Although little by little success has come to operas based on legends, there still remains a taste for operas with a historical background.

This is not without a reason for as an authoritative critic has said: "A historical drama may contain lyric possibilities far greater than most of the poor, weak mythological librettos on which composers waste their strength, fully persuaded that by doing so they cause 'the holy spirit of Bayreuth to descend upon them.'" And they never would have dreamed of being mythological, if their god, instead of turning to Scandinavian mythology, had followed his original intention of dramatizing the exploits of Frederick Barbarossa.

In his youth he was not opposed to historical opera, for he eulogized _La Musette de Portici_, _La Juive_, and _La Reine de Chypre_.

He made some justifiable criticisms of the libretto of the last work, although he admitted that the composer had contrived to write beautiful passages.
"We cannot praise Halevy too highly," he wrote, "for the firmness with which he resists every temptation, to which many of his contemporaries succumb, to steal easy applause by relying blindly on the talent of the singers.

On the contrary, he demands that his _virtuosi_, even the most famous of them, shall subordinate themselves to the lofty inspiration of his Muse.