Woman's Club Work and Programs Part 10

VIII--THE FRENCH SCHOOL OF TO-DAY

Gounod, born in 1818, is the greatest composer of French opera of modern times. His masterpiece is Faust, with its familiar Jewel Song; his second best work is Romeo and Juliet.

Thomas, the writer of Mignon, full of melody, and Hamlet, with its brilliant and powerful music, is distinctly a follower of Gounod.

Bizet shows in his Carmen the influence of Wagner; the Toreador strain is its guiding-theme. His work was to raise light opera to almost the dignity of grand.

Saint-Saens has one well-known work, Samson and Delilah, somewhat suggestive of oratorio.

Ma.s.senet, who died but lately, was full of originality. His operas, The Cid, Le Jongleur de Notre-Dame, Manon, and Thais, are all to be seen on the modern stage.

Charpentier in Louise has also struck an original note, and his orchestration is considered unique.

Debussy has written Pelleas and Melisande, a new opera of great interest.

Delibes has one charming opera, Lakme, founded on the love of a Hindu girl for an English officer.

IX--THE LATER ITALIAN SCHOOL

Verdi, born in 1839 and dying only recently, is the master of the modern Italian composers. Ernani is typical of his first style, and was immensely popular. Later he wrote La Traviata, Rigoletto, Il Trovatore, and Aida. When Verdi was an old man he wrote Otello, called his greatest work. This was followed by Falstaff, full of bright fun.

Verdi's genius inspired many other musicians. Of them all Ponchielli owed him most; his best opera is La Gioconda.

Puccini, a living composer, also owes much to Verdi; his Manon Lescaut, La Boheme, Madame b.u.t.terfly, and The Girl of the Golden West prove his great promise.

Mascagni is a.s.sociated with one opera only, the Cavalleria Rusticana, with its intermezzo which gave it popularity. His later work is distinctly second rate.

Leoncavallo has followed Mascagni somewhat. His I Pagliacci is his best-known opera.

X--COMPOSERS OF MODERN GERMANY AND NORTHERN EUROPE

Almost all Germans follow Wagner to-day, but Goldmark in his Queen of Sheba shows independence, especially in his orchestration. Humperdinck's lovely Hansel and Gretel has given him a place of importance.

The Bohemian, Smetana, who wrote The Bartered Bride cleverly used his national airs, and this and his other operas are typical of his country.

Glinka, born in 1808, founded the Russian school; his fine opera A Life for the Czar is well known.

Richard Strauss, a follower of Wagner, is the composer of Salome and Elektra; the music is rich and complicated, and his talent unquestioned.

In England, Balfe, born in 1808, wrote several operas, the best known the Bohemian Girl, with its familiar airs. Since his day there has been little serious work done, but light opera, notably Sullivan's Pinafore, the Mikado, and others have had great success.

In America we have Horatio Parker, with his recent Mona, a production full of originality, if one not yet popular; Reginald De Koven, who wrote the excellent Robin Hood, and Victor Herbert, the author of lighter works.

In addition to using this resume of opera, clubs should make out programs on popular topics; or there may be one topic used to close each program.

Subsidizing the opera: shall this be done by the state, as in Germany; or by individuals, as in New York?

Cheap opera: is it possible for us to-day? How is it managed in Germany and Italy? What is the expense of opera in New York, in great salaries, scenery, costumes, etc.?

Give an idea of some famous opera-houses in Paris, St. Petersburg, Berlin, Milan, Buenos Ayres, and elsewhere, ill.u.s.trating with photographs. Tell of great opera-singers and their careers; mention Patti, Christine Nilsson, Calve, the De Reszkes, Caruso, and others; have records of such voices, if possible. Discuss the opera music of to-day: Is it on the whole melodious, or is there a tendency to return to the old style recitative? Are the airs as marked as those of a decade ago?

CHAPTER VIII

THE WORLD'S GREAT PAINTERS

I--THE ITALIANS (PART I)

1. _Italy: the Birthplace of Modern Painting_--The influence of Byzantium; the intellectual awakening of Europe; the development of commerce.

2. _The Early Painters_--Cimabue, Giotto, Fra Angelico, Botticelli.

3. _Art Patrons of the Renaissance_--Lorenzo de' Medici; Leo X.

_Leonardo da Vinci: The Father of Modern Painting_--Story of his life; his versatility; the Last Supper; the Mona Lisa.

READING from Walter Pater's Essay on the Renaissance.

BOOKS TO CONSULT--Luebke: History of Art. J. A. Symonds: The Renaissance in Italy. Vasari: Lives of the Painters.

A brief introductory paper might take up the influence of Roman cla.s.sical literature and history on Italian art, and also the effect of Greek culture after the Crusades. The childlike subjects and methods of the early painters are also of great interest, and what they took from Byzantine art, and how they were influenced by the study of anatomy. The luxury of the times and its demands for pictures and statues, the influence of the extravagance of court life, the Popes as art patrons, all can be discussed. One entire paper might be given to St. Peter's at Rome, and another to Da Vinci's great picture "Mona Lisa," and what art critics have said of it. See also Ruskin's estimates of the Primitives.

II--THE ITALIANS (PART II)

1. _Life of Raphael_--His family and his father's influence; change in his style through his instructors. His patrons, and what he did for them. His personal disposition, and its effect on his style.

2. _Raphael as a Painter_--Give the impressions of famous travelers, authors and art critics. Where his paintings are, their number, their subjects. The Madonna, his favorite subject. Various ways in which he treated it.

3. _Michelangelo_--The story of his life and training as a painter.

Versatility (as architect, painter, sculptor and poet). Brief description of his works and their location. Readings from his sonnets.

4. _A Comparison of Raphael and Michelangelo_--Their relations in life, their difference of temperament, and the contrast in the spirit of their work.

5. _t.i.tian_--History of his personal experience. Description of his most famous paintings. His effect on the history of painting, as a colorist.

BOOKS TO CONSULT--Muentz: Raphael. C. C. Black: Michelangelo Buonarotti.

Crowe and Cavalcaselle: t.i.tian. C. C. Perkins: Raphael and Michelangelo.

This program should be liberally ill.u.s.trated with photographs; if no others can be obtained, the Perry pictures will do excellently. Those who have been abroad may compare impressions of different painters, and especially of the various Madonnas painted by Raphael. Pictures of the exterior and interior of the Sistine Chapel and of Saint Peter's should be shown, with colored photographs of the frescoes on the walls and ceiling of the former.