Violent
contrasts with him do duty for the subtle characterisation of the older
masters. His heroes rant and storm, and his heroines shriek and rave,
but of real feeling, and even of real expression, there is little in his
scores.
The career of Hector Berlioz (1803-1869) was in striking contrast to
that Meyerbeer. While Meyerbeer was earning the plaudits of crowded
theatres throughout the length and breadth of Europe, Berlioz sat alone,
brooding over the vast conceptions to which it taxed even his gigantic
genius to give musical shape. Even now the balance has scarcely been
restored. Though Meyerbeer's popularity is on the wane, the operas of
Berlioz are still known for the most part only to students. Before the
Berlioz cycle at Carlsruhe in 1893, 'La Prise de Troie' had never been
performed on any stage, and though the French master's symphonic works
now enjoy considerable popularity, his dramatic works are still looked
at askance by managers. There is a reason for this other than the
hardness of our hearts. Berlioz was essentially a symphonic writer. He
had little patience with the conventions of the stage, and his attempts
to blend the dramatic and symphonic elements, as in 'Les Troyens,' can
scarcely be termed a success. Yet much may be pardoned for the sake of
the noble music which lies enshrined in his works. 'Benvenuto Cellini'
and 'Beatrice et Benedict,' which were thought too advanced for the
taste of their day, are now perhaps a trifle old-fashioned for our
times.
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