St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-05-28
WRITING AN OPERA.
The Broad Brimmed and Broad
Drained Editor of Texas Siitfn&s
Tells How to Write One OF the
Comic Kind.

Drained Editor of Texas Si1ttnGS
Tells How to Write One OF the
Comic Kind.
The Stage. I
How should comic opera be written?
You might as well ask me how should
soup be made. There are many kinds
of soup. and many ways of making 1t:
In like manner there be divers kinds OF
and they differ much in the manner or
their creation and construction. =.
The average comic OperaiS not comic.
In its librettO it is collection of verbal
bubbles, thesauruS of the puns OF the
past and a delirium of 6riyeling dog
gerel. In its music 1t is reminiscent, in
its stage setting gorgeous, and in its
wardrobe decollette. The plot Is con-
sidered OF but small Importance. 1t is
incoherent, abOunds in anachrOnisms.
and usually has to go off X. U. +. and
rest until the star comedian does his
speciality act and sings his topical songs,
which have as much connection with
the story as base ball umpire has with
the ceremony of laying the foundation
stone of a town pump.
TO build comic opera of this kind,
lay the scene in some country that is
supposed to be inhabited by a happy
peasantry, who can afford to spend most
of their time dancing on the village
green, drinking imaginary wine out OF
gilded tin goblets, and singing songs
with tra-la-lal la-la-la chorus. Intro
duce a lordly villain, and make him
play the old Harry with the daughter
of the village poundkeeper until he re-
turns from abroad, and, armed only
with 1.-THE priceless heritage of an I'M
furnished name" and tenor voice,
sings him clear off the stage. This is all
the plot you need. You have only to
puuctuate it with a job lot of scrap
music, wedge in few imported
puns, and secure comedian who can
initiate Irving and tumble gracefully
through a Skylight while Supe pounds
glass in an ash barrel behind the scenes,
and there you are-y0u have modern
comic opera that will make the public
howl with delight. Of course we know
that the public is an ass-we mean in
its taste, or lack of taste, regarding
what is best in literature, music and
art-but then the public knows what it
wants. and it seems to yearn for just
that class of entertainment, so | would
should be, but l shall give you a few
should like it to be.
I do not know why comic opera
should not tell as coherent a story as is
told in play, or why the plot should
not consist of logical sequence Of
events. The characters may be gro
teSQue and broad caricature of nature,
yet l think the story should have
WeIl-defined plot and a motive, an OBJ
ject. 1t should satirize or burlesque
something or somebody.
First, get your story; then write the
llbrettO; afterwards write the music, or
have it written. The music should be
written to fit the words. do not think
it possible to make the complete work
harmonious by. writing words to fit
music. Usually, one person writes the
words, another the music. If the cOmi
poser has the complete libretto before
him he can write music that will harn
monte with the characters who sing
with the color of their surroundings.
There will be martial strains for the
soldiers chorus. soft, sweet sounds for
the lovers duet, and rOllicklng music
for the patter song of the comedian. p
Tuneful words suggest appropriate
music; music may suggest an idea, but
does not suggest words. If the COM
poser writes the music first and the
librettist attempts to fit story and
words to it, no matter how excellent
each musical number may be, the result
will be thing of shreds and patches.
1t will be like the compositions we used
to write at school when the teacher
gave us ten or a dozen words, arbi--
trariIy selected from different pages of
the dictionary, and, without Furnishing
a subject, required us to write compo-
sition in which those words were to APP
pear as parts of coherent sentences.
Three out of every four singers fail
to clearly enunciate their words, and
they mouth them so atrociously that
much OF the story of the opera is lost,
and results in the hearers being left in
ignorance of some of the important
parts of the plot. This is an iniquity,
and should be remieded by making the
singers pronounce every word so dis
tinctly that they can be understood.
Falling in this, the writer should put in
the dialogue as much of his story as is
necessary for the audience to under
stand.