Strakosch Italian Opera: Gli Ugonotti

“The performance of ‘The Huguenots’ last night attracted a full house, and kept the interest of the audience till long past the hour at which the tired public usually insists upon going home. The cast of the opera was certainly a strong one. Mme. Nilsson is one of the most impassioned Valentines we have ever had in this city, and in the famous fourth Act she displayed last night the full power of her dramatic genius, and the full volume and richness of her voice,--never more beautiful and mellow, it seems to us, than it is now. In Sig. Campanini she had a superb Raoul, a hero all fire and enthusiasm, and endowed with all the rare gifts of voice required for this more exacting rôle. He still finds it prudent to spare his throat a little in the less important passages, but in the duet scene of the third Act, and the great duet with Valentine in the fourth, and other critical parts, his sweet and powerful tones rang forth with magnetic effort. How fine the duet was may be judged from the fact that when the curtain fell the prima-donna and the tenor were recalled no fewer than five times, a large part of the house rising to them as they came forward. Miss Cary made a charming Page, and Sig. Nannetti one of the best Marcels we have seen for several years. The Marguerite was Mlle. Maresi; St. Bris, M. Maurel; and Nevers, Sig. Del Puente. The ensembles were not very good, chorus and orchestra being both imperfect.”

“‘Gli Ugonotti’ was sung at the Academy of Music, last evening. Meyerbeer’s work—of which one never wearies—has, over other elements of the repertoire, the advantage that it brings before the public, simultaneously, a whole company, and hence its special attractiveness, shown last night by the presence of a brilliant and enthusiastic audience. To say that ‘Gli Ugonotti’ is capitally represented is to bestow upon any assemblage of artists a high compliment. From a musical, a dramatic, and a scenic standpoint, it taxes managerial resources with equal severity and hence again the particular honor accruing to a successful director and artists. The powerful array of performers Mr. Strakosch, at the very outset of the season, presented in ‘Gli Ugonotti,’ won for all parties a bounteous load of laurels. Yesterday reintroduced the familiar faces, and, while the cast was unchanged, the impression of the recital was identical with that already mentioned. Signor Campanini was clearly suffering from illness, but his voice was almost continuously responsive to his will, and by great skill in handling it, he secured, in the fourth act, quite as hearty plaudits as when in his best form. Signor Campanini’s Raoul is a studied and finished personation, apart from the charm it derives from the singer’s gifts, and its interest, therefore, is not dependent completely upon the beauty of his tones. These tell pleasantly enough in the duet, in the second act, with the Queen, and in the settimino, but acting in act the fourth is quite as necessary to the eloquence of the scene as singing. Signor Campanini throughout this part of ‘Gli Ugonotti’ approves himself as good as a comedian as he is gifted as a tenor. His stage business with Mme. Nilsson is varied, natural, and expressive, and although the delicious quality of his highest tones so apparent in ‘Ah! dillo ancor,’ could carry everything before him, he does not for one moment neglect the dramatic side of the incident he figures in. Mme. Nilsson, who was in admirable condition yesterday, sang and acted with consummate art in the third act, and, with the co-operation of Signor Campanini, caused the spectators to rise from their seats when the curtain fell. Fine a personation as we at once conceded Mme. Nilsson’s Valentina to be, it has certainly gained in breadth and intensity since the lady first essayed the rôle in this country, and the elaborateness and tragic power now noticeable in her grand scene with Raoul enable us to speak of her efforts as more striking than ever. Signor Campanini and Mme. Nilsson were recalled four times after the climax upon a climax Meyerbeer has managed to bring about by making the duet follow the ‘Benediction of the Swords.’ But we cannot enter into further detail. Last evening, of course, the sprightliest and most melodious of pages was listened to when Miss Cary portrayed Urbino, and a St. Bris, of matchless pictorial force, and unsurpassed grandeur of delivery was beheld in M. Maurel. Signor Nannetti, as Marcello, was liberally applauded after ‘Pif paf,’ and in his trying and thankless after-duties was as efficient as usual. Signor Del Puente, as hitherto, was De Nevers, and Mlle. Maresi the Queen.”

“The performance of the Huguenots drew together probably the largest audience of the season last evening at the Academy. The only drawback to the excellence of the performance was Signor Campanini’s hoarseness, against which he contended bravely. Few singers would have risked themselves under such trying circumstances, but Campanini was willing, evidently, at much personal sacrifice, to do his duty, and he did it nobly. Madame Nilsson never sang better or acted with more power. The enthusiasm at the close of the third act, which ends with the great duo of soprano and tenor, one of the finest pieces of dramatic music ever scored—was very great, and Madame Nilsson and Signor Campanini were four times recalled.”

“The ‘Huguenots’ last night was finely performed, Miss Nilsson being unusually effective as Valentine. The Raoul of Campanini was also admirable, though his voice still showed traces of hoarseness. The Marcel of Nanetti was one of the sterling artist’s best efforts.”

“Of all the performances given by the admirable company of Mr. Strakosch that of ‘Les Huguenots’ will probably be remembered as the most complete and symmetrical. We cannot point to a previous season in which the grandest of all operas (for Meyerbeer’s chef-d’oeuvre will last when the very recollection of the present school of German opera will have faded from the public mind) has received such an admirable ensemble. The Valentine of Mme. Nilsson is one of those operatic impersonations that produce a magnetic effect. From the duet with Marcel in the third act, when she warns him of the danger with which his master is threatened, to the incomparable scene with Raoul in the succeeding act, in which the duty of the wife of Nevers struggles with the ardent love for the Huguenot, the acting and singing of Mme. Nilsson last evening recalled the brightest days of the lyric stage. In the terrible moment when the fatal signal is given for the massacre of St. Bartholomew and the horror-stricken Raoul rushes from the presence of Valentine to certain death there was something Rachel-like in the intensity and passion of the prima donna’s impersonation. Campanini, notwithstanding occasional traces of his recent illness, was a worthy assistant of Mme. Nilsson, and in the fourth act he shared with her the honor of a half dozen recalls, bouquets and abundant applause. The St. Bris of Maurel was the same admirable performance, we described at the first representation of this opera; and the gloomy fanatic could scarcely be represented with more fidelity. Miss Cary as the Page and Signor Nannetti as Marcel repeated their very excellent impersonations, and Signor Del Puente was an agreeable De Nevers. The chorus and orchestra, under the direction of Signor Muzio, were generally below the standard of excellence we accorded to them at the first performance, the brass instruments at times being unruly.”