Parepa-Rosa English Opera: Lucrezia Borgia

“Now that the English opera season is drawing to a close a few remarks regarding the company and the management will not be out of place. Never before in this city, and we doubt very much in any other, has a similar company met with a more emphatic endorsement by the public. There are three prima donnas (soprano), Mme. Parepa-Rosa, Mrs. Jenny Van Zandt and Miss Clara Doria; one contralto, Mrs. Zelda Seguin; two tenors, Tom Karl and Castle, and in the baritone and bass line, Campbell, Aynsley Cook, Hall and Ryse. There are besides secondary singers who do not call for special comment. Of the prima donnas Mme. Parepa-Rosa deserves the first consideration, as her voice and school is of that grand, broad nature that places her in a position unapproachable in her own peculiar line. In such rôles as Donna Anna, Lucrezia Borgia, Norma, Leonora, and others of that calibre, Mme. Rosa need not fear competition, for nature, both in voice and physical qualities, has given her the advantage. The music of Mozart, Donizetti, Bellini and Verdi, and the imposing character of their soprano creations mentioned above, find in her a fitting representative. Her long absence from our stage, occasioned by a protracted illness in London, has not robbed her voice of a single charm, and it rings out to-day with the same richness and grandeur as it did five years ago at her American début. But we would earnestly warn Mme. Rosa against rôles like those of Maria, Zerlina and Rosina, as they are not suited for her, and although she may sing them charmingly, yet they are, in other respects, outside her real artistic repertoire. Mrs. Jenny Van Zandt returns to us after some years of absence and with a high European reputation. She has already appeared in three rôles—Satanella, Maritana and Zerlina, in ‘Don Giovanni.’ All that her numerous admirers predicted for her has been fulfilled. A consummate actress and musician, and possessing a clear, limpid, flexible and highly cultivated voice, resembling that of Miss Kellogg to a marvelous degree, Mrs. Van Zandt has earned a triumph that places her in the very foremost ranks of American artists. In the brilliant but disconnected music of ‘Satanella,’ she bore the brunt of the work of the opera, and a more charming Zerlina Mozart himself could not desire. But in ‘Maritana,’ on Tuesday night, her success was complete. She was in splendid voice and nothing could exceed the beauty of her singing or the finish of her acting. She may be called the American prima donna, par excellence, of the present day. Miss Clara Doria made a favorable debut in ‘The Bohemian Girl,’ but in subsequent roles she deteriorated to an extent that left little to be hoped for from her in the future. Mrs. Seguin is a contralto that would be difficult to match in opera. She never fails to come up to the requirements of a rôle, whether it is a Nancy, or an Azucena, and her attractive stage presence and acting abilities make her a favorite wherever she appears. Tom Karl has a light voice for a tenor of an opera troupe, but it is an eminently pleasing one. There is not a weak note in this voice from beginning to end. The registers are all homogeneous in character, and he sings with an ease and thorough understanding of the exigencies of the music that cannot fail to please his hearers at all times. To startle an audience or produce a sensation is an impossibility with him, but to please under all circumstances is his forte. Castle is neither better nor worse than we have judged him for years past. He is a fine actor; but the throaty, forced manner of singing in which he indulges is always painful to a musician. The second tenor, Whiffen, is an excellent actor, but a poor singer. Campbell, the American Santley, has a glorious voice and has made extraordinary progress in opera. A proof of this was given on Monday night by his clear impersonation of the most difficult of all operatic rôles, that of Don Giovanni. This is the rock on which many baritones have split. Aynsley Cook is, beyond doubt, the most valuable acquisition to the company. He has not a great voice, nor even in some respects a good one, but he never fails to make a hit, whether it is English, German or Italian. A complete master of every opera placed on the stage, his experience and talent are invaluable to the impresario. It would be very hard to find such another Leporello or Beppo. (This last rôle he sang in German with Wachtel.) His acting and make-up are a study and redeems all the deficiencies of his voice.

Gustavus Hall is excellent in secondary rôles, and his voice is an organ of real power and sweetness. Ryse is a good actor, but a husky, disagreeable singer. The chorus and orchestra are far ahead of anything we have ever had at the Academy, and since the beginning of the season not a flaw could be found in this department. The chorus and orchestra have been the bête noir of opera in this city, and we are glad to find that Carl Rosa, the conductor and impresario, has been particularly careful in this respect. Each opera has been placed on the stage with scenery and stage appointments of an unusually attractive kind, and here the management has effected quite a revolution. Every habitué of the Academy will remember the atrocious neglect of former impresarii in presenting operas in proper style. Mr. Rosa is the first to inaugurate a new departure in this respect, and we trust that his successors will follow his example.”