Donizetti lacked the dramatic instinct in conceiving his music. In
attempting it he became hollow and theatric; and beautiful as are the
melodies and concerted pieces in "Lucia," where the subject ought to
inspire a vivid dramatic nature with such telling effects, it is in the
latter sense one of the most disappointing of operas.

He redeemed himself for the nonce, however, in the fourth act of "La
Favorita," where there is enough musical and dramatic beauty to condone
the sins of the other three acts. The solemn and affecting church chant,
the passionate romance for the tenor, the great closing duet in which
the ecstasy of despair rises to that of exaltation, the resistless
sweep of the rhythm--all mark one of the most effective single acts ever
written. He showed himself here worthy of companionship with Rossini and
Meyerbeer.

In his comic operas, "L'Elisir d'Amore," "La Fille du Regiment," and
"Don Pasquale," there is a continual well-spring of sunny, bubbling
humor. They are slight, brilliant, and catching, everything that
pedantry condemns, and the popular taste delights in. Mendelssohn, the
last of the German classical composers, admired "L'Elisir" so much that
he said he would have liked to have written it himself. It may be said
that while Donizetti lacks grand conceptions, or even great heauties
for the most part, his operas contain so much that is agreeable, so many
excellent opportunities for vocal display, such harmony between sound
and situation, that he will probably retain a hold on the stage when
much greater composers are only known to the general public by name.

Bellini, with less fertility and grace, possessed far more
picturesqueness and intensity. His powers of imagination transcended his
command over the working tools of his art. Even more lacking in exact