Saint-Saens

from Musical Memories, page 169:

This was the case with me when I saw Armide again in a city which I shall not name. The opera had been judged superannuated and had been "improved." A young composer had written a new score in which he inserted here and there such bits of Gluck as he thought worthy of being preserved. A costly and magnificently imbecile luxuriousness set off the whole piece. I may be pardoned the cruel adjective when I say that in the scene of Hate, so deeply inspired, and which takes place in a sort of cave, they relegated the chorus to the wings to make a place for dragons, fantastic birds …   more >>

cite as

Saint-Saens, Musical Memories (), p. 169. https://led.kmi.open.ac.uk/entity/lexp/1432547243073 accessed: 28 March, 2024

Listeners

Saint-Saens
Organist, Composer, Conducting, Pianist
1835-1921

Listening to

hide composers
Armida
written by Christoph Willibald Gluck

Experience Information

Medium live
Listening Environment in the company of others, indoors

Originally submitted by Gill on Mon, 25 May 2015 10:47:23 +0100
Approved on Tue, 22 Sep 2015 17:39:22 +0100