great antiquity resound in the walls of the temple at Jerusalem, in
which respect the opera recalls Goldmark's "Queen of Sheba." Curved
Roman trumpets mix their loud clangors with the instruments of the
modern brass band and compel us to think of "Aida." There are
dances of Egyptians, Babylonians, and Phoenicians, and if the
movements of the women make us deplore the decay of the
choreographic art, the music warms us almost as much as the Spanish
measures in "Le Cid." Eyes and ears are deluged with Oriental color
until at the last there comes a longing for the graciously
insinuating sentimentalities of which the earlier Massenet was a
master. Two of the opera's airs had long been familiar to the
public from performance in the concert-room--Salome's "Il est
doux" and Herod's "Vision fugitive"--and they stand out as the
brightest jewels in the opera's musical crown; but there is much
else which woos the ear delightfully, for Massenet was ever a
gracious if not a profound melodist and a master of construction
and theatrical orchestration. When he strives for massive effects,
however, he sometimes becomes futile, banal where he would be
imposing; but he commands a charm which is insinuating in its
moments of intimacy.

[Footnote: "Herodiade" had its first performance in New York (it
had previously been given in New Orleans by the French Opera
Company) on November 8, 1909. The cast was as follows: Salome--Lina
Cavalieri; Herodias--Gerville-Reache; John--Charles Dalmores;
Herod--Maurice Renaud; Vitellius--Crabbe; Phanuel--M. Vallier; High
Priest--M. Nicolay. The musical director was Henriques de la
Fuente.]