It is not merely beautiful singing, for that can be heard more effectively from the same artists in the concert hall, when they are unhampered by the necessities of stage-action, costume, and make-up. Nevertheless, there are those who are content at the opera with this alone, hence the popularity of certain Italian operas, the success of which depends almost entirely upon pure vocalization and expressive singing with support of little in the way of stagecraft or dramatic truth. Nor is it excellent orchestral playing that is the main objective, for that, too, can be better heard in the symphony of the concert-room. Nor is fine acting the main consideration—for that we must visit some temple of the drama; nor is it the wonderful development of stage appliance, the marvellous scenic displays, or electric lighting devices that call for comment: these can be better seen in some house mainly devoted to spectacular presentation. It is none of these in particular for which we go to the opera, but rather for the combination of them all, which forms the characteristic feature of that complex aggregation of various arts of which opera is constituted. And seeing how many-sided and complex an art-growth it is with which we have to deal, small wonder is it that real appreciation for its numerous points comes but slowly, and only subsequent to experience, perhaps to study. [Sidenote: =Some Suggestions=] Now experience and study are just the things of which our imaginary young friend is quite unable to boast, hence the confused and mystified mental condition in which she, in all probability, leaves the opera house. Although easy to diagnose, the remedy for this state of things is more difficult to seek, but perhaps the following suggestions may be made:— [Sidenote: =To Grasp the Story=] First of all, I would advise, make some attempt before going to the opera to master the details of the plot or story; there are many means of doing this: in all the operas published in Boosey’s Royal Edition the plot is plainly set out at the beginning, and any work not published there may almost certainly be found with its story simply set forth in a book entitled _The Opera_, by Streatfield. This done, some idea of what is taking place upon the stage can be grasped, and even perhaps some sentences of the libretto followed. Without such help, plots with so much movement and incident as even _Lohengrin_ or _Siegfried_ may be hard to grasp; but do not make the mistake of taking a copy of the music or libretto into the house with you; the auditorium is generally too dark to admit of their use, and even if this be not impossible, frequent cuts make following a difficult matter. [Sidenote: =To Realize the Style of the Music=]