George T. Ferris - Great Singers, Second Series
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George T. Ferris >> Great Singers, Second Series
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II.
The prevalence of the Lind fever, which seemed to know no abatement,
however, made a London engagement at this period not highly flattering
to other singers, and Mlle. Cruvelli beat a retreat to Germany, where
she made a musical tour. She was compelled to leave Berlin by the
breaking out of the Revolution, and she made, an engagement for the
Carnival season at Trieste, during which time she gave performances in
"Attila," "Norma," "Don Pasquale," and "Macbeth," and other operas
of minor importance, covering a wide field of characters, serious and
comic. In 1850 we hear of Mlle. Cruvelli creating a very great sensation
at Milan at La Scala. Genoa was no less enthusiastic in its welcome of
the young singer, who had left Italy only two years before, and returned
a great artist. No stall could be obtained without an order at least a
week in advance.
In April, 1850, she made her first Parisian appearance at the Theatre
Italien in Paris, under Mr. Lumley's management, as _Elvira_ to Mr. Sims
Reeves's _Ernani_, and the French critics were highly eulogistic over
this fresh candidate for lyric honors. She did not highly strike
the perfect key-note of her genius till she appeared as _Leonora_ in
"Fidelio," at Her Majesty's Theatre, in London, on May 20, 1851, Sims
Reeves being the _Florestan_. Her improvement since her first London
engagement had been marvelous. Though scarcely twenty, Mlle. Cruvelli
had become a great actress, and her physical beauty had flowered
into striking loveliness, though of a lofty and antique type. Her
sculpturesque face and figure, her great dramatic passion, and the
brilliancy of her voice produced a profound sensation in London. Her
_Leonora_ was a symmetrical and noble performance, raised to tragic
heights by dramatic genius, and elaborated with a vocal excellence which
would bear comparison with the most notable representations of that
great _role_: "From the shuddering expression given to the words, 'How
cold it is in this subterranean vault!' spoken on entering _Florestan's_
dungeon," said one critic, "to the joyous and energetic duet, in
which the reunited pair gave vent to their rapturous feelings, all was
inimitable. Each transition of feeling was faithfully conveyed, and the
suspicion, growing by degrees into certainty, that the wretched prisoner
is _Florestan_, was depicted with heart-searching truth. The internal
struggle was perfectly expressed."
"With Mlle. Cruvelli," says this writer, "_Fidelio_ is governed
throughout by one purpose, to which everything is rendered subservient.
Determination to discover and liberate her husband is the mainspring not
only of all her actions, and the theme of all her soliloquies, but,
even when others likely to annunce her design in any way are acting or
speaking, we read in the anxious gaze, the breathless anxiety, the head
bent to catch the slightest word, a continuation of the same train of
thought and an ever-living ardor in the pursuit of the one cherished
object. In such positions as these, where one gifted artist follows
nature with so delicate an appreciation of its most subtile truths,
it is not easy for a character occupying the background of the stage
picture to maintain (although by gesture only) a constant commentary
upon the words of others without becoming intrusive or attracting an
undue share of attention. Yet Cruvelli does this throughout the first
scene (especially during the duet betwixt _Rocco_ and _Pizarro_, in
which _Fidelio_ overhears the plan to assassinate her husband) with a
perfection akin to that realized by Rachel in the last scene of 'Les
Horaces,' where Camille listens to the recital of her brother's victory
over her lover; and the result, like that of the chorus in a Greek
drama, is to heighten rather than lessen the effect. These may be
considered minor points, but, as necessary parts of a great conception,
they are as important, and afford as much evidence of the master mind,
as the artist's delivery of the grandest speeches or scenes."
"Mlle. Cruvelli," observes another critic, "has the power of expressing
joy and despair, hope and anxiety, hatred and love, fear and resolution,
with equal facility. She has voice and execution sufficient to master
with ease all the trying difficulties of the most trying and difficult
of parts."
_Norma_ was Sophie's second performance. "Before the first act was over,
Sophie Cruvelli demonstrated that she was as profound a mistress of the
grand as of the romantic school of acting, as perfect an interpreter
of the brilliant as of the classical school of music." She represented
_Fidelio_ five times and _Norma_ thrice.
Her features were most expressive, and well adapted to the lyric stage;
her manner also was dramatic and energetic. She was highly original,
and always thought for herself. Possessing a profound insight into
character, her conception was always true and just, while her execution
continually varied. "The one proceeds from a judgment that never errs,
the other from impulse, which may possibly lead her astray. Thus,
while her _Fidelio_ and her _Norma_ are never precisely the same on
two consecutive evenings, they are, nevertheless, always _Fidelio_ and
_Norma_.... She does not calculate. She sings and acts on the impulse of
the moment; but her performance must always be impressive, because it
is always true to one idea, always bearing upon one object--the vivid
realization of the character she impersonates to the apprehension of her
audience." So much was she the creature of impulse that, even when she
would spend a day, a week, a month, in elaborating a certain passage--a
certain dramatic effect--perhaps on the night of performance she would
improvise something perfectly different from her preconceived idea.
Her sister Marie made her _debut_ in Thalberg's _Florinda_, in July,
with Sophie. She was a graceful and charming contralto; but her timidity
and an over-delicacy of expression did not permit her then to display
her talents to the greatest advantage. The brother of the sisters
Cruvelli was a fine barytone.
III.
At the close of 1851 Sophie went again to the Theatre Italien, and the
following year she again returned to London to sing with Lablache
and Gardoni. During this season she performed in "La Sonnambula," "Il
Barbiere," and other operas of the florid Italian school, charming
the public by her lyric comedy, as she had inspired them by her tragic
impersonations. Cruvelli had always been remarkable for impulsive and
eccentric ways, and no engagement ever operated as a check on these
caprices. One of these whims seized the young lady in the very height of
a brilliantly successful engagement, and one day she took French leave
without a word of warning. The next that was heard of Sophie Cruvelli
was that she was singing at Wiesbaden, and then that she had appeared
as _Fides_ in "Le Prophete" at Aix-La-Chapelle. Cruel rumors were
circulated at her expense; but she showed herself as independent of
scandal as she had been of professional loyalty to a contract.
Sophie Cruvelli's engagement at the Grand Opera in Paris in January,
1854, filled Paris with the deepest excitement, for she was to make
her appearance in the part of _Valentine_ in "Les Huguenots." The terms
given were one hundred thousand francs for six months. Meyerbeer, who
entertained a great admiration for Sophie's talents, set to work
on "L'Africaine" with redoubled zeal, for he destined the _role_ of
_Selika_ for her. A fortnight ahead orchestra stalls were sold for two
hundred francs, and boxes could not be obtained. The house was crowded
to the ceiling, and the Emperor and Empress arrived some time before
the hour of beginning on the night of "Les Huguenots." Everywhere
the lorgnette was turned could be seen the faces of notabilities like
Meyerbeer, Auber, Benedict, Berlioz, Alboni, Mme. Viardot, Mario,
Tamburini, Vivire, Theophile Gautier, Fiorentino, and others. The
verdict was that Cruvelli was one of the greatest of _Valentines_, and
Meyerbeer, who was morbidly sensitive over the performance of his
own works, expressed his admiration of the great singer in the most
enthusiastic words.
Soon after this, she appeared as _Julia_ in Spontini's "Vestale," and,
as a long time had elapsed since its production, there was aroused the
most alert curiosity to hear Cruvelli in a great part, in which but few
singers had been able to make a distinguished impression. She acted the
_role_ with a vehement passion which aroused the deepest feeling in the
Parisian mind, for it was a long time since they had heard an artist who
was alike so great an actress and so brilliant a vocalist. One writer
said, "She is the only cantatrice who acts as well as sings"; said one
critic, "She would have made a grand tragedienne." Fickle Paris had
forgotten Pasta, Malibran, and even Mme. Viardot, who was then in the
very flush of her splendid powers.
IV.
From Paris Mlle. Cruvelli went to London, where she sang an engagement
at the Royal Italian Opera, making her opening appearance as
_Desdemona_, in the same cast with Tamburini and Ronconi. Her terms
during the season were two hundred and fifty pounds a night. Her other
parts were _Leonora_ ("Fidelio"), and _Donna Anna_ ("Don Giovanni"), and
the performances were estimated by the most competent judges to be on
a plan of artistic excellence not surpassed, and rarely equaled, in
operatic annals. Mlle. Cruvelli revived the Parisian excitement of the
previous season by her appearance at the Grand Opera, as _Alice_ in
"Robert le Diable." The audience was a most brilliant one, and their
reception of the artist was one of the most prolonged and enthusiastic
applause. She continued to sing in Paris during the summer months and
early autumn, and was the reigning goddess of the stage. All Paris was
looking forward to the production of "Les Huguenots" in October with a
great flutter of expectation, when Sophie suddenly disappeared from the
public view and knowledge. The expected night of the production of "Les
Huguenots" on a scale of almost unequaled magnificence arrived, and
still the representative of _Valentine_ could not be found. Sophie had
treated the public in a similar fashion more than once before, and
it may be fancied that the Parisians were in a state of furious
indignation. Great surprise was felt that she should have forfeited so
profitable an engagement--four thousand pounds for the season, with
the obligation of singing only two nights a week. She had abandoned
everything, injured her manager, M. Fould, and insulted the public for
the gratification of a whim. No adequate reason could be guessed at for
such eccentricity, not even the excuse of an _affaire de coeur_, which
would go further in the minds of Frenchmen than any other justification
of capricious courses. Her furniture and the money at her banker's were
seized as security for the forfeit of four thousand pounds stipulated by
her contract in case of breach of engagement, and her private papers and
letters were opened and read.
About a month after her sudden flight, M. Fould received a letter from
the errant _diva_, in which she demanded permission to return and
fill her contract. M. Fould consented, and accepted her plea of "a
misunderstanding," but the public were not so easily placated, and
when she appeared on the stage as _Valentine_ the audience hissed her
violently. Sophie was not a whit daunted, but, confident in her power to
charm, put all the fullness of her powers into her performance, and she
soon had the satisfaction of learning by the enthusiasm of the plaudits
that the Parisians had forgiven their favorite.
Sophie Cruvelli continued on the stage till 1855, and, although her
faults of violence and exaggeration continued to call out severe
criticism, she disarmed even the attacks of her enemies by the
unquestionable vigor of her genius as well as by the magnificence of a
voice which had never been surpassed in native excellence, though many
had been far greater in the art of vocalization. Her last performance,
and perhaps one of the grandest efforts of her life, was the character
of _Helene_ in Verdi's "Les Vepres Siciliennes," the active principal
parts having been taken by Bonnehee, Gueymard, and Obin. The production
of the work was on a splendid scale, and the opera a great success. "The
audience was electrified by the tones of her magnificent voice, which
realized with equal effect those high inspirations that demand passion,
force, and impulse, and those tender passages that require delicacy,
taste, and a thorough knowledge of the art of singing. No one could
reproach Mlle. Cruvelli with exaggeration, so well did she know how
to restrain her ardent nature." "Cruvelli is the Rachel of the Grand
Opera!" exclaimed a French critic. From these estimates it may be
supposed that, just as she was on the eve of passing out of the
profession in which she had already achieved such a splendid place at
the age of twenty-five, a great future, to which hardly any limits could
be set, was opening the most fascinating inducements to her. The faults
which had marred the full blaze of her genius had begun to be mellowed
and softened by experience, and there was scarcely any pitch of artistic
greatness to which she might not aspire.
Rumors of her approaching marriage had already begun to circulate, and
it soon became known that Sophie Cruvelli was about to quit the stage.
On January 5, 1856, she married Baron Vigier, a wealthy young Parisian,
the son of Count Vigier, whose father had endowed the city of Paris with
the immense bathing establishments on the Seine which bear his name,
and who, in the time of the Citizen King, was a member of the Chamber of
Deputies, and afterward a peer of France. Mme. Vigier resides with her
husband in their splendid mansion at Nice, and, though she has sung on
many occasions in the salons of the fashionable world and for charity,
she has been steadfast in her retirement from professional life. She
has composed many songs, and even some piano-forte works, though her
compositions are as unique and defiant of rules as was her eccentric
life.
Sophie Cruvelli was only eight years on the operatic stage, but during
that period she impressed herself on the world as one of the great
singers not only of her own age, but of any age; yet far greater in her
possibilities than in her attainment. She had by no means reached
the zenith of her professional ability when she suddenly retired into
private life. There have been many singers who have filled a more
active and varied place in the operatic world; never one who was more
munificently endowed with the diverse gifts which enter into the highest
power for lyric drama. She had queenly beauty of face and form, the most
vehement dramatic passion, a voice alike powerful, sweet, and flexible,
and an energy of temperament which scorned difficulties. Had her
operatic career extended itself to the time, surely foreshadowed in her
last performances, when a finer art should have subdued her grand gifts
into that symmetry and correlation so essential to the best attainment,
it can hardly be questioned that her name would not have been surpassed,
perhaps not equaled, in lyric annals. A star of the first magnitude was
quenched when the passion of love subdued her professional ambition.
Sophie Cruvelli, though her artistic life was far briefer than those
of other great singers, has been deemed worthy of a place among these
sketches, as an example of what may be called the supreme endowment of
nature in the gifts of dramatic song.
THERESA TITIENS.
Born at Hamburg of an Hungarian Family.--Her Early Musical
Training.--First Appearance in Opera in "Lucrezia Borgia."--Romance of
her Youth.--Rapid Extension of her Fame.--Receives a _Conge_ from
Vienna to sing in England.--Description of Mlle. Titiens, her Voice,
and Artistic Style.--The Characters in which she was specially
eminent.--Opinions of the Critics.--Her Relative Standing in
the Operatic Profession.--Her Performances of _Semiramide_ and
_Medea_--Latter Years of her Career.--Her Artistic Tour in America.--Her
Death, and Estimate placed on her Genius.
I.
Theresa Titiens was the offshoot of an ancient and noble Hungarian
family, who emigrated to Hamburg, Germany, on account of political
difficulties. Born in June, 1834, she displayed, like other
distinguished singers, an unmistakable talent for music at an early
period, and her parents lost no time in obtaining the best instruction
for her by placing her under the charge of an eminent master, when she
was only twelve years of age. At the age of fourteen, her voice had
developed into an organ of great power and sweetness. It was a high
soprano of extensive register, ranging from C below the line to D in
alt, and of admirable quality, clear, resonant, and perfectly pure. The
young girl possessed powers which only needed culture to lift her to a
high artistic place, and every one who heard her predicted a commanding
career. She was sent to Vienna to study under the best German masters,
and she devoted herself to preparation for her life-work with an ardor
and enthusiasm which were the best earnest of her future success.
On returning to Hamburg in 1849, she easily obtained an engagement, and
with the daring confidence of genius she selected the splendid _role_
of _Lucrezia Borgia_ as the vehicle of her _debut_. Mme. Grisi had fixed
the ideal of this personation by investing it with an Oriental
passion and luxury of style; but this did not stay the ambition of the
_debutante_ of fifteen years. Theresa at this time was very girlish in
aspect, though tall and commanding in figure, and it may be fancied did
not suit the ripe and voluptuous beauty, the sinister fascination of
the Borgia woman, whose name has become traditional for all that is
physically lovely and morally depraved. If the immature Titiens did not
adequately reach the ideal of the character, she was so far from failing
that she was warmly applauded by a critical audience. She appeared in
the same part for a succession of nights, and her success became more
strongly assured as she more and more mastered the difficulties of her
work. To perform such a great lyric character at the age of fifteen,
with even a fair share of ability, was a glowing augury.
This early introduction to her profession was stamped by circumstances
of considerable romantic interest. A rich young gentleman, a scion of
one of the best Hamburg families, became passionately enamored of the
young cantatrice. After a brief but energetic courtship, he offered
her his hand, which Theresa, whose young heart had been touched by his
devotion, was not unwilling to accept, but the stumbling-block in the
way was that the family of the enamored youth were unwilling that his
future wife should remain on the stage. At last it was arranged that
Theresa should retire from the stage for a while, the understanding
being that, if at the end of nine months her inclination for the stage
should remain as strong, she should return to the profession. It was
tacitly a choice between marriage and a continuance of her professional
ambition. When the probation was over, the young cantatrice again
appeared before the footlights, and the unfortunate lover disappeared.
The director of opera at Frankfort-on-the-Main, having heard Mlle.
Titiens at Hamburg was so pleased that he made her an offer, and in
pursuance of this she appeared in Frankfort early in 1850, where she
made a most brilliant and decided success. Her reputation was now
growing fast, and offers of engagement poured in on her from various
European capitals. The director of the Imperial Opera at Vienna traveled
to Frankfort especially to hear her, and as her old contract with the
Frankfort _impressario_ was on the eve of expiration, and Mlle. Titiens
was free to accept a new offer, she gladly availed herself of the chance
to accept the opportunity of singing before one of the most brilliant
and critical publics of Europe. She made her _debut_ at Vienna in 1856,
and was received with the most flattering and cordial approbation. She
appeared in the _role_ of _Donna Anna_ ("Don Giovanni"), and at the
close of the opera had numerous recalls. Her success was so great that
she continued to sing in Vienna for three consecutive seasons, and
became the leading favorite of the public. The operas in which she
made the most vivid impression were "Norma," "Les Huguenots," "Lucrezia
Borgia," "Le Nozze di Figaro," "Fidelio," and "Trovatore"; and her
versatility was displayed in the fact that when she was called on,
through the illness of another singer, to assume a comic part, she won
golden opinions from the public for the sparkle and grace of her style.
II.
The English manager, Mr. Lumley, had heard of Mlle. Titiens and the
sensation she had made in Germany. So he hastened to Vienna, and made
the most lavish propositions to the young singer that she should appear
in his company before the London public. She was unable to accept his
proposition, for her contract in Vienna had yet a year to run; but,
after some negotiations, an arrangement was made which permitted
Mlle. Titiens to sing in London for three months, with the express
understanding that she should not surpass that limit.
She made her first bow before an English audience on April 13, 1858, as
_Valentine_ in Meyerbeer's _chef d'oeuvre_, Giuglini singing the part of
_Raoul_ for the first time. She did not understand Italian, but, under
the guidance of a competent master, she memorized the unknown words,
pronunciation and all, so perfectly that no one suspected but that she
was perfectly conversant with the liquid accents of that "soft bastard
Latin" of the South. Success alone justified so dangerous an experiment.
The audience was most fashionable and critical, and the reception of the
new singer was of the most assuring kind.
The voice of Mlle. Titiens was a pure soprano, fresh, penetrating, even,
powerful, unusually rich in quality, extensive in compass, and of great
flexibility. It had a bell-like resonance, and was capable of expressing
all the passionate and tender accents of lyric tragedy. Theresa Titiens
was, in the truest, fullest sense of the word, a lyric artist, and
she possessed every requisite needed by a cantatrice of the highest
order--personal beauty, physical strength, originality of conception,
a superb voice, and inexhaustible spirit and energy. Like most German
singers, Mlle. Titiens regarded ornamentation as merely an agreeable
adjunct in vocalization; and in the music of _Valentine_ she sang only
what the composer had set down--neither more nor less--but that was
accomplished to perfection.
As an actress, her tall, stately, elegant figure was admirably
calculated to personate the tragic heroines of opera. Her face at this
time was beautiful, her large eyes flashed with intellect, and her
classical features were radiant with expression; her grandeur of
conception, her tragic dignity, her glowing warmth and _abandon_
rendered her worthy of the finest days of lyric tragedy. She was
thoroughly dramatic; her movements and gestures were singularly noble,
and her attitudes on the stage had classical breadth and largeness,
without the least constraint.
As _Leonora_, in "Trovatore," she was peculiarly successful, and
her _Donna Anna_ literally took the audience by storm, through the
magnificence of both the singing and acting. In June she made her
appearance as _Lucrezia Borgia_. The qualities which this part demands
are precisely those with which Mlle. Titiens was endowed--tragic power,
intensity, impulsiveness. Her commanding figure and graceful bearing
gave weight to her acting, while in the more tender scenes she was
exquisitely pathetic, and displayed great depth of feeling. "Com' e
bello" was rendered with thrilling tenderness, and the allegro which
followed it created a _furore_; it was one of the most brilliant
_morceaux_ of florid decorative vocalism heard for years, the upper C in
the cadenza being quite electrical. At the end of the first and second
acts, the heartrending accents of a mother's agony, wrung from the
depths of her soul, and the scornful courage tempered with malignant
passion, were contrasted with consummate power. It was conceded that
Grisi herself never rose to a greater pitch of dramatic truth and power.
Mlle. Titiens was unable to get an extension of her _conge_, and, much
to the regret of her manager and the public, returned to Vienna early
in the autumn. Instantly that she could free herself from professional
obligation, she proceeded to Italy to acquire the Italian language, a
feat which she accomplished in a few months. Here she met Mr. Smith, the
manager of the Drury Lane Theatre, and effected an arrangement with him,
in consequence of which she inaugurated her second London season on May
3, 1859, with the performance of _Lucrezia Borgia_. Mlle. Titiens sang
successively in the characters which she had interpreted during her
previous visit to London, adding to them the magnificent _role_ of
_Norma_, whose breadth and grandeur of passion made it peculiarly
favorable for the display of her genius. Near the close of the season
she appeared in Verdi's "Vepres Siciliennes," in which, we are told,
"she sang magnificently and acted with extraordinary passion and vigor.
At the close of the fourth act, when _Helen_ and _Procida_ are led to
the scaffold, the conflicting emotions that agitate the bosom of the
heroine were pictured with wonderful truth and intensity by Mlle.
Titiens." From London the singer made a tour of the provinces, where she
repeated the remarkable successes of the capital. At the various musical
festivals, she created an almost unprecedented reputation in oratorio.
The largeness and dignity of her musical style, the perfection of a
voice which responded to every intention of the singer, her splendor
of declamation, stamped her as _par excellence_ the best interpreter of
this class of music whom England had heard in the more recent years of
her generation. Her fame increased every year, with the development
of her genius and artistic knowledge, and it may be asserted that no
singer, with the exception of Grisi, ever held such a place for a long
period of years in the estimate of the English public.
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