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 _naïveté_ 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 José, 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 Cæsar de Bazan, has rendered himself liable to death for
protecting a poor boy named Lazarillo from arrest. Don José 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 Cæsar 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 Cæsar 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 José. 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 Châteaupers, 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
Mérimée'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 à 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 _succès 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 "æsthetic" 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 aërial 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 Röschen, 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 (_Ciléa_), 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' (_Grétry_), 45
Amica (_Mascagni_), 294
Amico Fritz, L' (_Mascagni_), 293
Amy Robsart (_De Lara_), 348
Ancêtre, L' (_Saint Saëns_), 238
Andrea Chénier (_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 Saëns_), 236
Asrael (_Franchetti_), 301
Astarté (_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 Saëns_), 236
Barbier von Bagdad, Der (_Cornelius_), 303
Barbiere di Siviglia, Il (_Paisiello_), 49
Barbiere di Siviglia, Il (_Rossini_), 107
Bardes, Les (_Lesueur_), 78
Bärenhäuter, 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
Béatrice et Bénédict (_Berlioz_), 143
Beauty Stone, The (_Sullivan_), 344
Beggar's Opera, The (_Pepusch_), 323
Benvenuto Cellini (_Berlioz_), 143
Betly (_Donizetti_), 116
Bohème, La (_Leoncavallo_), 296
Bohème, 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
Carmélite, La (_Hahn_), 259
Carmen (_Bizet_), 227
Castor et Pollux (_Rameau_), 24
Cavalleria Rusticana (_Mascagni_), 292
Cendrillon (_Massenet_), 246
Cendrillon (_Nicolo_), 85
Châlet, Le (_Adam_), 149
Chatterton (_Leoncavallo_), 296
Chérubin (_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
Così 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 (_Schütz_), 12
Dalibor (_Smetana_), 318
Dame Blanche, La (_Boieldieu_), 85
Damnation de Faust, La (_Berlioz_), 145
Danaïdes, Les (_Salieri_), 75
Daria (_Marty_), 259
Deidamia (_Handel_), 16
Demon, The (_Rubinstein_), 321
Déserteur, Le (_Monsigny_), 45
Deux Avares, Les (_Grétry_), 45
Deux Journées, Les (_Cherubini_), 77
Devin du Village, Le (_Rousseau_), 44
Dickschädel, Der (_Dvorak_) 318
Dido and Æneas (_Purcell_), 10
Dinorah (_Meyerbeer_), 141
Djamileh (_Bizet_), 227
Doktor und Apotheker (_Dittersdorf_), 84
Dolores (_Auteri-Manzocchi_), 300
Don Carlos (_Verdi_), 270
Don César de Bazan (_Massenet_), 240
Don Giovanni (_Mozart_), 64
Don Pasquale (_Donizetti_), 118
Donna Diana (_Reznicek_), 313
Dori, La (_Cesti_), 14
Dornröschen (_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
Entführung aus dem Serail, Die (_Mozart_), 56
Ernani (_Verdi_), 263
Érostrate (_Reyer_), 238
Erschaffene, gefallene und aufgerichtete Mensch, Der (_Theile_), 12
Esclarmonde (_Massenet_), 244
Esmeralda (_A.G. Thomas_), 330
Étienne Marcel (_Saint Saëns_), 235
Étoile du Nord, L' (_Meyerbeer_), 139
Étranger, 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 Régiment, La (_Donizetti_), 117
Fils de l' Étoile, Le (_Erlanger_), 259
Finta Giardiniera, La (_Mozart_), 53
Finta Semplice, La (_Mozart_), 52
Finto Stanislao, Il (_Verdi_), 262
Flauto Magico, Il (_Mozart_). _See_ Zauberflöte, Die
Flibustier, Le (_Cui_), 321
Fliegende Holländer, Der (_Wagner_), 158
Flora Mirabilis (_Samara_), 300
Flying Dutchman, The (_Wagner_), 158
Folie, Une (_Méhul_), 77
Forza del Destino, La (_Verdi_), 270
Fra Diavolo (_Auber_), 147
Francesca da Rimini (_Goetz_), 307
Frédégonde (_Guiraud_), 233
Freischütz, 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 (_Ciléa_), 299
Gondoliers, The (_Sullivan_), 343
Götterdämmerung (_Wagner_), 193
Götz von Berlichingen (_Goldmark_), 309
Grand Duke, The (_Sullivan_), 344
Grand' Tante, La (_Massenet_), 240
Greysteel (_Gatty_), 348
Grisélidis (_Massenet_), 246
Guarany, Il (_Gomez_), 280
Guglielmo Ratcliff (_Mascagni_), 293
Guillaume Tell (_Rossini_), 110
Gunlöd (_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
Hänsel und Gretel (_Humperdinck_), 309
Harold (_Cowen_), 338
Häusliche Krieg, Der (_Schubert_), 104
Heimchen am Herd, Das (_Goldmark_), 308
Heimkehr aus der Fremde (_Mendelssohn_), 104
Heirath wider Willen, Die (_Humperdinck_), 312
Hélène (_Saint Saëns_), 237
Henry VIII. (_Saint Saëns_), 235
Herbergprinses (_Blockx_), 260
Hérodiade (_Massenet_), 241
Herzog Wildfang (_S. Wagner_), 313
Hexe, Die (_Enna_), 322
Hochzeit des Camacho, Die (_Mendelssohn_), 104
Hoffmann's Erzählungen (_Offenbach_), 230
Huguenots, Les (_Meyerbeer_), 131
Hulda (_Franck_), 231
Idomeneo (_Mozart_), 54
Impresario, L' (_Mozart_). _See_ Schauspieldirektor, Der
Ingwelde (_Schillings_), 312
Iolanthe (_Sullivan_), 341
Iphigénie en Aulide (_Gluck_), 29
Iphigénie en Tauride (_Gluck_), 35
Irato, L' (_Méhul_), 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 (_Méhul_), 75
Juive, La (_Halévy_), 146
Kapelle, De (_Blockx_), 260
Kassya (_Delibes_), 232
Kérim (_Bruneau_), 251
King Arthur (_Purcell_), 11
Kobold, Der (_S. Wagner_), 313
Königin von Saba, Die (_Goldmark_), 307
Königskinder (_Humperdinck_), 312
Kriegsgefangene, Die (_Goldmark_), 309
Kunihild (_Kistler_), 309
Kuss, Der (_Smetana_), 318
Lakmé (_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 Chrysanthème (_Messager_), 259
Mage, Le (_Massenet_), 244
Magic Flute, The (_Mozart_). _See_ Zauberflöte, Die
Mainacht, Die (_Rimsky-Korsakov_), 321
Maître Ambros (_Widor_), 259
Maître 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
Médecin malgré lui, Le (_Gounod_), 215
Médée (_Cherubini_), 78
Medici, I (_Leoncavallo_), 296
Mefistofele (_Boito_), 281
Meistersinger von Nürnberg, 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
Mosé 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
Naïs Micoulin (_Bruneau_), 255
Navarraise, La (_Massenet_), 245
Nibelung's Ring, The (_Wagner_), 178
Night Dancers, The (_Loder_), 329
Ninette à 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 Ploërmel, Le (_Meyerbeer_), 141
Paride ed Elena (_Gluck_), 28
Parsifal (_Wagner_), 207
Patience (_Sullivan_), 340
Patrie (_Paladilhe_), 234
Pauline (_Cowen_), 337
Pêcheurs de Perles, Les (_Bizet_), 227
Pêcheurs de Saint Jean, Les (_Widor_), 259
Peines et les Plaisirs de l'Amour, Les (_Cambert_), 7
Pelléas et Mélisande (_Debussy_), 257
Peter Schmoll (_Weber_), 89
Peter the Shipwright (_Lortzing_), 102
Petruccio (_Maclean_), 348
Philémon et Baucis (_Gounod_), 219
Phryné (_Saint Saëns_), 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
Pré aux Clercs, Le (_Hérold_), 128
Prince Igor (_Borodin_), 321
Princess Ida (_Sullivan_), 341
Princess of Kensington, The (_German_), 345
Princesse d'Auberge (_Blockx_), 260
Princesse Jaune, La (_Saint Saëns_), 234
Princesse Osra, La (_Bunning_), 348
Princesse Rayon de Soleil (_Gilson_), 260
Prise de Troie, La (_Berlioz_), 144
Prophète, Le (_Meyerbeer_), 134
Proserpine (_Saint Saëns_), 235
Psyche (_Locke_), 10
Puritani, I (_Bellini_), 122
Quentin Durward (_Maclean_), 348
Radamisto (_Handel_), 56
Rantzau, I (_Mascagni_), 293
Rattenfänger von Hameln, Der (_Nessler_), 317
Re Pastore, Il (_Mozart_), 53
Reine de Saba, La (_Gounod_), 220
Reine Fiammette, La (_Leroux_), 259
Rêve, Le (_Bruneau_), 251
Rêve d'Amour, Le (_Auber_), 147
Rheingold, Das (_Wagner_), 179
Richard Coeur de Lion (_Grétry_), 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 malgré lui, Le (_Chabrier_), 234
Roland, Der (_Leoncavallo_), 296
Roméo 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
Salammbô (_Reyer_), 240
Salome (_Massenet_), 241
Salome (_Strauss_), 315
Samson et Dalila (_Saint Saëns_), 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_ Entführung 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 (_Méhul_), 76
Streichholzmädel, Die (_Enna_), 322
Sylvana (_Weber_), 89
Tableau Parlant, Le (_Grétry_), 45
Taming of the Shrew, The (_Goetz_), 305
Tancredi (_Rossini_), 107
Tannhäuser (_Wagner_), 163
Templer und Jüdin (_Marschner_), 100
Thaïs (_Massenet_), 245
Théodora (_Leroux_), 259
Thérèse (_Massenet_), 250
Thésée (_Lulli_), 11
Thespis (_Sullivan_), 339
Thorgrim (_Cowen_), 337
Thyl Uylenspiegel (_Blockx_), 260
Timbre d'Argent, Le (_Saint Saëns_), 234
Timon of Athens (_Purcell_), 11
Titania (_Hüe_), 259
Tom Jones (_German_), 345
Tom Jones (_Philidor_), 46
Tosca, La (_Puccini_), 288
Traviata, La (_Verdi_), 268
Trésor Supposé, Le (_Méhul_), 77
Trial by Jury (_Sullivan_), 339
Tribut de Zamora, Le (_Gounod_), 224
Tristan und Isolde (_Wagner_), 199
Trompeter von Säkkingen, Der (_Nessler_), 316
Troubadour, The (_Mackenzie_), 332
Trovatore, Il (_Verdi_), 267
Troyens, Les (_Berlioz_), 144
Tutti in Maschera (_Pedrotti_), 125
Uthal (_Méhul_), 76
Utopia (_Sullivan_), 343
Vagabund und die Prinzessin, Der (_Poldini_), 314
Vampyr, Der (_Marschner_), 100
Veiled Prophet, The (_Stanford_), 333
Vêpres Siciliennes, Les (_Verdi_), 269
Verkaufte Braut, Die (_Smetana_), 317
Versunkene Glocke, Die (_Zöllner_), 313
Vestale, La (_Spontini_), 79
Villi, Le (_Puccini_), 283
Vivandière, La (_Godard_), 234
Wald, Der (_Smyth_), 346
Walküre, Die (_Wagner_), 183
Wally, La (_Catalani_), 283
Water-Carrier, The (_Cherubini_), 77
Werther (_Massenet_), 244
Widerspänstigen Zähmung, Der (_Goetz_), 305
Wildschütz, Der (_Lortzing_), 102
William Ratcliff (_Leroux_), 259
William Tell (_Rossini_), 110
Wreckers, The (_Smyth_), 347
Yeomen of the Guard, The (_Sullivan_), 342
Zampa (_Hérold_), 127
Zanetto (_Mascagni_), 294
Zauberflöte, Die (_Mozart_), 69
Zaza (_Leoncavallo_), 296
Zemire und Azor (_Spohr_), 99
Zwillingsbrüder, 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
Ciléa, 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, César, 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
Grétry, 45
Grisar, 150
Guiraud, 232
Hahn, 259
Halévy, 146
Handel, 13
Hartmann, 322
Hasse, 17
Hérold, 126
Hervé, 260
Hiller, J.A., 50
Hoffmann, 100
Hook, 324
Hüe, 259
Humperdinck, 309
Humphreys, 9
Indy, V. D', 256
Isouard, 84
Jomelli, 43
Joncières, 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
Méhul, 75
Mendelssohn, 104
Mercadante, 124
Messager, 259
Meyerbeer, 128
Millöcker, 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 Saëns, 234
Salieri, 75
Samara, 300
Scarlatti, 14
Schillings, 312
Schubert, 104
Schumann, 105
Schütz, 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
Suppé, 316
Süssmayer, 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
Zöllner, 313
PRINTED AT THE EDINBURGH PRESS, 9 AND 11 YOUNG STREET.