Carlotta Patti Farewell Concert: 1st

Brief. “Carlotta Patti commences another series of performances on the 5th of April.”

“Wednesday, at Steinway, Miss Carlotta Patti reappears, the sale of seats for this (to borrow a French expression) solennité being commenced this morning at the usual places. Miss Patti returns to New-York after a tour of some duration. She has sung in almost seventy concerts in Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, St. Louis, Memphis, Louisville, Charleston, and numerous minor places, and has everywhere found a repetition of her success here. Most of the artists who surrounded her in this City a few months ago will be heard again on Wednesday. Mr. Ritter and Mr. Prume will play, and Herr Hermanns is to sing, while Mr. Henry Squires will replace Herr Habelmann. We believe that the after concerts occur Friday evening and Saturday afternoon.”

“Miss Carlotta Patti resumes her concerts at Steinway Hall on Saturday evening. She is to be assisted as formerly by Messrs. Ritter, Prume, Hermanns and Colby, and has also added to her company Miss Clara Perl.”

First New York Herald citation to mention Sarasate’s appearance. “The young and highly distinguished Castilian violin virtuoso SENOR PEBLO [sic] SARASATE who was expressly engaged by Mr. Max Strakosch in Paris to give additional éclat to the Patti Concerts, arriving opportunely in the Ville de Paris, will appear for the first time in America on this occasion.”

“The first of the promised series of concerts by Mlle. Carlotta Patti occurs at Steinway Hall this evening. The lady sings, among other morceaux, a bolero composed expressly for her by M. Ritter.”

“Our readers are not likely to forget that Carlotta Patti makes her reappearance this evening at Steinway Hall, and we presume she will be royally received. [Notes additional concerts.] …Clara Perl is also to be heard. The rest of the company is about the same as when Miss Patti last sang in New-York, except that Mr. Prume is replaced by a Spanish violinist, Sarasate, who has just arrived from Paris.”

“The first of these concerts was given last night, and to a house which reminded one of the rush, the crush and the gasping for air which marked the readings of Dickens. (En passant—is there no way whereby Steinway Hall may be supplied with sufficient oxygen for a crowded house? Can it not be done by opening a window or two? We should, in behalf of the public, like to know.) The programme last evening embraced a grand aria from ‘Le Prophète,’ by Josef Hermanns; ‘Andante from Beethoven,’ with variations, piano and violin, by Messrs. Ritter and Sarasate; ‘Cavatina and Rondo,’ from ‘La Somnambula [sic],’ by Carlotta Patti; Wallace’s serenade, ‘The Star of Love,’ by Henry Squires; ‘Trinklied,’ from ‘Martha,’ given à la basso profundo, by Hermanns; ‘Bolero-Inez,’ composed expressly for Miss Patti by Ritter, and a very sprightly composition, and sung by Patti with great effect; violin solo from ‘Martha,’ by Sarasate, and a quartet from ‘Lucia,’ by Mlle. Patti and Messrs. Squires, Ritter and Hermanns.

“Double the amount of work set down in the bill, however, was exacted by the audience, as every piece was encored. Patti was overwhelmed with the enthusiasm of the house. Hermanns, as a basso profundo, is tremendous; Squires did his pretty serenade with touching sweetness and delicacy, and Sarasate, ‘the Castilian violin virtuoso,’ just arrived from the other side, is a master of his instrument, who is destined, we think, to make a noise in the world that will survive him. But the clear, fresh, sparkling, full and flexible voice of Patti, and her singularly skilful [sic], free and exquisite rendering of the music set before her as an artist, together with her fine personal presence, are, as the oracle said of Alexander the Macedonian, irresistible. If she could be persuaded to play in New York, before her departure for South America, the rôle of prima donna in an opera or tow, she would surely be no loser thereby, nor Strakosch. This evening she gives a concert at the Brooklyn Academy, and to-morrow (Friday) evening her second of this series at Steinway Hall, when Signor Ferranti, as one of this troupe, will make here his first appearance.”

“Miss Carlotta Patti’s reappearance at Steinway Hall, last evening, called out the audience and the enthusiasm her earlier triumphs at that place insured. Her ‘first farewell concert,’ to quote from the programme, which seems to recognize—happily, we note, in this instance—that there is such a thing as a series of farewells, was completely successful. Most of Miss Patti’s contributions to it are familiar in respect of their entity, but not so far as their method of impartment is conceived. ‘Ah! Non Giunge’ and ‘Coming Thro’ the Rye’ are to be heard at most concerts; but it is hardly necessary to add that they are not to be heard as sung by Miss Patti, whose quality, range and flexibility of voice have been written of here time and again. Both these pieces were executed last night, with the laughing song from ‘Marco Spada,’ which no other songstress now attempts. Besides, a fresh element was added to her repertory in form of a bolero by M. Theodore Ritter. M. Ritter’s composition is not remarkable for inspiration or handling, though characteristic enough in rhythm to merit its Spanish title of ‘Inez,’ and well suited, in its final, quite distinct part, to the power of florid execution, and to the wondrous gift of laughing to musical notation and tempo possessed by Miss Patti. The lady was recalled at the close of her interpretation of ‘Inez,’ as she had been after each of her earlier efforts, and amid just as general and real demonstrations of delight. The concert, indeed, was one that gave perfect satisfaction throughout. M. Ritter rendered Chopin’s berceuse with as much intelligibility as this most vaguest of the musician’s compositions can be endowed with, and gave ‘Vélocde,’ one of his own productions, (the treatment of all of which varies little,) with a poesy of phrasing and delicacy of touch for which he is unequaled by any pianist now before the local public. In Señor Sarasate, a violinist substituted for M. Prume on the bills, and promising to fully replace him in the good graces of the public, M. Strakosch has found a performer who from a first trial is to be accepted with unqualified commendation. His style is broader than that of M. Prume, his fingering as artistic and more dexterous and his resources in the matter of niceties evidently greater. A passage in harmonics and another with a combination of bowed and pizzicato notes would perhaps have been of little value as denoting Señor Sarasate’s rank had not other evidences of his talent been afforded; but his recitation of the andante, and variations from the Kreutser [sic] Sonate, of an arrangement of melodies from ‘Martha,’ and of other brief work, of his own, showed that his skill was not confined to the performance of feats which are only welcome when rarely put forward. The tenor, yesterday, was Mr. N. [sic] Squires, whose voice is fresh, timeable [sic] and cultured, and whose reading is very refined and expressive. Wallace’s serenade, ‘The Star of Love,’ the one solo air allotted to this artist, was repeated. Herr Joseph Hermanns, whose immense volume and compass of voice, and bluff heartiness of delivery and manner were as conspicuous as ever, was also listened to, and was summoned back after the drinking song from ‘Martha.’ Miss Patti, and all the artists surrounding her on the occasion we allude to, sing at the Brooklyn Academy of Music this night, and will interpret a fresh programme at Steinway Hall on Friday.”

“Miss Patti’s return to New-York was welcomed by a large audience last night at Steinway Hall, and as more than half the pieces on the programme were encored no fault certainly can be found with the warmth of the reception. Miss Patti was announced to sing in one quartette and two solos, but the two solos of course were increased to four and would have amounted up to five had she not excused herself after the last by bowing her acknowledgments with a shawl wrapped around her throat. Her first piece was the Ah! non credea and Ah! non gingue from ‘Sonnambula,’ with ‘Comin’ thro’ the Rye’ for a recall; her second a Bolero by Mr. Theodore Ritter, followed by Auber’s ‘Laughing Song.’ In the three styles of music represented by these four pieces she gave us exactly her measure as an artist. In the gay careless strains of the rattling Bolero and the eccentricities of the amusing ‘Laughing Song’ she is inimitable. She plays with the technical difficulties of art; she seizes a running passage, scampers all over the staff with it in the most daring and unheard of manner, scatters about those showers of little pearly high notes which have never come in such perfection from the throat of any other singer in this country since her sister Adelina, and finishes, perhaps, with a wonderful crescendo in the topmost register, like a lark in the sky. The clear ring of her voice reminds us of nothing so much as a glass bell. It is sweet without being at all sensuous, pure and yet not exactly rich. She has it in perfect control, and she can apparently perform with ease any feat of execution of which the human voice is capable. All these capabilities, as well as a sense of fun, she displayed in the two songs in the second part of the programme. The limitation of her powers was equally well exhibited in the operatic selection and ballade in the earlier part of the evening. The ‘Sonnambula’ piece has been given here a score of times better than she gave it. The adagio was cold, the rondo showy, and yet not really brilliant. In fact, there is not heart in Miss Patti’s singing. She will give you a cavatina with all regard for those nuances of expression which can be indicated by musical signs; but feeling must come by nature, it cannot be taught by art. Feeling is just one thing which nature has forgotten to give her, and, therefore, the more genuine the music the more likely she is to fail in it. Ballad singing she ought not to attempt at all. Feeling and simplicity are the two essentials for that style, and in ‘Comin’ thro the Rye’ she displayed neither.

“Mr. Ritter, the pianist, is no stranger here. We have praised him heartily on former occasions, and last night he pleased us as much as ever, except when he accompanied Miss Patti in his Bolero; then he played much too loud. Mr. Joseph Hermanns is a still older acquaintance, upon whom criticism would be wasted. Mr. Henry Squires, the English tenor, has a good voice and a very bad style. There is one other artist in the company, however, whom we can praise without reserve. That is Mr. Sarasate[,] the newly arrived Spanish violinist. He plays with admirable taste and great feeling, with perfect mastery of the technique, and a rich full tone hardly inferior to Ole Bull’s. His intonations are always correct and in listening to him one feels the comfortable assurance that he will never stumble. He made a gratifying sensation with a selection of airs from ‘Martha,’ especially the ‘Last Rose of Summer’ with muted strings.

“In the quartette to which we have already alluded—the Chi me frena from ‘Lucia’—the parts were taken by Miss Patti, Mr. Squires, Mr. Hermanns, and Mr. Ritter, who is not only a pianist, but a singer, with a good baritone voice which appears, from the little we heard of it in this piece, to be well trained. An orchestra of about 23 instruments, under the direction of Mr. G. W. Colby, played some of the accompaniments and two overtures.”

“The powerful musical current created by Miss Patti’s popularity carried last evening to Steinway Hall an audience at once numerous, intelligently attentive and enthusiastic. So unusually warm was the reception of the artists of the occasion that the eleven pieces on the programme were nearly doubled by the loud demands of the audience.

“A fountain of vocal genius seems to be an inherited prerogative of the Patti family. In both hemispheres at the present moment the musical world is alive with their sweet sounds, and the press busy in chronicling their brilliant achievements. How beautifully does art thus form a large platform of cosmopolitan brotherhood!

“Miss Patti’s cavatina and rondo from ‘Sonnambula’ was so delicately rich and clearly expressive, last evening, as to satisfy our most ideal conception of Bellini’s wonderful melody. The bolero, though in a widely different style, was equally successful, and showed her great versatility and vocal power of adaptation. In the great quartette from ‘Lucia,’ her voice rang through the hall with a magical power seldom equalled [sic] by the best operatic efforts. Her laughing-song, due to a demand of the audience, convulsed the whole house, and was so peculiarly her own as to exclude all competition. Every muscle of her face lent its attractive aid to the resistless charm of the piece.

“Senor Sarasate had a great triumph as the violinist of the occasion. A stranger to our musical people, his first effort was equal, quiet, and effective, but not until his solo from ‘Martha’ did he rise to the level of his ability and draw from the audience a general burst of applause. Every tone from the instrument was clear, expressive and moulded [sic] most artistically. He is young and sure to become a general favorite. Mr. Theodore Ritter is a well cultivated pianist. His fingering is very distinct and liquid, but a little deficient in intensity of feeling. Mr. Squires and Mr. Hermanns both assisted at last night’s concert.”

Part of an announcement for the second concert in this series, correcting an error from the review of the previous day (04/07/70). “In our reference to that [concert] rendered Wednesday, by the way, the types led us into alluding to the ‘artistic and dexterous’ fingering of the violinist Sarasate, and to the ‘timeable,’ in lieu of the ‘tuneable’ voice of Mr. Squires.”

“Henry Squires, the tenor of the Carlotta Patti troupe, is of the Brignoli school—sweet, tender and sympathetic, but without a great deal of power. He is admirably suited for the concert room, sings with great taste, and seldom fails to please and elicit applause.

“Colby, the pianist, is taking part in the Patti concerts as an orchestral leader; and Ritter, the pianist, assists as a vocalist in quartets. Versatility like this of Ritter’s is unusual, for instrumental performers are generally shockingly bad singers, and usually gifted with hideous voices.

“Josef Hermanns, the basso, is attracting much attention at the Patti concerts. In great depth of voice and solemnity of expression he is a thorough vocal Teuton. The gravity of his delivery and the earnestness of his effort subdue the listener into attention, if not admiration. He has doubtless great merit, reminding one often of Carl Formes. Every frequenter of the opera has pleasant recollections of Hermann’s personation of Mephistopheles in ‘Faust.’”

“Carlotta Patti, the most bepuffed cantatrice, is back again in this city. Carlotta possesses a pretty face, has a voice badly cultivated, of limited power, and one which is marred in its tone by a bad habit of singing through her teeth and half closed lips, rather than through her open mouth. As a first-class vocalist she does not favorably compare with Parepa.”