This, however, was something which Beethoven had never objected
to; moreover, time had amply vindicated him as to the symphonies, so he
could afford to be generous to his youthful critic. Beethoven was genial
and kindly, and the younger man was deeply impressed by the master's
reception of him. Euryanthe proved a failure and Weber called again to
ask Beethoven's advice as to remodelling the work.
The libretto Melusina, which was submitted to him by Grillparzer found
such favor in his eyes as to lead to its acceptance, but when he came
face to face with the project, his former experience with opera was
sufficient to deter him, and he abandoned the idea, giving as an excuse
the inferiority of the German singers. That this was only an excuse, is
plain, since only a short time afterward Mlle. Sontag was intrusted with
the exceedingly difficult soprano parts of the Mass in D and the Ninth
Symphony. He was hard at work on this Symphony at the time, which will
serve to explain and accentuate his reluctance to again attempt operatic
composition, a style of work diametrically opposed to that which had
engaged his attention for many years previously.
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