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diff --git a/34302.txt b/34302.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..37f407f --- /dev/null +++ b/34302.txt @@ -0,0 +1,2206 @@ +Project Gutenberg's The Operatic Problem, by William Johnson Galloway + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Operatic Problem + +Author: William Johnson Galloway + +Release Date: November 12, 2010 [EBook #34302] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE OPERATIC PROBLEM *** + + + + +Produced by Barbara Kosker and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was +produced from images generously made available by The +Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries) + + + + + + + + + + THE OPERATIC PROBLEM + + + + + By + + W. JOHNSON GALLOWAY, M.P. + + + + + [Illustration] + + + + + London + John Long + 6 Chandos Street, Strand + 1902 + + + + +Preface + + +Last autumn, having to speak at an organ recital given by my friend Mr +Clegg, I took the opportunity of giving what encouragement lay in my +power, to the Corporation of my native town, in an endeavour they had +made during the summer months to provide suitable music in the various +parks throughout the city. To my great surprise that speech was quoted +in journals, of all shades of opinion, in the country, and brought me +also a vast correspondence. + +A copy of the speech will be found at the end of this book. + +As I have long desired that Opera should be placed within the reach of +those, whose purses are not able to bear the strain of the high prices +charged in England, and having some leisure before Parliament met this +year, I made inquiries regarding the various systems of running Opera on +the Continent of Europe. I obtained a vast mass of most interesting +information. How to make the best use of that information was my +difficulty. It was much too bulky to compress into the narrow limits of +a magazine article, and besides, much of it had no peculiar interest for +us in this country. + +My chief desire was to put it before the public in a form that would +arouse interest in the subject. Also, I realised that this information, +however valuable, was like the desert, in its unwieldy form, and without +any attempt to outline the conclusion to which it led. So after much +trepidation of thought I determined to run the gauntlet and march right +up to the cannon's mouth with a scheme of my own for the establishment +of a system for National Opera in this country. + +This little book is the result of my efforts, and though I do not +pretend that it offers a complete solution of the question, still less +that it gives a _coup de grace_ to the schemes of those who have trodden +the same path before me, I do hope it may help to call into existence +some plan for the foundation of Opera upon a popular basis. + +To my critics--and many I shall have--I venture to say that, however +much they disagree, they should remember I lay no claim to completeness, +and I will gladly welcome any suggestions thrown out with a real desire +to perfect my very imperfect ideas. + +But there are two forms of criticism I wish to meet in advance. + +The first is the criticism of those, who will say it is useless hoping +to get public money for a luxury, whilst the nation is engaged in a +costly war. I frankly and freely admit the force of such criticism, but +I would urge in reply that a proposal like mine has far to travel, +before it takes its final shape, and one cannot hope to get Parliament +to take the matter up until the subject has been fully ventilated in the +country. And although at such a time our first thoughts should be given +to those who are fighting our battles in the field, surely no harm, and +possibly much good, may come from considering how we can deal with the +social problems which confront us. + +The second form of criticism is perhaps more easily met, namely, the +criticism of those who look upon all theatres and opera houses as +vicious and _contra bonos mores_. This battle was fought by Moliere in +the seventeenth century. Prescott, in his delightful essay on Moliere, +tells us what difficulties that author had to face at the beginning of +his career on these very grounds. The clergy, alarmed at the then +rapidly-increasing taste for dramatic exhibitions, openly denounced the +theatre as an insult to the Deity, and Moliere's father anticipated in +the calling his son had chosen no less his spiritual than his temporal +perdition. Yet who is there to-day who will deny that Moliere helped to +correct the follies of his age, by exposing them to ridicule? And if in +providing National Opera for the people, we can assist in the higher +education of the community, we may well ask those who object on the +grounds I have named, to remember that "there is no felicity upon earth +which carries not its counterpoise of misfortunes," and that the evils +they fear are not inherent only to the stage, but also exist in almost +every other walk of life. + + + + +[Illustration] + +The Operatic Problem + + +Opera has, since its origin, been considered the highest form of +theatrical pastime. The very appellation "opera" indicates that in the +land of its birth it was looked upon as the "work" _par excellence_, and +to this day it is the form of Art which is invariably honoured by +exalted patronage, and one that people pay the most to enjoy. It is +hardly necessary to advance documentary evidence in support of this +assertion; moreover, it is beyond the scope of this book to marshal all +the historical facts. My chief consideration will be to deal with the +prospect of National Opera in England, and to take the existing state of +things as the basis for future action. But some retrospect showing that +the originators of opera understood its importance, and knew admirably +how to define its scope, may prove interesting. + +The following extract from the preface to Vitali's _Aretusa_, the score +of which is in the Barberini Library, performed in Rome on the 8th of +February 1620, is worth quoting in corroboration of the statement:-- + +"This style of work (opera) is a new style, born a few years ago at +Florence, of the noble intelligence of Messer Ottavio Rinuccini, who, +dearly beloved by the Muses and gifted with especial talent for the +expression of passions, would have it that the power of music allied to +poetry, tended rather to gather fresh strength from the combination, +than to suffer diminution in consequence. He spoke of it to Signor +Jacopo Corsi, Maecenas of every merit and most enlightened amateur of +music, proving that the mission of music united to poetry should be not +to smother words with noises, but to help those words to a more eloquent +expression of passion. Signor Corsi sent for Signor Jacopo Perri and +Signor Giulio Caccini, eminent professors of singing and counterpoint, +and after having discussed the subject, they came to the conclusion that +they had found the means for reaching the desired goal. Nor were they +mistaken. It is in this new musical style, the fable of Dafne to the +poem of Signor Ottavio Rinuccini, was composed and performed in Florence +at Signor Jacopo Corsi's, in the presence of the illustrious Cardinal +del Monte, a Montalto, and their most serene Highnesses the Grand Duke +and Grand Duchess of Tuscany. The work pleased them so much that they +were absolutely bewildered (_attonitidi stupore_). This style of music +acquired a still greater number of fresh beauties in _Euridice_, a work +by the same authors, and then in _Ariadne_, by Signor Claudio +Monteverdi, to-day _Maestro di Capella at Venice_." + +Your modern theorist could hardly express his operatic creed with +greater felicity than the Florentine noble, Ottavio Rinuccini, and the +whole quotation breathes in its quaint phraseology, the spirit of love +for all that is new and beautiful in Art, which gave Italy her hegemony +amongst other nations. + +The operatic spectacle, when first imported into France, was a Court +entertainment for the privileged few, but it soon tempted private +enterprise, and here, again, its importance, as an attraction, was not +underrated, for the first _impressario_, one Pierre Perrin, took good +care to obtain a monopoly for the new style of performances, whilst the +royal _privilege_ (letters-patent), granted to him, sets out their +advantages in unmistakable terms.[A] + +Therein "Louis par la grace de Dieu," etc., concedes to his "ame et feal +Pierre Perrin" the exclusive rights of operatic performances throughout +France, not only that they should contribute to his own recreation, or +that of the public in general, but chiefly in the hope that his +subjects, "getting accustomed to the taste of music, would be led all +but unconsciously to perfect themselves in this the most noble of +liberal arts." (Que nos sujets s'accoustumant au goust de la musique, se +porteroient insensiblement a se perfectionner en cet art, l'un des plus +nobles de liberaux.) These Royal letters-patent were dated 1669, +demonstrating that two hundred and thirty-two years ago France +recognised the educational mission of the art of music, and its +accessibility by the means of opera. + +The taste for this new entertainment grew and spread throughout Europe, +and it is a matter of common knowledge that everywhere the encouragement +and support came from the highest quarters, always having for its object +the benefit of the masses. + +Thus Italy, France, Germany, Austria, Spain, Russia, Sweden, Norway, +Denmark, Greece have their endowed or subsidised theatres; they can +boast of an artistic musical past and operatic tradition, and make a +proud show of creative and interpreting talent for over two centuries. +It is equally well known that the patronage thus accorded, always took +the form of a monetary subsidy granted either by a Sovereign or by a +municipality--at times for a period of years, at others for a specified +occasion, sometimes unconditionally, sometimes under certain +restrictions, now limited to a given figure, then giving the manager +_carte blanche_. The solicitude and favour shown by the State went at +times the length of taking a direct interest in the management of an +opera house, as was the case for a certain period in France. + +England alone in civilised Europe remained indifferent, and took no +active part either in fostering or patronising the new form of art; and +whilst the spirit of emulation was animating other states and nations +towards helping native production, England was satisfied to import +spectacles and performers from abroad, just as she would have imported +any other commodity. True enough, only the best article was brought +over, and the best price paid in the highest market. If one could reckon +up the money thus spent on foreign operatic performances within the last +hundred years, the figures would prove instructive--instructive, that +is, of England's foolhardiness in alienating so much national cash, +without any benefit to the nation, and to the direct detriment of native +talent. For over a century this country has been the happy +dumping-ground of Italian opera and Italian singers and dancers; for +there was a time when a ballet and a _prima ballerina_ were of paramount +importance in an operatic season. Within late years French, Belgian, +German, American, Polish and even Dutch singers have found their +El-Dorado in England. Composers of all nations have found hospitality +and profit. Foreign conductors, _virtuosi_, teachers and chorus-singers +have taken up a permanent abode here, and things have come to such a +pass that one may well wonder whether there is any room at all for an +Englishman, and whether the time has not arrived for a voice to be +raised on behalf of native artists and native art. + +It is not as though native opera had failed to show signs of life. Our +failure to create a body of art comparable with that of Germany, Italy +and France has sometimes been attributed to inherent lack of the +dramatic instinct in music, but that view is contradicted by the +historical facts. From the time of Purcell, whose operatic genius is +beyond question, neither the impulse to write on the part of musicians +nor the capacity to appreciate on the part of the public has been +lacking. We find throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, +breaking through the stifling influence of exotic art, an irrepressible +tendency towards the creation of a purely native form of opera. Again +and again English or British composers returned to the task with +significant, if temporary, success. The list is surprisingly large and +almost continuous down to the present day. It includes many forms of +art, some of which have no pretension to a high standard, but the one +thing common to them all is the yearning towards some sort of musical +drama which they exhibit. This is seen in nothing more plainly than in +the "ballad operas" of the eighteenth century, which were inaugurated by +the immensely popular _Beggar's Opera_ in 1728, only some thirty years +after Purcell's flourishing period. A string of ballads took the public +by storm when thrown into a dramatic setting. Arne's ambitious project +of building up in the middle of the century an English operatic school +to rival the Italians in their own domain indicates an instructive +confidence in the forces of his day. It failed not so much from lack of +support as from active opposition on the part of those undying enemies +of the unaccustomed, who play the game of follow-my-leader like a flock +of sheep. They did it then. They do it now. + +This failure did not deter Arne's successors from freely following their +own operatic bent, in the earlier and less ambitious style. The +agreeable and distinctive national talent of Dibdin, Arnold, Linley, +Shield, Horace, Hook, Braham and many others found expression in a host +of musically set plays, which hugely delighted the public. English +musicians received encouragement and responded to it. The 1809 English +Opera House produced a quantity of works, and at the same time Drury +Lane and Covent Garden offered a field of activity to Bishop, who was a +born operatic composer of charming and original gifts. To this period +belongs Balfe, who may be said to mark its culmination. The _Siege of +Rochelle_, his first opera, was brought out at Drury Lane in 1835, and +the _Bohemian Girl_, his most successful one, in 1843 at the same +theatre. This opera has been before the public for nearly sixty years, +and is still enjoying the undiminished favour of popular audiences. +Wallace's _Maritana_, which belongs to the same period, is also very +much alive to this day. Barnett's _Mountain Sylph_ (1834) and Loder's +_Night Dancers_ (1846) met with as much success and lasted as long as +four out of five contemporary Italian works, and they were only amongst +the most prominent of a number of native operas, called forth in this +period of sunshine and received with appreciation. + +This period passed away, and has not been renewed. The promise held out +by Carl Rosa, an _impressario_ of enlightenment and enterprise, almost +amounting to genius, was baulked by his premature death, and the +patriotic effort embodied, in the theatre which is now the Palace Music +Hall ended in worse than failure. That well-meant but disastrous venture +was the heaviest blow that English opera has ever received, for it cast +the shadow of hopelessness over the whole enterprise in the eyes of the +public in general and the theatrical and musical world in particular. +Naturally perhaps, but most unjustly. + +For the general disappointment and disillusion attending the failure of +_Ivanhoe_ the critics were largely to blame in holding out expectations +which could not be realised; the thing was doomed to eventual collapse +from the outset. It started, it is true, with an unparalleled +advertisement and amid universal good wishes; it commanded popular and +fashionable patronage alike, and every adventitious attraction was +provided with a lavish hand. But it lacked the essential elements of +real success, and had to fight against insuperable difficulties. In the +first place, the stage was far too small for grand opera, which moves in +a large way, requiring large spaces. The principal characters must stand +out clear, with abundant room for movement and gesture on a heroic +scale. If they are huddled or crowded up against the chorus--which also +requires ample space--the action is confused and leaves an impression of +futility. The effect is gone. This might not altogether prevent +enjoyment of a familiar work by audiences accustomed to small theatres, +but it ruins the chances of a new piece conceived on a larger scale, and +presented in London to playgoers accustomed to more adequate boards. The +stage at the ambitious New Opera House was so small, and the +foreshortening so excessive in consequence, that in the opening scene of +_Ivanhoe_ Cedric and his guests actually sat at meat in Rotherwood Hall +with their knees above the table, producing a ludicrous effect. And yet +the piece was projected on the most pompous scale, with tournament, +siege, fire, solemn trial, battle, murder and sudden death--in short, +all the details that require the most ample spaces. The reporters were +told, of course, that the stage was the largest in Europe, and they may +possibly have believed it. At any rate, they told the public so. They +ought to have known that _Ivanhoe_ had no chance so cramped and huddled +together. + +The second obstacle was the counterpart of an inadequate stage--to wit, +an overloaded book. There were too many principal characters. They +cluttered up the stage, got in each other's way and distracted attention +from the main action. A skilful novelist can dispose of a great many +characters in one story; a skilful dramatist can put fewer but still a +good many into one play, because they are able to explain themselves +quickly and by-play is admissible. In grand opera it is otherwise. The +characters move on a higher emotional plane; they express themselves in +prolonged phrases and accents enlarged beyond the manner of speech, +consequently they require more time and space. It must all be simple, +large and clear. There must be no distraction of interest; to have +several persons of equal importance is fatal. No musician could have +made a successful opera of such a book as _Ivanhoe_. The talent, skill +and experience of Sullivan did not fail to produce some agreeable +numbers, but they failed most egregiously to make grand opera. A +perpetual sense of disappointment pervaded the piece; it never rose to +the height demanded by the situation, save when that was comic, and +occasionally the failure was absolutely painful. The music kept trying +to soar, but was all the time chained by the leg. The reason is obvious. +You cannot serve two masters, nor can a man who has devoted a life to +light musical composition, suddenly command the powers which can only be +won by toil, and tribulation, and faithful devotion to a high ideal. To +crown this fabric of shortcomings, the management committed the folly of +running _Ivanhoe_ every night. No masterpiece could have stood a test of +this kind. And it was thus, with this single unfortunate specimen, that +English opera was to be established. Let no one be cast down by this +failure. We may rather point to the attempt, to the widespread interest, +and to the eager if ill-founded hopes that accompanied it, as signs of +vitality. They indicate the existence of a demand, while the recurrent +efforts of recent, and of still living composers--of Goring, Thomas, +Corder, Stanford, Cowen, Mackenzie, M'Cunn and De Lara--prove that the +dramatic instinct has not departed from British composers, and that it +is not hopeless to look for a supply in answer to the demand. The seed +only needs systematic encouragement, and intelligent cultivation to bear +fruit. I firmly believe that the time is ripe for such encouragement to +come from an official sphere; in other words, I advocate State +intervention in the matter, and the establishment of a subsidised +national opera house on the lines successfully adopted in other +countries. And that we may profit by the experience of others, let us +examine how continental nations fare under the aegis of State-aided Art. + +Italy, Germany and France present the most characteristic instances, and +I will take a bird's-eye view of the operatic machinery in them, +beginning with Italy. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[A] Here is an extract of this _privilege_:--"Nous avons au dit +Perrin, accorde et octroye, accordans et octroyons par les presentes +signees de notre main la permission d'etablir en notre bonne ville de +Paris et autres de nostrec Royaume, des Academies composees de tel +nombre et qualite de personnes qu'il avisera, pour y representer et +chanter en public des opera et representations en musique et en vers +francais, pareilles et semblables a celles d'Italie. Et pour +dedommager l'Exposant, des grands frais du'il conviendra faire pour +les dites Representations, tant pour les Theatres, Machines, +Decorations, Habits qu'autres choses necessaires; nous luy permettons +de prendre du public telles sommes qu'il avisera et a cette fin +d'etablir des gardes et autres gens necessaires a la porte des lieux +ou se feront les dites Representations; Faisant tres expresses +inhibitions et defences a toutes personnes de quelque qualite et +condition qu'elles soient, _mesme aux officiers de nostre Maison d'y +entrer sans payer, et de faire chanter de pareils opera ou +Representations en musique et en vers francais_ dans toute l'entendue +de nostre Royaume pendant douze annees sans le consentement et +permission du dit exposant, a peine de dix huit mil livres d'amende," +etc., etc. + + + + +Italy + + +There are about five hundred theatres in Italy, and quite one half of +these have seasons of opera at various times of the year. The +traditional Italian operatic season begins on the 26th December of each +year at San Stefano Day, and is called the Carnival Season; then follows +Quaresima or Lent Season and Primavera or Spring Season--altogether some +five months of opera. Besides these there exist (_stagioni di fiere_) +short seasons of one or two weeks' duration, at the time of certain +famous fairs. There are autumn seasons, and sporadic performances at +fashionable summer and bathing resorts. I am quite within strict +probability in asserting that in Italy two hundred odd theatres are +devoted to opera the whole year round. These theatres may be briefly +divided into two classes--municipal and private ones. The latter are run +very much on the same lines as private theatres anywhere else, and do +not come within the scope of my consideration. + +The State does not interfere in any way with Italian theatres, and such +help as these receive comes either from municipalities, or especially +formed associations of institutions linked by common interest with the +working of a theatre. But the principle of such help is always that of +an act performed for the public good, or, as it is officially termed, +_per ragioni di pubblica utilita_, and it naturally takes the form of a +monetary subsidy. This suesidy varies according to the importance of the +theatre, the rank of the city, the prospects of the season, and its +grant is altogether opportunistic and at times arbitrary. In the +majority of Italian theatres boxes are proprietary, and the +_palchettisti_ (box-holders) have a direct interest and a vote of some +weight in the prospective arrangements of a season. The _impressario_ +desirous of running an operatic theatre must submit his prospectus to +the box-holders at the same time he submits it to the municipality from +which he wishes to obtain his contract, and of course, his subsidy. A +theatrical board (_Commissione Teatrale_), composed of local +authorities, and box-holders examines the prospectus, and if the +decision is unfavourable another plan has to be submitted by the same +man, or another aspirant, or perhaps the _Commissione_ has a scheme of +its own. As a rule, stipulations comprise either a novelty or a +favourite opera, called in this case "obligatory" (_opera d'obbligo_), a +ballet, or simply a specified number of performances. The length of the +season varies from eight days (_stagione di fiera_) to two months, the +repertory may consist of one opera or twenty, whilst the figure of the +subsidy is anything between L20 and L8000. The average, however, is +three operas for a medium season of one month--one obligatory, one _di +repiego_ (for a change) and another, _da de Stinarsi_ (to be selected), +at the choice of the _impressario_ or in accord with the _Commissione_. +Five performances weekly are the orthodox number, Mondays and Fridays +being recognised as days of rest. + +If an agreement is arrived at, the _impressario_ is put in possession of +the theatre for the period stipulated, and sets about running his +season. He is given but the bare building and seats; he has to provide +scenery, costumes, orchestra and chorus in addition to his company of +artists. Sometimes orchestra and chorus are local institutions, and +there are small places in which the conductor is an _employe_ of the +municipality engaged for a period of years to play the organ in church, +teach music at schools, conduct open-air concerts and also the operatic +season. In such a case a part of the subsidy, equivalent to all the +salaries, is retained to guard against accidents, or else a sum is set +apart for that purpose out of a deposit lodged by the _impressario_ with +the _Commissione_ or the municipality. + +The budget of the manager depends on the subsidy and the subscription, +in which box-holders must perforce participate owing to the system of +_ingresso_ or entrance ticket--a system which consists in charging so +much (a uniform price, as a rule) for entrance in addition to the price +of your ticket. _Ingresso_ simply gives you the right to standing room, +or you may join some friends in a box of theirs; and this method has +been devised in view of the _palchettisti_, whose boxes would otherwise +prove a profitless asset. The _palchettisti_ subscribe to the +_ingresso_, and the general public to seats and _ingresso_ combined. But +the _impressario_ does not get his subscription until he has given +one-half of the stipulated performances. There is a further perquisite, +called _adobbo_, in some southern Italian theatres--the Naples San +Carlo, for instance--which brings in a goodish sum of money, and +consists in charging two francs for attendance in every box. Judging +from the name _adobbo_, it must be a relic of a time when attendance +comprised some kind of "fixing" you up in your box. It is nothing of the +sort to-day, and I am unable to explain why, after having paid for your +box and _ingresso_, you are charged for the _adobbo_, which seems to me +first cousin to the obnoxious _petit banc_ in French theatres. Besides +these two elements, subvention and subscription, the _impressario_ has +also the resource of raising the prices of seats, and entrance tickets +how, and when, he pleases during the season, the fluctuation affecting, +however, non-subscribers only. As a rule, the opening night of the +season, and the production of a novelty are generally singled out for +the adoption of this device; but, naturally enough, your manager has +recourse to the measure, whenever an opera of his proves a sure draw, +and results, just as much as customs, are there to justify the +expedient. Should, however, the public fail to respond, the prices are +lowered with the same alacrity with which they were raised. Thus you may +have to pay L4 for your stall, say, at La Scala, day after day, or you +may see on Wednesday for 5 francs (4s.) a performance you would have had +to pay 100 francs (L4) for had you bought your ticket on Monday. + +This principle pervades the uses and customs of the Italian theatrical +world, and is applicable to the letting of scores by publishers, who, +untrammelled by such institutions as the Societe des Auteurs in France, +or special laws as in Spain, can charge what they please for the hire of +band parts and scores. There is nothing to prevent the publisher of +_Lucia di Lammermoor_ from letting the music of the opera for 50 francs +(L2) to an _impressario_ at Vigevano and charging 20,000 francs (L800) +to another who produces it, say, at the Argentina of Rome, with Melba in +the title-role. + +The music publisher in Italy has a unique position amongst publishers, +but quite apart from this, he enjoys so many prerogatives as to be +almost master of the operatic situation in that country. He can put what +value he pleases on the letting of the score he owns, and has the +absolute right over the heads of the Theatrical Board to reject artists +already engaged, including the conductor. He can take exception to +costumes and scenery and withdraw his score as late as the dress +rehearsal. + +This is called the right of _protesta_. It does not follow that such +right is exercised indiscriminately, spitefully or frequently, but it is +sufficient that it exists, and what between the _Commissione Teatrale_, +the _palchettisti_ and the publisher, the _impressario_ in Italy is not +precisely on a bed of roses. Still, in spite of such impedimenta, +Italian opera flourished for well-nigh two centuries, and Italian +singers, repertory and language were considered all but synonymous with +every operatic enterprise, during that period. This ascendency lasted as +long as proper incentives for development of the art were steadily +provided by responsible bodies; in other words, so long as the great +theatres of Italy--La Scala at Milan, San Carlo at Naples, Communale at +Bologna, Apollo at Rome, Fenice at Venice, Carlo Felice at Genoa, Raggio +[transcriber: Regio?] at Turin, Pergola at Florence, etc.--were in +receipt of regular subventions. But political and economical changes in +the country turned the attention of public bodies towards other +channels, and the radical tendencies of most municipalities went dead +against the artistic interests of the country. In spite of warnings +from most authoritative quarters, the opposition, towards subsidising +what was wrongly considered the plaything of the aristocracy grew apace, +and the cry became common that if dukes and counts, and other nobles +wanted their opera, they should pay for it. Subsidies were withdrawn +here, suspended there, cut short in another place, and altogether +municipal administration of theatres entered upon a period the activity +of which I have already qualified, as opportunistic and arbitrary. In +vain did a great statesman, Camillo Cavour, argue the necessity of +maintaining at all costs, the time-honoured encouragement, and help to +pioneers of the Italian opera, bringing the discussion to an absolutely +practical, if not downright commercial, level. "I do not understand a +note of music," said he, "and could not distinguish between a drum and a +violin, but I understand very well that for the Italian nation, the art +of music is not only a source of glory, but also the primary cause of an +enormous commerce, which has ramifications in the whole world. I believe +therefore that it is the duty of the Government to help so important an +industry." The municipalities remained obdurate, and the start of their +short-sighted policy coincided with the gradual decadence of Italian +opera, until this form of entertainment lost prestige, and custom with +the best of its former clients, England, Russia and France. We know how +things on this count stand with us. In Russia, Italian opera, formerly +subsidised from the Imperial purse, was left to private enterprise, and +all available funds and encouragement transferred to national opera +houses; whilst in France the reaction is such, that even the rare +production of an Italian opera in one of the French theatres is +tolerated and nothing more. + + + + +Germany + + +The organisation of theatres in the German Empire is quite different and +widely different the results! Let us take only the Court theatres +(Hoftheater), such as the opera houses of Berlin, Munich, Dresden, +Wiesbaden, Stuttgart, Carlsruhe and Darmstadt in Germany, those of +Vienna and Prague in Austria, and the municipal theatre of Frankfort. + +These theatres are under the general direction of Court dignitaries, +such as H.E. Count Hochberg in Berlin and H.S.H. Prince von Lichtenstein +in Vienna, and under the effective management of Imperial "Intendants" +in Vienna and Berlin, a Royal "Intendant" at Munich, Dresden, Wiesbaden, +Stuttgart and Prague, Grand-Ducal at Carlsruhe and Darmstadt, and +municipal at Frankfort. + +The "Intendants" do not participate either in the risks or profits of +the theatre, but receive a fixed yearly salary varying between 20,000 +and 30,000 marks (L1000 to L1500). They have absolute freedom in the +reception of works, the engagements of artists, the selection of +programmes and repertory, and are answerable only to the Sovereign, +whose Civil List provides the subsidy, balances accounts, and +contributes to the settling of retiring pensions of the _personnel_. + +The Berlin Opera House receives a yearly subvention of 900,000 marks, or +L45,000. + +The Vienna Opera House has 300,000 florins (about L25,000) for a season +of ten months. The deficit, however, if any, is made good from the +Emperor's Privy Purse. + +The King of Saxony puts 480,000 marks (L24,000) at the disposal of Count +Intendant Seebach. It is interesting to note that in 1897 only 437,000 +marks were actually spent. The orchestra of the Dresden Opera House does +not figure in the budget, its members being Royal "servants" engaged for +life and paid by the Crown. + +At Munich it is the same, the orchestra being charged to the Civil List +of the Regent of Bavaria. The cost is 250,000 marks (L12,500), and a +similar sum is granted to Intendant Possart for the two theatres he +manages (Hof and Residenz). The season lasts eleven months. + +Wiesbaden comes next with a subvention of 400,000 marks, (L20,000) +granted by the Emperor of Germany as King of Prussia. The season is of +ten months' duration. + +The Court Theatre at Stuttgart is open for ten months, and the Royal +subvention to Baron von Putlitz, the Intendant, is 300,000 marks +(L15,000). + +The same sum is granted by the Grand Duke of Baden to the Carlsruhe +theatre for a season of ten months. + +The subvention of Darmstadt is only 250,000 marks (L12,500), the season +lasting but nine months. + +The States of Bohemia grant a sum of 180,000 florins (L15,000 odd) to +the theatres of Prague for a season of eleven months. 100,000 florins +(L8000 odd) of this sum are destined for the National Tcheque Theatre. + +Frankfort, as an ancient free city, does not enjoy the privileges of +princely liberality, and has to put up with municipal help, which +amounts to a yearly donation of 200,000 marks (L10,000) for a season of +eleven months, and then the Conscript Fathers contrive to get one-half +of their money back by exacting a duty of 30 pfennigs on every ticket +sold. A syndicate, with a capital of L12,500, has been formed to help +the municipal institution.--Mr Claar. + +The chief advantages of Court theatres consist in a guarantee against +possible deficit, and freedom from taxes; and this enables the +Intendants to price the seats in their theatres, in a manner which makes +the best opera accessible to the most modest purse. The prices of stalls +in German theatres vary between 3 and 6 marks or 3 to 4 florins. (3s. to +6s. or 7s). Other seats are priced in proportion, and a considerable +reduction is made in favour of subscribers. These are simply legion, and +at Wiesbaden the management have been compelled to limit their number. + +The table below, shows at a glance the price of stalls in some of the +chief German theatres. I give the average figure, the price varying +according to the order of the row. + + Vienna 4 fls. (about 7s.) + Berlin 6 mks. (6s.) + Munich } + Wiesbaden } 5 mks. (5s.) + Frankfort } + Prague (Nat. Th.) 3 fls. (about 5s.) + " (German Th.) 2.50 (about 4s.) + Dresden } 4 mks. (4s.) + Stuttgart } + Darmstadt 3.50 (3s. 6d.) + Carlsruhe 3 mks. (3s.) + +The subscriptions are divided into four series, giving each the right to +two performances weekly, but of course anyone can subscribe for more +than one series. A yearly subscription comprises--at Berlin and Prague, +280 performances; at Vienna, 260; at Munich, 228; at Wiesbaden, 200; +and at Frankfort, 188. To subscribers the prices of stalls are as +follows:-- + + Vienna 3 fls. 7 kr. (6s.) + Wiesbaden 5 mks. (5s.) + Berlin 4.50 (4s. 6d.) + Frankfort 3.51 (3s. 6d.) + Munich 3.47 (3s. 6d.) + Darmstadt 2 mks. (2s.) + Prague 1 florin (1s. 9d.) + +These figures suffice to prove the colossal benefit princely patronage +and subvention bestow on the theatre-goer, in putting a favourite +entertainment within the reach of the masses. Moreover, the German +opera-goer is catered for both in quality and quantity. + +As regards quality, he has the pick of the masterpieces of every school, +nation and repertory. Gluck, Spontini, Cherubini, Auber, Herold, +Boieldieu, Mozart, Beethoven and Weber hobnob on the yearly programmes +with Wagner, Verdi, Mascagni, Puccini, Giordano and Leoncavallo, to cite +a few names only. As regards quantity, the following details speak for +themselves--I take the theatrical statistics for the year 1895-1896:-- + +The Berlin Opera House produces 60 various works--52 operas and 8 +ballets. + +The Vienna Opera House 74 works--53 operas and 21 ballets. + +The New German Theatre at Prague--45 operas, 11 light operas and two +ballets. + +The Frankfort Theatre--60 operas, 11 operettes, 4 ballets and 13 great +spectacular pieces. + +At Carlsruhe--47 operas and 1 ballet. + +At Wiesbaden--43 operas and 6 ballets. + +At Darmstadt--48 operas, 2 operettes and 5 ballets. + +At Hanover--37 operas. + +At the National Theatre, Prague--48 operas and 6 ballets. + +At Stuttgart--53 operas and 5 ballets. + +At Munich--53 operas and 2 ballets. + +At Dresden--56 operas, 5 ballets and 4 oratorios. + +These are splendid results of enterprise properly encouraged, and I am +giving only a fraction of the information in my possession, for there +are no less than ninety-four theatres in Europe, where opera is +performed in German, and of these seventy-nine are sufficiently well +equipped to mount any great work of Wagner's, Meyerbeer's, etc. + +Most of these theatres produce every year one new work at least, and +thus the repertory is constantly renewed and augmented. + +Every German theatre has attached to it a "choir school," where girls +are admitted from their fifteenth year and boys from their seventeenth. +They are taught _solfeggio_ and the principal works of the repertory. +The classes are held in the early morning, so as not to interfere with +the pursuit of the other avocations of the pupils; but each receives, +nevertheless, a small yearly salary of 600 marks (L30). These studies +last two years, and during that time the pupils have often to take part +in performances, receiving special remuneration for their services. When +they are considered sufficiently well prepared, they pass an +examination, and are appointed chorus-singers at a salary of 1000 to +1800 marks (L50 to L90) a year, and are entitled besides to a special +fee (_Spielgeld_) of 1s. 6d. to 2s. 6d. per performance for an ordinary +chorus-singer, and 2s. to 5s. for a soloist. If we reckon that a +chorus-singer, can take part on an average in some 250 performances in a +year, at an average fee of, say, 2s. each, we find that his income is +increased by a sum of L25, a very decent competence. Nor is this all. In +the smallest German towns, in the most modest theatres, there exist +"pension funds" for all theatrical artists and _employes_. These funds +are fed:-- + + (1.) By a yearly donation from the Sovereign's Privy Purse. + + (2.) By retaining from 1 per cent. to 5 per cent. on the + salaries of members. + + (3.) From benefit concerts and performances. + + (4.) From all kinds of donations, legacies, fines, etc. + +At Stuttgart the King takes charge of all the pensions, except of those +of widows and orphans, who are provided for from another fund. + +At Munich the King furnishes the original capital with a sum of 200,000 +marks (L10,000), and to-day the fund has over 1,000,000 marks at its +disposal. Eight years' service entitles a member to a full pension. + +At Prague six years' service gains a pension, but the average period +throughout Germany is ten years. + +There are scores of additional points of great interest, in connection +with the working of German subsidised theatres. The above suffices, +however, for the purpose of showing the immense advantage of a system of +State-aided Art, a system that might serve as a model to a country about +to embark on similar enterprises. I will add one detail more. There +being no author's society in Germany, as in France, the theatrical +managers treat with music publishers direct for the performing rights of +scores which they own. The old repertory costs, as a rule, very little, +and the rights of new works are charged generally from 5 per cent. to 7 +per cent. on the gross receipts. Moreover, band parts and scores are not +hired, as in Italy, but bought outright, and remain in the library of +the theatre. + + + + +France + + +In France the State intervenes directly in theatrical matters in Paris +only, subsidising the four chief theatres of the capital--to wit, the +Opera, the Opera Comique, the Comedie Francaise and the Odeon. + +In the provinces theatres are subsidised by municipal councils, who vote +each year a certain sum for the purpose. The manager is appointed for +one year only, subject to his acceptance of the _cahier des charges_, a +contract embodying a scheme of stipulations devised by the council, and +imposed in return for the subsidy granted. The least infraction of the +conditions laid therein brings its penalty either in the way of a fine +or the forfeit of the contract. The subsidies vary according to the +importance of the town, the theatres of Lyons, Bordeaux and Marseilles +being the three best endowed. Less favoured are places like Rouen, +Lille, Nantes, Dijon, Nancy, Angers, Reims, Toulouse, etc., and, though +the Chamber of Deputies votes every year in the Budget of Fine Arts a +considerable sum for the provinces, the subsidy is not allotted to +theatres, but to conservatoires, symphonic concerts and orpheonic +societies. Two years ago a Deputy, M. Goujon, obtained in the Chamber +the vote of a special grant for such provincial theatres as had +distinguished themselves by producing novelties. But the Senate threw +out the proposal. + +It is not, however, as if the Government of the Republic were +indifferent to the fate of the provincial theatres or their progress in +the field of operatic art. But worship of Paris on one side, and a +dislike to decentralisation on the other, are responsible for the fact +that all efforts are directed towards one channel, namely, the four +before-named Parisian theatres. Of these, naturally enough only the +opera house will engage my attention, or more precisely one alone, the +Grand Opera House, _La Theatre National de l'Opera_, there being little +practical difference between the working of that and of the younger +house, the _Theatre de l'Opera Comique_. + +A few words, following chronologically the various stages through which +the Paris Opera House has passed since its origin, may prove of +interest, and serve to indicate how untiring has been the care of +successive Governments over the fortunes and the evolution of the +operatic problem in France. + +It will be remembered that Pierre Perrin was the possessor of the first +operatic privilege granted by Louis XIV. in 1669. Hardly had he been +installed when Lulli began to intrigue against his management, and +having learnt that the profits of the first year amounted to over +120,000 livres, he had no rest until he obtained, through the influence +of Mme. de Montespan, the dismissal of Perrin and obtained the post for +himself. In fifteen years his net profits amounted to 800,000 livres! + +He was succeeded by his son-in-law, Francine, who held the privilege +with various fortunes until 1714, the King intervening more than once in +the administration. In 1715 the Duc d'Antin was appointed _Regisseur +Royal de l'Academie_ by letters-patent of the King, who up till then +considered himself supreme chief of his Academy. + +In 1728 the management passed into the hands of Guyenet, the composer, +who in turn made over the enterprise, for a sum of 300,000 livres, to a +syndicate of three--Comte de Saint-Gilles, President Lebeuf and one +Gruer. Though their privilege had been renewed for thirty years, the +King, Louis XV., was obliged to cancel it owing to the scandal of a +_fete galante_ the syndicate had organised at the Academie Royale, and +Prince de Carignan was appointed in 1731 _inspecteur-general_. A captain +of the Picardy regiment, Eugene de Thuret, followed in 1733, was +succeeded in 1744 by Berger, and then came Trefontaine, whose management +lasted sixteen months--until the 27th of August 1794. All this was a +period of mismanagement and deficits, and the King, tired of constant +mishaps and calls upon his exchequer, ordered the city of Paris to take +over the administration of his Academy. At the end of twenty-seven years +the city had had enough of it, and the King devised a fresh scheme by +appointing six "Commissaires du Roi pres la Academie" (Papillon de la +Ferte, Mareschel des Entelles, De la Touche, Bourboulon, Hebert and +Buffault), who had under their orders a director, two inspectors, an +agent and a cashier. But the combination was short-lived, lasting barely +a year. In 1778 the city of Paris made one more try by granting a +subvention of 80,000 livres by a Sieur de Vismos. + +In 1780 the King took back from the city the operatic concession--we +must bear in mind it was a monopoly all this time--appointing a +"Commissaire de sa Majeste" (La Ferte) and a director (Berton). + +In 1790 the opera came once more under the administration of the city, +and during the troublous times of the Revolution changed its name of +Academie Royale to that of _Theatre de la Republique et des Arts_. + +By an Imperial decree of the 29th of July 1807 the opera came under the +jurisdiction of the first Chamberlain of the Emperor, whilst under the +Restoration the Minister of the King's Household took the +responsibilities of general supervision. One Picard was appointed +director under both _regimes_, and was succeeded by Papillon de la Ferte +and Persius. Then followed the short management of Viotti, and in 1821 +F. Habeneck was called to the managerial chair. + +The Comte de Blacas, Minister of the King's Household, became +superintendent of Royal theatres, and after him the post was occupied by +the Marquis de Lauriston, the Duc de Doudeauville and the Vicomte +Sosthenes de la Rochefoucauld. Habeneck was replaced by Duplantis, who +took the title of Administrator of the Opera. The administration of M. +de la Rochefoucauld cost King Louis Philippe 966,000 francs in addition +to the State subvention, and an extra subsidy of 300,000 francs derived +from a toll levied in favour of the opera on side shows and fancy +spectacles. This was in 1828, and in 1830 the King, finding the +patronage of the opera too onerous for his Civil List, resolved to +abandon the theatre to private enterprise. Dr Veron offered to take the +direction of the opera house, at his own risk, for a period of six years +with a subsidy of 800,000 francs, and, with the exception of a period of +twelve years (1854-1866), the administration of the opera was included +in the duties of the Master of the Emperor's Household. Both the subsidy +and the principle of private enterprise have remained to this day as +settled in 1830. Before then, for 151 years, French opera had enjoyed +the patronage and effective help of the Sovereign, or the chief of the +State, very much on the same system as obtains at the present day in +Germany.[B] + +Dr Veron had as successors, MM. Duponchel, Leon Pillet, Nestor +Roqueplan, Perrin, Halanzier, Vaucorbeil, Ritt and Gailhard, Bertrand +and Gailhard, and finally Pierre Gailhard, the present director of the +Theatre National de l'Opera. + +The present relations in France between the State and the director of +the opera are as follows:-- + +The Paris Opera House, like all other theatres in France, and for the +matter of that all institutions in the domain of Art in that country, is +under the direct control and dependence of the Minister of Fine Arts, +who has absolute power in appointing a director, in drawing up the +_cahier des charges_, in imposing certain conditions and even in +interfering with the administration of the theatre. The appointment, +called also the granting of the _privilege_, is for a number of years, +generally seven, and can be renewed or not at the wish or whim of the +Minister. The _cahier des charges_, as already stated, is a contract +embodying the conditions under which the _privilege_ is granted. Some of +these are at times very casuistic. As regards interference, one can +easily understand how a chief can lord it over his subordinate if so +minded. It is sufficient to point out the anomaly of the director's +position who is considered at the same time a Government official and a +tradesman--a dualism that compels him to conciliate the attitude of a +disinterested standard-bearer of national art with the natural desire of +an administrator to run his enterprise for profit. Let me cite a typical +instance. Of all the works in the repertory of the opera, Gounod's +_Faust_ still holds the first place in the favour of the public, and is +invariably played to full or, at least, very excellent houses, so that +whenever business is getting slack _Faust_ is trotted out as a trump +card.[C] Another sure attraction is Wagner's _Walkuere_. On the other +hand, a good many operas by native composers have failed to take the +public fancy, and have had to be abandoned before they reached a minimum +of, say, twenty performances in one year. Now, when the director sees +that his novelty is played to empty houses he hastens to put on _Faust_ +or the _Walkuere_, but the moment he does it up goes a cry of complaint, +and a reproof follows--"You are not subsidised to play _Faust_ or operas +by foreign composers, but to produce and uphold the works of native +musicians; you are not a tradesman, but a high dignitary in the Ministry +of Fine Arts," and so on. + +At other times, when in a case of litigation, the director wishes to +avail himself of the prerogatives of this dignity, he is simply referred +to the Tribunal de Commerce, as any tradesman. Ministerial interference +is exercised, however, only in cases of flagrant maladministration, and +then there are, of course, directors and directors, just the same as +there are Ministers and Ministers. + +It is needless to go over the whole ground of the _cahier des charges_, +the various paragraphs of which would form a good-sized pamphlet. The +cardinal points of the stipulations between the contracting parties are, +that the director of the Paris Opera House receives on his appointment +possession of the theatre rent free, with all the stock of scenery, +costumes and properties, with all the administrative and artistic +_personnel_, the repertory, and a yearly subsidy of 800,000 francs +(L32,000). + +In return for this he binds himself to produce every year a number of +works by native composers, and to mount these in a manner capable of +upholding the highest standard of art, and worthy of the great +traditions of the house. This implies, among others, that every new work +must be mounted with newly-invented scenery and freshly-devised +costumes, and that in general, no one set of scenery, or equipment of +wardrobe, can serve for two different operas, even were there an +identity of situations or historical period or any other points of +similarity. Thus, if there are in the opera repertory fifty works, +necessitating, say, a cathedral, a public square, a landscape or an +interior, the direction must provide fifty different cathedrals, fifty +different public squares, fifty varying landscapes, etc. The same +principle applies to costumes, not only, of the principal artists, but +of the chorus and the ballet. Only the clothes and costumes of +definitely abandoned works can be used again by special permission of +the Minister of Fine Arts. + +As regards the new works that a director is bound to produce every year, +not only is their number stipulated, but the number of acts they are to +contain, and their character is specified as well. This is in order to +avoid the possible occurrence of a production, say, of two works each in +one act, after which exertion a director might consider himself quit of +the obligation. It is plainly set out that the director must produce in +the course of the year _un grand ouvrage_, _un petit ouvrage_, and a +ballet of so many acts each--total, eight, nine or ten acts, according +to the stipulations. Moreover, he is bound to produce the work of a +_prix de Rome_--that is to say, of a pupil of the Conservatoire, who has +received a first prize for composition, and has been sent at the expense +of the Government to spend three years at the Villa Medicis of the +Academie de France in Rome. Owing to circumstances, the Minister himself +designates the candidates for this _ex-officio_ distinction, guided by +priority of prizes. The director had recourse to this measure through +the fault of the _prix de Rome_ themselves, who, over and over again, +either had nothing ready for him or else submitted works entirely +unsuitable for the house. The Minister's nomination relieves the +director of responsibility in such cases. + +Works of foreign composers produced at the opera, do not count in the +number of acts stipulated by the _cahier de charges_, the respective +paragraphs being drawn up in favour of native composers; nor can any +excess in the number of acts produced in one year be carried over to the +next year. + +Amongst the prerogatives of the Paris opera director, is the absolute +monopoly of his repertory in the capital--works in the public domain +excepted--and the right to claim for his theatre the services of those +who gain the first prizes at the final examinations of the operatic +classes at the Conservatoire. + +Towards the working expenses of his theatre the director has, firstly, +the subvention and the subscription, and, secondly, the _alea_ of the +box-office sales. The subvention of 800,000 francs divided by the number +of obligatory performances gives close upon L170 towards each, and the +subscription averages L400 a night, or L570 as a minimum with which the +curtain is raised, and it is the manager's business to see that his +expenses do not exceed the sum. The "house full" receipts being very +little over L800 at usual prices, the margin is not very suggestive of +huge profits. Indeed, with the constantly rising pretensions of star +artists, spoilt by the English, and American markets, and the fastidious +tastes of his patrons, the Paris opera director has some difficulty in +making both ends meet. Within the last fifteen years the two Exhibition +seasons have saved the management from financial disaster, and this only +by performing every day, Sundays sometimes included. Some fifty new +works by native composers have been produced at the opera since the +opening of the new house in 1876, and six by foreign composers--_Aida_, +_Otello_, _Lohengrin_, _Tannhaeuser_, _Walkuere_, and _Meistersinger_. The +maximum of performances falls to _Romeo et Juliette_, this opera heading +also the figure of average receipts with 17,674 francs (about L507). +Eleven works have had the misfortune to figure only between three and +nine times on the bill. + +Independently of the supervision exercised by the Minister of Fine Arts, +the strictest watch is kept over managerial doings by the Societe des +Auteurs, a legally constituted body which represents the authors' +rights, and is alone empowered to treat in their names with theatrical +managers, to collect the fees, to guard the execution of contracts and +even to impose fines. + +Thus is national art in France not only subsidised and patronised, but +safeguarded and protected. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[B] It may be of interest to note that during this period no less than +543 different works, mostly by native composers, had been produced. +The last opera produced under the old _regime_ on the 3rd of August +1829 was Rossini's _Guillaume Tell_. + +[C] During 1900 _Faust_ was played thirty-nine times to an average +house of 18,397 francs (about L730) in a repertory of twenty-five +operas, and the _Walkuere_ eleven times to an average of 19,417 francs +(about L777). + + + + +The English National Opera House + + +Three factors determine the existence of any given theatre and have to +be considered with reference to my proposed National Opera House, +namely, tradition, custom, and enterprise. + +I have proved we possess an operatic tradition, and as regards custom no +one will dispute the prevalence of a taste for opera. Indeed, from +personal experience, extending over a number of years, I can vouch for a +feeling akin to yearning in the great masses of the music-loving public +after operatic music, even when stripped of theatrical paraphernalia, +such, for example, as one gets at purely orchestral concerts. It is +sufficient to follow the Queen's Hall Wagner concerts to be convinced +that the flattering patronage they command is as much a tribute to the +remarkably artistic performance of Mr Henry Wood, as it is due to the +economy of his programmes. Again, in the provinces, I have observed, +times out of number, crowded audiences listening with evident delight, +not only to popular operas excellently done by the Moody-Manners' +Company, but to performances of _Tristan_ and _Siegfried_, which, for +obvious reasons, could not give the listeners an adequate idea of the +real grandeur of these works. But the love of opera is there, and so +deeply rooted, that, rather than be without it, people are willing to +accept what they can get. + +This much, then, for tradition and custom. + +As regards enterprise in the operatic field, it can be twofold--either +the result of private initiative, working its own ends independently, or +else it is organised, guided, and helped, officially. + +It is under the former aspect that we have known it, so far, in this +country, and as we are acquainted with it, especially in London, we find +it wanting, from the point of view of our special purpose. Not that it +should be so, for the Covent Garden management, as at present organised, +could prove an ideal combination for the furtherance of national art, +were its aims in accordance with universal, and, oft-expressed, desire. +What better can be imagined than a theatre conducted by a gathering +representative of, nobility, fashion, and wealth? + +It is under such auspices that opera originated, and that native art +sprang to life and prospered everywhere; and it is to these one has the +right to turn, with hope and trust, in England. But when wealth and +fashion stoop from the pedestal assigned to them by tradition, and +barter the honoured part of Maecenas for that of a dealer, they lose the +right to be considered as factors in an art problem, and their +enterprise may be dismissed from our attention. For the aim of an opera +house, worthy of a great country like England, should not be to make +most money with any agglomeration of performers, and makeshift +_mise-en-scene_, but to uphold a high standard of Art. + +But the elimination of private enterprise from my scheme is but one more +argument in favour of official intervention, and the experience of +others will stand us in good stead. + +Of the three systems of State subsidised theatres, as set out in my +_expose_ of operatic systems in Italy, Germany, and France, the ideal +one is, of course, the German, where the Sovereign's Privy Purse +guarantees the working of Court theatres, and secures the future of +respective _personnels_. But the adoption of this plan, or the wholesale +appropriation of any one other, cannot be advocated, if only because the +inherent trait of all our institutions is that they are not imported, +but the natural outcome of historical, or social, circumstances. My +purpose will be served as well, if I select the salient features of each +system. + +Thus, in the first instance, admitting the principle of State control in +operatic matters, I will make the furtherance of national art a +condition _sine qua non_ of the very existence of a subsidised theatre, +and performances in the English language obligatory. + +Secondly, I will adopt the German system of _prevoyance_, in organising +old age pensions for theatrical _personnels_. + +Thirdly, I will borrow from Italy the idea of municipal intervention, +all the more as the municipal element has become, of late, an +all-important factor in the economy of our civic life, and seems all but +indicated to take active part in a fresh phase of that life. + +I do not see how any objection can be raised to the principle of these +three points, though I am fully aware of the difficulties in the way of +each; difficulties mostly born of the diffidence in comparing the status +of operatic art abroad, with its actual state in this country. It must +be borne in mind, however, that I am endeavouring to give help to the +creation of a national art, and not promoting a plan of competition with +the operatic inheritance of countries which have had such help for over +two centuries. + +We are making a beginning, and we must perforce begin _ab ovo_, doing +everything that has been left undone, and undoing, at times, some things +that have been, and are being, done. Let me say, at once, to avoid +misapprehension, that I refer here to the majority of the Anglicised +versions of foreign _libretti_. They are unsatisfactory, to put it very +mildly, and, will have to be re-written again before, these operas can +be sung with artistic decency in English. The classes of our great +musical institutions will have to be reorganised entirely, from the +curriculum of education to examinations. This is a crude statement of +the case, the details can always be elaborated on the model of that fine +nursery of artists, the Paris Conservatoire. We must not be deterred by +the possible scarcity of native professors, able to impart the +indispensable knowledge. Do not let us forget that the initial +instructors of operatic art came from Italy to France, together with the +introduction of their new art; but, far from monopolising tuition, they +formed pupils of native elements, and these in turn became instructors, +interpreters, or creators. The same thing will happen again, if +necessary, let us by all means import ballet masters, professors of +deportment, singing teachers, and whoever can teach us what we do not +know, and cannot be taught by our own men. Pupils will be formed soon +enough, and the foreign element gradually eliminated. Do not let us +forget, either, that stalest of commonplaces that "Rome was not built in +a day." + +We are not trying to improvise genii, or make a complete art, by wishing +for the thing, but we are laying foundations for a future architecture, +every detail of which will be due to native enterprise, and the whole a +national pride. To look for immediate results would be as idle as to +expect Wagners, and Verdis, or Jean de Reszkes, and Terninas, turned +out every year from our schools, simply because we have a subsidised +opera house, and reorganised musical classes. + +We are bound to arrive at results, and no one can say how great they may +be, or how soon they may be arrived at. The unexpected so often happens. +Not so many years ago, for example, operatic creative genius seemed +extinct in the land of its birth, and the all-pervading wave of +Wagnerism threatened the very existence of musical Italy, when, lo! +there came the surprise of _Cavalleria Rusticana_, and the still greater +surprise of the enthusiasm with which the work was received in Germany, +and the no less astonishing rise of a new operatic school in Italy, and +its triumphant progress throughout the musical world. Who can say what +impulse native creative talent will receive in this country, when it is +cared for as it certainly deserves? + +The question arises now of the most practical manner in which this care +can be exercised? + +Plans have been put forward more than once,--discussed, and discarded. +This means little. Any child can pick a plan to pieces, and prove its +unworthiness. Goodwill means everything, and a firm conviction that in +the performance of certain acts the community does its duty for reasons +of public welfare. I put more trust in these than in the actual merit of +my scheme, but, such as it is, I submit it for consideration, which, I +hope, will be as seriously sincere, as the spirit in which it is +courted. + +I would suggest that the interests of the National Opera House in +London, should be looked after by a Board under the supervision of the +Education Department, the members of the Board being selected from among +the County Councillors, the Department itself, and some musicians of +acknowledged authority. + +The enlisting of the interest of the Educational Department would +sanction the theory of the educational mission of the venture; the +County Council comes into the scheme, for financial and administrative +purposes; the selection of musicians needs no explanation, but a proviso +should be made that the gentlemen chosen, have no personal interest at +stake. + +As I said before, we have to begin at the beginning, and so the duties +of the Board would be:-- + + 1. The building of a National Opera House in London. + + 2. The drawing up of a schedule of stipulations on the lines + of the French _cahier des charges_ regulating the work of + the theatre. + + 3. The appointment of a manager. + + 4. The supervision of the execution of the stipulations + embodied in the schedule. + + 5. The provision of funds for the subsidy. + +As to the first of these points, I do not at all agree with those who +wish every new opera house constructed in servile imitation of the +Bayreuth model. Such a theatre would only be available for operatic +performances of a special kind, but the structure of the auditorium +would result in the uniformity of prices which goes dead against the +principle of a theatre meant for the masses as well as for the classes. + +All that I need say here is, that our National Opera House should be +built in London, and according to the newest inventions, appliances and +most modern requirements. + +As regards the second point, enough has been said about describing +foreign systems to show how a schedule of stipulations should be drawn +up, when the time comes. + +Concerning the appointment of a manager, it goes without saying that the +director of our National Opera House must be an Englishman born and +bred, and a man of unimpeachable commercial integrity and acknowledged +theatrical experience. Such a selection will make the task of the Board +in supervising the work an extremely easy one. + +The provision of funds is the crucial point of the scheme. Before going +into details, let me appeal to the memory of the British public once +more, praying that it will remember that every year some L50,000 or +L60,000 of national cash is spent in ten or twelve weeks to subsidise +French, German and Italian artistes in London. It is but reasonable to +suppose that if an authoritative appeal for funds on behalf of National +Opera were made, at least half of this money would be forthcoming for +the purpose. And so I would advocate such an appeal as the first step +towards solving the financial problem of my scheme. Secondly, there +would have to be a _first_ Parliamentary grant and an _initial_ +disbursement of the County Council funds, all towards the building of +the opera house. It is impossible to name the necessary sum; but one can +either proceed with what one will eventually have, or regulate +expenditure according to estimates. + +The house once built and the manager appointed, both Parliamentary and +County Council grants will have to be renewed every year, the sum-total +being apportioned to the probable expenses of every performance, the +number of performances and the length of the operatic season. The best +plan to follow here would be to have a season of, say nine or ten +months, with four performances a week. + +The manager would receive the house rent free, but should on his side +show a working capital representing at least half the figure of the +annual subsidy, and, further, lodge with the Board a deposit against +emergencies. Considering the initial expenses of the first management, +when everything, from insignificant "props" to great sets of scenery +will have to be furnished in considerable quantities, there should be no +charges on the manager's profits in the beginning, for a year or two. +But later on, 10 per cent. off the gross receipts of every performance +might be collected, one part of the proceeds going towards a sinking +fund to defray the cost of the construction of the house, and the other +towards the establishment of a fund for old age pensions for the +_personnel_ of the opera house. + +A further source of income that would go towards indemnifying the +official outlay might be found in a toll levied on the purchaser of 2d. +in every 10s. on all tickets from 10s. upwards, of 1d. on tickets +between 5s. and 10s., and of 1/2d. on all tickets below 5s. I would make +also compulsory a uniform charge of 6d. for every complimentary ticket +given away. + +It is well-nigh impossible in the present state of my scheme to go into +details of figures, especially concerning the official expenditure. But, +as figures have their eloquence, we may venture on a forecast of such +returns as might be reasonably expected to meet the outlay. I take it +for granted that our opera house will be built of sufficient dimensions +to accommodate an audience of 3000, and arranged to make an average of +L700 gross receipts (subvention included) per performance possible. +Taking the number of performances in an operatic season at 160 to 180, +four performances a week in a season of nine or ten months, we get a +total of receipts from L112,000 to L126,000, or, L11,200 to L12,600, +repaid yearly for the initial expenses of the subsidising bodies, as per +my suggestion of 10 per cent. taken off the gross receipts. The toll +levied on tickets sold should average from L1446, 13s. 4d. to L1650 +annually, with an average audience of 750 in each class of toll for each +performance: altogether between L12,646 and L14,250 of grand total of +returns. From a purely financial point of view, these might be +considered poor returns for an expenditure in which items easily figure +by tens of thousands. But, in the first instance, I am not advocating a +speculation, and secondly, there are other returns inherent to my +venture, one and all affecting the well-being of the community more +surely than a lucrative investment of public funds. The existence of a +National Opera House gives, first of all, permanent employment to a +number of people engaged therein, and which may be put down roughly at +800 between the performing and non-performing _personnel_. Such is, at +least, the figure at all great continental opera houses. + +In Vienna, the performing _personnel_, including chorus, orchestra, +band, ballet, supers and the principal singers, numbers close upon 400. +Then follows the body of various instructors, regisseurs, stage +managers, repetiteurs, accompanists, etc., then come all the stage +hands, carpenters, scene-shifters, machinists, electricians, +scenographers, modellers, wig-makers, costumiers, property men, +dressers, etc., etc., etc., and on the other side of the footlights +there are ushers, ticket collectors, and the whole of the +administration. Thus one single institution provides 800 people not only +with permanent employment but with old age pensions. Nor is this all. +The proper working of a large opera house necessitates a great deal of +extraneous aid and calls to life a whole microcosm of workers, trader +manufacturers and industries of all kinds. + +Let us take here the statistics for the city of Milan to better grasp my +meaning. The figures are official, and are taken from a report presented +to the municipality some time ago, and prove there is a business side of +vital importance attached to the proper working of the local subsidised +theatre, La Scala. The following are the items of what they call _giro +d'affari_, or, in paraphrase, of "the operatic turn-over," and all are +official figures. + + The receipts of La Scala represent + during the season the + sum of 1,300,000 fr. (L52,000) + + Out of which a _personnel_ of + 816, exclusive of principal artistes, + receive salaries. + + There are in Milan eleven + operatic agencies transacting + every year an average of 300,000 + francs' (L12,000) worth of + business, or altogether 3,300,000 fr. (L132,000) + + There are nine theatrical newspapers + with an average income + of 15,000 francs (L600) each, or + altogether 135,000 fr. (L5,400) + + Taking only the nineteen + principal singing and ballet + masters, and putting down their + earnings at the modest sum of 6000 + francs (L240) each, we get a total of 114,000 fr. (L4,560) + + The chief theatrical costumiers + alone, four in number, return an + average business of 80,000 francs + (L3200) each, or 320,000 fr. (L12,800) + + Theatrical jewellers, property + makers, hose manufacturers, + armourers, scene-painters, may + be put down for 250,000 fr. (L10,000) + + The theatrical and artistic + population in Milan, year in, + year out, averages 3000 persons, + and may be divided into three + classes of 1000 persons each, + according to their expenditure. + + Say 1000 persons spending + 4000 francs (L160) each, + which makes 4,000,000 francs + (L160,000); 1000 persons spending + 1000 francs (L40,000); + 1000 persons spending 800 francs + (L32), which makes 800,000 + francs (L32,000), a total of 5,800,000 fr. (L232,000) + + The pianoforte dealers let + about 400 instruments every + year at 12 francs a month 57,800 fr. (L2,312) + + Taking into account only + eight of the opera companies + (Monte Video, New York, + Caracas, Santiago, Madrid, + Buenos Ayres, Rio and Lisbon) + engaged in Milan, and selected + exclusively from Italian artistes, + we get a total of 25,525,000 fr. (L1,021,000) + + Adding all these together, we + get a grand total of 36,801,800 fr. (L1,472,072) + + +Very nearly a million and a half sterling turned over in operatic, +business in one city. And there are scores of minor items, all sources +of profit, that have to be neglected. But I must point out that no +less than 1745 families derive employment and a regular income from +the theatrical industry of Milan. It is quite true that the capital of +Lombardy enjoys a position which is unique not only in Italy but in +the whole world, as the chief operatic market, and there is nothing +that indicates this artistic centre is likely to be shifted, much less +to London than anywhere else. But it would be interesting to know how +much English money goes towards the fine total of the Milanese +operatic turn-over. There is no reason why we should not have our +twenty odd trades, as in Milan, and at least 1745 households whose +material existence would be definitely secured through their +association with a National Opera House. If I am not writing in vain, +our results should be infinitely greater, differing from continental +ones as a franc or a mark differs from a pound sterling. And should +the great provincial towns follow the lead of London, entrusting their +municipalities with the creation and organisation of opera houses, if +Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Sheffield, +Bradford, Dublin, Hull, Southampton, Plymouth, Wolverhampton, etc., +will turn a part of their wealth towards promoting a scheme of the +greatest importance to the art of the nation; if all that goes to +foreign pockets for foreign art is used for patriotic purposes--then +England will be able to show an operatic turn-over worthy of her +supremacy in other spheres. For every Italian household living on +opera we will have ten, and prosperity will reign where, so far, art +and an artistic education have brought only bitter disappointment. I +am writing of "Music as a profession" in England. The multiplication +of our music schools seems to be accepted as a great matter of +congratulation, and we are perpetually hearing the big drum beaten +over the increasing number of students to whom a thorough musical +education has been given; but who asks what becomes of them all? +Oft-met advertisements offering music lessons at 6d. an hour are +perhaps an answer. It would be profitless to pursue this topic, but +all will agree that it is far better to sing in an operatic chorus at +30s. or L2 per week than be one of the items in a panorama of vanished +illusions and struggling poverty, the true spectacle of the singing +world in London. + +The establishment of National Opera in England, putting artistic +considerations aside, presents the following material and commercial +advantages, viz., provision of permanent employment for artisans, +mechanics, workmen and manual labourers; an impulse to various special +industries, some developed, some improved, others created; an +honourable occupation to hundreds kept out, so far, from an exclusive +and over-crowded profession, and a provision for old age. In other +words, the solution of the operatic problem in England might prove a +step towards the solution of a part of the social problem. + +That my scheme for the establishment of an English National Opera +House is perfect, I do not claim for a moment. That my plans might be +qualified as visionary and my hope of seeing a national art called to +life through the means I advocate considered an idle dream is not +unlikely. + +But my conviction in the matter is sincere, and I can meet the +sceptics with the words of the old heraldic motto which apologises for +the fiction of a fabulous origin of a princely house: _etiamsi fabula, +nobilis est_. + + + + + OPERA FOR THE PEOPLE + + + + + Opera for the People + + + _The ceremony of opening a new organ, the gift of + Mrs Galloway, was performed by Mr W. Johnson + Galloway, M.P., in the City Road Mission Hall, Manchester, + on Friday evening, September 6, in the presence + of a crowded gathering. A Recital was given by Mr + David Clegg._ + + _Mr Galloway, M.P., who took the chair, in opening + the proceedings, said_:--On an occasion such as this, it + will not, I am sure, be deemed superfluous if I take a + brief bird's-eye view of the history of music, and in a--comparatively + speaking--few sentences trace its progress + towards the position it now holds among the arts of + modern life. Music, in one form at least, has been with + us since the creation of man, for we may reasonably + believe that in his most elementary stage, he discovered + some vocal phrases which gave him a certain rude + pleasure to repeat, or chant, in association with his + fellows. Travellers, who have penetrated the confines of + remote and savage countries, have told us of the curious + chanting of their inhabitants when engaged in what, to + them, were their religious and festal celebrations; and as + we cannot conceive man in a more primitive condition, we + may take it, that in prehistoric times there was a limited + melodic form, which afforded that peculiar delight to the + savage mind, that the glorious polyphonic combination of + to-day, give to the cultured races of Eastern and Western + civilisation. + + Our slight knowledge of the art, in its early state we + owe to such records, as have been handed down to us + from that which may be termed the golden era of civilisation + in Egypt. Long before the sway of the Ptolemies--ages + before Cleopatra took captive her Roman Conqueror--music + formed not only an indispensable part in + religious and State functions, but entered largely into the + social life of the people, and of this there is indisputable + evidence in the hieroglyphics and carvings, to be found + on the seemingly imperishable monuments, which the researches + of archaeologists have revealed to the knowledge + of man. + + Of ancient Hebrew music we do not know much, but + we may assume, that during the Captivity they learned not + a little from their Egyptian masters, although it does not + appear--judging from the harsher and more blatant + character of their instruments--that they attained the + degree of refinement achieved by the Egyptians. It + would seem, from the many allusions contained in the + Bible, that the Jews were more particularly attracted + towards the vocal, rather than the instrumental, side of + the art. Many a familiar biblical phrase will probably + crop up in our mind. The psalms that are sung during + Divine Service teem with such references. "O sing unto + the Lord a new song," "How shall we sing the Lord's + song in a strange land?" are sufficient to illustrate my + meaning, and among the daughters of Judea such names + as Miriam, Deborah, and Judith, are especially known to + us for their accomplishment in the vocal art, and as + examples of the manner, in which it was cultivated by + the women of Israel. + + Among the ancients, however, the Greeks most assuredly + had the keenest perception and appreciation of the beauties + and value of music. In the Heroic age it played a + significant part in their sacred games, and for a man to + acknowledge an ignorance of the principles of musical + art, was to confess himself, an untutored boor. In the + great tragedies of Sophocles and Euripides it figured + largely both vocally and instrumentally, and, even as the + Welsh have their Eisteddfod, so the classic Greeks had + their competitions, in which choirs from various cities + strove for vocal supremacy and the honours of prize-winners. + + That other great race of ancient times which fattened + on the spoils of Europe and Asia--I refer to the Romans--treated + the art with less concern, and employed it in + a cruder form at the celebration of their victories and + Bacchanalian revels. They did little or nothing to foster + or develop it, although it is said that one of their most + famous--or perhaps it would be better to say infamous--rulers + was so devoted to music, that he fiddled while + his capital was burning. But we may reasonably have + our doubts as to Nero's claim to rank as the Sarasate of + his time, for although he made public appearances as a + virtuoso in his chief cities, and challenged all comers to + trials of skill, the importance of his recorded victories is + somewhat diminished, by the fact, that his judges were + sufficiently wise in their generation, to invariably award + him the honour of pre-eminence. It is a prudent judge + who recognises a despotic Emperor's artistic--and other--powers. + + With the dawn of Christianity came a new era in + the art, and in the 4th century, we find that a School + of Singing was established at Rome, for the express + purpose of practising and studying Church music. It + was not, however, until another couple of centuries had + elapsed, that the sound of music based on definite laws + was heard beneath an English sky. You have to travel + back in mind to that memorable procession of devoted + monks, which, under the leadership of the saintly + Augustine, wended its way into the little city of Canterbury, + singing its Litany of the Church, and startling + Pagan Britain with its joyful alleluia. Slowly, very + slowly, the art progressed, but four more centuries were + to pass before it was established on anything like a true + scientific basis, and it is such men as Hucbald, a Flemish + monk, Guido D'Arezzo and Franco of Cologne who + laid the foundation of our whole system of polyphonic + music. + + Before, however, I touch on that broader expanse, the + era of the Flemish School, which began to attain noteworthy + prominence in the early years of the 15th century, + it would be as well, perhaps, to dwell for a few moments + on the history of the noble instrument which is the cause + of our foregathering here to-day. In a very early chapter + in the Book of Genesis we are told that Jubal was "the + father of all such as handle the harp and the organ," and + therefore he ranks in history as the first teacher of + music. It is commonly asserted, that the emoluments + of the modern organist do not come well within the + designation of "princely," and, judging from the limited + population in those Adamite days, we may well assume + that Jubal's living was almost as precarious as those worthy + Shetland Islanders who depended for their subsistence + on washing one another's clothes. With wise forethought, + however, Jubal's brother had devoted himself to engineering. + "He was the instructor of every artificer in brass and + iron," and therefore, we may conclude there was money + in the family, and that the man of commerce was generous + to the man of music, even as we of to-day are ever + ready to respond to the demands for assistance, on behalf + of our local choral societies, and musical organisations. + But it must not be supposed, that the organ presided over + by Jubal bore any resemblance whatever, to the stately + instrument, which will now voice its glorious tone within + these walls, for the first time in public. The primitive + organ of mankind has its present-day affinity in the + charming instrument, which, in the hands and mouth of a + precocious juvenile, has such a powerful and stimulating + effect on the cultivated ears and sensitive nerves of the + modern amateur. + + It is not possible for me to go into any detail, with + regard to the slow and marvellous development of that + triumph of human skill, which is truly known as the king + of instruments. From those simple pieces of reed, cut + off just below the knot, which formed the pipes of the + syrinx, to the complicated, elaborate and perfect machinery + which is hidden beneath the organ case there, is the same + degree of difference, as there is between the rough-hewn + canoe of the savage, and the wonderful perfection of the + liners, which run their weekly race across the broad + Atlantic. It was not until the end of the 11th century, + that the first rude steps were taken towards the formation + of the modern keyboard; then it was that huge keys or + levers began to be used, and these keys were from 3 + to 5 inches wide, 1-1/2 inches thick, and from a foot and + a half to a yard in length. Nevertheless, even the + organ of the 4th century had its impressive powers, if + we may place reliance on words attributed to the + Emperor Julian, the Apostate, who wrote: "I see a + strange sort of reeds; they must, methinks, have sprung + from no earthly, but a brazen soil. Wild are they, nor + does the breath of man stir them, but a blast leaping + forth from a cavern of ox-hide, passes within, beneath + the roots of the polished reeds; while a lordly man, the + fingers of whose hands are nimble, stands and touches + here and there, the concordant stops of the pipes; and + the stops, as they lightly rise and fall, force out the + melody." + + And in its growth, as in the growth of young children, + the organ has had its share of infantile vicissitudes. Even + as late as the 13th century it lay under the ban of + the ecclesiastics, and was deemed too profane and scandalous + for Church use. Again, in 1644, Parliament issued an + ordinance which commanded "that all organs and the + frames and cases wherein they stand in all Churches and + Chappells aforesaid shall be taken away and utterly defaced, + and none other hereafter set up in their places." "At + Westminster Abbey," we are told, "the Soldiers broke + down the organs and pawned the pipes at several Ale + Houses for pots of Ale." It is difficult to understand this + opposition to the organ, more especially as David in the + last of his psalms enjoined the people "to praise God + with stringed instruments and organs." True, indeed, Job, + in one of his most pessimistic moods, placed it on record + that "the wicked rejoice at the sound of the organ," but + evidently Job had no soul for music--was so unmusical, + in fact, that he is worthy to be associated with a certain + eminent divine of the English Church, whose musical + instinct was so deficient that he only knew "God Save the + Queen" was being sung by the people rising and doffing + their hats. + + Before touching upon that scientific development of + the art, which, broadly speaking, began with the advent + of the Flemish School and reached its culminating point + within the rounded walls of Bayreuth, we may well give + a moment's consideration to those melodies, which travelled + their unwritten way through the early Middle Ages, and + which we know, by the few examples that have come down + to us, to have been racy of the soil that gave them birth; + the folk song of the country is more characteristic of its + people, of their temperament and psychology, than any + other attribute of their national existence. We, in England, + have little enough to point to in this way; in a sense + there is nothing peculiarly individual in our music as a + whole. But with the old melodies of Ireland, that ever + seem to tremble between a tear and a smile, and in the + quaint pathos of Scotland's airs, and the well-defined + beauty of typical Welsh songs, we recognise the true + speech of the heart and the outpouring of the natural man. + Germany is still richer in its folk music, and the Pole + and the Russian, the Hungarian and the Gaul, can each + point to a mine of original melody which has provided + latter-day composers with the basis of their most beautiful + works. Nor must the importance of the Troubadours + and Minnesingers be overlooked in reference to this + interesting phase of musical art. They it was who kept + alive and spread abroad the traditional songs of the people, + and by their accomplishment actually worked as an + educational force on the people themselves. Readers of + Chaucer will bear in mind many an allusion to the minstrel's + art of his period, and well through the Norman and + Plantaganet epochs. + + "With minstrelsy the rafters sung, + Of harps, that from reflected light + From the proud gallery glittered bright + To crown the banquet's solemn close, + Themes of British glory rose; + And to the strings of various chimes + Attemper'd the heroic rhymes." + +To the Flemish, or Netherland School of music we owe an art system, that +exercised a potent influence on every form of composition, and +counterpoint was the especial study of its followers, until, as +invariably happens, technical skill was regarded with a greater degree +of favour than genuine inspiration. But the School unquestionably +produced a vast number of very fine masses, motets, and much fine +service music. Then from Belgium the musical spirit travelled to Italy, +and before the 16th century had fulfilled half its appointed course, the +powers of Palestrina had indelibly stamped Italian art, and his genius +had elevated the ecclesiastical music of the age, to the lofty standard +of its associations. Then such musicians came to mind as Monteverdi and +Carissimi, the latter of whom made clear the path, for those great +writers of oratorio, whose names we hold in such reverence, and whose +works we love with such unwavering devotion. + +German art was late in the field, and correspondingly slow in the +earlier stages of its development; thus we owe it little as a pioneer +in the art. But when the Teuton burst upon the world in all his +greatness, he first came in the colossal personality of John Sebastian +Bach, and then followed Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven, to be succeeded by +others, who were well qualified to take unto themselves the mantles of +their predecessors. Perhaps, however, I have done early German art some +injustice, for it must not be forgotten, that to the era of the great +Reformation, we owe those Lutheran chorales, such as the famous _Ein' +feste Burg_, which were as effective in stirring and encouraging the +rank and file of the reformers, as were the thrilling words of Luther, +and his earnest and enthusiastic fellow-workers. And it was due to the +custom of accompanying these chorales, that Germany owned, before the +end of the 17th century, the finest school of organists in Europe. + +English music has always leaned more towards the sacred, than the +secular side of the art. The names of Marbecke, Thomas Tallis, Byrd, +Farrant, Gibbons, Lawes, Blow and Purcell are known to every choir-boy +and village chorister. Their anthems and chants are part and parcel of +the musical programme of every parish church, and the fine example, set +by these Elizabethan and Stuart writers has been well followed, by +Croft, Weldon, Boyce, and nearer, and belonging to our own times, +Wesley, Goss and Sullivan. And it is the sacred in music, which to-day +makes the strongest appeal to the heart of the English nation. In the +congregational singing in churches, in the overwhelming attention which +an English audience will bestow on such an oratorio as the _Messiah_, we +realise that a chord is struck, which vibrates through the whole of our +being, which lifts us into a state of semi-exultation, and moves us like +the words of some great statesman. I will not discuss the question, of +whether a drama or an opera has most power over its audience, but I will +fearlessly affirm, that apart from the drama there is no art that has +the same soul-stirring influence, as the art of music. The simple +harmonies of our Anglican hymns suffice for the untaught peasant, and +the broad sweep of a Handelian chorus holds captive musical amateurism. +But there is a music that reaches to higher heights, embraces within its +sphere a wider domain, and goes deep down into the mysteries of +nature--into the abysses of the soul; but such music is an open book +only for the musical student. It lives. It exists. It swells through the +length and breadth of the land; and year by year its influence +increases, its power becomes more dominant, and its glowing beauties +more vividly appreciated. People are beginning to comprehend the +wondrous message, sent to us by such composers as Ludwig Beethoven, and +Richard Wagner. They are beginning to understand the voice of that most +marvellous of all instruments--more marvellous than the organ itself, +for its keyboard is human brains, and its stops are human hands. I mean +the modern orchestra. The world's finest music has been written for that +instrument; the divinest melodies have been given it to interpret, and +the most significant factor in the English art life of the present is +the growing enthusiasm with which music, in its highest and most +abstract form and beauty, is listened to, by those who, in political +phraseology, are summed up in that terse and comprehensive expression +"The Masses." + +I look with much greater confidence to music, than I do to Parliament, +for the means of preventing crime and intemperance--indeed, as one of +the most permanent cures of all vice and discontent. Much has been done +in later years by local authorities, towards enabling the public to have +within easy and reasonable reach such music as can be provided by bands +and local orchestra. But this is only the beginning. I trust the day may +not be far distant, when local authorities will see their way to +providing at cheap prices the best of operas, as is done so largely on +the Continent of Europe. We rightly and wisely provide libraries, +technical schools, and many other forms of instructive recreation, but +why are we in England to lag behind other countries in providing that +most instructive form of entertainment--namely, opera. I have never +known a true lover of music who was not a good citizen. And what a +preventive against idleness, the cause of so much crime. Once produce +opera at a price which all can afford to pay to hear, and can anyone +doubt, that many a man and woman will choose it, in preference to an +evening in a public-house or a music-hall. I never remember listening to +an opera, however poor or badly performed, that I have not gained some +strength with which to continue the desperate struggle of the battle of +life--which is very much more than I can say, for instance, for speeches +in the House of Commons. He who loves music has a servant at his command +which will ever render him willing and delightful service; he who loves +music brings himself into subjection, to one of the most elevating and +purifying influences of civilisation, and he who loves music and will +practise it, becomes a valuable and agreeable factor in the social life +of the community. There are no selfish restrictions in music. The +painter must keep himself to his canvas, and the actor to his stage, but +singers and instrumentalists have a standing in the humble parlours of +the poor, and in the luxuriously-upholstered drawing-rooms of the rich; +they have a coign of vantage in the choir stalls of churches and on the +platforms of concert halls. Music offers her favours alike to the modest +reader of the Tonic Sol-fa Notation, and to the pianist who can master +the difficulties of the Beethoven Sonatas. The chorus singer enjoys the +same measure of gratification as the leading soloist, and the student +with his score in his hand is just as great a king as the conductor. + +In speaking briefly on such a vast and interesting subject, one must +necessarily leave volumes unsaid that ought to be said. I have but +casually touched on the beginnings of musical art, and the utmost I can +hope for is that I have succeeded in arousing some degree of curiosity +in the minds of those, who have shown but little regard for musical +literature, and which will have the effect of ultimately leading them to +devote more of their time and attention to good musical performances. + + +_Colston & Coy. Limited, Printers, Edinburgh._ + + + + + +-----------------------------------------------+ + | Transcriber's Note: | + | | + | Typographical errors corrected in the text: | + | | + | Page 9 Manteverde changed to Monteverdi | + | Page 14 snnshine changed to sunshine | + | Page 31 threatre changed to theatre | + | Page 45 Othello ochanged to Otello | + | Page 75 genuis changed to genius | + | Page 75 Monteverde changed to Monteverdi | + +-----------------------------------------------+ + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Operatic Problem, by William Johnson Galloway + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE OPERATIC PROBLEM *** + +***** This file should be named 34302.txt or 34302.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/3/4/3/0/34302/ + +Produced by Barbara Kosker and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was +produced from images generously made available by The +Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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