ce as pianist, but when he lacked some months of being
eighteen years of age he was made director of the music of the theater
at Breslau. This was his first acquaintance with practical life as a
musician. He showed great talent for direction and organization, and
here he composed his first serious opera "_Rubezahl_" (1806). His
next position was at Stuttgart, where he became musical director in
1807. After composing several short pieces, he led a somewhat
irregular life for several years, concerting as a pianist, writing
articles for the papers, at which he was very talented, beginning a
musical novel, and at length, in 1810, producing his opera "_Abou
Hassan_." Then followed about three years of roving life as a concert
player and occasionally as composer, until 1813, when he was appointed
musical director at Prague. The opera here was in very bad condition,
and the company incapable, but Weber engaged new singers in Vienna,
and entirely reorganized the affair, and conducted himself so
prudently that he gained the good will of nearly every one. As an
example of his quickness it may be mentioned that upon discovering
that certain musicians in the orchestra, who were not disposed to
yield to his strict ideas of discipline, were conversing with each
other in Bohemian, while the music was going on, he learned the
language himself sufficiently to rebuke them in their own tongue. His
next position was at Dresden in 1816, and here he remained nine years
until his death. His position at first was somewhat ambiguous. There
were two troupes of singers in the opera--an Italian and the German.
The grand operas were given in Italian by the Italian company, and the
light operas in German by the German company. It was Weber's task to
change this, by producing new works of a distinctly higher character
than the foreign works of the Italian company. The second year he was
able to produce a few good operas of other schools in German versions,
but it was not until 1821, when his "_Preciosa_" was produced at
Berlin, and 1822, when "_Der Freischuetz_" was produced in the same
theater, that the reputation of the young master was established
beyond question. It is impossible at the present time to describe the
enthusiasm which the latter work created. It was a new departure in
opera. It united two strains very dear to the German heart--the simple
peasant life and the people's song are represented in the choruses,
and in the arias of the less