Maretzek Italian Opera: Don Giovanni

“A very good performance of ‘Don Giovanni’ is such a rarity that we have ceased to look for it in New-York, and if the opera is only given with tolerable correctness and vivacity, and with two or three good artists in as many of the roles, we are forced to be content. All the eight characters in the opera are important ones. The three prime donne are of almost equal consequence, and even the commendatore fills a duty in the drama which a competent singer can make impressive in the very highest degree. The orchestra, as every one knows, has the most magnificent work to do, and the chorus, though it is not very largely employed, needs to be well drilled and strong. The representation last night, as might have been anticipated, fell very far short of perfection, but it was quite as good as the average New-York ‘Don Giovanni,’ and presented one or two features of particular interest. The Zerlina of Mme. Lucca was of course the chief of these. It exhibited the same characteristics which distinguish her Zerlina in ‘Fra Diavolo,’—the same brightness, the same subdued spirit of sauciness and fun, the same hearty rusticity. As in ‘Faust’ and ‘Fra Diavolo,’ she is much less graceful and refined than her predecessors in the same role, and therefore much truer to nature. The traditional Zerlina is pretty, and winning and unsophisticated, and ladylike; the Zerlina of Mme. Lucca is a genuine child of the village, not the least like a lady, and by no means as coy as she ought to be in listening to the soft seductions of the gallant Don. She is a young woman, however, with a pretty warm heart, and she fascinates everybody in spite of common sense and good morals. Zerlina must have been the favorite of the composer, as she is of the audiences; for Mozart gave her all the tenderest of the music, and Mme. Lucca delivers it with a loving and appreciative spirit which, speaking of her merely as a singer, gave her a higher place in our estimation than she had occupied before. The ‘Vedrai carino’ in particular was charmingly sung, and like the ‘Batti, batti’ was distinguished for the simplicity which is such a noble characteristic of her style.

Miss Kellogg is not very well fitted physically for so heavy a part as that of Donna Anna, but she sang it with great credit to herself, and declaimed the trying aria, ‘Or sai chi l’onore,’ admirably, with force—perhaps we might say with eloquence—and in excellent voice. She did not sing the Letter Aria. Miss Clara Doria, who made a favorable impression with the English Opera Company last year, was intrusted with the music of Donna Elvira, which does not suit her voice. Signor Vizzani was a weak and tuneless Don Ottavio, omitting (as the custom is) the ‘Dalla sua pace,’ but giving ‘Il mio tesoro’ pretty well. M. Jamet, whom it is almost always our pleasant duty to praise, was a capital Leporello,--a character in which he won particular favor last season. Sig. Ronconi was Masetto and M. Coulon was a poor Commendatore. It remains only to speak of the most important personage in the opera, the Don Giovanni. This was Signor Moriami. In one respect he was well qualified; he is an actor of unflagging vivacity and of some dramatic instincts. But his voice is thin and colorless, his style is vicious, and it is impossible to listen to him with any interest. The trios and the quartette went ill; the orchestra, directed by Mr. Carlberg, was far from satisfactory, though it is getting to be smoother than it was at the beginning of the season; and the stage appointments were about as shabby as usual. In the scenery, however, there has been a slight change.”

“A performance of ‘Don Giovanni,’ both symmetrical and impressive, was witnessed at the Academy of Music, last evening, by an assemblage that filled the house in respect alike of seats and standing-room. The reader need scarcely be informed that Mozart’s immortal work calls into requisition the services of a double company, and it will, therefore, have been inferred that an acknowledgment of its equable and satisfying recital is paramount to hearty commendation of the talent and musical strength of the interpreting forces. Yesterday ‘Don Giovanni’ enlisted the labors of [see above]. The efforts of the most conspicuous of these performers wrought the intended effect of delighting to an extent expressed by enthusiastic applause; and the united energies of all concerned failed not to please that smaller portion of the audience which has not yet been corrupted by the evils of the ‘star’ system, destined to obtain in opera as in the drama. After Mme. Lucca’s capital personation of the music heroine of ‘Fra Diavolo,’ nothing less than a thoroughly natural and vivacious Zerlina was to be awaited at that lady’s hands. The expectation was fulfilled. In appearance Mme. Lucca was as Castilian as the most realistic critic of countenances and costumes could desire; as an actress, she approved herself continually appreciative of circumstances and text; as a songstress, of course, she made light of her share in the duet ‘La ci darem,’ of ‘Batti, batti!’ and of ‘Vedrai, carino,’ and repeated each of these performances in deference to plaudits bestowed with almost unprecedented unanimity. Mme. Lucca was thrice recalled after act the second had ended. Miss Kellogg was the Donna Anna. We do not think the artist was in as good voice as usual, but she was quite as earnest and as conscientious, and her singing did not disappoint the hopes evinced by a cordial reception. Donna Anna, however, will not rank with Miss Kellogg’s most successful exertions. Miss Doria represented Donna Elvira respectably, but her gifts are not equal to her acquirements. Signor Vizzani was in excellent vocal condition. He delivered the music allotted to Don Ottavio with correctness and taste, and sang ‘Il mio tesoro’ with much sweetness. But as a singer and a comedian he is not to be named with Signor Moriami, who portrayed Don Giovanni with a warmth and an elegance very rare among Italian artists. Signor Moriami’s picture of the traditional libertine has a brilliancy of color and a wealth of detail which the general spectator is hardly fitted to discover. The recognition of his merits as a singer found utterance at the usual points, and his duet with Zerlina, the ‘Finchè dal vino,’ and his capital acting in the closing scenes won for him a liberal share of the laurels of the night. M. Jamet’s sketch of Leporello was made known by last year’s experience as elaborate, amusing, and quite free from the downright clownishness habitually inseparable from the character. Signor Ronconi, it only remains to say, was funny as ever in the rôle of Masetto, and M. Coulon discharged capably the duties of Il Commendatore. Chorus and orchestra were exceptionally proficient. Mr. G. Carlberg officiated as conductor.”

“’Don Giovanni,’ as we all know, is a work demanding the highest quality and the largest amount of musical talent for its proper execution, and is not, therefore, to be undertaken by feeble operatic companies any more than by village musical associations. That it was creditably produced last night at the Academy of Music is due to the fact that all the resources of M. Maretzek’s corps were brought into requisition. This corps contains three artists certainly of very high merit—Madame Lucca, Miss Kellogg, M. Jamet; it has also some very capital actors, as Signor Ronconi and Signor Mariami; and last night all were on the stage. The Zerlina of Madame Lucca is a most delightful interpretation of the rustic beauty into whose pretty mouth Mozart puts in profusion the purest pearls of melody. She is less poetic but more piquant than some Zerlinas we have seen, and even as Gretchen in the person of Madame Lucca is a buxom, merry, roguish Gretchen, so Zerlina of the hayfields is, in the Lucca embodiment, a being of every-day life rather than of the imagination—or we should say, she is not a ‘being’ at all, as the poets use the word, but a young woman of great beauty, winning ways and unfailing vivacity, yet not without tenderness and the capacity for tears. She sang throughout last night with great spirit and with the heartiest acceptance, and three times sang over again the aria of the passing scene upon the demand of the delighted audience. The ‘Batti, batti,’ and the ‘Vedrai, carino’ were applauded to the verge of tumult, and, indeed, the exquisite pathos and warmth she threw into the music might have moved a far more apathetic audience as deeply as they are supposed to move Masetto. Miss Kellogg is too bright and graceful and sunny for the part of Donna Anna, any one would say, but she sang it with feeling, and her declamations were often of startling effect. M. Jamet as Leporello made a very favorable impression, as might have been expected, and for the rest there is little to be said, except that Miss Clara Doria who sang Donna Elvira, appeared to less advantage than she might have done in a part better suited to her powers. The orchestra under Mr. Carlberg went through the splendid work before it with intelligence and comparative smoothness; but to render perfectly the music of ‘Don Giovanni’ would be an orchestral triumph that is probably reserved for another age, perhaps a higher civilization.”

“The ‘Don Giovanni’ of Mozart, albeit it does not address itself musically to the profanum vulgus, but to the true connoisseur of art, never fails to draw a large house, on account of the necessity of concentrating upon the cast from beginning to end all the strength of a company. The people are always sure that when this opera is produced they can have an opportunity of judging the merits of the principal members of the company. But what a managerial rock it is! Many an impresario has bitterly repented bringing it out and thereby showing the weakness of the company, for there is no covering up defects in the music of Mozart. It is like a mirror, faithfully and naturally reflecting every phase of character that passes before it, and the very simplicity of its music is all the more difficult task for an artist to make any success in it. When mediocrity pervades the cast ‘Don Giovanni’ is an intolerable bore; when genius is in the ascendant it is a delicious treat. A large proportion of the opera is in recitative, but how many artists to-day can declaim in music? One out of a thousand. Recitative, declaimed by a true artist, is eloquence itself; droned out, without any appreciation of the spirit of the scene, it is worse than a twenty-two-headed sermon by a prosy preacher. Hence everybody goes to hear a great combination in ‘Don Giovanni,’ and, in nine cases out of ten, everybody goes home disgusted, disappointed and mad. 

To show that the chef d’orchestre of the most poetical and touching of all composers has been attractive, it is only necessary to point to the most celebrated casts [remainder of paragraph is a historical sketch].

Now for last night’s performance. Mme. Lucca carried the opera through to an eminently successful result by one of the cleverest and most enjoyable delineations of the rôle of Zerlina we have ever seen. Three musical members stand out in bold relief from the mass of melody and instrumentation last night. They are the duet, ‘La ci darem,’ ‘Batti, bati,’ and ‘Vedrai Carino.’ To hear Lucca sing in these pieces is like an echo from the past, when the stage could boast of giants and giantesses in art. Her voice was particularly good, and revealed a depth of feeling, a sympathetic expression and a thrilling effect in tone that repaid even the shortcomings of other members of the cast. Encore after encore rewarded the efforts of this truly great artist, and she was called out repeatedly. 

Miss Kellogg sung the trying rôle of Donna Anna for the first time. We do not think that the music is adapted to her voice and style of singing, for this reason:--The voice of Miss Kellogg is essentially a soprano sfogato, and Donna Anna requires a real dramatic singer like what Grisi, Titiens and La Grange were. Yet the American prima donna was in excellent voice, and in any other rôle, more congenial, she would have made a great success. But Donna Anna is no more in her line than is Macbeth or Richard III, in the répertoire of Lester Wallack.

Miss Clara Doria has a pleasant voice in certain rôles, but she fails to give Donna Elvira a particle of interest. Signor Vizzani made the same mistakes in Don Ottavio that he did in Faust and Fra Diavolo. He sung ‘Il mio tesoro’ very well—that is, without a mistake; but the effect was completely neutralised. Don Giovanni was represented by Signor Moriami in a manner that made the rôle the weakest and worst in the entire opera. M. Jamet brought all his consummate talent as an actor and his abilities as a singer to make the rôle of Leporello, a fit companion to the Zerlina of Mme. Lucca. Ronconi was as funny as usual in the part of Masetto, which rôle he has played for over a quarter of a century.

We almost forgot to state that the Don Giovanni on the occasion almost produced chaos in the serenade, by skipping one bar, and here it is necessary to say that the leader of the orchestra, Mr. Carlberg, was responsible to a great extent. He is a very nervous, excitable leader, and he lost all idea of tempo in this particular piece. The music of Mozart demands cool judgment, which Mr. Carlberg does not seem to possess. His men got unruly at times, and conflicted with the chorus and the solo singers. Again the ‘cuts’ in the opera were unsparing. Even the grand letter aria of Donna Anna was expunged. In fine, we can only account for the magnificent house present last night on the score that whenever Madame Pauline Lucca appears in opera in this city she may always be sure of a large and attentive audience. She is the card of the season.”

“The painful want of talent in Mr. Maretzek’s company will be even more apparent in the singing of ‘Don Giovanni’ this evening than on its previous production, for the feebleness so apparent before will be emphasized by repetition and Lucca more than ever will be compelled to sustain the performance.”

“’Don Giovanni was sung at the Academy of Music last night with a distribution of parts identical with that referred to in Thursday’s notice of the representation of the previous evening. But yesterday’s work was distinguished by an increased smoothness, and while Mme. Lucca’s earliest personation of Zerlina could not be improved upon, Miss Kellogg’s performance of Donna Anna was much bettered by the excellent condition of the lady’s voice. Wednesday’s recital of ‘Don Giovanni’ having been dealt with at some length in this place, there is no occasion to dilate upon the repetition of the opera. Mme. Lucca really sang twice the notes to Masetto’s sweetheart, for the duet commencing ‘La ci darem,’ ‘Batti, batti!’ and ‘Vedrai, carino,’ were severally repeated; Miss Kellogg, Signor Moriami and M. Jamet were warmly applauded. The admirable singing of Signor Moriami, and especially his labors in the last scene of ‘Don Giovanni,’ merit a good deal more attention than the inefficiency of less accomplished Italian artists has led local audiences to bestow upon a singer’s histrionic efforts. M. Jamet’s interpretation of ‘Madamina’ is to be commended as one of the cleverest renderings of the text, as well as the music of the well-known air, ever enjoyed on the stage of the Academy. As on the first night, Mr. G. Carlberg approved himself a capital conductor.”

“If one might judge from the great attendance at the performance of ‘Don Giovanni’ on Monday [Wednesday] evening, and by the large audience that assembled in spite of the inclemency of last evening, Mozart’s masterpiece would seem to be the one opera that gathers popularity with age.

It was a hazardous experiment of Mr. Maretzek, with his somewhat weak company, to bring out an opera that requires so much from those who undertake it. Mozart’s music is not of the kind that sings itself, and ‘Don Giovanni,’ unless very well given, is apt to be a melancholy failure. It is of the class of operas that takes signal revenge on indifferent artists. Six of the rôles are of almost equal difficulty and importance, and it is rare indeed that they are all adequately filled. Don Ottavio’s rôle, for instance, is one that seldom finds proper interpretation. Mario is almost the only tenor who ever did it justice in this country. And the fine music allotted to Donna Elvira is almost sure to be slighted. 

The strong points of the present performances are the Zerlina of Mme. Lucca, the Donna Anna of Miss Kellogg, and the Leporello of M. Jamet. The weak ones are Miss Clara Doria’s Donna Elvira and Signor Vizzani’s Don Ottavio. Signor Signor Moriami’s Don Giovanni is between the two; sometimes, as in the La ci darem duet, being admirable, at other time weak. Of course Ronconi is all that a Masetto should be, though his efforts in these days belong rather to the dramatic than to the vocal part of his profession.

The opera brings both the prima donnas before the public; yet there was no spirit or rivalry, not even a friendly one, for nothing can be in sharper contrast than the music of the two rôles of Zerlina and Donna Anna. The one is tender, light, and coquettish; the other majestic, broad, and almost sombre. The latter rôle is not one that appeals greatly to the public ear; it deals in broad musical phrases rather than in set melodies, and it is all the more to an artist’s credit when it is well done. The largest measure of praise is due to Miss Kellogg for the breadth of style and beauty of voice with which she sings this difficult part.

Those who saw Mme. Lucca’s other Zerlina, in Auber’s ‘Fra Diavolo,’ will not need to be told that she performs this one even more charmingly, for though they both belong to the same range of character, still the music of Mozart’s Zerlina is infinitely beautiful, and that of Auber’s but moderately so. 

The opera, on the whole, receives a very satisfactory rendering.”

“The fair prima donna who has revived here the memories of Grisi, La Grange and Bosio, and who may be regarded in the light of a true goddess of art, appeared again last night as Zerlina, one of the most charming of Mozart’s creations. It is a rôle by no means calculated to give an artist an opportunity to make a sensation, for so nicely are the various characters in ‘Don Giovanni’ balanced that there is no chance for particular display for one artist in the cast over another. Lucca’s rendering of ‘Batti, batti,’ and ‘Vedrai Carino,’ those delicious tit-bits of melody, and her naïve, vivacious and fascinating style of acting, give to her Zerlina the impress of a great artist. There is always something to admire in Mme. Lucca’s rendering of a rôle. The Zerlina of Mlle. Nilsson was a statuesque, cool impersonation; that of Lucca is warm, natural and full of life. Persons have asked us in which particular, acting or singing, Mme. Lucca excels. The answer is that so beautifully blended are both qualities that it is impossible to separate them. She looks, sings, and acts a rôle with such consummate art that her individuality is merged into it. Pauline Lucca, by the effulgence of her genius, is sufficient to draw crowded houses to the Academy of Music for many a night to come. There is no fear of any critic exaggerating the worth of Mme. Lucca as an artist. She lends an interest to every opera in which she appears, such as to make it a new revelation of art.

With Madame Pauline Lucca as the prima donna there is everything in the favor of an impresario. Next to her in last night’s representation terms of the highest praise are due to M. Jamet, whose Leporello is nearly sufficient to reconcile an old opera-goer with the artistic demise of such a representative of the rôle as Formes. Miss Kellogg is a deserved favorite with the American public. She is an American artist, and has long ago made her mark on the operatic stage, both here and in Europe. But she makes a serious mistake in attempting a rôle so uncongenial to her as that of Donna Anna. There is only one true representative of the character now alive, and that is Madame Parepa Rosa. Miss Kellogg does not appear to realize this grand creation of Mozart. The voice that can invest with such a charm the rôles of Linda and Annetta in ‘Crispino’ fails to give even a passing interest to the glorious measures of Donna Anna. That this is the case, the verdict of the entire musical public can be adduced as a proof. Miss Kellogg should make these rôles with which she has been so long and so favorably identified her special study, but she must not try to rank with Grisi, La Grange or Parepa Rosa.

Vizzani has proved an utter failure as Don Ottavio. Brignoli, although he sang the music well (that is well enough for an Italian), acted it badly, but Signor Vizzani has no quality either as an actor or a singer to recommend him. Mr. Maretzek, the manager, whose experience extends over twenty-five years, should at once send to Europe to procure an efficient substitute for this tenor. Signor Vizzani (we have made ample allowance for him on the score of change of climate and sickness) can only be put down as anything but a success.

The same may be said of the baritone, Moriami. He dresses the character of Don Giovanni badly (à la Earl of Essex, with an enormous frilled collar), but he acts and sings it worse. After Santley he is insufferable. Any baritone with a respectable share of lyric talent should make a success with the serenade in ‘Don Giovanni,’ but in Signor Moriami’s hands it was a nullity. Again, it is absolutely necessary for Mr. Maretzek to retain the baton in the orchestra, for his substitute, Mr. Carlberg, is anything but a reliable leader. In the minuet the musicians on the stage paid no more attention to their brethren than if they were playing in a different house…We were nearly forgetting, and, owing to the little display made by the lady in the rôle, our lapse of memory is excusable. Miss Clara Doria appeared as Donna Elvira; and the part might as well have been cut from the opera for all this lady made of it. She was an inexcusable failure.”

“The houses have been good this week at the Academy, and the operas given have been heard with many signs of favor. We need not again pass in review what has been noted a length during the week. There is no disguising that the management have been sharply taken to task in some quarters for alleged shortcomings, or that the criticisms have some apparent justification. Still, it is but justice to remember that nearly every singer of the company, including Mme. Lucca herself, has been suffering from cold, or other illness, ever since the season began; that this makes a vast difference in the effect of the representations, and that it is a matter which the directors are totally unable to control. We have been second to none, as our readers will bear witness, in urging on operatic managers the great importance of completeness and general excellence in the performances which should be offered by them to the New-York public. We believe that in the present instance the management might wisely have taken greater risks in the way of expenditure to better their troupe in certain departments. Still, they must cut their coat according to their cloth, and we are sure they wish earnestly to do their best, and will do much better than they have yet done before the season is over. Mme. Lucca has undeniably been a splendid success here, and is yet only at the beginning of her New-York triumphs; while, admirable as have been our native prima donna, Miss Kellogg’s, artistic achievements in past seasons, she certainly has surpassed them in this. M. Jamet is unquestionably one of the best bassos we have had here, either as actor or vocalist; and Signori Abrugnedo and Vizzani will both make much better marks when their throats will let them.”

“It is now generally conceded that the present season of opera at the Academy of Music is a failure in an artistic sense. Lucca and Kellogg are both excellent artists, but the balance of the company, excepting Jamet and Ronconi, are by no means up to the standard. Vizzani, the tenor, has failed, both as a singer and as an actor. Abrugnedo, although a better artist than Vizzani, has broken down several times. Sparapani, the baritone, has but little voice, and Moriami, the other baritone, although possessing a fine voice, yet has it by no means under control. Although a large number of seats were sold by subscription, yet the attendance on many nights has been quite limited, and the ticket speculators could not sell four dollar seats in a good location for a dollar apiece.”