It must be borne in mind that in Italian opera conversation
frequently is not at all out of place, but is a factor of the
entertainment _recognized even by the composer_! Wagner brings out
this point clearly in the following remarks: "In Italian opera," he
says, "the public gives its attention only to the most brilliant
numbers sung by the popular prima donna or her vocal rival; the rest
of the opera it ignores almost entirely, and devotes the evening to
mutual visits in the boxes and loud conversation. This attitude of the
public led the composers of yore to confine their efforts at artistic
creation to the solo numbers referred to, and to fill up deliberately
all intermediate portions, the choruses and minor parts, with
commonplace and empty phrases that had no other purpose than that of
serving as noise to sustain the conversation of the audience."
That this is not an exaggerated statement is shown by an extract from
a private letter written by Liszt at Milan. Speaking of the famous
Scala Opera House, he says: "In this blessed land putting a serious
opera on the stage is not at all a serious thing.
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