=The Singspiel=.—As already mentioned, the first attempts at German opera took the form of the _Singspiel_, but it gradually died out during the invasion of Italian opera in Germany. Its revival and development to a higher standard was due to =Johann Adam Hiller= (1728-1804), who received his first impulse through an English ballad opera of a farcical nature, “The Devil to Pay.” This was translated into German and given (1743) at Berlin with the original English melodies taken from popular ballads. Hiller set this translation to music and followed it with many others which soon acquired great vogue; one or two, for example, _Der Dorfbarbier_ (The Village Barber), are still heard in Germany. Hiller, though one of the most learned musicians of the day, the founder of the celebrated Gewandhaus Concerts in Leipzig and editor of the first musical periodical ever published, adopted a simple, natural Folk-style in these operettas, as they were also called. Goethe was particularly interested in this revival of a national form of opera; it stimulated him to the writing of the ballads which in turn acted so powerfully in developing the German song under the hands of Loewe, Schubert, Schumann and others. =Mozart’s First German Opera=.—Emperor Joseph II, wishing to establish the _Singspiel_ in Vienna, commissioned Mozart to write a German opera of a similar style. This resulted in _Die Entführung aus dem Serail_ (The Elopement from the Seraglio), and the composer’s hopes of founding a national school of opera were high. Unfortunately, he was doomed to disappointment. Though _Die Entführung_ was received with enthusiasm, popular favor was averse to opera in any other tongue than Italian; the German theatre was open only a few years and with the exception of _Die Zauberflöte_, his future operas were composed to Italian texts. =His Later Operas=.—_Le Nozze di Figaro_ (The Marriage of Figaro—1786), _Don Giovanni_ (Don Juan—1788), _Die Zauberflöte_ (The Magic Flute—1791) rank as Mozart’s greatest operas. Considered as music alone, the last reaches a height which gives an idea of what he might have done in nationalizing the opera if he had been spared a score of years longer; but its confused, irrational plot stands in the way of its popularization. The same objection holds good of _Così fan Tutte_ (Women are All Alike—1790), which contains some of his most exquisite music.