is betrothed to Fenton; and all ends merry as a marriage bell.

There is no overture. After four bars of prelude the curtain rises,
and the composer introduces Dr. Caius with the single exclamation,
"Falstaff," and the latter's reply, "Ho! there," which are emblematic
of the declamatory character of the whole opera; for although many
delightful bits of melody are scattered through it, the
instrumentation really tells the story, as in the Wagner music-drama,
though in this latest work of the veteran composer there is less of
the Wagnerian idea than in his "Aida." The first scene is mainly
humorous dialogue, but there are two notable exceptions,--the genuine
lyrical music of Falstaff's song ("'Tis she with eyes like stars"),
and the Honor monologue, a superb piece of recitative with a
characteristic accompaniment in which the clarinets and bassoons
fairly talk, as they give the negative to the Knight's sarcastic
questions. The most attractive numbers of the second scene are
Mistress Ford's reading of Falstaff's letter, which is exquisitely
lyrical, a quartet, a capella, for the four women ("He'll surely come
courting"), followed by a contrasting male quartet ("He's a foul, a
ribald thief"), the act closing with the two quartets offsetting each
other, and enclosing an admirable solo for Fenton.

The second act opens with the interview between Dame Quickly and
Falstaff, in which the instrumentation runs the whole gamut of
ironical humor. Then follows the scene between Ford and Falstaff, in
which the very clink of the money, and Falstaff's huge chuckles, are
deliberately set forth in the orchestra with a realism which is the
very height of the ridiculous, the scene closing with an expressive
declamation by Ford ("Do I dream? Or, is it reality?"). The second
scene of the act is mainly devoted to the ludicrous incident of the