Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XII.djvu/657

 OPERA is the true opera as found on the Italian stage at the present day, and as performed at the academie in Paris ; but the term is applied to a class of compositions familiar to the theatres of Germany, France, and England, in which the words are partly spoken, partly sung. The idea of the opera was probably derived from the Greek drama ; and it is said to have be- come a recognized form of dramatic compo- sition as early as the latter half of the 15th cen- tury. There is great doubt, however, whether any work entitled to be called an opera was publicly produced previous to the year 1600, when Ottavio Einuccini's drama of Euridice, set to music by Giacomo Peri, was performed in honor of the nuptials of Henry IV. of France and Maria de' Medici ; a conclusion strengthened by Rinuccini's statement in his dedication of the work to the queen, that he had written it " merely to make trial of vocal music in that form." The opera soon became a popular species of musical composition in Italy, and about 1675 was established in the chief cities of the peninsula. Monteverde and Carissimi were among the foremost composers of that day. In 1645 it was introduced into France by Cardinal Mazarin, but was soon superseded by the national French opera founded by Louis XIV., and which received its impetus from the genius of Lully and Ra- meau. This was the parent of the grand French opera of the present day, which is sung throughout. The establishment of the Italian opera in England may be dated from the arrival of Handel and the production of his Rinaldo in 1711. Before that time operas had been sung partly in English and partly in Italian, according to the nationality of the performers. Bononcini's Almaliide was the first opera sung entirely in Italian, and this was brought out in 1720. The opera encoun- tered ridicule and opposition from the wits, from men of letters, and from the people ; but it made its way in spite of these obstacles, and from the time when Handel and Porpora com- posed for the London opera houses to the present day it has maintained itself in Eng- land. Great Britain, however, has failed to give to the world any very eminent composer; Balfe and Wallace, both Irishmen, are among the most noted. In Germany it early took root, and to the composers of that nation much of its development is due. Gluck was the first to introduce extensive reforms, and to compose with a view to musical expression rather than the display of the singer. He wrote mainly for the French stage, where after a long contest he was successful over Piccini and his adherents. Among the composers who since the time of Gluck have done most for the operatic stage are Mozart, Meyerbeer, and Von Weber among the Germans ; Oimarosa, Cherubini, Spontini, Rossini, Donizetti, Mercadante, Bellini, and Verdi among the Italians ; and Bo'ieldieu, Au- ber, Halevy, Gounod, and Thomas among the French. Richard Wagner, both by his wri- OPHIURANS 643 tings and his compositions, has done much to modify the theories upon which opera has been constructed heretofore. How far his influ- ence and teachings will affect the opera of the future is as yet problematic, but that his theories have gained ground rapidly during the past ten years is not to be questioned. The Italians divide operas into four classes, the sacred, the serious, the semi-serious, and the buffo or comic ; the French recognize but two divisions, the grand opera and the opera co- mique, the latter of which is partly spoken ; while the Germans subdivide them into grand opera, serious, tragic, heroic, romantic, comic, and other classes. (See Music.) OPHICLEIDE (Gr. % f, a serpent, and /ole/f, a key), a large brass wind instrument of the trumpet species, having a loud tone and a deep pitch, and much used in military bands. It forms the base to the trumpets, and has a com- pass of three octaves and one note. Bass ophicleides are made in and B;,, alto ophi- cieides in F and Ej,. The latter are little used. OPHIDIANS. See SERPENT. OPIIIR, a name applied first (Gen. x. 29) to one of the sons of Joktan, and secondly to a region from which the fleet of Solomon brought gold and precious stones. The precise situation of Ophir is a matter of conjecture. There are four theories which have an appearance of probability: 1. That Ophir was a general name for distant southerly regions, just as we say the Indies for the East. This theory is sup- ported by Father Acosta, Heeren, Tychsen, and others. 2. That Ophir was on the E. coast of Africa, embracing Zanzibar and Mozambique. Here have been found mines of gold and silver, which appear to have been worked extensively in ancient times. Among the advocates of this theory are Grotius, Petermann, Charles Beke, and Halevy. 3. That it was in southern Arabia, because in Genesis Ophir is spoken of as one of the sons of Joktan who settled be- tween Sabasa and Havilah ; because native gold was anciently found there ; and because in Oman there is at present a city named El- Ophir, once the seat of considerable Arabian commerce. This opinion has been adopted by Abulfeda, Niebuhr, Volney, Gesenius, and others. 4. That Ophir was in India, because that country abounds in the articles mentioned as brought from both Tarshish and Ophir ; be- cause several of these articles, such as peacocks and sandal wood, are found nowhere else ; be- .cause the Hebrew words for apes and peacocks correspond with the words used for the same on the Malabar coast ; and because there was in India, in the neighborhood of the modern Goa, a district SovTrdpa, called by Arrian OvTnrapa. This theory is maintained after Josephus by Bochart, Ouseley, Lassen, and Ritter, and ap- parently agrees with the Septuagint. OPHITES. See GNOSTICS. OPHIURANS (opJiiuridw), a family of star fish- es in which the five rays are long, slender, flex- ible, and snake-like, whence the name ; in some