ABSTRACT
A brief recollection of the state of English theatrical music in the earlier part of the nineteenth century allows people to assess the contribution of Balfe and his colleagues to the English repertory. Especially in the early stages of their careers they were faced by entrenched antipathy towards the role of music in drama. The careful definition that such terms demand is beyond our brief, as is the deeper sociological investigation that is required. Such a study should distinguish between encouragement for the separate categories of sacred music, instrumental composition—the symphonic repertory, for instance-and opera. The picture presented by the French correspondent is of an demonstrative audience that supported opera and ballet with great enthusiasm. Clearly people must be wary of disparaging assumptions about English musical and theatrical life. But the refreshingly different view put forward in La France Musicale did not gain ground.
