George has an interview with the White
Lady, who is of course Anna in disguise. She recognises George as the
man whose life she saved after a battle, and knowing him to be the
rightful heir of Avenel, promises to help him in recovering his
property. She has discovered that treasure is concealed in a statue of
the White Lady, and with this she empowers George to buy back his
ancestral lands and castle. Gaveston is outbidden at the sale, and
George weds Anna. Boieldieu's music has much melodic beauty, though its
tenderness is apt to degenerate into sentimentality. In its original
form the opera would nowadays be unbearably tiresome, and only a
judicious shortening of the interminable duets and trios can make them
tolerable to a modern audience. In spite of much that is conventional
and old-fashioned, the alternate vigour and grace of 'La Dame Blanche'
and the genuine musical interest of the score make it the most
favourable specimen of this period of French opera comique. It is the
last offspring of the older school. After Boieldieu's time the influence
of Rossini became paramount, and opera comique, unable to resist a spell
so formidable, began to lose its distinctively national characteristics.
CHAPTER VI
WEBER AND THE ROMANTIC SCHOOL
WEBER--SPOHR--MARSCHNER--KREUTZER--LORTZING--
NICOLAI--FLOTOW--MENDELSSOHN--SCHUBERT--SCHUMANN
Although, for the sake of convenience, it is customary to speak of Weber
as the founder of the romantic school in music, it must not be imagined
that the new school sprang into being at the production of 'Der
Freischuetz.
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