Ponchielli, who was born in 1834 and died in 1886, will be principally remembered by his remarkably beautiful opera, “La Gioconda” (produced in 1876), which, together with a re-written version of his first opera, “I Promessi Sposi,” gave him great popularity in Italy and spread his reputation to other countries. [Illustration: BEETHOVEN IN HIS STUDY.] As for Italy’s young composers that profess to represent the modern Italian school of opera, they are led by Puccini, whose “Manon Lescaut” and “La Bohême” are melodious and full of merit. Mascagni and Leoncavallo, whose “Cavalleria Rusticana” and “I Pagliacci” achieved popularity, have not realized expectations. Nor has Giordano, whose “Andrea Chenier” was well received in Italy. Bizet, whose “Carmen” is one of the most remarkable of modern operas, died in Paris in 1875. “Carmen” has remained in the repertoire. His other opera, “Les Pécheurs de Perles,” only achieved a moderate success. [Illustration: GRAND OPERA HOUSE, PARIS.] One of France’s greatest musicians, Hector Berlioz, was born in 1803 and died in 1869. His operas, “Les Troyens,” “Benvenuto Cellini,” his “Damnation de Faust,” his “Roméo et Juliette” symphony, are all great and afforded Wagner a model that he imitated persistently. In 1871 France lost one of its most talented operatic composers, Auber, whose “Masaniello” and “Fra Diavolo” are two of the most popular operas ever written by a Frenchman. Auber composed comic operas charmingly, and his “Domino Noir,” “Diamants de la Couronne,” “Haydée,” and other works of a similar character, entertained the French people for many years. Auber’s death has left a vacancy that has not been filled. The modern French composers cannot be called great. Saint-Saens, whose most successful work is “Samson et Dalila” (which is more of an oratorio than an opera, and which was produced in 1877), has composed other operas, such as “Henri VIII.,” “Ascanio,” et cetera, which lack originality and inspiration. Massenet has composed “Le Roi de Lahore,” “Hérodiade,” “Manon,” “Werther,” et cetera, that have had passing successes. Both Saint-Saens and Massenet have attempted to follow Wagner in their sonorous orchestration; but their works lack distinction. The French composers of to-day have been demoralized by Wagner’s affectations. The death of Ambroise Thomas, in 1895, caused France the loss of one of her most successful and accomplished operatic composers, whose “Mignon” will be long admired as a very charming opera comique, while his “Hamlet,” though containing portions that are ably written, has never attained outside France any remarkable success. [Illustration: METROPOLITAN OPERA HOUSE, NEW YORK.] Reyer, whose “Sigurd” was produced in 1884 with considerable success, is a follower of Meyerbeer. His “Salammbo” was produced in 1890, but did not attract the attention expected outside of France.