George T. Ferris - Great Singers, Second Series

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II.

Her fame so increased that the Fraeulein Schroeder soon made an art-tour
through Germany. Her appearances at Cassel in the spring of 1823, in
such characters as _Pamina_ and _Agathe_, produced a great sensation.
At Dresden she also evoked a large share of popular enthusiasm, and her
name was favorably compared with the greatest lights of the German lyric
stage. While singing at this capital she met Carl Devrient, one of the
principal dramatic tenors of Germany, and, an attachment springing up
between the pair, they were married. The union did not prove a happy
one, and Mme. Schroeder-Devrient had bitter occasion to regret that she
had tied her fortunes to a man utterly unworthy of love and respect.
She remained for several years at Dresden, and among other operas she
appeared in Weber's "_Euryanthe_," with Mme. Funk, Herr Berg-mann, and
Herr Meyer. She also made a powerful impression on the attention of
both the critics and the public in Cherubini's "Faniska," and Spohr's
"Jessonda," both of which operas are not much known out of Germany,
though "Faniska" was first produced at the Theatre Feydeau, in Paris,
and contributed largely to the fame of its illustrious composer. The
austere, noble music is not of a character to please the multitude who
love what is sensational and easily understood. When "Faniska" was first
produced at the Austrian capital in the winter of 1805, both Haydn and
Beethoven were present. The former embraced Cherubini, and said to him,
"You are my son, worthy of my love"; while Beethoven cordially hailed
him as "the first dramatic composer of the age." The opera of "Faniska"
is based on a Polish legend of great dramatic beauty, and the unity of
idea and musical color between it and Beethoven's "Fidelio" has often
excited the attention of critics. It is perhaps owing to this dramatic
similarity that Mme. Schroeder-De vrient made as much reputation by
her performance of it as she had already acquired in Beethoven's lyric
masterpiece.

In 1828 she went to Prague, and thence to Berlin, where her marriage was
judicially dissolved, she retaining her guardianship of her son, then
four years old. Spontini, who was then the musical autocrat of Berlin,
conceived a violent dislike to her, and his bitter nature expressed
itself in severe and ungenerous sarcasms. But the genius of the singer
was proof against the hostility of the Franco-Italian composer, and the
immense audiences which gathered to hear her interpret the chef-d'ouvres
of Weber, whose fame as the great national composer of Germany was
then at its zenith, proved her strong hold on the hearts of the German
people. Spontini's prejudice was generally attributed to Mme. Devrient's
dislike of his music and her artistic identification with the heroines
of Weber, for whose memory Spontini entertained much the same envious
hate as Salieri felt for Mozart in Vienna at an earlier date.

Our singer's ambition sighed to conquer new worlds, and in 1830 she went
to Paris with a troupe of German singers, headed by Mme. Fischer, a
tall blonde beauty, with a fresh, charming voice, but utterly Mme.
Schroder-Devrient's inferior in all the requirements of the great
artist. She made her _debut_ in May at the Theatre Louvois, as _Agathe_
in "Der Freischutz," and, though excessively agitated, was so impressive
and powerful in the impersonation as to create a great _eclat_. The
critics were highly pleased with the beauty and finish of her style.
She produced the principal parts of her _repertoire_ in "Fidelio," "Don
Giovanni," Weber's "Oberon" and "Euryanthe," and Mozart's "Serail."
It was in "Fidelio," however, that she raised the enthusiasm of her
audiences to the highest pitch. On returning again to Germany she
appeared in opera with Scheckner and Sontag, in Berlin, winning laurels
even at the expense of Mme. Sontag, who was then just on the eve of
retiring from the stage, and who was inspired to her finest efforts as
she was departing from the field of her triumphs.

Two years later Mme. Schroeder-Devrient accepted a proposition made to
her by the manager of the Theatre Italiens to sing in a language and
a school for which she was not fully qualified. The season opened with
such a dazzling constellation of genius as has rarely, if ever, been
gathered on any one stage--Pasta, Malibran, Schroeder-Devrient, Rubini,
Bordogni, and Lablache. Mme. Pasta's illness caused the substitution of
Schroeder-Devrient in her place in the opera of "Anna Bolena," and the
result was disastrous to the German singer. But she retrieved herself
in the same composer's "Pirata," and her splendid performance cooperated
with that of Rubini to produce a sensation. It was observed that she
quickly accommodated herself to the usages and style of the Italian
stage, and soon appeared as if one "to the manner born." Toward the
close of the engagement Mme. Devrient appeared for Malibran's benefit
as _Desdemona_, Rubini being the Moor. Though the Rossinian music is a
_genre_ by itself, and peculiarly dangerous to a singer not trained in
its atmosphere and method, the German artist sang it with great skill
and finish, and showed certain moments of inspiration in its performance
which electrified her hearers.

Mme. Schreder-Devrient's first appearance in England was under the
management of Mr. Monck Mason, who had leased the King's Theatre in
pursuance of a somewhat daring enterprise. A musical and theatrical
enthusiast, and himself a composer, though without any experience in
the practical knowledge of management, he projected novel and daring
improvements, and aspired to produce opera on the most extensive and
complete scale. He engaged an enormous company--not only of Italian
and German, but of French singers--and gave performances in all three
languages. Schroeder-Devrient sang in all her favorite operas, and also
_Desdemona_, in Italian. Donzelli was the _Otello_, and the performance
made a strong impression on the critics, if not on the public. "We know
not," wrote one, "how to say enough of Mme. Schreder-Devrient without
appearing extravagant, and yet the most extravagant eulogy we could
pen would not come up to our idea of her excellence. She is a woman
of first-rate genius; her acting skillful, various, impassioned, her
singing pure, scientific, and enthusiastic. Her whole soul is wrapped
in her subject, yet she never for a moment oversteps the modesty of
nature." It was during this season that Mr. Chorley first heard her.
He writes in his "Musical Recollections" a vivid description of her
appearance in "Fidelio": "She was a pale woman. Her face, a thoroughly
German one, though plain, was pleasing from the intensity of expression
which her large features and deep, tender eyes conveyed. She had profuse
fair hair, the value of which she thoroughly understood, delighting in
moments of great emotion to fling it loose with the wild vehemence of
a Maenad. Her figure was superb, though full, and she rejoiced in its
display." He also speaks of "the inherent expressiveness of her voice
which made it more attractive on the stage than a more faultless organ."
Mme. Schroeder-Devrient met a warm social welcome in London from the
family of the great pianist, Moscheles, to whom she was known of old.
Mme. Moscheles writes in her diary: "Our interesting guests at dinner
were the Haizingers, he the admirable tenor singer of whom the German
opera company here may well be proud, she pretty and agreeable as
ever; we had, too, our great Schroeder and our greater Mendelssohn. The
conversation, of course, was animated, and the two ladies were in such
spirits that they not only told anecdotes, but accompanied them with
dramatic gestures; Schroeder, when telling us how he (the hero of her
anecdote) drew his sword, flourished her knife in a threatening manner
toward Haizinger, and Mendelssohn whispered to me, 'I wonder what John
[the footman] thinks of such an English vivacity? To see the brandishing
of knives, and not know what it is all about! Only think!'" A comic
episode which occurred during the first performance of "Fidelio" is
also related by the same authority: "In that deeply tragic scene where
Mme. Schroeder (_Fidelio_) has to give Haizinger (_Florestan_) a piece of
bread which she has kept hidden for him three days in the folds of her
dress, he does not respond to the action. She whispers to him with a
rather coarse epithet: 'Why don't you take it? Do you want it buttered?'
All this time, the audience, ignorant of the by-play, was solely intent
on the pathetic situation." This is but one of many instances which
could be adduced from the annals of the stage showing how the exhibition
of the greatest dramatic passion is consistent with the existence of a
jocose, almost cynical, humor on the part of the actors.

III.

In the following year (1833), Mme. Schroeder-Devrient sang under Mr.
Bunn at the Covent Garden Theatre, appearing in several of Weber's and
Mozart's masterpieces. She was becoming more and more of a favorite with
the English public. The next season she devoted herself again to
the stage of Germany, where she was on the whole best understood and
appreciated, her faults more uniformly ignored. She appeared in twelve
operas by native composers in Berlin, and thence went to Vienna and St.
Petersburg. She proceeded to Italy in 1835, where she sang for eighteen
months in the principal cities and theatres of that country, and
succeeded in evoking from the critical Italians as warm a welcome as
she had commanded elsewhere. In one city the people were so enthusiastic
that they unharnessed her horses, and drew her carriage home from the
theatre after her closing performance. Although she never entirely
mastered the Italian school, she yet displayed so much intelligence,
knowledge, and faculty in her art-work, that all catholic lovers of
music recognized her great talents. She appeared again in Vienna in
1836, with Mme. Tadolini, Genaro, and Galli, singing in "L'Elisir
d'Amore," and works of a similar cast, operas unsuited, one would think,
to the peculiar _cachet_ of her genius, but her ability in comic and
romantic operas, though never so striking as in grand tragedy, seemed to
develop with practice.

Her last English engagement was in 1837, opening the season with
a performance of "Fidelio" in English. The whole performance was
lamentably inferior to that at the Opera-House in 1832. "Norma" was
produced, Schroeder-Devrient being seconded by Wilson, Giubilei, and Miss
Betts. She was either very ill advised or overconfident, for her "massy"
style of singing was totally at variance with the light beauty of
Bellini's music. Her conception of the character, however, was in the
grandest style of histrionic art. "The sibyls of Michael Angelo are not
more grand," exclaimed one critic; "but the vocalization of Pasta
and Grisi is wholly foreign to her." During this engagement, Mme.
Schroeder-Devrient was often unable to perform, from serious illness.
From England she went to the Lower Rhine.

In 1839 she was at Dresden with Herr Tichatschek, one of the first
tenors of Germany, a handsome man, with a powerful, sweet, and extensive
voice. In June, 1841, she gave a performance at Berlin, to assist the
Parisian subscription for a monument to Cherubini. The opera was "Les
Deux Journees," in which she took her favorite part of _Constance_. The
same year she sang at Dresden with the utmost success, in a new _role_
in Goethe's "Tasso," in which she was said to surpass her _Fidelio_. For
several years Mme. Schroeder-Devrient resided in perfect seclusion in the
little town of Rochlitz, and appeared to have forgotten all her stage
ambition. Suddenly, however, she made her reappearance at Dresden in the
_role_ of _Romeo_ in Bellini's "I Montecchi ed i Capuletti." She had
lost a good deal of her vocal power and skill, yet her audiences seemed
to be moved by the same magic glamour as of old, in consequence of her
magnificent acting. Among other works in which she performed during this
closing operatic season of her life was Gluck's "Iphigenie en Aulis,"
which was especially revived for her. Johanna Wagner, the sister of
the great composer, was also in the cast, and a great enthusiasm
was created by a general stage presentation of almost unparalleled
completeness for that time.

Mme. Devrient retired permanently from the stage in the year 1849,
having amassed a considerable fortune by her professional efforts. She
made a second matrimonial venture with a rich Livonian proprietor named
Bock, with whom she retired to his estate. Her retirement occasioned
profound regret throughout Germany, where she was justly looked on as
one of the very greatest artists, if, indeed, even this reservation
could be made, who had ever shone on their lyric stage. The Emperor
Francis I. paid Mme. Schroeder a compliment which had never before been
paid to a German singer. He ordered her portrait to be painted in all
her principal characters, and placed in the collection of the Imperial
Museum. Six years after her farewell from the stage, an Italian critic,
Scudo, heard her sing in a private house in Paris, and speaks very
disparagingly of her delivery of the melodies of Schubert in a weak,
thin voice. She, like Malibran, possessed one of those voices which
needed incessant work and practice to keep it in good order, though she
did not possess the consummate musical knowledge and skill of Malibran.
She was a woman of great intelligence and keen observation; an artist of
the most passionate ardor and impetuosity, always restrained, however,
by a well-studied control and reserve; in a word, a great lyric
tragedienne rather than a great singer in the exact sense of that word.
She must be classed with that group of dramatic singers who were the
interpreters of the school of music which arose in Germany after the
death of Mozart, and which found its most characteristic type in Carl
Maria von Weber, for Beethoven, who on one side belongs to this school,
rather belonged to the world, like Shakespeare in the drama, than to a
single nationality. Mme. Schroeder-De-vrient died February 9, 1860,
at Cologne, and the following year her marble bust was placed in the
Opera-House at Berlin.

GIULIA GRISI.

The Childhood of a Great Artist.--Giulietta Grisi's Early Musical
Training.--Giuditta Grisi's Pride in the Talents of her Young
Sister.--Her Italian _Debut_ and Success.--She escapes from a Managerial
Taskmaster and takes Refuge in Paris.--Impression made on French
Audiences.--Production of Bellini's "Puritani."--Appearance before the
London Public.--Character of Grisi's Singing and Acting.--Anecdotes of
the Prima Donna.--Marriage of Mlle. Grisi.--Her Connection with
Other Distinguished Singers.--Rubini, his Character as an Artist, and
Incidents of his Life.--Tamburini, another Member of the First Great
"Puritani" Quartet.--Lablache, the King of Operatic Bassos.--His Career
as an Artist.--His Wonderful Genius as Singer and Actor.--Advent of
Mario on the Stage.--His Intimate Association with Mme. Grisi as
Woman and Artist.--Incidents of Mario's Life and Character as an
Artist.--Grisi's Long Hold on the Stage for more than a Quarter
Century.--Her American Tour.--Final Retirement from her Profession.--The
Elements of her Greatness as a Goddess of Song.

I.

A quarter of a century is a long reign for any queen, a brilliant one
for an opera queen in these modern days, when the "wear and tear" of
stage-life is so exacting. For so long a time lasted the supremacy
of Mme. Grisi, and it was justified by a remarkable combination of
qualities, great physical loveliness, a noble voice, and dramatic
impulse, which, if not precisely inventive, was yet large and
sympathetic. A celebrated English critic sums up her great qualities
and her defects thus: "As an artist calculated to engage, and retain
the average public, without trick or affectation, and to satisfy by her
balance of charming attributes--by the assurance, moreover, that she was
giving the best she knew how to give--she satisfied even those who had
received much deeper pleasure and had been impressed with much deeper
emotion in the performances of others. I have never tired of Mme. Grisi
during five-and-twenty years; but I have never been in her case under
one of those spells of intense enjoyment and sensation which make an
epoch in life, and which leave a print on memory never to be effaced by
any later attraction, never to be forgotten so long as life and power to
receive shall endure."

Giulietta Grisi was the younger daughter of M. Gaetano Grisi, an Italian
officer of engineers, in the service of Napoleon, and was born at Milan,
July 2, 1812. Her mother's sister was the once celebrated Grassini, who,
as the contemporary of Mrs. Billington and Mme. Mara, had shared the
admiration of Europe with these great singers. Thence probably she and
her sister Giuditta, ten years her elder, inherited their gift of song.
Giuditta was for a good while regarded as a prodigy by her friends, and
acquired an excellent rank on the concert and operatic stage, but she
was so far outshone by her more gifted sister, that her name is now
only one of the traditions of that throng of talented and hard-working
artists who have contributed much to the stability of the lyric stage,
without adding to it any resplendent luster. Delicate health prevented
the little Giulia from receiving any early musical training, but her own
secret ambition caused her to learn the piano-forte, by her own efforts;
and her enthusiastic attention, and attempt to imitate, while her sister
was practicing _solfeggi_, clearly indicated the bent of her tastes. She
soon astonished her family by the fluency and correctness with which
she repeated the most difficult passages; and Giuditta, who appreciated
these evidences of vocal and mimetic talent, would listen with delight
to the lively efforts of her young sister, and then, clasping her fondly
in her arms, prophesy that she would be "the glory of her race." "Thou
shalt be more than thy sister, my Giuliettina," she would exclaim. "Thou
shalt be more than thy aunt! It is Giuditta tells thee so--believe
it." The only defect in Giulia's voice--certainly a serious one--was a
chronic hoarseness, which seemed a bar to her advancement as a vocalist.

Her parents resolved that Giulia should have regular lessons in singing;
and she entered the Conservatory of her native town, where her sister
had also obtained her musical training. The early talent she developed,
under the direction of the composer Marliani, was remarkable. That she
might continue her studies uninterruptedly, she was sent to Bologna,
to her uncle, Colonel Ragani, husband of Grassini, by whom she was put
under the care of the learned Giacomo Guglielmi, son of the celebrated
composer, who during three years devoted himself entirely to her
musical education. Gradually the lovely quality of her voice began to
be manifest, and its original blemishes disappeared, her tones acquiring
depth, power, and richness.

Giuditta was deeply interested in her young sister's budding talents,
and finally took her from the Conservatory, and placed her under the
tuition of Fillippo Celli, where she remained for three months, till the
_maestro_ was obliged to go to Rome to produce a new opera. Giulia
Grisi was remarkably apt and receptive, and gifted with great musical
intelligence, and she profited by her masters in an exceptional degree.
Industry cooperated with talent to so advance her attainments that her
sister Giuditta succeeded in the year 1828 in securing her _debut_ in
Rossini's "Elmira," at Bologna. The part was a small one, but the youth,
loveliness, and freshness of voice displayed by the young singer
secured for her a decided triumph. Rossini, who was then at Bologna, was
delighted with Giulia Grisi, and predicted a great career for her, and
Giuditta shed tears of joy over her beloved _protegee_. The director of
the theatre engaged her immediately for the carnival season, and in
1829 she appeared as prima donna in many operas, among which were "Il
Barbiere," "Towaldo e Dorliska," and "La Sposa di Provincia," the latter
of which was expressly written for her by Millotatti.

Our young singer, like many another brilliant cantatrice, in the very
dawn of her great career fell into the nets of a shrewd and unprincipled
operatic speculator. Signor Lanari, an _impressario_ of Florence,
recognized the future success of the inexperienced young girl, and
decoyed her into an engagement for six years on terms shamefully low,
for Giulia's modesty did not appreciate her own remarkable powers.
Alone and without competent advisers, she fell an easy prey to the
sharp-witted farmer of other people's genius. Among the operas which she
sung in at this early period under Lanari's management were Bellini's "I
Montecchi ed i Capuletti," which the composer had just written for her
sister Giuditta at Venice; "Il Barbiere," and "Giulietta e Romeo,"
written by Vaccai. She was pronounced by the Italians the most
fascinating _Juliet_ ever seen on the stage. At Bologna her triumph
was no less great, and she became the general topic of discussion and
admiration. Lanari was so profiting by his stroke of sharp business
that he was making a little fortune, and he now transferred his musical
property for a large consideration to Signor Crevelli, the director of
La Scala at Milan. Here Julia Grisi met Pasta, whom she worshiped as a
model of all that was grand and noble in the lyric art. Pasta declared,
"I can honestly return to you the compliments paid me by your aunt, and
say that I believe you are worthy to succeed us." Here she enjoyed
the advantage of studying the great lyric tragedienne, with whom she
occasionally performed: not a look, a tone, a gesture of her great model
escaped her. She was given the part of _Jane Seymour_ in Donizetti's
"Anna Bolena," which she looked and acted to perfection, Pasta
personating the unfortunate Queen. Madame Pasta, struck with the genius
displayed by her young rival, exclaimed: "_Tu iras loin! tu prendras ma
place! tu seras Pasta!_" Bellini, who was then in Milan, engaged in
the composition of his "Norma," overwhelmed her with applause and
congratulations, intermingled with allusions to the part he had in
contemplation for her--that of _Adalgiza_.

In November, 1831, there was a strenuous rivalry between the two
theatres of Milan, La Scala and the Carcano. The vocal company at the
latter comprised Pasta, Lina Koser (now Mme. Balfe), Elisa Orlandi,
Eugenie Martinet, and other ladies; Kubini, Mariani, and Galli being
the leading male singers. The composers were Bellini, Donizetti, and
Majocchi. At the Scala, which was still under the direction of Crivelli,
then a very old man, were Giulietta Grisi, Amalia Schuetz, and Pisaroni,
with Mari, Bonfigli, Pocchini, Anbaldi, etc. To this company Giuditta
Grisi was added, and a new opera by Coccia, entitled "Enrico di
Montfort," was produced, in which both the sisters appeared. The company
at the Scala received an accession from the rival theatre, the great
Pasta, and soon afterward Donzelli, who ranked among the foremost tenors
of the age.

Bellini had just completed "Norma," and it was to be produced at the
Scala. The part of the Druid priestess had been expressly written for
Pasta. This Bellini considered his masterpiece. It is related that a
beautiful Parisienne attempted to extract from his reluctant lips his
preference among his own works. The persistent fair one finally overcame
his evasions by asking, "But if you were out at sea, and should be
shipwrecked--" "Ah!" said the composer, impulsively, "I would leave all
the rest and save 'Norma'"! With Pasta were associated Giulia Grisi
in the _role_ of _Adalgiza_, and Donzelli in _Pollio_. The singers
rehearsed their parts _con amore_, and displayed so much intelligence
and enthusiasm that Bellini was quite delighted. The first performance
just escaped being a failure in spite of the anxious efforts of the
singers. Donzelli's suave and charming execution, even "Casta Diva,"
delivered by Pasta in her most magnificent style, failed to move the
cold audience. Pasta, at the end of the first act, declared the new
opera _a fiasco_. The second act was also coldly received till the great
duet between _Norma_ and _Adalgiza_, which was heartily applauded. This
unsealed the pent-up appreciation of the audience, and thenceforward
"Norma" was received with thunders of applause for forty nights.

Encouraged by Pasta, Giulia Grisi declared that she, too, would become a
great tragedienne. "How I should love to play _Norma!_" she exclaimed
to Bellini one night behind the scenes. "Wait twenty years, and we shall
see." "I will play _Norma_ in spite of you, and in less than twenty
years!" she retorted. The young man smiled incredulously, and muttered,
"_A poco! a poco!_" But Grisi kept her word.

Her genius was now fully appreciated, and she had obtained one of those
triumphs which form the basis of a great renown. With astonishing ease
she passed from _Semiramide_ to _Anna Bolena_, then to _Desdemona_, to
_Donna Anna_, to _Elena_ in the "Donna del Lago."

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