Strakosch Italian Opera: Il Trovatore

“The second representation of the ever-popular ‘Trovatore’ by the Strakosch troupe took place at the Academy last night. The performance was evenly good. The touch of tameness in the earlier acts was wholly redeemed by the finished and elegant style in which the last act was sung. Madame Nilsson’s cadenza to the aria Sul oli was an exquisite bit of vocalization. Miss Carry sang most charmingly. Every note that she uttered was as beautiful as the diamonds and pearls which fell from the lips of the little girl in fairy lore. Her share in the slumber duet—in which she was ably seconded by Campanini—was as delightful a bit of pure, unaffected singing as one could wish to hear; and in the succeeding trio, where the motive of the duet is resumed, her delicious tones assimilated most felicitously with the sotto voce of Nilsson and the sympathetic tenor of Campanini.

There were last night two encores. Del Puente, who sang well throughout the entire evening, (save in the last scene of all, where he began his part several bars too early,) had to repeat Il balen; and Campanini’s high B secured a similar compliment for the Di quella pira. Orchestra and chorus were both good, with, at times, however, an undue preponderance of the former.”

“The performance did not differ from that referred to at length a week ago, and it elicited quite as much applause as the earlier representation. Mme. Nilsson and all the artists were in excellent voice, and, vocally and histrionically, the recital was unexceptionable. ‘Il balen,’ ‘Di quella pira,’ and the scene at the foot of the tower were repeated.”

“The rôle of Leonora in one of the most popular operas of the present day, for Verdi and Gounod may be accredited of having written the most taking works for a quarter of a century past, has had a host of celebrated representatives. Great as her predecessors may be, Mme. Nilsson does not take a lower plane. All the traditional effects in the different arias of the heroine, which are so well known to every opera-goer, were given last night by Mme. Nilsson with telling effect. It may appear extraordinary that the Swedish nightingale should make a great success in a rôle which she does not count among her best operatic representations, but it would be difficult to point to any more effective Leonora in the annals of American opera. The merit of the representation last night, however, was the excellence of the ensemble. Miss Cary as Azucena, Signor Campanini as Manrico and Signor Del Puente as Di Luna contributed to the success of the opera. It is unnecessary to enter into details regarding the performance of this well[-]known work by the magnificent company of M. Strakosch, as we have already spoken of it at length, but we are impelled to add to our former remarks an emphatic endorsement of the artistic impersonation of the heroine by Mme. Nilsson.”