The New York herald., 1872-10-19
PAULINE LUCIA.

Her Zcrltna I'm EZRA DiavOl0."
II u scarcely probable that before the appearance
OF Madame Lucca In the role OF the pretty little
daughter OF the Italian innkeeper that the ex-
hiarating opera OF Auber served any other purpose
on the stage than to give handsome tenor with
an 6clatae voice an opportunity to win the hearts
OF the fair ladies present A naughty bandit with
the grace and polish OF nosssQuetatre dc Ia Refine
appeals irresistibiy to the unreasoning female
heart The spruce little maiden who attends to the
comfort OF her fathers guests has been heretofore
very secondary character, ct least when compared
to the redoubtable brigand. But Lucca has made
zerlina the feature OF the opera. Indeed, without
her last night 1t is hard to tell what would have
been feature. Yet the music Ia in most OF the
opera without depth OF thought or strength OF
feeling II Ia glittering noisy and strongly i'm.
pregnated with the element OF brass; and Its melo-
dies, catching as they are, possess little OF the
sympathetic order. There is q simplicity In the
construction OF the ensembles and the dramatic
coloring that makes IL readily understood even by
the most untut0red ear. and Ego" about the
music that takes well with the uncritical
Opera-gOer. The fault of most OF the
writers OF the French school Is their
irresistible tendency to imitation and, like all
imitators, they fail to reach the standard
they aim at. Had Auber loved Rossni less or had
trusted more to his own promptings, his works,
his earlier ones particularly. would be free from
many OF the b.emishes that disngure them. There
Is one noble exception in the long catalogue Of
operas by this industrious composer, ana that Is
''La Muette al Portici."
The greatness OF Madame Lucca's abilities as an
actress Is displayed to rare advantage in the
second act OF the opera II is no easy task to unite
extreme extreme delicacy with fascinating coquetry in
dlsrODlhg scene. In watching the minutest details
sometning 20 admire When she sits before
prospect n ner approacnns Sss mgr maase Gy
sSi domani," there Is something so artless and
bewitching In her voice and manner that the mere
actress forgotten IN the gucless village girl in
her humble room. Then she c0ntemplates her face
and figure in the glass and her inimitable apos-
display OF vanity, that indispensable attribute OF a
pretty girl. The transition from this to sinking on
her knees and breathing forth simple prayer to the
Holy Mother seems so natural that the stage fades
from the view and the eye only beh0lds Zerlina as
Auber painted her. In the last act her anguish
at the cruel suspicious OF her lover, her bewder-
ment at the sight OF the two brigands, who give an
impromptu rehearsal of her bedroom ditty, and her
cry Of petition for hearing rise In interest even
and orchestra last night were on good terms, and
Mr.. Maretzek conducted both with the most salts
though on some occasions he Is dilatory in his
duty.for M instance in the obligato to "salve Dino.
tune-is generally reliable.
AS for the Others characteristic the opera what shall
we say or their representatives ViZZani does not
seem to catch the abandon and, we might call IL,
trooper-ke swagger Of the title role and his voice
was again under the weather. This excuse OF
cold and hoarseness as Affecting the voice OF
tenor may be all right as far as the singer is
cerned, but the public here will not listen to 1t
more than once Vizzani's voice last night was
hardly equal to reaching even the ordinary nat
In the song "Young Agnes" for he gave forth that
note with very ineffective fasettO or some faint
tone approaching 1t. Our climate especially the
variable weather we have had for the last month"; has
played sad pranks with the voices Of all new c0mers
But something must be done to repair these dam
ages. The best Fra DiavOlO that has appeared
here In many years is MIR. Habelmann, who what
ever his defects may be in other respects in art,
certainly made successful speciality OF this role.
Ronconi Is always clever and always welcome in
his comic element, and one Is inclined to forget
casional wanderings from the pitch Of the Orches-
ira. The successor OF this veteran OF a score OF
operate campaigns has not yet been discovered
The two brigands twhat q feature Sher. Camp
bell and Peakes used to make Of them y were en-
Weinlich evidently thought he was singing role
In the "TannhauSer," in which we believe 1t is
not always necessary to keep IN tune. Two more
0btrusive bandits OH the patience OF hearer could
Reichardt, who seems to be laboring under
chronic affection of the throat, and whose voice Is
infnitessima In tone, made avery funny captain
OF carbiniers Miss Kellogg appears at the
matinee to-day as Leonora in "Trovatore," and on
Monday evening Nine. Lucca repeats her wonderful
impersonation OF Marguerite in "Faust." On
Wednesday .Don Giovanni" the cher d'Cgure of
Mozart will be produced with the following cast
Donna Anna Miss Kellogg; Donna Elvira, Boston
lady; Zerlina. Nine. Pauline Lucca; Don Ottavo,
Leporelo, M Janet; MasettO. Slgnor Ronconi ;
Commander, NJ COul0n. A number OF other operas
are already In rehearsal and will be produced at an
early date.