The Shasta courier., 1864-04-02
THE RIVAL SINGERS.


At length the night came, and all Maple
crowded to the opera to hear Gambrica, th
| most powerful, the most gifted, the most re
| nowned and dazzling caRtatyfce, that ba,
ever rayished heart, senses and breath, iron
the fiery sonled inhabitants of that celebrate,
city, The enthusiasm ofthe Nepolitans 70
music -andsr- any circumstances, is incon
fceS 1sopic Of colder cline bu
Gambrica had excited it beyond ITSELF He
fgure-large, symmetrical and commanding
recalled Cleopatra or JuIo Her feature,
were sweet and noble. On her queenly brow
dignity sat enthroned; and all the lofty anC
all the tender passions We're reflected in turr
from her classic and ever-eloquent face. He
eyes, endowed with the power of magic, car
ried with every glance the highest emotions
of poetry and music. The public worshipeC
her. She was an empress-a goddess. He
smile sent sunshine through the multitude
Her step across the stage caused stir Of de
light. Her gestures, like those of Il prophet
ess interpreting to mortals the language o
Heaven, made the pulses leap and the hear
heave in the bosom and when, all majestic
her superb and awful form full of inspiration
"a statue beyond the ehisel of Angelo -ol
PraXiteles-her countenance a manifestation
of all that Rossini ever imagined or Raphae
drew-when thus revealed, a magnificent
vision, before the unnumbered and expectan
faces, her wonderful voice poured forth its
volume-now in a stream gentle as the mur.
muring zephyr and clear as the voice of the
limpid brook, now startling as the heave OF
the ocean or the fall OF the cataract, and al
length terrible as the sudden thunder and
rapid as the lightning when it darts from
heaven to earth. from earth to heaven-it
was curious to witness the tempest of delight
the hurricane, the earthquake, which iavolv.
ed the assembly and overwhelmed the perform
ances in a chaos of frantic acclamations.
Gambrica was an Italian With her first
breath she h ID inhaled ti"e from the sun
Had she been born in Nova Zembla, that
bosom had held heart of passion. Enthu-
siasm, for good or evil, would have been her
leading quality. Had she been bred in the
cell of a convent. her vestal veins would still
have run fire. Education might have modi-
fed her impetuous disposition-it could no,
have chilled it utterly. But her education !
The air of the North had never cooled her
blood; she knew not the awful solemnity of
solitude. She had lived always in the glare
of public observation, and quatfed the intoxi-
Gated draugbt of public applause. 1t had
become to hes a necessary "Eraent. ~af,
demand of her nature without itshe N Id
have faded like a rose without light 1t was
her air, her sunshine. For years she had
been the most potent attraction in her fairy
theatric world. In infancyshe danced as a
tay or foated as an angel amid murmurs of
delight. As time rpened her form, and
touched it with the seducing grace Of girlhood
she had dazzled mortal eyes~as sylph, naiad
or princess; and when at length years, roll
ing like summer hours over the rose, had on
ly expanded her into more bewildering lovli-
ness had only awakened new and more dan
gerous power-she had oueened it as if, in
deed, verltable enehantress.
Aided by all the magic of poetry, painting,
music and romance, now amid the gorgeous
story of oriental lands. now leading on the
warm dreams of the burning south--now
spell bound in the far-gone days Of Arabian
fable--to the sober inhabitants of the outward
earth she was only known as the heroine of
these magnificent phantasmagori Adoring
fame, and dwelling amid its beams as the
eagle near the sun, she had little sympathy
with, or knowledge Of. the common earth.
Wealth was gathered by her as if it foated in
the streams, and fell like mamma over the
DidiuS sue SCslICt hiitN bllluii luE SUc
was ON the ''topmost round" The world
was below her-nankind at her feet-and,
at the sound of her voice, they bent or rose
like the sea beneath the trident of its mon
arch She was the embodied dream of the
poet-she became. in turn, each passion
she was the priestesS of Nature-2 creature
half-earthly. halfdivine. lie who had not
seen Gambrica, had seen nothing. He
wao had not heard her, had rot lived 1t
was a bright life that she ied-her simple ap-
pearance forever greeted by thousands and
thousands with tumultuous rapture-her ris-
ing upon nations, like that of Aurora, whose
approach chases the shadoys, and overspread
the sky with rosy light.
Upon this night, after long absence, she
was to appear in her best part. The Neapol-
ilans attended for thousandth time to enjoy
the wonders and witness the triumph of their
queen of song.
The second character of the piece was en-
trusted to a young female, who had trem-
blingly ventured to make her debut on this
evening. Her simple and sweet taste. the
quality, extent and power of her voice. had
more than once gained a word OF condescend
ing encouragement from the despotic mistress
of song. She did not come on till after the
entrance of Gambrica, by whom, as we'll as
by the audience. her unpretending efforts, her
unpronouneed name, had been unnotieed
But scarcely had she presented herself, when
a murmur OF surprise ran through the audi
tory. Nothing more unlike Gam briea could
be imagined; yet so soft, ingenious, modest.
and sPiritHette were her air, shape and coun-
tenance, and so wonderful was the impress.
ion created by her appearance, confirmed aud
deepened by her voice and grace, that. as If
by preconeert, an audible and universal whis-
per of :" Who is she?r was heard, and asgen-
eral stir troM all parts of the house. As il
afraid to give utteranee to their emotions in
the usual manner, the audience remained for
some moments IL kind Of suspense, look
to behold heavenly illusion suddenly dis
PEELED, and this celestial eisitant utter some
tone, or make some motion, to relink her in
their minds with the associations of earth.
She proceeded, hoWeyer, in her part; she
gave the few introductory passages in the
same new and exquisite manner till, at the
end Of brilliant and most difficult solo, exc