Identifier: favouriteoperasf00hadd (find matches)
Title: Favourite operas from Mozart to Mascagni : their plots, history and music
Year: 1910 (1910s)
Authors: Hadden, J. Cuthbert (James Cuthbert), 1861-1914
Subjects: Operas
Publisher: New York : Thomas Nelson
Contributing Library: Harold B. Lee Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Brigham Young University

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stic of the impulsive nature of the man.Balfe wrote six or seven settings of the words beforehe hit on the final form of When other lips.He had tried, and tried, and tried again for the right melody. Late one night a cab drove up toa friends door, and a mighty peal of the bell startledthe household. His friend, recognising Balfes voiceoutside, went down and opened the door. Balferushed in, waving a roll of music over his head, andcalling out, Ive got itl Ive got itl Ive got it IHe ran upstairs to the drawing-room, sat down atthe piano, and awoke the surprised echoes of thenight with the now-renowned melody. He can hardly have had such trouble with theother gems of The Bohemian Girl. The wholething sounds so natural and easy—the fascinatingmelodies; the sparkling, animated choruses; theorchestration charming and restrained; no noise forthe sake of noise, no exuberance of sound, no ab-solute vulgarity. Of course the modern musician may regard Balfes orc^hestration as comparatively 182
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Arline avows her love for Thaddeus THE HISTORY feeble, his dramatic grip of a rather elementarykind. But Balfe produces his effect and that isenough. Much that Balfe wrote in the way of opera hasgone quite out of fashion. But ** The BohemianGirl has never lost its power to please, and itmust be many a day before that happens. THE HISTORY ** The Bohemian Girl was first produced atDrury Lane Theatre on November 27, 1843. SirJulius Benedict was then the musical chief at DruryLane, but Balfe himself conducted the first per-formance. At this performance, the audience went almost wild with enthusiasm. I dreamt that I dwelt in marble halls and ** Then youll remember me were twice repeated. For a few nights after the initial representation, however, the opera did not draw. The audiences that came were indeed enthusiastic, but it was not until nearly a fortnight had passed that there was an>i:hing like adequate houses. In consequence of this Balfe had in the meantime gone to Paris, where he

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