The New York herald., 1870-09-20
Nil..on,. Debut I'm New York.

NiIsSOn'D DEBUT In new YORK.
Had the debut of this beautiful and gifted
young Swedish artistic proved anything less
than the great success which it did last night
we should have been disappointed But who
could be dissatisfied with such grand oc-
casion? The art-loving public have been
waiting with anxiety and expectation for the
advent of great artiste, of whose wonderful
voice, great beauty and exquisite dramatic
intelligence the Old World has been singing
praises The worshippers of art and the de-
votees Of fashion crowded the house to hear
Mile. Nilsson last night at Steinway Hail.
So fair, so critical and 80 enraptured
an audience has probably never assembled
to welcome young aspirant for the tributes
Of the American people, and surely never had
genius nobler recognition than was accorded
to Nilsson 1t is true that she filed to the
full measure the highest expectations
entertained of her, and, indeed, in many
things surpassed them. The perfect
fgure-lithe, active, graceful in every motion,
the type, indeed, and the model of life in its
womanly erfection-harmonize with the
extreme purity which characterizes face
formed in mould of classic beauty and radi-
ant with the halo of innocence. The wonder
full capacity of that girlish face to trans
form its expression to suit every interpreta-
ton of thought or passion was superbly man
ifested in the grand Ophelia scene from ''Ham-
let" Nothing, perhaps, so electrical has been
xuitp uo1 in in trv
before Without any of the accessories of the
stage all the dramatic effects were produced
with a wonderful fidelity to the story of the
poor mind-tossed Ophelia that kept the audi
ence literally bound in spell.
Missions voice is, strictly speaking, COM
parable to no other artistic than Jenny Lind,
of which, in point of immense power and deli
cacy combined, it much reminds one. In
higher cultivation and distinctness of intona-
tion, perhaps, she surpasses her predecessor.
Success so unqualified as that which crowned
the debut of the young Scandinavian warbler is
! rarely bestowed by New York audience
except upon genius of the highest order.
| We are strengthened, therefore, in what
we have always upheld, that sterling talent
| finds its highest and most judiciously disposed
reward from the people of this country. It is
no wonder, then, that Nilsson received an
ovation too genuine to be mistaken from
an audience composed of the most refined
portion Of the community-no wonder that
when the last notes of her voice died away
| in the exquisite Swedish ballad which she
| gave, in response to an encore, for the cava-
| tina from '"Traviata," her countrymen should
| have assembled in a vast concourse and drawn
| her carriage to her hotel amid the widest
enthusiasm. This is one of the modes in
which people express their appreciation of
those entitled to honor; but the earnest,
! honest verdict upon Christine Missions claims
to the title of great 0rtSSte was best rendered
by the two thousand people in Steinway Hall.
The picture would not be complete without
its frame. 1t would be incomplete if we did
not tell how kindly the audience recognized
! their old friends with hearty welcome
| Vieuxtemps, Wehli and Brignoli-and how
| quickly they recognized in the fair dfdut0nte,
| Annie Louise Cary, contralto of great
merit; how they acknowledged in Verger,
the new conner from the Italian Opera
House, London, q baritone such as we
have not heard for long time; and
how Flora and her whole tribe of
attendant hortculturists were drawn upon to
cover Nilsson from foot to forehead with sweet
scented tributes, representing all fantastic
things known to land and water; in short,
how an audience composed of the highest in
telligence in the city most cordially endorsed
| Christine Nilsson as grand artiste worthy OF
| all the honors she has won in the Old World
and may win in the New.
| THE ILLNESS OF THE POPE-The HOLY Fa-