Chapter XIX: A Chapter of Chatter (1)

Opera and politics—_Lohengrin_ in Paris—
Opera non-lucrative to the composer—Jenny
Lind’s contract—Modern fees—Royalties—
Librettists—Metastasio and Scribe—The prima
donna—Stories of singers and composers.

[Sidenote: =Opera and Politics=]

Now and again it happens that Opera rubs shoulders with Politics, and acquires some importance in the affairs of nations. Lully’s power at court in the days of Louis XIV. was notorious, and none too generously exercised so far as his fellow musicians were concerned. But influence with monarchs, such as that which he acquired, is exceptional and rarer now, and less powerful than in those earlier days. Lully profited by the royal favour bestowed on him, but some great composers have been less fortunate.

Cherubini, for instance, was detested by the great Napoleon, who lost no opportunity of inflicting slights upon him. Cherubini’s sympathies were clearly manifested in his _Water Carrier_ opera, as on the side of revolution, but distinctly contrary to the excesses to which it often led. So enraged were some ruffians with him that he was in 1794 dragged out of his house, marched through Paris, and finally compelled to provide music for the pleasure of his captors. Napoleon frequently called him into his presence in order to praise other composers, suggesting that he compared unfavourably with them. When Cherubini replied with some little spirit, he was promptly punished by being compelled to conduct various concerts and state performances with no reward whatever.

On the other hand, Napoleon, for a time, could not do enough for Spontini: he commanded the production of _La Vestale_, and rewarded him with a present of 10,000 francs, loading him, moreover, with praises and honours; this did not, however, last for very long, for the downfall of the great conqueror was at hand, and anxieties and cares claimed his attention.

[_W. Shadwell Clerke._]

[Sidenote: =“Lohengrin” in Paris=]

Political feeling has probably never run so high over operatic matters as it did in Paris after the Franco-German war: for years no German work was tolerated, at any rate so far as new matter was concerned, and the determination of the management to produce Wagner’s _Lohengrin_ in 1891 was the signal for a riotous uproar. Public feeling ran high; some of the leading singers, considering discretion the better part of valour, caused frequent postponements of the performance by means of convenient indispositions, and when the work actually came to presentation cordons of police were called out to guard the opera house, both inside and out. M. Lamoureux, who conducted, did so with a pistol in his pocket. Opposition inside the theatre made itself felt by an objectionable device of setting floating in the auditorium little balloons of evil-smelling gas; while opposition in the street was met by cavalry charges and frequent arrests. The whole occasion was made one of political import, but fortunately commonsense prevailed, and no serious issues resulted; happily for opera, such scenes as these are infrequent and unusual.

In our country opera has little or no connection with political matters, except that when some foreign potentate visits our shores, a gala performance at Covent Garden is usually arranged as one of the features of his visit: so far as English art or English artists are concerned, there is, unfortunately, little use made of either on these occasions.

[Sidenote: =Opera non-lucrative to the Composer=]

Opera is not a fortune-making business for the majority of those who embark on such enterprise: so far as the composition of opera is concerned, financial result is usually very small. Nowadays an opera cannot be lightly tossed off in a few days: it is true that Handel composed _Rinaldo_ in fourteen days, Rossini _Il Barbiere_ in thirteen (a wonderful performance), and Pacini his _Saffo_ in four weeks; but these are very exceptional instances, and may fitly be compared with the labour of Wagner, who had the _Meistersinger_ and the _Ring_ on hand for something like twenty years. Modern opera, with its polyphonic orchestral background and amorphous movements, demands years of work, and for the majority of those who give so much of their lives to it there is little to show in return, so far as a monetary point of view is taken.

Operatic management, too, is very speculative; Handel lost his whole fortune (£10,000) and became bankrupt through his operatic ventures, and yet his works had enormous success in their day. It is to be feared that the example set by him has been followed by many a subsequent manager, and is yet in store for many another.

The chief item in expenditure is, of course, the enormous amount swallowed up in the fees paid to the singers; Handel paid Senesino 1,400 guineas for the season in 1731, and even allowing for the greater value of money in those days, that is a comparatively small amount. Here, for example, is the contract made by Jenny Lind with Mr. Lumley in 1846. Far less liberal, by the way, than such a singer would receive to-day:—

[Sidenote: =J. Lind’s Contract=]

“1. An honorarium of 120,000 francs (£4,800) for the season
(April 14th-August 20th, 1847).

“2. A furnished house, carriage, and pair of horses.

“3. A sum of £300 should she desire to have a
preliminary holiday in Italy.

“4. Liberty to cancel the engagement should she feel
dissatisfied after her first appearance.

“5. An agreement not to sing elsewhere for her own
emolument.”

It generally happens that a singer commands higher fees for private than for public singing, the advantage of the latter being as a rule a guaranteed number of appearances; Farinelli, for example, the chief singer engaged by the noble faction that set up in opposition to Handel in 1734 received only £1,500 per annum, but his private engagements made up his income to £5,000 a year—a large one at that date. This singer afterwards visited the court of Philip V. of Spain; that monarch was suffering from mental depression, from which nothing aroused him until the advent of Farinelli. The Queen was so delighted to see her royal spouse once more interested in anything that she engaged Farinelli at a salary of 50,000 francs to remain in Madrid; this he did, singing the _same four songs to the King every night for ten years_! Eventually Philip V. succumbed, but he must have been a patient monarch.

It does not always happen that singers of equal merit receive the same payments, some being more fortunate than others; Catalani, for example, in 1807 received £5,000 for the season, and with her concerts and provincial tours netted a profit for the year of £16,700. A more famous singer, Lablache, in 1828 could only command £1,600 for four months; while Malibran in 1835 received £2,755 for twenty-four appearances in London, and 45,000 francs for one hundred and eighty-five performances a few years later at La Scala.

[Sidenote: =Modern Fees=]

But these fees are as nothing compared with those commanded by the leading singers of to-day, more especially in America, where money is poured out like water, and where artists are retained at high fees by one opera house, even if they do not sing a single note during the whole season, so that a rival house should not secure their services. It is not very unusual for a singer to receive £1,000 per performance in the twentieth century. Madame Patti has stated that she received £1,200 per night for two seasons of sixty nights each. Caruso has been paid £20,000 for eighty performances, and about £8,000 per annum for singing into gramophones; his contract for four years at £40,000 per annum with the New York Metropolitan is probably a record in this direction.

Of course the amount received by those who compose the music never approximate to such figures as these. For _Don Juan_ Mozart received only 500 thalers, and for _Figaro_ 100 ducats. Weber’s payment for _Der Freischütz_ was 80 Friedrich d’ors, out of which he had to pay the librettist; after the treasury had netted 30,000 thalers from this work Weber was presented with another 100! There are, however, a few examples of fair bargains made by musicians: Spontini in 1814 was offered the then liberal salary of £750 per annum for two operas each year in Berlin; in 1819 he accepted a ten years’ engagement at the court of Frederick William III. of Berlin at a salary of 4,000 thalers, a benefit of 1,050 thalers, a free concert, and a pension. He was well treated, but did not himself behave very well, allowing his servant to sell free admissions to the theatre, and grumbling because his first-night presentations did not bring in as much as he wished. He finally ended by a demand for compensation for 46,850 thalers, and that in face of the fact that he was convicted of _lèse-majesté_ and sentenced to nine months’ imprisonment: an indignity from which his new monarch graciously released him.

[Sidenote: =Royalties=]

Sometimes an agreement is made with the composer by which he receives a royalty or lump sum for each performance of his work. To the composer of an opera that takes the public fancy this spells fortune, and vast sums have now and again been made in this way. Isouard, for example, received for the performances of his _Cendrillon_ in Paris alone over 100,000 francs in 1810, while Rossini and others have by similar strokes of luck easily acquired wealth. So small, however, is the proportion of new works to-day which become popular, that the chances of such good fortune are very small; a _Cavalleria Rusticana_ only makes its appearance now and then, nor is the composer of such a work often able to repeat his success.

[Sidenote: =Librettists=]

Although rarely recognized, the work of the author of the libretto is of vast importance. In the days when the story meant little or nothing, provided so many pegs were provided on which to hang the “Arias,” the share of the librettist was a less conspicuous one; to-day no inconsiderable part of the failure of an opera is due to a poor libretto. It therefore frequently happens that composers, finding it impossible to find a poem to please them, write their own libretti, the chief example of this dual work being Wagner, whose dramas are often very fine considered from a literary point of view alone.

[Sidenote: =Metastasio and Scribe=]

Most famous of the librettists of early operas is Metastasio (1698-1782), some of whose poems were set by thirty and forty different composers: he wrote dramas used by such composers as Handel, Hasse, Jomelli, Porpora, Graun, Gluck, Meyerbeer, Caldara, Haydn, Cimarosa, and Mozart. In later days mention may be made of the dramatist Scribe (1791-1861), a French poet who provided a vast number of works for both the Grand Opera and the Opera Comique. The list of composers who have used Scribe’s libretti includes Auber, Adam, Boieldieu, Donizetti, Hérold, Halèvy, Meyerbeer, and Verdi. Quite one hundred of his operas were staged and performed, to say nothing of light dramatic and other pieces.

[Sidenote: =The Prima Donna=]

Scattered here and there in literature that deals with opera may be found endless stories of singers, composers, and art-patrons. Most fruitful in providing amusing tales are the _prime donne_, whose jealousies and bickerings, although unpleasant enough for those who have to contend against them, make sufficiently good reading. The Prima Donna generally knows her power, and is autocratic: there is not every day at hand a Handel, to take such a one forcibly by the scruff of her neck and hang her suspended from a window in mid-air until his will is granted. When such a factious lady has a husband in the same rôle consequences may be very bad indeed: the tenor Arsani, for example, the teacher of the Garcias, had a wife who was a prima donna; but instead of acting together, so jealous were they of each other, that when one was receiving the plaudits of the audience the other would go round into the auditorium and hiss!

Rivalry is not always, however, so apparent, and when fine singers are willing to co-operate, very fine results are sometimes obtained. The most notable ensemble in this respect was probably that of the four great singers, Grisi, Rubini, Tamburini, and Lablache, a combination of talent very seldom equalled, which delighted auditors of the early Victorian era.

Nowadays, although a person of power, the great singer has not the field so entirely to himself as to be able to dictate as to what he will or will not do: a certain tenor, for example, at Marseilles early in 1905 withdrew his promise to sing at a certain concert for the reason that a rival tenor had been engaged. Great was his amazement to find that this refusal by no means jeopardized the concert, as he had hoped, but rather became an additional source of amusement; for the management, having advertised him, determined that he should be seen upon the stage, and a ridiculous effigy of him was brought forward, and a trio from _Faust_ sung by other singers grouped round it. This may not have been very dignified, or even witty, but a few drastic measures of this kind might induce singers to be a little more reasonable in their treatment of the public.

Strange measures are sometimes taken to prevent the success of an opera: a hired body of fellows to hiss in opposition to the organized claque is by no means a rare sight in a French house; but sometimes more militant measures are taken. Rousseau’s _Le Devin du Village_, for example, received its _coup de grace_ from the fact that in 1828 some person (supposed to have been Berlioz) threw a huge powdered wig on to the stage in the midst of the performance. So bad was the opposition to Jomelli’s _Armida_, produced in 1750, that its composer flew the house for his life by a back door. The opposition to _Lohengrin_ in Paris has already been commented upon, but that to _Tannhäuser_, organized by the Jockey Club in 1866, was even stronger: noise and disorder filled the theatre; people in the pit played flageolets, while the gallery sang riotous songs. So prejudiced was public opinion that a fair hearing was not accorded to the work. Under these conditions it is not altogether incredible that Merimée should have exclaimed that he could write similar music after hearing his cat walk up and down the pianoforte!

Of composers, there are perhaps more amusing stories of Spontini than of any other single opera writer. This very opinionated and high-handed Italian thought much of himself, and little of all else, with the result that his life is very amusing reading. He _would_ have what he wanted. If his cellos could not play loud enough, they were made to sing their parts as well; if, after six hours’ rehearsal, his prima donna fainted, he suggested that someone with more physique should be engaged. He did not, however, always have his own way. When _La Petite Maison_ was produced in 1804, the audience dashed on the stage and smashed everything, while _La Vestale_ was greeted with laughing, snoring, and the putting on of nightcaps. His orchestra, although moderate in volume in comparison with what often obtains to-day, was considered very noisy, so much so that it is said that a certain doctor who had a very deaf patient thought he might be made to hear by attending a performance of _La Vestale_. After a specially noisy passage the deaf man with delight turned to his doctor: “I can hear,” said he. His remark met with no response, for the reason that the doctor himself had been deafened by the noise.

Spontini felt such opposition very keenly: others are less affected by hostility. When Rossini’s _Il Barbiere_ was produced at Rome in 1816, it was hooted and hissed, much to the chagrin of several of the composer’s friends. Thinking to commiserate with him on the failure of his work, they called at his house, expecting to find him in the depths of despair: instead of that the maestro was safely tucked up in bed and fast asleep.

Quotations of stories of singer and composer might fill many chapters of such a book as this, but there are books such as Sutherland Edward’s _History of the Opera_ and Ella’s _Musical Reminiscences_ to which those interested may readily turn, and therefore need not be reprinted here.

A whole wealth of amusement may be derived from the daily papers, and to-day the impressarios of New York seem to be the most persecuted persons in the world. Opera has its worries and troubles, but to those who love it it is a constant source of refreshment and of artistic joy.

Appendices.

A. CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF COMPOSERS OF OPERA, GREAT
SINGERS, CONDUCTORS, ETC.

B. FINANCIAL AID GRANTED TO OPERATIC SCHEMES FROM
STATE OR MUNICIPAL FUNDS.

C. GLOSSARY OF TERMS MAINLY USED IN OPERA.

D. LIST OF INSTRUMENTS USED IN THE ORCHESTRAS OF
COMPOSERS OF DIFFERENT PERIODS OF OPERA.

E. BIBLIOGRAPHY OF OPERA.

Appendix A.

Chronological List of Composers of Opera (with names of
their chief works), Great Singers, Conductors, etc.

1535 (?). =Vincenzo Galilei= (Florence). Early
writer of music drama on the lines of Greek
tragedy.

1550 (?). =Cavalieri.= Composer of the first
oratorio, also of four music dramas. One of the
earliest composers to seek to illustrate the
meaning of the words by the music.

15— (?). =Giovanni Bardi.= The instigator of
the idea of modern opera: at Bardi’s house the
circle of dilletanti and musicians assembled and
endeavoured to resuscitate Greek drama by the
provision of suitable music.

15— (?). =Jacopo Peri.= Composer of first
real opera in the modern sense of the term;
_Dafne_ (1597) and _Euridice_ (1600) are
the titles of his works, in the monodic style.
These opened up new ground, and set a model which
other composers quickly followed.

1558. =Guilio Caccini= (Rome). Opera composer of
the monodic school; shares with Peri the merit of
founding modern opera.

1567. =Claudio Monteverde= (Cremona), 1567-1643.
Writer of many operas, intermezzi, etc.; he was
a great innovator in harmony, and also did much
to extend the use of the various instruments of
the orchestra. The earliest composer to associate
certain groups of instruments with certain of the
stage characters.

1575. =Thomas Campion= (London). English composer
of masques and ballets.

1580. =John Coperario= (London). An Englishman who
travelled in Italy, and wrote music for English
plays.

1582. =William Lawes= (Dinton). English composer
of court masques and airs.

1585. =Heinrich Schütz= (Köstritz), 1585-1672.
First German operatic composer, who also excelled
in church music.

1588 or 1590. =Nicholas Laniere= (Italy). A
foreign musician who settled in England and wrote
music for masques; one of his compositions was a
masque by Ben Johnson, “in stylo recitativo.”

1596. =Henry Lawes= (Dinton). English composer who
shared with Matthew Lock and Cook the composition
of one of the earliest English operas, _The
Siege of Rhodes_.

1597. =Benedetto Ferrari= (Venice). Helped to
found the Venetian School of Opera.

1600. =Pietro F. Cavalli= (Crema). A follower
of Monteverde, who wrote at least twenty-seven
operas, mostly for Venice, but some were performed
in Paris; a composer of dramatic power.

1600. Production of Peri’s _Orfeo_, the first
publicly performed opera.

1600 (?). =Francesco Manelli= (Venice). Shares
with Ferrari the credit of the foundation of opera
in his native city.

1604. =Giacomo Carissimi= (Marino). Great composer
of oratorio, who also wrote occasionally for the
stage.

1620. =Marcantonio Cesti= (Florence?). Follower of
Cavalli and Carissimi; wrote about twelve operas.

1625. =Giovanni Legrenzi= (Bergamo). Composer of
seventeen operas, mostly produced in Venice.

1627. The first German opera (_Dafne_) produced.

1628. =Robert Cambert= (Paris). First French
composer of opera; at first thoroughly successful,
this musician was ousted from his position by
Lully, and died in England in 1677.

1632 (?). =Matthew Lock= (Exeter). Composer
of incidental music to plays (_The
Tempest_, _Macbeth_, etc.), one of which
(_Psyche_) was published under the title of
“The English Opera.”

1633. =Jean Batiste Lully= (Florence). Migrated to
France at an early age; obtained great power at
the court of Louis XIV., and monopolized French
opera for many years. He wrote at least thirty
ballets and twenty operas. Lully died in 1687.

1635. =G. V. Draghi.= Italian composer who settled
in England and wrote incidental music and act
tunes.

1637. =Bernardo Pasquini= (Tuscany). Wrote a few
operas for Rome; a fine polyphonic composer.

1640. =Giovanni Buononcini= (Modena). Father of a
more famous son; wrote five operas, which remain
in MS.

1645. =Alessandro Stradella= (Venice?), 1645-81.
Although more famous for his church music, wrote
eleven operas.

1645. =Francesco Rossi= (Bari). Wrote four operas
for Venice.

1646. =Johann Thiele= (Naumburg). Composer of
opera and also of Singspiel. His Singspiel,
_Adam and Eve_, produced in 1678, was the
first of such works to be publicly performed
in Germany, and is interesting as being the
forerunner of many a subsequent work of the same
class which has obtained world-wide popularity.

1646. _Akebar, Roi de Mogol_, the first French
opera (words and music by the Abbé Mailly),
performed at Carpentras.

1649. =Pascal Colasse= (Rheims). Wrote many
operas, after the model of Lully.

1650. =Marais.= Composer of French opera; died 1718.

1658. =Henry Purcell= (London), 1658-95. English
composer of great dramatic power and of marked
originality. Wrote music for many masques, plays,
and for the first real English opera, _Dido
and Æneas_; had it not been for the powerful
personality of Handel, which dwarfed all other
matters musical during the time he lived in
London, Purcell might have founded a real school
of English opera. Chief works: _Dido and
Æneas_ (1677), _The Indian Queen_ (1690),
Dryden’s _Tempest_ (1690), _Dioclesian_
(1690), _King Arthur_ (1691), _Bonduca_ (1695).

1659. =Alessandro Scarlatti= (Trapani), 1659-1725.
Composer of one hundred and fifteen operas; is
important as the first to largely employ set
forms in his works. His use of the Da capo Aria,
although at first attended with success, became so
popular as to be the means of its own undoing. He
also uses the orchestral ritornello, occasionally
employed by Monteverde, and is the first composer
to make full use of the orchestra for the
accompaniment of recitative. While histrionically
interesting, little of his music would be accepted
to-day.

1659. =Francesco A. Pistocchi= (Palermo). A member
of the Bolognese school of composers.

1660. =André Campra= (Aix, Provence). Popular
writer of French opera, who attempted to combine
the features of the Italian and French schools; he
produced about thirty works of high rank.

1661. =J. A. Perti= (Bologna). Another member
of the Bolognese school; produced operas in his
native town and at Venice.

1667. =Antonio Lotti= (Venice). Produced an opera
before he was sixteen years of age, and wrote many
others in after life.

1667. =Dr. Pepusch= (Berlin). Famous German
composer who settled in London, and collected the
songs and pieces which made up _The Beggar’s Opera_,
the first of a long line of such ballad operas.

1670 (?). =Johann Conradi.= Early writer of German
opera; produced works at Hamburg.

1672. =Giovanni Batiste Buononcini= (Modena),
1672-1750 (?). Writer of twenty-two operas; mainly
famous as having been the selected composer pitted
against Handel, with disastrous results to both
parties financially.

1672. =André Destouches= (Paris). Wrote a famous
opera, _Issé_; and many other works for the
stage.

1674. =Reinhard Keiser= (Weissenfels), 1674-1739.
First important composer of German opera,
composing sometimes as many as eight in one year;
one hundred and sixteen works stand to his name,
many with the recitatives in German and the arias
in Italian.

1675. =Marc Antonio Buononcini= (Modena). Wrote an
opera, _Camilla_, which was played sixty-four
times in England during four years; brother of
Handel’s rival.

1677. Production of Purcell’s _Dido and Æneas_,
the first real English opera.

1678 (?). =Antonio Caldara= (Venice). Wrote
sixty-six operas, besides a large number of
oratorios and other works.

1680 (?). =Senesino.= Famous male soprano, who
appeared in many of the operas Handel wrote for
London; he retired from the stage in 1735 with a
fortune of £15,000.

1681. =Johann Mattheson= (Hamburg). Opera singer
and composer and a friend of Handel, in some of
whose operas he appeared.

1683. =Jean Phillippe Rameau= (Dijon), 1683-1764.
One of the early fathers of French opera, and
second only in importance to Lully; produced many
operas, and influenced Gluck, who heard some of
his works in Paris.

1684. =Francesco Durante= (Naples). Wrote
occasionally for the stage, but mostly for the
church.

1685. =George Frederick Handel= (Hallé),
1685-1759. Wrote operas for Italy, Germany, and
England. In great contrast to the music of his
oratorios, his opera music sounds antiquated and
dull; its only performance to-day is the occasional
singing of an air from one of the operas.

1686. =Niccola Porpora= (Naples), 1686-1767. Wrote
many operas, mainly consisting of florid arias and
vocal gymnastics; a wonderful singing-master, who
turned out some excellent pupils.

1698. =P. A. D. B. Metastasio= (Rome). One of the
greatest of librettists; he furnished subjects for
operatic treatment for a vast number of composers,
including Gluck and Mozart.

1699. =Johann A. Hasse= (Bergedorf), 1699-1783.
Fertile opera composer, who produced over one
hundred works with success. Hasse possessed great
gifts of melody, and was fortunate in having a
remarkably fine singer in his wife, who acted as
exponent of many of the leading parts.

1700. =Faustina Hasse= (Venice). Sang also for
Handel, and was very popular in London; her salary
for 1726 was £2,000; a great rivalry existed
between Hasse and Cuzzoni.

1700. =Francesca Cuzzoni= (Modena). Also sang for
Handel; this is the lady whom he threatened to
throw out of the window unless she sang what he
wished. She died in poverty in 1770.

1700. =Nicolo Logroscino= (Naples). Wrote comic
operas, and is credited with the invention of
the concerted finale; his operas are all in the
Neapolitan dialect.

1701. =K. H. Graun= (Wahrenbrüch). Wrote
twenty-seven operas, which contain melodies and
good arias. He is better known by his church
cantatas, especially _Der Tod Jesu_.

1703. =G. M. Caffarelli= (Naples). Famous singer,
said to have been kept by Porpora for five years
to one page of exercises and then dismissed as the
greatest singer in Europe. He had great success in
male soprano parts.

1705. =Giovanni Carestini= (Ancona). Famous male
contralto, who sang for Handel in London.

1705. =C. B. Farinelli= (Naples). Another pupil of
Porpora, who sang for the party opposed to Handel;
one of the most renowned singers the world has
ever produced.

1709. =Egidio Duni= (Matera). Seems to have
founded opera comique in France, writing many such
works for the Parisian stage.

1710. =Thomas Arne= (London), 1710-78. One
of the most famous of early English opera
writers; besides many masques (including
Milton’s _Comus_) he wrote the opera
_Artaxerxes_, which enjoyed many years of
popularity. Arne is best known to-day by the
incidental music which he wrote to Shakespeare’s
_Tempest_, the song, “Where the Bee sucks,”
being world known.

1710. =G. V. Pergolesi= (Jesi), 1710-36. A
composer of great promise, whose early death may
be much lamented. Although best known by his
church music, he had many merits as a writer of
opera. His best work in this direction is a short
operetta, _La Serva Padrona_.

1712. =J. J. Rousseau= (Paris), 1712-78, the
famous litterateur, wrote operas, the most famous
of which, _Le Devin du Village_, may claim to
have been the first opera comique; its success was
enormous, but the orchestration and some of the
details are not Rousseau’s.

1714. =Nicolo Jommelli= (Aversa), 1714-74. One
of the best composers of the Neapolitan school,
who combined skilful design with melodious and
expressive themes. Mozart thought much of his
music and extolled his operas; his sacred music
alone has come down to our day.

1714. =Cristopher Willibald Gluck= (Weidenwang),
1714-87. The first of the great reformers of
opera. Besides a very large number of works
written on old models, his newer-fashioned and
enduring masterpieces include _Orfeo_ (1762),
_Alceste_ (1767), _Iphigénie en Aulide_ (1774),
_Amide_ (1777), _Iphigénie en Tauride_ (1778).

1725. =Gaetano Guadagni= (Lodi). A great male
contralto who sang for Handel and created a
_furore_ in London.

1726. =F. A. D. Philidor= (Dreux). Famous
chess player and operatic composer; was a
prolific writer. He was the first to introduce
the unaccompanied quartet upon the stage. His
happiest essay was upon the English subject _Tom
Jones_.

1728. =J. A. Hiller= (Görlitz). Established the
Singspiel, composing fourteen of these works,
which met with pronounced success.

1728. =Nicolo Piccini= (Bari). A good composer,
now mostly remembered as the opponent of Gluck;
while the fact militated against the success of
his operas upon their production, it has kept his
memory green and has gained attention for his
music, which, although on the prevalent model of
its time, has much merit.

1729. =Guiseppe Sarti= (Faenza). Produced many
operas of great excellence, which are forgotten
to-day. His triumphs were won in such contrasted
centres as Milan and St. Petersburg.

1729. =P. A. Monsigny= (St. Omer). Composed many
forgotten operas; while possessing melodic gifts
he had little training, and his scoring and
constructive powers were weak. His best works
are _Le Déserteur_ (1769), and _Félix ou
l’enfant trouvé_ (1777).

1732. =Joseph Haydn= (Rohrau), 1732-1809, the
master who excelled in so many branches of the
art, made no serious claim to be a composer of
opera. A few works were written by him for the
stage while he was attached to Count Esterhazy,
but they can in no way compare with his labours in
other fields, nor had they any bearing upon the
growth and development of opera as an art form.

1733. =F. J. Gossec= (Hainault). A Belgian
composer of some repute in his day; his operas
were mostly written for Paris.

1734. =A. M. G. Sacchini= (Pozzuoli), 1734-86.
A composer of dramatic gifts much influenced by
Gluck, whose compositions quite overshadow those
of his follower. Sacchini wrote over forty operas.

1739. =K. D. von Dittersdorf= (Vienna). Composed
very many operas, both serious and light. He
is best known by the Singspiel, _Doctor und
Apotheke_ (1786).

1741. =A. E. M. Grétry= (Liége). A fertile
composer, very gifted for the writing of opera
comique, wrote fifty operas for Paris. He had
a knack of cleverly illustrating the stage
situation, and although his harmonies were so thin
that it was said that one could “draw a coach and
four between the bass and the first fiddle,” he
yet seems to have been more apt in his musical
conceptions than many a more cultured musician.

1741. =Giovanni Paisiello= (Tarento). May be
reckoned amongst the most prolific of Italian
composers of his period. He was one of the first
to introduce the concerted finale into serious
opera, this form having hitherto been almost
entirely confined to light opera. His _Barber of
Seville_ became so famous as almost to wreck
the production of an opera under the same title by
Rossini.

1743. =Lucretia Agujari= (Ferrara). Was a singer
of extraordinary ability and compass.

1745. =Ludwig Fischer= (Mainz). Also a singer of
great compass, having a round bass voice of two
and a half octaves. He was a friend of Mozart’s,
and sang in the production of _Entführung aus
dem Serail_.

[Music]

1748. =William Shield= (Durham). Composer to
Covent Garden Theatre; wrote operas both serious
and comic. He appears to have possessed great
melodic gifts, and his many works are notable for
their vigour and their tunefulness. He died in 1829.

1749. =The Abbé Vogler= (Würzburg), 1749-1814.
Was a man of many parts; he wrote upon theatrical
matters, and composed music for the organ, for
instruments, for the church, and for the stage.
His operatic music is perhaps of the least
importance, although his stage productions number
some sixteen pieces.

1749. =Domenico Cimarosa= (Aversa). Was in his
day a most popular composer of opera, sixty-six
fine works standing to his credit. He made his
mark more especially in his comic operas, of which
_Il matrimonio segreto_ (1792) is the best
known.

1749. =Gertrude Elizabeth Mara= (Cassel). A fine
singer, made little impression upon Mozart, but
still appears to have been a great artist. She had
a beautiful voice and great facility; she was one
of Handel’s best singers in England.

1750. =Antonio Salieri= (Legnano). Wrote
thirty-seven operas and a Singspiel. His works
were modelled upon those of Gluck, and present no
special features of interest.

1752. =J. F. Reichardt= (Königsberg). Wrote some
moderately successful operas, and some important
specimens of Singspiel, mostly for Berlin.

1752. =N. A. Zingarelli= (Naples). Was a prolific
operatic composer, who penned some thirty
operas, besides much sacred music. His style was
recommended by Napoleon to Cherubini, much to the
disgust of the last-named composer.

1754. =Peter Winter= (Mannheim), 1754-1825. Wrote
a very large number of tuneful and melodious
operas. His works have not survived to the present
day, being structurally weak, but they were very
successful during the composer’s life and for a
few years afterwards.

1756. =Vincenzo Righini= (Bologna). Was operatic
singer, composer, and conductor. His twenty operas
were many of them produced at Berlin, where he was
for some years conductor of the Italian Opera.

1756. =Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart= (Salzburg),
1756-91. The long list of Mozart’s operas (many of
them written in youth) includes _Idomeneo_
(1781), _Die Entführung aus dem Serail_
(1782), _Le Nozze di Figaro_ (1786), _Don
Giovanni_ (1787), _Cosi fan tutte_
(1790), _La Clemenza di Tito_ (1791), _Die
Zauberflöte_ (1791).

1760. =Maria Luigi C. Z. S. Cherubini= (Florence),
1760-1842. An accomplished musician in all
departments; wrote fine operas, containing a
wealth of sterling music. His chief operas are
_La Finta Principessa_ (1785), _Giulio
Sabino_ (1786), _Démophon_ (1788),
_Lodoiska_ (1791), _Médée_ (1797),
_Les deux Journées_ (1800), _Anacreon_
(1803), _Faniska_ (1806), _Les
Abencerages_ (1813), _Ali Baba_ (1833).

1760. =Aloysia Weber= (Mannheim). A vocalist
for whom Mozart conceived a great affection,
eventually, however, marrying her sister. The
part of “Constance,” in _Die Entführung aus dem
Serail_, was written for her.

1761. =Katherina Cavalieri= (Währing). Was a
singer for whom both Mozart and Salieri wrote
special parts in their operas. Mozart said of her
that “she was a singer of whom Germany might well
be proud.”

1763. =Stephen Storace= (London). Produced
some early operas in Vienna, where he formed a
friendship with Mozart. On his return to London
he produced _The Haunted Tower_ (1789),
_The Pirates_ (1792), and many other works,
which attained very great success. He is almost
the earliest example of an English composer
introducing the concerted finale.

1763. =Etienne Henri Méhul= (Givet). Had a
wonderful talent for opera, of which he produced a
great quantity of examples, in addition to writing
ballets and operettas. His best known works are
_Uthal_ and _Joseph_. Méhul died in 1822.

1763. =J. F. Lesueur= (Abbeville). Wrote a certain
number of operas for Paris, of which the best is
_Les Bardes_. The march of time has left
Lesueur behind, in company with many another composer
of considerable but not commanding merits.

1766. =F. X. Süssmayer= (Steyer). Is chiefly known
to fame as being a sort of “hack” to Mozart,
writing recitatives and filling in details for the
great and busy composer, whose factotum he was for
some years.

1766. =G. Crescentini= (Urbania). Was a famous
sopranist, one of the last of his class; he won
favour from many, including the Emperor Napoleon,
who showered benefits upon him. He not only sang
magnificently, but composed arias to suit his own
voice and special style.

1766. =Joseph Weigl= (Eisenstadt). Wrote one
famous work, _Schweizer Familie_, and many
others of less import, numbering thirty-one in
all, besides ballets.

1767. =Henri Berton= (Paris). Wrote many operas.
He is interesting, moreover, as an early instance
of a composer penning his own libretti. His music
was often written in conjunction with others, such
as Cherubini, Méhul, and Spontini.

1768. =Elizabeth Billington= (London). Was a prima
donna of exceptional compass. During a long and
varied career she appeared on the boards of many
an operatic stage in Europe; her successes were,
however, largely won in England.

1770. =Ludwig von Beethoven= (Bonn), 1770-1827.
Beethoven’s single opera, _Fidelio_, was
produced at Vienna in 1806.

1771. =Ferdinand Paer= (Parma). Was an Italian
composer of many operas, both serious and comic;
his _Eleanor_ seems to have inspired
Beethoven’s _Fidelio_.

1773. =C. S. Catel= (l’Aigle). Wrote many operatic
works for the Paris Opera. His music was looked
upon by the French public as “academic” because he
held a professorship at the Conservatoire; hence
it stood condemned before trial and had little
chance. Catel was associated with Cherubini in the
composition of one opera.

1774. =G. L. P. Spontini= (Majolate), 1774-1851.
One of the most interesting personalities in the
history of opera. Although he wrote Italian opera
for Naples, his great successes were achieved
in the field of French grand opera, of which he
remains one of the shining ornaments. His chief
operas are _La Vestale_ (1807), _Ferdinand
Cortez_ (1809), _Olympia_ (1821),
_Alcidor_ (1825); none are now performed.

1774. =C. E. F. Weyse= (Altona). Was a composer
of Danish opera, whose works, however, have not
penetrated beyond the country for which they were
written. He seems to have been one of the earliest
to introduce the Scandinavian Volkslied to the
stage.

1775. =F. A. Boieldieu= (Rouen). Is world known
by his opera, _La Dame Blanche_, produced in
Paris in 1825, one of many works, but the only
one at all known to fame. He spent eight years
in Russia writing operas and ballets for that
country, but his greatest achievements belong to
his second Parisian period.

1775. =Nicolo Isouard= (Malta). Is another
composer of works for the Parisian houses, no less
than thirty-four operas standing to his credit.
Isouard and Boieldieu were in keen rivalry, to
their great advantage, since both put forth their
best work.

1780. =Angelica Catalani.= Was the possessor of a
voice of wonderful flexibility, with a speciality
for chromatic scales. For the period at which she
flourished, she probably made more money than
any other artist. Her greatest success seems to
have been as “Susanne” in Mozart’s _Nozze di
Figaro_.

1782. =D. F. E. Auber= (Caen). Was one of the
greatest masters of opera comique; his melodious
style and piquant orchestration are models of
their kind, and have secured a lasting vogue
for his works, the best known of which are
_Masaniello_ (1828), _Fra Diavolo_
(1830), _Le Chevale de Bronze_ (1835), _Le
Domino Noir_ (1837), _Les Diamants de la
Couronne_ (1842).

1782. =Conradin Kreutzer= (Mösskirch). Wrote a
number of successful operas, his powers as a
composer of attractive arias being considerable.
His fairy opera, _Der Verschwender_, may
still occasionally be heard in Germany.

1784. =Louis Spohr= (Brunswick), 1784-1859. Is a
composer mostly known in England by his sacred
music and his violin compositions. His claims as a
writer of operas must not, however, be overlooked,
his _Faust_ being in the van with regard to
Romanticism in opera. His _Jessonda_ also met
with considerable favour, and its overture often
gains a hearing in our concert rooms.

1784. =Francesco Morlacchi= (Perugia). Was
chorus-master of the Italian Opera at Dresden,
for which town he wrote a large number of works,
successful in their day, but now never heard.
He mostly excelled in the composition of light,
sparkling, and superficial music.

1786. =Carl Maria von Weber= (Eutin), 1786-1826.
Besides many early works, which call for no
special mention, Weber’s operatic productions
include _Der Freischütz_, _Euryanthe_
(1823), and _Oberon_ (1826).

1786. =Henry Rowley Bishop= (London). Was a most
prolific writer of operas for the London theatres,
eighty-two of such works standing to his name;
many of these, however, do not merit the term
“opera” as we understand it to-day. Bishop was
most effective in his choruses and his writing for
the voice generally.

1787. =M. E. Carafa= (Naples). Wrote thirty-five
operas, which met with great success in Italy; he
is now a forgotten composer.

1790. =Alberico Curioni= (Naples?). Was a famous
tenor singer who met with great success in London,
notably in the opera _Medea_.

1790. =Nicola Vaccaj= (Tolentino). Wrote many
Italian operas, particularly for Venice. One at
least of his works was also presented in London,
where he lived for a short time.

1791. =Giacomo Meyerbeer= (Berlin), 1791-1864. Is
a very notable figure in the annals of opera, and
his best works still survive in the repertoires
of the leading houses. These are _Robert
le Diable_ (1831), _Les Huguenots_
(1836), _Le Prophète_ (1849), _L’Étoile
du Nord_ (1854), _Dinorah_ (1859), and
_L’Africaine_ (1864).

1791. =L. J. F. Hérold= (Paris). Is best known by
his _Zampa_ and _Le Pré aux Clercs_,
both of which are frequently before the public.

1791. =P. J. Lindpaintner= (Coblenz). Wrote
twenty-eight operas, mostly forgotten now. The
best seems to be _Der Vampyr_.

1792. =G. A. Rossini= (Pesaro), 1792-1868. Is
world known, if only for his _William Tell_
music. From his enormous list of operatic works,
the following may be selected for mention:
_Tancredi_ (1813), _L’Italiani in
Algeri_ (1813), _Il Barbiere di Siviglia_
(1816), _La Cenerentola_ (1817), _La Gazza
Ladra_ (1817), _Semiramide_ (1823),
_Mosé in Egitto_ (1818), _Guillaume
Tell_ (1829).

1794. =Luigi Lablache= (Naples). Was a magnificent
bass singer who delighted Europe. He excelled
in both serious and comic parts, and was a
well-equipped artist.

1795. =G. B. Rubini= (Romano). Was equally
celebrated as a tenor of the first rank. His
greatest successes were attained in Rossini’s and
Bellini’s operas.

1796. =Giovanni Pacini= (Catania). Wrote a
large number of operas, of which the best is
_Saffo_ (Naples, 1840). His works total
eighty specimens of opera alone, but most are
written upon the pattern of Rossini.

1796. =Heinrich Marschner= (Zittau). Was a
powerful composer of romantic opera. _Hans
Heiling_ is especially fine, while mention must
also be made of _Templer und Jüdin_ and of
_Der Vampyr_. His operas are conceived in a
kindred spirit to that of Weber’s.

1797. =Franz Schubert= (Vienna), 1797-1828.
Schubert’s importance as a writer of opera is
small as compared with his achievement in other
fields—such as song and symphony. The chief in degree
are _Fierrabras_ and _Alfonso und Estella_.

1797. =Saverio Mercadante= (Altamura). Wrote a
number of operas on the Italian model, of which
_Il Guiramento_ (Milan, 1837) is the finest.

1797. =Lucy Elizabeth Vestris= (London). Made
a great impression as a singer upon the opera
habitués of her day. She was the original “Fatima”
in the production of _Oberon_.

1797. =Gaetano Donizetti= (Bergamo). Wrote a
very large number of operas, which present such
opportunities to vocalists as to be frequently
produced to-day. The chief ones in the modern
repertoire are _Lucia di Lammermoor_ (1835),
_Lucretia Borgia_ (1833), _L’Elisir
d’Amore_, _La Fille du Régiment_
(1840), _Linda di Chamounix_ (1842), _La
Favorita_ (1840), _Don Pasquale_.

1798. =Giudetta Pasta= (Como). Was an Italian
singer of great charm and ability; in Rossini’s
operas she appears to have been almost unequalled.

1798. =K. G. Reissiger= (Belzig). A prolific
composer, produced many operas of an “academic”
class, which have not survived their day.

1799. =J. F. F. E. Halévy= (Paris). Wrote a vast
number of French operas, the best known of which
is _La Juive_.

1800. =Antonio Tamburini= (Faenza). Was a baritone
singer and a member of the famous “Puritani”
quartet, which delighted both London and Paris for
so many years. He excelled in his interpretation of
the baritone parts of operas of the Rossini school.

1801. =Vincenzo Bellini= (Catania). This
famous opera composer is still known by the
frequent performance of his best works—_La
Somnambula_ (1831), _Norma_ (1831), _I
Puritani_ (1835). More might have come from
this composer, had he not died at the early age of
thirty-four.

1802. =John Barnett= (Bedford). Was an English
composer of a number of operas and of music for
stage pieces. He has the credit of the first real
English opera since Arne’s _Artexerxes_ in
his _Mountain Sylph_, produced in 1835.
This is his best known work, but he wrote other
operas, such as _Fair Rosamund_ (1837) and
_Farinelli_ (1839).

1802. =Louis Niedermeyer= (Nyon). Had the
misfortune to produce several operas which were
mostly failures. He had, however, original ideas
as to orchestration, and is worthy of remembrance
for his gifts of melody.

1803. =Adolphe Charles Adam= (Paris). Wrote grand
opera, ballet music, and opera comique, being only
remembered for the last-named, for which he had
real talent. His best work is _Le Postillon de
Longjumeau_ (1836).

1803. =G. A. Lortzing= (Berlin). Wrote many operas
still popular in Germany; one indeed, _Peter the
Shipwright_, has met with considerable success
in this country. He wrote upon a model which
Sullivan so excellently employed in his light
operas.

1803. =Hector Berlioz= (Grenoble), 1803-69. An
eccentric genius among musicians. Wrote operas
such as _Les Troyens_ and _Benvenuto
Cellini_, which contain fine music, but which
have never pleased the public, and which remain
practically unperformed.

1804. =Julius Benedict= (Stuttgart). Although
a German, is always looked upon as an English
composer, his life having been spent in this
country. He is best known by his often-performed
_Lily of Killarney_, which dates from 1862.
Benedict died in 1885.

1804. =Wilhelmine Schröder-Devrient= (Hamburg).
Must always remain a person of interest to
musicians, in that she created the part of Leonora
in Beethoven’s _Fidelio_ upon its revival in
1822, when that work really gained a fair hearing.
She was also an early exponent of Wagnerian parts
(Senta, Venus, etc.).

1804. =Michael I. Glinka= (Novospaskoi). Is the
earliest of Russian opera composers to be known
outside his own country, and he is important,
not only for his compositions of _Life for the
Czar_ and _Russlan_, but also in that
he founded a school of Russian opera which has
brought forth much fruit.

1805. =Luigi Ricci= (Naples). Wrote a large number
of operas, very famous in their day, but now
forgotten.

1805. =Manuel Garcia= (Madrid). The wonderful
centenarian: claims notice as the trainer of those
fine operatic artists, Jenny Lind and Catherine
Hayes.

1806. =Henrietta Sontag= (Coblenz). Was a charming
and gifted soprano of European reputation, who
delighted all hearers, and seems to have combined
a charming personality with great artistic
attainments.

1807. =J. A. Tichatschek= (Weckelsdorf). Was
a Bohemian tenor who made for himself a great
reputation in all the grand operas of the greater
masters. He was also the original “Rienzi” and
“Tannhäuser.”

1808. =A. L. Clapisson= (Naples). Was a graceful
composer of many operas which pleased in their
day, but which have had no continuance of popular
favour.

1808. =Michael William Balfe= (Dublin), 1808-1888.
Is the best known of English opera writers of
his period, and his _Bohemian Girl_ (1843)
is familiar to all. Other of his successes are
_The Siege of Rochelle_ (1835), _The Maid
of Artois_ (1836), _Blanche de Nevers_
(1863), _Il Talismano_ (1874).

1808. =Michael A. A. Costa= (Naples). Was best
known as a conductor, more especially of the
Italian opera in England. He wrote a few forgotten
specimens, but is mainly of importance as a
wielder of the bâton. Costa died in 1884.

1808. =P. L. P. Dietsch= (Dijon). Was also a
conductor. His chief claim to fame seems to have
been that he purchased the libretto of Wagner’s
_Flying Dutchman_, and clothed it with
absolutely forgotten music.

1808. =Albert Gnsar= (Antwerp). Wrote a number of
comic operas for Paris. They seem to have been
works of elegance and grace, without special
distinction.

1808. =Marie Felicita Malibran= (Paris). Performed
in opera at the age of five. She seems to have had
no rivals as a singer, and excelled in all parts
which she undertook. She created an indelible
impression upon all that were fortunate enough to
hear her.

1809. =Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy= (Hamburg),
1809-1847. The claims of Mendelssohn as a writer
of opera are not serious, and are confined to
a few early and incomplete works. The best,
musically, is the fragment of _Lorelei_.

1809. =F. Ricci= (Naples). Like his brother
Luigi, wrote operas which have not survived their
generation.

1809. =J. H. Hatton= (Liverpool). Is better known
as a writer of songs than of operas. He wrote,
however, a good deal of incidental music for the
stage, as well as one real opera.

1810. =Robert Schumann= (Zwickau), 1810-56.
Schumann’s one contribution to the field of opera
is his _Genoveva_, which is seldom heard, in
spite of many unquestionable beauties.

1810. =Otto Nicolai= (Königsberg). Was a capable
composer and conductor. He is chiefly known to
fame by his masterpiece, _The Merry Wives of
Windsor_, which was produced in Berlin in 1849.

1810. =Félicien C. David= (Cadenet). A French
composer of operas; is not to be confused with
Ferdinand David the violinist, and friend of
Mendelssohn. Félicien wrote grand operas for
Paris, and his greatest success seems to have been
_Lalla Rookh_ (1862).

1811. =P. J. A. Varney= (Paris). Is one of the
minor lights of French Opera, his works, which are
of small importance, being in the light style.

1811. =C. Ambroise Thomas= (Metz), 1811-96. Was
one of the greatest representatives of modern
French opera, who possessed real talent for
writing for the stage. He learnt much from both
Gounod and Hérold, and is best known by his operas
_Mignon_ (1866) and _Hamlet_ (1868).

1812. =F. von Flotow= (Bentendorf). Is the
composer of _Martha_, an ever-popular light
opera; the music of this, as of his many other
works, is by no means exalted, but pleases by its
melodious and tuneful attractiveness.

1812. =Giulia Grisi= (Milan). Was one of the most
famous operatic artists of last century, and the
soprano of the “Puritani” quartet (Grisi, Rubini,
Tamburini, and Lablache). Like so many artists of
that period, her great achievements were in the
works of Rossini.

1812. =Cavaliere Mario= (Cagliari). Was an even
greater tenor, who eventually married Grisi. Like
his wife he was the idol of the English and French
capitals for many seasons.

1812. =Fanny Persiani= (Rome). Was yet another
singer of Rossinian opera. She was a fine actress
as well as a vocalist, and commanded universal
admiration.

1813. =Enrico Petrella= (Palermo). Produced an
Italian opera practically every year for many
years. This composer has been dead for nearly
thirty years, and his operas seem to have shared
the same fate.

1813. =Richard Wagner= (Leipsic), 1813-83. The names and
dates of Wagner’s chief operas are:—_Rienzi_ (Dresden)
1842; _The Flying Dutchman_ (Dresden) 1843; _Tannhäuser_
(Dresden) 1845; _Lohengrin_ (Weimar) 1850; The Ring:—(1)
_Rheingold_ (Munich) 1859; (2) _Die Walküre_ (Munich)
1870; (3) _Siegfried_ (Bayreuth) 1876; (4)
_Gotterdämmerung_, (Bayreuth) 1876; _Tristan und Isolde_
(Munich) 1865; _Die Meistersinger_ (Munich) 1868;
_Parsifal_ (Bayreuth), 1882.

1813. =Giuseppe Verdi= (Roncole) 1813-1901. Verdi’s operas
are very numerous: these may perhaps be specially
mentioned:—_I Lombardi_, 1843; _Ernani_, 1844;
_Rigoletto_, 1851; _Il Trovatore_, 1853; _La Traviata_,
1853; _Un Ballo in Maschera_, 1857; _Aïda_, 1871;
_Otello_, 1887; _Falstaff_, 1893.

1813. =A. S. Dargomizhsky= (Toula). Is of considerable
importance in the development of national Russian opera;
of his works we may mention _The Roussalka_ (1856)
and _The Stone Guest_, only performed three years
after his death, in 1872.

1813. =G. A. Macfarren= (London). So well known
as a theorist; essayed many operas, of which
_Robin Hood_ was the most successful. Other
of his works are _The Devil’s Opera_ and
_Helvellyn_.

1813. =E. J. Loder= (Bath). Was an English writer
of operas, the best of which is the _Night
Dancers_ (1846).

1814. =Emma Albertazzi= (London). An English
prima donna who married an Italian. She sang in
all the chief houses of opera, but was a poor and
indifferent actress.

1814. =W. V. Wallace= (Waterford). Is known to all
by his tuneful, if ordinary, _Maritana_. He
wrote better works, and his _Lurline_ may be
mentioned.

1815. =G. Hippolyte Roger= (Saint-Denis). Was a
great French tenor, for whom Ambroise Thomas,
Auber, Clapesson and others wrote operas. He
unfortunately lost an arm, and had to give up the
stage.

1817. =Carlo Pedrotti= (Verona). Wrote Italian
operas, of which mention may be made of _Tutti
in Maschera_ and _Il Favorito_.

1817. =Aimé Maillart= (Montpellier). Won the Grand
Prix de Rome, and wrote operas which had some
measure of success.

1817. =Francesco Lamperti= (Savona). A great
teacher of singing, whose pupils include Albani,
Mariani, and Shakespeare.

1818. =C. F. Gounod= (Paris), 1818-93. Besides the
evergreen _Faust_ (1859), Gounod’s other
successes include _The Mock Doctor_,
_Philémon and Baucis_, _Mireille_, and
_Romeo and Juliet_, all of which are often heard.

1818. =J. Sims Reeves= (Woolwich). In his palmy
days was often heard in opera, the tenor parts
of many melodious operas in favour at the time
exactly suiting his methods and style.

1818. =A. N. Serov= (Petersburg). Serov was a
Russian composer who admired and followed Wagner;
his works have their place in the annals of opera
in his country.

1819. =Jacques Offenbach= (Cologne). A prolific
composer of some seventy specimens of opera bouffe
and operetta; in light works such as these he
achieved almost unexampled success, and enjoyed
immense popularity.

1820. =Jenny Lind= (Stockholm). This name is
fresh in the memory of all, although its gifted
possessor went the way of all flesh some thirty
years ago. As a singer she commanded universal
admiration, while as a woman she was looked up to
and respected by all. Her triumphs in operatic
soprano parts were such as to be seldom equalled.

1820. =Franz von Suppé= (Spalato). Was the German
equivalent of Offenbach—a prolific writer of
comic opera.

1821. =C. A. F. Echert= (Potsdam). Wrote an opera
at the age of ten, and others at a later date. He
won more fame, however, as a conductor, holding
important posts in this capacity at Paris, Vienna,
and Berlin.

1821. =M. F. P. Viardot-Garcia= (Paris). A
young sister of Malibran, attained considerable
celebrity as a singer and actress; she appeared
not only in works of the Rossini school, but in
the operas of Meyerbeer, Gluck, and others.

1821. =Italo Gardoni= (Parma). Was a tenor singer
of repute, who to a considerable extent took the
place of Mario; he sang frequently in London.

1822. =Apolloni.= Was an Italian composer who
wrote operas upon the early Verdi model, achieving
one great success in _L’Ebreo_.