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.