Maretzek Italian Opera: La Favorita

“’La Favorita’ was sung at the Academy of Music, last evening, for the fourth time this season. Mme. Lucca, as usual, personated Leonora with great effect, while Signor Abrugnedo profited by being in excellent vocal condition, and produced an unwonted impression by his delivery of the fine recitatives and the well-known final cavatina allotted to Fernando.”

“The chef d’oeuvre of Donizetti was given for the last time last evening. Madame Lucca’s name and fame will ever be identified with the last scene in this opera. In her pathetic appeal to Fernando for mercy, and the ecstatic outburst, ‘E fio ver, io m’abbandono,’    

In which she is united again to the object of her love, the prima donna lent an additional charm to the highly dramatic finale of the work. The beautiful aria, ‘Ah! mio Fernando,’ revealed much tenderness and passion, and in the magnificent finale to the third act her voice rang out with a wealth of tone that seemed to fill the entire building. In quantity as well as quality of tone Madame Lucca’s voice is phenomenal. Next to her comes the Alfonso, Signor Sparapani, who by following our advice and not forcing his voice so as to sing sharp, improved his rendering of the rôle immensely. He sang the aria, ‘Vien, Leonora,’ and with Madame Lucca the duet, ‘Ah! l’alto ardor,’ and the grand aria, ‘A tanto amor,’ in a style becoming a conscientious artist. Abrugnedo was in better voice than usual, and he gave ‘Spirito gentil’ with a Brignoli-like degree of sweetness and expression; but his voice is so uncertain in tone and power that he always leaves the disagreeable impression that even after his best efforts he has barely escaped breaking down. It is an unbalanced voice, that cannot be depended upon, and the artist betrays in his actions on the stage an irresolution and want of confidence generally fatal to success. In the final duet he is so completely overshadowed by Madame Lucca that it might be called a solo instead of a duet. M. Coulon did not reach the standard of his first essay in the rôle of Balthazar. His voice was tremulous and uncertain. Here we must exclaim against the brass instruments of the orchestra that accompanied his denunciation of the King in the second act. They disregarded the baton of Mr. Maretzek during the greater part of the scene and only his firmness kept them from introducing chaos.”