theatricalism is as great a hindrance to a possible return of
Biblical opera as the disgusting celebration of necrophilism in
Richard Strauss's "Salome."

In our historical excursion we are still among the patriarchs, and
the whole earth is of one language and of one speech. Noah, the
ark, and the deluge seem now too prodigious to be essayed by opera
makers, but, apparently, they did not awe the Englishman Edward
Eccleston (or Eggleston), who is said to have produced an opera,
"Noah's Flood, or the Destruction of the World," in London in 1679,
nor Seyfried, whose "Libera me" was sung at Beethoven's funeral,
and who, besides Biblical operas entitled "Saul," "Abraham," "The
Maccabees," and "The Israelites in the Desert," brought out a
"Noah" in Vienna in 1818. Halevy left an unfinished opera, "Noe,"
which Bizet, who was his son-in-law, completed. Of oratorios
dealing with the deluge I do not wish to speak further than to
express my admiration for the manner in which Saint-Saens opened
the musical floodgates in "Le Deluge."

On the plain in the Land of Shinar the families of the sons of Noah
builded them a city and a tower whose top they arrogantly hoped
might reach unto heaven. But the tower fell, the tongues of the
people were confounded, and the people were scattered abroad on the
face of the earth. Rubinstein attempted to give dramatic
representation to the tremendous incident, and to his effort and
vain dream I shall revert in the next chapter of this book. Now I
must on with the history of the patriarchs. The story of Abraham
and his attempted offering of Isaac has been much used as oratorio
material, and Joseph Elsner, Chopin's teacher, brought out a Polish
opera, "Ofiara Abrama," at Warsaw in 1827.