Thomas Lyric Theatre Concert: 3rd

“The project of establishing a popular music hall as far up-town as Forty-first street would seem at first a little rash, but when it is undertaken by Mr. Theodore Thomas, we can scarcely doubt of its success. For two successive summers he has been able to draw large and intelligent audiences to his Terrace Garden concerts, nearly a mile further up, and will soon make Lyric Hall, opposite Reservoir square, an equally favorite place of resort. The third concert at this new place of amusement will be given this evening. Miss Minnie Hauck, one of the prima donnas of the Academy, will sing two airs, and the orchestra will perform selections from Meyerbeer, Auber, Strauss, Mendelssohn, Mozart, Verdi and Schumann.”

“The third concert at this new and attractive place of elevating amusement, introduced Miss Hauck to audiences heretofore acquainted only with her operatic abilities. It is seldom that an artist who has achieved her greatest successes with the picturesque aids of dress, scenery, and romantic story on the regular stage, secures any significant amount of favor when she stands alone, and unadorned by any fictitious helps—on the bare concert platform. But Miss Hauck is likely to be as popular in the concert room as on the lyric stage; she sang the waltz air from Gounod's ‘Romeo and Juliette’ last evening quite as fervidly as it was uttered the other night at the Academy, and her natural archness and vivacity crept out with every note of the ‘Batti, batti.’ The next piece on the programme in the favor of the fine audience was St. Saens’ Tarantelle air for flute and clarionet [sic], in which Messrs. Wendelschaefer and Rietzel distinguished themselves. The orchestral pieces were pleasantly varied between dance music by Strauss, and overtures of nobler strain by Mendelssohn, Atber [sic] and Meyerbeer. Vieuxtemps’ ‘Reverie” was given by Mr. Thomas’ band, in a spirit of perfect sympathy with its composer’s dreamy vein.”

“The third of Mr. Thomas’s Lyric Hall concerts was given last evening to a crowded and highly pleased audience. The experiment of an up-town music hall is a success from the start. Although so far above the majority of our places of amusement, it is easily accessible by Sixth avenue cars, while the Fifth avenue stages and the Broadway cars bring passengers within a short distance. The hall, which fronts about the middle of Reservoir square, is extremely pleasant and neatly furnished. The only difficulty is that its accommodations are likely to be far from sufficient for the throngs who will attend.”