Grove's dictionary of music and musicians

SPONTINI 655
might not have discouraged
him, but that in
' Der Freisohiitz ' he was brought face to face
with a phase of tlie German character totally
beyond his comprehension. He had no weapons
wherewith to encounter this opponent. A man
of weaker will would have contented himself
with such success as might still be secured in
Germany ;
but Spontini could brook no rival,
and finding that he could not outdo Weber's
music, tried to suppress him by means wholly
outside the circle of art. As director-general
of music meuiy such lay ready to his hand, and
that he knew how to use them is shown by the
fate of ' Euryanthe ' and ' Oberon ' in Berlin.
The success of ' Freisohiitz ' did not improve
Spontini's relations with Briihl, a personal friend
of Weber's, and a great admirer of his music.
From the first night of Der Freisohiitz ' ' the
public was divided into two parties. The
national party, far the strongest in intellect and
cultivation, rallied round Weber. The king
and the court persistently supported Spontini,
though even their help could not make him
master of the situation. The Censorship interfered
to check the expression of public opinion
against him, and his complaints of supposed
slights were always attended to.' But his
artistic star, which had shone with such lustre
after the first night of 'Olympia,' was now
slowly setting.
The excellence of that first performance was
acknowledged even by Weber himself,^ and this
may be a good opportunity for some remarks on
Spontini as a director. Whether he had a specific
talent for conducting cannot be determined, for
as a rule he conducted only two operas besides
his own—
' Armida ' and Don ' Juan,' and these
he knew thoroughly.^ For the rest of the work
there were two conductors, Seidel and Schneider,
and two leaders, Moser and Seidler.* When
Spontini came to Berlin he had had very little
practice in conducting, and at first declined to
handle the baton, but made the leader sit by
him in the orchestra, and give the tempo according
to his directions. Indeed he never completely
mastered the technicalities
of the art,
his manner of conducting recitatives especially
being clumsy and undecided. So at least says
Dorn,* a competent witness, who had often seen
him conduct. In reading a score too he was
slow and inexpert ; ^ and at the Cologne Festival
of 1847 could scarcely find his way in his
own score of Olympia,' which he had not conducted
for some time. He was thus very slow
'
in rehearsing a work, though not for this reason
only, for the same laborious accuracy which he
showed in composing was carried into every
^ Gubitz, EHebniaae, vol. iii. p. 241. Berlin. 1869.
« CaH Maria mn Weber, by Max von Weber, ToL ii. p. 306, Leipzig,
1884.
3 He conducted the 99th performance of ' Der Frelschttt2 (Nov. 6.
18B6), for the benefit of Weber's widow and children, which waa
much to hia credit, considering his dislike to the piece.
< Bemhard Weber died Harch 23, 1821.
B Ala meinem Ldten, Fart iii. p. 3.
" Devrient'B R&xttectiims of MendeUlohn, p. 23,
detail of the performance. He never rested till
each part was reproduced exactly as it existed in
his own imagination, which itself had to be
cleared by repeated experiments. Inconsiderate
and despotictowards his subordinates, he wearied
his singers and band to death by endless repetitions,
his rehearsals not unfrequently lasting from
8 A.M. till 4 P.M., or from 5 p.m. till 11 at night.
He only treated others, however, in the same
way that he treated himself, for no trouble was
too great for him to take in revising his work
down to the smallest particulars. When the first
night arrived, every member of the orchestra
knew his work by heart, and Spontini might
beat as he liked, all went like clockwork.^ If
scenery or costumes which had been expressly
prepared did not please him he ordered others,
regardless of cost. Being a true dramatic artist,
his eye was as keen on the stage as his ear in
the orchestra, and everything, down to the
smallest accessories, must be arranged to express
his ideas. Soon after his arrival he fell out with
Briihl, because in the ' Vestalin ' he wanted Fran
Milder to carry the Palladium in public, whereas
Briihl maintained, on Hirt's authority, that the
Palladium was never shown to the people. He
was furious when it was suggested that the burning
of the fleet in Cortez ' ' should not take place
on the stage ; and he once went so far as to send
his wife to Briihl to request that a sleeve of
Schulz's dress might be altered ! In choosing his
actors he not only studied voice, temperament,
and dramatic skill, but was most particular
about appearance. A distinguished bass singer,
recommended to him by Dorn for high-priest
parts, was not even allowed to open his mouth
because he was at ' least a foot and a half too
short.' He insisted on the complete fusion of
the vocal and instrumental, the dramatic and
the musical elements, and demanded from the
chorus, as well as the solo-singers, an entire
absorption in their parts, and an intelligent
rendering of each situation. His love for the
grandiose and the awe-inspiring led him to
employ all the resources of decoration, and
what then seemed enormous masses of musicians,
singers, and dancers ; and also to employ the
strongest accents and most startling contrasts.
'His /arte,' says Dorn, 'was a hurricane, his
piano a breath, his crescendo made every one
open their eyes, his diminuendo induced a feeling
of delicious languor, his aforeando was
enough to wake the dead. '
* In this respect he
exacted the very utmost from his singers and
musicians. He insisted on Milder putting her
whole force into Statira's exclamation ' Cassander
! ' and on one occasion she so overstrained
herself as to lose her voice for the rest of the
evening. From that moment he considered her
useless, and in 1829 had her pensioned off.
Seidler-Wranitzky was delicate, and her style
7 Blume on Alcidor, in the Theatre archives.
8 Aua nuinem Leben, first collection, p. 127.