Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Music.
MUSIC .
THE ROYAL ITALIAN OPEBA . Aware of the great interest many of our Brethren take in the progress of Music , we have made arrangements for laying before them the notices of the preceding month ' s productions on this the especial threshold of the Muses . It need hardly be observed that
some of the most celebrated foreign musicians , whose talents delight tike habitues of the opera , rank highly amongst the Masonic Fraternity , and we have good reason to believe that the devotion of a space to their interests will enhance the acceptability of our Magazine both to themselves and the public .
The chief event of the month has been the appearance of Verdi ' s so-called masterpiece , "II Trovatore ; " and seldom has a production elicited more opposite opinions from tlie critics . As to the mise en scene , however , and the cast of characters , there can be but one sentiment , namely , that of unqualified approbation ; the music and the
plot constituting the chief elements of discussion . The musical talent comprehended Mde . Yiardot , Mdlle . Ney , Sigs . Tamberlik , Grraziani , and Tagliafico , and the admirable execution of their several personifications , together with the splendid scenic arrangements , sustained the attention of a crowded house throughout a drama too protracted when the nature of the plot is considered . It is this : —
" An old gipsy woman is found one morning near the cradle of Count Luna ' s ' two darling sons ; ' the younger of the two , falling ill shortly after , is supposed to be suffering from the arts of witchcraft , and the old woman is consigned to the flames as the least punishment that can be inflicted for so heinous an offence . Her daughter vows revenge , steals the child , intending to throw it into the fire on the very spot where her mother perished , but , in her frenzy , destroys her own child and saves that of the Count . All this takes place about twenty years before
the first scene opens . The elder son , having succeeded his father , falls in love with Leonora , a beautiful attendant on the court , who has already bestowed her affections on an unknown knight , Manrico , the troubadour , the reputed son of Azucena tile gipsy , the real son of the late Count Luna . A civil war breaks out ; the two brothers take opposite sides ; the troubadour falls into his brother ' s
power ; Leonora , to save the life of her lover , offers herself to his rival , and immediately takes poison to make sure that the acceptance of the offer shall not bring disgrace . The Count , finding himself deceived , orders the instant execution of the troubadour , and , only when it is too late , learns from the mouth of the gipsy ( who has thus accomplished her long-deferred vengeance ) that it is his own brother whom he has doomed to death . "
It is the fashion here to condemn the music , but in Paris it achieved decided success , and for ourselves we shall be much mistaken if many of the airs do not become exceedingly popular . In " Lucrezia Borgia , " Graziani replaced Roneoni as Alfonso , and did his utmost to reconcile the public to the substitution . We have also had the " Huguenots , " in which Grisi , the " inimitable , " was matchless as ever ; " Don Giovanni , " and the " Barbiere de JSeviglia ;"
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Music.
MUSIC .
THE ROYAL ITALIAN OPEBA . Aware of the great interest many of our Brethren take in the progress of Music , we have made arrangements for laying before them the notices of the preceding month ' s productions on this the especial threshold of the Muses . It need hardly be observed that
some of the most celebrated foreign musicians , whose talents delight tike habitues of the opera , rank highly amongst the Masonic Fraternity , and we have good reason to believe that the devotion of a space to their interests will enhance the acceptability of our Magazine both to themselves and the public .
The chief event of the month has been the appearance of Verdi ' s so-called masterpiece , "II Trovatore ; " and seldom has a production elicited more opposite opinions from tlie critics . As to the mise en scene , however , and the cast of characters , there can be but one sentiment , namely , that of unqualified approbation ; the music and the
plot constituting the chief elements of discussion . The musical talent comprehended Mde . Yiardot , Mdlle . Ney , Sigs . Tamberlik , Grraziani , and Tagliafico , and the admirable execution of their several personifications , together with the splendid scenic arrangements , sustained the attention of a crowded house throughout a drama too protracted when the nature of the plot is considered . It is this : —
" An old gipsy woman is found one morning near the cradle of Count Luna ' s ' two darling sons ; ' the younger of the two , falling ill shortly after , is supposed to be suffering from the arts of witchcraft , and the old woman is consigned to the flames as the least punishment that can be inflicted for so heinous an offence . Her daughter vows revenge , steals the child , intending to throw it into the fire on the very spot where her mother perished , but , in her frenzy , destroys her own child and saves that of the Count . All this takes place about twenty years before
the first scene opens . The elder son , having succeeded his father , falls in love with Leonora , a beautiful attendant on the court , who has already bestowed her affections on an unknown knight , Manrico , the troubadour , the reputed son of Azucena tile gipsy , the real son of the late Count Luna . A civil war breaks out ; the two brothers take opposite sides ; the troubadour falls into his brother ' s
power ; Leonora , to save the life of her lover , offers herself to his rival , and immediately takes poison to make sure that the acceptance of the offer shall not bring disgrace . The Count , finding himself deceived , orders the instant execution of the troubadour , and , only when it is too late , learns from the mouth of the gipsy ( who has thus accomplished her long-deferred vengeance ) that it is his own brother whom he has doomed to death . "
It is the fashion here to condemn the music , but in Paris it achieved decided success , and for ourselves we shall be much mistaken if many of the airs do not become exceedingly popular . In " Lucrezia Borgia , " Graziani replaced Roneoni as Alfonso , and did his utmost to reconcile the public to the substitution . We have also had the " Huguenots , " in which Grisi , the " inimitable , " was matchless as ever ; " Don Giovanni , " and the " Barbiere de JSeviglia ;"