, 1877-07-27

Singers and musicians were assembled
for the rehearsal.
Frau Schroeder stood in the first en-.
trance.
Behind the prompt-box there suddenly
appeared, wrapped in a cloak, a figure
with white hair and cleaning eyes. The
orchestra, the three bassos, both the
tenors, the two sopranos and the whole
chorus of state prisoners and guards
sighed. Herr Umlauf grew very warm,
though the snow lay deep outside.
"HeavGns !" stammered Wilhelmine.
( Courage, my child" said her mother.
"Begin!' Beethoven called out, and
raised his baton. The overture began
/ The maestro, who even then was already
very hard of hearing made out, however,
to distinguish every tone. "He heard
with his heart" and nearly every minute
he raped on the desk.
"The horns in the fifth bar ddagto. The
second violins must learn to tell whole
note from a half Whatl Do you call
those smooth runsl They're precious
lame ones"
"Hard work; splitting woods nothing
to it, " whispered the trombone in the ear
of the flute, as the closing chord of the
orchestra died away.
It'll go better by-and-by," answered
the flute.
Meanwhile Wilhelmine had recovered
herself.
''ShOw him that you are not to be
frightened-even by him. Perhaps he'll
be less severe in the second act if he's
pleased with you in the first"
After Marcellu9's aria she went on the
stage, holding her hand upon her heart.
Beethoven let her off the easiest of all.
Rocco, the jailor, and Jacquino had to
bear the brunt. With every number her
courage revived, and especially after the
aria following the recital: 80 mon
ster, whittier hsstenest thouH"
"Come Hope! thou star-thou latest star
OF weary souls, shine fadeless and un-
failing.
Oh, come, light all my darkening way,
Far may it be but love is far prevailing"
she delivered so feelingly that glimmer
of light came into BeethOven's face.
'GOod! good! Mile. Schroeder" he
cried out after the close of the first act
81 didn't expect so much of such a
young person. Every thing depends,
though, upon the second act There the
prima donna is the chief parsonage, and
if you can't play it so that every one in the
audience will feel his hair stand on end,
the whole thing will go for nothing.
Well, we'll see. Beginp
At these words she shivered Presence
of mind and confidence were suddenly
gone. Her mother said, "Courage, cour-
age" but in vain. She leaned her fore
head against the wing, and hot tears
rolled down her cheeks, while the i'm
prisoned Florestan was bemoaning his
vanished happiness.
"Joy has left me in the spring of life,"
she repeated, softly. Fforestan, however,
went on N\
@Willingly the pangs 1 meet;
In my heart the comfort sweet,
So my duty have DONE"
"Yes; my duty l, too, will do it as
we'll as Ican," she said to herself, and
she went on firmly with Rocco for the
melodramatic scene.
Beethoven found less to blame than
they all feared, and Wilhelmine brsathed
more lightly again. Then, just before
the noblest Of all quarters, the maestro
laid down his baton and called out
"Now, Mile. Schroeder, now for it. 1
didn't like it that Umlauf gave you the
part. Show me now that he was right.
Where are the horns2"
She breathed a deep sigh, but it was
drowned by the horns.
The quartet began. Pizarro came on
fo v,,nr.iar ElOraafon Taonoro .,hn raon,,
nizes in Florestan her husband, rushes
forward with a piercing cry and covers
him with her own body,
"First must thou pierce this breast"
"Stop," said Beethoven. "You sank
down; you didn't fling yourself. And do
you call that an agonized shriekl 1t was
like the buzz of gnat. Try it again"
Wilhelmine repeated the passage.
"Worse than ever. You must frighten
the people; make them feel as if the
house were falling on them"
For the third and fourth time she sang
those four bars.
"Weaker and weaker; worse and
worse." Beethoven had risen to the
full height of bis figure. Standing there
with wild gestures and distorted face, he
cried out: "Mam'selle, you kill my
whole opera. In such a moment you
must feel-you must give a strong pas
sionate outburst. Go on. At the close
we'll come back to this passage"
Tears stood in her eyes. On Umlauf's
forehead stood great drops of sweat
Frau Schroeder rolled her handkerchief
up tight in her hands. All the rest shook
their heads.
Now Pizarro hurls Leonora away.
"Hold," cries Rocco. Then the courage
of despair comes to her and she burst out
with the cry:
"Pirst kill his wife,