Miscellaneous Concert

“Steinway Hall was crowded last evening to its utmost seating capacity with an audience fully prepared to give Mlle. Nilsson a hearty welcome after her triumphant tour in the West and after the severe illness that robbed the concert hall for a long time of one of its brightest jewels. Her selections were of the very highest order and calculated to place her in direct comparison with the most celebrated songstresses that ever visited America. They were the ‘Ah! Perfido’ of Beethoven, and ‘Let the Bright Seraphim,’ Handel’s soul stirring paean. Of Beethoven’s great scena it is unnecessary to speak, unless to mention that no severer test of an artist’s voice could be applied. It is dramatic fire itself, and in it each heartstring vibrates and each passion of the soul is waked into warm life. Mlle. Nilsson’s rendering was fervent and passionate, and yet intelligent to a high degree. Many singers, in their desire to give expression to the spirit of the work without the ability to do so, render it perfectly unintelligible. The defects in Mlle. Nilsson’s interpretation were a want of sustained power, a lingering reminder, probably, of her illness and a want of facility of execution, attributable, no doubt, to the same cause. ‘Let the Bright Seraphim’ was by no means satisfactory from the same reasons, and also on account of the total inefficiency of Mr. Schwab’s trumpet obligato. This gentleman plays in a rather spasmodic manner, without the proper principle of tonguing. Those who have heard Parepa’s magnificent singing of the same work, with Levy to accompany her, can easily draw a distinction between it and the performance last evening. As an encore to the Beethoven work Nilsson sang Foster’s well known ballad, ‘The Old Folks at Home,’ in a style that more than redeemed the inappropriateness of such a selection. Those two great qualities she possesses—extreme purity of tone and dramatic warmth of interpretation—render her always a favorite in concert. Miss Annie Louise Cary fairly excelled herself last evening in a selection from Rossini’s Stabat Mater, and, with Brignoli and Verger in the Gratias Agimus, from the ‘Messe Solennelle.’ There is no other contralto on our boards who can compare with her for perfect equality and richness of voice and thorough cultivation in the only school of singing worth [line of text missing]. …man methods are alike destructive to the voice, and render it incapable of ease in execution. An encore brought Miss Cary out in ‘Kathleen Mavourneen,’ which she sang with a feeling that went right to the hearts of the audience. It has never been sung better here by any artist. Brignoli warbled a ‘Traviata’ romanza, and, as an encore, ‘Come into the Garden, Maud,’ in his own inimitable style, and showed that he has not yet relinquished the scepter as king of tenors. Vieuxtemps played his own fantasia appassionata, as no one else can play it, with that pure, true, accurate execution, delicate sentiment and intelligibility which have made him so famous. Of Mr. Verger’s voice and method all we can say is that, without being faulty in any particular sense of the word, the general effect of it is unimpressionable. He neither pleases nor offends.”

“The splendid ovation to Christine Nilsson last evening, at Steinway Hall, in honor of her recent victorious progress throughout the country was not only a tribute to the extraordinary gifts and accomplishments of the Swedish songstress, but also an encouraging proof that our people are rapidly advancing in the love and knowledge of music. But that nothing less than the successful revival of Italian opera will satisfy them should be remembered by the stockholders of the Academy and by ambitious managers.”

“In the selections made for last night’s concert Miss Nilsson seemed to be actuated by an ambition to distinguish herself in a rather higher class of music than is usually sung at concerts. She chose Beethoven’s ‘Ah! perfido,’ and Handel’s ‘Let the bright seraphim.’ In the former she exhibited a mental appreciation of the magnificent scena, and was only deficient in the mere vocal force which is required to carry it through to the end. In the ‘Bright seraphim’ her singing was admirable and well sustained, and won the most hearty plaudits of the audience. For one of the encores Miss Nilsson sang ‘Old Folks at Home,’ which was received with the usual favor by the delighted listeners. She was, by the way, charmingly dressed, and appeared in every way to excellent advantage.

Miss Cary sang in her best style. For the encore she gave the familiar ballad ‘Kathleen Mavourneen,’ singing it with the most tender pathos. In the trio from Rossini’s Mass her rich, full voice was also heard to excellent advantage. Brignoli sang an aria from Traviata and Balfe’s ‘Come into the garden, Maud.’ Verger and Vieuxtemps were both heard with pleasure. The orchestra was poor.”

“Miss Nilsson made her reappearance at Steinway Hall last evening, after her extended tour through the Western States. A very large audience greeted her return. No new members have been added to her company since she was last here. The same orchestra, under the veteran Maretzek, accompanied, as formerly. Mr. Vieuxtemps played with his accustomed finish, Miss Cary seemed to sing even better than before, and Brignoli and Verger had evidently not lost their voices on their trip.

As for Miss Nilsson herself, what has been written of her singing, in this city alone, would fill quarto volumes. The public may therefore reasonably be supposed to be pretty thoroughly conversant with its subject.

Among her selections last evening was Beethoven’s ‘Ah Perfido,’ one of the most exacting arias, both on the intelligence of the audience and the capacities of the singer, in the whole repertory of vocal compositions. It requires great breadth and dignity of style, large powers of declamation, passion, pathos, a faultless intonation for the difficult intervals, great flexibility of voice, and smoothness of vocalization. Nearly all of these qualities Miss Nilsson brought to the execution of the pieces. If there was any [illegible], it was in [illegible] of voice, but where so many other essentials were present, this was not a serious drawback.

Being enthusiastically recalled, Miss Nilsson sang ‘The Old Folks at Home’ with a grace and sentiment and [illegible] worthy of every praise. It certainly is a thing to be thankful for that Europe has sent us one singer who is in the very zenith of her excellence. So many have waited til the [illegible] was past, and then brought only the ruins and [illegible] of a once fine voice, something to show what they had been in better days, that we may well make the most of this perfectly pure, sweet, fresh voice.”

“What with its long deprivation of Italian opera, and the commonplace character of much of the concert music of the season, New-York has been little blessed with melody of late. When Mlle. Nilsson and Miss Kellogg left us, and we could say of them, with Mr. Swinburne,

The birds that flew singing to me-ward,

Recede out of sight,

our musical prospects were dark indeed. However, with the Spring both the birds and the flowers come back again, and appetite for them is sharpened by temporary deprivation. Mlle. Nilsson returns to us from her Western toils—although we hear she was last night slightly indisposed—looking remarkably well, and singing charmingly. For all the Lenten season, she was greeted last night by a splendid audience. The house gathered at Steinway Hall by the potent attraction of her name was numerous, brilliant and fashionable. Mlle. Nilsson was greeted with infinite cordiality. She looked as if she felt she was among old friends, and wished them to know she felt it, and she sang—and this was especially true of ‘Let the bright Seraphim,’ which was magnificently given—with an inspiration perceptibly heightened by the feeling. The programme of the occasion was as follows: [see above].

Popularity and agreeable contrast were evidently aimed at in selecting these numbers, rather than novelty. The performance was rendered with smoothness—in truth, with ‘linked sweetness’ somewhat too ‘long drawn out’—and elicited abundant applause. All the artists were heartily greeted in turn, and—in spite of some late admonitions to the contrary—the public insisted in several instances upon enforcing encores. Mlle. Nilsson assented in each instance, although evidently with reluctance, and Miss Cary, who grows on her audience with unmistakable rapidity, sang (in obedience to the demand for a repeat of her opening aria) Kathleen Mavourneen with exquisite taste and feeling. In the excessively difficult ‘Ah Perfido’ Mlle. Nilsson’s superb voice seemed to us at intervals to show traces of fatigue. The audience, notwithstanding, urged with enthusiasm the repetition of what, with any possible drawbacks, was a very noble performance. Signor Brignoli was in capital voice, and apparently in the most lugubrious spirits, and warbled with a purity of tone and freshness delightful to hear. Mr. Viexutemps played, with his accustomed care and perfect execution, a somewhat puerile selection, and Mr. Verger did his best with the exacting music of Mozart and the concerted portions assigned to him. The trio from Rossini’s latest published effort and legacy was in some respects the most satisfactory number of the evening; and nearly all the instrumental work of the programme was given in a finished manner under the trusty baton of Mr. Max Maretzek and the practiced hand of Signor Carlo Bosoni. We have said the entertainment was not signalized by novelty; none, however, could complain of its lack of variety, and the pleasure of the immense concourse assembled to hear it was indicated in almost every possible way. Sometimes, indeed, this was carried to an excess hardly desirable, since it is, perhaps, quite time that in the Metropolis at least the habit of calling for more than has been paid for, and more than many of the company wish to hear, might widely be disused. The concert met all reasonable expectations in every sense, and it is apparent that Mlle. Nilsson’s second series of performances in New-York is destined to be as brilliantly remunerative as the first.”

“The first of three performances by which Miss Nilsson introduced herself again to the New-York public was a miscellaneous concert given last night at Steinway Hall, before a large audience. During the absence of the prima donna and her troupe from this city they have been—so we are assured—remarkably successful in other parts of the United States, and possibly success may have had the same unfortunate effect upon them that it has upon so many other people. Certainly the performance last night was not what we expected. It was generally careless and ineffective, and if we except the ‘Fac ut portem’ and ‘Kathleen Mavourneen’ of Miss Cary, The ‘Traviata’ romanza of Mr. Brignoli, and the ‘Gratias agimus’ trio from Rossini’s Mass by Miss Cary, Brignoli, and Verger, nothing was done in a reasonably conscientious manner. Even that excellent artist, Mr. Vieuxtemps (who appeared only once), played with unaccustomed nonchalance. Miss Nilsson was first heard in a duet with Brignoli. It was Arditi’s ‘Night in Venice’ and calls for no particular remark. She next gave Beethoven’s grand scena and aria, ‘Ah perfido!’—a composition which calls for great strength of voice, breadth and majesty of style, and elevation of sentiment—none of which Miss Nilsson possesses—as well as dramatic talent, which we need hardly say that she possesses in abundance. We do not believe that under any circumstances she could adequately interpret this piece; it is conceived in a spirt with which she has no sympathy, and written for a voice different in almost all respects from hers. Its choice last night was especially unfortunate, for—perhaps in consequence of her long sickness or some of the accidents of climate and travel—Miss Nilsson had not her usual powers at command. Both the upper and lower registers were weak and thin, and veiled. Nothing remained except the middle notes, and they were not produced without an effort which betrayed conspicuously those faults of vocalism to which so much criticism has heretofore been directed. That purity of tone, that clear, sweet, silvery timbre, that gossamer fineness, which we once admired so much had disappeared. We trust the loss may be only the mishap of an evening; but loss there certainly was, and the least critical must have perceived it. Miss Nilsson, was, however, enthusiastically recalled, and sang ‘The Old Folks at Home.’ We should be tempted to say that she insulted the intelligence of her audience when she offered a negro melody as an encore after Beethoven; but, unfortunately, the audience appeared to be satisfied, so we are estopped from the criticism. Her only other selection was ‘Let the Bright Seraphim.’ This was unsatisfactory, for the same reasons that lead us to find fault with the ‘Ah perfido.’ She sang it with neither strength of tone nor majesty of phrasing, and she delivered it moreover with some eccentric variations of tempo which were far from improving the effect. The orchestra was also rather shaky, and what with the mistakes of the accompaniment, and the strange ad libitum style of the vocalist, the execution must be written down as an exceptionally bad one. The cornet obbligato was by Mr. Schwabe, who did fairly. A great many of the imperfections of the performance must be ascribed, we think, to indifference.”

“Her selections on Tuesday were the scena and aria ‘Ah! Perfido’ of Beethoven, and Handel’s song, ‘Let the bright seraphim.’ They were both sung in a splendid manner, though I think that Mme. Parepa Rosa has sung them better in the same hall in Sunday concerts. Miss Nilsson was ably assisted by M. Henri Vieuxtemps (who played his own ‘Fantasie Appassionata’) Miss Cary, Signor Verger, and an orchestra under Max Maretzek.”