opera nor good Sibelius". Nevertheless, Layton acknowledges the Maiden's prayer in Scene 2 and the chorus's spring music in Scene 3 are, respectively, "undoubtedly impressive" and "captivating and haunting". Finally, the music critic argues that, while The Maiden in the Tower "cannot be considered a masterpiece", it is nonetheless a "musically ... interesting" amalgam of "Sibelian national romanticism" and "frenetic accents of [Italian] ", especially the "earthy passions" of Mascagni's . Reasons for post-1981 neglect Despite its resurrection in 1981, in the intervening decades Sibelius's opera has entered neither the Finnish or the international repertories, and performances have been rare. The most common explanation for 's neglect is the story's lack of appeal and the attendant risk of mounting a production. Modern commentators have criticized Hertberg's libretto as "a lifeless concoction", "bland", "thinly-plotted", "tarnished by naïveté", and "startlingly silly ... its inanities on dreadful display from the opening lines". While Tawaststjerna concedes that Hertzberg's libretto "as a whole is not without dramatically effective scenes", he too registers a negative opinion, characterizing Hertzberg as a "mediocre author" whose "simple" story was "embarrassingly awful... [an] operatic albatross that [Sibelius chose] to wear round his neck". Hannikainen posits a second explanation. He argues that has developed a poor reputation in part due to its "misleading" classification as an opera, because this label invites comparison with full-scale operas and thereby does Sibelius's small-scale work a disservice. Evidence in support of this position includes: first, that Achté's letter asked Sibelius for a one-act stage work, not specifically an opera; second, that the 1896 program advertised the piece as a "dramatized Finnish ballad"; third, that critics in 1896 struggled to categorize the new piece, describing it as an "opera", "operetta", "tableau", "ballad number", "short, opera-like composition", and "small, one-act play"; and fourth, that Sibelius—even if he had wanted—could not have written a full-scale opera, given the paltry orchestral and vocal resources at his disposal. As such, The Maiden in the Tower might more fairly be categorized with and compared to Sibelius's other lottery music, such as 1893's Karelia or 1899's Press Celebrations Days. Discography The Estonian-American conductor Neeme Järvi and the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra made the world premiere studio recording on 2 September 1983 for BIS records. In 2001, Paavo Järvi (Neeme's son) and the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra also recorded the opera. Critics have favored the more recent performance. In BBC Music Magazine, John Allison