Albites Italian Opera: Lucia di Lammermoor

“It is now thirty-seven years since this opera, one of the best of Donizetti’s, was produced for the first time at Naples, with Persiani, Di Angeli, Porto and Duprez in the cast. Notwithstanding the absurdity of Cammarano’s libretto, in which nothing of Sir Walter Scott’s beautiful romance is retained but the names of the principal characters, the music and the intensely dramatic situations caught the popular ear at once, and ‘Lucia’ occupies to-day one of the leading positions in every operatic répertoire. During these thirty-seven years what a host of great names can be shown in the memories of this opera! Persiani, Frezzolini, Sontag, Catharine Hayes, Dolores Nan, Gazzaniga, and, above all, Jenny Lind, have appeared as the heroine, and the Master of Ravenswood has found such representatives as Duprez, Salvi, Mario, Fraschini, Sims Reeves, Rubini and Laborde. The cast last evening was the following [see above]. Mme. Viardi took the part at very short notice, owing to the ‘indisposition’ of Mme. States. Therefore we are inclined to look with a lenient eye upon the many and serious shortcomings of the prima donna, for her extreme nervousness and wavering voice completely nullified any effect that there was in the part. Villani was an exceedingly tame and ineffective Edgar, and his voice was not equal to the passionate music of the rôle. Buongiomo did better as Henry Ashton than on the nights of ‘Traviata’ and ‘Un Ballo.’ As a general thing, the performance was by no means creditable, and we trust that on Friday, the last night of the season, will show a better spirit and more ample preparation. Even the celebrated sestet was spoiled by being hurried from beginning to end. Amid the chaos of Signor Nicolao’s orchestra there is one member who deserves particular notice for his sturdy efforts in the cause of this chaos. This deserving individual is the piccolo player, and a worse one, we believe, never has inflicted on human ears before.”

“In the performance of Donizetti’s most exquisite work, ‘Lucia di Lammermoor,’ at the Academy last night, there were some good points, though, as a whole, the performance did not compare very favorably with what our audiences have usually been accustomed to enjoying. The tenor Villani gave the malediction scene with good effect, and in the scena of the last act showed artistic taste and excellent vocal phrasing. Madame Viardi, a woman who has already been heard in our concert rooms, took the part of Lucia, and won considerable applause from an audience disposed to receive with coolness a comparatively unknown substitute in the place of Mrs. States, who had been advertised to appear. Madame Viardi has a rather worn voice, insufficient in power to satisfactorily fill the Academy of Music; and her physical strength seems hardly great enough to enable her to bear the fatigue of a long opera; but she sings in artistic style, after the French school, is earnest and unaffected, and acts with much grace and feeling. Altogether, her performance gave much pleasure.

“Buongiorno, the baritone, sang well, and aided much in securing a very decided encore to the great septette. A harp solo preceding the ‘Aria di Sortita’ of Lucia was warmly applauded.”

“A new star has just burst forth upon the lyric firmament of Europe, and is now shining there with acknowledged splendor. She is Mlle. Marimon, and her great success has been in Amina. In the sweet and tender heroine ‘La Sonnambula’ this lady is declared to rival any previous singer. Her vocalization is pronounced ‘a new and original creation.’ She has been surpassed in energy, says one critic, by Malibran and Viardot; in finesse by Jenny Lind; in charm of manner by Alboni, but Mlle. Marimon has an irresistible hold in the quality of her voice, in her powers of expression and in her executive skill, which is not short of marvelous. She has, we may conclude, what the French call la voix larmoyante, and this, which Mrs. Wood possessed to perfection, and without which it is simply impossible to give due effect to Amina, has been, from a comparison of accounts the prime creator the of new artist’s triumph.

“Now, apart from congratulations on the rise of a fresh and needed luminary, we are led to refer to the matter by an obvious analogy. The Bride of Lammermoor requires this sympathetic ‘voice of tears’ no less than does Amina. The pathos of the novel is the pathos of the opera—the heart and soul of the interest in both. Unfortunately, Mme. Carolina Viardi, the representative of the part at the Academy last night, is ill provided with capacity to depict this emotion. We know how difficult it is to recognize the ideal of Lucy Ashton; and that we do not look for. But some faint approach to such an ideal it is not unreasonable to expect; and this Mme. Viardi does not favor us with. She has force enough, and to spare; execution in abundance, however dubious at times as regards the taste of its ornament; dramatic zeal without stint, if not dramatic inspiration; but of the exquisite feeling, the refinement of sorrow, the madness of pitiful despair, that pertain to the lost love of Ravenswood, this singer has either no conception or no ability to produce it. There are lyric and dramatic characters, in which painstaking and conformity with recognized prescription—in the absence of magnetism, imagination or emotional power—will win acceptance, if not applause; and there are others in which nothing less than some share of the higher qualities can be even tolerated. For example, mere conventional handling of Shakespeare’s Juliet or of Goethe’s Marguerite is repugnant even to spectators of very ordinary capacity. Scott’s delicate heroine is almost as exacting, and inadequate treatment of her is substantially fatal to the whole work. A bad Lucia may not, indeed, totally destroy the magnificent scene wherein Edgardo, with his despairing apostrophe, ‘O Bell’alma Inamorata,’ renders up his life in song; but she may gravely impair that effect by nullifying all reason for it—and this was pretty much the case last night. Mlle. Viarde requires, it would appear, intellectual discipline, and not a little softening and elevating attrition, before she can either look or act Lucia di Lammermoor, however vigorously, in parts, she may sing it. It is right to say that the lady undertook the rôle at very short notice—in consequence of the sudden illness of Mme. Agatha States—and that she was often cordially applauded. We do not think it unfair to add that, in the noted points of deficiency, the audience are not, probably, sufferers by the change.

“Signor Villani’s Edgardo is a commendable performance. It is artistic, rational and experienced. Sometimes, but not often, it is something more. But as a whole, it, too, lacks the sacred fire, and fails to rouse the enthusiasm that tenors of the first rank have accustomed us to. Signor Villani exerted himself strenuously in special passages. He declaimed the famous malediction with power and feeling, and in the last act, rose to a level surpassing what he had reached before. Such a performance cannot make us forget Salvi or Giuglini, but it can awaken genuine respect for a dramatic vocalist who thoroughly knows his business and seldom fails to do justice to his experience. Signor Buongiorno is an excellent Ashton, and helped materially to assist an entertainment offering frequent occasion for objection. This baritone possesses some refreshing merits, not the least of which is that he moves and acts like a gentleman. The chorus last night was better than on Monday. The best morceau of the evening must be set down as the septette ‘Chi me frena,’ which was well sung by all concerned, and in which Mme. Viardi illustrated a singularly uneven performance by singing remarkably well. This piece was repeated in response to the determined demand of the public. The admired harp prelude to the entrance of Lucia was beautifully played, and was encored; and the orchestra, with some marked exceptions in time and shading, was satisfactory.”

“A larger audience than on the first night of the new subscription welcomed the production, last night, of ‘Lucia,’ with a new prima donna, Mme. Carolina Viardi, in place of Mme. States, who was prevented by sudden indisposition from appearing as announced. The débutante has a high and rather thin soprano, pure in tone, and fairly flexible, but not remarkable for color or strength. She executes with facility and a certain grace, but sings too much from the head, and her delivery lacks firmness. This fault, blending with the exaggerated tremulo so much affected by a certain class of vocalists, gives an unpleasantly shady character to much of her delivery. She was welcomed with slight enthusiasm at first; but the favorite septet in the second act brought a stormy and persistent demand for an encore, to which the artist yielded with the more reluctance that Sig. Villiani, the Edgardo of the evening, was evidently fatigued. His husbandry in the matter of voice was justified by his execution of the passionate finale Hai tradito—which was sung with great vigor and dramatic fire.

“The graceful ritournelle preceding Lucia’s entry in the first act, which is generally given to the wind instruments, was well played on the harp, and brought an encore. But as an offset to this, perhaps, the audience was defrauded of one of the most popular numbers—the spirited duo Sole più ratto between Edgardo and Enrico in the third act.

“Sig. Buongiorno gave a manly and correct rendering of Enrico. The rest of the performance calls for no especial mention.”