unable to sympathize with them in their
suffering or rejoice in their deliverance. The first requisite in opera,
it would appear, is that it be pervaded by an atmosphere of
romanticism. Other things are necessary; the libretto must have dramatic
situations; but above all, the romantic element must prevail. If it is
difficult for the listener to become interested in an opera with such a
libretto as is Fidelio, it must be doubly so for the composer who
undertakes the task of writing music for it. A dull story hinders the
play of fancy; the imagination remains dormant, and the product under
such conditions has the air of being forced. The musician is in bonds.

Musically, it is a work of surpassing beauty; but there is a dissonance
between music and libretto which gives the impression of something
lacking; there is not the harmony which we expect in a work of this
kind. Wagner has taught us better on these points. The music of Fidelio
has force and grandeur; some of it has a sensuous beauty that reminds us
of Mozart at his best. Had Beethoven's choice fallen to a better
libretto, the result might have been an altogether better opera.

Fidelio affords a good instance of the fact that operatic composition,
considered strictly as music, is not the highest form in which the art
can be portrayed, and that, in itself, it is not so strictly confined to
the domain of music as is the symphony, or the various forms of sacred
music (the oratorio or the mass, for instance). It may, in the right
hands, come to be a greater work of art, viewed in its entirety, than
either of the forms just mentioned. In the hands of a man like Wagner,
it undoubtedly is, but in such a case the result is achieved by means
other than those obtained through the domain of music. Much is
contributed by the literary quality of the libretto, its poetic and
romantic qualities, its dramatic possibilities, as well as its stage
setting and the ability of the singers to act well their parts. An opera
is a combination of several arts, in which music is often subordinated.
Not so in the case of sacred music, in which the entire portrayal rests
absolutely on the musician's art. Of the works of the great composers
who wrote both classes of music, those which are devoted to religious
subjects will be found vastly superior in almost every instance, with
the one exception of Mozart's and in the case of this composer, his Mass
in B flat and the Requiem will bear comparison