Beethoven’s “Fidelio” (produced in 1805) celebrates the devotion and self-sacrifice of a woman--and that devotion and self-sacrifice actually have for their object _her husband_! It is a noble opera, but Beethoven’s mind and temperament were not suited to the operatic problem, and “Fidelio” is not by any means a perfect work of art. The Beethoven we hear there is the Beethoven of the slow movements of the sonatas and symphonies; but we could well hear “Fidelio” often, for it stands alone in its utter sincerity and grandeur.
The romantic operas of Weber tend toward that characterization which is the essential equality of his great successor, Wagner, for “Der Freischütz” and “Euryanthe” are full of characteristic music. Weber begins and ends romantic opera. (Romantic subjects are common enough, but romantic treatment is exceedingly uncommon. Scott’s “Bride of Lammermoor,” for example, in passing through the hands of librettist and composer becomes--in Donizetti’s “Lucia di Lammermoor”--considerably tinged with melodrama.) There is evidence enough in “Der Freischütz” and “Euryanthe” of Weber’s sincerity and desire to make his operas artistic units. Each of them conveys a definite impression of beauty and avoids those specious appeals so common in opera.
Meanwhile, in the early part of the nineteenth century, _opéra comique_ was flourishing in France. Auber, Hérold, Boieldieu, and other composers were producing works in which the impossible happenings of grand opera were made possible by humor and lightness of touch. The words of these composers are full of delightful melody and are more reasonable and true than are many better-known grand operas.
Then comes the Wagnerian period, with its preponderance of drama over music. In “Tristan und Isolde” Wagner, by his own confession, turned away from preconceived theories and composed as his inner spirit moved him. “Tristan” is, therefore, the work of an artist rather than of a theorist, and although it is based on the _leit-motif_ and on certain other important structural ideas which belong to the Wagnerian scheme, it rises far above their limitations and glows with the real light of genius. In “Tristan” the action is suited to the psychology. It is a great work of art and the most beautiful of all recantations. In it we realize how finely means may be adjusted to ends, how clearly music and text may be united, how reasonable is the use of the _leit-motif_ when it characterizes beings aflame with passion; how the song, under the influence of great dramatic situations, can be expanded; how vividly the orchestra can interpret and even further the actions; how even the chorus can be fitted into the dramatic scheme--everywhere in “Tristan” there is unity. This is not true of most of Wagner’s other operas. “Die Meistersinger” comes nearest to “Tristan” in this respect. May we not say that of all the music-dramas of Wagner, “Tristan” and “Die Meistersinger” lay completely in his consciousness unmixed with philosophical ideas and theories? In them the _leit-motif_ deals chiefly with emotions or with characteristics of persons rather than with inanimate objects, or ideas; in them is no grandiose scenic display; no perversity of theory, but only beautiful music wedded to a fitting text.