on for the first time by a German
company under Dr. Hans Richter in 1884. Interesting as much of the music
is, the performance was not successful, partly owing to the almost
unmitigated gloom of the libretto. Far the best part of the work, both
musically and dramatically, is the prologue, which tells of the love of
Savonarola for Clarice, of her marriage, and of his renouncement of the
world. The merit of this scene is so great that it might be worth the
composer's while to produce it as a one-act opera, in which form it
would be safe to predict for it a genuine success.

Stanford's next work for the stage was 'Shamus O'Brien,' a romantic
opera dealing with a typically Irish subject, which was produced in 1896
with great success. The form of the work is that of a genuine comic
opera, the dialogue being interspersed throughout with music, but
although less ambitious in form than his earlier works, 'Shamus O'Brien'
has a deeper artistic importance. With all its cleverness and ingenuity,
'The Canterbury Pilgrims' is German in method and expression, and it is
merely by the accident of language that it can be classed as British
opera at all. In 'Shamus O'Brien' the composer drew his inspiration from
the melodies and rhythms of his native Ireland, and the result is that
his work ranks as an original and independent effort, instead of being
merely a brilliant exercise.

In 1901 Sir Charles Stanford's 'Much Ado about Nothing' was produced at
Covent Garden. The libretto by Julian Sturgis is a clever adaptation of
Shakespeare's comedy, in which the action is judiciously compressed into
four scenes without any incidents of importance being omitted. First we
have the ball at Leonato's house, with some love-making for Claudio and
Hero, and a wit-combat between Beatrice and Benedick. Here, too, Don
John hatches his plot against Hero's honour, and Don Pedro unfolds his
scheme for tricking Beatrice and Benedick into mutual love. The second
act takes place in Leonato's garden. Claudio serenades his mistress, who
comes down from her balcony and joins him in a duet. Then follows the
cozening of Benedick, and the act ends effectively by Don John showing
to Claudio the supposed Hero admitting Borachio to her chamber. The
third scene is in the church, following Shakespeare very closely, and
the last takes place in an open square in Messina with Hero's tomb on
one side, where, after a scene with Dogberry, Borachio confesses his
crime, and He