... Few composers have
understood opera so well."
* * * * *
The success of the Italian school appeared to have utterly ruined this
understanding and care for local and historical color. Rossini in the
last act of _Otello_ and in _Guillaume Tell_ began its renaissance with
a boldness for which he deserves credit, but it was left to Meyerbeer
to restore it to its former glory.
It is impossible to deny his individuality. The amalgamation of his
Germanic tendencies with his Italian education and his French
preferences formed an ore of new brilliancy and new depth of tone. His
style resembled none other. Fetis, his great admirer and friend and the
famous director of the Conservatoire at Brussels, insisted, and with
reason, on this distinction. His style was characterized by the
importance of the rhythmic element. His ballet music owes much of its
excellence to the picturesque variety of the rhythms.
Instead of the long involved overture he gave us the short distinctive
prelude which has been so successful. The preludes of _Robert_ and _Les
Huguenots_ were followed by the preludes of _Lohengrin_, _Faust_,
_Tristan_, _Romeo_, _La Traviata_, _Aida_, and many others which are
less famous.
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