Even the most heroic or touching stories must lose much of their dignity when made into opera, since in that case the "music's the thing," and not the "play." For this reason it has seemed necessary to tell the stories of such operas as "Il Trovatore," with all their bombastic trimmings complete, in order to be faithful in showing them as they really are. On the other hand, it has been necessary to try to treat "Pinafore" in Gilbert's rollicking fashion. Opera is the most superficial thing in the world, even if it appears the most beautiful to the senses, if not to the intelligence. We go to opera not specially to understand the story, but to hear music and to see beautiful scenic effects. It is necessary, however, to know enough of the story to appreciate the cause of the movement upon the stage, and without some acquaintance of it beforehand one gets but a very imperfect knowledge of an opera story from hearing it once. A very great deal is said of music-motif and music-illustration, and it has been demonstrated again and again that this is largely the effort of the ultra-artistic to discover what is not there. At best, music is a "concord of sweet sounds"--heroic, tender, exciting, etc.; but the elemental passions and emotions are almost all it can define, or even suggest. Certain music is called "characteristic"--anvil choruses, for example, where hammers or triangles or tin whistles are used, but that is not music in its best estate, and musical purpose is best understood after a composer has labelled it, whether the ultra-artistic are ready to admit it or not. The opera is never more enjoyed than by a music lover who is incapable of criticism from lack of musical knowledge: music being first and last an emotional art; and as our emotions are refined it requires compositions of a more and more elevated character to appeal to them. Thus, we range from the bathos and vulgarity of the music hall to the glories of grand opera! The history of opera should be known and composers classified, just as it is desirable to know and to classify authors, painters, sculptors, and actors. Music is first of all something to be felt, and it is one of the arts which does not always explain itself. DOLORES BACON. CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. BALFE: THE BOHEMIAN GIRL 3 II. BEETHOVEN: FIDELIO 35 III. BERLIOZ: THE DAMNATION OF FAUST 51 IV. BIZET: CARMEN 69 V. DEKOVEN: ROBIN HOOD 95 VI. FLOTOW: MARTHA 105 VII. HUMPERDINCK: HAENSEL AND GRETEL 135 VIII. MASCAGNI: CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA 152 IX. MEYERBEER: THE PROPHET 163 X. MOZART: THE MAGIC FLUTE 191