The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1852-08-12
Rsuoar Of tho Countsss do sss.l--( Fasnrsettc

Henriette Sontag was born Of respectable "a
fnlIy Of artists, Of limited means NJ Coolentz, IN
1910. The old saying of the poet. 'sGsctfur, mon
~" is sngularly applicable 10 ibis great vocalist
Tho strong bent. for music wb'ch p tinted ont her
ultimate vocation, was observable hs early as I'VE
years Of age. At seven years of ago. betwixe her
exquisite beauty and her exqui-t- voice, she Was
known far and wide in her neg hoorhood. To gra-
tify the nobility Of the district, the authorities OF
the town, or their friendly neighnors, it was the
practice Of Henrietta Sontag mo.her to place her
child on the table, and bid her sing
A distinguished traveller, VINO Afterwards beheld
her in oil the effulgence OF her tiumphs, relates
having seen her sing in this manner the grand aria
of "The Queen of Night IN the Zaate-aote-her
the window, or q butterfly sporting the flowers
without her voice. pure, penr trating, and Of
angelic tone, flowing as uncoDsoiously. eortless
and as sportiye, as lmpid rrii from the mountain
side.
The circle of Der fame spread, gradually, wider
and wider, and the Inipresd,,t Of Germany were
lot long in awakening to the importance OF sccur-
ing the assistance Of the infant wonder. The
consequence was, that ut eleven years Of age she
appeared, at Darmstadt, in part written purposely
for her, entitled, 'The Little Daughter Of the Da-
nube" In spite of her extraordinary success ut
Darmstadt, her wise and c0nscien tious parorts
knowing the fate of infant prodigies, when their
natural powers are allowed An untntered growth
under the artificial warmth OF ipSs4cious admi-
ration, and the heat of theatres, withdrew the young
prinm donna from the first scene of her successes
u
servatoire Of Prague.
AT the Conscrvatoire of Prague, the little maiden
and her relatives did not cease to be tempted by
managers Inpresdrt'. First attracted by her beau
ty, they soon ast0nished by her aptitude. She
successfully won the prize Of every class of thi,
great school of music, until she earned the hghes
position; and, placed at the head of the school, she
became one Of the marvels of the city.
Scarce three years had elapsed since her matricu
lation of tho Censervatoire and she had hardly at
tanned the age Of fourteen, when she saved the for
tunes Of that great Imperial Opera of Prague, asso-
ciated with go many glorious memories Of music.
and which would be immortalised by the fact
alone Of having been the stage where the "Cle-
menza d Tito and the . Marriage OF Figaro were
first produced by Mozart. The favorte pr1ma donna
of this noble theatre was suddenly taken i'll, and
so seriously, that there WAS little hope left OF her
reappearipg for some time. The manager in de-
spair and ut loss which way to tsrn could think
Of no other resource to retain his audiences than
the appearance of the young prodigy of the Conser-
vatoire-little Henriette Sontag Such was her
proficiency in her art, that her parents no longer
saw the same danger in allowing their offspring to
tread the fctive scene.
But the capital of Bohemia was not destined long
to retain its chief ornament Long before the con-
clusiOn of the season, the imperial court had heard
Of her extraordinary success and Henrietta Sontag
was summoned to Vienna, where she appeared, the
very next season, at the German Opera, /,
In our times have "KiDgs of Railways and
'sColossuses Of Roads" indebted to good luck for
their success. At the time Henrietta Sontag de-
bted at Viennathere existed in Italy also millionaire
Imprcs,cari only indebted for pre- eminence to the
favors of chance. That curious original, Barbaja,
the Lessee at the same time of the largest German
and Italian theatres, born under the luchiest Of
stars. Not only were there Catalanis, Pastas, Ma.
ibrans, Garcias, Donzellis; Rabinis Lablaches Sc,
in ample number, but all the operas that Paar,
Winter, Paesiello, Cimarosa, and Mozart had writ
ten, were fresh in the lyrical repertoire, and com
posels ofequal merit were living, and could be mo-
nopolzed for money.
In those days not only northern cantatrice was
not dreamt of, but it was thought that the South
alone could produce great singer for the italian
lyrical stage.
when he arrived ut Vienna, in 1924, such was, how
ever, the report of tho fame Of young Sontag that
the great barite of the day condescended at last
to visit tho German Opera, even at the sacrifice Of
having his ears, accustomed to the melodeous slim
qua 1nScamn," torn by the gutteral discordance Of
the Teutonic tongue. On hearing Henriette Sontag
sing, Barbaja was overcome by establishment To
this feeling succeeded dismay, when, having imme-
diately applied to her parents, he found in them
polite but most unquestionable adherence for the
Italian stage, which they were afraid would lead
their daughter to the land Of moral laxty, Of Ccts
bel and Patti, of
.Pasteboard triumph. and the cavalcade.
Professions formed for pety and love.
mistress and q saint in every grove
In vain he tempted them with Ell Dorado in per.
spectivc-the conscientious Germans would not con
eede, at first, single iota Of his wishes The world,
10 whom she has impaired so much.pure enjoyment
and, fortunately, will now impart to much more in
time to come-was never hearing the great
vocalist sing in an euphonious language in that
which made her fame universal, and led her to visit
England and France.
At last, however. after repeated efforts. some
concession was made, although Barbla' fate was
like that Of the hero of the classical poetthe gods
vouchsafed but half his prayer. Hcnriette Sontag
was allowed to appear at the Italian Opera at VI
enna and removed to the Corinthia, having for her
colleagues vocalists Of such cabre, that one Of
them, "a buon Rubini," has never been surpassed;
whilst all those who have enjoyed the talents Of the
other, Lablache, feel that not only he has never
been, but cannot imagine that he ever will be
equalled
The Prussian diettanti employed every means to
bring Henriette Sontag to their capital AT the
end Of the Italian Opera season at Vienna, she was
persuaded to to Berlin, to support by her at
traction the Kenigstadt Theatre, just opened. Her
success was immense. Every seat in the house was
taken, in anticipation long before the days Of per-
formance; and we remember well, being there at
the tmo. that the foreigners Of rank who arrived in
Berlin finding it impossible to purchase q seat at
any price, were obliged to apply to Count de Bruhl,
the minister ofthe . Menus ploisIs dn yoi, to OBJ
tain an obscure seat at the back of tie Court or OF
the diplomatic box.
M. do Talleyrand used to boast, as one Of tho
brightest diplomatic tricks of his tricksy career that
in the settlement of limits of respective dominions at
the Congress Of Vienna. he hal procured that Fer
ney should BIO included in the area OF France. which
made voltairc Frenchman post morton. On the
same principle, the Prussisns having recently Sc
cured at the same Congress the forced allegiance OF
Sontags birth polace, Cblentz, added to the admi-
ration which she commanded wherever she went, a
Fl cling Of pride at her being their country-woman.
Hence their enthusiasm knew no bounds.
Whilst at the Berlin theatre oyertures were made
to Madlle Sontag from the Italan Opera in Paris
then belonging to the Crown, and under the control
OF vicomte Sosthene de la Rochefoucault, who for
many years ruled the theatres of France, and en-
deavorcd, with rather dubious success, to apply the
"Maxims Of his witty ancestor to the government
of stage affairs, As SOsthene b al for nogotiator
in this treaty the great Rossini, who had made
Madllc Sontag's acquaintance in Vienna his wishes,
amongst the offers made from all quarters prevail
cd. Paris then the centre Of taste and the me
tropolis Of art-the occupation Of the whole popula
tion tho enjoyment of pleasure or the ministorng
to its desires and csprices Madle Sontag's voice
and beauty produced fuvore-each mole produced
murmur or an reclamation. No feature of hers
escaped a sonnet from her eyebfOs TO her pro ty
foot. The ugest women thought they became
handsome nv Initiating Lar costlma; ard Yendera ~