To-day few of them can be found even in London
and Paris; and, indeed, I could easily show, by giving lists of the
famous singers of the past and present, that the Italians constitute a
small minority as compared with the German, French, and Scandinavian
singers of the first rank. The custom so long followed by singers of
all nationalities of adopting Italian stage names has confused the
public on the subject. And, finally, I could name a dozen German
singers who have won first-class honors in Italian opera; but where is
there an Italian _Tannhaeuser_ or _Bruennhilde_ or _Wotan_? All honor,
therefore, to the versatility of German singers, who, like Lilli
Lehmann, for instance, can sing _Norma_ and _Isolde_ equally well.
And still more honor to the German composers who have restored the
true function of song. Everybody knows that in the popular songs, or
folk songs, of _all_ nations, including the Italian, the words are
quite as important as the melody. It was only in the artificial songs
of the Netherland school and the Italian opera composers that the
voice was degraded to the function of a mere inarticulate instrument;
and it remained for Wagner, following the precedence of Gluck, to
restore it to its rank as the inseparable companion of poetry.
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