The Mentor, No. 47, Makers of Modern Opera
MAKERS OF MODERN OPERA
By H. E. KREHBIEL
Author and Music Critic
WAGNER
VERDI
THE MENTOR
SERIAL No. 47
DEPARTMENT OF FINE ARTS
MENTOR GRAVURES
VERDI · MASSENET · PUCCINI · STRAUSS · GOUNOD · HUMPERDINCK
The form of entertainment called opera had its origin a little morethan three centuries ago in an effort made by a company of scholarsand musical amateurs in Florence to rescue music from the artificialityinto which the composers, who were all churchmen, had forced it.
The Florentine group had convinced themselves by study that musichad been effectively linked with poetry and action in the Greek stage-plays,and in striving to imitate these they created the art-form which intime came to be called “opera”—though at first it was known by namesall more or less closely connected with the terms which the composers oftoday use to describe their dramatic works,—lyric dramas, musical dramas,and so forth. The new style quickly spread over Europe, and inasmuchas Italy was the home of music, it retained for a time the Italian languageand the style of musical composition evolved by its creators. Soon othernations, impelled by a desire to hear the new lyric plays, began to translatethe Italian books into their own languages. This brought with it a recognitionof the incongruity between Italian music and the French, German,and English languages, and the dramatic poets and musicians of thesecountries began to seek more satisfactory idioms in which to expresstheir ideals. Thus there came into existence the three great schools ofoperatic composers whose latterday representatives are here considered.
GAETANO DONIZETTI
Two men mark the point of departure of the lyric drama of todayfrom the general style which characterized opera all the world over duringthe first two centuries followingits invention. They are Verdi(vair-dee), the Italian, and Wagner(vahg´-ner), the German; and,strangely enough, they were bothborn in 1813. The latter exercisedan influence which was universal,and Verdi fell under it.
GIOACHINO ROSSINI
THE GLORY OF VERDI
But neither in precept norin practice was the great Italianbrought to disavow the nativegenius of his people. That is thegreat glory of Verdi. For decade after decade he kept pace with hisGerma