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Show mmt Hereafter, Mr. npfrnwor and a)Wi ,r U" r''lCO,?r' you ran attend i - nil.- operas and enjoy yourselvt IvW ! """ h as v"" w,hr,iii N j of rl i yourselves below the iftb t top-notch, ra. gt j "Viiii are Just as pood as If you I went to the- cr.m.i opera. Victor Herbert ha- said ho, and since lie is thf author c forty-two operas of both ar i. ( i. v, h.j ought to know. Ucraiisp an opera is light it jc . ghoul. l not i.i- con.), timed, stfys Herbert, lie holds that light op &t pj are more pleasing than the heavier brands ,m. therefore arc -object to 1 I crito Istn of t,,,,.,. who , h i Tl k they d wl must have a dull time to show real beta, cuiiurf. . ' Now If you linpif-n to like De-Wolf De-Wolf Hopper better than anyone Qm el?-. . and If you happen to like t. B see the star of "Pinafore," you can ,1 still do vo an! have as much credit R--or hralnlnc-us one who Ukea to Oeee i':in:?n starring In grand opera, lewyf Herbert has nothing t.. lie, aj against the lover of grand opera, a Jj howi-M-r. Me likes all opera and i bcl'.iN' - if much culture and qual-wl qual-wl lty m shown in enjoying one style of rnt to oj . ra is anothi r ' hol4 Herbcr' in Irish Lorn He began letinr nls rrirpor '' nrst writing comic I Sarii operas. Later he wrote two , prand r.is, both of which were . 1 successes. ' in There are those who s.ay with hnnitU manifest superiority that comic w dyv opera Is not to be spoken of In tb- IL By same loath with grand opera; k dor- li" r" ' ' 1 ' -state that the . v nn: i 1 1 1 o f grand opera la in the attitude of the "high-brows," I and then there are plenty or . nii.-s 1st hia remaining who .oiiui' there is mm b lie Wi to I" said on ! ..I h : id. a. "The great mistake Is made." . says Victor Herbert "when people ' make ip lb. ir minds to the belief 1H that no piece can be really good 1 and be liirht ,uid simple ni its na-' na-' iboef un In olncr v-"r'!-"- purely be- cause conic opera la lighter and more melodious than the heavier e "Ti strains of grand opera, a group oC thirty. critics immediately say that ll Is WtBtT, unworthy of comparison with the jjjj latt. r. That is a greal mist ki Then- an- any number of airs from fySwoailc operas that arc as skillfully Mb!y : (Otr.j.csnl .is itm . , ,,ny. prorrf Ujipi; in grand oj.era. As a matter ited a flf miis-ic that real!) Interprets , the lightness ami joyousness ol life Is a s n u. h a matter - i te and ick to discrimination and tspiratlon as any Offibl grand opi ra ftt, to "Merely because grand opera has I no humor in it, no clowning, beta be-ta rob taus.- it is tra and solemn, BO I I -of tie pcoph- ;..y i bat ,i superior lo I - gay- r si-:, i id (city m nnisi ' Is i i .-at.-st harm In grand 11J l operas tin- simpler thing . great H pef. be. ,iw. t hey a i i i-.i jly l eiju-iii- enct- b I'd. t be st i. i in the memory, i o. not i us They II ti Jjjjr. Victor Herbert. Author jfI Rr) k of Forty-Two Light and Tib. m iw1 fiW'lHf Grand Operas, Declares jjfe- g the Comic Production ' tare i lv Art" - ' W . ' ' , are skillfully composed, there Is genius behind them They aro illustrative il-lustrative of the better things in f comic opera. However, the whole I argument bases itself on the con-j con-j tentlon that grand opera requires I more skill and exaltation than I comic opera. I maintain that when I a piece of music is as good as it I can bo made, and It is recognized I as p'-rfect, It is worthy to be classed ' alongside the other masterpieces, no matter If it is nothing but a simple, light air. CARMEN IN REALITY i- i k.ii I OPERA. " 'Carmen,' one of the most popular. pop-ular. If not the moxt popular, grand operas we have. Is in reality a comic opera. Of course. It ends In a tragedy and has tragerl.. V. rough-out, rough-out, yet it has treatment all the WaY through lighter than grand opera. Tho music Is simple '.n quality and represent? th, comic opera standard more nearly than that which has como to be known as the grand opera standard. "In my forty comic operas there are many, mny thin ;s that could be used In grand open. Many of my finales :-re of gran 1 opera caliber. cali-ber. The presence of comedians I on the stage renders Boiernn mu.'tc Inartistic, and the whole otrnos-I otrnos-I phere and idea of comic opera is mirth and pleasure, BO that tho music must interpret that. T have a contract with every company that produces my work to the effect ef-fect that I hey shall always have thirty musicians In the orchestra. A fewer number could not Interpret Inter-pret my music. "I feel that comic opera, if properly prop-erly handled. Is the equal of grand opera, and that the only real difference dif-ference in their nature Is that the comic opera must be maintained n pENTER Victor Herbert. - Upper left George Dameret Lower left Adelaide Ade-laide Norwood. Upper right Caruso, standing, and Geraldine Farrar in rectangle, rectan-gle, playing the part oi Madame Butterfly. Lower right DeWolf Hopper and Caroline White. If tho piece is to he successful. The mere presence of clowning does not mean that the music- mui strike humorous veins of response In the audience all the time There are often occasions when sentimental senti-mental music of sensuous strains is necessary, and these must be prepared pre-pared with much care and artistry. "Comic operas have many moods. Strlrring marches and love songs are In great demand. Musical comedy is often confused with comic opera. Strictly speaking, musical comedies are at present hodgc-pocltfes ,,f totalis unrelated actions ami songs A comic opera with any pretense at artistic merit has tho two forces so closely related re-lated and Interwoven that the audience au-dience senses them as one and the same thing. Every situation requires re-quires some definite sort of music and Ihe song must be logical and part of the natural action. There can be no sharp break in the midst of ribald dialogue followed by a tumpty-lumpty refrain. "The dramatic quality should always al-ways be usm1 extensively In tho music of grand opera. "Nothing really good can become popular In the rense that ragtime is populur, because the very fact that ragtime Is popular Is proof that it will soon be thrown away. Bettor music Is a trifle harder for the masses to learn, yet it has that fast inutlng quality of always haunting haunt-ing the memory and rousing the BenseS that are pleased with melody. Whenever B song becomes so pop ular that it Is shouted and played everywhere It is doomed to a short life. The great national airs and standard pieces of music and many things from the operas are popular, popu-lar, but not In tho same way that ragtime Is popular. "Some authors wrlto themselves out In one composition. Nothing they write in the future ll different. All subsequent compositions are re- I mlnlienL As for myself, I do not jH feel the approach of my limit. I 1 ' . feel resourceful and Inexhaustible. f I have never found It hard to keep from duplicating my music. This I , has been because I have worked P. especially hard upon each piece of If work. Really good music is tho M result of hard work and constant il effort, not by hit or miss methods. p I "I believe that the tastes of the f I public are being bettered by the light operas which they havo had r in the last few years. The gen- 1 I oral tone of musical comedies has j1 been raised by the demand of the people, based on what they saw In 1 1 1 1 comic opera." I Ills Interest. j I One of the guests at a wedding. I lif l seeing a dlsmal-looklng young man who appeared to be on terms of fa-mlllarity fa-mlllarity with tho principals, asked: "Arc you related to tho bride or to the bridegroom-olect?" "No," was tho gloomy reply. "Then," said the guest, "what in-terest in-terest have you In tho ceremony?" "Well." replied the young man. "I'm the defeated candidate." |