The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-04-18
Nv W. J. HENDERSON.

realize. While II IL unquestionably
true that many OF the works dear to
our fathers and mothers would not
draw a corporal's guard in these days.
some OF them could be successfully
performed occasionally IL they could
be properly sung. But the develop
ment Of the modern dramatic style Of
singing has led vocal art so far away
from the suave and polished elegance
demanded by these operas that we
have to live without them. There Is
no secret about the fact that the pres
ent impresario Of the Metropolitan
would revive some Of the older Italian
operas II he could oe sure Of obtain
ing artistic results. The conditions
possibly be better understood II brief
survey Of the change Is made.
The early years Of the last century
belonged to what was called the In
fancy Of the dramatic style In opera.
In order to understand what was
meant by that style We need a clear
idea Of the type OF opera which pre-
Ceded 1t. In the opera of the golden
age OF song, the age Of Handel, Hasse.
Porpora and their immediate success
sors, opera was Of the oratorio variety.
There was little action and very few
combinations OF voices in one number.
Operas consisted chiefly OF elaborate
solo arias, introduced by recitatives.
And for the delivery Of these the
singers planted themselves in the CEN
tire of the stage and there remained
till the end was reached. Gesture was
moderately employed and there was
very little action or movement.
But insensibly change came over
the spirit of opera. Many influences
combined to bring it about. but per-
haps none was more potent than that
immense popularity OF Italian opera
and Italian singers which scattered
both throughout Europe and thus
brought them into direct contact with
the more characteristic national pro-
auctions and performances of Ger
many and France.
In Germany Beethoven had brought
forward his "Fidelio' in 1905 and had
placed in il a fully developed dramatic
sccna,' which had been foreshadowed
by his concert air "Ah. perfido' in
1875. This tremendously dramatic
combination of recitativc. melodic
defamation broad cantilena and
dramatic bravura was bound to fur
nish fecund suggestions to other COM
posers, even to those who could find
nothing else in "Fidelio" worthy Of
their imitation.
In FRY the pomp and glory Of
Ramea"s defamation had dazzled the
progressive Gluck and influenced him
to develop in his later works designed
f.z he. ,l, LII.
almost all subsequent French opera
rested. In both French and German
opera the chief result of these in
ruences was in substance "A return
toward the ideals cherished by the first
opera writer's. Musicians sought anew
for an organic union Of word and
nIelodic phrase in defamation and
found partial solution OF their prob
lem in the employment 81 "A stronger
marking Il the rhythm Of prose and
sharpe articulation Of consonants.
While departing widely from the
artistic theories Of Gluck in the con-
struction Of his operas. Meyerbeer,
who for many years was the prince
of the realm OF French opera and a
world power in dramatic music de-
veloped this pompous and brilliant
variety Of defamation to a high de-
gree because he found IT as well suited
to his purposes as 1t was To those Of
Chaster spirits.
And from the early years Of the
nineteenth century down to the
present the technical growth Of
operate composition has exhibited "A
steady and methodic expansion OF the
.l,lr, to-
clearly defined themselves in the
works Of Scarlatti. became ennobled
in those of Mozart and tremendous in
BeethOven's one contribution To the
lyric stage. The flowers and fruits Of
this growth are seen to-day in the
various styles Of Wagner. puccini and
Dehussy. every one of whom is an
artistic descendant of the five great
formative masters of modern opera -
Scarlatti, Lully, Rameau, Mozart and
Beethoven,
Because of "Abscheulicher" and
Webers ocean, thou mighty mon
ster.' which was its first born. the
opera Of to-day Is closer to that of
Montever1e than the opera Of Rossini
and the early Verdi was. For in the
carly years Of the nineteenth century
opera was just beginning to free itself
from the foolish conventions Of the
post -Handelian period, and Italian
opera in particular, which was the
leading power Of the lyric stage. parted
reluctantly with the faClle methods II
writing practised by its masters in the
latter half of the eighteenth century.
When, therefore, the change slowly
came about the first operas of the new
era We're not far in advance of their
immediate predecessors, Before long,
however. we find works In which
strongly accentuated defamation.
vigorous Lyric style, broad and virile
utterance, together with histrionic
powers Of no small importance are de-
handed Of the singers.
AT the same time the aria was pre-
served in all it's Formally. But
where il had been frequently written
in style plainly derived from the
polyphonic music of the early period
of vocal composition ii now rested
heavily on the dance form, and the
simpler style of the popular song
with mere skeleton Of an accom-
paniment. To bring this clearly be-
fore the mind one has only to recall
such arias as Carissimi's "Nittoria
milo core" and Handles "IuSinghe piu
~'are," and compare them with such