It must be said, on the other hand, in defence of long German operas,
that it is only while they are novelties to the hearer that they
fatigue his brain beyond endurance. After they have been heard a few
times they cease to be a study that calls for a laborious
concentration of the attention, and become a source of pure delight
and recreation. The difficulty lies in convincing people of this
fact. There are in New York hundreds of persons, who, having read of
the rare beauties of "Tristan" or "Siegfried," went to the opera to
hear and judge for themselves. Of course, as everything was new to
them, they found it hard work to follow all the intricacies of the
plot and the music at the same time; hence, their verdict next day was
that German opera was "too heavy" for them. These persons cannot be
made to believe that if they would only repeat their visits, the labor
of listening would be reduced to a minimum and the pleasure increased
to enthusiasm. I know a man, one of the cleverest writers for the New
York press, a man who can afford to go to the opera every evening, and
who _does_ go when Meyerbeer's operas are given, but who absolutely
and stubbornly refuses to attend a Wagner performance at the
Metropolitan.
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