Elena Lanari Concert

“Signora Elena Lanari, a prima donna of distinction in Italy, will make her first appearance in this country at Steinway Hall to-night. She is said to possess a remarkably fine soprano voice and much skill as a cantatrice. She will be assisted by Mr. W. J. Hill, Sig. Fossati, Mr. Harry Sanderson, Mr. V. C. Burnap, and Mr. Otto Singer (accompanist).”

“Mme. Elena Lanari made her debut last night before a crowded audience. We heard her in two pieces which were well calculated to test the versatility of style in an artist. They were, ‘Ah! Non Giunge,’ the celebrated rondo, with the preceding recitative, from ‘Sonnambula,’ and ‘Ah! Forse e Lui,’ from ‘Traviata.’ In the first there was ample room for a display of facile execution and florid vocalization; in the second, an opportunity for showing tragic power. Mme. Lanari’s voice is a light soprano, of the Persiani school, trained to the highest degree in the Italian school. Whatever the merits of the other schools of singing may be, the Italian is the only true one for the formation of the voice. Still there are some defects in it which are perceptible in Mme. Lanari’s voice. Those defects only exist when the Italian school alone is used for the development and finish as well as the formation of the voice. The principal defect is the loss of freshness and, we might say, ‘naturalness’ of the voice, and the substitution of artificial tones, exquisitely finished, of course, but, nevertheless, artificial. There is also a tendency to ‘throatiness,’ instead of singing from the chest in the middle register. This gives the tone a muffled and subdued character, which seems to keep the voice constantly under restraint. But, notwithstanding these drawbacks of her school, which nearly all Italian singers, have, Mme. Lanari made a genuine success last night. She executes with ease and fluency and in the ‘Traviata’ selection she gave evidence of high dramatic power.  In the opera she must become a favorite. Mr. Hill and the other artists acquitted themselves commendably.”

"The debut of Elena Lanari, at Steinway Hall last night, may be set down as a success. The lady has a flexible voice, which has been thoroughly cultivated, and includes several of those very high notes with which Parepa has made so great an effect. Lanari uses these notes well and by her skill and care makes the hearer forget to notice the weakness of her middle register. Last night the new comer sang several familiar extracts from popular Italian operas, receiving applause in every instance. She was assisted by Mr. Hill, Signor Fossati in the vocal department, by Mr. Sanderson on the piano and Mr. Burnap on the organ. Madame Lanari will, we presume, be soon again heard in the concert room.”

“A good miscellaneous concert was given here last evening for the debut of Signora ELENA LANARI, a lady who has sung in Italy with distinction, and bears the name of Italy’s most energetic impresario. The stage heretofore seems to have been her sphere of action. That she should gravitate to the concert-room may be the result of accident—but it is perhaps a fortunate one.  Mme. LANARI’S voice lacks power and freedom, two essential elements in all operatic representations. These deficiencies are not so perceptible in the salon, where skill and good taste win quite as many victories as mere voice. In the well-known Recitative and Rondo from La Sonnambula, Mme. LANARI displayed the routine of an artist; her phrasing was clear and intelligent, and her execution neat and certain. It was evident that the lady felt the responsibility of appearing before a strange audience. From nervousness she forced the accents in a way that was unpleasant. But as the scena proceeded and the public encouraged the effort of the artiste, there was a manifest improvement. It was not, however, until the cavatina from La Traviata that Mme. LANARI fully recovered herself. This well-known piece was sung with expression and feeling. It revealed a far better quality of voice than was perceptible in BELLINI’S morceau, and was delivered with complete ease. Mme. LANARI has one or two upper notes which are clear and penetrating. Like Mme. PAREPA-ROSA, she is very fond of “holding on” to them. The middle register is good, but thin, and the lower one somewhat weak. Art has done much for Mme. LANARI, and as its results are permanent, we expect to have many opportunities of speaking favorably of the lady. Her debut was a success. 

“Mr. BURNAP played two solos on the organ, and no doubt entertains better sentiments toward the instrument. It is trying; the gentleman also played the accompaniments with much favor toward error, and an evident penchant for handsome clusters of false notes. Mr. OTTO SINGER was announced to be at the piano, but did not make his appearance. Mr. W. J. HILL sang a couple of ballads very acceptably, and was rewarded with the critic’s delight—an encore. Signor RONCONI was not present, being at the time in Boston with MARETZEK. His place was very acceptably filled by Signor FOSSATI, who sang with spirit. Mr. HARRY SANDERSON was the soloist. He played his fantasia from Semiramide with its extraordinary octavo passages, and, of course, gained an immediate and vociferous encore. No one is more liberally rewarded in this way. We do not remember to have heard Mr. SANDERSON play better than on this occasion. Some of his tours de force were really remarkable. The concert, it will be seen, was an interesting one, and will, we fancy, bear repetition.”

“Steinway Hall was almost entirely filled last night on the occasion of Signora Elena Lanari’s first appearance before an American audience. The lady is a native of Scotland, graceful and prepossessed in appearance, and still in the early summer of her age. She has been a diligent and intelligent student under some of the best masters of Italy, and displays high culture and an excellent method. She exemplifies in fact the extraordinary results which good training can accomplish with slight material, for her voice is not a very good one; it is thin and often husky, and instead of the mellowness of tone, which is the crowning gift of the singer, it has a hard, ringing sound—never harsh, it is true, but like nothing so much as the resonance of glass. In her sustained high notes this quality is pleasant, and she produced with it last night some admirable effects; but for the middle and lower registers we feel the want of something richer. There is no real feeling in a voice of this kind. Signora Lanari sings, however, with such taste and intelligence, and such a refined dramatic erxpression, that she makes amends, as far as that is possible, for the lack of natural pathos in the voice. In her first piece, the ‘Ah! Non credea,’ from ‘La Sonnambula,’ she seemed at the beginning to suffer a great deal from nervousness, but recovering herself during the recitative she delivered the aria with great artistic finish and passed to the ‘Ah! Non giunge,’ in which she appeared to rather less advantage. Her cavatina afterward from ‘La Traviata,’ ‘Ah! Forse a lui,” was beautifully phrased, and the first part of it was also vocally good; but in the concluding passage the weakness of her organ became apparent. It was also still more apparent in a duet from ‘Don Pasquale,’ with Signor Fossati: the gentleman has not a strong voice, but he overpowered his companion; both, however, sang the piece exceedingly well. The audience appeared to be pleased with the debutante, but were not enthusiastic. Although she cannot be said to have made a great hit, she certainly produced an agreeable impression. Mr. Hill sang two or three songs, and Signor Fossati did justice to a pretty ballad of Ricci’s. Mr. Harry Sanderson let off some of his fireworks on the piano, and as his playing was very fast and very loud, it got tremendous applause, the fiercest clapping and stamping being evoked by a thundering finale of a fantasia on ‘Semiramide’ in which about one note in every three was a false one. Mr. V. C. Burnap was permitted to play on the organ. This was unkind. The instrument moreover was seriously indisposed, and ought to have been let alone.”