French Opera: Lucia di Lammermoor: Company Benefit

The end of the year brings some temporary and permanent endings of theater institutions; the former applying to the Italian Opera and the latter to the French Opera. Unique in the combination of spoken dialog and opera comique, the French Opera was still not able to fill the newly erected, elegant building. Despite the diligent efforts of the directors to present a constantly new repertoire, the cast, except for the prima donna assoluta, was simply not good enough to help the French Opera succeed. Moreover, it seems as though the French here are not as interested in theater as the French in France.

“Lucia di Lammermoor was given at the French theatre last night for the benefit of the entire company, opera and comedy. The audience was very large and enthusiastic, the opera well performed, and Mlle Naddie received a genuine ovation. The opera company will next appear at the Thalia theatre, where, in the course of a week, a season of French and German opera will be commenced. The dramatic company will remain at the French theatre. M. Chol, during one of the entre actes, announced the news of the result of the yacht race, which was received with enthusiastic applause.

“The performance of Lucia, Saturday evening, was truly a success, above all for Mlle Naddie and M. Wilhem. They say that the comic-opera company is going to sing at the Thalia, the German theater, and that the comedy troupe will remain at the 14^th Street theater. This combination, if it exists, doesn’t seem fortunate to us.”