CHAPTER XI

EFFECT UPON AND PLACE IN OPERA

Origin of opera--Melody in music--The first opera, _Dafne_--Monteverde's advances--Early opera orchestration--Gluck's reformed style in _Orfeo_ and _Alceste_--A complete structure--Verdi's starting-point--Wagner's methods--Verdi's early operas--_Don Carlos_ and an altered style--Its reception--A third or matured period method--Its characteristics--_Aïda_, _Otello_, and _Falstaff_--Verdi's disciples--Opera as a social need, past and present--Its reasonable decline--Verdi's ultimate position--His lasting works 273