Orpheon Free Choral School Fund Concert: 1st

“The first of the fourth season of Mr. Jerome Hopkins’s ‘Orpheon Concerts’ was given last evening at Steinway Hall to one of the largest audiences we have seen there this season. The performers were Mlle. De Bruno, Mr. Bergner, Mr. Gough and Mr. Hopkins himself. Mlle. De Bruno last night made her first appearance before a New York audience, and labored under the disadvantages which attend such an ordeal. In addition, the selections made for her did not seem to us well adapted to please a popular audience. In other words the new candidate for public favor did not come out under the most auspicious circumstances, but succeeded, in spite of this, in making a good impression with some of the most critical listeners present. Her voice is an unusually strong contralto, rich and powerful in the lower register, and clear but not always pleasing in the upper. Under the right training it would develop into a very effective voice for the operatic stage, for which her personal appearance well fits her. Mr. Bergner and Mr. Hopkins played with their usual skill. Mr. Gough was more popular than he deserved to be.”

“A programme of agreeable character, but mostly of familiar pieces, seemed to be greatly enjoyed by a very numerous audience.”