Patti Easter Operatic Festival: Die Zauberflöte

Event Information

Venue(s):
Academy of Music

Manager / Director:
Max Strakosch

Conductor(s):
Théodore Ritter

Price: $2 reserved; $1; $.50 family circle; $8, $10, $12, boxes

Event Type:
Opera

Record Information

Status:
Published

Last Updated:
5 March 2022

Performance Date(s) and Time(s)

19 Apr 1870, 8:00 PM
22 Apr 1870, 8:00 PM
23 Apr 1870, 1:00 PM

Program Details

Strakosch was Patti’s both manager and the director of this performance. As per the New York Tribune review of 04/20/70, it seems the opera was presented in four acts rather than the standard two.

Performers and/or Works Performed

1)
aka Magic Flute; Zauberflote
Composer(s): Mozart
Text Author: Schikaneder
Participants:  Joseph Hermanns (role: Sarastro);  Wilhelm Formes (role: Papageno);  A. [tenor] Wiegand (role: Monostatos);  Carlotta Patti (role: Queen of the Night);  Theodore Habelmann (role: Tamino);  Pauline Canissa (role: Pamina);  Sophie Dziuba (role: Papagena)

Citations

1)
Announcement: New York Herald, 09 April 1870, 7.

Following review of concert performance on 04/08/70. “Miss Patti will shortly appear at the Academy of Music as Queen of the Night in ‘The Magic Flute’ [sic, no comma] a rôle admirably suited to her, as it gives her voice full scope for its boundless warblings and does not call for acting of any noticeable kind. Her numerous admirers, and their name is Legion [sic], will be delighted at the prospect of seeing and hearing their favorite for once outside the dreary walls of the concert room.”

2)
Announcement: New York Post, 09 April 1870, 2.

“Before Miss Patti leaves for distant climes, it is to be hoped that Max Strakosch will allow us to hear her in opera at the now vacant Academy of Music. He has in his concert troupe the elements of a good opera company, and the ‘Magic Flute’ as promised by Maretzek, with Patti as the Queen of the Night, would certainly prove a strong attraction with the public.”

3)
Announcement: New-York Times, 10 April 1870, 5.

At the end of a review of the Patti farwell concert series. The reviewer suggests that the performers could have chosen a more varied repertoire to better display their skills, continuing: “If promises were not like the oft-quoted pie-crust, so far as Miss Patti herself is concerned, there would be ground to hope for novelty at once. Why should not Mr. Strakosch take upon himself to fulfill the assurances of Mr. Maretzek by producing ‘Die Zauberfloete,’ with the lady in the part of the Queen of the Night? The two grand airs, which few living songstresses can execute as written, and which none could render with equal effect, would suffice for Miss Patti’s contribution to the entertainment, the attractiveness of which in itself need not be proclaimed to any one at all familiar with Mozart’s music. Possibly, the note of preparation has already been sounded.”

4)
Advertisement: New York Herald, 11 April 1870, 9.

“PATTI EASTER OPERATIC FESTIVAL. Mr. Max Strakosch is happy to announce that in compliance with the general desire on the part of the numerous patrons of the opera and the music-loving portion of the community that he has succeeded in inducing MISS CARLOTTA PATTI to appear in Mozart’s grand Opera, THE MAGIC FLUTE. Arrangements are now being perfected, and that immortal masterwork, superbly mounted, will be produced…when Miss Patti will assume the role of the QUEEN OF THE NIGHT, supported by a most brilliant cast and powerful chorus and complete orchestra under the direction of MONS. THEODORE RITTER. The sale of seats will commence on Saturday, 16th April, at the box office of the Academy of Music.”

“And, on a separate, much smaller card on the same page: “ACADEMY OF MUSIC—THE MAGIC FLUTE.—Chorus singers and secondary parts who wish to assist at PATTI’S representation of ‘The Magic Flute’ will please be in attendance at the box office of the Academy at 10 o’clock this morning. MAX STRAKOSCH, Director.”

5)
Advertisement: New-York Times, 11 April 1870, 7.
6)
Announcement: New-York Daily Tribune, 11 April 1870, 4.

“A promise made us last Autumn by Max Maretzek is to be fulfilled next week by Max Strakosch. Miss Patti is going to sing in opera—not with the late lamented Italian company, but with a supporting troupe of German artists—the best who can be collected for the occasion. Mozart’s ‘Magic Flute’ will therefore be presented at the Academy of Music on Tuesday, the 19th inst., and will, we suppose, be repeated several times. The role of the Queen of the Night which Miss Patti assumes in this work makes no demands upon the histrionic abilities of its representative, who indeed has only to issue out of the bowels of the earth by means of a trap door, and sing as if she had just dropped out of the bosom of heaven; but it demands musical abilities of such an order that few artists attempt to sing it as Mozart wrote it to be sung. Two of the arias which require an extraordinary range of voice are generally omitted; Miss Patti not only means to sing them, but promises to go two tones higher yet. The rest of the cast includes Miss Canissa, Mr. Habelmann, Mr. Hermanns, and Mr. Formes. Theodore Ritter is the conductor, and Mr. Strakosch is profuse in promises of magnificence in the chorus, the dresses, the scenery, and the miscellaneous appointments.”

7)
Announcement: New York Post, 11 April 1870, 2.

Brief; lists performers and roles.

8)
Advertisement: New York Herald, 16 April 1870, 12.

Cast list with roles; prices. First citation to announce Saturday matinee. Notes the performance will also be given at the Brooklyn Academy on 4/20/70.

9)
Announcement: New-York Times, 16 April 1870, 5.

“The musical event of the season is to be the appearance of Miss Carlotta Patti in opera. ‘The Magic Flute’ has been chosen as the fittest medium for the artist’s state performance, both on account of the extreme difficulty of the music, and of the limited share which the lady assuming the part of the Queen of the Night bears in the action. Miss Patti will be surrounded by Herren Habelmann and Hermanns and by Miss Canissa and Mme. Dzuiba. We are requested to mention that the sale of seats, at the usual prices, will be commenced this morning.”

10)
Announcement: New-York Daily Tribune, 16 April 1870, 5.

“Tuesday is set apart for Miss Patti’s appearance as the Queen of the Night in Mozart’s ‘Magic Flute,’ and this will be the sensation of the week if not of the season. She will sing in German, and the artists chosen to support her are [lists performers with roles]. The manager promises a good orchestra under Theodore Ritter, a fine chorus, and a plenty of bright, new dresses, and as Mr. Strakosch’s promises are generally kept, we dare say the performance will be successful in the minor parts, as it is certain to be in its principal feature. It will be repeated on Friday and Saturday.”

11)
Announcement: New-York Times, 17 April 1870, 4.

Brief.

12)
Announcement: New York Herald, 18 April 1870, 7.

“The great musical event of the week will be Mlle. Carlotta Patti’s first appearance in opera at the Academy of Music. Mr. Strakosch announces three performances of Mozart’s great work, ‘The Magic Flute,’ on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday (matinee), with Mlle. Patti as ‘The Queen of the Night.’ The charming young prima donna, Mlle. Pauline Canissa, is cast as Pamina and Hermanns, Habelmann and Formes are also announced. The simple announcement of Carlotta Patti in opera should be sufficient to crowd the house. The same work will be given at the Brooklyn Academy on Wednesday.”

13)
Announcement: New York Post, 18 April 1870, 2.

Brief; announces dates of performances and performers.

14)
Announcement: New York Sun, 18 April 1870, 2.

“To-morrow evening the much wished-for opportunity of hearing Miss Carlotta Patti in opera will be given. Mozart’s ‘Magic Flute’ is to be performed, Miss Patti singing the rôle of the Queen of Night [sic], a part written in the florid vein that best suits her great powers of execution, and much beyond the reach of most vocalists. Miss Canissa, Hermanns, Habelman, and Formes are of the cast. The whole is under the direction of Mr. Ritter, of the Patti company.”

15)
Announcement: New-York Times, 19 April 1870, 5.

Brief.

16)
Review: New York Herald, 20 April 1870, 7.

“This ‘tender effect of a sportive imagination’ as ‘Die Zauberflote’ has been called by an eminent writer, is one of Mozart’s most charming works. No other composer would have thought of collecting such a heterogeneous mass of materials and weaving around them a musical network of such rare beauty and tenderness. It is very exacting, however, for it makes heavy demands on the resources of the singers. There is more subtlety and, we might say, playfulness in it than in any of the composer’s other works. From the sublimity and grandeur of religion represented in the high priest and the magnificent choral prayers of his assistants to the heroic resolution and high purpose of the young prince and the childlike love and devotion of Pamina, thence to the Mark Tapley devil-may-carishness [sic] of Papageno, the coarse brutality of the Moor, the fierce, revengeful spirit of the Queen of Night [sic], and the opposite feelings that sway the three attendants of this mysterious lady and the three pages in the service of Sarastro, this work of Mozart presents a perfect kaleidoscope of character, and the music faithfully reflects each phase. The instrumentation is a wonder and marvel to all musicians, and the concerted vocal pieces are exquisite in their variety, sparkle and finish. Last night the Academy of Music was crowded from parquet to dome with one of the largest audiences ever assembled within its walls. Every seat was sold at an early hour yesterday and hundreds were compelled either to stand during the performance or go home. The attraction was the first appearance of Mlle. Carlotti [sic] Patti in opera. The Queen of Night [sic], whom she represented, has but little need of acting in the two scenes in which she appears, and therefore is adapted to Mlle. Patti. In the first scene the fair cantatrice surprised those who heard her previously in her birdlike warblings alone, by her impassioned address to Tamino, signalized by a broad, distinct and expressive tone and rendition of the words. In the scene with her daughter she flung forth those wonderful staccato passages, in all of which she seems to hold a patent, and a shower of vocal pearls in the roulades at the finale. Her phenomenal voice seemed to revel amid the labyrinth of orchestration with which Mozart envelops the passionate mother and rival of Sarastro. The effect on the audience was electric and the applause spontaneous and deafening. Miss Pauline Canissa had the trying part of Pamina, and upheld her high reputation as a prima donna in the most satisfactory manner. Habelmann sang better than usual, and his Tamino was one of the features of the opera. But next to La Diva the greatest success was Herrmanns in the noble rôle of the high priest of Isis. His full, deep bass voice was in its best order, and made itself felt like the pedal of a great organ. Mr. Strakosch deserves much credit for the care evinced in placing the opera properly on the stage. The chorus and orchestra were admirable, and Mr. Theodore Ritter made a very efficient conductor. Patti sings to-night in Brooklyn in the same opera. Seldom has such a treat been offered to any operatic audience in this country.”

17)
Review: New-York Times, 20 April 1870, 5.

“‘The Magic Flute,’ or rather ‘Die Zauberfloete,’ to head the work with the title of the German version sung on the occasion we write of, was given at the Academy of Music in presence of an overflowing audience. Though it cannot be doubted that the wealth of melody and harmony of Mozart’s most tuneful opera would have sufficed to attract a numerous assemblage, it is beyond question that the co-operation of Miss Carlotta Patti in the performance had a magnetic effect in the matter of attendance. The lady whose triumphs in the concert-room have repeatedly displayed the very qualities needed by the personator of the Queen of the Night, gave a delight as abundant as the opportunities of affording it were few for any but a great songstress. The two important airs allotted to Miss Patti were executed with a reach and purity of voice and a certainty of intonation that Mme. Lange, the vocalist for whom Mozart wrote the rather inopportune arias referred to, may have possessed, but in which she could certainly not have been richer. We hardly think that criticism will have lengthy remarks to offer in regard to Miss Patti’s share in the representation, even after its repetition in Brooklyn to-night, and its second rehearsal in this City Friday. We do not think that the grand scene admits of great dramatic force from the artist, whose quick utterance of the extremely high staccato notes, and after-rendering of the legato runs, need an attention too exclusive to admit of a thought for the situation. The passages in question were admirably performed by Miss Patti, who was compelled to repeat both her contributions to the night’s entertainment. Of the merits of the interpretation of ‘Die Zauberfloete’ we may, however, write again. Herr Theodore Habelmann was Tamino, Herr Josef Hermanns Sarastro, Herr Formes Papageno, Mlle. Pauline Canissa Pamina, and Mlle. Dzuiba Papagena. Most of these singers have been heard in the opera, which is periodically represented in more or less conspicuous local places of amusement, but rarely with the evenness which characterized yesterday’s performance. Herr Hermann’s labors were especially acceptable, thanks to the rare volume and range of his voice, and though its use is not marked by the surety we would wish in a performer of equal gifts. The chorus was efficient, and the orchestra, under M. Ritter, strong and generally well disciplined. As remarked above, the subject will probably, on Friday evening, call for a more detailed allusion.”

18)
Review: New-York Daily Tribune, 20 April 1870, 4.

“The appearance of Miss Carlotta Patti las [sic] night as the Queen of the Night in Mozart’s ‘Magic Flute’ drew forth an audience of enormous dimensions, and the manager’s expectation of making this the chief event of the musical season seems in a fair way of being justified. The Academy was densely crowded. The leaders of fashion were fairly represented. The true lovers of music who are not ashamed to be enthusiastic over Mozart were there in full force; and there was a large and merry admixture of the Teutonic element,—for the opera was given in German. Though the libretto is downright repulsive in its foolishness, the music is all delicious,—not equal either in freshness, variety, or delicacy, to the music of ‘Don Giovanni’ and ‘Figaro,’ but music such as no man but Mozart himself has very much surpassed. The part of the Queen of the Night which Miss Patti has chosen is a great one if we consider its difficulty, but a small one if we regard only its extent. It consists of two arias, one in the First Act and one in the Third, and literally nothing else. In the first she is discovered in the bosom of rosy clouds, seated in a car with the moon at her feet. The car is wafted gently to earth by the breath of invisible zephyrs,—or, to speak more accurately, slides down a pink plank with the aid of rope and pulley,—and the Queen then delivers a beautiful and tender aria. To say that Miss Patti sang this with every possible grace and facility of execution, that she played with its difficulties and scorned its dangers, is only a matter of course. She did more than this, for she sang with deeper passion than we ever knew her to display before, and pleased us, therefore, more heartily than she generally does, and more heartily than we expected to be pleased last night. The aria in the Third Act, however, is the one with which she produces her most extraordinary effects, scattering about her wonderful staccato notes at the very topmost compass of the human voice, and reveling in feats of vocalism which were almost unheard of until she came among us. In the Second and Fourth Acts she does not appear at all.

“Of the rest of the opera there is not much to be said except that it is fairly done, the Papageno of Mr. William Formes being the most satisfactory part of it. Mr. Hermanns made an impressive Sarastro, and sang one of his arias, the O Isis und Osiris, very well, and the other, In diesen heilgen [sic] Hallen, only indifferently. Mr. Habelmann as Tamino was not at all good; he sang out of tune and seemed to worry himself unnecessarily with the conviction that it was necessary for him to ‘make an effort.’ Miss Dziuba was an active but vociferous Papagena. The Tamina [sic] was Miss Pauline Canissa, a zealous and industrious young lady who has an excellent conception of the music and a fair share of ability; but this role is much too heavy for her. In fact, the cast of the opera is weak: none of the artists are worth much except Miss Patti,—and she is only shown for two brief moments and snatched away. Yet nearly all (except Mr. Habelmann) enter so well into the composer’s spirit, and do their work so heartily, that the general effect is more pleasing than one would naturally anticipate. The orchestra, under Mr. Theodore Ritter, played reasonably well. The chorus is the same old set we have known so long; there is little for it to do except the two famous prayers, and those it uttered with all requisite strength and unction. The promise of new and elegant costumes and splendid appointments has not been very religiously respected, and part of the ‘appropriate scenery’ to which the advertisements called our particular attention is an Italian villa with a practicable woodbine bower, representing a lonely place on the banks of the Nile. But at the Academy of Music [illeg. – we?] have been educated to despise trifles.”

19)
Review: New York Post, 20 April 1870, 2.

“Mozart’s ‘Zauberflöte’ has been sung here so often that it cannot be deemed a novelty to New York music lovers. It has been essayed both by German and Italian companies, and seldom fails to attract large audiences. Never, however, did it prove more attractive than last night, when its performance by a good German troupe with Carlotta Patti has the star, crowded the Academy of Music to a degree which is scarcely paralleled in its history. Every seat was occupied, the lobbies were crowded, and the waste places of the vast amphitheater blossomed to their extremest verge with delighted faces.

“The entire opera was performed in a far better style than might have been expected, when it is remembered that the season is to consist of but three or four performances. The cast was highly satisfactory, Mlle. Pauline Canissa, as Pamina, showing the good effects of study, singing with conscientious care and excellent results, and presenting a most attractive personal appearance. Mr. Habelmann, as that feeble-minded youth Tamino, was creditable, and Hermanns as the high priest Sarastro sang with grand effect, both vocally and physically looming up above his companions. He was ably seconded by the chorus singers, who perform so important a part in this opera. In minor characters Mlle. Dziuba and Messrs. Wiegand and Formes rendered effieicnt aid, while the ‘three lugubrious ladies’ who attended on the Queen of Night [sic] sang well together, and in excellent tune.

“The part of the Queen of Night [sic] in this opera is rather disappointing as respects its comparative importance. It consists practically of two elaborate arias, which are always great favorites with bravura singers. Carlotta Patti sings them to perfection, throwing off the highest possible notes with such ease and brilliancy that her vocalization suggests a shower of diamonds. Of course she was encored last night, as she well deserved to be.

“The ‘Zauberflote’ will be repeated by the Strakosch company on Friday night and at the Saturday matinée. It will be given to-night in Brooklyn.”

20)
Review: New York Sun, 20 April 1870, 1.

“We confess to having been taken entirely by surprise by the general excellence of the performance last evening of ‘Mozart’s Magic Flute’ [sic, quotation marks before “Mozart”]. Usually, when an opera is suddenly announced for performance, not for a season, but for three nights, and then for the purpose of displaying the special abilities of some single artist, we look to find the work done in a careless and insufficient way, the choruses badly rehearsed, the inferior roles poorly filled, and as a whole a generally uninteresting performance. This one would especially expect to be the case when the work to be presented was one of the magnitude and difficulty of Mozart’s great opera. But last evening none of these conditions were fulfilled. The singing in parts was admirable and worthy of every commendation, and the performance was, taken as a whole, a most satisfactory one. It was a genuine delight to hear Mozart’s golden measures so fitly and intelligently given. Perhaps, if there was any disappointment on the part of the audience, it was because Miss Patti herself had so little to do in the opera. The fact is that the Queen of Night [sic], which part she sang, is not at all the prima donna, indeed only an incidental role to which several very difficult arias are assigned; but the Queen herself takes but a small part in the progress of the plot. It is almost needless to say, however, that that little was admirably done. Miss Patti, it is well known even to her most admirers, is not by any means a great operatic singer. Her vocal powers are exceptional and peculiar, but they are not those which unper [sic] any circumstances would [illeg.] to fill the rôle of a prima donna with effect. While her vocalization is wonderful, her sustained tones are weak and disappointing, and to sing a broad, largely framed aria is quite beyond her powers. The Academy is a larger building, also, than she can sing in with good effect. We speak of operas generally. The rôle of the Queen of Night in the ‘Zauberflöte, ‘however, is, as we have said, an exceptional one, and is exactly adapted to disslay [sic] her eminent abilities to the best advantage. The brilliant music that Mozart has given to this character, Miss Patti sang as no other artist that we have in the country could hope to do.

“Hermanns, Habelmann and Formes were in the cast. The former sang his two great arias, ‘Qui Sdegno’ and ‘Possenti Numi,’ with fine voice, but sadly out of tune. The very weight and force of his voice is such that Hermann loses control over it in the lower register, and makes notes that are painfully out of tune.

“Miss Canissa, who had the real prima donna röle [sic], sang it with honest German zeal and effectiveness. Her voice is somewhat hard, but she is a good musician. The chorus and all the accessory parts, including the three attendants on the Queen of Night [sic], were very well sung. The music of this opera is full of melody and charm. The plot is a strange and forced one. The scene being laid on the banks of the Nile, and all kinds of impossible people taking part in it, but the melody of the opera is such as to make one forget everything else in mere delight alone. It is but onge [sic] in a decade that we have an opportunity of hearing this opera at the Academy, and Mr. Strakosch and Miss Patti have done a good work in bringing it out.

“The opera is to be repeated on Friday evening and at the Saturday matinée.”

21)
Announcement: New-York Times, 22 April 1870, 4.

Brief.

22)
Review: New-York Times, 22 April 1870, 5.

“The artistic and material success Miss Carlotta Patti achieved in opera on Tuesday evening was repeated yesterday. An audience that overflowed the auditorium and half filled the entrances from the vestibule witnessed last night the second performance of ‘Die Zauberfloete.’ No improvement was to be looked for in the faultless execution, by Miss Patti, of the two very difficult arias falling to her lot, but the satisfactory performance in the early part of the week by her associate artists was greatly bettered in point of general smoothness. A detailed account of its progress, would, however, be of relatively slight interest, and it were superfluous, indeed, to write in terms of admiration concerning the delicious overture, the simple and charming music of Papageno, the tender strains given to the lovers, and the noble sustained airs of Sarastro. No more earnest disposition to do justice to the score could have been evinced than had already been shown by the performers; but, as already remarked, a more thorough unanimity of purpose was apparent, and the individual power to render with appropriate correctness and expression, melodies of which every chord is freighted not only with beauty, but with significance, was made more manifest. Herr Hermanns as Sarastro, was in especially good voice, and his recitation of ‘O Isis und Osiris’—an air, which, spite of its massive accompaniment, no orchestra could hope to prevent this bass from making audible—and that of ‘In Diesen Heilgen Hallen,’ so grand and yet so sweetly fluent, elicited hearty applause. Herren Habelmann and Formes—albeit the latter lacks the humor a perfect representative of the bird-catcher ought to possess and Mlle. Canissa took the other character, and had each an all warm encouragement. ‘Die Zaubergsoete’ [sic] will be given this afternoon, at the Academy, for the third time, and is to be repeated on Monday and Wednesday nights. So real an operatic triumph at this season as Mr. Strakosch’s latest venture has been crowned with, would almost tempt one to believe that a Mozart furor, such as raged in Paris about ten years ago, could be easily kindled here by an equally skilled impressario [sic].”

23)
Announcement: New York Post, 22 April 1870, 2.

Announces dates and times. “We need not give any further particulars of this opera, as we have already had occasion to speak of it with the highest commendation.”

24)
Review: New York Sun, 22 April 1870, 2.

“The ‘Magic Flute’ was repeated last evening before an audience as large and more enthusiastic than on the first night’s performance. The opera is one in which the beauty of the music is in inverse ratio to the folly of the plot. While it is not written from so elevated a standpoint as the ‘Don Giovanni,’ it is equally melodious and enjoyable. Mlle. Patti sang with her accustomed skill, though her triumphs in the arias that she sings in the part of the Queen of Night [sic] are by no means as pronounced as those she gains in the concert room. The opera will be again given on Monday evening.”

25)
Announcement: New York Clipper, 23 April 1870, 22.

“Carlotta Patti, who, we think, is being patronized to some extent for the other Patti by people who don’t know any better, is to appear in opera, the ‘Magic Flute,’ at the Academy, on the 19th, 22d and 23d inst. She will be assisted by Herr Formes, Josef (that’s the way ‘Our Jim’ would spell it, too)[,] Herrmanns [sic], Herr Hablemann, and various other mans, and by Madame Dzuiba and Miss Pauline Canissa. Two dollars for reserved seat.”

26)
Review: New York Post, 23 April 1870, 2.

“An agreeable performance of Mozart’s ‘Zauberflote’ was given at the Academy of Music last night to another large audience. Carlotta Patti was the star of the evening, but Pauline Canissa gave equal pleasure to the audience by her well sustained performance of the part of Pamina. Mme. Dziuba also deserves special mention for her very clever singing and acting in the one scene in which Papagena appears. To her successful efforts was owing the hearty encore given to the duet between the bird-catcher and his spouse.

“The opera was only promised for this week, but its success has been so marked that Max Strakosch announces repetitions for Monday and Wednesday evenings of next week. Next Thursday evening a performance will be given at the Academy of Music in Brooklyn.”

27)
Review: New York Clipper, 30 April 1870, 30.

“The ‘Magic Flute’ was presented at the New York Academy on Tuesday night, April 19th, the occasion being made noteworthy by the appearance of Miss Carlotta Patti in the role of Queen of Night [sic], the vocal difficulties of which have been obstacles to the presentation of this opera so frequently as the public would like to hear it. The performance, which attracted a crowded house, was better than anticipated, though all that was promised was not performed, inasmuch [sic] as the ‘excellence of mise en scene,’ the ‘grand choruses,’ &c., were not forthcoming. The cast embraced Hermanns, Formes, Habelmann and Mlle. Pauline Canissa. Patti had but little to do, her role including only two arias, one in the first act and another in the third. In the first act the fair Carlotta is discovered in the clouds seated on an aerial car, from which she warbles her upper notes like a festive young lark. From her high ‘posish’ [sic] she slides down a pink plank and sings a plaintive ditty. In the aria, in the third act, she utters a perfect shower of short, sharp notes, technically termed ‘staccato’ and goes through with a series of vocal gymnastics which would rather have startled Mozart, could he have heard them. The others in the opera acquitted themselves creditably enough, Formes’ Papageno being about the best male role. Hermanns was, however, grand as Sarastro. Habelmann did not succeed as well as we expected as Tamino, and as for Mlle. Pauline Canissa, she was entirely unequal to the role of Tamina [sic]. The instrumentation was good, the orchestra evidently having an efficient leader.”