The Sun.
London, England, 1860-04-20 00:00:00

ROYAL ITALIAN OPERA.

The debut of Madame Csillag in the character of Fidelio,
is certainly one of the events of the operatic season. Tho
opera itself, reproduced after a lapse of five years, has always
maintained a lofty position in the estimation of the critical
few and musical judge. The only opera of one of the great
masters of his divine art, composed, as it were, in a thorough
impatience and contempt of the trifling and frivolous school,
it addressed itself to such an audience rather than to the
indifferent many, who regard a work of art merely as a
pastime, and whose oars are more gratified by a few bars of
commonplace melody than by the stately inspirations of
sablime genius. The ill success which attended "Fidelio"
during the lifetime of the composer is not surprising. Its
length is unrelieved by action, its characters are few in
number, and much depends on their vivid impersonation.
Though highly dramatic in parts, there are none of those
grand and striking tableaux which relieve the tedium of
other operas of a grave and solid style--such as the ana-
thema of the monks in. "Les Huguenots," or the finale in
"Le Prophete." The brilliant scenery and effective cho-
ruses of Donizetti's,operas, too, are absent, the pathetic
chant of the prisoners being mournful and impressive.
Still, though less popular than works of a lower artistic
value, " Fidelio" will always retain its high rank among the
chef d' ceuvres of pure and lofty art, and exhibits in. another

form the vast resources of that genius which gave us " The
Mount of Olives" and the marvellous symphonies which
bear his name.

The music of " Fidelio" is well adapted to singers
from the Fatherland. The more brilliant but more
superficial Italians would rarely appreciate a work
of such depth and grandeur. It was a German
lady, Madame Schroeder-Devrient, who first took
the onerous role of the heroine before an English
audience. The fair dsbutante of last night, whose first
appearance was a most decided success, is a worthy
successor of that eminent vocalist, if not altogether her
rival. Less familiar with the Italian language than Mdlle.
Sophie Cruvelli, she brought to the task far greater dra-
matic power and sympathetic feeling for the delicate touches
and poetic significance of the music. The impassioned de-
clamation of the recitative and air, " A qual furor ti con-
durra," after Leonora has overheard Pizarro's murderous
projects, was enthusiastically received by the audience ;
and in the famous dungeon scene, her acting, as well as her
singing, was throughout most effective. Her voice is a
fine and rich soprano, of extended compass, though not
dulcet in quality. At first her singing was somewhat
hard and cold, but her powers soon revealed themselves,
and her audience testified their recognition of them by
a unanimous encore of the trio with Rocco and Marcellina
in the first act ; from that time the applause was loud
and frequent. Mdlle. Corbari's sweet voice was heard to
excellent advantage in the part of Marcellina, and Signori
Zelger, Tagiafiaco, and Neri-Baraldi, acquitted themselves
creditably in the respective characters of Rocco, Pizarro,
and Florestan, though without- any great success. The
remarkable feature of the evening was, of course, the
appearance of the new prima donna, whom we
may safely pronounce to be one of the best
Leonoras of late years. She was twice summoned
before the curtain at the concluston, and showers of bou-
quets testified the admiration of the audience. The
orchestral department, under the management of M. Costa,
was, as usual, perfect. The third of the numerous over-
tures (that in C) written by Beethoven for this opera, was
played between the acts, and so much justice was done to
the magnificent composition, that a unanimous encore
seoured its repetition. The house was crowded, and the
Ballet of " Azelia," brought the evening to a conclusion.