Chapters of Opera

Chapters of Opera

The Project Gutenberg EBook of Chapters of Opera, by H.E. Krehbiel
#4 in our series by H.E. Krehbiel
Copyright laws are changing all over the world. Be sure to check the
copyright laws for your country before downloading or redistributing
this or any other Project Gutenberg eBook.
This header should be the first thing seen when viewing this Project
Gutenberg file. Please do not remove it. Do not change or edit the
header without written permission.
Please read the "legal small print," and other information about the
eBook and Project Gutenberg at the bottom of this file. Included is
important information about your specific rights and restrictions in how
the file may be used. You can also find out about how to make a
donation to Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved.
**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts**
**eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since
1971**
*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of
Volunteers!*****
Title: Chapters of Opera
Author: H.E. Krehbiel
Release Date: June, 2004 [EBook #5995] [Yes, we are more than one
year ahead of schedule] [This file was first posted on October 10, 2002]

Edition: 10
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHAPTERS
OF OPERA ***

The HTML version of this text produced by Bob Frone can be found at
Plain
text adaption by Andrew Sly.
CHAPTERS
OF OPERA
Being Historical and Critical Observations And Records Concerning
the Lyric Drama in New York from Its Earliest Days Down to The
Present Time
by
HENRY EDWARD KREHBIEL
Musical Editor of "The New York Tribune"; Author of "How To Listen
To Music," "Studies In The Wagnerian Drama," "Music And Manners
In The Classical Period," "The Philharmonic Society Of New York,"
etc., etc.

To MARIE--WIFE
and
DAUGHTER HELEN

Who have shared with the Author many of the Experiences described in
this book.
"Joy shared is Joy doubled." --GOETHE.

PREFACE
The making of this book was prompted by the fact that with the season
1907-08 the Metropolitan Opera House in New York completed an
existence of twenty-five years. Through all this period at public
representations I have occupied stall D-15 on the ground floor as
reviewer of musical affairs for The New York Tribune newspaper. I
have, therefore, been a witness of the vicissitudes through which the
institution has passed in a quarter-century, and a chronicler of all
significant musical things which were done within its walls. I have seen
the failure of the artistic policy to promote which the magnificent
theater was built; the revolution accomplished by the stockholders
under the leadership of Leopold Damrosch; the progress of a German
régime, which did much to develop tastes and create ideals which, till
its coming, were little-known quantities in American art and life; the
overthrow of that régime in obedience to the command of fashion; the
subsequent dawn and development of the liberal and comprehensive
policy which marked the climax of the career of Maurice Grau as an
operatic director, I have witnessed since then, many of the fruits of
wise endeavor and astute management frittered away by managerial
incapacity and greed, and fad and fashion come to rule again, where for
a brief, but eventful period, serious artistic interest and endeavor had
been dominant.
The institution will enter upon a new régime with the season 1908-09.
The time, therefore, seemed fitting for a review of the twenty-five years
that are past. The incidents of this period are fixed; they may be
variously viewed, but they cannot be changed. They belong to history,
and to a presentation of that history I have devoted most of the pages
which follow. I have been actuated in my work by deep seriousness of
purpose, and have tried to avoid everything which could not make for

intellectual profit, or, at least, amiable and illuminative entertainment.
The chapters which precede the more or less detailed history of the
Metropolitan Opera House (I-VII) were written for the sake of the light
which they shed on existing institutions and conditions, and to illustrate
the development of existing taste, appreciation, and interest touching
the lyrical drama. To the same end much consideration has been paid to
significant doings outside the Metropolitan Opera House since it has
been the chief domicile of grand opera in New York. Especial attention
has been given for obvious reasons to the two seasons of opera at Mr.
Hammerstein's Manhattan Opera House.
H. E. KREHBIEL.
Blue Hill, Maine, the Summer of 1908.

AUTHOR'S NOTE TO THIRD EDITION
For the purposes of a new and popular edition of this book, the
publishers asked the author to continue his historical narrative, his
record of performances, and his critical survey of the operas produced
at the two chief operatic