CHAPTER VI.
THE OPERAS OF GLUCK AND THE GREAT COMPOSERS.
Gluck and his masterpieces—Mozart—Beethoven—Weber and romantic opera—_Der Freischütz_—Other operas—Schubert—Opera writing a distinct form of composition—The small influence of the really great composers upon opera.
The methods of Christoph Willibald Gluck, and his influence upon all that came after him, have already been touched upon. Unlike the operas of Monteverde, the works of the later reformer still hold the boards, and therefore a little consideration to these may now be given, seeing that they influenced the composers of all schools and of every nationality.
We may safely ignore the many works written on old methods and produced during the first forty years of the composer’s life; they are practically as obsolete as those of Monteverde. But those written under the strong convictions forced upon him by comparative failure in England are of great importance, and are interesting, not only for the models they set to others, but also for the beauty and worth of the musical ideas which they contain.
Those that have the greatest claim to notice have the following titles:—
_Orfeo_ (1762), produced in Vienna. _Alceste_ (1767) ” ” _Paris and Helen_ (1769), produced in Vienna. _Iphigenia in Aulide_ (1772), produced in Paris. _Armida_ (1777), produced in Paris. _Iphigenia in Tauride_ (1779), produced in Paris.
[Sidenote: =Gluck’s Masterpieces=]
Of these works, the famous story of Orpheus and Euridice has perhaps the most dramatically beautiful musical setting, and is more often heard than are the other operas; be it borne in mind, however, that even in this masterpiece there is much that sounds antique both in method and in form; this is of necessity the case, when one considers the date at which Gluck wrote and the comparatively backward state of the art of music in the mid-eighteenth century.
Gluck’s type of melody may be discerned from the following quotation:—
The commencement of the famous Aria, “Che faro,” from Gluck’s “Orfeo.”
[Music]
Che faro senza Euridice! dove andro senza il mio ben? Che faro dove andro, Che faro senza il mio ben.
[Sidenote: =Mozart, 1756-91=]
Gluck, even in his later works, never reached the height of musical technique that was attained to by a young and glorious composer who was his contemporary for thirty years—almost the whole of his short life. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart had other models to guide him, for the works of Grétry, Piccini, Sacchini, Benda, Cimarosa, and others were known to him, and in his scores we find a summing up of, and an improvement upon, all operatic music previously penned.
Mozart handles the orchestra in a more modern and a vastly more masterly way than any of his predecessors; his operas, too, deal with such a variety of subject that they show infinitely more resource and diversity of treatment than those of Gluck, which were all written on the “grand” model. We feel that we have to do with men and women, creatures of flesh and blood, and not with far-away, shadowy classic shapes, whose appeals to our sympathies must naturally be less vivid. His melodies, too, of round, full outline, possess a richness of expression and a warmth that is not always discernible in the older master; and in addition we have vivacity, charm, and piquancy in the lighter scenes which had no place in the products of the more severe school. Two examples of Mozart will serve to illustrate his style. The first shows him in a lyrical mood,
A fragment of a Mozart “Canzone,” “Voi Che Sapete” (The Marriage of Figaro).
[Music]
Voi, che sapete che cosa è amor, Donne, vedete s’io l’ho nel cor.
while the second gives us the composer in more dramatic guise.
The famous passage from Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” when the Commandant appears.
[Music]
Don Giovanni, by thee invited, Here behold me, as thou’st directed.
Mozart’s most successful operas are:—
_Idomeneo_ (produced at Munich, 1781). _Die Entführung aus dem Serail_ (produced at Vienna, 1782). _Le Nozze di Figaro_ (produced at Vienna, 1786). _Don Juan_ (produced at Prague, 1787). _Die Zauberflöte_ (produced at Vienna, 1791).
These, the most popular of which are _The Marriage of Figaro_ and _Don Juan_, are written, for the most part, in the then prevalent Italian style. German opera, as a distinct national product, was not yet born, and although Mozart’s _Magic Flute_ was a step in this direction, it is his Italian works that raise his name to so high a pinnacle in the temple of operatic fame. The bright and sparkling _Figaro_ is to be heard in every country and in many languages, while its more sombre companion, _Don Juan_, with its highly dramatic and noble music, is even more widely performed.
[Sidenote: =Beethoven, 1770-1827=]
Beethoven, with his solitary opera, _Fidelio_, produced in Vienna, 1805, is a landmark. Although Italian in form to a great extent, this work shows tendencies towards that school of romantic thought which was so soon to become the characteristic feature of the best period of German opera; the music, carefully wrought and intrinsically beautiful, makes large appeal to the emotions; although in reality only a “Singspiel,” there being spoken dialogue, it is generally classed with grand opera, its music being so noble and dignified. An example of the greater modernity of Beethoven’s style may be seen in the subjoined passage.
Adagio opening of Beethoven’s “Leonora,” Overture No. 3, introducing the theme of Florestan’s Air in Act III.
[Music]
[Sidenote: =Weber, 1786-1826=]
Romantic opera (_i.e._, opera in which the influence of the romance school of literature, as opposed to the classic, is felt) owes its prominence in the first place to Carl Maria von Weber. The music of such operas differs from that of the more classical models in its greater richness of harmony, its more remote and poignant use of discords, its sudden and unexpected turns of modulation, and its more picturesque orchestration. Although there are many suggestions of romantic opera before his day, it is to Weber that the credit of the foundation of this school of composition is, as a rule, usually ascribed. With his wonderfully beautiful work, _Der Freischütz_, he led the way into a vast, and as yet comparatively unexplored field; other composers were ready enough to follow him, but his leadership is unquestionable.
[Sidenote: “=Der Freischütz=”]
The opera _Der Freischütz_ lent itself particularly to the new mode of treatment: its story deals with the weird and the supernatural, and thus seems to demand a form of treatment distinct and different from that accorded to the calm and stately libretti of the older schools of opera. In his setting of this story, Weber made slight use of the conventional Italian methods; it is a German opera, pure and simple, with constant reference to the Volkslieder, and a noticeable absence of the stereotyped conventionalities of Aria and Ensemble.
Here is a short illustration from the famous “Incantation Scene”:—
Fragment from the Incantation Scene of “Der Freischütz.”
[Music]
Ere descends tomorrow’s sun, deeds of darkness will be done, u-hu-i, u-bu-i, u-hu-i.
(_The clock strikes twelve in the distance._)
CASPAR (_speaking through the music_): “Zamiel, by the wizard’s skill appear! Zamiel, hear me, hear!”
[Sidenote: =Other Operas=]
_Der Freischütz_ was produced in Berlin in 1821. Like so many other of the finer old operas, it is a “Singspiel,” but for all that it still holds the boards, although modern taste in serious opera now prefers the continuous use of one means of expression—namely, music. It is almost the only opera of Weber’s that is ever heard, for _Euryanthe_, produced in Vienna in 1823, and _Oberon_, produced in London in 1826, in spite of their beautiful music, are unfortunately so poor from the dramatic point of view as to be almost intolerable, while the earlier operas previous to _Der Freischütz_ do not show the composer at his best.
In Weber, whose one great work has had an untold influence upon operatic composers, we meet the last of the great masters (from an operatic point of view) until Wagner. Schubert, Schumann, and Mendelssohn were all so versatile that they achieved some success in opera; but it must be confessed that for any abiding result their work has had, they might not have composed such works at all. Lesser stars in the musical firmament, such as Spontini, Marschner, and Meyerbeer, have had greater and wider reaching influence in this particular branch of musical art.
[Sidenote: =Schubert, 1797-1828=]
This is partly owing to the fact that these three mighty men of music were of a non-dramatic nature: Schubert more often turned to the stage than did Schumann or Mendelssohn, and his beautiful melodies and skilled knowledge of effect helped on his operas towards success in their day; but even his most popular examples, _Fierabras_ and _Alfonso and Estrella_, very rarely obtained a hearing. Mendelssohn’s early works, _The Wedding of Camacho_ and his fragment of _Lorelei_, are also comparatively unimportant, while Schumann’s _Genoveva_ cannot be classed among the list of works in the ordinary repertoire.
It is curious and interesting to notice how small a share those who have reached the topmost pinnacle in the musical temple have had in the development of opera; while the influence of the great classical and romantic composers has been exerted with immense sway over almost every other form of the art, and while that influence has elevated and exalted such art forms to dignified and poetic heights, they have, with the single exception of Mozart, left opera almost unaffected.
[Sidenote: =Opera Writing a distinct form of Composition=]
The heroes of opera, Gluck and Weber, were of far less importance as all-round composers than many of the masters whose operatic efforts they completely eclipse. Whereas without Gluck and Weber it would be difficult to conceive the position of opera to-day, we must admit that they have had little influence over other branches of composition.
[Sidenote: =The Small Influence of the really great Composers=]
On the other hand, the names of those most honoured in the art of composition appear seldom or never upon the operatic play-bill. The great contrapuntist, Bach, wrote no music for the stage; Haydn, the so-called “father” of the sonata, the string quartet, and the symphony, only composed a number of unimportant light operas; Beethoven, the perfecter of form and design, one solitary, though notable, example; Schubert, the unrivalled composer of songs, a few early works; Mendelssohn, the calm and classic writer of the oratorio, and of the beautiful orchestral overtures, a few boyish pieces; Schumann, the daring inventor of so many harmonic and rhythmic designs, and the composer of many a masterpiece of pianoforte and chamber music, again a solitary and little known specimen. Brahms, the great apostle of absolute music, and of the classical school, followed Bach in leaving the stage severely alone.
Mozart stands out as the one great composer who rose to the highest point of eminence, not only as a creator of sonata, quartet, symphony, and choral work, but also as a consistently great and successful master of opera. All honour to the great versatility of his immeasurable genius!