Kellogg English Opera: Rigoletto

“‘Rigoletto’ was sung at the Academy of Music, last evening. Mme. Van Zandt filled the rôle of Gilda with much vocal brilliancy; Mr. G. F. Hall personated Rigoletto, and Messrs. Maas and Peakes and Mrs. Seguin assumed the remaining characters.”

“While the ‘Rigoletto’ representation of last night by members of the Kellogg opera troupe did not approach in merit what we have enjoyed from the average Italian companies, it possessed some worthy features. Mrs. Vanzandt as Gilda sang most delightfully. Her clear, full soprano was heard to excellent advantage in the Caro Nome and in the duets with the tenor and bass. Her high, sustained notes are exquisite in tone and in the style of production. Indeed, Mrs. Vanzandt, as far as vocalization went, proved herself last night to be a most accomplished artist.

Mr. Maas as the Duke sang throughout with taste and delicacy. His voice is sweet and melodious, and he uses it with care. He did not, however, impart to the character that gay, rollicking brilliancy with which it is so often invested by the Italian artists.

Mr. G. F. Hall, is a most useful member of an opera troupe. He can learn either bass or baritone parts on the shortest notice, and will perform them with intelligence and ability. His Rigoletto is a more ambitious effort than anything else he has essayed. A good word must be spoken for the chorus, which sang most admirably the quaint staccato movement at the close of the second act.”

“We cannot admire the judgement that suggested the selection of Verdi’s chef-d’oeuvre for the English-opera stage. It is so essentially Italian and the title rôle is so intensely dramatic in music and action that it suffers materially in the change from its native and congenial tongue. The dividing line between the superficial buffoonery of the professional jester and the deep-seated feelings of the anxious father, which in Italian, in the hands of a good artist, is so strongly defined, is lost on the English stage. The music, too, assumes a forced and unnatural character when sung to English words, and much of its effect is lost. The cast last evening at the Academy of Music was the following [lists cast]. Mme. Van Zandt claims the first attention on the score of merit. She sang the trying music of the unhappy daughter of the court jester with ease, spirit and expression, losing not a point in its varied illustration of a woman’s wrongs. In the second act the lovely aria, ‘Caro nome’ (we use the Italian name, as it will be more readily understood), the duet with the tenor and the duet with the barytone, brought out the most brilliant qualities in Mme. Van Zandt’s voice. She has gained considerably in breadth of tone and symmetry of impersonation since her last season in this city. Mrs. Seguin acted the small part of the bravo’s sister with her usual naiveté and vivacity, and only failed in the quartet (the best concerted piece in any opera) by an exuberance and prolongation of tone that effectually destroyed the balance which should exist between the four voices. The ringing laugh, which seems to mock alike the protestations of love of the tenor, the anguish of the soprano and the vengeful threats of the baritone, was wanting on this occasion.

Mr. Maas has a very agreeable tenor voice, rather light in tone, as all English tenors are, but so true, flexible and sympathetic that the rôle of the Duke in his hands becomes one of the prominent features in the opera. The difficult part of the jester was entirely too much for Mr. Hall. It is a rôle that none except the best barytone artists can hope to make even tolerable. Mr. Hall’s voice was sadly at sea last evening, and his acting was even less satisfactory. The movement of his nether limbs suggested skating proclivities, and his arms occasionally exercised themselves with an imaginary crank or grindstone. A contretemps occurred at the end of the second act. The curtain gently descended on the garden wall, and from thence on the prostrate jester, who naturally displayed symptoms of uneasiness inconsistent with his assumption of paternal woe. Besides Rigoletto should never indulge in musical ‘spurts,’ if we may borrow a racing expression.”

“Miss Kellogg will bring her New-York season to a close this week, presenting…She has every reason to be satisfied with her success. She has had full houses, and for herself and the two other principal ladies of her company there has been abundant and most cordial applause. For the rest there is not so much to be said; but the company as a whole can be called fair, and the public has not been disposed to criticise it severely. We are chiefly interested in the prosperity of the enterprise because it proves that English Opera can be permanently established in the United States, opening a school for native singers. We are not to judge of such an undertaking entirely by the first experiments. These may be in some respects a little crude, or a little injudicious, but when we notice signs of conscientious work and worthy endeavor, such as have been evident during this short season, we are encouraged to hope for constant and rapid improvement.”