New-York tribune., 1871-11-02
MUSIC AND THE DRAMA.
MUSIC.
FAU5T-MIss NILSSON.

musical circles curiosity at least IA inenSa as that
which excited the little world of NewYork society when
Nilsson made her first appearance in Lucia" Har.
ghera Is not the character to be in which the fair
singer won her most brilliant trlumphs abroad sh.
conquered Paris with this she did with VioLsc
and MOnon and Ophelia. Yet she made It one OF her
best known assumptions, and in London il
was accepted Of the most successfui
presentations of the gentle heroine Of GOurod Goethe
known to the English stage, though not perhaps the
model upon which later Margarcs W,uld have " fors
Themselves II plain that in many physical attn
butes Miss Nilsson wellnigh the ideal Narckeriia
The tender beauty Of face eyes the 1.-THE and slender
form, the mildness and mOdesty, and gentle
| ness Of demeanor. the softness Of speech
which inyOluntarily associate with tia
image Of this dearest OF lyric herones. we're all her.
GounOd cOull not have wished for who In outward
appearance embodied perfectly thc rOmanlcism
| and refinement which breathe through his music and
the "simplicy and innocence which neer know them
selves" Nilsson is not perhaps the Gretchen Of the Oe
but then the Gretchen of Goethe, ar;lc, ignorant
lettcrcd girl who talks bad grammar prattic OF hcmoy
domestic troubles, and knows nothing bat to love and
trust, B different person altogether from the MGrgcra
OF GOuDOd. The charm OF the is she is simply
type Of the loving, cOnding sngeheartcd woman Tho
beauty OF the other Ia Of intellectual type. 6hs
is not less purcmnded and artnss, but she ia more
thoughtful Nilsson has rightly attempted to pcnOnats
the heroine Of the musical poem rather than Of ths
original from which she borrowed She makes her
Mar0he1fa simple in manner, with little tingc Ot
rustcity but wthal, she is re0ucd and pcRIIe. HcI
entrance In the Second Act, and the meeting with
Faust, differed little from the ordinary represents
tiOns OF that scene, except that 1t wu
possibly little too formal and hard; but in the
Third Act she departed notably from tue conventional
renderngs. She begins the ballad Of the King In Thuh
the spinning heel with the manner OF young H
busy with her work. and thinking OF the spindle
than the song but as she proceeds her mind wanders
the work forgOtcn the wheel ceases to turn and s
drops her head last in revere. 1t is charming bit
realistic acting. She Onits half this number and doi
not resort to the spoken intGrludes which Miss Kellogg
employs with such excellent effect. There Is again
some inlmtable acting in tho Jewel Song
which she gives with moro giFlisa zeI
and prettier show Of innocent vanity than any oths
Margheria we have seen and in tho following love
scene with Faust there is the most admirable alienation
Of embarrassment pleasure tenderness and finally that
ecstac love which yields wholly and feels araptuEeh
yielding" The Church scene omitted In all Italian yer
sons Of the opera in NewYork for many years Was 70
stored last night. 1t was placed after the dean
Of Valentine and represented as OCCUR
ring in the church instead OF outside OF IL
which we believe is the correct arrangement
though not the one to which we were formerly accus
toned Margheritas in this was an impres
sve exhibition OF tragic power; but IL was suaseu W
the Prison scene Of the Fifth Aot which put the croW
to most admirable histrOnic performance. Of Mia
tion We confess a little disappointment. Her voice
was somewhat cold her tenderness somewhat mecban
tca her delivery Of many Of the most famous number
deficient In color. N. CapOu was an inpas5oned FduS
who gave the "salve dimora and the garden duet viii
admirable delcacy but seemed upon the whole TO thin
more Of his hair than of anything else Miss Cary sanA
her Flower song charmn9ly, and NJ. Janet was good
MefisO. The chorus supplied with new and showJ
dresses and sang reasonably welaways excepting the
women. The orchestra fair but lacked delicacy.
ELIJAH.
Though the performance OF Elijah on Tues
day night at stcinway Hall in some respects fa
what 1t ought have been the excellence or mos
OF the solo singers and the emnence OF one Of them
redeemed it from the reproach of mcdocrty, Ind In
vested the occasion with very deep interest All the
music Of this exquisite worknot the greatest but The
most beautiful Of OratOriOsradacs, 10 speak, from
the grand figure of the Prophet which towers above the
rest giving the keynote Of song and prayer and chOrua
and mpressing every scene Of the sacred drama with
indescribable dignity and tenderness. 1t
good fortune 10 hear this noble music SUM
by such noble artist as Mr.. Santley. H1
not only delivered 1t it has never bcfOu
been delivered in the United States but are almost
justified in saying that, until santIey came, never
knew what the Elijah Of Mendessohn really was new
meaning given to the familiar duet with the Widou
of Zdrephah the scene with the Priests OF Baal. the
plant Of the broken spirit 1t is Enough. Lord nov
Take away my Life;" new beauty appeared In thu
majestic prayer, Lord God Of Abraham and tOallJ
unaccustOmed spirit gave life and vigor to the aria
not His Word like Fire p and ahs final song "For ths
Mountains shall Depart" No one could fail To appreciate
Mr. santey splendid execution Of these conspicuous
portions Of the Oratoro yet 1t perhaps in detached
sentences Of rectave and the little fragments Of melody
which interspersed through the musical dialogue
bits for example, like the prayer for rain "Open the
Heavens and Send Relicf"-tLa lie best slowed the
thoroughness of his culture, tie grand simplicity of his
method and especially the perfection Of his phrasing
With each repeated hearing admiration Of this honest
CONSCIENTIOUS manly singer increases.
His English companions made q good impression, TAX
ing them all together Miss Wynne has eEouRh
voice for this musicespecialy with such Orchcstraas
that OF Tuesday night to sing agans-bu her style 10
commen dabe, her information true. and her yocalisn
sufficiently facile and polished. Mr.. Cummings had
bad cod and should he spared criticism in consequence
We have heard lin in the part In Boston, and know
that he do much better than he did at Stenway Hail.
Madame Patey next to Mr. Santcy the best OF the
quartet. Her rich voice and unaffected manner called
for unequivocal praise her rendering OF 80 Rest in
the Lord was excellent The quartets (Ar Patey tax
ing the bass given with the neatness
and refinement with which the Dolby troupe
have made familiar with their concerts.
The double quartet, For He Shall Give His Angela"
was also admirable, and the Angel Trio, Lift Thine
Eyes, in which Miss Sara Brannen took the middle part
richly deserved the encore which 1t received. There
little praise TO be given however to the chorus Tns
Harmonic Society mustered about 800 members, under
the direction Of DR.. James Pech, and sang generally
with a wild yigor that reminded one Of rushing, dis
orderly rabbe. AS they neither attacked the notes In
time nor held them with precision 1t may be said that
they did not know how to take hold and did not knew
how to let 20; while iu dehcacy Of shading, which 50
especially important in this oratOrio they were entirely
deficient The Of the chorus was aggaVaea
nv the coarseness OF an Unbalanced orchestra, heavily
oyerloa5cd with brass, and rudcly handled. The HaE
monte Society have been singing Elijah" so many