When the Italian student leaves the conservatory, in ninety-nine cases
out of a hundred his ambitions are solely along the line of operatic
composition. This seems his natural bent or mould. Of course he has
written small fugues and perhaps even symphonies, but in the majority of
instances these have been mere academic exercises. I regret that this is
the case, and heartily wish that we had more Bossis, Martuccis and
Sgambattis, but, again, would it not be a great mistake to try to make a
symphonist out of an operatic composer? In the case of Perosi I often
regret that he is a priest and therefore cannot write for the theatre,
because I earnestly believe that notwithstanding his success as a
composer of religious music, his natural bent is for the theatre or the
opera.