Grand English Opera Combination: Les Huguenots

Includes cast list.

“Last evening ‘The Huguenots’ was given. The mere fact that the company finds itself sufficiently strong to cope with a work of such magnitude and difficulty is its best praise, for Meyerbeer makes no concessions to weakness or inability of any kind, and none but the best artists can undertake his works with safety. In parts ‘The Huguenots’ was admirably given; Mrs. Richings, Castle, Drayton, and Campbell all singing with unusual spirit and accuracy. The great and difficult duet in the third act between Mrs. Richings and Mr. Drayton was worthy of particular commendation.”

“Our limited space prevents us from writing of the performance of ‘The Huguenots’ at Niblo’s last night. The representation was an extremely creditable one, when the immense difficulties which beset one absolutely perfect, are taken into account, and the most popular numbers of the work lost no tithe of their effect.”

“The company which Messrs. Hess & Co. have organized for an English opera season and which appeared for the second time at Niblo’s on Tuesday night has some excellent materials in it. Without possessing any artist of the star order the company presents a fine ensemble and each opera passes off without a hitch or faux pas, which is saying more than can be urged in favor of the Italian opera companies we have had for many years. Las night the chef d’oeuvre of Meyerbeer, ‘The Huguenots,’ was given, with the following cast: [lists cast]. Sad havoc was made with the score in adapting it to the limited sphere of English opera, and in some cases the ‘cuts’ were not judicious. It would be better to erase the greater part of recitative and leave in some of the concerted music which is now left out. The performance was in general pleasing, if we could possibly forget that the music is Meyerbeer’s, and that we have heard it given in the first opera houses of Europe, with the greatest artists on the Italian stage in the cast. We think it is a serious mistake on the part of the management to attempt such works with such limited means at their command. The old adage, Ne sutor ultra crepidam, is strongly [illegible] here. There are hundreds of operas well adapted to the English stage, without presenting the skeleton of Meyerbeer to the musical public. Mrs. Bernard’s voice and peculiar style render her incapable of interpreting such a trying rôle as that of Valentine, and Miss Hersee’s light soprano was lost in the dramatic music of the queen. Mrs. Bowler sang better than we ever heard her before. Castle’s Raoul is his very weakest attempt on the lyric stage, and Lawrence proved himself a sterling and conscientious artist as Nevers. But the only unqualified success of the evening was Henry Drayton, who played Marcel admirably. The chorus is probably the strongest and most satisfactory element of the company, and we would advise Mr. Behrens to give his orchestra more rehearsals; for last night it marred some of the numbers in the most reprehensible manner.”

“The English Opera Company has not been four nights at Niblo’s, drawing excellent houses. It develops its strength by rather slow degrees, for there are so many principal artists that it takes several days to show them all. Miss Rose Hersee has beamed upon the scene singing with more life than she did last season, when her luster paled before the greater glory of Parepa, and her sweet, fresh little voice, soaring through the vast spaces of the Academy of Music, lost itself in vacancy above the tier of boxes. Mrs. Bowler has tripped over the boards in pretty blue boots, and displayed a nice voice which would be nicer if it did not get into her head so often. Mr. Henry Drayton has been warmly welcomed in one of his favorite characters. Mr. Bowler has had an opportunity to gratify the admirers of his robustiotis style, and Mr. Laurence’s fine baritone has been heard to advantage in the part of Almaviva. These artists, added to the five who appeared in ‘Martha’ on the first night, suffice to show how strong the troupe is in leading singers, and how easily it can fill up the cast of such works as ‘The Huguenots,’ which was presented on Tuesday. Besides being rich in individual voices, it has good material in the chorus and orchestra, and the necessaries of scenery, wardrobe, and stage properties have been liberally supplied. The master hand, however, which can mold all these things into harmonious form is lacking. The orchestra plays roughly, and often incorrectly, and the chorus at times is shocking. In ‘The Huguenots’ the deficiencies in these two important constituents of an opera company were especially conspicuous. Nothing could have been worse than the Rataplan chorus, and the instrumental accompaniments upon which Meyerbeer lavished so much of his genius were provokingly disfigured. In the solos the performance was more fortunate. Mrs. Bernard’s Valentine was an even and conscientious effort. Miss Hersee as Marguerite hardly looked the queen, but her voice was so sweet, her vocalism so true, her manner so winning, that she pleased everybody. Mrs. Bowler’s Urbain was a trim little page. Mr. Castle seemed to have an excellent conception of the character of Raoul, though his voice was out of tune, and Messrs. Laurence and Campbell adorned the uninteresting parts of Nevers and St. Bris. Mr. Henry Drayton’s Marcel is famous, and we have heard good judges call it one of the grandest personation on the English lyric stage. Nevertheless, we do not like it. Dramatically, it is very fine; but Mr. Drayton throws himself so thoroughly into the character of the rough old soldier, with his rude speech and harsh manners, that he forgets to sing. The Piff, paff, which is one of his strongest pieces, and is always encored at least once, is unmusical to the last degree. This is entirely unnecessary; the composer is not to be ruthlessly sacrificed to the librettist, and in an opera the meaning of the notes is at least as important as the meaning of the words. About half the tones uttered by Mr. Drayton in this song are not musical sounds at all.”

“Many portions of ‘The Huguenots’ were sung on Tuesday with happy results, and while the personation of Marcel by Mr. Henri Drayton was in a lyric, and, in a dramatic sense, very impressive, that of Valentine, by Mrs. Bernard-Richings, was conspicuously creditable. The misdeeds of the orchestra supplied the only text for words of complaint. After representations of other compositions did not give ground for even that charge, and the efforts of the artists had suitable instrumental support. Miss Rose Hersee was before the public almost uninterruptedly. The presence of Mme. Parepa-Rosa—a presence dangerous to almost all modern songstresses—suggests at present no comparison disadvantageous to the voice of the younger artist, and though the voice is small in volume, its sympathetic timbre and its flexibility have the attention they need, and all the consequent approval. Mrs. Harrison-Seguin has been most fortunate, recently, in her rendering of Cherubino, though her performances are all to be mentioned as characterized by exceptional conscientiousness, and by the charm derived from a freshness of voice and of person exceptionally apparent. The tenors of the company are still Mr. Brookhouse Bowler—a very virile singer—and Mr. Castle, the sweetness of whose organ is unimpaired. The question of costume is hardly one of sufficient magnitude to find place in a musical review, but inasmuch as repetitions of the operas already heard may be had, it is worth while requesting Mr. Castle to respect history to the extent of removing from Lionel’s form the garb of Conrad, the corsair. Mr. Castle, we believe, imitates Signor Mario in the matter of his attire in ‘Martha,’ but that singer’s views on the subject of dress have been too generally deprecated to be adhered to by others. Mr. Castle had best imitate Signor Mario’s method of articulation, which to this day makes every word falling from his lips clearly intelligible. The principal members of the troupe co-operating with these are Messrs. Campbell, Seguin, Lawrence, Chatterton and Howell.”

“On Tuesday, the ‘Huguenots’ was performed, with a cast which introduced six other artists of the company, showing its strength in leading singers. [Lists cast.]”