Maretzek Italian Opera: Martha

Flotow’s Martha is a rather boring character; no wonder that the work was heavily edited by the Italians. The performance of the opera left one cold, although there were no significant mistakes. Irfre is a rather “wooden” Lionel who sings some of his songs well and thinks he has done enough. Antonucci put a lot of effort in his performance of Plunket, yet is falling short of predecessors in this part. Mrs. Kellogg performed and acted gracefully. “The Nancy of the Phillipps was never worth anything and yesterday she unfortunately was even indisposed.” The chorus performed very well compared to the years before, and the orchestra left little to wish for.

“Academy of Music.—A spirited and excellent performance of ‘Martha’ was enjoyed here last evening by a brilliant and overflowing audience. The cast was all that could be desired for this gay and graceful work. Miss Kellogg is certainly a charming Martha. She invests the part with much vivacity, and sings the music with perfect facility. Miss Adelaide Phillips shares these qualities with her fair associate, and is altogether a better Nancy than we have had for several years. Signor Irfre and Signor Antonucci were both very good as Lionel and Plunkett [sic]. The performance indeed was smooth and well balanced in all respects. It gave complete satisfaction to the audience, and could, we think, be repeated to advantage.”

“. . .Martha . . .attracted an enormous crowd on Friday. The chorus was altogether inadequate and M. Antonucci, it was easy to see, had not dedicated very much study to his role. As for M.Irfre, he was perfect. This genre agrees with his talents much better than the dramatic genre; he sang the ballad of the third act delightfully. Mlle Kellogg, whose Martha passes for being one of her best roles, was engaging as always, but she should take care against falling into affectation; her acting would gain by being more simple and less mannered. Mlle Phillips rendered the character of Betzy [sic] appropriately.”

“Its performance . . . by the same artists last week was most brilliantly successful”