Great Singers, Second Series

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Great Singers, Second Series

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Title: Great Singers, Second Series Malibran To Titiens
Author: George T. Ferris
Release Date: January 4, 2006 [EBook #17465]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GREAT
SINGERS, SECOND SERIES ***

Produced by David Widger

GREAT SINGERS
MALIBRAN TO TITIENS

SECOND SERIES
BY GEORGE T. FERRIS
NEW YORK
D. APPLETON AND COMPANY
1891
Copyright, 1881, By D. APPLETON AND COMPANY.

NOTE.
In the preparation of this companion volume of "Great Singers," the
same limitations of purpose have guided the author as in the case of the
earlier book, which sketched the lives of the greatest lyric artists from
Faustina Bordoni to Henrietta Sontag. It has been impossible to include
any but those who stand incontestably in the front rank of the operatic
profession, except so far as some account of the lesser lights is essential
to the study of those artistic lives whose names make the captions of
these sketches. So, too, it has been attempted to embody, in several of
the articles, intelligent, if not fully adequate, notice of a few of the
greatest men singers, who, if they have not aroused as deep an
enthusiasm as have those of the other sex, are perhaps justly entitled to
as much consideration on art grounds. It will be observed that the great
living vocalists have been excluded from this book, except those who,
having definitely retired from the stage, may be considered as dead to
their art. This plan has been pursued, not from any undervaluation of
the Pattis, the Nilssons, and the Luccas of the present musical stage, but
because, in obeying that necessity imposed by limitation of space, it
has seemed more desirable to exclude those whose place in art is not
yet finally settled, rather than those whose names belong to history, and
who may be seen in full perspective.
The material from which this little book is compiled has been drawn
from a variety of sources, among which may be mentioned the three

works of Henry F. Chorley, "Music and Manners in France and
Germany," "Modern German Music," and "Thirty Years' Musical
Kecollections"; Sutherland Edwards's "History of the Opera"; Fetis's
"Biographie des Musiciens"; Ebers's "Seven Years of the King's
Theatre"; Lumley's "Reminiscences"; Charles Hervey's "Theatres of
Paris"; Arsène Houssaye's "Galerie de Portraits"; Countess de Merlin's
"Mémoires de Madame Malibran"; Ox-berry's "Dramatic Biography
and Histrionic Anecdotes"; Crowest's "Musical Anecdotes" and Mrs.
Clayton's "Queens of Song."

CONTENTS.
MARIA FELICIA MALIBRAN.
The Childhood of Maria Garcia.--Her Father's Sternness and Severe
Discipline.--Her First Appearance as an Artist on the Operatic
Stage.--Her Genius and Power evident from the Beginning.--Anecdotes
of her Early Career.--Manuel Garcia's Operatic Enterprise in New
York.--Maria Garcia is inveigled into marrying M. Malibran.--Failure
of the Garcia Opera, and Maria's Separation from her Husband.--She
makes her _Début_ in Paris with Great Success.--Madame Malibran's
Characteristics as a Singer, a Genius, and a Woman.--Anecdotes of her
Generosity and Kindness.--She sings in a Great London
Engagement.--Her Eccentric and Daring Methods excite Severe
Criticism.--Her Reckless Expenditure of Strength in the Pursuit of her
Profession or Pleasures.--Madame Malibran's Attachment to De
Bériot.--Anecdotes of her Public and Private Career.--Malibran in Italy,
where she becomes the Popular Idol.--Her Last London
Engagement.--Her Death at Manchester during the Great Musical
Festival
WILHELMINA SCHRÖDER-DEVRIENT.
Mme. Schröder-Devrient the Daughter of a Woman of Genius.--Her
Early Appearance on the Dramatic Stage in Connection with her
Mother.--She studies Music and devotes herself to the Lyric

Stage.--Her Operatic _Début_ in Mozart's "Zauberflote."--Her
Appearance and Voice.--Mlle. Schröder makes her _Début_ in her most
Celebrated Character, Fidelio.--Her own Description of the First
Performance.--A Wonderful Dramatic Conception.--Henry Chorley's
Judgment of her as a Singer and Actress.--She marries Carl Devrient at
Dresden.--Mme. Schröder-Devrient makes herself celebrated as a
Representative of Weber's Romantic Heroines.--Dissolution of her
Marriage.--She makes Successful Appearances in Paris and London in
both Italian and German Opera.--English Opinions of the German
Artist.--Anecdotes of her London Engagement.--An Italian Tour and
Reëngagements for the Paris and London Stage.--Different Criticisms
of her Artistic Style.--Retirement from the Stage, and Second
Marriage.--Her Death in 1860, and the Honors paid to the Memory of
her Genius
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 _Début_ 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