Opera Makers of France, Germany and Italy—1741 to Wagner
As with all things that are over-popular and over-used, the opera in the
18th century became trifling and empty, except for the work of some few
geniuses.
The music of the ancient Egyptians and Chinese advanced very little, on
account of fast and firm laws, and opera remained the same for a long
time, because of the strict rules. For there were laws governing the
kind of arias, the number of men’s parts and women’s parts, when and
where ballets and choruses should come in, the number of acts and many
another clogging rule. But, worst of all, the people in the audiences
knew the rules so well that they made a fuss when any composer dared to
depart from them. Such was the case when Gluck came on the scene, and
when he left it, with all the changes he made, other rules became just
as binding!
You saw the effort of Gluck to reform opera in order to arrive at truth
and sincerity; you saw how Mozart dignified the forms that were being
used by enriching them, by his sparkling humor, by his new musical
devices and limitless outpourings of melody. Beethoven, too, made his
one masterpiece, _Fidelio_, stand for sincerity rather than triviality,
and now von Weber we see adding to opera the story of peasant life in
Germany, combined with mystery and beauty. Yet, with all these
forerunners of a newer opera, many composers had to work very hard and
much time had to pass by until we reach the great change under Wagner’s
genius.
VON WEBER WRITES FAIRY TALE OPERA
Because Carl Maria von Weber (1786–1826) had so great an influence on
opera writers, we will start with him.
Weber was the founder of romantic German opera,—the opera that dealt
with people and their feelings and the folk song of the German nation.
He was the first to combine the story of everyday life with the charm of
imagination. Being of a long line of barons and also a great pianist, he
raised the position of musicians to a high level in society, so that
after him, pianists and violinists were looked upon as artists and not
as artisans.
He seemed to understand the life of his time, and suited his work to his
surroundings so beautifully, that it immediately led away from the
trivialities into which Italian opera had drifted, into something more
worth while. He was a true romantic, as he put into his operas warmth of
feeling, elegance and delightful melody. He had a lovely sense of what
was dramatic or theatric, and he knew the orchestral instruments as well
as he knew the piano, for which he wrote skilfully.
He was born at Eutin, near Lübeck, where Bach had lived, and showed
great musical gifts when he was a little boy. And although he was
delicate, his father dearly wanted him to be a second Mozart. Michael
Haydn, brother of Papa Haydn taught him and Weber showed great ability
at the piano and could sit down and improvise and read music at sight.
He was taught by Abbé Vogler in Vienna, who first introduced him to folk
music, which he used with such pleasing skill later. (By the way, Abbé
Vogler, a famous organist and teacher, was the Abt Vogler of Robert
Browning’s poem.) Weber became conductor of the orchestra at Breslau at
18. But, being a delicate boy, he could not stand many of the things he
did and he broke down in health.
Later he was unfortunate enough to become secretary to Duke Ludwig of
Württemberg at Stuttgart who was not a fit companion for a young man.
Weber mixed in the gay life of the Duke and his friends, fell into bad
habits, and drifted into money difficulties. Strange to say, during this
time he read much and even wrote some music encouraged by Danzi, his
friend.
However, he got into a scrape trying to help his father out of a
financial difficulty, angered the King and was banished in 1810; and
though cleared of his guilt, he remained in exile for some time. Then
deciding to turn over a new leaf, with a mind teeming with ideas, he
settled down to work.
He soon became known for his compositions and was made Musical Director
at the Prague Theatre, where he won popular favor by writing national
songs. He undertook to organize a Dresden troupe, after having done a
similar work in Prague, but he was annoyed by bad health and the
jealousies of his rivals. Nevertheless, here he produced _Der
Freischütz_, _Enchanted Huntsman_, which Berlin received in 1821 with
wild enthusiasm, while _Euryanthe_, given almost at the same time, was
not, in Vienna, very successful.
Weber’s operas, as the beginning of German romantic opera, are on the
direct road to Wagner’s. Wagner inherited from Gluck and Weber, and
Gluck inherited directly from the German _Singspiel_ (sing-play) of the
18th century, which was a play composed of dances and songs not unlike
the English masque and the French ballet and vaudeville. It came before
opera in Germany, yet made the basis for a German school, for it used
German song and German subjects. Mozart, too, was one of Weber’s musical
fathers, especially in his _Magic Flute_.
We see Weber, now, as we saw Mozart, combining the supernatural with
national or German melody, and using both imagination and realistic
effects. His _Oberon_ is full of fairy atmosphere and _Der Freischütz_
is often uncanny and awesome. He keeps the spoken dialogue of the old
_Singspiel_ and in _Der Freischütz_ deals for the first time with
peasant life. His orchestration is lovely and his skill with it was so
great that he is still looked upon as one of the important men in the
development of the orchestra. He paints the individual characters
beautifully by giving each one suitable music to sing.
He reached dramatic heights by his contrasts between mellow quietness
and brilliant effects. He made use of all the resources on his
instruments, their defects as well as their good points. No one had ever
before written more weird music than in the scene of the Wolf’s Glen, in
_Der Freischütz_.
His piano music, including many fine sonatas, was rich with new and
brilliant effects and his _Concertstück_ (Concert-piece) was the father
of the symphonic poems which were later written by Franz Liszt, Hector
Berlioz, Tchaikovsky, and Richard Strauss. Thus did Weber give much to
music’s growth.
Louis Spohr (1784–1854) who was later a kind friend to Wagner, wrote ten
operas which belong, too, in the Romantic School of Weber. He, however,
was best known for his violin concertos, written in the classic style of
Haydn and Mozart. He wrote these because he lived in the time of the
great piano and violin virtuosi (brilliant performers) in Vienna. His
work is tiresome to us because of his many mannerisms.
GRÉTRY AND OPÉRA COMIQUE
Now we will go back a little and take up the French School with Grétry,
the first man of importance in France after Rameau, and the founder of
the comedy opera (_opéra comique_).
André Ernest Modeste Grétry (1741–1813), was born in Liège. He excelled
in the _opera buffa_ imported from Italy, which, due to the great sense
of humor of the French, immediately became popular. In spite of their
vulgarity there was much in these comedy operas that was delightful and
they were on subjects which interested the people. Grétry was very
skilful and successful in this kind of opera of which he wrote fifty in
addition to much church music, six symphonies and many instrumental
pieces.
Later, _opéra comique_, a more refined form of this _opera buffa_, had a
long vogue in France. It became more serious, too, getting very close to
grand opera, except that it had spoken words. _Opéra comique_ always
kept its naturalness, was simple, straightforward in story and informal
in action. Another important difference from grand opera was that it
could be easily given in small theatres, for it needed no spectacular
scenes. This of course made _opéra comique_ popular, for composers liked
to write it, as they had a better chance to have their works performed
than if they had written grand opera with costly scenes. This form has
been the inspiration of many of the French composers of the 19th and
20th centuries.
_Opéra comique_ is first found in Paris at the time of the War of the
Buffoons in 1752 the year that Pergolesi’s little opera _La Serva
Padrona_, took Paris by storm.
Now, Paris had become the great meeting place for composers, and we find
Italians and Germans going there to give operas, combining the ideas of
Rameau, Lully and Gluck, with their own national styles. They often
displaced the French musicians and Paris was a center of jealousies and
heart aches in the midst of its brilliancy.
CHERUBINI—MUSICAL CZAR OF PARIS
The first of these foreigners to invade France was Luigi Cherubini
(1760–1842), a Florentine, who became the musical czar of Paris. He was
educated in Italy and in the beginning wrote Italian opera in the
popular style. He went to London on invitation and was made composer to
the King. In 1788 we see him in Paris giving his opera _Demophon_. In
this, instead of being trivial in the waning Italian style, he became
“grand” and pompous! Nearly every one that followed, copied him.
Beethoven himself thought him to be the greatest living composer,
because of his _Lodoiska_ (1791) and _The Water Carrier_.
Cherubini started as a composer of church music and wrote most of his
operas from 1780 to 1800. He returned to church music later in life and
wrote his great Credo for eight voices. He composed in all forms
required of the Roman Catholic service and one of the noblest, sacred
writings is his Requiem in C.
But his opera writing influenced his church music and made him and many
who followed him, compose such spectacular church music that the solemn
polyphony of the 17th century was well-nigh lost. About twenty years
ago, the Pope decided that this style of writing was not suitable for
the church and so ordained it, that only Gregorian Chant should be sung
in the Roman Catholic Church. History repeats itself and Church music,
as in the time of St. Gregory and of Palestrina, had to have another
“house-cleaning.”
Cherubini’s orchestration was broad and fine and his overtures were
classic models. He seemed to have followed Mozart’s style rather than
Gluck’s and joined the classic style with the modern. He had vigor, and
was free from mannerisms, and was looked upon as a great man. As the
head of the Paris Conservatory he was able to befriend many a struggling
composer. He died after a long useful life, at 82.
His _Medée_ and _The Water Carrier_ (_Les deux journées_) mark the
greatest accomplishment in his life—both are tragic yet are _opéra
comique_ because they contain spoken dialogue. Remember this instance of
tragic _opéra comique_ and it will explain how it differs from what we
call comic opera.
FOLLOWERS OF GLUCK
Following the time of Gluck in Paris there was a group of composers who
were so much influenced by him that they are looked upon as his
disciples. One of these was his own pupil, Antonio Salieri (1750–1825),
who in turn taught Beethoven, Schubert and others.
One of the links between the 18th and 19th centuries was Etienne
Nicholas Méhul (1763–1817), a Frenchman, who worked with Gluck. He dared
to take his themes from life and wrote _opéra comique_ with a serious
aim. Even though he lived in the turbulence of the French Revolution, he
wrote thirty operas, among which the greatest is _Joseph_. He was made
inspector at the new Conservatory and also an Academician, and was one
of the most loved composers of his day. He was often noble in musical
expression and handled his chorus and orchestra with skill. He wrote
little of anything but opera, but pointed the way for others, especially
in the use of local color and national feeling.
The next follower of Gluck, Gasparo Spontini (1774–1851), born in Italy,
of peasant stock, was one of the first to write historic opera, which
was further developed by Meyerbeer and others. Technically, this is
known as French Grand Opera, which was being developed at the same time
as _opéra comique_. It appealed to hearts and imagination, for the
people loved the great scenes and patriotism portrayed.
Spontini first went to Paris in 1803 and the people did not like his
work. But he persisted, studied Gluck and Mozart as hard as he could,
and produced _Milton_, which showed the public that his work had some
beauty. After this he wrote _La Vestale_, a noble work which swept him
into favor and he won a prize offered by Napoleon and judged by Méhul,
Gossec (a composer), and Grétry.
Weber, however, while Spontini was absent came to Paris with _Der
Freischütz_, and took his place in the hearts of the people. Cast down
by losing his popularity, Spontini returned to Italy. His musical
ability was not equal to his great plots, yet, as the first writer of
historic opera he deserves a place in the growing up of musical drama.
Grétry made French _opéra comique_ out of _opéra bouffe_. Among the well
known writers of _opéra comique_ in France were François Adrienne
Boieldieu, Daniel François Esprit Auber, Louis Joseph Ferdinand Hérold,
Jacques François Halévy.
Boieldieu (1775–1834) was born in Rouen and became, in 1800, professor
of piano at the Paris Conservatory. He wrote piano pieces and operas,
and is best known for his _La Dame Blanche_ (“The White Lady”) which is
still heard in Paris. His operas combine sweet melody, amusing rhythm
with not a little dramatic style. He shows in his works a real
understanding of how characters and action should be handled.
Auber (1782–1871) called “The Prince of Opéra Comique,” was born in
Paris, and later he became the Director of the Conservatory and Imperial
Chapel Master to Napoleon III. His best known operas are _Fra Diavolo_,
_The Black Domino_, _Masaniello_, or _La Muette de Portici_ (_The Dumb
Girl of Portici_). He had great popularity during his day.
Hérold (1791–1833) was not as accomplished as either Auber or Boieldieu.
He was the son of a piano teacher and studied at the Conservatory under
Méhul. In 1812 he won the _Prix de Rome_ (the prize given by the
Conservatory for composition, which permitted the student to go to Rome
to perfect himself in his art, and to increase his culture, at the
expense of the Government.) His best operas are _Zampa_ and _Le Pré aux
Clercs_. He was particularly good in orchestration, and his works are
still heard.
The last one in this group is Jacques François Halévy (1799–1862), who
is chiefly famous for _La Juive_ (_The Jewess_), a type of historic
opera, even though he wrote many in the style of _opéra comique_. It is
still given today, and it was while singing in this opera, at the
Metropolitan Opera House that Caruso was stricken with his fatal illness
and Martinelli, a few years later was taken ill, and so it is looked
upon with superstition by some of the singers.
MEYERBEER COMPOSES VERY GRAND “GRAND OPERA”
Next, comes Giacomo Meyerbeer (1791–1864), and he followed the historic
style that Spontini had begun. He, though a German, captured the French
audiences and is famous chiefly for writing grand scenes, rather than
for noble music in grand opera. His name was Jacob Liebmann Beer, but he
changed it to Meyerbeer. He was the son of a Jewish banker and had no
struggle for money as did so many of the composers. He began as a
pianist and was also a pupil of Abbé Vogler. He was unsuccessful in
Germany, so went to Italy. After an invitation to hear his opera _Il
Crociato_ (_The Crusader_) performed in Paris, he took up his residence
there.
His style was a queer mixture of German counterpoint, Italian melody and
French rhythm, and after blotting up all the popular fashions of the
day, he gave his _Robert le Diable_ (_Robert the Devil_), _The
Huguenots_ and _Le Prophète_ (_The Prophet_) with different degrees of
success in Paris. Eugène Scribe was chief librettist in this period.
Later Meyerbeer’s operas were given in Berlin, with Jenny Lind in the
title rôles and he became very famous. _Dinorah_ and _L’Africaine_ (_The
African Maid_) were very popular and are still in the repertory of opera
companies. But his style seems insincere and showy according to those
who expect more of opera than grand effects, glitter and elaborate
scenery. _The Huguenots_ was probably his finest piece of work.
Among other composers in Germany whose names you may come upon in other
places are: Heinrich Marschner (1795–1861), Conradin Kreutzer, Lortzing
(1801–1851), von Flotow (1812–1883), composer of _Stradella_ and
_Martha_, and Otto Nicolai (1810–1849) who wrote the delightful bit of
fluff, _The Merry Wives of Windsor_.
Later we see the old _Singspiel_ take the form of Comic Opera (not
_opéra comique_) with such Germans as Carl Millocker and von Suppé and
Victor Nessler in his _Trumpeter of Sakkingen_ and _The Pied Piper of
Hamelin_, and Johann Strauss, the great Viennese Waltz King, whose “Blue
Danube” and other waltzes are so familiar. (Vienna was as famous for the
waltz as America is for jazz.)
OFFENBACH’S TALES OF HOFFMANN
Another German who went to Paris was Jacques Offenbach (1819–1880) from
Cologne, who became more of a Parisian than the Parisians. He was quite
a fop and Wagner once called him “the musical Clown” for he was often
seen wearing a yellow waist-coat and trousers, sky blue coat, grey
gloves, a green hat and he carried a red sun shade. How like an electric
sign he must have looked! But withal, he was so popular in Vienna that
when Wagner approached the Opera House about his _Meistersinger_ he was
told that they were too busy producing Offenbach’s operas to consider
his. He was the best box-office attraction of his time, and the managers
could not get enough of his works. Offenbach was important because he
founded a new kind of light opera, or the operetta, which is light in
story, charming and winsome. His chief operas are _The Grand Duchess of
Gerolstein_, _La Belle Hélène_ and his masterpiece _The Tales of
Hoffmann_ of which you probably know the often-played Barcarolle. He
felt that it was his finest work and was very eager to be present at its
first performance at the Opéra Comique in Paris, but before he had
finished orchestrating it, he died. When it was given, the following
year, it was praised as the work of a genius.
His followers were Planquette, with _Chimes of Normandy_, Lecocq and his
_La Fille de Mme. Angot_, and _Giroflé-Girofla_, and Franz von Suppé
with _Fatinitza_, _Boccaccio_ and the _Poet and Peasant_ overture,
played at all movie-houses!
In Vienna Johann Strauss with his waltzes, and the most perfect comic
opera of its kind, _Die Fledermaus_ (_The Bat_) still sparkling and
delightful, _Zigeuner-Baron_ (_Gypsy-Baron_), all owe their start in
life to Offenbach’s genius. We too, in America, have had the gifted
Victor Herbert with his _Mlle. Modiste_, _The Serenade_, _The Red Mill_
and many other lovely operettas and Reginald De Koven with _Robin Hood_.
The inimitable pair in England, Sir Arthur Sullivan and his librettist
W. S. Gilbert, wrote comic operas that have become classics. (See page
341.)
So, the foppish Offenbach sowed fruitful seed, and the crop that
followed him have given high pleasure and delightful times to many, and
probably will, for years to come.
AN ITALIAN TRIO—ROSSINI, BELLINI, DONIZETTI
We have dipped into Germany and France so now we must see what was going
on in Italy.
Few Italians realized that great musical advances were being made in
other countries and kept on doing the same old things. But one or two
became famous because they left Italy to mingle with the other composers
and audiences of Europe.
Among the best known of these was Giacchino Rossini (1792–1868), who
became director of the _Theatre Italien_, in Paris, after visits to
Vienna and London. His masterpiece was _William Tell_, based on the
Schiller poem dealing with the hero of Swiss history. Among other
things, and very delightful, was his _Barber of Seville_, which was
modelled after the _Marriage of Figaro_, the conversational opera
invented by Mozart, whose influence can also be seen in his
_Semiramide_.
Rossini’s church music, such as the well known _Stabat Mater_ is also
florid but full of beautiful living melody. This and the _Solemn Mass_
are often given today. He was a brilliant composer, an innovator and did
much to abolish the foolish cadenza in opera. His work is very ornate
but shows skill in concerted pieces,—choruses and the endings or finales
of the acts.
One of the best known followers of Rossini in Italy was Gaetano
Donizetti (1797–1848) with his _Daughter of the Regiment_, _Lucrezia
Borgia_ and _Lucia di Lammermoor_ from Sir Walter Scott’s story, _The
Bride of Lammermoor_. He wrote showy brilliant things like the sextet
and the mad scene from _Lucia_ and by his very skill in these musical
fireworks, kept back opera founded on truth and sincerity.
Vincenzo Bellini (1801–1835), unlike Donizetti, wrote only in the grand
style and not in the _comique_. His best known works are _Norma_, _I
Puritani_ (_The Puritan_) and _La Sonnambula_ (_The Sleep Walker_).
Though he was a better writer than Donizetti, Bellini is heard far less
often today. He also used too many frilly, frothy effects and held back
the advance of opera.
OPERA SINGERS OF THE PERIOD
As there cannot be successful opera without opera singers, here are the
names of a few who have gone down to history: Angelica Catalani,
Giudittza Pasta, Henriette Sontag, Wilhelmine Schroeder-Devrient, Maria
Garcia Malibran, Pauline Viardot Garcia, Henriette Nissen, Giulia Grisi,
Jenny Lind, Caroline Carvalho, Euphrosyne Parepa-Rosa, Zelia Trebelli,
Pauline Lucca, and Adelina Patti, and Manuel Garcia, John Braham,
Domenico Ronconi, Nicholas Levasseur, Joseph Tichatschek, Guiseppe
Mario, Enrico Tamberlick, Theodor Wachtel, Charles Santley and John Sims
Reeves.
ENGLISH OPERA-BALLAD
18TH CENTURY
Fifteen years after the period in which Purcell glorified English music,
Handel went to England and gathered about him composers who wrote along
the lines which he popularized. In addition to this, ballad-operas, part
songs, “catches” (separate songs or ballads) were very popular. In
London, there were comic plays made of strings of songs such as Gay’s
_Beggar’s Opera_ which were sisters to _opera buffa_ in Italy, _opéra
bouffe_ in France, and the _Singspiel_ in Germany.
Forty-five of these ballad-operas were produced in 15 years. The
arrangers of these amusing song-plays included the names of Dr. Pepusch,
a German who lived in London; Henry Carey (1692–1743), famous as the
composer of _Sally in our Alley_, _God Save the King_ (our _America_);
and Thomas Arne (1710–1778) who wrote many masques, numerous
ballad-operas, and set many of the Shakespeare lyrics and wrote many
glees and ballads. Some of these part songs were very beautiful and
somewhat like the madrigals of earlier days.
Many of the church composers in their lighter moods wrote some of these
ballad-operas, among them: Samuel Arnold, with his _Maid of the Mill_, a
_pasticcio_, “Notable,” says Waldo Selden Pratt, “as the first native
music drama, since Purcell”; William Jackson; Thomas Atwood and Charles
Dibden who was so successful with his _Shepherd’s Artifice_ that he
wrote seventy others, and thirty musical monologues, among which were
_Sea Songs_. Some other well known men were Michael Arne, son of Dr.
Thomas Arne with his _Fairy Tale_, _Almena_ and _Cymon_ from Garrick’s
play of the same name; James Hook with some two thousand songs and
twenty-five plays; William Shield, the viola player and song writer;
Stephen Storace, clever violinist and the author of _The Haunted Tower_
and _Pirates_, and his sister Ann Storace, a singer. At this time there
were two clubs, one called the “Catch Club” and another the “Glee Club,”
and one also called “Madrigal Society,” and before 1800 we have a list
of glee writers including the two Samuel Webbs, Sr. and Jr., Benjamin
Cook and his son Robert, John Wall Callcott, a pupil of Haydn, who won
many medals from the “Catch Club.”
From now on, England was influenced by foreign composers, especially
Mendelssohn, Weber and Gounod, and made ballad operas and operettas
freely adapted from continental works, besides glees and songs and music
for the Church of England services. The interest in music was great and
some of the church music and glees at the time were excellent. In this
period, the Birmingham Festivals were started, Horsley founded the
_Concentores Sodales_ (1748–1847), a group formed along the lines of the
earlier Catch and Glee Clubs. The Philharmonic Society also was formed
(1813) and among its great leaders were Cherubini in 1815, Spohr 1820
and 1843 and Weber 1826 and Mendelssohn many times after 1829. Through
the effort of the Earl of Westmoreland, the Royal Academy of Music was
organized in 1822. Among the composers of this period were Samuel Wesley
(1776–1837). He was a Bach enthusiast and wrote much church music and
other classic forms; William Crotch (1775–1847), George Stark, an
intimate of Weber and Mendelssohn, who edited _Gibbon’s Madrigals_;
William Horsley, who edited _Callcott’s Glees_ and wrote glees himself,
symphonies and songs and handbooks. There were many others in this
period but too numerous to mention here.
In the next period England’s composers free themselves from the
Mendelssohn School and begin to branch out. Do not think that
Mendelssohn was not good for them. He gave much that England needed, and
also brought English composers in contact with European music. But they
liked church music and the ballad opera and the charming part songs,
rather than the heavier operas of Europe. Among writers of cathedral
music, are Sir George A. MacFarren, John Bacchus Dykes, whose name
appears in our hymn books, Joseph Barnby, Samuel Wesley mentioned above,
and Henry Smart. In 1816, Sir William Sterndale Bennett was born, he was
a choir boy and entered the Royal Academy of Music in 1835. The House of
Broadwood (English piano makers) sent him to Leipsic to study and he
came under the influence of Mendelssohn and Schumann. He was the
director of the Royal Academy of Music, a fine pianist and wrote many
compositions, among which his Cantata _A Woman of Samaria_ is not as dry
as the usual sacred works of this period.
Another great writer of this time was Sir John Stainer (1840–1901). Some
of his things are given today in our churches and are very beautiful and
impressive. He is the author of valuable text-books.
LIGHT OPERA
At this time, some writers of a sort of belated ballad opera appeared in
the persons of:
Michael William Balfe who wrote thirty operas among which is _The
Bohemian Girl_, still played and greatly admired; William Vincent
Wallace, like Balfe an Irishman, who is famous for his _Maritana_; and
then of course, Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan (1842–1900), who probably
needs very little introduction to any American or any Englishman for he
wrote _The Mikado_, _Pirates of Penzance_, _Iolanthe_, the only fairy
opera without a mortal in it, _Pinafore_, _Patience_, _Princess Ida_,
_Trial by Jury_, _Ruddigore_ and many others, including the first light
opera, _Cox and Box_, which was the first time that he and W. S.
Gilbert, as librettist, worked together. W. S. Gilbert was the author of
the inimitable and amusing _Bab Ballads_. If you haven’t read them you
have a treat in store for you! They wrote together in a fresh,
mock-heroic, humorous vein, and it seems as if they were made for each
other, so delightfully did they play into each other’s hands.
Sullivan was the son of a clarinet player and teacher. He also began, as
did so many British Islanders, as a choir boy and entered the Royal
Academy of Music on a Mendelssohn Scholarship. Later he went to the
Leipsic Conservatory and wrote some music to Shakespeare’s _Tempest_,
which established his fame in England. Besides his operas he wrote much
incidental music, some anthems and cantatas, among these _The Golden
Legend_ and _The Prodigal Son_ are the best. He wanted very much to
write grand opera, but he never seemed to work well in this vein and his
_Ivanhoe_ did him little good.
And so, we leave opera until the wand of the Wizard Wagner changes the
whole path of music.