Parepa-Rosa English Opera: Maritana

“One of the most beautiful, if not the very best, of English operas was produced last night in the most superb style, but under the most disadvantageous circumstances. Not only the weather was adverse, but the Tammany excitement kept hundreds away, so that Wallace’s ‘Maritana’ was played for the first time before a comparatively slim house. The cast included Mme. Parepa-Rosa, Mr. Seguin, Castle, Campbell and Hall, and was the same, with the exception of the last mentioned gentleman, as when the opera was performed last fall at the Theâtre Français. It passed off in the most successful manner, and every one present regretted the untoward circumstances which injured the house. The freshness, sparkle, variety and melodic beauty of ‘Maritana’ render it a permanent favorite wherever it is heard, and we trust that this company will give one more representation of it before their season closes. The choruses were sung with a perfection of ensemble and spirit such as one rarely hears in the Academy, and the orchestra, under the experienced direction of Carl Rosa, was everthing that a musician could desire.”

“William Vincent Wallace’s opera of ‘Maritana’ was sung at the Academy of Music last evening. It has been given here time and again, and sometimes with better results than attended the representation last night. The voice of Mme. Parepa-Rosa has sufficient charm to beguile one into a disregard of many defects on the part of herself and associates, but its spell was hardly potential enough yesterday for the purpose. There are few English works that so imperatively demand a fair allowance of histrionic power from their interpreters as ‘Maritana,’ which is founded upon the most skillfully-constructed and the most effective of romantic dramas. The acting on the occasion we write of, was not good throughout, and in the closing scenes between the King and the triumphant husband, Messrs. Hall and Castle wrought a mediocre beginning, in this respect, into a bad end. Nor was an alteration of the text by the last named gentleman at all acceptable. Mr. Castle, who in a recitative, made particularly impressive by blasts from all the brass in the orchestra, had proclaimed in the first act his right as Count of Garofa to remain covered before royalty might have found a better suggestion to address as the monarch to the new Don Caesar than an injunction to remove his hat. The error is not an important one, but as it grew out of an interpolation into the text by the actor, the [inappositene…?] of the remark might as well be pointed out, and especially as there was perfect fidelity to words and music saving to that one instance. The applause of the entertainment was principally for Mme. Rosa and Mrs. Seguin. A repetition of almost all the gypsy’s arias was sought, and an encore followed the aria with which Lazarillo, a very artless personation by a gifted and versatile young singer, opens the second act. Aside from the objections made already to Mr. Castle’s performance, his singing of Don Caesar does not show his voice or style in as favorable a light as so other roles. It is always a severe trial to execute the flowing melody of the trio, ‘Turn on Old Time,’ after the leading phrase has been given with undeviating purity by the cornet; and it is a difficult task to adhere to the written notes of the second part, and for these, Mr. Castle, like many tenors, substituted others. The cavatina following, ‘Yes, Let Me Like a Soldier Fall,’ lacked, in its recitation, the energy the martial words and setting exact. Mr. Campbell was Don Jose, and gave the ballad, ‘In Happy Moments,’ with excellent expression, and the aria, ‘No! My Courage now Regaining,’ with exceptional spirit. The chorus was numerous and proficient, and the orchestra whose share in this opera is quite onerous, by reason of the elaborate instrumentation, was well in hand, though sometimes rather more noisy than the vocal resources of the stage warranted.”