Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1854-06-30
DEATH OF MADAME SONTAG.

The telegraph brings the sud news of the dcccnsc
Of Madame lIcnrie.tc SnntaG, IN" Countess Rnssi,
which took place in the city oi Mrxicn nn the 18th at
this month, after a short illness nI cholera.
lIenriet,c Sonras's life may almost be snld to have
begun on the stage, for her parents were actors ana
-he was born in lShL. al the City al Cohl1!h'H, ON inc
Rhine, during her fathers engagement there. Atm.
early age oi five years she WIS Innde to play clIil-
drcli's parts in The thcntrc. and at once displayed the
germs al the talent tina: las sllc" h'cii so il'iciy &C.
v~clopc'!. As she grew NJ II rare disposition Tor music
bean to manifest iisrlt, and after being Tor some tihie
Il SPECIES Of "iriant plirii"ncnon IN mere dramatic
| PARIS Fhe WAS placed in proper hands 10 be trained
iur the ~opcrutir stage. In 1922, she made her first
appearance ~ n priEG donna, mt Berlin, and ut once
her pure, lrcsl, vuice, her great skill, her beauty, l!"r
grace, and her very decided dramatic talent won Tor
her the highest favor Of the court; the critics tlic con-
noisseurs. and the people generally I'll that cn!pltol.-
From that dutc Mile. Sontag WAS The rhsc "i Europe,
npl,iauied, curcsscd AMI courted iii every city; heset
bv managers for engagements and by s'iltors Tor her
hnni, and having source Il rival until the appearance
Of Mile. Garcia-thc great Malibran-whn slIarcd
witl her the musical h"nors of Europe, ana iiiinlly
cclipsed her us she would have done every other sing
cr Of the century.
But To be second to Malibran was glory enough,
md the honors of Mile. S,ntag were scarcely dnnll-
ishcl by the fame of her rival. 1t was III the year
1870. when these lunors were highest, when her voice
was at perfection and her beauty at It's height, ,llnt
Mile. Soutng accepted the hand Of Count kossi, mn
I,aliim Diplomat, and quilted the stage, TO the grIci
vi NI tIt lftthi t''' NV -
fashionable gentlemen who had followed hcr trluiiipliS
us rivals of the fortunate count. As the wlie Oh the
Sandman Ambassador nj st. Petersburg, she was wei
runrd by the imperial circle WHO hud 50 enjoyed hcr
success as NJ; artist, unl for years no lady ut the court
was more esteemed and beloved and iinttcred Than
the daughter of the poor German actor. She became
the mother Of II large fnnily of children, whom it
was her pride /" bring up and c'llcaic with every al
vantage that wealth and society could niord.
For nineteen wears the Countess Rossi remained IN
private life: bu:, above five years ago, the pecunlary
clnbmra-sincn;- OF her husband induced her 10 en-
plur again on the Stage the talents that hal won
her falne aud fortune in former days. She made
her smir at her Maicsty's Theatre, London, i'll May,
1919, in the opera of % Linda iii ChamnuniN," n,d
although }ast the age uf forty, her beauty was not
diminished, and il her voice had lost in power, it had
gained, by careful nurture. in al the better qualities
that nrc most to he priced by artists. She never in
her Cirllluni crcutcd greater enthusiasm than she
did n: this ana Subsequent engagements III London,
IL we'll ~ in Paris AMI other European capitals
The surprising success al Jenny Lind i'll America
induced her 10 try her fortunes there. and she arrived
in New York in the autumn "i lS3!. Her triumllis
in the concert room and III the opera i'll every con-
siderable town in the United States ARE too recent
To require auy detailed reference.
Last ;nlI she proceeded 10 the South, and after n
successful engagement M New Orleans, went 10 the
city nf Mexico, where the tropitnl enthusiasm nj the
people oTcftiowrl nj an exhibition Ut vocal and
dramatic skill such is hal never been known III
that CITY. Her series Of triumpls there WIS inter-
rupted by m attack of the cholera, whose fatnl ter
minuiion came 20 lis OIL Monday night over the tele.
graph wires, with all the characteristic celebrity OF bad
news. She had contemplated mn early return 10 the
United States, anl her agent l. now III Europe r;-
gnying artists who were Ia a>si"; her III tho pruduc-
ton Of Engli>h opera, III The m"f:hrrn cities.
As an artist. trained Ia the highest perfection Of W.
cal skill and the most conscientious interpretation OF
the works OF tho composers, Madame Sor,ag has hot
been surpassed. With less power and inspiration
than Jenny Lind. and less genius than Ma!ibrau, she
excelled the former and nearly equalled the latter
in executive skill and in versatility OF talent. She
was almost as effective in the tragic "Lucrczia Dor
gia' as she WAS in the rolickins Marie Of La File
du Regiment Her "Au!ia,' her LINDA" her Ter
lima" her "linsiua,' her "Norinn," her " Luci", and
n score of other representations, were The lines, eve.
seen in America; aud opposite us many of them were
in style, they have rarely been exccllrd in Europe.
AS n woinnl, n wife. and a mother, Madame Son.
tugs reputation has always been unblemished. In
her death society has lost an ornament, aud true art
one of lis mos, intelligent and conscientious rotaries.
Il Philndr3ph'a Bulletin.