Under these favorable circumstances, two new operas by English composers were brought to a hearing, namely, Arthur Goring Thomas's “Esmeralda” and Alexander C. Mackenzie's “Colomba”. It was purely an experiment, and Carl Rosa himself had little faith in its success. I remember his saying: “I look upon this as a duty that I owe to native art, and not as a business speculation. Mind, both these operas are interesting and beautiful, or I should not have accepted them. But they are by British composers— by men whose names are hardly known to the public. How, then, can I dare hope they will succeed?" And yet they did succeed— “Esmeralda" by virtue of graceful, emotional strains allied to a moving and ever-effective drama; “Colomba" on the strength of musical merits that overcome, temporarily at least, the incubus of a clumsy and ponderous libretto.