Nature and Art, February 1, 1867. ] 
MUSIC ABROAD. 
61 
triumphant. Still, everything- here below has an end, and 
at last the magic hood began to be somewhat threadbare. 
At the present day, the music has lost the magical power it 
once exercised ; for the Europe of 1867 it is, with the 
exception of a few pieces, tame and a trifle wearying. It is 
a strange fact, however, that the first person to degrade Le 
petit Chaperon rouge from the proud position it occupied on 
the French stage was no other than Boieldieu himself, who, 
with La Dame blanche, brought out seven years after Le 
petit Chaperon, surpassed all that he had ever done before. 
That a composer should, in his fiftieth year, produce a work 
superior to any he has previously given to the world, is 
certainly a noticeable phenomenon. Rossini’s last opera, 
Guillaume Tell, is a most striking instance of this ; but 
then in Guillaume Tell Rossini’s style underwent a complete 
transformation. In La Dame blanche, on the contrary, 
Boieldieu remained perfectly true to himself and to his 
style, only his fancy was richer, warmer, and more active 
than it had been at any other epoch. His music, too, was, 
for the first time, characterized by its geniality, whereas it 
had previously been distinguished simply for its good taste 
and gracefulness. And to what was this remarkable change 
due ? To the influence of Rossini, -whatever French critics 
may say to the contrary notwithstanding. It was precisely 
between 1818 and 1825 that France, after so long opposing 
and decrying Rossini, began to acknowledge his genius, 
which gradually but surely subjected France to its power ; 
and there is not the slightest doubt that Boieldieu, like less- 
gifted men, was unable to withstand the charm exercised by 
the great Italian master. At the Kiirnthnerthor Theater, 
Rotlilcappchen has not been a brilliant triumph. But then 
it requires not only to be well sung ; it must be well acted 
also ; and, unfortunately, good acting- is something of which, 
as a rule, German operatic singers are supremely ignorant. 
M. Hector Berlioz has been to Vienna to superintend the 
production of his Damnation de Faust, which went off with 
great eclat. The chorus and orchestra, conducted by Herr 
Herbeck, consisted of four hundred performers. Mdlle. 
Bettelheim was Margaret ; Herr Walter, Faust ; and Herr 
Meyerhofer, Mephistopheles. For the words in the Chorus 
of Demons, who employ in the original version a language 
known only to themselves and Beelzebub, others were 
substituted belonging to an earthly, and, therefore, more 
prosaic idiom, as some apprehension . was felt lest, if this 
were not done, the risible faculties of the Viennese would be 
exposed to an ordeal which they would have some difficulty 
in undergoing. A grand banquet was given by M. Berlioz 
previous to his departure. Another artistic celebrity, also, 
has lately visited the Austrian capital. We allude to 
Fraulein Mary Krebs, whose playing has fairly taken 
the Viennese by storm. 
Perhaps there is, at the present day, no art institution in 
Europe, that is, in the whole world, where so much laudable 
activity is to be found as at the Royal Opera-house, Berlin. 
The company is so strong, that not only is the management 
enabled to give performances every evening, but we may with 
truth affirm that every performance is at least worth 
hearing. As a specimen, let us take a week at hazard, and 
we find that on the Monday there was Der Freischutz ; on 
Tuesday and Sunday, L’Africaine ; on Wednesday, Rienzi; 
on Thursday, Stradella ; on Friday, Le Nozze di Figaro ; 
and on Saturday, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, with 
Mendelsshon’s music. Among the artists engaged in these 
chef s-d’ oeuvre were Mesdames Lucca, Harriers- Wippern ; 
Fraulein Borner, Fi-ieb, Grim ; Herren Wachtel, Niemann, 
and Betz. The Berliners are proud of their Opera, and 
they have reason to be so. There has not been any positive 
novelty in the repertory, but Mozart’s Zaubetfiote has been 
played for the three hundredth time, -with “ entirely new 
scenery, dresses, and decorations,” to adopt the time-honoured 
form of expression peculiar to London playbills. The per- 
formance was regarded as a kind of art solemnity, and 
everything done by the management to render it worthy of 
the immortal music. Before the curtain went up, a paper 
containing a mass of interesting information regarding the 
opera, such as the names of all the artists who sang the princi- 
pal parts at the Royal Opera-house, Berlin ; the dates of the 
various representations of it there, &c., was distributed 
g;ratis among the audience. The scenery was magnificently 
painted by Herren Gropius and Lechner, and the costumes 
were models of refined taste. Advantage was, moreover, 
taken of the great progress in the stage machinist’s art 
to impart additional effect to the fairy portion of the story. 
All persons concerned — leading artists, chorus-singers, and 
musicians — exerted themselves to the utmost, and with its 
three hundredth performance Die Zuuberflote may be said to 
have entered on a new career of success and popularity. 
There has been no lack of concerts, and very good concerts ; 
but they do not call for any particular notice. 
Der Freischutz is said to be a very great success at the 
Theatre-Lyrique, Paris. It may not be generally known 
that this opera was first introduced to the Parisians in 
1824, at the Odeon, and performed one hundred and forty- 
two times in the course of one year, though very nearly 
proving a complete failure on the first night, in consequence 
of a series of ludicrous blunders and unfortunate contretemps. 
The first tenor was so hoarse as to provoke the continuous 
hilarity of the audience, and the Hermit sang so out of tune 
that the curtain had to be dropt before the opera was con- 
cluded; then the mise-en-scene was something marvellous. 
In the first act, where, according to the French version, the 
fortunate marksman has to shoot a dove, the unlucky 
carpenter charged with this part of the “business” let 
fall, instead of it, the eagle or vulture, which Max brings 
down with the charmed bullet he obtains from Caspar. Our 
readers may imagine the hilarity of the audience at beholding, 
instead of a delicate dove, a misshapen feathered mass, more 
like a turkey-cock than ought else, fall upon the stage like a 
lump of lead. The manager, mad with passion, could hardly 
be restrained from assaulting the offending carpenter. At 
length he was mollified, and told the man that the vulture 
was not to appear till the scene between Max and Caspar, 
and moreover, that it ought to flutter about a little before 
sinking finally to the ground. Fully resolved to carry out 
these instructions to the very letter, the carpenter procured 
a long piece of string, and fastening his plumed monstrosity 
to it, waited patiently above the stage, for Max to fire. At 
last, the long-expected shot was heard, and the carpenter 
slowly let down the vulture. He kept swaying it, however, 
so long to and fro, that Caspar, who has to stick one of the 
feathers in Max’s cap, could wait no more, but, jumping in 
the air, seized the bird by the tail, and forcibly pulled it 
towards him amid inextinguishable shouts of laughter from 
all parts of the house. The hundred and forty-one represen- 
tations w T hich followed this first one must not be entirely at- 
attributedto enthusiasm forthe music. There were verymany 
persons who could never see, or rather hear, anything in it, 
and a certain celebrated composer even went so far as to 
assert that all that was requisite to manufacture an opera 
of this kind, was to dip a camel’s-hair brush in ink, and 
then spurt the latter over ruled music paper. The “ Hunts- 
man’s Chorus ” became, nevertheless, for Paris, what the 
“Bridesmaid’s Chorus” was for Berlin; and we know it 
drove Heine from that capital. In one French paper 
of the period there was an advertisement for a man-servant 
who did mot whistle the “ Huntsman’s Chorus.” In 1835, 
M. Crosnier produced Der Freischutz at the Opera Comique, 
where it was played sixty successive nights. In 1855, it 
‘was brought out by M. Perrin for the first time at the 
Theatre-Lyrique, and enjoyed a run of one hundred nights. 
Among the novelties promised at this theatre may be 
mentioned Deborah, words by Plouvier, music by Demin 
Duvivier ; Sardanapale, words by Beck, music by Joncieres ; 
Cardillac, words by Nuitter and Beaumont, music by 
Dantresmes ; and Romdo et Julie, by Gounod. 
The great attraction at the Italiens is still Mdlle. 
Adelina Patti, who, luckily for M. Bagier, has recovered from 
her late indisposition, and resumed her parts in Regoletto 
and L’Elisir d’Amore. Pacini’s Saffo has been revived for 
Mdlle. Lagrua, but it has not proved a success — Herr 
Joachim has been playing with immense success. He is the 
lion of the moment in all musical circles — the rehearsals 
of Don Carlos are being actively continued at the Grand 
Opera, under the direction of Verdi himself. 
