composer, only prove that Schubert's talent
was essentially not dramatic, however interesting his music may be to
musicians.

Schumann's (1810-1856) one contribution to the history of opera,
'Genoveva,' is decidedly more important, and indeed it seems possible
that after many years of neglect it may at last take a place in the
modern repertory. It is founded upon a tragedy by Hebbel, and tells of
the passion of Golo for Genoveva, the wife of his patron Siegfried, his
plot to compromise her, and the final triumph of the constant wife. The
music cannot be said to be undramatic; on the contrary, Schumann often
realises the situations with considerable success: but he had little
power of characterisation, and all the characters sing very much the
same kind of music. This gives a feeling of monotony to the score, which
is hardly dispelled even by the many beauties with which it is adorned.
Nevertheless 'Genoveva' has been revived in several German towns of late
years, and its music has always met with much applause from
connoisseurs, though it is never likely to be generally popular.

CHAPTER VII

ROSSINI, DONIZETTI, AND BELLINI

While Weber was reconstructing opera in Germany and laying the
foundations upon which the vast structure of modern lyrical drama was
afterwards reared by the composers of our own day, reforms, or at any
rate innovations, were being introduced into Italian opera by a musician
scarcely less gifted even than the founder of the romantic school
himself. Rossini (1792-1868) owed but little of his fame to instruction
or study. As soon as he had been assured by his master that he knew
enough of the grammar of music to write an opera, he relinquished his
studies once for all, and started life as a composer. In this perhaps he
showed his wisdom, for his natural gifts were of such a nature as could
scarcely have been enhanced by erudition, and the mission which he so
amply fulfilled in freeing his national art from eighteenth-century
convention was certainly not one which depended upon a profound
knowledge of counterpoint. Nature had fortunately endowed him with
precisely the equipment necessary for the man who was to reform Italian
opera. The school of Paisiello, notwithstanding its many merits, had
several grievous weaknesses, of which the most prominent were
uniformity of melodic type, nerveless and conventional orchestration,
and intolerable prolixity. Rossini brought to his task a vein of mel