WE are not to do evil that good may come of it, else I might plead in favour of the following little poem, that, whatever its faults may be, it was undertaken and pursued with a laudable design. The ridiculousness, not to say barbarity, of turning SHAKESPEAR's plays into operas, and larding them with songs from quite different authors, as hath been lately practised upon our most justly approved theatre, is, I apprehend, of so glaring a nature, that every one, who is endued with the smallest spark of taste, must immediately be struck with it. It is indeed the same thing, as if any person should take it into[Page vi] his head to reduce one of our antient Gothick cathedrals to a modern summer-house, and ornament it with designs from Halfpenny's Chinese architecture. Such is the devastation and overturning! such are the breaks and patches!

There is no man in England, I believe, who has greater respect for a piece of beef^** A thing to which Shakespear has been more than once compared. than I have; but should I therefore like it cut into mince meat, and mixed with my custard and apple-pie? Certainly, no: the impropriety of the olio would then disgust me. So do the vigorous lines of SHAKESPEAR, when I meet them hashed up, with Waller and Cowley, in the luscious compositions of a musical entertainment.

If we must have English operas, somewhat of less value, and at the same time better calculated for the end proposed, might, I thought, be made use of. But[Page vi] many people will ask, what occasion is there that we should have English operas at all? Let any common lover of musick go but once to the King's theatre in the Hay-market, and he will easily perceive, that the Italian composition does, and must, with all its inconsistencies, for ever excel any thing we can produce of the like nature; and this, not for want of abilities in our composers, but thro' the insuperable disadvantages of our language. Had I seen any of their musical dramas before I undertook this, LEUCOTHÖE should never have been written: but since it is done, and cannot be recalled, I hope I shall be pardoned, if I am willing to try, whether it may not be borne as a juvenile attempt at poetry; tho' I have not been sollicitous to have it accompanied with the graces of that harmony for which it was originally intended.

A French poetaster would have sent such a petit piece into the world with the[Page viii] title of Tragedie; but the Author of this hath not been long enough of the trade to acquire so much confidence. Opera he must not call it, because it should then end happily, which the disposition of his fable would not admit of: he therefore lets it go under the denomination of a DRAMATIC POEM. But because it is, save in that one instance of its catastrophe, an opera, he begs leave to subjoin what one of the first English poets hath written of that species of the drama; which will be sufficient to shew, that, if he has failed in it, it is what a greater genius might have done; and, if he has succeeded, it is what the greatest genius has not been ashamed to think worthy of his accomplishing.

"An opera, [says Mr. DRYDEN, in his preface to ALBION and ALBANUS] is a poetical tale or fiction, represented by vocal and instrumental musick, adorned with scenes, machines, and dancing. [Page ix]The supposed persons of this musical drama are generally supernatural, as gods and goddesses, and heroes, which at least are descended from them, and are in due time to be adopted of their number. The subject, therefore, being extended beyond the limits of human nature, admits of that sort of marvellous which is rejected in other plays. Human impossibilities are to be received as they are in faith, because, where the Gods are introduced, a Supreme Power is understood, and second causes are out of doors. — If the persons represented were to speak upon the stage, it would follow of necessity, that the expressions should be lofty, figurative, and majestical. But the nature of an opera denies the frequent use of those poetical ornaments; for vocal musick, tho' it often admits a loftiness of sound, yet always exacts an harmonious sweetness, or, to distinguish yet more justly,[Page x] the recitative part of the opera requires a more masculine beauty of expression and sound: the other, which, for want of a properer word, I must call the songish part, must abound in softness, and variety of numbers; its principal intention being to please the hearing, rather than gratify the understanding."He ends all, after having given the preference to the Italian opera, thus: "If I thought it convenient, I could here discover some rules which I have given to myself in writing an opera in general, and in this opera in particular: but I consider, that the effect would only be, to have my own performance measured by the laws I gave, and consequently set up little judges, who, not understanding thoroughly, would be sure to fall upon the faults, and not to acknowledge any of the beauties. Here, therefore, if they will criticise, they shall do it out of their own fund; but let them be assured,[Page xi] that their ears are nice, for there is neither writing nor judging on this subject without that good quality. It is no easy matter, in our language, to make words so smooth, and numbers so harmonious, that they shall almost set themselves; and yet there are rules for this in nature, and as great a certainty and quantity in our syllables, as either in the Greek or Latin. But let poets and judges understand this first, and then let them begin to study English. When they have chewed a while upon these preliminaries, it may be they will scarce adventure to tax me with want of thought and elevation of fancy in this work; for they will soon be satisfied that those are not the nature of this sort of writing. The necessity of double rhimes, and ordering of the words and numbers for the sweetness of the voice, are the main hinges on which an opera must move; and both of these are without the compass of any art to[Page xii] teach another to perform, unless Nature in the first place has done her part, by enduing the poet with nicety of hearing, that the discord of sounds in words shall as much offend him as a seventh in music would a good composer. I have therefore no need to make excuses for meanness of thought in many places. The Italians, with all the advantages of their language, are continually forced on it, or rather they affect it. The chief secret is in the choice of words; and by this choice I do not mean elegancy of expression, but propriety of sound, to be varied according to the nature of the subject. — The same reasons which depress thought in an opera, have a stronger effect upon the words, especially in our language; for there is no maintaining the purity of English in short measures, where the rhime returns so quick, and is so often female or double rhime;[Page xiii] which is not natural to our tongue, because it consists too much of monosyllables, and those too most commonly clogged with consonants; for which reason I am often forced to coin new words, revive some that are antiquated, and botch others.