In the repertoire of a few progressive European stages is to be found a work of exceptional genius entitled "Gwendoline" by EMMANUEL CHABRIER (1841-1894). So highly imaginative and poetical are its attributes as to warrant the assertion that "Gwendoline" is the best recent French opera, if not the most advanced exposition of existing Franco-German music dramas. No less an authority than Reyer, was, in spite of his usually conservative views, moved to criticise this masterpiece in the following favorable terms: "Je me trouve en présence d'une oeuvre extrêmement intérressante, renfermant des pages superbes et qui dans ses parties les moins saillantes, porte quand même la griffe puissante d'un compositeur admirablement doné." Chabrier did not devote himself seriously to music until he was nearly forty years of age. Shortly before deciding to become a professional, he had been quite successful with an opéra-bouffe called "L'Étoile." "Gwendoline," however, developed at one stroke his dormant creative powers in a manner truly remarkable. (Charming though inconsistent is the adaptation of an Irish melody in one of the most picturesque scenes.) An enthusiast for Wagner, Chabrier nevertheless branched out into a style that is distinctly his own. The libretto of "Gwendoline" may, perhaps, bear some resemblance to "Der Fliegende Holländer" and to "Lohengrin." Gwendoline's recital of her dream in the first act is suggestive of Senta's, whereas in the second act, the love scene after the pagan marriage ceremony recalls the similar episode between Elsa and Lohengrin. Not so with the music. Striking originality, daring harmonic innovations, and above all marvellous skill in orchestral treatment constitute the distinctive features of Chabrier's individuality. The present writer has had opportunity for studying the manuscript score of "Gwendoline" after its revision by the eminent Bayreuth and Munich director, Hermann Levi. Judging from previously heard performances, there had been pictured a monumental accumulation of black notes and an intricate web of interwoven polyphony. These expectations were not justified. Needless to say that the instrumentation is not that of a Mozart, nor are the usual complicated and massive resources of modern orchestration lacking at the necessary moment. On the other hand, the reticence displayed during most of the accompanying polyphony to the vocal parts rivals that of Wagner's highest attainment as embodied in the first act of "Die Walküre." Effects that suggest to the listener the union of peculiar composites of tone-color, resolve themselves on paper to perhaps a few simple chords for flutes in their low range, extending across the entire page; or again to the gentle undulations of muted strings deployed in keys of many signatures, whereby subdued and grayish tints are procured. Chabrier's orchestration suggests a progressive yet peculiar phase of Wagnerism enveloped by a tinge of