Parepa-Rosa English Opera: Satanella

Very favorable beginning of the season.

“The début of Mrs. Van Zandt at the Academy of Music this evening will be an occasion of interest, for the lady is ‘to the manor born,’ and commands, by virtue of her American parentage, the good wishes of all on this side of the water. She has been very kindly received abroad, and certainly should be even more kindly welcomed at home. The opera to be given is Balfe’s ‘Satanella.’”

Synopsis of the plot.

“The diabolical flavor is so much relished by our American audiences, and Balfe’s flowing melodies are so popular with them, that it is strange ‘Satanella’ has never until last night been sung in the United States. Such, notwithstanding, is the fact; and, taking this into consideration, and the further circumstances that it supplied occasion for the first appearance in six years of a native and rising prima donna, and came in the first bloom and flush of a propitious season, the assemblage attracted is not to be wondered at. There was, in truth, a capital house at the Academy last night; its numbers were very fairly leavened by its critical intelligence, and the pleasure excited by the performance was decided.

“Balfe’s ‘Satanella’ was produced on Monday night with an elaboration of costumes and properties unprecedented in the history of English opera in New-York. It abounded in brilliant stage pictures, and was crowded with gay and glittering throngs of peasants, pirates, Moorish girls, men in armor, devils, priests, and wedding parties. The work is well worth the splendors which have been laid upon it. There are several numbers equal to the best of Balfe’s writing, and nearly all are vivacious and melodious. The well-known ballad, ‘The Power of Love,’ which forms, so to speak, the theme of the opera, is handled with ingenuity and with a fine poetic instinct, running like a thread through the critical scenes of the drama, and lingering at the close like the memory of songs heard long ago. Though the most popular air in the opera, it is by no means the only good one. We have an abundance of charming music for Satanella, Lelia, Reupert, a lively pirates’ chorus, a splendid quintet and chorus, a bridal chorus suggestive—strange to say--of Wagner, and a chorus and dance (‘Merry Tunis, ope thy mart’), which is familiar to bath rooms. The work as a whole moves briskly along, amusing the eye with picturesque scenes and effective situations, and pleasing the ear with lively and easily remembered strains. The title role was filled by Mrs. Van Zandt, who returned after a five years’ absence to the scene of her first lyric successes. She was most cordially received, recalled after all her best songs, and loaded with flowers. Her voice, of course, has ripened and her method greatly improved since she left us, and she must take rank now as one of the best light sopranos available for the American stage. A strong, clear, and true voice, facility of execution, fineness of sentiment, a beautifully distinct enunciation, and a prepossessing appearance, combine to make her a most attractive artist. Miss Doria confirmed the pleasant impression of her debut, and Mr. Castle, Mr. Campbell, Mr. Hall, Mr. Seguin, and Mr. Whiffen filled the principal male parts with general satisfaction. The chorus was excellent, especially in the scene of the Tunisian slave-market, with its pretty dance music, and the orchestra, under Mr. Rosa’s baton, was superb.”

“Madame Vanzini appeared in English opera on Monday evening, after an absence of five years.

That these have been years of progress is very evident. The lady has not only acquired ease and address upon the stage, but has added finish to a voice of no ordinary loveliness. She is a prima donna worthy of every commendation.”

“There were two special features of interest at the Academy of Music on Monday night, which drew together in that handsome temple of music the crème de la crème of the capital and made quite a stir in musical circles They were the début in English opera of the favorite prima donna of America, Mrs. Jenny Van Zandt (or, as she was known on the Italian stage, Vanzini), and the first production of Balfe’s romantic opera of ‘Satanella.’ Impresario Carl Rosa brought all his experience, energy and means into operation to make this event a complete success. The cast was as follows [lists cast].

The opera is a happy mixture of romance and diabolism, with the ‘power of love’ as the guiding principle. Satanella, the emissary of the unmentionable personage, feels the influence of this power, and, openly defying her cloven-footed master, saves the knight whom she was sent to destroy. There are pirates, a slave sale in the Orient, glimpses of Hades, an apotheosis and all those gorgeous surrounding that one would look for only in the ‘Black Crook’ or other spectacles. It is not necessary to go into details concerning the plot, as we might as well attempt to describe one of the ‘Arabian Nights’ entertainments. Suffice it to say that there is in it full scope for the composer, the artists, chorus, orchestra, scene painter, machinist and ballet master.

The music is equal, if not superior, to any of Balfe’s other works. There is no overture, but a short introduction leads into a spirited opening festival chorus, which is very brilliantly instrumented. Then follows a quartet, the chorus coming in at the finale in 12-3 time, a very beautiful and flowing melody of the genuine Balfe spirit. The song, ‘Our Hearts Are Not Our Own,’ which succeeds the quartet was omitted on Monday, and Miss Clara Doria sang instead an aria and cabaletta from the composer’s ‘Maid of Artois.’ The next scene (of the gambling) is in some degree an imitation of the well known gambling scene in ‘Robert le Diable.’ The strings have a charming melody running through and forming a pleasing contrast to the fragmentary character of the vocal parts. The ending is grand and massive in parts for the single quartet and the chorus. Cari then sings a lively, coquettish little air, ‘Would She But Name the Day,’ a gem in its way, simple and telling. The vision, in which Satanella and her dark master appear, and she is ordered to become the page of the sleeping Rupert, to lure him to his ruin, is prefaced by the incantation music of ‘Der Freyschutz,’ or something marvelously like it. Arimanes’ song, ‘Since He Has Dared to Brave,’ is one of the finest bass solos in English opera. Rupert’s drinking, song, ‘The Glorious Vintage of Champagne,’ has already found its way into the salon and concert hall and is immensely popular, The finale of the first act brings in for the first time the lovely melody, ‘The Power of Love,’ which runs through all the rest of the opera, coming in each time in a different and more beautiful form. It is prefaced and accompanied by the harp, and an invisible chorus singing a chromatic scale in unison, while the soprano, Satanella, sings, produces an indescribably beautiful effect. Two flutes then take up the melody, and Satanella sings the second verse behind the scenes. The curtain falls as Rupert awakes, and the last notes of ‘The Power of Love’ die away in the distance. The introduction to the second act brings in the same melody in grandiose style, like the manner in which the ‘Pilgrim’s Chorus’ is treated in the overture to ‘Tannhauser.’ In this act we have two very taking pirates’ choruses, a delightful ballad, ‘In Silence, Sad Heart, Go,’ sung by Satanella; and one of the most pleasing wedding choruses that can be found in the entire répertoire of English opera. The contraltos sing in unison with the tenors in this chorus. The bridesmaids’ chorus reminds one of Mendelssohn’s famous quartets, which undoubtedly had something to do with it. At the wedding ceremony, which is rudely interrupted by a storm and the arrival of Arimanes, ‘The Power of Love’ is again brought in, played by the ‘cello and horn. The storm is a palpable imitation of Weber. ‘Up and Arm,’ the succeeding tenor solo, is of the ‘Di quella pira’ order. ‘The Huguenots’ and ‘Robert’ supply many of the ideas in the beginning of the third act, until we come to the magnificent duet between Satanella and Arimanes. The slave market scene introduces a merry, sparkling chorus, with bells in the accompaniment, and winds up with a grand sestet and chorus of the ‘Lucia’ order, and a couple of little songs of the quaint Moorish or Spanish style, sung by Satanella. The fourth act has the best tenor solo in the opera. ‘No Prize Can Fate on Man Bestow,’ and a finale in which the effect produced by the last scene in ‘Faust,’ in which Marguerite’s theme is repeated each time a tone higher, is imitated. It has a splendid effect, and leads to the last repetition of ‘The Power of Love,’ on which the curtain falls. The orchestration of this opera is the best ever effected by Balfe. There is a want of cohesion and superabundance of material in it, which judicious and liberal pruning can remove.

“Balfe’s opera of ‘Satanella’ was produced for the first time in this city at the Academy, on the 9th, before a crowded and fashionable audience, the occasion being the rentree of M’me. Jenny Van Zandt, who assumed the title role. This talented native cantatrice first appeared in opera in this city, in 1865; since then she has devoted herself to practice and study on the lyric stage in England and on the continent, her success in Italy being noteworthy. Her performance on Monday night showed a finish of style and an improvement in tone, as a result of her European tour, and she elicited well merited applause in the character of Satanella, which just suited her voice and acting. The libretto of the opera is more coherent and intelligible than is usually the case in English operas, and the plot, briefly described, is as follows... The cast included [lists cast]. The success attendant upon its production led to a second performance on Oct. 10th.”