disappearance of Silvio, and cannot +terrify his wife into disclosing her lover's name, though he is only +just prevented by Beppe, the Harlequin of the troupe, from stabbing her +on the spot. The second act is on the evening of the same day, a few +hours later. The curtain of the rustic theatre goes up and the little +play begins. By a curious coincidence the scheme of the plot represents +something like the real situation of the actors. Columbine is +entertaining her lover Harlequin in the absence of her husband +Pagliaccio, while Taddeo keeps a look-out for his return. When he +returns we see that the mimic comedy is to develop into real tragedy. +Canio scarcely makes a pretence of keeping to his role of Pagliaccio. +Mad with jealousy, he rushes on his wife and tries to make her confess +the name of her lover. She refuses, and in the end he stabs her, while +Silvio, who has formed one of the rustic audience, leaps on to the stage +only to receive his death-blow as well. As in 'Cavalleria,' the theme of +the story is squalid and unpleasant, though lucid and undeniably +effective for stage purposes. The music makes an effective accompaniment +to the exciting incidents of the plot, but it has few claims to +intrinsic interest. Leoncavallo is never much of a melodist, and +'Pagliacci' teems with reminiscences. The opera was probably written in +a hurry, in order to pander to the taste for melodrama which +'Cavalleria' had excited. In 'I Medici' (1893), a tale of the Florentine +Renaissance, Leoncavallo aimed far higher. Here, too, however, his music +is for the most part a string of ill-digested reminiscences, though +scored with such extraordinary cleverness and fertility of resource as +almost to disguise the inherent poverty of the score. 'Chatterton' +(1896) was a failure, but 'La Boheme' (1897), though somewhat cast into +the shade by Puccini's work upon the same subject, scored a decided +success. Leoncavallo's music is conceived in a totally different mood +from that of Puccini. He has little of Puccini's grace and tenderness, +but he treated the scenes of Bohemian life with amazing energy and +spirit, if with an occasional suggestion of brutality. 'Zaza' (1900), +founded upon a French play which recently achieved a scandalous +notoriety, has found little favour even in Italy. Leoncavallo's latest +work, 'Der Roland,' was written in response to a commission from the +German Emperor, who believed that he had found in the composer of 'I +Medici' a musician worthy to celebrate the mighty deeds of the +Hohenzollerns. 'Der Roland' was produced in a German version at Berlin +in 1904, and in spite of Court patronage failed completely. + +Umberto Giordano, who during the last few years has steadily worked his +way to the front rank of Italian composers, started his career with a +_succes de scandale_ in 'Mala Vita' (1892), a coarse and licentious +imitation of 'Cavalleria Rusticana.' There is far better work in 'Andrea +Chenier' (1896), a stirring tale of the French Revolution set to music +which shows uncommon dramatic power and in certain scenes a fine sense +of lyrical expression. After a good deal of preludial matter the plot +centres in the rivalry of Chenier the poet and Gerard, a revolutionary +leader, for the hand of Madeleine. Gerard condemns Chenier to death, but +is melted by Madeleine's pleading, and rescinds the order for his +execution. The pardon, however, comes too late, and Madeleine and +Chenier ascend the scaffold together, in an ecstasy of lyrical rapture. +'Fedora' (1898), an adaptation of Sardou's famous drama, has less +musical interest than 'Andrea Chenier,' the breathless incidents of the +plot giving but little scope for musical treatment. The first act shows +the death of Vladimir, the police investigation and Fedora's vow to +discover the murderer. In the second Fedora extorts from Loris Ipanoff a +confession of the vengeance that he wreaked upon the perfidious +Vladimir, and, finding Loris innocent and Vladimir guilty, in a sudden +revulsion of feeling throws herself into Loris's arms, bidding him stay +with her rather than leave the house to fall into the hands of spies. In +the third act Fedora, certain of detection, confesses to Loris her +previous machinations against him, which have resulted in the deaths of +his mother and brother, and takes poison before his eyes. Giordano +touched a far higher level in 'Siberia' (1903), a gloomy tale of +Russian crime and punishment. Stephana, a courtesan, among all her +lovers cares only for the young sergeant Vassili. Vassili, who has +learnt to love her, not knowing who she is, when he discovers the truth, +bursts in upon a fete she is giving, quarrels with a lieutenant and +kills him on the spot. He is condemned to exile in Siberia, but is +followed by Stephana, who overtakes him at the frontier, and gets leave +to share his fate. In the mines they find Globy, Stephana's original +seducer, whose infamy she exposes to the assembled convicts. In revenge +Globy betrays to the authorities a project of escape devised by Stephana +and Vassili, and the lovers are shot just as liberty appears to be +within their grasp. The music of 'Siberia' is more artistic than +anything Giordano has previously written. The situations are skilfully +handled, and the note of pity and pathos is touched with no uncertain +hand. The opera is unequal, but the scene of the halt at the frontier is +treated in masterly fashion. + +Francesco Cilea won no marked success until the production of his +'Adriana Lecouvreur' in 1902. The plot is an adaptation of Scribe's +famous play, but so trenchantly abbreviated as to be almost +incomprehensible. The opening scene in the _foyer_ of the Comedie +Francaise is bright and lively, the handling of the score arousing +pleasant reminiscences of Verdi's 'Falstaff,' but the more dramatic +passages in the struggle of Adrienne and her rival the Princess de +Bouillon for Maurice de Saxe seem to be outside the scope of the +composer's talent, and the great moments of the piece are somewhat +frigid and unimpressive. There is a note of pathos, however, in +Adrienne's death-scene, and the character of Michonnet is elaborated +with skill and feeling. Cilea's latest opera, 'Gloria' (1907), a +blood-thirsty story of the struggle between the Guelphs and Ghibellines, +does not appear to have won much favour in Italy. + +Edoardo Mascheroni's early laurels were won as a conductor, but in 1901 +he sprang into fame as the composer of 'Lorenza,' an opera which has met +with much success in various cities of Spain and Spanish America as well +as in Italy. 'Lorenza' is a Calabrian version of the time-honoured story +of Judith and Holofernes, though in this case the Judith, so far from +slaying her brigand Holofernes, falls in love with him, and ends by +disguising herself in his cloak and allowing herself to be shot by the +soldiers who come to capture the bandit chief. Mascheroni's score +overflows with thoroughly Italian melody, and shows considerable +knowledge of dramatic effect, which from a conductor of his experience +was only to be expected. + +Of the numerous other Italian composers who bask in the sunshine of +popularity south of the Alps very few are known to fame beyond the +frontiers of Italy. The younger men follow religiously in the steps of +Mascagni or Puccini, while their elders still hang on to the skirts of +'Aida.' Giacomo Orefice won a success of curiosity in 1901 with his +'Chopin,' a strange work dealing in fanciful fashion with the story of +the Polish composer's life, the melodies of the opera being taken +entirely from Chopin's music. + +Spinelli's 'A Basso Porto' (1895), which has been performed in English +by the Carl Rosa Opera Company, is redolent of Mascagni's influence, but +the nauseating incidents of the plot make 'Cavalleria,' by comparison, +seem chaste and classical. The libretto deals with the vengeance wreaked +by a villainous Neapolitan street loafer upon a woman who has played him +false--a vengeance which takes the form of ruining her son by drink and +play, and of attempting to seduce her daughter. In the end this +egregious ruffian is murdered in the street by the mother of his two +victims, just in time to prevent his being knifed by the members of a +secret society whom he had betrayed to justice. The music is not without +dramatic vigour, and it has plenty of melody of a rough and ready kind. +There is technical skill, too, in the treatment of the voices and in the +orchestration, but hardly enough to reconcile an English audience to so +offensive a book. Salvatore Auteri-Manzocchi has never repeated the +early success of 'Dolores,' and Spiro Samara, a Greek by birth, but an +Italian by training and sympathies, seems to have lost the secret of the +delicate imagination which nearly made 'Flora Mirabilis' a European +success, though his 'Martire,' a work of crude sensationalism, enjoyed +an ephemeral success in Italy. Franchetti, the composer of 'Asrael,' +'Cristoforo Colombo,' and other works, conceived upon a scale grandiose +rather than grand, appears anxious to emulate the theatrical glories of +Meyerbeer, and to make up for poverty of inspiration by spectacular +magnificence, but none of his operas has yet succeeded in crossing the +Alps. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +MODERN GERMAN AND SLAVONIC OPERA + + +CORNELIUS--GOETZ--GOLDMARK--HUMPERDINCK--STRAUSS-- +SMETANA--GLINKA--PADEREWSKI + + +The history of music furnishes more than one instance of the paralysing +effect which the influence of a great genius is apt to exercise upon his +contemporaries and immediate successors. The vast popularity of Handel +in England had the effect of stunting the development of our national +music for more than a century. During his lifetime, and for many years +after his death, English-born musicians could do little but imitate his +more salient mannerisms, and reproduce in an attenuated form the lessons +which he had taught. The effect of Wagner's music upon German opera has +been something of the same description. As soon as his works gained +their legitimate place in the affections of his countrymen, his +influence began to assume formidable proportions. The might of his +individuality was irresistible. It was not possible, as in Italy and +France, to combine the system of Wagner with other elements. In Germany +it had to be Wagner or nothing, and thus, except for the writers of +sentimental Singspiele, a form of opera which scarcely comes into the +province of art at all, German musicians have vied with each other in +producing imitations of their great master, which succeeded or failed +according to the measure of their resemblance to their model, but had +very little value as original work. The production of Humperdinck's +'Haensel und Gretel' gave rise to a hope that the merely imitative period +was passing away, but it is plain that the mighty shadow of Wagner still +hangs over German music. Strauss's 'Salome' may be the herald of a new +epoch, but on that subject it is too soon to indulge in prophecy. + +Wagner had completed what, for the sake of convenience, we have called +his earlier period, before his influence began to make itself felt in +German opera. 'Lohengrin' was performed for the first time under Liszt's +direction at Weimar in 1850. Eight years later Cornelius's 'Barbier von +Bagdad' was performed at the same theatre under the same conductor. This +was Liszt's last production at Weimar, for the ill-feeling stirred up by +Cornelius's work was so pronounced that the great pianist threw up his +position as Kapellmeister in disgust, and took refuge in the more +congenial society of Rome. Peter Cornelius (1824-1874) was one of the +most prominent of the band of young men who gathered round Liszt at +Weimar, and by means of their music and writings sought to further the +cause of 'New-German' art. 'Der Barbier von Bagdad' was immensely in +advance of its time. It failed completely to attract the public of +Weimar, the most cultivated in Europe, when it was originally produced, +but it is now one of the most popular operas in Germany. The beauties of +the score are doubly astonishing when it is remembered that when it was +written 'Die Meistersinger' had not been composed. The germs of much +that delights us in Wagner's comic opera may be found in 'Der Barbier,' +and it is certain that if Cornelius received his initial impulse from +'Lohengrin,' he himself reacted upon Wagner to a very remarkable extent. +The plot of 'Der Barbier' is long-winded and puerile, and the interest +is entirely centred in the music, Noureddin loves Margiana, the daughter +of the Cadi, and is bidden to an interview by Bostana, her _confidante_. +He takes with him Abul Hassan, a talkative fool of a barber, who watches +in the street while Noureddin visits his sweetheart. Suddenly the cries +of a slave undergoing the bastinado are heard. The barber jumps to the +conclusion that Noureddin is being murdered, summons help and invades +the house. Noureddin takes refuge from the wrath of the Cadi in a chest. +The commotion and tumult end in bringing the Caliph upon the scene, and +the unfortunate youth is discovered half dead in his hiding-place. He is +revived by the barber, and presented with the hand of Margiana. To this +silly story Cornelius wrote music of extraordinary power and beauty. +Much of it is of course light and trivial, but such scenes as that of +the Muezzin call, or the wild confusion of the last finale, are fully +worthy of the master upon whom Cornelius modelled his style. Cornelius +had a pretty gift for humorous orchestration, and his accompaniments +often anticipate the dainty effects of 'Die Meistersinger.' 'Das +Rheingold' being still unwritten in 1858, it would be too much to expect +a systematised use of guiding themes, but they are often employed with +consummate skill, and in the Muezzin scene the music of the call to +prayer forms the basis of a symphonic passage, which is thoroughly in +the style of Wagner's later works. Cornelius left two posthumous works, +'Der Cid' and 'Gunloed,' which have been produced during the last few +years. They are little more than imitations of Wagner's maturer style. +Hermann Goetz (1840-1876) was a composer whose early death cut short a +career of remarkable promise. He produced but one opera during his +lifetime, but that displayed an originality and a resource for which it +would be vain to look in the multifarious compositions of the +Kapellmeisters of the period. 'Der Widerspaenstigen Zaehmung' follows the +incidents of 'The Taming of the Shrew' very closely. The action begins +at night. Lucentio is serenading Bianca, but his ditty is interrupted by +a riot among Baptista's servants, who refuse to submit any longer to +Katharine's ill-treatment. Peace is restored, and Lucentio resumes his +song. A second interruption is in store for him in the shape of +Hortensio, another of Bianca's suitors, also upon serenading bent. +Baptista, angry at being disturbed again by the quarrels of the rival +musicians, dismisses them with the information that Bianca shall be +bestowed upon neither of them until Katharine is wedded. Petruchio now +enters, and fired with Hortensio's description of Katharine's beauty and +spirit, vows to make her his own. + +The second act begins with a scene between Katharine and her sister, +which conclusively proves that the reports of the former's shrewishness +have not exceeded the truth. Hortensio and Lucentio, disguised +respectively as a music master and a teacher of languages, are now +ushered in, and receive most uncourteous treatment at Katharine's hands. +The act ends with Petruchio's wooing of Katharine, and the settlement of +their wedding-day. In the third act comes the marriage of Petruchio and +Katharine, and the fourth act shows the taming of the shrew in strict +accordance with Shakespeare's comedy. Goetz's music brims over with +frolicsome humour and gaiety, and the more serious portions are tender +without being sentimental. The influence of Wagner is more plainly seen +in the musicianly development of the melodies than in their employment +as guiding themes, though of this, too, there are not a few instances. +But the parts of the work in which Goetz's indebtedness to Wagner are +most apparent are the choruses, which, both in their tunefulness and in +the elaborate nature of the part-writing, often recall 'Die +Meistersinger,' and in the orchestration, which is extraordinarily +fanciful and imaginative. 'Der Widerspaenstigen Zaehmung' has never been +properly appreciated in this country, in spite of the familiar nature of +the libretto. Goetz left another opera, 'Francesca da Rimini,' +unfinished. This was completed by his friend Ernst Frank, but has never +met with much success. + +Cornelius and Goetz would have been the first to admit the influence +which Wagner's works exercised upon their imagination, yet their +admiration for his music never seduced them into anything like mere +imitation. The operas of Carl Goldmark are founded far more directly +upon the methods and system of Wagner. Yet it would be unjust to dismiss +him as a mere plagiarist. In his first work, 'Die Koenigin von Saba' +(1875), there is a great deal which is entirely independent of Wagner's +or any one else's influence. The plot of the work has really nothing +Biblical about it, and if the names of the characters were changed, the +work might be produced to-morrow at Covent Garden without offending the +most puritanical susceptibilities. Sulamith, the daughter of the high +priest, is to wed Assad, a Jewish warrior, upon his return from a +military expedition, but Assad has fallen in with the Queen of Sheba on +her way to Jerusalem, and her charms have proved fatal to his constancy. +Sulamith is prepared to forgive him, but his love for the queen is +irresistible, and even at the altar he leaves Sulamith for her embraces. +Finally Assad is banished to the desert, where he is overwhelmed by a +sandstorm. 'Die Koenigin von Saba' is a strong and effective opera. The +local colour is managed very skilfully, and the orchestration is novel +and brilliant. Yet there is very little of that indefinable quality, +which we call sincerity, about the score. It was happily described at +its production as a clever imitation of good music. The influence of +Wagner is strongest in the love music, which owes much to 'Tristan und +Isolde,' 'Merlin' (1886), Goldmark's second opera, has not been as +successful in Germany as 'Die Koenigin von Saba,' The libretto, which is +founded upon the Arthurian legend of Merlin and Vivien, shows many +points of resemblance to Wagner's later works, and the music follows his +system of guiding themes far more closely than in the earlier work. +'Merlin' may stand as an instance of the unfortunate influence which a +man of Wagner's power and originality exercises upon his contemporaries. +There is little in it which cannot be traced more or less directly to a +prototype in the works of Wagner, and it need scarcely be said that +Goldmark does not improve upon his model In 'Das Heimchen am Herd' +(1896), the libretto of which is founded upon Dickens's famous story +'The Cricket on the Hearth,' Goldmark seems to have tried to emulate the +success of Humperdinck's 'Haensel und Gretel,' There are suggestions in +it, too, of the influence of Smetana who dawned upon the Viennese +horizon in 1890. In this work, which has been performed with great +success in Germany, and was produced in English by the Carl Rosa Company +in 1900, the composer contrived very cleverly to put off the grandiose +manner of his earlier operas. Elaborate as the orchestral part of the +score is, it is never allowed to overpower the voices, and the general +impression of the opera is one of rare simplicity and charm. Goldmark's +later works, 'Die Kriegsgefangene' (1899) and 'Goetz von Berlichingen' +(1902), have been less successful. + +Cyrill Kistler (1848-1907) was spoken of some years ago as the man upon +whom Wagner's mantle had fallen, but his recent death has shattered the +hopes founded upon the promise of his early works. 'Kunihild,' a work +dealing with a heroic legend, was produced in 1883. It is a clever +imitation of the Wagnerian manner, except as regards the choruses, which +scarcely rise above the standard of the Liedertafel; but neither at its +production nor at an elaborate revival, which took place at Wuerzburg a +few years ago, did it meet with more than a _succes d'estime_. There +seems to be better work in 'Eulenspiegel,' a comic opera founded upon +Kotzebue's comedy. The music is instinct with genuine humour, and though +but remotely suggesting the methods of Wagner shows complete mastery of +technical resource. + +The most important contribution to German opera made during the decade +that followed the death of Wagner was Humperdinck's 'Haensel und Gretel,' +which was produced in December 1893. Before that time the composer was +known to fame, at any rate so far as England is concerned, only by a +couple of cantatas and some arrangements of scenes from Wagner's works +for concert purposes, but at one bound he became the most popular living +operatic composer of Germany. The libretto of 'Haensel und Gretel' is a +very charming arrangement, in three scenes, of a familiar nursery tale. +The action opens in the cottage of Peter the broom-maker. Haensel and +Gretel, the two children, are left to keep house together. They soon +tire of their tasks, and Gretel volunteers to teach her brother how to +dance. In the middle of their romp, Gertrude their mother comes in, and +angrily packs them off into the wood to pick strawberries. Tired and +faint she sinks into a chair, bewailing the lot of the poor man's wife, +with empty cupboards and hungry mouths to be fed. Soon Peter's voice is +heard singing in the distance. He has had a good sale for his besoms, +and comes back laden with good cheer. But his delight is cut short by +the absence of the children, and when he finds that they are out in the +wood alone, he terrifies his wife with the story of the witch of +Schornstein, who is given to eating little children, and they both hurry +off to bring Haensel and Gretel home. Meanwhile, out in the forest the +children amuse themselves with picking strawberries and making flower +garlands, until the approach of night, when they find to their horror +that they have lost their way. They search for it in vain, and at last, +completely tired out, they sink down upon the moss beneath a spreading +tree. The Dustman--the German sleep-fairy--appears and throws dust in +their weary eyes. Together they sing their little evening hymn, and drop +off to sleep locked in each other's arms. Then the heavens open, and +down a shining staircase come the bright forms of angels, who group +themselves round the sleeping children, and watch over their innocent +slumbers until the break of day. Haensel and Gretel are aroused by the +Dew-fairy, who sprinkles his magic branch over them and drives the sleep +from their eyes. They tell each other of the wonderful dream which came +to both of them, and then, looking round for the first time, discover a +beautiful gingerbread house, close to where they were sleeping. This is +where the witch of the forest lives, who bakes little children into +gingerbread in her great oven, and eats them up. She catches Haensel and +Gretel, and nearly succeeds in her wicked schemes, but the children, +with great presence of mind, defeat her malice by pushing her into her +own oven. Then they free the other children who have been turned into +gingerbread through her magic spells, and the father and mother +opportunely appearing, all join in a hymn of thanksgiving for their +deliverance. + +Humperdinck's music reproduces, with infinite art, the tender and +childlike charm of the delightful old fairy tale. His score is amazingly +elaborate, and his treatment of the guiding themes which compose it is +kaleidoscopic in its variety, yet the whole thing flows on as naturally +as a ballad. The voice-parts are always suave and melodious, and the +orchestral score, however complicated, never loses touch of consummate +musical beauty. Humperdinck's melody is founded upon the Volkslied, and +he uses at least one nursery tune with charming effect. The framework of +'Haensel und Gretel' is that bequeathed by Wagner, but the spirit which +animates and informs the work is so different from that of the Bayreuth +master, that there can be no suspicion of imitation, much less of +plagiarism. Humperdinck is the first German operatic composer of +distinct individuality since the death of Wagner. He has shown that the +methods of the great composer can be used as a garment to cover an +individuality as distinct as that of any writer in the history of opera. + +Humperdinck's share of 'Die sieben Geislein,' a children's ballad opera +which was published some years ago, consists only of a few songs of an +unimportant character, which will not enhance his reputation. +'Koenigskinder,' which was produced in 1897, must be classed as a play +with incidental music rather than as an opera. The composer directed +that the accompanied dialogue, of which there is a good deal, should be +rhythmically chanted, but when the work came to be performed these +directions were practically ignored by the players. 'Koenigskinder' was +followed in 1902 by 'Dornroeschen,' another fairy play accompanied by +incidental music, which won little success, nor has good fortune +attended his latest opera, 'Die Heirath wider Willen' (1905). + +Among the younger generation of German composers, mention must be made +of Max Schillings, whose very promising 'Ingwelde' (1894) has recently +been succeeded by a remarkable work entitled 'Moloch' (1907); and of +Wilhelm Kienzl, the composer of 'Der Evangelimann' (1895). In +'Ingwelde' Schillings followed the Wagnerian tradition almost too +faithfully, but 'Moloch' is a work of very distinct individuality. 'Der +Evangelimann,' on the other hand, is thoroughly eclectic in style, and +the influence not only of Wagner, but of Meyerbeer, Gounod and even +Mascagni, may be traced in its pages. Kienzl's later works have met with +little favour. 'Donna Diana' (1895), by a composer named Reznicek, is a +comic opera founded upon a Spanish subject, which has had a most +successful career in Germany during the past few years. It is elaborate +in construction, and indeed the score seems to be too complicated to +harmonise well with the comic incidents of the story. More recently the +composer has won success with a work on the subject of Till +Eulenspiegel. Heinrich Zoellner came to the front in 1899 with 'Die +versunkene Glocke,' an opera founded upon Gerhart Hauptmann's famous +play, which is said to reproduce the symbolic charm of the original with +conspicuous success. Eugene d'Albert, though English by birth, has for +so long identified himself with Germany, that the success of his comic +opera, 'Die Abreise' (1898), may most suitably be recorded here. His +more ambitious works have been less favourably received. Siegfried +Wagner, in spite of his parentage, seems to have founded his style +principally upon that of Humperdinck. His first opera, 'Der Baerenhaeuter' +(1899), was fairly successful, principally owing to a fantastic and +semi-comic libretto. 'Herzog Wildfang' (1901) and 'Der Kobold' (1904) +failed completely, nor does his latest work, 'Bruder Lustig' (1905), +raise very sanguine hopes as to its young composer's future career. +Another follower of Humperdinck is Eduard Poldini, whose clever and +charming 'Der Vagabund und die Prinzessin,' a graceful version of one of +Hans Andersen's stories, was given in London with success in 1906. + +Mention must also be made of Felix Weingartner, whose 'Genesius' (1892) +and 'Orestes' (1902) are said to contain much fine music; of August +Bungert, whose trilogy founded upon the Odyssey has been received with +favour in Dresden, though it does not appear to have made much way +elsewhere; and of Hans Pfitzner, whose 'Rose von Liebesgarten' (1901) is +one of the most promising operas of the younger generation. + +The most important figure in the world of German opera to-day is +unquestionably that of Richard Strauss. This is not the place to dilate +upon Strauss's achievements as a symphonic writer, which are +sufficiently well known to the world at large. His first opera, +'Guntram' (1894), was hardly more than an exercise in the manner of +Wagner, and made comparatively little impression. 'Feuersnoth' (1901) +was a far more characteristic production. It deals with an old legend of +the love of a sorcerer for a maiden. The sorcerer is rejected, and in +revenge he deprives the town in which the maiden lives of fire and +light. The townspeople press the maiden to relent, and her yielding is +signalised by a sudden blaze of splendour. Strauss's score shows to the +full the amazing command of polyphony and the bewildering richness and +variety of orchestration which have made his name famous. The plot of +'Feuersnoth,' however, was against it, and it does not seem to have won +a permanent success. 'Salome' (1906), on the other hand, has triumphed +in Italy and Paris as well as in Germany, and succeeded in scandalising +New York so seriously that it was withdrawn after a single performance. +'Salome' is a setting, almost unabbreviated, of Oscar Wilde's play of +that name, which itself owed much to a tale by Flaubert. The scene is +laid upon a terrace of Herod's palace, where soldiers are keeping watch +while the king holds revel within. Salome, the daughter of Herodias, +issues from the banquet chamber, troubled by Herod's gaze. The voice of +Jochanaan (John the Baptist), who is imprisoned in a cistern hard by, is +heard. Salome bids Narraboth, a young Assyrian, bring him forth. Dragged +from his living tomb, Jochanaan denounces the wickedness of Herodias, +but Salome has no ears for his curses. Fascinated by the strange beauty +of the prophet, she pours forth her passion in wild accents. Jochanaan +repulses her and retreats once more to his cistern. Herod and Herodias +now come forth from the banquet, and Herod bids Salome dance. She +extorts a promise from him that he will give her whatever she asks, even +to the half of his kingdom, and dances the dance of the seven veils. The +dance over, she demands the head of Jochanaan. Herod pleads with her in +vain, the executioner is sent into the cistern and the head of Jochanaan +is brought in upon a silver charger. Salome kisses the lifeless lips, +but Herod in wrath and horror cries to his soldiers: 'Kill this woman,' +and as the curtain falls she is crushed beneath their shields. Strauss +is the stormy petrel of modern music, and 'Salome' has aroused more +discussion than anything he has written. Many critics quite the reverse +of prudish have found its ethics somewhat difficult of digestion, while +conservative musicians hold up their hands in horror at its harmonic +audacity. The more advanced spirits find a strange exotic beauty in the +weird harmonies and infinitely suggestive orchestration, and contend +with some justice that a work of art must be judged as such, not as an +essay in didactic morality. The 'Salome' question may well be left for +time to settle, more especially as the subject and treatment of the work +combine to put its production upon the London stage beyond the limits of +immediate probability. + +In modern times Singspiel has for the most part become merged in comic +opera, which, though originally an importation from France, has become +thoroughly acclimatised in Germany, and in the hands of such men as +Johann Strauss, Franz von Suppe, and Carl Milloecker, has produced work +of no little artistic interest, though scarcely coming within the scope +of this book. To the Singspiel, too, may be traced an exceedingly +unpretentious school of opera, dealing for the most part with homely and +sentimental subjects, of which the best-known representative is Victor +Nessler (1841-1890). Nessler's opera, 'Der Trompeter von Saekkingen,' is +still one of the most popular works in the repertory of German +opera-houses, and his 'Rattenfaenger von Hameln' is scarcely less of a +favourite. The first of these works is founded upon Scheffel's +well-known poem, and tells in artless fashion of the love of Jung +Werner, the trumpeter, for the daughter of the Baron von Schoenau; the +second deals with the story of the Hamelin rat-catcher, which Browning +has immortalised. Nessler has little more than a vein of simple melody +to recommend him, and his works have had no success beyond the frontiers +of Germany; but at home his flow of rather feeble sentimentality has +endeared him to every susceptible heart in the Fatherland. + +Closely allied to the German school of opera is that of Bohemia, of +which the most famous representative is Smetana (1824-1884). Outside the +frontiers of his native land, Smetana was practically unknown until the +Vienna Exhibition of 1890, when his opera, 'Die verkaufte Braut,' was +produced for the first time in the Austrian capital. Since then it has +been played in many German opera-houses, and was performed in London in +1895, and again in 1907. The story is simplicity itself. Jenik, a young +peasant, and Marenka, the daughter of the rich farmer Krusina, love each +other dearly; but Kezal, a kind of go-between in the Bohemian +marriage-market, tells Krusina that he can produce a rich husband for +his daughter in the shape of Vasek, the son of Micha. The avaricious old +man jumps at the proposal, but Marenka will have nothing to say to the +arrangement, for Vasek is almost an idiot, and a stammerer as well. +Kezal then proceeds to buy Jenik out for three hundred gulden. The +latter, however, stipulates that in the agreement it shall only be set +down that Marenka is to marry the son of Micha. The contract is signed +and the money is paid, whereupon Jenik announces that he is a long-lost +son of Micha by a youthful marriage, and carries off the bride, to the +discomfiture of his enemies. If Smetana owes anything to anybody it is +to Mozart, whose form and system of orchestration his own occasionally +recalls, but his music is so thoroughly saturated with the melodies and +rhythms of Bohemia, that it is quite unnecessary to look for any source +of inspiration other than the composer's own native land. But although +Smetana's music is Bohemian to the core, he brings about his effects +like a true artist. The national colour is not laid on in smudges, but +tinges the whole fabric of the score. Smetana's other works are less +known outside Bohemia. 'Das Geheimniss' and 'Der Kuss' are comic operas +of a thoroughly national type, while 'Dalibor' and 'Libusa' deal with +stirring episodes of Bohemian history. + +More famous than his master is Smetana's pupil Dvorak (1841-1904), yet +the latter seems to have had little real vocation for the stage. His +operas, 'Der Bauer ein Schelm' and 'Der Dickschaedel,' appear to follow +the style of Smetana very closely. They have been favourably received in +Bohemia, but the thoroughly national sentiment of the libretti must +naturally militate against their success elsewhere. + +In Russia the development of opera, and indeed of music generally, is of +comparatively recent date. Glinka (1803-1857), the founder of the +school, is still perhaps its most famous representative, although his +operas, in spite of frequent trials, seem never to succeed beyond the +frontiers of Russia. The splendid patriotism of 'Life for the Czar' +(1836), his most famous work, endears him to the hearts of his +countrymen. The scene of the opera is laid in the seventeenth century, +when the Poles held Moscow and the fortunes of Russia were at the lowest +ebb. Michael Fedorovich Romanov has just been elected Czar, and upon him +the hopes of the people are centred. The Poles are determined to seize +the person of the Czar, and some of them, disguised as ambassadors, +summon the peasant Ivan Sussaninna to guide them to his retreat. Ivan +sacrifices his life for his master. He despatches his adopted son to +warn the Czar, and himself leads the Poles astray in the wild morasses +of the country. When they discover that they have been betrayed they put +Ivan to death, but not before he has had the satisfaction of knowing +that the Czar is in safety. The opera ends with the triumphal entry of +the Czar into Moscow. + +'Russian and Ludmila' (1858), Glinka's second work, is founded upon a +fantastic Russian legend of magic and necromancy. It has not the +national and patriotic interest of 'Life for the Czar,' but as music it +deserves to rank higher. Berlioz thought very highly of it. Nevertheless +it may be doubted whether, at this time of day, there is any likelihood +of Glinka becoming popular in Western Europe. Glinka had an +extraordinary natural talent, and had he lived in closer touch with the +musical world, he might have become one of the great composers of the +century. Melody he had in abundance, and his feeling for musical form is +strong, though only partially developed. He had little dramatic +instinct, and it is singular that he should be known principally as a +composer for the stage. His treatment of the orchestra is brilliant and +effective, but the national element in his music is the _signe +particulier_ of his style. He rarely used actual Russian folk-tunes, but +his music is coloured throughout by the plaintive melancholy of the +national type. A composer, whose music smells so strongly of the soil, +can scarcely expect to be appreciated abroad. + +Dargomishky (1813-1869) and Serov (1818-1871) are unfamiliar names to +Englishmen. The former during his lifetime was content to follow in the +steps of Glinka, but his opera, 'The Marble Guest,' a treatment of the +story of Don Juan, which was produced after his death, broke entirely +fresh ground. This work is completely modern in thought and expression, +and may be regarded as the foundation of modern Russian opera. Serov was +an enthusiastic imitator of Wagner, and even his own countrymen admit +that his works have little musical value. + +Rubinstein (1829-1895) wrote many works for the stage, and during the +last years of his life founded something like a new form of art in his +sacred operas, 'Moses' and 'Christus,' the latter of which was produced +after his death at Bremen. Critics differ very much as to Rubinstein's +merits as a composer, but as to the quality of his work for the stage +there can hardly be two opinions. His music is essentially undramatic. +None of his works, at any rate outside Russia, has achieved more than a +passing success. 'The Demon,' a strange story of the love of a demon for +a Russian princess, has some fine music in it, but the story is almost +totally devoid of incident, and the opera as a whole is intolerably +wearisome. + +Of the younger school of Russian operatic composers it is almost +impossible to speak with any authority, since their works are rarely +performed in Western Europe. Tchaikovsky's 'Eugene Onegin' is +occasionally given in London, but has won little success. Much of the +music is interesting, but the disconnected character of the libretto and +the lack of incident fully account for the scanty favour with which it +is received. 'Le Flibustier,' an opera by Cesar Cui, was performed in +Paris a few years ago with even less success. Borodin's 'Prince Igor,' +and 'Die Mainacht' by Rimsky-Korsakov, are thought highly of by the +fellow-countrymen of the composers, but neither work has succeeded in +crossing the frontier of Russia. + +Poland has not hitherto taken a prominent place in the history of opera, +and the successful production of 'Manru' (1901), an opera by Ignaz +Paderewski, the world-famous pianist, is hardly to be taken as the +foundation of a new school. The story deals with the fortunes of a +gipsy, Manru, who marries Ulana, a peasant girl, but is won back to +gipsy life by the fascinations of Asa, the princess of his tribe. He +rejoins his own people in spite of Ulana's entreaties and a love-potion +which she administers, but is killed by a gipsy rival, while Ulana in +despair throws herself into a lake. Paderewski's music is thoroughly +German in style, but he makes clever use of gipsy tunes and rhythms, +which give a welcome variety to the score. + +The genius of Scandinavian musicians seems to have little in common with +the stage. The works of Hartmann and Weyse are not known beyond the +boundaries of Denmark. Of late years, however, works by August Enna, a +young Danish composer, have been performed in various German towns. 'Die +Hexe' and 'Cleopatra' won a good deal of success, but the composer's +more recent operas, 'Aucassin und Nicolette' and 'Das Streichholzmaedel,' +have met with little favour. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +ENGLISH OPERA + +BALFE--WALLACE--BENEDICT--GORING THOMAS--MACKENZIE +STANFORD--SULLIVAN--SMYTH + + +Soon after the death of Purcell, the craze for Italian opera seems to +have banished native art completely from the English stage. At the +beginning of the eighteenth century, the most popular form of +entertainment consisted of operas set to a mixture of English and +Italian words, but after a time the town, to quote Addison, tired of +understanding only half the work, determined for the future to +understand none of it, and these hybrid works gave place, after the +arrival of Handel, to the splendid series of masterpieces extending from +'Rinaldo' to 'Deidamia.' From time to time attempts were made to gain a +footing for English opera in London, and in 1728 'The Beggar's Opera' +achieved a triumph so instantaneous and overwhelming as seriously to +affect the success of Handel's Italian enterprise at the Haymarket +Theatre. It is supposed, that the origin of 'The Beggar's Opera' is due +to a remark of Swift's that 'a Newgate pastoral might be made a pretty +thing.' Gay borrowed the idea, and constructed 'The Beggar's Opera' +round a cut-throat highwayman of the name of Macheath, while Dr. Pepusch +arranged the music from old English and Scotch melodies, together with +some of the most popular tunes of the day. The success of the work was +very remarkable. It was performed sixty-two times during the first +season, and even now is still to be heard occasionally. It was the +foundation of that exceedingly simple form of art, the English ballad +opera, which was so widely popular in London during the closing years of +the eighteenth century, and early in the nineteenth. At first composers +availed themselves largely of traditional or popular tunes in arranging +the music which diversified the dialogue of these works, but as time +went on they became more ambitious, and the operas of Storace and his +contemporaries are for the most entirely original. + +Meanwhile an attempt had been made by Arne to adapt the mannerisms of +the Italian stage to English opera. His 'Artaxerxes,' which was produced +in 1762, was constructed strictly upon the lines of Italian opera, being +made up throughout entirely of airs and recitative. It had a most +encouraging reception, but the enterprise seems to have borne little +fruit, for after a few years we hear no more of English opera 'after the +Italian manner,' and London seems to have been content with Italian +opera and ballad operas of the already familiar type. The traditions of +the latter were successfully carried on by Storace, a naturalised +Italian, Dibdin, Shield, Hook, and many others, many of whose songs are +still popular, though the works of which they once formed part have +long been forgotten. The ballad operas of these composers were of +unimaginable _naivete_ and depended entirely upon their simple +tunefulness for such favour as they won. Sir Henry Bishop (1786-1855) +raised the artistic standard of this form of art considerably. There is +real musical interest in some of his concerted pieces, and many of his +choruses, which are familiar to us under the incorrect name of glees, +are capitally written. Had Bishop possessed the necessary energy and +enterprise, he might have founded a school of English opera which would +have compared favourably even with its continental contemporaries. + +To John Barnett (1802-1890) belongs the credit of writing the first +English opera, strictly so called, since Arne's 'Artaxerxes.' 'The +Mountain Sylph,' which was produced in 1834, fulfils all the +requirements of the operatic form. It is besides a work of genuine charm +and power, and retained its popularity for many years. + +It is unfortunate for the memory of Balfe (1808-1870) that the one opera +by which he is now remembered, the perennial 'Bohemian Girl,' should be +perhaps the least meritorious of his many works. It lives solely by +reason of the insipid tunefulness of one or two airs, regardless of the +fact that the plot is transcendentally foolish, and that the words are a +shining example of the immortal balderdash of the poet Bunn. In the +first act Thaddeus, an exiled Polish rebel, finds refuge among a tribe +of gipsies, who disguise him in order to enable him to escape his +pursuers. While among them he saves the life of Arline, the six-year-old +daughter of Count Arnheim, an Austrian nobleman. Arnheim, in delight at +recovering his child, invites Thaddeus and his companion Devilshoof, the +leader of the gipsies, to a banquet, at which the Emperor's health is +proposed. The two supposed gipsies refuse to drink it, whereupon +Devilshoof is seized and imprisoned, while Thaddeus, at the Count's +earnest entreaty, is allowed to go in freedom. Devilshoof contrives to +make his escape, and in revenge for the treatment he has received steals +the little Arline, whom he carries off to the gipsy camp. Twelve years +have passed when the second act begins. Arline has grown up to +womanhood, but all the other characters remain at precisely the same age +as in the first act. Thaddeus loves Arline, and is himself beloved by +the gipsy queen, who vows the innocent girl's ruin. By her machinations +Arline is accused of theft, and is taken to be tried by her own father. +The inevitable recognition ensues, and upon Thaddeus disclosing his true +position he is rewarded with Airline's hand. During the betrothal feast +the gipsy queen attempts Arline's life, but the shot, in a manner which +even Bunn himself might have found difficult to explain, recoils and +strikes her who aimed it. + +Balfe had to the full his share of that vein of maudlin sentiment which +is typical of one side of the Irish character. He appears to have had +little ambition, and was content throughout his career to fit his +saccharine melodies to whatever words the librettists of the day chose +to supply. No one can deny him the possession of fluent and commonplace +melody, but there his claim to musicianship ends. + +Wallace (1814-1865) was more of a musician than Balfe, but his +best-known work, 'Maritana,' is but little superior to 'The Bohemian +Girl.' Maritana, a street singer, has attracted the attention of the +King of Spain. Don Jose, one of the courtiers, determines to help the +King in his amour, in order that he may afterwards use his infidelity as +a means of advancing himself in the favour of the Queen. There is a law +against duelling in the streets of Madrid, and a certain spendthrift +nobleman, Don Caesar de Bazan, has rendered himself liable to death for +protecting a poor boy named Lazarillo from arrest. Don Jose promises the +condemned man that he shall be shot instead of hanged, if he will +consent to marry a veiled lady an hour before the execution, intending +thus to give Maritana a position at court as the widow of a nobleman. +Don Caesar consents to the arrangement, but Lazarillo takes the bullets +out of the soldiers' rifles, so that the execution does not end fatally, +and Maritana is not a widow after all. Don Caesar finds his way to a +villa in the outskirts of Madrid, where he not only has the satisfaction +of putting a stop to the King's attentions to Maritana, but performs the +same kind office for the Queen, who is being persecuted by Don Jose. For +the latter performance he receives a free pardon, and is made Governor +of Valentia. 'Lurline,' an opera constructed upon the Rhenish legend of +the Loreley, has perhaps more musical merit than 'Maritana,' but the +libretto is more than usually indefinite. + +Wallace rivalled Balfe in the facility and shallowness of his melody. +Yet with all their weaknesses, his operas contain many tunes which have +wound themselves into popular affection, and in the eyes of Bank-Holiday +audiences, 'Maritana' stands second only to 'The Bohemian Girl.' + +Sir Julius Benedict (1804-1885), though German by birth, may +conveniently be classed as an Englishman. Trained in the school of +Weber, he was a musician of a very different calibre from Balfe and +Wallace. His earlier works, 'The Gipsy's Warning' and 'The Brides of +Venice,' are now forgotten, but 'The Lily of Killarney,' which was +produced in 1862, is still deservedly popular. + +It is founded upon Boucicault's famous drama, 'The Colleen Bawn.' +Hardress Cregan, a young Irish landowner, has married Eily O'Connor, a +beautiful peasant girl of Killarney. The marriage has been kept secret, +and Hardress, finding that an opportunity has arisen of repairing the +fallen fortunes of his house by a rich marriage, contemplates +repudiating Eily. Eily refuses to part with her 'marriage lines,' +whereupon Danny Mann, Hardress's faithful henchman, attempts to drown +her in the lake. She is saved by Myles na Coppaleen, a humble lover of +her own, who shoots Danny Mann. Eily's narrow escape has the result of +bringing Hardress to his senses. He renounces his schemes of ambition, +and makes public his marriage with Eily. Benedict's music touches a +higher level than had been reached by English opera before. He was, of +course, directly inspired by Weber, but there runs through the opera a +vein of plaintive melancholy which is all his own. The form in which +'The Lily of Killarney' is cast is now somewhat superannuated, but for +tenderness of melody and unaffected pathos, it will compare very +favourably with many more pretentious works which have succeeded it. Sir +George Macfarren (1813-1887) was a prolific writer for the stage, but of +all his works 'Robin Hood' is the only one which is still occasionally +performed. It has little of the buoyancy which the theme demands, but +there is a great deal of sound writing in the concerted music, and some +of the ballads are tuneful enough in a rather commonplace way. Edward +James Loder (1813-1865) was a good musician, and under more favourable +conditions might have produced work of permanent interest. His +best-known work is 'The Night Dancers,' an opera founded upon the legend +which has been used by the Italian composer Puccini in his 'Le Villi.' + +About the middle of the nineteenth century the destinies of English +opera were controlled by a company presided over by Miss Pyne and Mr. +Harrison, for which Balfe and Macfarren wrote a good many of their +works. In more recent times the place of this institution was taken by +the Carl Rosa company, which was founded in 1875 by a German violinist +named Carl Rosa. Such opportunities as were presented to English +musicians, during the latter part of the last century, of hearing their +works sung upon the stage were principally due to his efforts. One of +the first works actually written in response to a commission by Carl +Rosa was 'Esmeralda,' an opera by Arthur Goring Thomas (1851-1892), +which was produced in 1883. It is founded upon Victor Hugo's 'Notre +Dame,' and the libretto was written by T. Marzials and A. Randegger. + +Esmeralda, a gipsy street singer, is loved by the profligate priest +Claude Frollo, who with the assistance of Quasimodo, the deformed +bell-ringer of Notre Dame, tries to carry her off by night. She is +rescued by Phoebus de Chateaupers, the captain of the guard, who +speedily falls in love with her. Frollo escapes, but Quasimodo is +captured, though, at Esmeralda's entreaty, Phoebus sets him once more at +liberty. In gratitude the dwarf vows himself to her service. Frollo is +mad with rage at seeing Phoebus preferred to himself; he assassinates +the captain and accuses Esmeralda of the crime. She is condemned to +death, but is saved by the appearance of Phoebus, who was not killed +after all, and opportunely turns up in time to rescue Esmeralda. Frollo +attempts once more to murder Phoebus, but the blow is received instead +by Quasimodo, who sacrifices himself for Esmeralda's happiness. When the +opera was produced in French at Covent Garden in 1890, the composer +introduced several alterations into the score. An elaborate air for +Esmeralda in the prison was the most important of the additions, and +the close of the opera was also materially changed. It was generally +thought, however, that the original version was the more successful. +Thomas's training and sympathies were thoroughly French, and except for +the words 'Esmeralda' has very little claim to be called an English +opera. The score is extremely graceful and charming, and it is only at +the more dramatic moments that the composer fails to do justice to his +theme. + +In 'Nadeshda,' an opera written upon a Russian subject, which was +produced in 1885, there was much charming music, but the libretto was +uninteresting, and the success of the work never equalled that of its +predecessor. The most attractive part of the opera was the delightfully +quaint and original ballet music, to which local colour was given by +clever orchestration and ingenious use of Russian rhythms. + +To the initiative of the Carl Rosa company was due the production of Mr. +Frederick Corder's 'Nordisa,' a work of undoubted talent though +suffering from a fatal lack of homogeneity, and of two operas by Sir +Alexander Mackenzie. The first of these, 'Colomba,' was produced in +1883. It achieved a success, but the gloomy character of the libretto +prevented it from becoming really popular. It is founded upon Prosper +Merimee's famous Corsican tale. The father of Orso and Colomba della +Rebbia has been treacherously murdered by two of the family of +Barracini. Colomba is burning for vengeance, but her brother is an +officer in the French army, and has been absent from Corsica for many +years. When he returns she finds that his love for Lydia, the daughter +of the Count de Nevers, has driven thoughts of revenge from his mind. +She succeeds, however, in rousing him to action, and one day he kills +both the murderers, though wounded himself by a cowardly ambush. He has +to take to the mountains for refuge, and there he remains, tended by +Lydia and Colomba, until news of his pardon comes. It is too late, +however, to save the life of Colomba, who has been mortally wounded in +endeavouring to divert the soldiers from Orso's hiding-place. +Mackenzie's music is exceedingly clever and effective. He uses guiding +themes with judgment and skill, and his employment of some old Corsican +melodies is also very happy. 'Colomba' is a work which eminently merits +revival, and it will be probably heard of again. 'The Troubadour,' which +was produced a few years later, failed completely. The story is +thoroughly dull, and completely failed to inspire the musician. Sir +Alexander Mackenzie has recently completed the score of an opera on the +subject of Dickens's 'Cricket on the Hearth,' the production of which is +awaited with much interest. + +During the closing years of the nineteenth century the fortunes of +English opera, never very brilliant, reached a lower point than at any +time in our musical history. The Carl Rosa opera company fell upon evil +days, and was compelled to restrict its energies almost entirely to the +performance of stock operas, while at Covent Garden the opportunities +afforded to native composers were few and far between. In these +disheartening circumstances it is not surprising that English musicians +were not encouraged to devote their powers to a form of art in which so +little prospect of success could be entertained. What they might have +achieved under happier conditions the operatic career of Sir Charles +Stanford suggests in the most convincing manner. Stanford is a composer +whose natural endowment conspicuously fits him for operatic work, and he +has grasped such opportunities as have been vouchsafed to him with +almost unvarying success. Had he been blessed with a more congenial +environment he would have taken rank with the foremost operatic +composers of his time. + +His first opera, 'The Veiled Prophet,' was originally performed at +Hanover in 1881, but was not actually heard in London until it was +produced at Covent Garden in 1894. The libretto, an admirable +condensation of Moore's well-known poem from the pen of Mr. W. Barclay +Squire, gave the composer ample opportunities for picturesque and +dramatic effect. Stanford's music is tuneful and vigorous throughout, +and such weaknesses as are occasionally perceptible are due rather to +inexperience of the stage than to any failure in inspiration. + +'The Canterbury Pilgrims,' written to a libretto by Gilbert a Beckett, +which was produced in 1884, was happily named by some one at the time +an English 'Meistersinger,' and indeed it is not difficult to imagine +what model Stanford had in his mind when writing his brilliant and +genial opera, Geoffrey, the host of the Tabard Inn, has a pretty +daughter named Cicely, who is loved by the jovial apprentice, Hubert. +Geoffrey finds out their attachment, and determines to sent Cicely upon +a visit to an aunt in Kent, in company with a body of pilgrims who are +just starting for Canterbury. Sir Christopher Synge, a knight of Kent, +has cast sheep's eyes upon the pretty girl, and hearing of her intended +trip bids his factotum, Hal o' the Chepe, assemble a company of +ragamuffins, and carry her off on her way to Canterbury. Hubert +contrives to get enlisted among them, so as to be able to watch over his +sweetheart, and Dame Margery, Sir Christopher's wife, also in disguise, +joins the pilgrims, in the hope of keeping an eye upon her errant +spouse. In the second act the pilgrims arrive at Sidenbourne. Dame +Margery helps the lovers to escape, and taking Cicely's place receives +the vows and sighs of her husband. In the third act the lovers have been +overtaken and caught by the irate Geoffrey, and Hubert is dragged to +trial before Sir Christopher. After an amusing trial scene, the knight +discovers that Cicely is one of the culprits, and at once pardons them +both. Geoffrey is persuaded to forgive the young couple, and all ends +happily, Stanford's music is a happy compromise between old and new. In +his use of guiding themes, and in his contrapuntal treatment of the +orchestra he follows Wagner, but his employment of new devices is +tempered by due regard for established tradition. He is happiest in +dealing with humorous situations, and in the lighter parts of the opera +his music has a bustling gaiety which fits the situation very happily. +In the more passionate scenes he is less at home, and the love duet in +particular is by no means entirely satisfactory. Stanford's next work, +'Savonarola,' was performed in London for the first time by a German +company under Dr. Hans Richter in 1884. Interesting as much of the music +is, the performance was not successful, partly owing to the almost +unmitigated gloom of the libretto. Far the best part of the work, both +musically and dramatically, is the prologue, which tells of the love of +Savonarola for Clarice, of her marriage, and of his renouncement of the +world. The merit of this scene is so great that it might be worth the +composer's while to produce it as a one-act opera, in which form it +would be safe to predict for it a genuine success. + +Stanford's next work for the stage was 'Shamus O'Brien,' a romantic +opera dealing with a typically Irish subject, which was produced in 1896 +with great success. The form of the work is that of a genuine comic +opera, the dialogue being interspersed throughout with music, but +although less ambitious in form than his earlier works, 'Shamus O'Brien' +has a deeper artistic importance. With all its cleverness and ingenuity, +'The Canterbury Pilgrims' is German in method and expression, and it is +merely by the accident of language that it can be classed as British +opera at all. In 'Shamus O'Brien' the composer drew his inspiration from +the melodies and rhythms of his native Ireland, and the result is that +his work ranks as an original and independent effort, instead of being +merely a brilliant exercise. + +In 1901 Sir Charles Stanford's 'Much Ado about Nothing' was produced at +Covent Garden. The libretto by Julian Sturgis is a clever adaptation of +Shakespeare's comedy, in which the action is judiciously compressed into +four scenes without any incidents of importance being omitted. First we +have the ball at Leonato's house, with some love-making for Claudio and +Hero, and a wit-combat between Beatrice and Benedick. Here, too, Don +John hatches his plot against Hero's honour, and Don Pedro unfolds his +scheme for tricking Beatrice and Benedick into mutual love. The second +act takes place in Leonato's garden. Claudio serenades his mistress, who +comes down from her balcony and joins him in a duet. Then follows the +cozening of Benedick, and the act ends effectively by Don John showing +to Claudio the supposed Hero admitting Borachio to her chamber. The +third scene is in the church, following Shakespeare very closely, and +the last takes place in an open square in Messina with Hero's tomb on +one side, where, after a scene with Dogberry, Borachio confesses his +crime, and Hero is restored to her lover. Stanford's music is a masterly +combination of delicate fancy and brilliant humour, and when serious +matters are in hand he is not found wanting. A distinctive feature of +the work is the absence of Wagnerian influence. Stanford uses guiding +themes, it is true, and often in a most suggestive manner, but they do +not form the basis of his score. If foreign influence there be in 'Much +Ado about Nothing,' it is that of Verdi in his 'Falstaff' manner. Like +Verdi Stanford strikes a true balance between voices and instruments. +His orchestra prattles merrily along, underlining each situation in turn +with happy emphasis, but it never attempts to dethrone the human voice +from its pride of place. Like the blithe Beatrice, 'Much Ado about +Nothing' was born under a star that danced. It overflows with delicious +melody, and its orchestration is the _ne plus ultra_ of finished +musicianship. Since its production in London it has been performed with +great success in the provinces by the Moody-Manners opera company, and +has lately been produced in Germany. + +Dr. Frederic Cowen is another of our English musicians who, in more +favourable circumstances, would doubtless have proved himself an +operatic composer of distinction. 'Pauline,' a work founded upon 'The +Lady of Lyons,' which was played by the Carl Rosa company in 1876, seems +to have won little success. 'Thorgrim,' produced by the same company in +1889, was more fortunate. The plot is founded upon an Icelandic saga, +and has but little dramatic interest. There is much charm in Dr. Cowen's +music, and some of the lighter scenes in the opera are gracefully +treated, but his talent is essentially delicate rather than powerful, +and the fierce passions of the Vikings scarcely come within its scope. + +'Signa' (1893), an opera founded upon Ouida's novel of that name, showed +traces of Italian influence. It was produced at Milan with considerable +success, and was afterwards given in London. In 'Harold' (1895), Dr. +Cowen attempted too ambitious a task. The tale of the conquest of +England was ill suited to his delicate muse, and the opera achieved +little more than a _succes d'estime_. + +Sir Arthur Sullivan (1842-1900) was the most successful English composer +of opera during the later years of the nineteenth century. His name is +of course principally associated with the long series of light operas +written in conjunction with Mr. W.S. Gilbert; but it must not be +forgotten that he also essayed grand opera with no little success. + +The experiment made by the Carl Rosa company in 1899 of playing his +early oratorio, 'The Martyr of Antioch,' as an opera had, not +unnaturally, very little success, but 'Ivanhoe' (1891) showed that +Sullivan could adapt his style to the exigencies of grand opera with +singular versatility. 'Ivanhoe' was handicapped by a patchy and unequal +libretto, but it contained a great deal of good music, and we have +probably not heard the last of it yet. For the present generation, +however, Sullivan's fame rests almost entirely upon his comic operas, +which indeed have already attained something like the position of +classics and may prove, it is sincerely to be hoped, the foundation of +that national school of opera which has been so often debated and so +ardently desired, but is still, alas! so far from practical realisation. + +Sullivan's first essay in comic opera dates from the year 1867, which +saw the production of his 'Contrabandista' and 'Cox and Box,' both +written to libretti by Sir Frank Burnand, and both showing not merely +admirable musicianship and an original vein of melody, but an +irresistible sense of humour and a rare faculty for expressing it in +music. 'Thespis' (1871) first brought him into partnership with Mr. +Gilbert, a partnership which was further cemented by 'Trial by Jury' +(1875). It was 'Trial by Jury' that opened the eyes of connoisseurs to +the possibilities lying within the grasp of these two young men, whose +combined talents had produced a work so entirely without precedent in +the history of English or indeed of any music. The promise of 'Trial by +Jury' was amply borne out by 'The Sorcerer' (1877), which remains in the +opinion of many the best of the whole series of Gilbert and Sullivan +operas--but indeed there is hardly one of them that has not at one time +or another been preferred above its fellows by expert opinion. 'The +Sorcerer' naturally gave Sullivan more scope than 'Trial by Jury.' Here +for the first time he showed what he could do in what may be called his +old English vein, in reproduction of the graceful dance measures of old +time, and in imitations of Elizabethan madrigals so fresh and tuneful +that they seem less the resuscitation of a style long dead than the +creation of an entirely new art-form. In a different vein was the +burlesque incantation, a masterpiece of musical humour, in which the +very essence of Mr. Gilbert's strange topsy-turvydom seems transmuted +into sound. + +In 'H.M.S. Pinafore' (1878) Sullivan scored his first great popular +success. 'The Sorcerer' had appealed to the few; 'Pinafore' carried the +masses by storm. In humour and in musicianship alike it is less subtle +than its predecessor, but it triumphed by sheer dash and high spirits. +There is a smack of the sea in music and libretto alike. 'Pinafore' was +irresistible, and Sullivan became the most popular composer of the day. +'The Pirates of Penzance' (1880) followed the lines of 'Pinafore,' with +humour perhaps less abundant but with an added touch of refinement. +There are passages in 'The Pirates' tenderer in tone, one might almost +say more pathetic, than anything Sullivan had previously written, +passages which gave more than a hint of the triumphs he was later to win +in that mingling of tears and laughter of which he had the secret In +'Patience' (1881) musician and librettist mutually agreed to leave the +realm of farcical extravagance, and to turn to satire of a peculiarly +keen-edged and delicate kind--that satire which caresses while it cuts, +and somehow contrives to win sympathy for its object even when it is +most mordant. There are people nowadays who have been known to declare +that the "aesthetic" movement had no existence outside the imagination of +Mr. Gilbert and 'Mr. Punch.' In the eighties, however, everybody +believed in it, and believed too that 'Patience' killed it. What is +quite certain is that, whoever killed it, 'Patience' embalmed it in +odours and spices of the most fragrant and costly description, so that +it has remained a thing of beauty even to our own day. In 'Iolanthe' +(1882) Mr. Gilbert reached the dizziest height of topsy-turvydom to +which he ever climbed, and set Sullivan to solve what was perhaps the +most difficult problem of his whole career. To bring the atmosphere of +fairyland into the House of Lords was a task which the most accomplished +master of musical satire might well have refused, but Sullivan came +victoriously through the ordeal. His 'Iolanthe' music, with its blending +of things aerial with things terrene, and its contrast between the solid +qualities of our hereditary legislators and the irresponsible ecstasy of +fairyland is one of the most surprising feats of musical imagination +that even his career can furnish. In 'Princess Ida' (1884), which is, so +to speak, a burlesque of a burlesque, his task was easier. 'Princess +Ida' contains some of his most brilliant excursions into the realm of +parody--parodies of grand opera, parodies of the traditional Handelian +manner, parodies of sentimental love-making--but it also contains some +of the purest and most beautiful music he ever wrote. Some of Sullivan's +melodies, indeed, would be more fitting on the lips of Tennyson's +romantic princess than on those of Mr. Gilbert's burlesque +"suffragette". 'Princess Ida' was not appreciated at its true value and +still awaits its revenge, but in 'The Mikado' (1885) the two +collaborators scored the greatest success of their career. The freshness +and novelty of its surroundings--Japan had not then, so to speak, become +the property of the man in the street--counted for something in the +triumph of 'The Mikado,' but it is unquestionably one of the very best +of the series. Mr. Gilbert never wrote wittier or more brilliant +dialogue, and Sullivan never dazzled his admirers by more astonishing +feats of musicianship. 'Ruddigore' (1887) was less successful than any +of its predecessors. If the satire of 'Princess Ida' was just a shade +above the heads of the Savoy audience, the satire of 'Ruddigore' was +perhaps a shade below them. 'Ruddigore' is a burlesque of transpontine +melodrama, and a very good burlesque too; but the Savoy audience knew +next to nothing about transpontine melodrama, and so the satire was +missed and the piece fell flat. It was a pity, because Sullivan's music +was in his happiest manner. There may yet, however, be a future for +'Ruddigore,' 'The Yeomen of the Guard' (1888) opened fresh ground. For +the moment Mr. Gilbert turned his back upon topsy-turvydom and Sullivan +approached the frontiers of grand opera. + +'The Yeomen of the Guard' has a serious plot, and at times lingers on +the threshold of tragedy. Sullivan caught the altered spirit of his +collaborator with perfect sympathy, and struck a note of romantic +feeling unique in his career. With 'The Gondoliers' (1889) the scene +brightened again, and merriment reigned supreme once more. Perhaps at +times there was a suspicion of weariness in Mr. Gilbert's wit, and some +of Sullivan's melodies had not all the old distinction of manner, but +the piece was an incarnation of liveliness and gaiety, and its success +rivalled the historic glories of 'The Mikado.' With 'The Gondoliers' +came the first solution of continuity in the Gilbert and Sullivan +partnership. Differences arose; Mr. Gilbert retired from the councils of +the Savoy Theatre, and Sullivan had to look out for a new collaborator. +He found one in Mr. Sydney Grundy, and their 'Haddon Hall' was produced +in 1892. In spite of charming music, reflecting very gracefully the old +English atmosphere of the story, its success was only moderate, and the +world of music was much relieved to hear that the differences between +Mr. Gilbert and the Savoy authorities had been adjusted, and that the +two famous collaborators were to join forces once more. Unfortunately +'Utopia' (1893) echoed but faintly the magical harmonies of the past. +The old enchantment was gone; the spell was shattered. Both +collaborators seemed to have lost the clue that had so often led to +triumph. Again they drifted apart, and Sullivan turned once more to his +old friend, Sir Frank Burnand. Together they produced 'The Chieftain' +(1894), a revised and enlarged version of their early indiscretion, 'The +Contrabandista.' Success still held aloof, and for the last time +Sullivan and Mr. Gilbert joined forces. In 'The Grand Duke' (1896) +there were fitful gleams of the old splendour, notably in an amazing +sham--Greek chorus, which no one but Sullivan could have written, but +the piece could not for a moment be compared to even the weakest of the +earlier operas. The fate of 'The Beauty Stone' (1898), written to a +libretto by Messrs Pinero and Comyns Carr, was even more deplorable. +Fortunately Sullivan's collaboration with Captain Basil Hood brought him +an Indian summer of inspiration and success. 'The Rose of Persia' +(1900), if not upon the level of his early masterpieces, contained +better music than he had written since the days of 'The Gondoliers,' and +at least one number--the marvellous Dervish quartet--that for sheer +invention and musicianship could hardly be matched even in 'The Mikado' +itself. There was a great deal of charming music, too, in 'The Emerald +Isle' (1901), which Sullivan left unfinished at his death, and Mr. +Edward German completed. + +During his lifetime, Sullivan was called the English Auber by people who +wanted to flatter him, and the English Offenbach by people who wanted to +snub him. Neither was a very happy nickname. He might more justly have +been called the English Lortzing, since he undoubtedly learnt more than +a little from the composer of 'Czar und Zimmermann,' whose comic operas +he heard during his student days at Leipzig. But Sullivan owed very +little to anyone. His genius was thoroughly his own and thoroughly +English, and in that lies his real value to posterity. For if we are +ever to have a national English opera, we shall get it by writing +English music, not by producing elaborate exercises in the manner of +Wagner, Verdi, Massenet, Strauss, or anybody else. Most great artistic +enterprises spring from humble sources, and our young lions need not be +ashamed of producing a mere comic opera or two before attacking a +full-fledged music-drama. Did not Wagner himself recommend a budding +bard to start his musical career with a Singspiel? It is safest as a +rule to begin building operations from the foundation, and a better +foundation for a school of English opera than Sullivan's series of comic +operas could hardly be desired. + +In his younger days Sullivan had many disciples. Alfred Cellier, the +composer of the world-famous 'Dorothy,' was the best of them. Edward +Solomon was hardly more than a clever imitator. The mantle of Sullivan +seems now to have fallen on Mr. Edward German, who besides completing +Sullivan's unfinished 'Emerald Isle,' won brilliant success with his +enchanting 'Merrie England.' His 'Princess of Kensington' was saddled +with a dull libretto, but the music was hardly inferior to that of its +predecessor, and much the same may be said of his latest work 'Tom +Jones.' + +The recent performances of English composers in the field of grand opera +have not been very encouraging. Few indeed are the opportunities offered +to our native musicians of winning distinction on the lyric stage, and +of late we have been regaled with the curious spectacle of English +composers setting French or German libretti in the hope of finding in +foreign theatres the hearing that is denied them in their own. Miss +Ethel Smyth is the most prominent and successful of the composers whose +reputation has been made abroad. Her 'Fantasio' has not been given in +England, but 'Der Wald,' an opera in one act, after having been produced +in Germany was given at Covent Garden in 1902 with conspicuous success. +The libretto, which is the work of the composer herself, is concise and +dramatic. Heinrich the forester loves Roeschen, the woodman's daughter, +but on the eve of their marriage he has the misfortune to attract the +notice of Iolanthe, the mistress of his liege lord the Landgrave Rudolf. +He rejects her advances, and in revenge she has him stabbed by her +followers. This is the bare outline of the story, but the value of the +work lies in the highly poetical and imaginative framework in which it +is set. Behind the puny passions of man looms the vast presence of the +eternal forest, the mighty background against which the children of +earth fret their brief hour and pass into oblivion. The note which +echoes through the drama is struck in the opening scene--a tangled brake +deep in the heart of the great stillness, peopled by nymphs and fauns +whose voices float vaguely through the twilight. Every scene in the +drama is tinged with the same mysterious influence, until at the close +the spirit-voices chant their primeval hymn over the bodies of the +lovers in the gathering night. Miss Smyth's music has the same mastering +unity. The voice of the forest is the keynote of her score. Perhaps it +can hardly be said that she has altogether succeeded in translating +into music the remarkable conception which is the foundation of her +libretto. Had she done so, she might at once have taken her place by the +side of Wagner, the only composer of modern times who has handled a +philosophical idea of this kind in music with any notable success. But +her music has an individual strain of romance, which stamps her as a +composer of definite personality, while in the more dramatic scenes she +shows a fine grip of the principles of stage effect. Her latest work +'Strandrecht,' in English 'The Wreckers' (1906), was produced at +Leipzig, and shortly afterwards was given at Prague. It has not yet +found its way to London. The scene is laid in Cornwall in the eighteenth +century. The inhabitants of that wild coast, though fervent Methodists, +live by 'wrecking,' in which they are encouraged by their minister. +Thurza, the minister's faithless wife, alone protests against their +cruelty and hypocrisy, and persuades her lover, a young fisherman, to +light fires in order to warn mariners from the dangerous coast. The +treachery, as it seems to the rest of the villagers, of Thurza and her +lover is discovered, and after a rough-and-ready trial they are left in +a cavern close to the sea to be overwhelmed by the rising tide. Miss +Smyth's music is spoken of as strongly dramatic, and marked by a keen +sense of characterisation. + +The operas of Mr. Isidore de Lara, a composer who, in spite of his name, +is said to be of English extraction, may conveniently be mentioned +here. It is generally understood that the production of these works at +Covent Garden was due to causes other than their musical value, but in +any case they do not call for detailed criticism. Mr. de Lara's earlier +works, 'The Light of Asia,' 'Amy Robsart,' and 'Moina' failed +completely. There is better work in 'Messaline' (1899). The musical +ideas are poor in quality, but the score is put together in a +workmanlike manner, and the orchestration is often clever. The libretto, +which recounts the intrigues of the Empress Messalina with two brothers, +Hares and Helion, a singer and a gladiator, is in the highest degree +repellent, and it would need far better music than Mr. de Lara's to +reconcile a London audience to so outrageous a subject. Mr. de Lara's +latest production, 'Sanga' (1906), does not seem to have sustained the +promise of 'Messaline.' Another composer whom necessity has driven to +ally his music to a foreign libretto is Mr. Herbert Bunning, whose opera +'La Princesse Osra' was produced at Covent Garden in 1902. Mr. Alick +Maclean, whose 'Quentin Durward' and 'Petruccio' had already shown +remarkable promise, has lately won considerable success in Germany with +'Die Liebesgeige.' + +Scanty is the catalogue of noteworthy operas with English words produced +in recent years. The most remarkable of them are Mr. Colin MacAlpin's +'The Cross and the Crescent,' which won the prize offered by Mr. Charles +Manners in 1903 for an English opera, and Mr. Nicholas Gatty's +'Greysteel,' a very able and musicianly setting of an episode from one +of the Norse sagas, which was produced at Sheffield in 1906. + +It is difficult to be sanguine as to the prospects of English opera. +Circumstances are certainly against the production of original work in +this country, though it is legitimate to hope that the recent revival of +interest in Sullivan's works may lead our composers to devote their +energies to the higher forms of comic opera. Anything is better than the +mere imitation of foreign models which has for so long been +characteristic of English opera. By turning to the melodies of his +native land, Weber founded German opera, and if we are ever to have a +school of opera in England we must begin by building upon a similar +foundation. + + + + +INDEX OF OPERAS + + +A Basso Porto (_Spinelli_), 300 +Abreise, Die (_D'Albert_), 313 +Abu Hassan (_Weber_), 89 +Adriana Lecouvreur (_Cilea_), 298 +Africaine, L' (_Meyerbeer_), 136 +Agrippina (_Handel_), 15 +Aida (_Verdi_), 271 +Alceste (_Gluck_), 25 +Alceste (_Lulli_), 8 +Alcina (_Handel_), 56 +Alfonso und Estrella (_Schubert_), 104 +Almira (_Handel_), 13 +Alzira (_Verdi_), 264 +Amadis (_Lulli_), 8 +Amant Jaloux, L' (_Gretry_), 45 +Amica (_Mascagni_), 294 +Amico Fritz, L' (_Mascagni_), 293 +Amy Robsart (_De Lara_), 348 +Ancetre, L' (_Saint Saens_), 238 +Andrea Chenier (_Giordano_), 297 +Anna Bolena (_Donizetti_), 116 +Aphrodite (_Erlanger_), 259 +Ariane (_Massenet_), 249 +Ariane et Barbe-Bleue (_Dukas_), 259 +Arianna (_Monteverde_), 4 +Armide (_Gluck_), 32 +Artaserse (_Gluck_), 20 +Artaxerxes (_Arne_), 324 +Ascanio (_Saint Saens_), 236 +Asrael (_Franchetti_), 301 +Astarte (_Leroux_), 259 +Attaque du Moulin, L' (_Bruneau_), 253 +Attila (_Verdi_), 264 +Aucassin und Nicolette (_Enna_), 322 + +Ballo in Maschera, Un (_Verdi_), 269 +Barbares, Les (_Saint Saens_), 236 +Barbier von Bagdad, Der (_Cornelius_), 303 +Barbiere di Siviglia, Il (_Paisiello_), 49 +Barbiere di Siviglia, Il (_Rossini_), 107 +Bardes, Les (_Lesueur_), 78 +Baerenhaeuter, Der (_S. Wagner_), 313 +Basoche, La (_Messager_), 259 +Bastien und Bastienne (_Mozart_), 52 +Battaglia di Legnano, La (_Verdi_), 265 +Bauer ein Schelm, Der (_Dvorak_), 318 +Beatrice et Benedict (_Berlioz_), 143 +Beauty Stone, The (_Sullivan_), 344 +Beggar's Opera, The (_Pepusch_), 323 +Benvenuto Cellini (_Berlioz_), 143 +Betly (_Donizetti_), 116 +Boheme, La (_Leoncavallo_), 296 +Boheme, La (_Puccini_), 286 +Bohemian Girl, The (_Balfe_), 325 +Bonduca (_Purcell_), 11 +Brides of Venice, The (_Benedict_), 328 +Bruder Lustig (_S. Wagner_), 313 +Bruid van der Zee, De (_Blockx_), 260 + +Cabrera, La (_Dupont_), 259 +Caduta de' Giganti (_Gluck_), 21 +Canterbury Pilgrims, The (_Stanford_), 333 +Carmelite, La (_Hahn_), 259 +Carmen (_Bizet_), 227 +Castor et Pollux (_Rameau_), 24 +Cavalleria Rusticana (_Mascagni_), 292 +Cendrillon (_Massenet_), 246 +Cendrillon (_Nicolo_), 85 +Chalet, Le (_Adam_), 149 +Chatterton (_Leoncavallo_), 296 +Cherubin (_Massenet_), 248 +Chi sofre speri (_Mazzocchi_ and _Marazzoli_), 40 +Chieftain, The (_Sullivan_), 343 +Chopin (_Orefice_), 300 +Christus (_Rubinstein_), 321 +Cid, Der (_Cornelius_), 305 +Cid, Le (_Massenet_), 244 +Cinq-Mars (_Gounod_), 223 +Circe (_Banister_), 10 +Clemenza di Tito, La (_Mozart_), 68 +Cleopatra (_Enna_), 322 +Colomba (_Mackenzie_), 331 +Colombe, La (_Gounod_), 220 +Contes d' Hoffmann, Les (_Offenbach_), 229 +Contrabandista, The (_Sullivan_), 339 +Corsaro, Il (_Verdi_), 265 +Cosi fan tutte (_Mozart_), 67 +Cox and Box (_Sullivan_), 339 +Cricket on the Hearth, The (_Goldmark_), 308 +Cricket on the Hearth, The (_Mackenzie_), 332 +Crispino e la Comare (_Ricci_), 124 +Cristoforo Colombo (_Franchetti_), 301 +Cross and the Crescent, The (_MacAlpin_), 348 +Czar und Zimmermann (_Lortzing_), 102 + +Dafne (_Peri_), 2 +Dafne (_Schuetz_), 12 +Dalibor (_Smetana_), 318 +Dame Blanche, La (_Boieldieu_), 85 +Damnation de Faust, La (_Berlioz_), 145 +Danaides, Les (_Salieri_), 75 +Daria (_Marty_), 259 +Deidamia (_Handel_), 16 +Demon, The (_Rubinstein_), 321 +Deserteur, Le (_Monsigny_), 45 +Deux Avares, Les (_Gretry_), 45 +Deux Journees, Les (_Cherubini_), 77 +Devin du Village, Le (_Rousseau_), 44 +Dickschaedel, Der (_Dvorak_) 318 +Dido and AEneas (_Purcell_), 10 +Dinorah (_Meyerbeer_), 141 +Djamileh (_Bizet_), 227 +Doktor und Apotheker (_Dittersdorf_), 84 +Dolores (_Auteri-Manzocchi_), 300 +Don Carlos (_Verdi_), 270 +Don Cesar de Bazan (_Massenet_), 240 +Don Giovanni (_Mozart_), 64 +Don Pasquale (_Donizetti_), 118 +Donna Diana (_Reznicek_), 313 +Dori, La (_Cesti_), 14 +Dornroeschen (_Humperdinck_), 312 +Dorothy (_Cellier_), 345 +Drei Pintos, Die (_Weber_), 97 +Duc d'Albe, Le (_Donizetti_), 116 +Due Foscari, I (_Verdi_), 264 + +Ebreo, L' (_Apolloni_), 280 +Echo et Narcisse (_Gluck_), 38 +Edgar (_Puccini_), 285 +Eleonora (_Paer_), 50 +Elisir d'Amore, L' (_Donizetti_), 119 +Emerald Isle, The (_Sullivan_), 344 +Enfant Roi, L' (_Bruneau_), 255 +Enrico di Borgogna (_Donizetti_), 113 +Entfuehrung aus dem Serail, Die (_Mozart_), 56 +Ernani (_Verdi_), 263 +Erostrate (_Reyer_), 238 +Erschaffene, gefallene und aufgerichtete Mensch, Der (_Theile_), 12 +Esclarmonde (_Massenet_), 244 +Esmeralda (_A.G. Thomas_), 330 +Etienne Marcel (_Saint Saens_), 235 +Etoile du Nord, L' (_Meyerbeer_), 139 +Etranger, L' (_Indy_), 256 +Eugene Onegin (_Tchaikovsky_), 321 +Eulenspiegel (_Kistler_), 309 +Euridice (_Peri_), 2 +Euryanthe (_Weber_), 93 +Evangelimann, Der (_Kienzl_), 313 + +Falstaff (_Verdi_), 277 +Fantasio (_Smyth_), 346 +Faust (_Berlioz_), 145 +Faust (_Gounod_), 216 +Faust (_Spohr_), 98 +Favorite, La (_Donizetti_), 115 +Fedora (_Giordano_), 297 +Feen, Die (_Wagner_), 153 +Fernand Cortez (_Spontini_), 80 +Fervaal (_Indy_), 256 +Feuersnoth (_R. Strauss_), 314 +Fidelio (_Beethoven_), 80 +Fierrabras (_Schubert_), 104 +Fille du Regiment, La (_Donizetti_), 117 +Fils de l' Etoile, Le (_Erlanger_), 259 +Finta Giardiniera, La (_Mozart_), 53 +Finta Semplice, La (_Mozart_), 52 +Finto Stanislao, Il (_Verdi_), 262 +Flauto Magico, Il (_Mozart_). _See_ Zauberfloete, Die +Flibustier, Le (_Cui_), 321 +Fliegende Hollaender, Der (_Wagner_), 158 +Flora Mirabilis (_Samara_), 300 +Flying Dutchman, The (_Wagner_), 158 +Folie, Une (_Mehul_), 77 +Forza del Destino, La (_Verdi_), 270 +Fra Diavolo (_Auber_), 147 +Francesca da Rimini (_Goetz_), 307 +Fredegonde (_Guiraud_), 233 +Freischuetz, Der (_Weber_), 90 + +Gazza Ladra, La (_Rossini_), 108 +Geheimniss, Das (_Smetana_), 318 +Genesius (_Weingartner_), 314 +Genoveva (_Schumann_), 105 +Ghiselle (_Franck_), 231 +Gioconda, La (_Ponchielli_), 283 +Giorno di Regno, Un (_Verdi_), 262 +Giovanna d'Arco (_Verdi_), 264 +Gipsy's Warning, The (_Benedict_), 328 +Giulietta e Romeo (_Vaccai_), 124 +Giuramento, Il (_Mercadante_), 124 +Gloria (_Cilea_), 299 +Gondoliers, The (_Sullivan_), 343 +Goetterdaemmerung (_Wagner_), 193 +Goetz von Berlichingen (_Goldmark_), 309 +Grand Duke, The (_Sullivan_), 344 +Grand' Tante, La (_Massenet_), 240 +Greysteel (_Gatty_), 348 +Griselidis (_Massenet_), 246 +Guarany, Il (_Gomez_), 280 +Guglielmo Ratcliff (_Mascagni_), 293 +Guillaume Tell (_Rossini_), 110 +Gunloed (_Cornelius_), 305 +Guntram (_Strauss_), 314 +Gwendoline (_Chabrier_), 234 + +H.M.S. Pinafore (_Sullivan_), 340 +Haddon Hall (_Sullivan_), 343 +Hamlet (_Thomas_), 226 +Hans Heiling (_Marschner_), 99 +Haensel und Gretel (_Humperdinck_), 309 +Harold (_Cowen_), 338 +Haeusliche Krieg, Der (_Schubert_), 104 +Heimchen am Herd, Das (_Goldmark_), 308 +Heimkehr aus der Fremde (_Mendelssohn_), 104 +Heirath wider Willen, Die (_Humperdinck_), 312 +Helene (_Saint Saens_), 237 +Henry VIII. (_Saint Saens_), 235 +Herbergprinses (_Blockx_), 260 +Herodiade (_Massenet_), 241 +Herzog Wildfang (_S. Wagner_), 313 +Hexe, Die (_Enna_), 322 +Hochzeit des Camacho, Die (_Mendelssohn_), 104 +Hoffmann's Erzaehlungen (_Offenbach_), 230 +Huguenots, Les (_Meyerbeer_), 131 +Hulda (_Franck_), 231 + +Idomeneo (_Mozart_), 54 +Impresario, L' (_Mozart_). _See_ Schauspieldirektor, Der +Ingwelde (_Schillings_), 312 +Iolanthe (_Sullivan_), 341 +Iphigenie en Aulide (_Gluck_), 29 +Iphigenie en Tauride (_Gluck_), 35 +Irato, L' (_Mehul_), 77 +Iris (_Mascagni_), 294 +Isis (_Lulli_), 12 +Italiana in Algeri, L' (_Rossini_), 107 +Ivanhoe (_Sullivan_), 338 + +Jean de Paris (_Boieldieu_), 85 +Jessonda (_Spohr_), 99 +Joconde (_Nicolo_), 85 +Jolie Fille de Perth, La (_Bizet_), 227 +Jongleur de Notre Dame, Le (_Massenet_), 247 +Joseph (_Mehul_), 75 +Juive, La (_Halevy_), 146 + +Kapelle, De (_Blockx_), 260 +Kassya (_Delibes_), 232 +Kerim (_Bruneau_), 251 +King Arthur (_Purcell_), 11 +Kobold, Der (_S. Wagner_), 313 +Koenigin von Saba, Die (_Goldmark_), 307 +Koenigskinder (_Humperdinck_), 312 +Kriegsgefangene, Die (_Goldmark_), 309 +Kunihild (_Kistler_), 309 +Kuss, Der (_Smetana_), 318 + +Lakme (_Delibes_), 231 +Lalla Rookh (_David_), 149 +Libusa (_Smetana_), 318 +Liebesgeige, Die (_Maclean_), 348 +Liebesverbot, Das (_Wagner_), 154 +Life for the Czar (_Glinka_), 319 +Light of Asia, The (_De Lara_), 348 +Lily of Killarney, The (_Benedict_), 328 +Linda di Chamonix (_Donizetti_), 116 +Lodoiska (_Cherubini_), 77 +Lohengrin (_Wagner_), 170 +Lombardi, I (_Verdi_), 262 +Lorelei (_Catalani_), 283 +Lorelei (_Mendelssohn_), 104 +Lorenza (_Mascheroni_), 299 +Louise (_Charpentier_), 256 +Lucia di Lammermoor (_Donizetti_), 113 +Lucio Silla (_Mozart_), 53 +Lucrezia Borgia (_Donizetti_), 114 +Luisa Miller (_Verdi_), 265 +Lurline (_Wallace_), 328 +Lustigen Weiber von Windsor, Die (_Nicolai_), 104 + +Macbeth (_Verdi_), 264 +Madama Butterfly (_Puccini_), 289 +Madame Chrysantheme (_Messager_), 259 +Mage, Le (_Massenet_), 244 +Magic Flute, The (_Mozart_). _See_ Zauberfloete, Die +Mainacht, Die (_Rimsky-Korsakov_), 321 +Maitre Ambros (_Widor_), 259 +Maitre de Chapelle, Le (_Paer_), 50 +Mala Vita (_Giordano_), 297 +Manon (_Massenet_), 242 +Manon Lescaut (_Puccini_), 285 +Manru (_Paderewski_), 321 +Marble Guest, The (_Dargomishky_), 320 +Marie Magdeleine (_Massenet_), 248 +Maritana (_Wallace_), 327 +Marriage of Figaro, The (_Mozart_). _See_ Nozze di Figaro, Le +Martha (_Flotow_), 103 +Martire, La (_Samara_), 300 +Martyr of Antioch, The (_Sullivan_), 338 +Masaniello (_Auber_), 148 +Maschere, Le (_Mascagni_), 294 +Masnadieri, I (_Verdi_), 264 +Matrimonio Segreto, Il (_Cimarosa_), 48 +Medecin malgre lui, Le (_Gounod_), 215 +Medee (_Cherubini_), 78 +Medici, I (_Leoncavallo_), 296 +Mefistofele (_Boito_), 281 +Meistersinger von Nuernberg, Die (_Wagner_), 202 +Merlin (_Goldmark_), 308 +Merrie England (_German_), 345 +Merry Wives of Windsor, The (_Nicolai_), 104 +Messaline (_De Lara_), 348 +Messidor (_Bruneau_), 254 +Mignon (_Thomas_), 225 +Mikado, The (_Sullivan_), 342 +Milton (_Spontini_), 79 +Mireille (_Gounod_), 220 +Mitridate (_Mozart_), 53 +Mock Doctor, The (_Gounod_), 215 +Moina (_De Lara_), 348 +Moloch (_Schillings_), 312 +Mose in Egitto (_Rossini_), 109 +Moses (_Rubinstein_), 321 +Mountain Sylph, The (_Barnett_), 325 +Much Ado about Nothing (_Stanford_), 336 +Muette de Portici, La (_Auber_), 148 + +Nabucodonosor (_Verdi_), 262 +Nachtlager von Granada, Das (_Kreutzer_), 101 +Nadeshda (_A.G. Thomas_), 331 +Nais Micoulin (_Bruneau_), 255 +Navarraise, La (_Massenet_), 245 +Nibelung's Ring, The (_Wagner_), 178 +Night Dancers, The (_Loder_), 329 +Ninette a la Cour (_Duni_), 44 +Nonne Sanglante, La (_Gounod_), 215 +Nordisa (_Corder_), 331 +Norma (_Bellini_), 120 +Nozze di Figaro, Le (_Mozart_), 60 + +Oberon (_Weber_), 95 +Oberto (_Verdi_), 262 +Oca del Cairo, L' (_Mozart_), 59 +Olympie (_Spontini_), 80 +Orestes (_Weingartner_), 314 +Orazi e Curiazi, Gli (_Cimarosa_), 48 +Orfeo (_Monteverde_), 4 +Orfeo ed Euridice (_Gluck_), 21 +Otello (_Verdi_), 273 +Ouragan, L' (_Bruneau_), 254 + +Pagliacci (_Leoncavallo_), 294 +Papa Martin (_Cagnoni_), 125 +Pardon de Ploermel, Le (_Meyerbeer_), 141 +Paride ed Elena (_Gluck_), 28 +Parsifal (_Wagner_), 207 +Patience (_Sullivan_), 340 +Patrie (_Paladilhe_), 234 +Pauline (_Cowen_), 337 +Pecheurs de Perles, Les (_Bizet_), 227 +Pecheurs de Saint Jean, Les (_Widor_), 259 +Peines et les Plaisirs de l'Amour, Les (_Cambert_), 7 +Pelleas et Melisande (_Debussy_), 257 +Peter Schmoll (_Weber_), 89 +Peter the Shipwright (_Lortzing_), 102 +Petruccio (_Maclean_), 348 +Philemon et Baucis (_Gounod_), 219 +Phryne (_Saint Saens_), 236 +Piccolino (_Guiraud_), 233 +Piramo e Tisbe (_Gluck_), 21 +Pirates of Penzance, The (_Sullivan_), 340 +Poacher, The (_Lortzing_), 102 +Polyeucte (_Gounod_) 224 +Pomone (_Cambert_), 7 +Porter of Havre, The (_Cagnoni_), 125 +Portrait de Manon, Le (_Massenet_), 245 +Postillon de Longjumeau, Le (_Adam_), 149 +Pre aux Clercs, Le (_Herold_), 128 +Prince Igor (_Borodin_), 321 +Princess Ida (_Sullivan_), 341 +Princess of Kensington, The (_German_), 345 +Princesse d'Auberge (_Blockx_), 260 +Princesse Jaune, La (_Saint Saens_), 234 +Princesse Osra, La (_Bunning_), 348 +Princesse Rayon de Soleil (_Gilson_), 260 +Prise de Troie, La (_Berlioz_), 144 +Prophete, Le (_Meyerbeer_), 134 +Proserpine (_Saint Saens_), 235 +Psyche (_Locke_), 10 +Puritani, I (_Bellini_), 122 + +Quentin Durward (_Maclean_), 348 + +Radamisto (_Handel_), 56 +Rantzau, I (_Mascagni_), 293 +Rattenfaenger von Hameln, Der (_Nessler_), 317 +Re Pastore, Il (_Mozart_), 53 +Reine de Saba, La (_Gounod_), 220 +Reine Fiammette, La (_Leroux_), 259 +Reve, Le (_Bruneau_), 251 +Reve d'Amour, Le (_Auber_), 147 +Rheingold, Das (_Wagner_), 179 +Richard Coeur de Lion (_Gretry_), 45 +Rienzi (_Wagner_), 155 +Rigoletto (_Verdi_), 265 +Rinaldo (_Handel_), 15 +Ring des Nibelungen, Der (_Wagner_), 178 +Robert le Diable (_Meyerbeer_), 129 +Robin Hood (_Macfarren_), 329 +Rodrigo (_Handel_), 15 +Roi de Lahore, Le (_Massenet_), 240 +Roi d'Ys, Le (_Lalo_), 233 +Roi l'a dit, Le (_Delibes_), 232 +Roi malgre lui, Le (_Chabrier_), 234 +Roland, Der (_Leoncavallo_), 296 +Romeo et Juliette (_Gounod_), 221 +Rose of Persia, The (_Sullivan_), 344 +Rose von Liebesgarten, Die (_Pfitzner_), 314 +Ruddigore (_Sullivan_), 342 +Russlan and Ludmila (_Glinka_), 319 +Ruy Blas (_Marchetti_), 281 + +Saffo (_Pacini_), 124 +Salammbo (_Reyer_), 240 +Salome (_Massenet_), 241 +Salome (_Strauss_), 315 +Samson et Dalila (_Saint Saens_), 234 +Sanga (_De Lara_), 348 +Sapho (_Gounod_), 215 +Sapho (_Massenet_), 246 +Savonarola (_Stanford_), 335 +Schauspieldirektor, Der (_Mozart_), 59 +Schweizerfamilie, Die (_Weigl_), 84 +Scuffiara Raggiratrice, La (_Paisiello_), 50 +Seelewig (_Staden_), 12 +Semiramide (_Rossini_), 109 +Seraglio, Il (_Mozart_). _See_ Entfuehrung aus dem Serail, Die +Serse (_Cavalli_), 7 +Serva Padrona, La (_Pergolesi_), 43 +Shamus O'Brien (_Stanford_), 335 +Siberia (_Giordano_), 297 +Sieben Geislein, Die (_Humperdinck_), 312 +Siegfried (_Wagner_), 188 +Signa (_Cowen_), 338 +Sigurd (_Reyer_), 238 +Silvano (_Mascagni_), 293 +Simon Boccanegra (_Verdi_), 269 +Sonnambula, La (_Bellini_), 120 +Sorcerer, The (_Sullivan_), 339 +Sposo Deluso, Lo (_Mozart_), 59 +Statue, La (_Reyer_), 238 +Stiffelio (_Verdi_), 265 +Strandrecht (_Smyth_), 347 +Stratonice (_Mehul_), 76 +Streichholzmaedel, Die (_Enna_), 322 +Sylvana (_Weber_), 89 + +Tableau Parlant, Le (_Gretry_), 45 +Taming of the Shrew, The (_Goetz_), 305 +Tancredi (_Rossini_), 107 +Tannhaeuser (_Wagner_), 163 +Templer und Juedin (_Marschner_), 100 +Thais (_Massenet_), 245 +Theodora (_Leroux_), 259 +Therese (_Massenet_), 250 +Thesee (_Lulli_), 11 +Thespis (_Sullivan_), 339 +Thorgrim (_Cowen_), 337 +Thyl Uylenspiegel (_Blockx_), 260 +Timbre d'Argent, Le (_Saint Saens_), 234 +Timon of Athens (_Purcell_), 11 +Titania (_Huee_), 259 +Tom Jones (_German_), 345 +Tom Jones (_Philidor_), 46 +Tosca, La (_Puccini_), 288 +Traviata, La (_Verdi_), 268 +Tresor Suppose, Le (_Mehul_), 77 +Trial by Jury (_Sullivan_), 339 +Tribut de Zamora, Le (_Gounod_), 224 +Tristan und Isolde (_Wagner_), 199 +Trompeter von Saekkingen, Der (_Nessler_), 316 +Troubadour, The (_Mackenzie_), 332 +Trovatore, Il (_Verdi_), 267 +Troyens, Les (_Berlioz_), 144 +Tutti in Maschera (_Pedrotti_), 125 + +Uthal (_Mehul_), 76 +Utopia (_Sullivan_), 343 + +Vagabund und die Prinzessin, Der (_Poldini_), 314 +Vampyr, Der (_Marschner_), 100 +Veiled Prophet, The (_Stanford_), 333 +Vepres Siciliennes, Les (_Verdi_), 269 +Verkaufte Braut, Die (_Smetana_), 317 +Versunkene Glocke, Die (_Zoellner_), 313 +Vestale, La (_Spontini_), 79 +Villi, Le (_Puccini_), 283 +Vivandiere, La (_Godard_), 234 + +Wald, Der (_Smyth_), 346 +Walkuere, Die (_Wagner_), 183 +Wally, La (_Catalani_), 283 +Water-Carrier, The (_Cherubini_), 77 +Werther (_Massenet_), 244 +Widerspaenstigen Zaehmung, Der (_Goetz_), 305 +Wildschuetz, Der (_Lortzing_), 102 +William Ratcliff (_Leroux_), 259 +William Tell (_Rossini_), 110 +Wreckers, The (_Smyth_), 347 + +Yeomen of the Guard, The (_Sullivan_), 342 + +Zampa (_Herold_), 127 +Zanetto (_Mascagni_), 294 +Zauberfloete, Die (_Mozart_), 69 +Zaza (_Leoncavallo_), 296 +Zemire und Azor (_Spohr_), 99 +Zwillingsbrueder, Die (_Schubert_), 104 + + + + +INDEX OF COMPOSERS + + +Adam, 149 +Apolloni, 280 +Arne, 324 +Auber, 147 +Audran, 261 +Auteri-Manzocchi, 300 + +Balfe, 325 +Banister, 10 +Barnett, 325 +Beethoven, 81 +Bellini, 119 +Benedict, 328 +Berlioz, 143 +Bishop, 325 +Bizet, 227 +Blockx, 260 +Boieldieu, 85 +Boito, 281 +Borodin, 321 +Bruneau, 251 +Bungert, 314 +Bunning, 348 +Buononcini, 16 + +Cagnoni, 125 +Cambert, 7 +Campra, 19 +Carissimi, 6 +Catalani, 283 +Cavaliere, 2 +Cavalli, 5 +Cellier, 345 +Cesti, 6 +Chabrier, 233 +Charpentier, 256 +Cherubini, 77 +Child, 9 +Cilea, 298 +Cimarosa, 48 +Clapisson, 150 +Corder, 331 +Cornelius, 300 +Cowen, 337 +Cui, 321 + +D'Albert, 313 +Dargomishky, 320 +David, 149 +Debussy, 257 +De Lara, 347 +Delibes, 231 +Destouches, 19 +Dibdin, 324 +Dietsch, 159 +Dittersdorf, 84 +Donizetti, 112 +Dubois, 234 +Dukas, 259 +Duni, 44 +Dupont, 259 +Dvorak, 318 + +Enna, 322 +Erlanger, 259 + +Flotow, 103 +Franchetti, 301 +Franck, Cesar, 230 +Frank, Ernst, 307 + +Gagliano, 4 +Galilei, 2 +Gatty, 348 +German, 345 +Gibbons, C., 9 +Gilson, 260 +Giordano, 296 +Glinka, 319 +Gluck, 20 +Godard, 234 +Goetz, 305 +Goldmark, 307 +Gomez, 280 +Gossec, 27 +Gounod, 214 +Gretry, 45 +Grisar, 150 +Guiraud, 232 + +Hahn, 259 +Halevy, 146 +Handel, 13 +Hartmann, 322 +Hasse, 17 +Herold, 126 +Herve, 260 +Hiller, J.A., 50 +Hoffmann, 100 +Hook, 324 +Huee, 259 +Humperdinck, 309 +Humphreys, 9 + +Indy, V. D', 256 +Isouard, 84 + +Jomelli, 43 +Joncieres, 234 + +Keiser, 13 +Kienzl, 312 +Kistler, 309 +Kreutzer, 101 + +Lalo, 233 +Lecocq, 260 +Leoncavallo, 294 +Leroux, 259 +Lesueur, 78 +Lindpaintner, 100 +Locke, 10 +Loder, 329 +Logroscino, 42 +Lortzing, 102 +Lulli, 8 + +MacAlpin, 348 +Macfarren, 329 +Mackenzie, 331 +Maclean, 348 +Maillart, 150 +Marais, 19 +Marazzoli, 40 +Marchetti, 281 +Marschner, 99 +Marty, 259 +Mascagni, 292 +Mascheroni, 299 +Massenet, 240 +Mazzocchi, 40 +Mehul, 75 +Mendelssohn, 104 +Mercadante, 124 +Messager, 259 +Meyerbeer, 128 +Milloecker, 316 +Monsigny, 45 +Monteverde, 4 +Mozart, 52 + +Nessler, 316 +Nicolai, 104 +Nicolo, 84 +Niedermeyer, 150 + +Offenbach, 229 +Orefice, 299 + +Pacini, 124 +Paderewski, 321 +Paer, 49 +Paisiello, 49 +Paladilhe, 234 +Pedrotti, 125 +Pepusch, 324 +Pergolesi, 43 +Peri, 2 +Petrella, 280 +Pfitzner, 314 +Philidor, 46 +Piccinni, 47 +Planquette, 261 +Poise, 232 +Poldini, 314 +Ponchielli, 283 +Porpora, 17 +Provenzale, 6 +Puccini, 283 +Purcell, 9 + +Rameau, 20 +Reichardt, 51 +Reyer, 238 +Reznicek, 313 +Ricci, F., 124 +Ricci, L., 124 +Rimsky-Korsakov, 321 +Rossini, 106 +Rousseau, 44 +Rubinstein, 320 + +Sacchini, 75 +Saint Saens, 234 +Salieri, 75 +Samara, 300 +Scarlatti, 14 +Schillings, 312 +Schubert, 104 +Schumann, 105 +Schuetz, 12 +Serov, 320 +Shield, 324 +Smetana, 317 +Smyth, 346 +Solomon, 345 +Spinelli, 300 +Spohr, 98 +Spontini, 79 +Staden, 12 +Stanford, 333 +Storace, 324 +Strauss, J., 316 +Strauss, R., 314 +Sullivan, 338 +Suppe, 316 +Suessmayer, 84 + +Tchaikovsky, 321 +Theile, 12 +Thomas, Ambroise, 224 +Thomas, A.G., 330 + +Vaccai, 124 +Verdi, 262 +Vogler, 84 + +Wagner, R., 151 +Wagner, S., 313 +Wallace, 327 +Weber, 89 +Weigl, 84 +Weingartner, 314 +Weyse, 322 +Widor, 259 +Winter, 84 + +Zoellner, 313 + + +PRINTED AT THE EDINBURGH PRESS, 9 AND 11 YOUNG STREET. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Opera, by R.A. 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