New-York tribune., 1871-11-23
y 'iSif'.
ITALIAN OPERh-IiGNON.

! ITALIAN OPERh-;,IGNOS.
| TIE opera of Mlgnon may h" SAID to he
founded indeed u?on the iyOr.:o c.:.c = o: Go';Les
"whclm Mcis"i" yet t." h3l,tti-t-. M. Care and
Rqrhcr have taken It'll" from The on n osy elcrp,
the names O' a few prur pal clara n fan. ont
! line OF or two leading inr.I,nt,. Tir wD;R o!ihe
great German poet aud philosopher wo.l seem u oGm
no particular attractions % the Inac o. o, buOk
Neither its plot nor any 81 episodes cl b. cald
dramatic; the pocc bclu'y %. UigHsA J. t., ilpt.r
stage roprcsr NATION and tne sentiment Of Lac ,ors
too deep to bc expressed In theatrical ac'n Yet IN
CarrG aud Barber have m ic cG tive .ial ~.,cful
story whose resemblance 10 the original,
though not strong, IL at least rcro'nzl0lr. 1t
was Ary Sch fer who showed them row 10 do Il. i.t
he showed tine iine writer, how " create new Ear
goret for NJ Gounods "Fdust." II Is sclcG'r'S, noi
Goctbos horgayet whom saw in the oIea 1T NoIr
day II was Schrirr'-. not Goethe, ;"i9l"h, v.O
presented to last night. Eycyhody Eno~s IA" tmee
scenes which the artist has depicted the cLd heroine,
tho pensve little figure Of the barefoot strctdancer
thinking OF her nativecounry singing rcichace those
exquisite verses, "Kenns! Du DIS Ld'lf" the grmp
wherein Mignon stands at the knees O the od baipr
and the tlbean which the giIl with ca'red hands and
attitude of aspiration looks upwar .whlc the hrt VI
another life falls upon her face. 1t Is lyon
these tlreo pictures tina: the opera has
been constructed They do not show U.s.
Of course, the true Mig'on, "GauShtcr Of cn;nmiAu
rapture. passion. and despair" but wiywarj YET
graceful sentimental prematLrely old cliln, develop
Ing into % tender woEan. Gocthe's A9non - 'liliuL
and yet 40 very human perverse and yet 50 loving
dies through the very intensity Of her al c'O. and
when she passes out of the pages Of the book she leaves
a void I'm the readers heart which OF the Other
personagcs can FILL Tho pathos OF Tins entlng IL all
missed In the opera. which finishes with tie Union of
Mignon and Gglielno. and the arpers recognition OF
LIS daughter and though the exquisite alt oi Tie
| actress conveyed last night tho idca that tho
hand Of death had fallen upon Inc gr III hef
hour OF happiness this Interpretation was no' 1ha'ed
IL indeed it was jnsti1ed-by the test II not
worth while however to vex ourselves over the ruin OF
a poem which would not have suited Ambrose Ihoniss
perhaps any other writer for the yic stage lIugp
the Mgnon whom have Is not the M! sicflVns ldt@
| OF tho novelist. che is still a charming and
| Iovcable creation. Though the story Is nsrrd
| in some of It's finest aspects. the plot Is not
| a bad one and at least may remind us Of It's poet
tical origin. The character OF the old Hdicr upon
whom tho libretists have bestowed the name Oi LOao
given by Goethe to very different pcrsnr5go Ia tbr '
novel, Is much betc- preserved than that OF Vnor ana
admirable foil to the delicaey vi TIE young
girl. The fascinating, lively. and beart"ss Phhtna p"
| hardly at all changed; and WNheb' Master "n"r 'he
Of GugiieD.O loves, AID wayerS aud snc,uNo' 10
the Establishments Of the in the opera as u" does IN
the story The page. Frederick ad the "'of, Adrk'
appear in subordinate capacitIcs, but sply 10 ihn
viduality.
The work was first presented at the OpcIa com'qnin
Paris IN November 1866 II WAS given, oI 'odr%' III
French, with spoken dialogue. The lh.idn rinHd'Dh
By Z,fira aiterward arranged by M Iboini- isf
Drury Lane where Nilsson. Faure. Bcin. Nophi and
TreDeli Bcttini took the principal r"e'. kerit'r
substituted by the composer ior the spoken 0r
| tions. A second stanza aditd ior NJ IalIe e
LOthdriJs andanto in the first rc'nr; III dh
was introduced for Iaina Clnr. 'C~no;
| and rondOgavotte for fedsrtyo t'!nr IRE
belli BettnD was borrowed from the lanlrr m'"m@i'
preceding the Second Act. 1hs Iihn Nrr'Vn was thr
| one presented by Mr.. Strakoo IA tat -h. ihe All
dona airs omitted. except i,iCnJ'S. :" h'h ""'
| given In an abridged form. Tlr + >, ol ..s opera "~
| very little cut. NJ Thomas has iO.lo"' h'' l""h'
makers rather than GOclhe. His mc-c never hhet'"f
the depth OF Goethe, the strong '-'ion OF t' 'c
MgnOn. 1t Is laborcd without beng pio"nhd a'' "'
icate without being highly emotional hrh OF W. S''
sort OF grace which d-tin guishcs Il un'i - ''' ,
| in Ambroise Thomas bnt we rDi'> IN "M.''''h '"'
| tenderness and spontaneous feeling whi"h are ""''"
so justly In Faust" and for the wat o' N''" "o
| freshness and elegance Of the prr-'ni ""N ''n"''
| wholly make amends. The score alw!hhs B" "''
phrases but most of them are only ird-ih'm'' -" wv"
| is little dow of melody Tho or@aosiriI'" " -
| but 1t is surprisingly refined Or the "''dr'' """
the best know II Is the popular Poonh>'. tN'" ~ r"
| and recurring snatches ana ShsS"a "''N ' !" e
|
| D,o. of the Swallows between NignvH and '1th"'"
pear tho end of the First Act-onc VI ih" rirf"
c,im,ors afforded OF that rare ~ns" ~ the hg"'
b,anties OF art which is the PRINCIPAL charm o' A"o
Thomas music. Much better am ror" thar'a"r,''''
however, than the POlOnaise il IL ''""'S '''s Won
,onosc n lei suol"-.hc famous Ken lst ." ''' L"""
kuow,st thou the land where l"H NJ "e' do o'' '.
| And oranges like gold IN lcaiy s""n'
| gentle wind from deep b" he"''h - "'N
The myrtle thick. and high tno Iah' -t'"''
| uI.t fhnn lf
IT'S there. it's there.
| Omy below one. with ther wo''H -
This Is true poetry: not inhr'i - '' W.
ternretation in music OF the thought "rh "o'" Ht'
EXPRESSED In words. but genuine h"ar''r" """s' :"
having which the world is richer. Thr" ~ pa nos e
wi.e in Ni0nons duet with Lothnro. "o"f r'' u" 'u
| and In Gugiiripo's" Addio Mgnon:' w.nI"a ""'' "
whole OF the last Act is at once senI" n'' hh' ~
in the highest degree. The long tn" 'r'"'eh "''"""
G,,oliei,no and Lothdrio. which b:'n-H Ui '!H''
olosc is a superb specimen 0i draii'''' "''''' -.
Mi.s Nil,son', MignOn Is unIErsi'' Iah! ""' o'
mot striking OF her pcrsonatious -, g. I = mol 'f'o
,ha hast Every scene gives her alrnr:'o oppof'u|
,,,y for the display Of her best chara"'"r ,s -ht
wilifn impulsye, not very pass"nai RE r.n'a 10. ,a
dor with II all there about her IA" -,m" -ch ss sn
sphore Of melancholy sIha,,, ha, i, M't her ''% yS%r
there the plaintiye ali pc, ,ivc tone zone I'd
we Instinctiycly associate VIII M ri"In ,,n
know 10 the multitude. Add 10 th'. that fhe rn,
abounds IN variety OF Al uatios und Presents We p|r
donna in the most picturesque asp cts. 'ni II ir.
be- understood that Miss Nilsson makes hi' psr' 49,.
ordinarily attractive Mile. Leon Duy.i wss W..
in the role OF F,inaand II IL the rs' tiin" sr ,ts
heard TO advantage since she came to tins ror. I'D
made excellent Impression both by her -lh.In, a.
her personal appearance NJ Jamet's Lo,hnro 'iso WV,
mrnble, nobiy acted and well sung Ine "nrr.s,lrl
Of NJ Capoul offers excuse Ter .M insu
criticism. Indeed, thu oom poser has made tine r ~ nvs
atv unnerestng. and such ~ It IL NJ Carou' an Mr.
exactly Mt H. Miss Roncon was tho Ftdero n,ns ~"
Lyali the Laerte both being weak hut well h'
The opera Is well mounted There is some Ire" n,rrr
carefully set than we have ever seen IL m.
fore under Mr. Strakoschs minagril'hn. and
conha1aton scene. however, was snauy, % xciei
a xlcat deal OF irrcyrrcnt laughter WAC r,n
by th behavior Of corps OF supcrnumcrire: m yu By
three into the burning building ana on. J,r sid.
tnr back WA coming mp II III from thr .W,, ms
l,p