The Canton mail. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 18??-1882, 1875-03-20
The New Paris Opera House.
Defects of the Costly Structure-Que
Isabella and Her DAUGHTER.

U
Isabella and Her Daughter.
The opera has brought out its SECOND
| piece on the new stage. It is the "Fa
vorite" with Faure in his great part o
| the King. OF course, it makes as We
but little difference as to what opera i.
performed in the new house, People
rush to inspect the building and tt
promenade in the foyer, and the music
is but very trifing consideration
The new scenery is exquisitely beauti
full. The Moorish garden in the first
act, where Fernando is brought to LIE
onora, is a perfect dream of Oriental
and volnptuous beauty. The brief bal.
let advertisement is lovely as a vision.
The delicately- blended and changing
tints of the dresses, the artistic grace
and grouping of the dancers, as "with
woven PAGES and with waving hands, ~
they fit to and fro in the pulses and
pauses of the music, a1e exquisite to
behold. But the opera as whole was
poorly rendered. Nine. Reisina Bloch,
the prima donna, is a big woman with
big voice, but lacks both style and
refinement. Achard, the tenor, has a
sweet, elegant organ, and was once the
voice is weak and rebels against the
strain put upon it. But Faure was
magnificent. He alone sustains the
reputation of the great singers of the
French stage. AS to the house itself,
it recalls viv1dly the vanished theater
on the Rue Lepelletier, and SO must be
dear to the heart of every lover of
music. But it is entirely too dark.
The huge chandelier, as delicately
worked and as artistic in design as a
lady's bracelet, is charming as an orna-
ment, but diffuses by far too little light.
The somber appearance of the house is
also increased by grave mistake made
in the choice of color for the front tiers
and the proscenium (the woodwork, as
it ought to be called, but as there is no
wood in the whole of it. the word is
scarcely admissibie). 1t has been
painted, not white, but light coffee
color, hue which absorbs the light and
is extremely difficult to illuminate prop
erly. Therefore, the whole auditorium
has a dismal look, which is increased by
the contrast with the blaze of light in
the great golden foyer and on the grand
staircase. The house was crowded with
the very creme de Ia creme of Partisan
society. Queen Isabella, of Spain, and
her daughter, the Countess Girgenti,
occupied one of the proscenium boxes.
her majesty mas a taste Tor very ught
colors and youthful styles in dress,
which, considering she is growing old
and is immensely stout, shows that she
does not pay much attention to the fit
ness of things generally. She had on
on this occasion dress of pale blue
silk trimmed with white lace, and wore
an aigrette of diamonds in her hair.
the Countess Gergenti was in white
pulled tulle with scarlet scarf laid
transversely across her bust and fas-
tened on the shoulder with a scarlet
rosette. She had on superb necklace
composed of five rows oil large pure
pearls, which fell nearly to her waist.
The countess is as thin as her royal
mamma is fat, and as cross-looking as
Queen Isabella is good natured looking.
Kumor whispers that she possesses a
perfectly diabolical temper, and that
she actually worried the unfortunate
Count Girgenti into committing suicide.
Queen Isabella, on the contrary, is uni
versally credited with great geniality of
and kindness of heart
Paris Letter.