GERMAN OPERA SINCE

RICHARD WAGNER
By EDGAR ISTEL
- / / torn* one lay* the toor* of a newly oompoted opera before me for
eritieitm, that mean* nothing to me. We are now far enough adtaneed
in th$ aril of harmonUatum, augmented triad*, inttrumentation and
the general pattern of modern composition to know beforehand that
one i* not likely to ttumbi* over epeeial cruditie* or ttupid blunder*.
Bui I ath for the text-book. That tetle me whether or no the man
ha* the tenee of drama in poetry and it fairly indicate* to me hie
talent for dramatie mutie if he eueeeeded in finding the proper
mueieal expree*ion for hi* text, which happen* try rarely indeed.
—Wagner to Han* t. WoUogen.

I T was in June of last year, shortly after the opening of the

International Congress of Music at the Sorbonne in Paris, that
the editor of this mazagine informed some of his European
friends of his plans. Sitting in the Luxembourg Gardens, then so
ideally peaceful, we spoke of subjects possibly to be dealt with.
While he was chatting with Mr. Calvocoressi about Moussorgsky,
I was pondering the question which he had asked me: "Has
German opera a future? " At that moment I should have given an
answer essentially different from the one I am now inclined to
give. The absolute change in our circumstances and cultural
conditions which the war brought with it over night, will also
make itself keenly felt in the regions of Art. Only he can possibly
give an unbiased answer to such a question who is as free from
chauvinism as the writer of this article believes himself to be,
with his leaning—for reasons of descent, birth and manner of living
—toward Latin culture in the manner of Mozart and Gluck, who
manifested a fondness for it without ceasing to be Germans.
I was until lately a supporter of Nietzsche's doctrine: "H faut
mediterraniser la musique"; and even now I hope for deliver-
ance from the "spirit of heaviness" which burdens the "per-
spiring" modern German music, by means of the genius of the
Latin race. The reader will understand what I mean if I again
refer to Mozart and Gluck, with a glance at the last works of
Verdi who, though coming from another direction, from across the
Alps, strove toward the same goal. Until recently, I was inclined
to look upon Wagner from Nietzsche's standpoint and I thought
MO
 German Opera Since Richard Wagner 261
with him that, if there was anything more to be expected of music,
there must come a musician, "daring, fine, mischievous, southern
and super-healthy enough to take revenge in an immortal way on
such music.'* Today, after the gigantic manifestation of German
spirit, which to our astonishment has shown itself not only in the
tremendous, impulsive military force, but even more so in the
wonderful social organization of this nation—today I believe in
an entirely different artistic future for Germany. My "belief in
the German Spirit," as Wagner calls it in the dedication of his
Trilogy, has grown enormously; let us hope that this spirit will
not become so presumptuous as to underestimate all good foreign
things, whereas it formerly overestimated inferior foreign pro-
ducts. However, no forecast of the future of German opera is
possible unless we be prepared by a survey of its immediate past,
from the death of Richard Wagner to the present day.
At the time of Richard Wagner's death in Venice (Feb. 13,
1883) the German stage was in a curious condition. Though his
works had not prevailed everywhere, there could be no doubt as
to their ultimate triumph, and the last opponents of the living
master bowed willingly before the dead genius, whose gigantic
spirit even after death defeated all resistance, entered the enemy's
land, and finally stormed the fortress of his antagonist Meyerbeer.
On the other hand, certain negative forces soon asserted them-
selves. Wagner's works had swept everything that was not in
conformity with them from the German stage, and many popular
old operas, the delight of our fathers and grandfathers, disappeared,
never to rise again, in the bottomless depths of the theatre archives.
For a long time it seemed as though the Wagner-flood would
entirely destroy the old operatic "Kultur", but when the first
storm was past it became evident that all good and genuine works,
above all the masterpieces of Mozart, Beethoven, Weber, and
Marschner had held their ground. Gluck also, whose opera reform
was in many telling points a forerunner of the Wagnerian revo-
lution, continued to hold his own with his best operas, and the
works of the theatre expert Lortzing, harmless, simple "musical
comedies"1 even enjoyed a growing popularity for the very
reason that they in no way competed with the mighty dramas of
the Master of Bayreuth. In fact, if one did not wish to entirely
abandon a useful, everyday activity in favor of Wagner festivals,
it became necessary to make provision for an increase of "reper-

•I have used (or the untranslatable German terms "8ingtpiel," "Spidoper,"

"muslkallsches Lortipiel" and "Komische Oper," the English words "musical comedy"
and "comic opera" in their original sense, i. e. comic musical works of kigktr quality.
 262 The Musical Quarterly
toire-opera." Owing to the pli'minnting powers of Wagner's
dramas, the repertoire threatened to lapse into monotony. For
that very reason the best foreign operas, such as the light operas
of Auber and Boieldieu, reasserted themselves. Nor was it possible
for even a Wagner to completely dislodge his greatest rival, Meyer-
beer. Lortzing, that, shrewd old stage-hand, had once said in a
talk with Lobe: "How long do you think a theatre could exist,
were it only to perform creations of the highest genius? You
could not construct a perfectly flawless half-year's repertoire."
Perceiving this state of affairs, many composers tried
at the time of and after Wagner to produce useful repertoire-
operas, without attempting to invade the sphere of genius. They
merely endeavored to combine the "good new" which Wagner had
brought with what was fit to live of the "good old," thus bringing
about what we may call "compromise-operas." It lies in the
nature of every compromise that it should cause a certain amount
. of dissatisfaction to both parties concerned. So it was in this case.
These operas were too "old-fashioned" for the Wagnerians and
altogether too "Wagnerian" for the partisans of the older operas.
What this impossible style-mixture would lead to was clear: in
due time these works sank into oblivion.
Let us select from the host of compromise-composers the
two most talented, Edmund Kretzschmer (1830-1908) and Karl
Goldmark (1830-1915), who both owe their great success to
their clever librettist Salomon Mosenthal (1821-77). It was
he who had helped Otto Nicolai to his only lasting opera-
success, and Mosenthal must certainly be considered the only
talented German imitator of Meyerbeer's librettist Scribe. His
text-book for Kretzschmer's most successful opera" Die Folkunger "
(1874,1 therefore during Wagner's lifetime) was originally intended
for Meyerbeer and many scenes therein remind one of his
"Prophet." The reason that the opera is no longer given, after
having been for a few years a drawing card for most German
theatres, does not lie with the uncommonly effective libretto (deal-
ing with an old Swedish legend), but with Kretzschmer's lack of
a. sufficient musical personality. Though he had once acci-
dentally scored a success, his art was not capable of further
development. Much superior to him is Goldmark, of Hungarian-
Jewish descent, who won a triumph in 1875 with his "KOnigin
von Saba" (libretto also by Mosenthal). This seemed in every
way well deserved, since the subject suited Goldmark's personality,
and gave him such opportunity to depict the Orient in glowing
1
The date* of worki refer to the firct performance
 German Opera Since Richard Wagner 263
colors that this work can be looked upon without doubt as the
best typically Jewish production. Even today, if elaborately-
mounted, it is a brilliant "number" in most large opera-houses.
Nevertheless the tones of this music fade before the much older,
but fresher " Huguenots." Which simply goes to show that a sym-
pathetic lalent such as Goldmark's should not compete with the
genius of a Meyerbeer. The subsequent works of Goldmark, with
the exception of "Das Hehnchen am Herd" (1806) taken from
Dickens (libretto by Willner), which appeared when the fairy-
opera craze was at its height, and achieved a great one-season
success, proved that though Goldmark was a clever musician, he
was by no means a born dramatist.
Kretzschmer and Goldmark stood and fell with the theatre-
technic of their librettist Mosenthal. He also helped Anton
Rubinstein (1829-1894), the renowned pianist, to win laurels for a
short time with his operas "Maccabfier" (1875) and "Moses"
(1887), which handled Jewish subjects, like the "KOnigin von
Saba." The passing vogue of these German operas and others,
which were at first produced in Russian, was largely due to the
reputation of Rubinstein as a piano-virtuoso. His best work is
and remains "Der Dttmon" (Petersburg, 1875, libretto by Wisko-
toff). Ignaz Brilll (1846-1907), like Goldmark and Rubinstein,
a Jewish composer, also owes his only great operatic success to
Mosenthal. " Das Goldene Kreuz" (1875), a very charming two-act
musical comedy, in text and music slightly influenced by French
models, belongs to a type of art of harmless gaiety which has
unfortunately found no successor. This work, which is a useful
repertoire-opera, will continue to be produced, as it offers thankful
rdles, and many of its pretty, singable melodies are very popular.
Other operas of his did not fare well. The "Goldene Kreuz" is
not a compromise-opera, inasmuch as it entirely ignores Wagner's
existence, and leans decidedly toward Auber and Boieldieu.
However, BrulTs other works were of a typically compromise
character. This character—largely due to obvious Wagnerian
influence—made itself unpleasantly felt in the operas of Heinrich
Zttllner (born 1854), who pleased the public greatly with his
somewhat shortened, but otherwise literal setting to music of
Hauptmann's drama "Die Versunkene Glocke" (1899). His pa-
triotic operas "Der Ueberfall" (taken from Wildenbruch), and
"Bei Sedan" (taken from Zola, 1895) have gained actuality
through the war, but will probably soon be forgotten.
In the domain of the sentimental "popular opera" (Volksoper)
—whose best type is represented by Lortring's "Undine"—Victor
 264 The Musical Quarterly
Nessler (1841-90) a compromise-composer of the first water,
attained a great success which, however, spoke very badly for the
taste of the average German public. He did this by exploiting
Scheffel's epic "Der Trompeter von Sttkkingen" (1884, a year
after Wagner's death!). He owed this huge success partly to the
clever libretto by Rudolf Bunge, who understood how to flatter
the public's lower instincts, and partly to the indestructible
cornet solo "Behtit dich Gott," which continues to be played in
every beer-hall. Nessler's music is about the most worthless
which the German stage had been obliged to endure for years,
and is even today not entirely rooted out in the provincial towns.
Wagner once said jokingly: " I t is incredible what the German
public will swallow as beautiful, if it has subscribed for it." Further
attempts of Nessler to produce German "popular opera" revealed
his absolute inability to do so, especially as compared with Lortzing.
While all these composers remained conscious of their
insignificance in comparison with the gigantic genius of Wagner,
August Bungert (born 1846), who reminds one of the inflated
frog in the fable, tried to surpass Wagner's festival idea with
a six-day cycle "Homerische Welt" (1898-1903). This work,
though magnificently mounted and produced at the Dresden court
opera, turned out to be nothing but a Wagner parody, with a
very noticeable admixture of Meyerbeer. Despite tremendous
press agitation the projected Bungert festival-house on the Rhine
was not built, and he is today almost entirely forgotten.
Whereas cautious natures with the help of compromise and
eclecticism tried to avoid Wagner, and by composing effective
libretti secured at least a fleeting success, the greater part of the
rising German generation surrendered unconditionally to Wagner.
This attitude was certainly more sympathetic than the other, but
artistically it led the composer at first into a blind-alley, where
he was obliged to retrace his steps. However, the best and most
talented without exception took this route. They lost many
valuable years in this way, but at any rate extended their view
by boldly climbing the mountain instead of walking around it.
- At first one saw in Wagner only the dramatist of "pathos," of the
"Ring," "Tristan" and "Parsifal." The works up to and inclu-
ding "Lohengrin" were left as "used u p " for the "eclectics" to
imitate, and one can rest assured that Kretzschmer and Goldmark
had diligently studied their Wagner up to "Lohengrin." Also the
older Weimar circle which had surrounded Liszt till the failure of
the "Barbier von Bagdad" (1868) and were not so infected with
the "Tristan" chromatics as the later Wagnerians, stayed in a
 German Opera Since Richard Wagner 265
moderate zone. Cornelius himself, the most important dramatist
of this circle, equally talented both as poet and musician, did not
go beyond "Lohengrin" and was at least as strongly influenced
by Berlioz as he was by Wagner. I shall later speak of his best
work, the "Barbier von Bagdad," the only original opera pro-
duced by one of the Wagner-Liszt circle, and the ancestor of the
modern German musical comedy.
Here let it be remarked that Cornelius' serious operas, "Der
Cid" (1865) and "GunlOd" (a fragment, arranged and completed
several times by others since 1891), poetically and musically but
slightly influenced by "Tristan," indicate his efforts to develop
an original style along the lines of "Lohengrin." He realized fully
the unfavorable workings of Wagner's influence, when he said in
1861, after a deep study of "Tristan":
It was a question of entirely or not at all . . . I am happily
through with my study of it; it finally became a kind of sickness; it
seemed a nightmare. But as I cannot help being an optimist, I do not
regret having passed through it. I believe that our time lends itself
least of all to one-sided absorption in our own creations without looking
to the left or right. Wagner's "Tristan" is without doubt the most im-
portant dramatic work since Gluck; I maintain one must know it
thoroughly in order to gauge the height of the age. To take a sip is
dangerous and leads to eclecticism. I made the work my own. I now
understand fully my attitude in regard to it, and return with rejuvenated
powers to my own work after this mental ducking.
His work, however, did not lead into the "Tristan" sphere,
where terrible dangers lay concealed for the imitator; dangers which
Cornelius plainly saw, but into which the next generation rushed
blindly. Thus Cornelius could follow in the footsteps of Wagner
without losing his own individuality. He rightly called his " Cid " the
only opera since Lohengrin which, though influenced by it, presents
itself both in verse and music as a capable, healthy piece of work and yet
remains within the limits of the possible (as Wagner put it, still dis-
closing the old opera pattern)—in short it is the estimable work of a
talent on a soil prepared for cultivation by a genius.
However, none of the other Liszt pupils possessed this noble
knowledge of self, which plainly felt the distance between genius
apd talent. Had any one of them dared to enter the lists against
Wagner, it would have been Cornelius, but this modest composer
well knew his limitations. As a poet he was more distinguished
than Wagner, but unfortunately he did not appreciate the much
superior dramatic genius of the master, and thus he failed to realize
that his "Cid", though poetically and musically very beautiful,
 266 The Musical Quarterly
was not very effective theatrically. He disdained to follow the
well-meant advice of Wagner, who pointed out the weak parts of
the work in a most able manner. Cornelius, despite his friendship
with the master, often expressed the opinion that Wagner would
prove very dangerous for his followers, and he saw as in a vision
the future German ideal beyond Wagner. He wrote shortly after
the first performance of "Tristan":
Wagner's hot, stifling spirit was to me only in the nature of a
delusive light. My art shall be cheerful and simple; it shall make people
happy; it shall be rooted in the soil of the Folk and of standard morals;
it shall not Bet up the vanity of sickly, erotic love and of self in God's
place.
And a little later:
The ideal ripens in me to turn from storming the heavens to the
discovery of a suitable art-work for our era within the judiciously selected
and fortified border-lines of territory conquered by Wagner in his best
period.
But this was not to be. Cornelius died, and with him died the
hope of further development of an individual German musical
. comedy and of refined popular opera ("Volksoper").
In the first place Wagner's delusive spirit continued to lure
the coming generation onward to ruin. He himself was not in the
least to blame for this disastrous development. He often warned
but was not heeded. His art was like the legendary magnetic
mountain which destroyed the stability of everything that ap-
proached it. Seeing his earnest warning disregarded, Wagner
treated the matter with good-natured satire in his paper, "About
Opera writing and composing":
It would almost seem that the study of opera-composing is pro-
gressing secretly outside of the conservatories; whoever then happens to
drift into my "course" should be on his guard! Yet, less the study of my
works than their success appears to have piloted into my "course
many who remained uninformed at the conservatories. Nobody has
hazier ideas of the nature of this course than I, perhaps because for
a while partiality was shown to medieval subjects for text-books; the
Edda, too, and the bleak North in general were utilized as mines for good
texts. However, not merely the choice and character of the opera
libretto seemed to be of importance for the, after all, "new" course,
but also sundry other things, particularly the composition of the entire
text ("durchcomponiren") and stQl more the uninterrupted meddling
of the orchestra in the affairs of the singers. Therein one proceeded
with all the more liberality, since in recent times very much "course"
had made its appearance in instrumentation, harmonization and modu-
lation of orchestral compositions. . . Pretty melodies are done for
 German Opera Since Richard Wagner £67

and without "new ideas," probably very little of originality will be

accomplishedl in that direction. Therefore I advise the followers of the
New-Course to look sharply for good ideas in subject, plot and charac-
ters of the text-books."
But Wagner's words were thrown to the winds, and he him-
self, in closing his article, says with resignation that his advice will
" be of no use." Instead of acquiring stage knowledge, and looking
upon a human, soul moving libretto shaped for the stage as a
principal necessity, composers pursued the phantom of un-heard
of instrumental effects, hid deficient ability under a national
veneer, raved in "leitmotives," and thus at last drove the German
public into the arms of the Italian "verismo," where, despite
dagger and poison, it found more enjoyment than in the dreary
society of German "Kapellmeister" operas.
Others belonging to Liszt's circle tried to compose operas;
good musicians, but poor dramatists, like Bronsart, Lassen,
Drttseke, Raff and Alexander Ratter, none of whom prospered.
Their works were produced by friendly conductors, and were
generally buried with honors by a well-disposed public with-
out having been able to gain a footing on the stage. The
most interesting man of this coterie was Alexander Ritter (1833-
96), who represented to a certain degree the type of Wagnerian
poet-composer without original inspiration and whose historical
position is important only for the reason that it was he who turned
Richard Strauss from Mendelssohnian conservatism to Wagner-
Liszt "progressiveness." Ritter, an amiable character, rose
above the average neither as a poet nor as a musician, and his
two one-act works "Der faule Hans" (1895) and "Wem die
Krone " are interesting solely as forerunners of Humperdinck. Rit-
ter was the first Wagnerian who tried to set "fairy-tale poetry"
in Wagner's style to music
While those forming the older circle around Liszt, men like
Cornelius and Ritter, possessed beyond their knowledge of music
a good measure of general culture, which enabled them to grasp
the entire greatness of Wagner, the musical generation following
became more and more shallow. Wagner's peculiarities were
slavishly copied and his scores were studied with an eye for
technical niceties only. Out of these scraps of Wagnerian musical
language a musical broth was concocted with the help of allitera-
ting poets which became more and more distasteful to the public
1
Wagner"• expression "die Neu-gerichteten" is a play on words and meant at
the nine time "the juat-execated."
268 The Musical Quarterly
Gradually Wagnerianism, which was linked with Panger-
manism, Antisemitism and Vegetarianism by the only true and
faithful of the "Bayreuther Blotter", fell into disrepute. They
copied Wagner's manners and habits, and believed to have
discovered at last the ardently desired secret of his creative genius.
These good people did not reahze that in Wagner merits and
demerits grew organically and inseparably out of his whole power-
ful personality, and that every great genius conceals in himself the
greatest contradictions. Here are a few examples: Wagner was
in theory a vegetarian, in practice a meat-eater; he was anti-
semitic, but despite this fact let none other than Hermann Levi,
the son of a rabbi, conduct the first performance of "Parsifal";
he was a Pangermanist, yet drew the most effective part of his
technic from Latin models; he was a democrat, yet the friend of
a king; he pretended to be a new herald of Christianity, but was,
until shortly before he began work on "Parsifal," what Goethe
called a "decided non-Christian"; he was in his art a radical
innovator, a revolutionist, but nevertheless preached fervently the
gospel of Bach, Beethoven and Mozart; indeed, as Hans v. Wol-
zogen certifies, he pointed out none other than Mendelssohn as a
model of a discreet, fine and artistic spirit, in contrast to the
modern strivers after effect. Wagner was thus a man of great con-
tradictions, but comprehensible enough if one considered his entire
personality. His musical disciples did not grasp this fact; they
saw but the trees, not the forest, and in busying themselves with
Nibelungen-tuba and alliteration they overlooked the real great
aim of the master.
So it happened that none of these composing conductors, con-
servatory professors and critics arrived at more than an exceedingly
external copy of Wagner's peculiarities. Those also among the
young Wagnerians, who later pursued an independent course,
began in this way. It suffices to cast a glance at d'Albert's opera
" Gernot" (libretto by Kastropp, 1897), Weingartner's " Sakuntala "
(1884) and "Malawika" (1886), both after poems by himself,
Eienzl's "Urvasi" (1886, poem by himself) and Richard Strauss's
first opera, "Guntram" (1894), in order to appreciate the degree
of delusion arrived at even by composers who later showed
originality—in the first years of their development by way of
Wagnerian "redemption-opera," with northern or Indian subjects.
Typical of this sort of inferior talent that never deviates from the
wrong track of Wagnerian imitation is Max Schillings (born 1868).
Very much overestimated by a limited circle, his stage-works
"Ingwelde" (1894) and "Der Pfeifertag" (1899) were still-born,
 German Opera Since Richard Wagner 269
owing to their impossible libretti by Sporck. Schilling's last
opera, "Der Moloch" (1906), libretto by Gerh&user, proves his
total inability as a dramatic composer.
By far the most talented Wagnerian musician is Hans Pfitzner
(born 1869), who was proclaimed (by a loud rather than a convincing
propaganda) the only true successor of Wagner. Indeed, he has
been hailed as the only genius among present-day composers.
Such awe-inspiring proclamations have never yet been confirmed
by future generations. Moreover, there lurk in them two great
dangers for those whom they most concern. It generally happens
that auto-suggestion creates in the musicus laureatua who sees
himself through the incense of his friends, a mystical notion of
his divine rights. On the other hand his contemporaries, who are
expected to fall on their knees and worship, will challenge above all
else his right to the title of "high priest." I t then often comes to
light that the new prophet claims much more than he is entitled
to. So also as regards Pfitzner. This dramatist, whose works
are spoken of more often than they are performed, has up to his
forty-sixth year completed only two operas, "Der'arme Heinrich"
(1896) and "Die Rose vom Liebesgarten" (1901), both libretti by
James Grun. (Wagner had in the same space of time finished nine
works, including "Tristan"!) Of these two works the first (a re-
demption-opera like "Parsifal" and "Tristan"), is a most minute
Wagner imitation. To be sure, from the purely musical point of view
it shows an interesting development of Wagner's tone-language.
The second work, musically more original, and often of a captivating
charm, is however not much more than a brilliant promise of what
the future will bring forth. This promise has not yet been fulfilled;
for his opera "Palestrina," though announced some years ago, has
not yet put in an appearance. Both the afore-mentioned works are
unable to hold the stage on account of their libretti. The story of
the" Anne Heinrich "isone of themost distressing and sombre which
the German stage has produced, and this impression is deepened
by Pfitzner's gloomy composition. " Die Rose vom Liebesgarten,"
on the other hand, suffers from bloodless symbolism and downright
helpless dramatic construction. It is too bad that such an eminent
musician as Pfitzner should waste his powers in the vain effort to
gain a lasting success on the stage. Perhaps his love for the stage
is altogether unfortunate: his songs and chamber-music stamp him
a refined neo-romantic, and they indicate that his success lies in
the same sphere as that of Schumann. Indeed, many of Pfitzner's
peculiarities remind one of Schumann, whose only stage-work, too,
was a woe-begotten child.
270 The Musical Quarterly
The great, lasting opera success which all the above mentioned
composers so warmly desired but never attained, was achieved
suddenly in 1803 (tenyears after Wagner's death), by a sympathetic
Wagnerian master of almost forty summers, Engelbert Humperdinck
(born 1854), who had up to that time lived in retirement and whom
poor health unfortunately has ever since prevented from revealing
his full powers.
He became world-famous with his fairy-opera "Hfinsel und
Gretel" (libretto by his sister Adelheid Wette), after having with
great difficulty at last succeeded in getting his work produced.
The cause of this great success lay in the combination of a series
of fortunate circumstances, but that does not in the least lessen
the merits of the work. The opera was unlike most of the
tone-dramas in Wagner's style in this, that it was not the result
of puzzled-out theories, but a mere product of chance. Hum-
perdinck's sister had dramatized the well-known fairy-tale for her
children, and requested him to write music for it. The work, for
which he wrote popular airs, pleased the obliging brother to such
an extent that he turned it into a full-fledged opera. Thus this
charming score, which has delighted young and old for many
years, especially at Christmas time, grew out of half-improvised
children's music. The success of the unassuming work would no
doubt have been confined within narrower limits had it not ap-
peared at a moment when it could create a sensation. The one-
act, blood-curdling Italian dagger-opera of the "Verismo" was
done for, also the helpless scores of the Wagnerians, who bored
the public with warmed-over "Tristan" and "Parsifal" phrases.
Germany awaited a new German master; one who would, some-
what in the manner of Cornelius, further cultivate, with originality,
the best that Wagner had accomplished. The law of contrast
demanded that something very simple should follow the over-
laden scores of the Wagnerians and the brutalities of the
modern Italians and their German imitators. Humperdinck
brought this about, and the thankful nation hailed him as a
messenger from heaven.
If we of the present day, with our entirely different esthetic
aims, survey this opera, we perceive without belittling its great
merits, such as freshness, and sympathetic warmth of feeling, that
Humperdinck, a child of his time, did not make use of an appro-
priate technic for such a work. The polyphony of his score—it
reminds one of Wagner's "Siegfried," the first German fairy-
opera—is much too complicated for the simple subject, which
could have been more suitably handled after the fashion of
 German Opera Since Richard Wagner 271
Lortzing. This undeveloped sense of style, in "Hansel und Gretel"
somewhat concealed by the many merits of the work, was thrown
sharply and unpleasantly into relief in the following operas, none of
which in any degree repeated the success of the first. The two fairy-
operas "Die sieben Geislein" (1897) and "DomrBschen" (1902),
in unpretentious form adopted the same principle as "Hfinsel und
Gretel," but disappointed entirely. The music to Ernst Rosmer's
sham fairy-tale "Die KOnigskinder" (1898), with its unbearable
melodramatic recitation—the pitch of the spoken dialogue isfixedin
musical notes—appeared to be at its best a rather curious
experiment. Still, the music on the whole, as for example in the
really delightful entre-acts, is a great improvement on that of
"Httnsel und Gretel."
Humperdinck Hmtwlf came to see the impossibility of this mon-
grel product, and rewrote the "KOnigskinder" as an opera (1910),
thereby rescuing it for the stage. Nevertheless the success did
not come up to expectations, probably because the pseudo-poetry
of Frau Bernstein-Porges (pseudonym: Ernst Rosmer) even
when arousing the musical sympathy of the composer, could not
be raised to the height of genuine poetry. (I shall speak later of
his only comic opera," Die Heirat wider Willen "). His most recent
work, the musical comedy "Die Marketenderin" (1914, libretto
by Robert Misch) was written for a special occasion. Of little
importance in itself, this patriotic piece has suddenly acquired
a certain actuality on account of the European war.
Humperdinck has always devoted himself to an extensive
pedagogic activity, and though he has not really founded a "school"
in the dramaticfieldhe counts many distinguished young composers
among his pupils. The most important of these, Leo Blech (born
1871), developed under Humperdinck's direction from an amateur,
as his first" verismo" operas show him to have been, into a techni-
callyfinishedmaster. His fairy-operas " AlpenkOnig und Menschen-
feind" (1904) and "AschenbrOdel" (1906, libretti by Batka),
conceived very much after the fashion of Humperdinck, were less
successful than his one-act operas, of which I shall speak later.
Humperdinck was also the teacher of Richard Wagner's son
Siegfried (born 1869), whom his father had wished to become an
architect, but who suddenly turned to composing, and has ever
since devoted himself entirely to "popular" fairy-opera. Siegfried
Wagner, like his father, writes his own libretti; but, needless to say,
has not his father's musical or poetical gifts. He began with an
opera "Der Barenhfiuter" (1899), which was carefully worked
out, and showed some talent. Largely on account of its clever
£72 The Musical Quarterly

second act, this work was very successful. I t was frequently per-
formed, not only because the composer bore a renowned name,
but because it really was the promising effort of a dramatic talent.
The combination of two Grimm fairy-tales (which originated with
Richard Wagner) made a good subject. The clever handling of
the absorbing plot, together with the fresh, though often banal
and unoriginal music, awakened hopes for the future. These his
later works failed to fulfill. His next opera "Hereog Wildfang"
(1901) was a decided failure, as were the many other works which
followed one another at regular intervals of two years. They were
notable to convince one of Siegfried's possession of higher creative
powers. Musically they held themselves on an estimable level.
The libretti, in awful German, generally were a compound of
legend, sprinkled with the diabolical. With the help of far-fetched
humor they tried to be popular, yet bored the public, and their
unclear symbolical plots are only now and then enlivened by a
good scenic idea. Their titles are: "Der Kobold" (1904), "Bruder
Lustig" (1905), "Sternengebot" (1908), "Banadietrich" (1910),
"Schwareschwanenreich (1911) and Sonnenflammen" (1913). Not
one of these works could hold the stage.
Siegfried Wagner's ambition is to create a species of merry,
"popular opera" of light character, which would fill the breach
in the repertoire caused by the appearance of Richard Wagner.
This goal is most decidedly worth the labor of the noblest. That
Siegfried sights, but is not able to reach the "promised land" is
undoubtedly the tragedy of his life. Others, more gifted, preceded
or followed him with better results. The Austrian, Wilhelm
Kienzl (born 1857), after unsuccessful attempts in the domain of
the music drama, hit the mark with his musical play "Der Evan-
gelimann" (1895, libretto by himself). A happily chosen Viennese
subject, taken from an emotional criminal novel, thrillingly and
effectively put on the stage, determined its success. The music,
especially in the admirable "bowling" scene, showed decided talent
for comic opera. This, however, Kienzl unfortunately did not
further develop. In its sentimental parts the "Evangelimann"
threatened to follow Nessler's example. In his "Don Quixote"
(1898, libretto by himself) he aimed higher, but did not make
good. His following work "Der Kuhreigen" (1911, libretto by
Batka) met with public favor on account of its very effective
subject taken from the French Revolution; but, probably because
the subject had not been well handled dramatically, the success
of the opera could in no way be compared with that of his
"Evangelimann." This work will long continue to be loved as
 German Opera Since Richard Wagner 273
a real "popular" opera, and points plainly to the fact that the
effectiveness of the libretto does more than the quality of the
music to keep an opera alive.
Very similar to those of Kienzl are the operas of the poet-
composer Julius Bittner (born 1874), also an Austrian. Though his
works show greater originality he has not yet attained the success
of his more fortunate countryman. Bittner, by profession an Im-
perial judge, is an amateur in the best sense of the word. Not
that he is not a musical expert or a complete master of technic, but
that his self-criticism is not pronounced enough for him to separate
his good from his inferior ideas and thus keep his work on a
uniform level. Bittner now and then has eminently good ideas;
a scene like his peasant revolt in the "Bergsee" (1901) belongs
to the best that has been seen on the German stage since Wagner,
but this is offset by so many weak scenes that the good vanishes
without telling effect. This is true also of his best work, "Der
Musikant" (1910), with a splendid subject and with charming
"popular" scenes. This would have been one of our finest comic
operas had the plot been allowed to remain in that sphere. Bittner,
however, forcibly twisted it into a serious opera, thus immediately
falling into the trap of unfruitful Wagnerianism. That he
who could have been for Austria in music what SchOnherr is in
drama, is now unfortunately following the wrong course is shown
by his last work, the singularly disjointed "Abenteurer" (1913).
The better type of popular opera comes almost exclusively
from Austria. Such works asHeuberger's (1860-1914) "Barfussele"
(1905, libretto by Leon, taken from Auerbach) and Karl Weis's
(born 1862) "Der polnische Jude" (libretto by Batka, taken from
Erckmann-Chatrian) owed their great but temporary success
mainly to the effectiveness of their subjects. In Heuberger's work
it was the leaning toward sentimental operetta, in Weis's the
gruesome element, that held the public. No earlier or later operas
written by these composers were successful. Of the German writers
of well-known popular operas there remain to be mentioned Karl v.
Kaskel (born 1866) and Alfred Kaiser (born 1872). Kaskel's mel-
odic inspiration was not effective enough to win great popularity;
hence his operas "Die Bettlerin vom Pont des Arts" (1899, taken
from Hauff) and "Der Gefangene der Zarin (1911, libretto by
Rudolf Lothar) soon disappeared from the repertoire. Rougher
and more banal is Alfred Kaiser, a German-Belgian, who began
with French operas and attained a huge but not Listing success
with his "Stella Maris" (1911), after having translated his
French libretto into German. With his "hundred-year opera"
274 The Musical Quarterly

"Theodor KOrner" (1013) he has just now, like Humperdinck

with his "Marketenderin," struck a most propitious juncture in
theatrical affairs in consequence of the patriotic boom. Other
composers of popular opera like Cyrill Kistler (1848-1907) and Hans
Sommer (born 1837) despite painstaking work remained essentially
dilettanti; and it is hardly worth while to mention the countless
other aspirants to fame in this line.
A few years after the first performance of "Hfinsel und
Gretel" there appeared Ludwig Thuille (1861-1907). Though
resembling Humperdinck in many ways he did not in the least
degree attain the success of this composer with his fairy-opera
"Lobetanz," (libretto by Bierbaum, 1898) which in the grotesque
and gruesome dungeon scene struck a new musical note. Thuille,
a Tyrolean by birth, but of Latin descent, happily combined
German humor and fairy-romance with Gallic esprit. With the
help of this combination he could have composed masterly
comic operas, had he only been more fortunate in the choice of
his libretti. His destiny, however, coupled him with "poets"
who had neither an idea of what the stage required, nor an under-
standing of Thuille's particular gifts; and the composer, who
died young, wasted his charming music on ineffective texts.
His first opera, the prize-winner "Theuerdank" (1897, libretto by
Alexander Hitter under the pseudonym of W. Ehm) was soon
forgotten. I t was followed by "Lobetanz," whose sickeningly
sweet poetry was for a time made palatable by Thuille's music,
strongly resembling that of "Rheingold" and "Siegfried,"
but fresh, warm, and sympathetic. While "Lobetanz" was pro-
duced in many theatres, his "Gugeline" (1901, libretto by Bier-
baum), a poor copy of the "Lobetanz" subject, did not command
the same attention, although the peculiarly characteristic (and
in the third act really wonderful) music belongs to the finest
which has been written since Wagner.
Thuille, during the last ten years of his life, understood much
better than Humperdinck how to found a " school". Not that his
pupils are united in their artistic aims, but all of them have rigidly
followed a course which leads to painstaking musical technic. The
often used expression "Munich school" may practically be iden-
tified with the private pupils of Thuille, among whom a few have
made good names for themselves as symphonic composers. Of all
pupils of Thuille the most successful up to this time in the dramatic
line has been the poet-composer W. von Waltershausen (born
1880). After his first work, a comic opera "Else Klapperzehen,"
he achieved a huge success.with his musical tragedy "Oberst
 German Opera Since Richard Wagner 275
Chabert" (after Balzac, 1912). This was due above all to an
excellent libretto of the most clever structure, which rolled itself
off with the speed of a cinematograph, and fortunately com-
pelled the composer to sketch instead of painting minute details.
Though Waltershausen has not as yet shown himself to be a
musician of great importance, one must watch his development as
a dramatist with interest. This is quite the reverse in the case of
another Thuille pupil, Walter Braunfels (born 1882), clearly in-
fluenced by Berlioz and Pfitzner. He aroused great interest
as a musician with his two operas, the merry "Prinzess Brambilla"
(from E. T. A. Hoffmann, 1909) and the serious "Ulenspiegel"
(from de Coster, 1913) but the libretti, written by himself, could
not interest the public. Braunfels has an excessive fondness for
making music for music's sake without due consideration for the
requirements of the stage, and he therefore cannot be looked upon
as a born dramatist. Alongside of Waltershausen and Braunfels,
as third South-German composer of the Thuille school, the writer
of this article, Edgar Istel (born 1880), takes the liberty of mention-
ing himself. He has followed the course of Cornelius with his
two operas "Der fahrende Schtiler" (1906, from Cervantes) and
"Des Tribunals Gebot" (1914, from Halm), both with libretti by
himself.
Spiritually akin to Thuille is Friedrich Klose (born 1862), a
South-German of Austrian descent. His only opera, the 'dram-
atic symphony' "Esebill" (libretto by Hugo Hoffmann, 1903)
belongs to the fairy-opera breed. The characterization is as un-
fortunate as the form chosen. His one act, lengthened by super-
fluous episodes, lasts almost three entire hours, and contains many
lightning changes of scene! Were it possible to shorten the work
at least by an hour, so that the public could retain its interest, it
would be a wonderful and really effective fairy-opera, modeled
without doubt after Wagner's "Rheingold." The dramatic con-
struction of this work, except for its length, is admirable; the
unoriginal alliterative language of the book does not too greatly
bother one, and the music belongs to the best and most beautiful
which has been written up to the present day. The harmless
Grimm fairy-tale is here used as symbol of the insatiable greed of
power, which hurls back to nonentity those who sacrilegiously
desire to rival God. The powerful dramatic climax synchronizes
with the musical; the orchestra, beginning with the simplest string-
quartet, gradually draws in the wind-instruments and finally,
massed together, summons its entire strength to depict UsebiU's
luck and final end.
276 The Musical Quarterly

Curiously enough the followers of Wagner attached themselves

almost entirely to the pathos ("Pathetik") in Wagner; the eclectics
held on to the works up to "Lohengrin," the hyper-Wagnerians
devoted themselves to the "Ring," "Tristan" and "Parsifal,"
while the fairy-loving musicians preferred to move in the sphere
of "Rheingold" and the first two acts of "Siegfried." The fact
that Wagner had also written a musical comedy, "Die Meister-
singer," which he himself called his "masterpiece," was hardly
taken notice of by these all too fervent apostles. In their eyes it
was of much greater importance to redeem the world than to free it
through gaiety. Incidentally let it be remarked that it is decidedly
more difficult to write a comic opera than a tragic opera, since the
tragical element can be simulated much more easily than the
comical, which demands an uninterrupted flow of inspiration.
It is significant that the first musician of the Wagner circle
to hit upon the idea of applying Wagner's principles to a comic
opera was Peter Cornelius. And what is still more significant,
he did so fully ten years before the first performance of the
" Meistersinger," with whose first rough sketch (still ten years
earlier) he could not possibly have been acquainted. The "Barbier
von Bagdad" (poem from the "Arabian Nights"), conceived in
the year 1855, and produced under Liszt in Weimar in 1858, is
therefore the first modern German comic opera, hailing as a drama
from Wagner, but musically from Berlioz' "Benvenuto Cellini."
Cornelius' "Barbier" fell victim to an intrigue directed against
Liszt and disappeared for almost 30 years from the repertoire,
until young Felix Mottl took pity on the work, which he most
enthusiastically admired. He produced it in 1884. Mottl did
not give it in its original form (first published in 1904) but
in an adaptation made at the instigation of Liszt, consisting
largely in an entirely new instrumentation. The propriety of this
procedure has been very much questioned; here let it be said that
Mottl, despite the best intentions, went decidedly too far. Instead
of being satisfied with discreetly retouching Cornelius' orchestra-
tion where that was necessary, he created a score which placed the
work esthetically and historically in a position to which it laid no
claim. Mottl forcibly emphasized (with an instrumentation
entirely founded on Wagner's principles) the harmonic and
dramatic relationship to Wagner which undoubtedly existed but
was after all rather slight. In reality, the original score resembled
in style much more the German musical comedy and the French
opera comique. I t is a fine, delicate musical comedy and, when
given in a small house, delights as does a charming genre-picture.
 German Opera Since Richard Wagner 277
It is not a brilliant painting on a large canvas, as the adaptation
would have it appear. Whether or not this fine "Cabinet-Stuck"
will lose in effect if given in large opera-houses which demand
stronger accents, and whether or not the triumphant instrumen-
tation of Mottl will there sound more appropriate, is not for me
to predict. On the other hand, the case of Cornelius' "Barbier"
shows that one of the principal problems of comic opera
is the problem of the locale. As long as we have only huge
houses calculated for grand opera, it is impossible to hope for a
further development of the intime art of comic opera. Without
question there is an urgent need of smaller opera-houses in order
to cultivate the masterpieces, for instance, of Mozart. Only a
few cities have such theatres, the most beautiful being the old
rococo Residenz-Theater in Munich.
The historical importance of Cornelius' "Barbier" rests above
all on the fact that he, with the clairvoyance of genius, anticipated
forms used later on by Wagner in his " Meistersinger." Cornelius
fully recognized that wit and fun in a comic opera will be ineffective
unless the music runs along smoothly. He therefore laid stress,
and agreeably so, on a blending of demands musical and dramatic
and thus with his unaffected lyrics could remain true to the
natural bent of his talent. The wonderful final canon of the
second act, whose peer in counterpoint is to be found only in the
powerful street-fight fugato in the second act of the "Meister-
singer," shows what complicated counterpoint forms Cornelius
dared to call into service for the dramatic idea. Thus Cornelius'
"Barbier" and the "Meistersinger," each in its own way, are
the culminating points of comic opera in Germany. The " Meister-
singer" holds a unique position as comedy of the highest type,
but the vital line of development went forth from Cornelius
rather than from Wagner.
Hermann Gtftz (1840-76), who was not at all influenced by
Cornelius and very little by Wagner—the "Meistersinger" he
maintained "almost not to have known"—created in 1874 his
comic opera "Der Widerspenstigen Zahmung" (taken from
Shakespeare by J. V. Widmann, 1874). The fate of this work
offers a pendant to that of Cornelius' "Barbier"; it, too, was
always praised by the connoisseurs, but was even less frequently
performed than the "Barbier." Cornelius once complained that in
his work the "slap-bang humor" and the farcical roughness which
catch the masses were lacking.' Gfltz and his eminent librettist
were given to such things even less than Cornelius, whose finely
polished humor will always remain, as the Germans put it, " Caviar
278 The Musical Quarterly
fur's Volk." GOtz's work, written during physical and psychical
suffering, appeal more as the lovable smile of a delicately strung
personality than like the "Barbier," as the whimsical fancy of an
artist bubbling over with cheerfulness. And nevertheless it is a
real comedy. The plot unfolds itself without detriment to the
rights of music; and the music proceeds without delaying the plot.
In place of Shakespeare's somewhat rough early farce, Widmann's
libretto offers a comedy refined by the radiant power of music.
Katharina acknowledges herself vanquished by her love, not con-
quered by Petruchio's physical power. For its proper appreciation
this work, almost more than the "Barbier," demands to be
approached with searching love from the musical point of view.
It never dazzles, not even the orchestration, which is very discreetly
handled, always remaining within reasonable limits and never
overcharged, yet worked out in finest detail. It will perhaps
become a model for the furtherance of a proper style for musical
comedy.
How this style, so warmly desired both by the public and the
younger musical generation, must be attained, none other than
theiighly gifted song composer Hugo Wolf (1860-1903) explained
in a letter to a friend who wished to compose a libretto entitled
"Buddha":
The world has as yet hardly the faintest notion of the philosophical
profundity which speaks, in the most unusual manner, out of the
last works of Richard Wagner. And already something new must
spring into existence, something which will give the people a fresh
headache, nota bene by previously tested and hackneyed feats, when
they are on all sides manifesting a need for comfortable pleasure, for
friendly pictures, when every one is yearning to espy in the morose and
brooding countenance of our time a hidden smile, an arch expression 1
Are we then no longer able to laugh heartily and to be merry; must we
strew ashes on our head, put on sackcloth, and with melancholy, wrinkled
foreheads go about preaching self-laceration? Let him who feels he
must redeem the world do so; it will not trouble me. I for one will be
merry, and when a hundred people laugh with me I shall be contented.
I do not strive for "world-redeeming" jollity. For nothing less than for
that. That we may safely deed over to the great geniuses. Wagner has in
and through his art, already completed such a powerful work of re-
demption that we ought at last to delight in it; and not wish uselessly to
storm a heaven which is already conquered. Instead, we should realize
that it is much more sensible to hunt for a very comfortable place for
ourselves therein. I should like to find such a comfortable place for
myself, on no account in the desert with water, grasshoppers, and wild
honey, but in the midst of a gay, "original" company, with strumming
of guitars, sighs of love, moonlight nights, banquets, champagne and
so forth; in short a comic opera, and what is more, a real ordinary comic
 German Opera Since Richard Wagner 279
opera, without the gloomy world-redemption phantom of a philosopher
like Schopenhauer in the background. To thia and only to this end
would I need a poet; and really, he would have to be a poet, a deucedly
good one, too. Supply me with him and you will see that a dozen
Buddhas" will not be able to counterbalance such a real ordinary, but
original little comic opera.

It is most unfortunate that Hugo Wolf could not reach this

clearly perceived goal: the master of the Italian and Spanish
song-books was so imbued with Wagner's music that he could not
free himself from this dangerous influence. Even such a delicious
subject as Alarcon's charming story "El sombrero de los tres
picos," offered to him for a comic opera, did not put him on the
track of the Latin style, which alone-was suitable. Quite aside
from the helplessly constructed libretto, his opera " Der Corregidor"
(1896, book by Rosa Mayreder) suffers above all musically
from a superabundance of polyphony. The voices are weighted
down by the orchestra as if with lead. This opera was once called
a "sort of Spanish Meistersinger," a comparison appropriate only
inasmuch as the filigree counterpoint of the "Meistersinger"
orchestra is here employed, quite contrary to the style which the
opera Tequired. A few years before Wolf's " Corregidor" Verdi's
"Falstaff" had shown how such a subject would be handled
musically by a born dramatist. Wolf, however, was no opera-
genius, and even details of genius, above all the great jealousy
scene in the third act, cannot hide the fact that the work is a
failure.
One year after that by Wolf there appeared another comic
opera with a Spanish subject, this time taken from Lope de Vega.
I mean Anton Urspmch's (1850-1907) "Das unmOglichste von
allem." The somewhat strange title explains itself by the
moral of the piece: "The most impossible thing in the world is
to keep watch over a woman who is in love." In this opera
Urspruch attempted to combine the achievements of Wagner,
Verdi, and Cornelius with Mozart's style, but consciously attached
himself more to "Le nozze di Figaro" than to the " Meistersinger."
Urspruch constructed with great cleverness an eminently dramatic,
though not poetical, libretto in which he took the requirements
of music into consideration with exquisite taste. Unfortunately
the music, despite its fine points, is merely the product of a shrewd
art-sense, and not of a musical nature bubbling over with originality.
A subtle eclecticism predominates. Urspruch uses the Italian
parlando style as the basis of his work. In contrast to Cornelius and
Gtitz, who aimed more at the lyrical element, he emphasizes the
280 The Musical Quarterly
dramatic principle and he placed the musical dialogue in a
position which it had never before occupied in modern opera.
Mozart had, in the marvellousfinalesof " Figaro," put the dramatic
scene as unit in place of the aria, and Urspruch applied this principle
to his entire work. He created a number of great scenes, sym-
phonically constructed according to the principle of contrast as
in a symphony with first and second themes. Only in a few cases
does one find Urspruch developing a special theme which would
correspond to Wagner's " Leitmotiv." But, whereas the latter, in
symbolizing the characters, possesses unlimited possibilities of
psychological variation, Urspruch's device imposes this task on the
entire theme, the vocal melody, to which the orchestra can serve
only as a foil as otherwise the lively progress of the pointed dialogue
would suffer or even vanish entirely. This method of procedure
naturally demands that preference be given to strings and wood-
wind instruments for the accompaniment. Also in the handling of
ensembles Urspruch used the "Figaro" finales as models. Indeed,
he "went them one better" by using the most difficult contra-
puntal forms without losing sight of the difference in character of
his dramatis personae, not even where he employed a fugue with
five themes 1
Curiously different from Urspruch's opera, which has disap-
peared from the stage, is E. N. v. Reznicek's (born 1861) "Donna
Diana" (1894), libretto by the composer after a Spanish comedy
by Moreto. In the temperamental and spirited overture, Rez-
nicek, who is of Bohemian descent, gave promise of becoming the
long-sighed-for master of comic opera, but he did not keep the
promise. The opera itself is a mixture of styles by a composer
who surpassed Urspruch as a full-blooded musician but was very
inferior to him in taste. If "Donna Diana" was moderately
successful, his next opera "Till Eulenspiegel" (1902) failed com-
pletely.
Urspruch's work (1898) was followed one year later by a
comic opera which to a certain extent pointed toward the reali-
zation of Cornelius' artistic aims. Eugen d'Albert (born 1864),
the great pianist, after having vainly tried to carry off the honors
in the realm of serious opera with several works ("Der Rubin,
1893; "Ghismonda," 1895, and "Gernot," 1897) attained finally a
great if not lasting success with a one-act opera in the so-called
"Biedermaier" style. I mean his "Die Abreise," with which he
found the right style of modern conversation-opera. In this, even
more than in Urspruch's opera, a light, playful dialogue prevails.
Fine dialectics are never easy to render musically, especially not
 German Opera Since Richard Wagner 281
if such a poem is used as that taken from the comedy of the now
almost forgotten August v. Steigentesch (1774-1826). This was
only slightly revised by Count Sporck, and originally was not
intended for music at all, but d'Albert was a musician who, barring
many reminiscences of Cornelius, understood how to stamp his
work with the seal of originality. The music adapts itself with
admirable finish to the subject, which is simple, merry and often
borders on the piquant. The principal motives are comprehensible
and melodious, with sharp, clear rhythms, and they excel in
lightness and agility. They leave an impression of spontaneity,
are never banal and are very interestingly devised notwithstanding
their apparent simplicity. D'Albert's counterpoint is always light
and graceful, exactly as the dialogue demands. Hi« instrumen-
tation is most admirable in its refined simplicity. It allows all
the instruments of the orchestra to have their say, avoids
massiveness and always remains lucid. Nevertheless the opera
did not enjoy a lasting success. It is easy to see the reason:
the plot is too flimsy, and has no "slap-bang" humor. D'Albert
himself seems to have been of this opinion, since he used
in his next comic one-act opera "Flauto solo" (1905, libretto
by Hans v. Wolzogen) much coarser means. He thereby seemed
to have hit the taste of the masses, but "Flauto solo" has long
since disappeared from the repertoire. A musical anecdote, taken
from the time when Frederick the Great was crown prince, could
have been made a "Cabinet-Stuck" of rococo humor, but it
was cheaply and roughly cut up by the librettist and lowered
almost to the level of operetta, where such a figure as the"Salon-
Tiroler" Pepy most certainly belongs. D'Albert's music is on a
par with the libretto, and of such inferior quality that one hardly
recognizes the composer of the "Abreise." His next comic opera
"Tragaldabas" (1907, libretto by Rudolf Lothar) did not meet
with public approval and was a failure in every respect.
A few years earlier d'Albert's "Tiefland" (1903, libretto taken
from Guimera by Rudolf Lothar) had attained a sensational
success, comparable only with that won by the Italian "verismo"
of the Puccini brand. "Tiefland" was at first hardly noticed and
became a box-office opera only after a very clever theatrical
revision. Its success still lasts and is attributable as much to the
brutal but stirring plot as to the music. Though really unoriginal,
it is very craftily made, and shows a deep knowledge of the means
for effect which the Italian " verismo " employed. I cannot admire
this work, which a well-known critic called " a noble mixture of
Wagner's spirit with a 'verismo' subject" (!) and can see in it
282 The Musical Quarterly
only the result of speculation and exploitation of theatre-effects,
but I must confess that d'Albert's mastery over the means em-
ployed compels my respect. It is no small task thus to grip and
rivet the attention of the public, and certainly the style of this
opera surpasses that of many imported foreign works which are
advertised with trumpet blasts. Other serious operas of d'Albert
—"Kain" (1900, by Bulthaupt), "Der Improvisator" (1900, by
Kastropp), "Izeyl" (1909), "Die verschenkte Frau" (1912) and
"Liebesketten" (1912; the libretto of the last three by Lothar)—
attracted the attention neither of the public nor of the musicians,
with perhaps the exception of "Kain," which possesses one stirring
scene—where God's voice calls the murderer to account—and
which is without doubt the noblest of these works.
For some time after the "Abreise" Leo Blech shared with
d'Albert the distinction of being the most successful of comic
opera composers. His Biedermaier-comedy "Versiegelt" (1908,
text by Batka) followed a less successful little opera "Das
war Ich" (1902, libretto by Batka). Both these works are based
on the idea of reviving the old musical-comedy form. Unfortu-
nately the contrast between the very simple plot and the heavy,
"Meistersinger-like" music is such that the attempt must be
considered a failure. Despite many witty ideas, Blech generally
lacks lightness of touch and his restless orchestral polyphony
smothers the points of the dialogue which it was here decidedly
wrong to set entirely to music.
Humperdinck, unlike Blech, did not hesitate in his only
comic opera "Die Heirat wider Willen" (1906, libretto taken
from Dumas by Humperdinck's wife) to return to the spoken
dialogue. The only explanation of this is that the style of the
work represents a compromise between the French op6ra-comique
to which the subject belongs, the old German "Singspiel", and
Wagner. Despite the masterful technic and the many single
beauties contained in the opera, this compromise can hardly be
considered fortunate. The only adequate manner of handling
this quite frivolous comic subject (subsequently made serious)
would have been possible, let us say, after the fashion of Auber.
In such a case the spoken dialogue would have been less annoying.
Though Humperdinck on the one hand shunned the conse-
quences of Wagner's practices, he, on the other hand, followed
them in using an overflow of orchestral polyphony which choked
the words and melodies with all kinds of middle-voices in the
orchestral accompaniment that are utterly without effect on the
stage. Furthermore, episodes occur in the opera which are
 German Opera Since Richard Wagner 283
calculated to be popular, but work frankly in the direction of
operetta-hits, go beyond the limits of dignified opera and also
interfere with the dramatic construction of the plot, which is very
objectionable anyhow in this opera, especially in the third act.
That Humperdinck's contemplative German style was not in
keeping with such a frivolous Latin subject is shown in precisely
the best musical parts, where his nature expands unhindered, and
favors us with the fruits of most delicious tone-poetry. Needless
to say, the opera has not remained in the current repertoire.
In contrast to the above mentioned composers of comic
operas—with the exception of Urspruch, they all (more or less)
hail from Wagner—the German-Italian Hermann Wolf, who (as
the son of a German father and an Italian mother calls himself
Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari, born 1876), won a huge and sensational
success with comic operas, which have their root in the Italian
opera-buffa, somewhat in the line Pergolese-Mozart-Rossini-Verdi.
Though Wolf-Ferrari composes his works in Italian, he must be
counted among the German composers, for the reasons that all his
operas (with the exception of his first one, "Cenerentola," 1900)
have been performed first in German, and that the composer,
though for a time director of the conservatory at Venice, has not
yet been able to achieve success in Italy.
The young maestro won renown with his "Neugierige Frauen"
(1903, "Le donne curiose," libretto taken from Goldoni by
Sugana). After having greatly overestimated the composer, who
was at first hailed as "Mozart redivivus," the critics at last
realized that Wolf-Ferrari was not an original, inventive genius,
but only an eclecticist of unusual talent. This does not reduce the
value of the services he has rendered in the development of modern
comic opera. Wolf-Ferrari brings with him nothing particularly
new, but he renews the old so cleverly that it could almost pass
for something entirely new. In addition, he possesses real stage
temperament, has sound, pretty and charming ideas, and, above
all, he is the lucky possessor of the very rare sense of the refined
comic in music. So it came to pass that his "Neugierige Frauen"
was hailed with delight by critics and the public—they willingly
overlooked in the first frenzy of enthusiasm the many weak points
of this charming but immature work, which entirely disappeared
after having been given nightly for some time. The unskilful
libretto is principally to blame for the undeserved fate of this
opera. The old-fashioned dramaturgy of Goldoni is much too
closely followed, and the joke of the piece—the astonishment of
the curious women, who suspect that in the club of their husbands
284 The Musical Quarterly

the worst excesses take place—is spoiled beforehand, as the club

in its complete harmlessness is presented before our eyes at the
raising of the curtain. The capital joke in this charming plot
should have been the suspense of the public in regard to the
secrets of the club, with the result that the "curious women"
would have been joined by the "curious spectators."
A further defect of Wolf-Ferrari's operas—there followed the
much less successful "Vier Grobiane," (with text taken from
Goldoni by Pizzolato, 1906, and music in style greatly resembling
that of "Die neugierigen Frauen") and "Der Liebhaber als Arzt"
(after Moliere, by Golisciani, 1913)—is the lack of that kind of
warm melody which flows from heart to heart. This fault does
not lie so much with the composer, who struck these tones in his
charming one-act "Susannens Geheimnis" (libretto after the
French by Golisciani, 1909) as with the subjects. Their characters
are like masquerade figures, do not rouse any human fellow-feeling
and leave us cold as do marionettes. Wolf-Ferrari's operas taken
from Goldoni and Moliere, despite delightful musical details and
their modern orchestral technic, appear essentially antiquated,
and what Wagner said in his paper "About the writing and com-
posing of Opera" holds good in this case: " I t is now very difficult
to create 'new' music for theatre 'figures.' It is probable that
Mozart has exhausted the music for such dramatic masquerades.
. . . Those who believed themselves to be his followers, bun-
gled and bored." It cannot justly be said of Wolf-Ferrari that
he bungles. On the contrary, his technic is masterly; but that a
little tediousness is mixed in with his delicate ideas, and that his
works can be looked upon as a passing craze, while Mozart's
heart-warming tones will brave the storms of centuries, is certain.
It is not so with "Susannens Geheimnis": here a different
spirit envelops us, here we feel that the composer is not only
playing, but that he is giving life, as it were, to a personal ex-
perience. This little work, like d'Albert's " Abreise," with only three
rfiles (one, the man servant, a mute—a charming idea), absorbs our
interest much more than the "Abreise" and should be counted
among the lasting possessions of the German stage. The way in
which "Susannens Geheimnis" (her cigarette, which the jealous
husband imagines to be that of a lover) gradually discloses itself,
is most charming and the music, very singable and well adapted
to sprightly acting, is the most delightful in comic opera since
Verdi's "Falstaff," which is saying a good deal. That Wolf-
Ferrari once allowed himself to be caught in the nets of the worst
kind of Puccini "verismo" ("Der Schmuck der Madonna,"
 German Opera Since Richard Wagner 285
libretto by Zangarini and Golisciani, 1908) should not be held up
against him. If he succeeds in securing other libretti of the rank of
his one-act gem and in abandoning the masquerade-music which the
plays of Moliere and Goldoni called forth, he should prove to
be the man who will develop the comic opera (to be sure, first-rate
singers are a sine qua non) in. the style of Mozart and Verdi. On
the other hand "Peter Gast" (in reality Heinrich Ktiselitz, born
1854), highly estimated by Nietzsche and an amateur forerunner of
Wolf-Ferrari, did not justify the high opinion of his friend, with
the very weak text and music of his opera "Die heimliche Ehe
oder Der Lowe von Venedig" (1891).
The above mentioned composers of comic opera heeded
Goethe's wise counsel that " a mortal man should not compete with
the gods," and abstained from aspiring to become direct successors
of the "Meistersinger." They contented themselves with clothing
harmless, merry, simple subjects in musical garments more or less
after the fashion of Wagner. To copy the "Meistersinger"
without possessing Wagner's genius, this Icarus flight was first
ventured upon by Max Schillings, with his "Pfeifertag" (1899,
libretto by Count Sporck). He tried the experiment of projecting
personal experiences of a kind upon a subject supposedly comical;
and though the background was well chosen, the plot was so
unbearably spun out that it was turned into a clumsy joke of
three acts' duration. In addition, the music is decidedly unori-
ginal, without a spark of either wit or humor, and is endurable only
in a few symphonic lyric parts. This combination was so tiresome
that the opera was soon banished from the theatres.
More fortunate was Richard Strauss (born 1864) with his
"Meistersinger," the one-act "Feuersnot," (1901, libretto by Ernst
v. Wolzogen). This affords rollicking entertainment since, though
in decidedly bad taste, it does not lack wit and humor. Having
failed with his "Guntram" Strauss attained his first stage success
with this work, and this success was for some time increased beyond
all measure by the cunning business trick of coupling the "Feuers-
not" on the.play-bill with the sensational "Salome" that followed
as Strauss's third opera. The mixture of a pretty legend with
Strauss's strictly personal affairs, his so-called "expulsion" from
Munich, which is compared with the so-called expulsion of his
forerunner Wagner, is inorganic, and the erotic episodes of the
work are most shameless. Prudish hypocrisy may be repulsive,
but the prostitution on the stage of the most delicate things
merely to indulge curiosity certainly cannot be approved. For
instance, that a vulgar mob in the street, while uttering most
286 The Musical Quarterly
suggestive expressions, waits for a certain sexual event to happen—
to offer this spectacle to the German public was reserved for Strauss
and Wolzogen; who, moreover, in offensive self-glorification push
their own personalities in Kunrad's hopelessly boresome harangue
befittingly to the foreground. Strauss's music, though tempera-
mental and occasionally witty, is after all only a weak imitation of
the "Meistersinger." Its "greasy" lyricism sinks to such depths
that one hardly recognizes the (ethically and esthetically) genteel
author of " Guntram." The note that Strauss so masterfully struck
in the symphonic domain, especially in his genial "Till Eulen-
spiegel," he has never succeeded in putting into a stage-work.
He has ever since the "Feuersnot" sold his soul to the devil of
sensation, and the devil has not yet released him.
The comparatively healthy sensuality of his at times sym-
pathetic "Feuersnot" was replaced by the absolutely repulsive
lasciviousness of an Ochs von Lerchenau and the "last dan-
gerous hours" of an amorous but aging lady in his next
comic opera "Der Rosenkavalier" (libretto by Hugo v.
Hofmannsthal, 1911). This opera was supposed to represent
a kind of reborn "Nozze di Figaro." One needs but to glance
at the relationship between Rofrano and the wife of the field-
marshal, depicted with cynical distinctness, and to compare
this with the relations between the Countess and Cherubino,
to see how far removed the librettist of "Rosenkavalier"
(who has lapsed into the most unfruitful estheticism) is from
his great forerunners Beaumarchais and da Fonte. It is the
vast distance between real genius and untalented imitation. Such
is also the case with Strauss's music. One would commit a grievous
wrong to compare it even in the slightest degree with the immortal
music of Mozart. Certainly the score contains admirable details,
which could be turned out only by one possessing the gifts of a
Richard Strauss; but, as a whole, this work is entirely lacking in
style, and with its interlarded, banal waltzes is an artistic failure.
In the purified atmosphere which will be found in Germany
after the war is over there will be little place for such operas as
"Salome," "Elektra,"anda pantomime like his " Josephslegende,"
represented in the spring of 1914 by the Russian Ballet in Paris.
These three works possess in the first place great technical value,
and as decayed products of a period when taste was very low,
wild and stifling, as was the case generally in the last years before
the tremendous European storm, they have an undeniable histori-
cal value. That a healthier generation will find these works
bearable is very doubtful.
 German Opera Since Richard Wagner 287
"Salome" (text taken almost word for word from Oscar
Wilde's drama, 1905) was Strauss's international success and made
him the most famous musician of his time. This success explains
itself primarily from the technical perfection of the libretto. Though
not conceived with a view to music, it lent itself most readily to
a musical setting. Wilde's drama, whose unhealthy erotics echoed
the inclinations of our time, rolled itself off quickly and without
delay when performed as a drama; but with Strauss's music, which
proceeds symphonically quite without regard to the needs of the
theatre, it became unbearably long and, especially toward the end,
was rendered disgusting. In addition to this, Strauss indulged in
a concoction of puzzled-out cacophonies and banal sentimentalities.
This mixture produced its great effect because the public, after
having been sufficiently tortured with incomprehensible monstros-
ities, came to look upon the Strauss trivialities as particularly
"beautiful." As a model example of such beauty the hackneyed
motive of Jochanaan may be mentioned.
Much has been written about the "perversity" of Strauss's
music, and Strauss has been reproached for having composed such
a subject at all. I cannot in the least indorse this opinion.
It seems to me on the contrary that Strauss simply was not at
all the right man for such a subject: a Russian like Glazounow
(who, by the way, composed very racy music to Wilde's "Salome")
or a Frenchman like Bizet, whose "Djamileh" strikes a very dif-
ferent note of Oriental voluptuousness, would have been the right
composer for such a drama. Strauss on the other hand has no
other inner connection with the subject than that of need of
sensation, and thus he composed the libretto without regard to
its dramatic style. He may be a great symphonic composer, but
he assuredly is not a born dramatist. That is evident from his
creative tendencies not less than from the circumstance that he
never sees his scores scenically but only hears them. Hence
these impossible orchestral interludes of his which cannot be filled
out by motivated dramatic action. So it happens that Strauss,
unlike all the great dramatists before him, on the one hand makes
his orchestra paint the sung word in detail, on the other
smothers it by exactly this detailed orchestral tone-painting. The
net result is that the entire proceeding, whose sense no one under-
stands, becomes nonsense.
This criticism applies to "Salome," and also to his later
works, however much purer and nobler in style they may be.
The recognition scene in "Elektra" (1909, libretto by Hofmanns-
thal) is touching and sublime, but the painting of hysterical
288 The Musical Quarterly

erotic conditions makes the work just as repulsive as "Salome."

Strauss's ballet " Josephslegende" (1914, scenario by Count Kessler
and Hugo v. Hofmannsthal) moves in the same sphere of over-
heated pathological sexuality. . In this ballet Strauss is at least
consistent, inasmuch as he here dispenses with the cooperation
of the voice which in his other works was only in his way. Finally,
the strange mongrel "Ariadne auf Naxos" (opera in one act, to
be played after the "Bourgeois gentilhomme" of Moliere) calls
for a few remarks. On account of the unfortunate combination of
a long-drawn-out opera act with Moliere's comedy (cut beyond
recognition) the work has not prospered anywhere. The best
parts are the interludes. They are often witty and show
Strauss from his most original side. The opera itself with its
inorganic mixture of serious and comic elements is, despite many
beauties, on the whole unbearable and cannot be given without
the comedy of Moliere. Performed independently it would be
utterly void of sense. How little regard Strauss has for the
singers is shown in the murderous coloratura passages of Zerbinetta.
Strauss is reported to have said that the singers can "burst" if
only his orchestral effects hit the mark. As long as Strauss does
not turn from such suicidal principles, and until he frees himself
from the disastrous influence of such a decadent poet as Hof-
mannsthal, it is hopeless to expect of him a stage-work of lasting
value. The fact that he is the fashion just now is no proof to the
contrary.
Before the operatic fame of Strauss, Humperdinck andKienzl,
the most successful German dramatic composers of the present day,
the fame of all those must pale who as musicians are sure of our
undivided interest, but have not fared well on the stage. To these
belongs Felix Weingartner, the famous conductor (born 1863). His
early operas "Sakuntala" (1884) and "Malawika" (1886), botii
after Indian subjects with texts by himself, were followed by his
perhaps most original creation in the sphere of music-drama, the
opera "Genesius" (libretto by himself), at first greatly misunder-
stood, but afterwards to a certain degree appreciated. What
followed, works of lofty aim, like the trilogy "Orestes" (1902)
and the biblical drama "Kain und Abel" (1914, both with libretti
by himself), show Weingartner on paths foreign to his lovable
nature, and mistaken in the choice of his subjects. Fascinating as a
musician, but very naive as regards' the requirements of the
drama, is the great pianist Feruccio Busoni (born in Empoli near
Florence in 1866, since 1894 in Berlin), who became entirely iden-
tified with German culture, and indeed "poetizes" in this language.
 German Opera Since Richard Wagner 289
Busoni shows in his phantaatic opera "Die Brautwahl" (1913,.
after E. T. A. Hoffmann, libretto by himself) that he is extremely
gifted for the buffo-romantic. Unfortunately a free display of
this talent was impossible within the narrow frame of his opera.
Another recent applicant for operatic honors, Paul Grgner (born
1873), may perhaps be mentioned as the representative of what
one might term recent German opera-pathetique. Grfiner most
certainly has the dramatic sense and his music does not lack the
personal note, but his personality is not original enough as yet to
excite deep interest or to justify in any way thoughts of Mozart
in connection with his work. Still, his opera "Don Juan's
letztes Abenteuer" (text by Otto Anthes), produced shortly
before the outbreak of the war, holds out at least a fair promise
for the future of this type of opera. On the other hand, I
believe that the operas of the much discussed Vienna impres-
sionist Franz Schreker (born 1875), "Der feme Kkng" (1912)
and "Das Spielwerk und die Prinzessin" (1913), have text-books
(by the composer) so strangely symbolistic and music so palpably
Debussian that their artistic appeal will not go beyond a
relatively limited circle.
We stand at present at the end of a period of development.
It set in with the death of the greatest German music dramatist,
reached its culminating point in the last works of the greatest
Latin genius and has now apparently been brought to a close by
the world's war which has so entirely transformed the European
mode of life. In these months, which have brought so much "re-
valuation" of hitherto existing values, it is a bad thing to prophesy,
and least of all should one indulge in predictions of any kind about
such a genre as opera, which at this time has been thrown so
entirely out of the beaten track. One thing, however, is certain:
the result of this monstrous struggle of nations will determine
the future of the "essence" of European opera.
Up to this time Germany, Italy, and France have been
equally powerful in the world of opera. An analysis of the
present situation leads me to believe that the future history
of opera will rest with the heirs of Wagner and Verdi, except
for Russian influences that are not yet to be foreseen. I
have endeavored to show in this essay how the inheritance has
been administered up to the present time. Italy, like Germany,
finds herself since the death of these two colossal heroes in a state
of transition. Let us hope that this transitory state will give way
to a great new period. It will be a period, I think, in which good
national art will flourish with the popular and merry as chief
290 The Musical Quarterly
qualities. The disposition already exists. To foretell the fate
of opera in Italy is difficult, though we may take for granted that
her art, nationally less confined, hailing from Verdi's last period
and borne on the wings of song, will more easily conquer
the world than German art. .The latter is very likely to be
national rather than international in its appeal for some time to
come. We must reckon with the possibility that the expansion
of German opera in Europe will be largely confined to Teutonic
nations. That a different fate awaits German opera across the
ocean may be predicted with confidence. There the German opera
composer of the future will be welcomed alike by Americans of
German descent and by those whose mother-tongue is English.
On that neutral soil a bloodless battle for supremacy will then be
fought by German, French, Russian, Italian and probably
American composers. In countries undamaged by the world's war
the German opera of the future will perhaps grow from a national
into a universal art in the sense of that of Mozart, Gluck, Wagner.
We who hope to contribute to this new "art-work of the future"
which will serve incidentally as a common cultural bulwark of the
nations of the white race against Mongolian barbarism and sham
culture, should not waste our time in theorizing but should push on
to deeds. And in so doing we should always be guided by Wagner's
advice: "Children, create something new, new, and again new!"
(Translated by Janet Wylie.)