Richings English Opera: Crown Diamonds

“The Richings troupe commenced their third New York season at the Academy last night before a fairly filled house. The initial opera was the delicious work of Auber, the ‘Crown Diamonds,’ an opera that abounds in sparkling music in every scene. We have fully described it before and need only here speak of its rendering last night. The Academy is unsuitable for English opera on account of its size, as Covent Garden has proven itself to be for Offenbach’s works, and the really excellent artistes of the Richings troupe were consequently heard at a disadvantage. Again, the orchestra and the chorus were unevenly balanced, the former numbering thirty-four and the latter only fourteen. The result was that the voices were completely drowned b the instruments and some of the most stirring and brilliant choruses rendered ineffective. The tableau at the end of the first act was tame on account of the non-appearance of the soldiers. [list of cast] The singing was, in general, good, although overpowered by the orchestra, which Mr. Dietrich failed to keep within proper bounds. Mrs. Seguin, née Miss Zelda Harrison, sang and acted charmingly the part of Diana, and Miss Richings’ talents as an actress lent a charm to the rôle of Catarina. The cast at the Théâtre Français in this opera last season consisted of Naddie, Laurentis, Anthelme, De Surmont and Walter, and the opera was considered the most successful brought out by that company.”

“Miss Richings’s company began its season of English opera at the Academy of Music last night, with Auber’s sparkling little opera of ‘Crown Diamonds.’ The house was good—unusually so, when the rival attractions of Ristori and Dickens are taken into account. Miss Richings was in excellent humor, and sang and acted the part of Catarina admirably. Mrs. Seguin was Diana, Mr. Castle Sandoval, and Mr. Campbell Rebolledo. The orchestra was stronger than the chorus than the chorus, so that the latter was sometimes overpowered, and this was almost the only fault in the whole performance.”

“Miss RICHINGS commenced a short season of English opera at this establishment last evening. The attendance was not so extensive as it might have been, but the holidays perhaps had something to do with the matter; there is consoloation in that reflection. The opera was the ‘Crown Diamonds,’ which was given with spirit by the soloists—all well known and approved by the public. The dialogues were not easily followed, owing, perhaps, to the fact that there were not sufficient people in attendance to hear them comfortably. The orchestra was good, and the chorus although occasionally weak, was passable. It is unnecessary to say anything of AUBER’S opera, which, in its English form, is simply a musical drama of an exceedingly interesting character. It gave satisfaction to the audience, and will undoubtedly bear repetititon.”

“The English opera was inaugurated Monday evening at the Academy of Music, with Les Diamants de la Couronne. Poor M. Auber! His work, performed so well last year by M. Juignet’s company, has rarely been so disfigured, even in Carpentras or Brives la Gaillarde. The tenor, M. W. Castle, is armed with a voice one-third gullet, one-third brisket and one-third occipital bone. One hears it sometimes. As an actor, he has the warmth of marble and the passion of the got Termes [a statue with a human head and the body of a pyramid, no arms or legs]. Never has a bashful suitor congealed the audience more. A thermometer placed in front of his mouth would have registered several hundred degrees below zero, and the spectators were attempting to breathe on their fingers while viewing his frozen arias. The great ice-floe that extends between Greenland and Spitzbergen, detached from the pole, couldn’t have cooled the atmosphere more. To crown the happiness, M. Castle, judging M. Auber to be insufficient, interpolated an aria into the second act that didn’t belong to the Diamants in any way.

He imitated M. S. S. Campbell, who, charged with the role of Reballado, believed it indispensable to appropriate a little aria in the first act for himself. In other respects, M. Campbell has a good voice, and even though his gaiety resembles nothing so much as that of an undertaker, he showed himself a better actor than M. Castle. It would be better to keep quiet about M. D. B. Wylise (Don Sebastien) and M. H. Peakes (Campomayor).

Let’s pass on to Miss Richings. This young artiste isn’t the first-comer. She’s far from being a good actress, but she reigns among her people like the one-eyed person among the blind. Her voice is of a good enough range and well-toned. It’s a pity that she completely lacks a feeling for nuances. Her ornaments are uneven. Sometimes they’re clear, sometimes they resemble gurgles; sometimes a scale is detached pure and pearled, sometimes one could also say that the singer gargles. Moreover, Miss Richings was strongly applauded: the rondo of Beau Pedrille, the duet of the Mountain Pass, the aria of Handsome Ivan, which the artiste sang in French, all provoked bravos from a public more kind than knowledgeable. Mme Seguin, who played the role of Diana, has an excellent voice, which she manages somehow or other.

            The ensemble is bad. The chorus is inadequate. The orchestra played the overture without any nuance, in rushing all the movements, so as to create an uproar of arias. Besides, the tempos weren’t respected for one minute during the entire evening: Miss Richings herself sang the duet Adieu, seigneur, il faut partir, and the beautiful motif, O surprise nouvelle, with the skipping paces that should have accompanied the cancan in La Grande Duchesse. The whole thing was frigid enough to make the polar bears rejoice. Aside from these imperfections, the performance was excellent.”

“’Crown Diamonds’ became popular in this country by the excellent rendition of the role of Catarina by Mad. Anna Thillon about sixteen years ago. It is in three acts and is one of Auber’s best productions. It was not only very cleverly sung by the company, but the magnificent manner in which it was dressed was the remark of all. The dresses in the court scene were purchawsed in Paris expressly for this company, and were not only handsome but appropriate. The several leading artists were in excellent voice and Miss Richings was very warmly received in the role of Catarina; her delightful vocalization appeared to please every one present. Mr. Castle looked and acted Don Henrique to the satisfaction of all. He received the first encore, his singing of ‘Oh, Whisper What Thou Feelest’ being loudly applauded. S. C. Campbell’s make up and singing of Rebolledo was a feature of the performance. Mrs. E. Seguin is a great favorite with the New York public, and received a cordial greeting. Her singing of ‘When doubt the the tortured frame,’ etc. was excellent, and deservedly encored. Mr. Peakes was good as the Minister, and the rest of the cast was good. The chorus did not appear to be in very good trim, and was not strong enough to overcome the orchestral music, which was very loud.”