Testament, which discloses anything but a reverential
attitude toward the sublime tragedy, nevertheless stood in such awe
before the spectacle of Calvary that they deemed it wise to leave its
dramatic treatment to the church service in the Passion Tide. In that
service there was something approaching to characterization in the
manner of the reading by the three deacons appointed to deliver,
respectively, the narrative, the words of Christ, and the utterances of
the Apostles and people; and it may be--that this and the liturgical
solemnities of Holy Week were reverently thought sufficient by them and
the authors of the first sacred operas. Nevertheless, we have Reiser's
"Der Blutige und Sterbende Jesus," performed at Hamburg, and
Metastasio's "La Passione di Gesu Christi," composed first by Caldara,
which probably was an oratorio.

Earlier than these was Theile's "Die Geburt Christi," performed in
Hamburg in 1681. The birth of Christ and His childhood (there was an
operatic representation of His presentation in the Temple) were
subjects which appealed more to the writers of the rude plays which
catered to the popular love for dramatic mummery than did His
crucifixion. I am speaking now more specifically of lyric dramas, but
it is worthy of note that in the Coventry mysteries, as Hone points out
in the preface to his book, "Ancient Mysteries Described," [Footnote:
"Ancient Mysteries Described, especially the English Miracle Plays
Founded on Apocryphal New Testament Story," London, 1823.] there are
eight plays, or pageants, which deal with the Nativity as related in
the canon and the pseudo-gospels. In them much stress was laid upon the
suspicions of the Virgin Mother's chastity, for here was material that
was good for rude diversion as well as instruction in righteousness.

That Rubinstein dared to compose a Christ drama must be looked upon as
proof of the profound sincerity of his belief in the art-form which he
fondly hoped he had created; also, perhaps, as evidence of his artistic
ingenuousness. Only a brave or naive mind could have calmly
contemplated a labor from which great dramatists, men as great as
Hebbel, shrank back in alarm. After the completion of "Lohengrin"
Wagner applied himself to the creation of a tragedy which he called
"Jesus of Nazareth." We know his plan in detail, but he abandoned it
after he had offered his sketches to a French poet as the basis of a
lyric drama which he hoped to write for Pa