OCR Text |
Show CONCLUSION. 515 W e are indebted to the age of the Medici for the opera. O f all the species of the drama, this approaches the nearest to the ancient Greek tragedy. It possesses, indeed, all the theatrical splendour of the latter, with the additional advantage of uniting poetry and music more uniformly and closely. The celebrated Quinault modelled himself upon the Italians, and was the first w h o advanced the opera towards perfection; he produced regular and interesting works, and made them peculiarly susceptible of being united to music. La Motte, Fon-tenelle, Roy, Bernard, Marmontel, D u Roullet, Guillard & c , imitated him, and enriched the lyric drama with their delightful productions. In Italy it was somewhat later that the opera arrived at excellence. Apostolo Zeno, a man of extensive learning, and a respectable poet, first began this glorious undertaking; and Metastasio, whose genius was far superior to that of Zeno, following his example, almost attained perfection. Several men of talent, such as Pariati, Calsabigi, Pallavicini, Coltellini, and some others, after the two great men above mentioned, produced some very valuable works, but they were very few in number. This circumstance, together with the mediocrity of their successors, caused the decline of that art, which soon after revived in France under more happy auspices. According to the definition of a celebrated writer, French opera is epic poetry, dramatized and adorned with theatrical decorations. What the epic poet presents to the imagination only, the lyric poet in France undertakes to exhibit to the eyes ; and the same thing must be effected by the Ballet-master in compositions of the elevated and heroic class. As the marvellous made visible is the very soul of French opera, so is it the essence of the mythological, fairy, and allegorical Ballet. |