Goldoni paraphrased,
Nicolai and Verdi,
The German version of "Donne Curiose,"
Musical motivi in the opera,
Rameau's "La Poule,"
Cast of the first performance in New York,
(footnote)--Naples and opera,
"I Giojelli della Madonna,"
et seq.--Erlanger's "Aphrodite,"
Neapolitan folksongs,
Wolf-Ferrari's individuality,
His "Vita Nuova,"
First performance in America of I Giojelli,"



CHAPTER I

BIBLICAL OPERAS


Whether or not the English owe a grudge to their Lord Chamberlain
for depriving them of the pleasure of seeing operas based on
Biblical stories I do not know. If they do, the grudge cannot be a
deep one, for it is a long time since Biblical operas were in
vogue, and in the case of the very few survivals it has been easy
to solve the difficulty and salve the conscience of the public
censor by the simple device of changing the names of the characters
and the scene of action if the works are to be presented on the
stage, or omitting scenery, costumes and action and performing them