New-York tribune., 1916-07-23

~MoI,e": when Il was revived for the
Covent Garden oratorios, London IN
1898. il was not only performed with
scenery and dresses, but recruited WIN
music from Handel's oratorio ana re-
named "Thc Israelites In Egypt; or
the Passage Of the Red Sea-; when
the French "Moise" reached the hoyai
Italian Opera. Covent Garden, in April
1850, it had still another name, "Zora'
though Chorley does not mention 'he
fact in his Thirty Years Musicai
Recollections," probably because the
failure of the opera which he loved
grieved him too deeply.
For long time Moses occupied
prominent place among oratorios' Inc
Handel and Haydn Society OF Boston
adopted it in 1S45, and between then
and 1873 performed it forty-five times
In all the years of my intimate asso-
citation with the lyric drama (consid-
erably more than the number Of which
Mr.. Chorley has left us record l
have seen but one opera In which the
plot adheres to the Biblical story in
dicated by its title. That opera Is
Saint-Saens's Samson ct Dalila." l
have seen others whose titles and
dran1tis PERSONS suggested nara
tives found in Holy Writ, but in near
ly all these cases it would be a profa-
nation of the Book TO call them Bibli-
cal operas. Those which come to mind
are Goldmsrk's "Konigin Won Saba"
Massenet's "Herodiade" and Richard
Strauss's "Salome." / have heard, in
whole or part, but not seen, three OF
the works which Rubinstein would fain
have us believe are operas, but which
are not-"Das verlorene Paradis,'
der Thurin zu Bazel" and Moses;
and / have a study acquaintance with
the books and scores of his "Macca-
bacr," which is an opera; his "Sula-
mith," which tries TO be one. and his
"Christus," which marks the culmina-
ton of the vainest effort that a con-
temporary composer made to parallel
Wsgner's achievement on different
line. There are other works which
are sufficiently known to me through
library communion or concert-room
contact to enable me to claim enough
acqusintanceship to justify converse
about them and which must perforce
occupy attention in this study. Chief
est and noblest of these are Ros-
sini's Moses" and Mehul's Joseph"
Finally, there are a few with which |
have only passing or speaking ac-
quaintance; whose faces | can recog-
nize, fragments Of whose speech
know, and whose repute is such that
I can contrive to guess at their hearts
such az Verdi's "Nabucodonosor"
and Gounod's "Reine de Saba" To
dissipate the great ob,curity surround
ing the latter every English concert
TENOR anu uTdHhllC SVpIdHO tHab nave
ever heard has lent me aid.
Rossini's Moses" was the last Of the
Italian operas (the last by significant
composer, at least) which used to be
composed to ease the Lenten conscience
in pleasure loving Italy. Though
written to be played with the adjuncts
of scenery and costumes, it has less
Of action than might easily be infused
into a performance Of Mendelssohn's
"Elijah," and the epical element which
finds its exposition in the choruseo is
far greater than that in any opera Of
its time with which | am acquainted.
In both its aspects, as oratorio and az
opera, it harks back to a time when
the two forms were essentially the
same save in respect to subject matter.
It Is a convenient working hypothesis
to take the classic tragedy of Hellas
as the progenitor Of the opera. 1t can
also be taken as the prototype Of the
Festival Of the ASS, which was cels-
brated as long ago as the twelfth cen