A Book of Operas: Their Histories, Their Plots, and Their Music. Henry Edward Krehbiel
to Verdi's last act—Expressiveness of some melodies—Verdi, the dramatist—Von Bülow and Mascagni—How "Traviata" came to be written—Piave, the librettist—Composed simultaneously with "Il Trovatore,"—Failure of "La Traviata,"—The causes—The style of the music—Dr. Basevi's view—Changes in costuming—The opera succeeds—First performance in New York—A criticism by W. H. Fry—Story of the opera—Dumas's story and harles Dickens—Controversy as a help to popular success.
Chapter X "Aïda"
Popular misconceptions concerning the origin of Verdi's opera—The Suez Canal and Cairo Opera-house—A pageant opera—Local color—The entombment scene—The commission for the opera—The plot and its author, Mariette Bey—His archaeological discoveries at Memphis—Camille du Locle and Antonio Ghislanzoni—First performance of the opera—Unpleasant experiences in Paris—The plot—Ancient Memphis—Oriental melodies and local color—An exotic scale—The antique trumpets and their march.
Chapter XI "Der Freischütz"
The overture—The plot—A Leitmotif before Wagner—Berlioz and Agathe's air—The song of the Bridesmaids—Wagner and his dying stepfather—The Teutonism of the opera—Facts from a court record—Folklore of the subject—Holda, Wotan, and the Wild Hint—How magical bullets may be obtained—Wagner's description of the Wolf's Glen—Romanticism and classicism—Weber and Theodor Körner—German opera at Dresden—Composition of "Der Freischütz"—First performances in New York, (footnote).
Chapter XII "Tannhäuser"
Wagner and Greek ideals—Methods of Wagnerian study—The story of the opera—Poetical and musical contents of the overture—The bacchanale—The Tannhäuser legend—The historical Tannhäuser—The contest of minstrels in the Wartburg—Mediaeval ballads—Heroes and their charmers—Classical and other parallels—Caves of Venus—The Hörselberg in Thuringia—Dame Holda—The tale of Sir Adelbert.
Chapter XIII "Tristan und Isolde"
The old legend of Tristram and Iseult—Its literary history—Ancient elements—Wagner's ethical changes—How the drama came to be written—Frau Wesendonck—Wagner and Dom Pedro of Brazil—First performances in Munich and New York—The prelude—Wagner's poetical exposition—The song of the Sailor—A symbol of suffering—The Death Phrase—The Shepherd's mournful melody—His merry tune—Tristan's death.
Chapter XIV "Parsifal"
The story—The oracle—The musical symbol of Parsifal—Herzeleide—Kundry—Suffering and lamentation—The bells and march—The eucharistic hymn—The love-feast formula—Faith—Unveiling of the Grail—Klingsor's incantation—The Flower Maidens—The quest of the Holy Grail—Personages and elements of the legend—Ethical idea of Wagner's drama—Biblical and liturgical elements—Wagner's aim—The Knights Templars—John the Baptist, Herodias, and the bloody head—Relics of Christ's sufferings—The Holy Grail at Genoa—The sacred lances at Nuremberg and Rome—Ancient and mediaeval parallels of personages, apparatuses, and scenes—Wagner's philosophy—Buddhism—First performances of "Parsifal" in Bayreuth and New York, (footnote).
Chapter XV "Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg"
"Ridendo castigat mores"—Wagner's adherence to classical ideals of tragedy and comedy—The subject of the satire in "Die Meistersinger"—Wagenseil's book on Nuremberg—Plot of the comedy—The Church of St. Catherine in Nuremberg—A relic of the mastersingers—Mastersongs in the Municipal Library—Wagner's chorus of mastersingers, (footnote)—A poem by Sixtus Beckmesser—The German drama in Nuremberg—Hans Sachs's plays—His Tannhäuser tragedy—"Tristram and Iseult"—"The Wittenberg Nightingale" and "Wach' auf!"—Wagner's quotation from an authentic mastersong melody—Romanticism and classicism—The prelude to "Die Meistersinger."
Chapter XVI "Lohengrin"
Wolfram von Eschenbach's story of Loherangrin—Other sources of the Lohengrin legend—"Der jüngere Titurel" and "Le Chevalier au Cygne"—The plot of Wagner's opera—A mixture of myths—Relationship of the Figaro operas—Contradictions between "Lohengrin" and "Parsifal"—The forbidden question—Wagner's love of theatrical effect—The finale of "Tannhäuser,"—The law of taboo in "Lohengrin"—Jupiter and Semele—Cupid and Psyche—The saga of Skéaf—King Henry, the Fowler.
Chapter XVII "Hänsel und Gretel"
Wagner's influence and his successors—Engelbert Humperdinck—Myths and fairy tales—Origin of "Hänsel und Gretel"—First performances—An application of Wagnerian principles—The prelude—The Prayer Theme—The Counter-charm—Theme of Fulfilment—Story of the opera—A relic of an old Christmas song—Theme of the Witch—The Theme of Promise—"Ring around a Rosy"—The "Knusperwalzer."
CHAPTER I
"IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA"
The history of what is popularly called Italian opera begins in the United States with a performance of Rossini's lyrical comedy "Il Barbiere di Siviglia"; it may, therefore, fittingly take the first place in these operatic studies. The place was the Park Theatre, then situated in Chambers Street, east of Broadway, and the date November 29, 1825. It was not the first performance of Italian opera music in America, however, nor yet of Rossini's merry work. In the early years of the nineteenth century New York was almost as fully abreast of the times in the matter of dramatic entertainments as London. New works produced in the English capital were heard in New York as soon as the ships of that day could bring over the books and the actors. Especially was this true of English ballad operas and English transcriptions, or adaptations, of French, German, and Italian operas. New York was five months ahead of Paris in making the acquaintance of the operatic version of Beaumarchais's "Barbier de Séville." The first performance of Rossini's opera took place in Rome on February 5, 1816. London heard it in its original form at the King's Theatre on March 10, 1818, with Garcia, the first Count Almaviva, in that part. The opera "went off with unbounded applause," says Parke (an oboe player, who has left us two volumes of entertaining and instructive memoirs), but it did not win the degree of favor enjoyed by the other operas of Rossini then current on the English stage. It dropped out of the repertory of the King's Theatre and was not revived until 1822—a year in which the popularity of Rossini in the British metropolis may be measured by the fact that all but four of the operas brought forward that year were composed by him. The first Parisian representation of the opera took place on October 26, 1819. Garcia was again in the cast. By that time, in all likelihood, all of musical New York that could muster up a pucker was already whistling "Largo al factotum" and the beginning of "Una voce poco fà," for, on May 17, 1819, Thomas Phillipps had brought an English "Barber of Seville" forward at a benefit performance for himself at the same Park Theatre at which more than six years later the Garcia company, the first Italian opera troupe to visit the New World, performed it in Italian on the date already mentioned. At Mr. Phillipps's performance the beneficiary sang the part of Almaviva, and Miss Leesugg, who afterward became the wife of the comedian Hackett, was the Rosina. On November 21, 1821, there was another performance for Mr. Phillipps's benefit, and this time Mrs. Holman took the part of Rosina. Phillipps and Holman—brave names these in the dramatic annals of New York and London a little less than a century ago! When will European writers on music begin to realize that musical culture in America is not just now in its beginnings?
It was Manuel Garcia's troupe that first performed "Il Barbiere di Siviglia" in New York, and four of the parts in the opera were played by members of his family. Manuel, the father, was the Count,