The Italian might be said to hear through what
is euphemistically called his heart, the Frenchman through his palate,
the Spaniard through his toes, the German through his brain, and the
Englishman through his purse. But in truth this does not represent the
case at all fairly. For, to take only modern instances, Italy, on
whose congenial soil 'Cavalleria Rusticana' and the productions it
suggested met with such extraordinary success, saw also in 'Falstaff'
the wittiest and most brilliant musical comedy since 'Die
Meistersinger', and in 'Madama Butterfly' a lyric of infinite
delicacy, free from any suggestion of unworthy emotion. Among recent
French operas, works of tragic import, treated with all the intricacy
of the most advanced modern schools, have been received with far
greater favour than have been shown to works of the lighter class
which we associate with the genius of the French nation; and of late
years the vogue of such works as 'Louise' or 'Pelleas et Melisande'
shows that the taste for music without any special form has conquered
the very nation in which form has generally ranked highest. In
Germany, on the other hand, some of the greatest successes with the
public at large have been won by productions which seem to touch the
lowest imaginable point of artistic imbecility; and the
ever-increasing interest in musical drama that is manifested year
after year by London audiences shows that higher motives than those
referred to weigh even with Englishmen.
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