The work done on German soil must not, however, be passed over lightly. Stars of the second magnitude, such as Hasse (1699-1783), who wrote over one hundred operas, and Graun (1701-1759) have their place among the constellations. They are not important either in their influence upon opera generally nor upon German opera in particular, since their work was almost exclusively done to Italian libretti on the prevailing Italian model; but they both had great influence upon Adam Hiller, who has a distinct place in the history of opera. [Sidenote: =Hiller, 1728-1804=] For it is very largely to Hiller that the credit of the foundation of the “Singspiel” may be allotted. This form of opera, to which we must, of necessity, allude frequently, seeing that it was the form very largely in vogue at the time of Mozart, Beethoven, and Weber, although possibly derived in the first instance from the French operetta, soon justified its existence as a distinctly German form of art. Hiller raised it from a mere collection of songs, and adopted an able and dramatic method in setting the words to forms of larger outline and of more complex development. His chief works are _Der Dorfbarbier_ and _Die Jagel_, both of which sometimes gain a hearing to-day. Without doubt he had something to do with the success attained by Weber and Mozart, for although their settings of similar “song-plays” are infinitely superior, their work is certainly more sure by reason of the leadership he gave them. The pioneer in a new land seldom reaches its utmost limits. [Sidenote: =Real German Opera=] Hiller’s operettas were German and not Italian, and that also must have affected Mozart and Weber, for they were able to notice the deeper appeal made on a German audience by a performance in the vernacular, and both eventually followed suit. Until the production of _Der Freischütz_ at the Berlin Opera House in 1821 there was little to justify such a course, but after that date we find many composers writing German operas, and founding a school of composition which includes such names as Spohr, Marschner, Lortzing, Lindpaintner, and Nicolai. [Sidenote: =Spohr, 1784-1859=] Spohr’s greatest operatic work, _Faust_, was actually staged at Frankfort two years before _Der Freischütz_ first saw the light of day. Although very popular both in Germany and England for many years, this opera rarely gets a performance now, it having been entirely eclipsed by Gounod’s work of the same title. [Illustration: J. A. HILLER.] Besides _Faust_, Spohr wrote many other operas, following Weber to a large extent in romanticism of method, although the peculiarly chromatic genius of his music never leaves one in doubt as to its authorship. The most successful of these are _Zemir and Azor_, _Jessonda_, _Der Berggeist_, and _Der Alchymist_, all almost entirely forgotten now. The popular song with sopranos, “Rose Softly Blooming,” comes from the first-named of these. [Sidenote: =Marschner, 1796-1861=]