Peter Goldstein writes much to usefully explain the context of his earlier
posting, relative to Boston's attitude to opera, and his own growing
enthusiasm for music theatre:

>most operas (at least, most pre-20th century operas) are not as
>susceptible to intellectual analysis and appreciation as most of
>the other works we call classical music.

I won't labour the point - but Peter, you're going to have some delightful
surprises as you continue to explore Rameau, Handel, Purcell's work with
Dryden ...  et.al.  And as for the 19th century, why not take a peek at
Julian Budden's superb three-volume tome if you need persuading that Verdi
is as fair game as any romantic composer for rigorous musical analysis.

I could follow you further if you spoke of "formal" rather than
"intellectual" analysis.  There's plenty of quality critical work on key
structures from Monteverdi onwards, "drama per musica", characterisation
and the rest of it; and more "appreciation" of opera, through literary
variations and reworkings, than of any "pure" musical form.

After some eloquent praise of the Metaphysical poets ...

>Christopher Webber quoted Ben Jonson on the intellectual
>qualities of the masque, but Jonson was only theorizing.

I wasn't thinking of his theory, but of some of the lyrics from the
masques themselves, such as the glorious Daedalus's Song from "Pleasure
Reconciled to Virtue".  This is in one sense a deeply felt celebration
of the potential power of dance as a nascent art form, to enhance and
demonstrate the pattern of life.

   "For dancing is an exercise
   Not only shows the mover's wit
   But maketh the beholder wise
   As he hath power to rise to it"

As fine a description of the unique power of the theatre arts - and the
responsibility of the audience - as any ever penned.  What that particular
audience made of it is questionable (Old Ben the Curmudgeon might be
denigrating them, after all) but doesn't negate the seriousness of his
music theatre itself.

>The fact is, the conditions under which opera was composed and produced,
>until the 20th century, worked against intellectual depth, which is why
>most pre-20th century operas don't have much of it.

Again, if you were to speak of "complexity" rather than "depth" I could
largely agree with you.  Alas for Satoshi Akima, the former does not
usually imply the latter, rather the reverse.  Though it's worth sneakily
mentioning that both "The Bartered Bride" and "Madam Butterfly" begin with
very respectable fugues, and that Wagner wrote a corker in eight parts for
the Valkyries in the Ring!

Handel certainly moves the heart and soul in his operatic masterpieces,
but like John Donne he does it by appealing to the mind.  With respect
to Satoshi Akima's imperiously misplaced vision of The Spiritual, "Giulio
Cesare" and "Tamerlano" rightly studied can boast every bit as much depth
and complexity of musical thought as "Wozzeck" - only, Handel had to work
faster than Berg, and had less time for acrostics.

>Opera is great, opera is wonderful, and as I said, I'm coming to
>believe opera is the best of them all.

Quite.  But let it not be thought that we can ever afford the indulgence
of hanging up our brains with our coats in the foyer Leave that to J.S.
("let's go hear the pretty tunes") Bach, who deserved a mental break.  I
expect he would have been a fan of Lehar.

It's worth pointing out to the "Geistlich" amongst us that the impish Berg
knew full well how to have his formal cakes and eat them.  Did he not say
to the young Karl Bohm:  "Study my score to the last semiquaver, then throw
away the analysis and play the piece by heart." Bohm would surely have
followed the same advice to get to the heart of any great opera by Mozart
or Wagner - or Britten, or Monteverdi, or Debussy, had he believed that
anything much outside the German repertoire meant very much in spiritual
terms.

Bohm was a man of his time.  Mercifully, we are at length moving beyond the
worn-out, romantic concept of The Spiritual in music.  Those German-based
Rules still clearly suffice for many (including Satoshi Akima, and good
luck to him).  But any meaningful musical spirituality can - and should -
be a broad enough church to allow Verdi, Handel, Rameau, Purcell and the
rest of the theatre rabble their rightful thrones in the Intellectual
Pantheon, along with all those dear old Teutonic "B's" who failed to cut
the operatic mustard.

Christopher Webber,
Blackheath, London, UK.
http://www.nashwan.demon.co.uk/zarzuela.htm "ZARZUELA!"