Maretzek Italian Opera: Lucia di Lammermoor

“A second haring of Madame Ilma Di Murska, this [illeg.] in a more dramatic rôle than on the occasion of her first appearance, confirms the impression she then gave that in her we have a vocalist of extraordinary talent. Her execution in those portions of ‘Lucia Di Lammermoor’ which Donizetti has set to the most ornate and florid music was little short of perfect. This was notably the case in the famous mad scene, where in the well-known passages of fioriture, with the flute accompaniment, her voice rivalled that liquid instrument in sweetness of tone, in perfection of intonation, and in ease and grace of execution. In the sextette—the great finale of the second act—where Italian operatic music seems almost to have reached its culminating point Madame Di Murska showed a breadth of style and a largeness of voice such as she had not before displayed.

But while this prima donna’s merits as a singer become more clearly manifest, the same is not the case with her acting. She failed to reach the height of the situation in this opera as fully as she did in the ‘Sonnambula.’ The mad scene conveyed no suggestion of craziness, the action in it was conventional and without emotion or inspiration. There was quite too much meaningless waving about of the arms, and too little purpose or earnestness.

The rôle of Edgardo was sung by Signor Tamberlik. It is with mingled admiration and regret that we listen to this famous artist. Admiration for the noble outline that he gives us of the character and regret that nature no longer enables him to fill it up as he would wish to do. But even his suggestion of how the part should be acted and sang [sic] is a hundred times more to be praised than many another singer’s realization of it. No one can fail to find still in Tamberlik’s voice a rare delicacy, refinement, and beauty of tone. The whole manner of the man, indeed, is one of refinement, and it is easy to detect, though unhappily now somewhat covered with a veil, those wonderful powers that in their prime carried away so many audiences with uncontrollable enthusiasm.

The weakest and least reliable notes of his voice at present appear to be the higher F and G. These, it happens, are the ones most needed in the aria on which the tenor relies in this opera for his greatest effects. In it the words so often repeated, ‘Oh, bell’[illeg.] -morata,’ fall upon these notes, and Tamberlik, his voice being much fatigued at the close of the opera, was unable to sing them as clearly as could have been wished. This celebrated scena failed, therefore, in part at least, of its effect.

As a whole, we cannot say that the opera was well performed. For example, the crowning piece in it is the great sextette, ‘Che mi Freno in tal momento.’ This was, in reality, no sextette, but only a quintette, for Miss Leideker, the Alice, could not apparently be trusted to sing her part, and stood therefore in dumb show. Two other parts, that of Raymond, in Signor Barili’s hands, and that of Arthur, entrusted to Signor Bussi, were hindrances rather than helps, since the intonation of neither of these gentlemen, either in this concerted piece nor in any other portion of the opera in which they were concerned, was at all to be relied upon. It scarcely needs to be said that no opera in which the subordinate parts are in weak hands can ever be said to be well presented.

Signor Mari was the Sir Henry Ashton, and sang the part with much spirit. The impression that he produced was a great advance upon that made by him in the ‘Poliuto.’”

“Mme. Ilma di Murska fully confirmed last night ‘Lucia’ the impression she had created on Tuesday in ‘La Sonnambula.’ Indeed with a singer of her class one opera is apt to be very much like another. Leave out of consideration the great dramatic parts, for which she has neither qualifications nor probably ambition, and everything else is merely the medium through which she exhibits her amazing vocalization. She does not need the changes of display afforded by the ordinary bravoura [sic] airs; she makes her opportunities in every scene, from her first entrance to her final exit, and does it without abusing the score and taking unwarrantable liberties with the composer. It is the most thoroughly artistic work of the kind that has been presented to New-York audiences in our time, and it has what does not often belong to mere vocalism, however perfect—a really magnetic effect. This is partly owing to the quality of the voice, which is phenomenally clear and penetrating, and retains all its purity of intonation and all its flexibility, and it is partly owing to the fine intelligence of the singer, which supplies in a great measure the defect of passion, so that her singing, though it is not sympathetic, is never mechanical. Certainly Mme. di Murska succeeds in stimulating quite as hearty an enthusiasm as that which awakes at the voice of Nilsson or of Lucca, and her success was even more emphatic last night than on Tuesday. She had the burden of ‘Lucia’ to bear almost alone. Sig. Tamberlik’s voice was in no better condition than on the evening of his début; and as ‘Lucia’ offers no picturesque and romantic situations like ‘Poliuto’ to distract critical attention from the primary business of a tenor, which is of course to sing, the house had abundant leisure to remark the ruin wrought upon the organ of this famous artist. There were moments indeed in which the voice of his youth seemed to come back to him, and we could realize then how how [sic] great he must have been. There were passages in which he seemed still to be grander than any other tenor now on the stage. But he sometimes failed in his favorite effects, and the vibrato often got altogether beyond his control. In the ‘Chi mi frema’ quintet this was especially conspicuous, and as it was aggravated by the bellowing of the baritone, Sig. Mari, the performance of this number was very far from agreeable. The wonderful effect, however, of Mme. di Murska, whose voice triumphed in the fortissimo passage over tenor, baritone, and orchestra together, saved the scene and secured for it an encore.

It may be inferred from what we have already said that the Ashton was not altogether satisfactory. Sig. Mari in fact was so much worse in this opera than he was in ‘Poliuto,’ that we could hardly believe him to be the same person who made such a moderately bad Severo. In addition to a voice rather the worse for wear, he develops, as we come to know him better, an extensive variety of vocal vices, with such an unfortunate physical vitality that we can never by any possibility lose sight of them. The long scene at the beginning of the opera, wherein Ashton talks over his family affairs with Raymond (Sig. Barili) and Norman (name withheld, out of respect to the feelings of his family) was exasperating to the last degree. Sig. Bussi, who made a little bit of reputation by a creditable assumption of a small part on Monday, lost it all last night by being one of the very worst Arthurs who ever put on wedding clothes.”

“‘Lucia di Lammermoor’ was sung at the Grand Opera-house last evening. The attendance was large, and the applause generous. We do not consider Mme. Ilma Di Murska the ideal Lucia, partly because the lady is a bravura songstress rather than a lyric tragedienne, and partly because the tessitura of the rôle is rather low for the artist’s voice, the upper notes of which, as already mentioned in this place, are by far the most effective. Mme. Di Murska, however, is an intelligent if not a very sympathetic or skilled actress, and she performs feats of vocalization which the score of any opera gives scope for, with unerring surety; hence, at several passages of ‘Lucia,’ her achievements quite carried away the listeners. The heroine’s cavatina in act the first, and the duet, were both capitally done, but Mme. Di Murska’s great success actually commenced with the sestet, during which her marvelous trilling—not prescribed by the music, be it said, but made welcome by the perfection of the execution—elicited loud plaudits. This portion of the representation was, of course, redemanded, and so was, amid wild excitement, the cavatina ‘Spargi d’amaro pianto,’ in which Mme. Di Murska’s wonderful staccato and a wealth of fioritures were appropriately framed. Mme. Di Murska was summoned before the footlights six or eight times at this stage of the representation. The Enrico of the night was Signor Tamberlick [sic, throughout], whose masterly delivery of recitative and impassioned acting won for him a full share of the triumphs of the entertainment. Signor Tamberlick’s air in the third act offered the tenor his best opportunity for asserting his art as a singer, and in this the gentleman’s faultless and tasteful phrasing were conspicuous. The Edgardo was Signor Mari, who created a much more favorable impression than on the occasion of his début. Of the other singers it is not necessary to speak.”

“Di Murska “appeared on the 9th in ‘Lucia,’ assisted by the strongest cast of the week, Tamberlik and Lucca being in the opera the same night. The attendance was the best of the week.”