Albites Italian Opera: Rigoletto

“Albites’ short season has so far been successful beyond all expectation—an incontestable evidence of the intense love of the metropolitan public for Italian opera. The first four performances have been attended by audiences as large and as brilliant as any impresario might wish for, and no other public entertainment has received such homage from fashion. Without presenting any feature of extraordinary novelty or sensational talent, Mr. Albites has given us a company of satisfactory caliber, in which there are at least three artists of genuine ability, capable of filling any rôle with credit. He has also endeavored to present an ensemble in cast, chorus, and orchestra and appointments superior to what we have been accustomed to for many years past, and has carried out this good resolution to the satisfaction of the habitués of the opera.”

“Signor Albites has set an example to impresarii which they would do well to copy. When others were holding back in the hope that either the stockholders of the Academy would come to terms or that some millionaires would advance them sufficient funds to start on, Albites came forward, relying entirely on the public, and inaugurated a season of opera which has so far proved unprecedentedly successful. With a genuine, reliable American prima donna and a fair, well balanced company, he has presented a different opera every night in a style that calls for praise, considering the poverty of stage materials that unhappily exists in our opera house and the unwillingness of its directors to assist any operatic enterprise. Last night was the culminating point of success. Verdi’s

“’Rigoletto’ is unquestionably his best opera, and Miss Kellogg’s Gilda her best rôle. The work is interesting even in its minutest details. The orchestration is descriptive and artistic in every particular, and vocal solos and choruses gave an intense dramatic character to the many exciting situations of the plot. Those who have seen Booth’s superb impersonation of the King’s jester in ‘The Fool’s Revenge’ can appreciate the aptitude of the tragic story for music, and it could not be framed in more thrilling and haunting measures than those of Verdi. It is now more than eighteen years since its first production, and it has been long ago pronounced the very best of the prolific master’s works. Miss Kellogg was in fine voice and spirits last night, and she invested the rôle of the jester’s daughter with a charm and dramatic intensity that surprised even her admirers, and their name is legion. Commencing with the duet with Rigoletto in the second act, when she first appears, a trying and exquisite expression of a father’s love and daughter’s devotion, the ease and sureness with which she gave each passage, glowing with passion and emotion, was artistic in every sense of the word. Again, in the succeeding duet with the Duke, she made the long and labored cadenza at the end a distinctive character of its own. Many prime donne pass it over. Then came the loveliest melody that Verdi ever wrote, ‘Caro Nome,’ and into this she threw a world of passion and tenderness. Shame, love and despair were mingled in the celebrated scene of the third act, when her father rescues her (too late) from the polluted palace of Mantua. In the last act, in which is crowded some of the best music of the opera, including the immortal quartet, Miss Kellogg was fully equal to the exigencies of the music and the situation. Orlandini was the Rigoletto, and it is also his best rôle. His fine baritone voice was marred at times by an unconquerable huskiness, which, in such a pure, delicate organ, is more perceptible than in others of a more material kind. But he sang his solos, veglia o donna, and ‘Cortigiani, Vil Razza Dannata’ and the duets with Gilda admirably, and his acting was full of fire and intensity. In the finale of the second act, when he discovers that the idol of his heart, his daughter, has been snatched from him, he gave the last words, Ah! la Maledizione! A terrible meaning. It was the wall of a father’s heart. In the next act, when, in his fantastic character as Jester, he seeks his daughter in the Duke’s palace, his acting was superb. The Don Juan of the opera, the licentious Duke of Mantua, found a good representative in Villani, who gave more satisfaction on this occasion than in any other rôle he has yet appeared in in this city. The upper notes of his voice are exceedingly effective, and he uses them with the judgment of a true artist. La Donna e Mobile was given with a reckless spirit illustrative of the livelling [sic: levelling?] doctrine conveyed in the words, and the Bella figlia of the quartet was invested with all the passionate ardor of the lover. Mlle. Frida de Gebele made a very attractive Maddelena, and was as coquettish and seductive as the sister of the hired bravo, Sparafucile, should be. We missed the ringing, taunting laugh of Adelaide Phillips in the quartet, but Mlle. de Gebele did everything relating to her part as well as might be expected. The choruses, especially the inimitable ‘Zitti-Zitti,’ were faultlessly rendered, and Nicolao kept the orchestra up to their work faithfully. The success of the opera was such that a general demand for its repetition was buzzed in the lobbies. There was an enthusiastic encore, and that for the quartet. The audience that would not encore such a matchless piece of music must have no souls for the divine art.”

“There was a very large audience at the Academy of Music last night, crowding the house in every part. Several hundred persons, unable to obtain seats, stood during the whole performance, and the operatic managers were as happy and as beaming as men could be.

“‘Rigoletto’ was the opera, and it received a very fair interpretation. Gilda is one of Miss Kellogg’s very best parts. Villani, the tenor, although he does not have the dash and vivacity of some of his predecessors, sang in the most artistic manner, and aided largely in securing the encore awarded to the quartet of the last act. His duet with Miss Kellogg was a brilliant success. Orlandini, the baritone, was cordially welcomed back to the New York stage, and though somewhat hoarse, sang with great tenderness of sentiment. His voice is rich and melodious, and harmonizes charmingly with that of Miss Kellogg. The cadenza sung by these two artists, in the third act, was simply perfect. Miss de Gebele was the Madalena, and sang well the few bars of music allotted to the part.”

“Another splendid house greeted the production of ‘Rigoletto,’ last night, at the Academy. The public appear to have made up their minds to have faith in M. Albites, and each step that gentleman has taken certainly justifies the confidence. ‘Rigoletto’ was carefully and evenly sung on this occasion, and well sustained the standard of merit reached by the operas immediately preceding it. Opera-goers are familiar with Miss Kellogg’s Gilda. It was always an agreeable and natural embodiment; it is now a beautifully finished and symmetrical one. The admirers of our young prima donna were in strong force last night, and testified their appreciation of her efforts in a lively manner. Signor Villani, as we expected, grows on his audience. His Duke is a worthy companion portrait to his Riccardo, and was in some instances more warmly applauded. The re-entrance of Signor Orlandini as Rigoletto was noticed with cordiality. This baritone has tempered his style somewhat, and with both visible and audible improvement. Other parts of the distribution were well received by the public. M. Albites has now got through almost one-half his season, with results that must equal his best hopes. As the skies promise to be auspicious, and some of the most attractive operas of the list remain to be sung, we cannot doubt the ample success of this experiment. That success has not been won without hard work, and we rejoice both that a manager has had the courage to make such an attempt, and that the public, after so many disappointments, have had the generosity to appreciate and reward it.”