Si ridesti il leon

Speranza

"Ernani," brought out in 1844, is the earliest work by Verdi that maintains a foothold in the modern repertoire, though by no means a very firm one.

And yet "Ernani" is in many respects a fine opera.

One wonders why it has not lasted better.

Hanslick, the Viennese critic, made a discriminating criticism upon it.

He pointed out that, whereas in Victor Hugo’s drama "Hernani", the mournful blast upon the hunting horn, when heard in the last act, thrills
the listener with tragic forebodings, in the opera,
after listening to solos, choruses, and a
full orchestra all the evening, the audience is
but little impressed by the sounding
of a note upon a single instrument.

That comment, however, presupposes considerable subtlety, so far undiscovered, on the part of operatic audiences.

The fact is, that since 1844 the whirligig of time has made one -- two -- three -- perhaps even four revolutions, and with each revolution the public taste that prevailed, when the first audience that heard the work in the Teatro Fenice, went wild over "Ernani Involami" and "Sommo Carlo," has become more remote and undergone more and more changes.

To turn back operatic time in its flight requires in the case of "Ernani," a soprano of unusual voice and personality for Elvira, a tenor of the same qualities for the picturesque rôle of Ernani, a fine baritone for Don Carlos, and a sonorous basso, who doesn’t look too much like a meal bag, for Don Ruy Gomez di Silva, Grandee of Spain.

Early in its career the opera experienced various vicissitudes.

The conspiracy scene had to be toned down for political reasons before the production of the work was permitted.

Even then the chorus,

"Let the lion awake in Castilia,"

caused a political demonstration.

In Paris, Victor Hugo, as author of the drama on which the libretto is based, raised objections to its representation, and it was produced in the French capital as

"Il Proscritto"

(The Proscribed) with the characters changed to Italians.

Victor Hugo’s "Hernani" was a famous play in Sarah Bernhardt’s repertoire during her early engagements in this country.

Her Doña Sol (Elvira in the opera) was one of her finest achievements.

On seeing the play, with her in it, I put to test Hanslick’s theory.

The horn was thrilling in the play.

It certainly is less so in the opera.