A still more faithful follower in the footsteps of Weber was Heinrich Marschner, who loved the demoniacal and the weird, and gloated over them in his music. His operas, the most famous of which are _Der Vampyr_, _Hans Heiling_, and _The Templar and the Jewess_ (founded on Scott’s _Ivanhoe_), still have a hold on German affections. The study of _Hans Heiling_ is held to have had a great influence over Wagner at the time he was composing _The Flying Dutchman_. Many composers of this school and this date remain in our memories through the more or less frequent performances of their most successful work. Among such may be named Lortzing (1803-1852), composer of _Peter the Shipwright_ (a story dealing with Peter the Great’s life in the shipbuilder’s yard at Zaandam); Flotow (1812-83), composer of the tuneful and popular _Martha_; Kreutzer (1782-1849), Lindpaintner (1791-1856), and Nicolai (1810-49). The overture to the last-named composer’s _Merry Wives of Windsor_ is world famous. Peter Cornelius (1824-74) and Goetz (1840-76) each composed a well-known opera, _The Barber of Bagdad_ and _The Taming of the Shrew_ respectively. [Sidenote: =Operatic interest not centred in Germany at this time=] The fact that the Germans at this time did not produce composers of greater operatic eminence is due largely to the fact that the grandeur and charm of French grand opera was drawing many devotees and many composers to Paris. While Italy had its brilliant Rossini and Verdi to uphold the traditions of national opera in their own land, there was no composer of German opera on a like eminence, or one that could successfully vie with the ever-increasing magnificence and interest of the grand opera of Paris. To that brilliant episode in the story of the opera we will now turn our attention. CHAPTER IX. SOME LESSER STARS IN THE OPERATIC FIRMAMENT. (_c_) THE FRENCH SCHOOL (RAMEAU TO AMBROISE THOMAS). Rameau—Divergence of methods—The successors of Gluck and Piccini—Méhul—Cherubini and Spontini—Meyerbeer—Auber—Gounod—Bizet—Reasons for the popularity of _Faust_ and _Carmen_—Offenbach—Délibes and Lalo—Thomas. The Italian Lully had no small share in founding what afterwards became a school of Grand Opera in Paris. As we have already said, he was so jealous of his fame that he brooked no rivals; so powerful was he, too, at Court that he was instrumental in keeping in the background every other aspirant to fame in his own particular line. So that we have to wait for some years before we find any notable name in France so far as operatic development is concerned. [Sidenote: =Rameau, 1683-1764=]