Act III is laid in a grove near the fortress. _Arthur_, although

proscribed, seeks out _Elvira_. Her joy at seeing him again temporarily lifts the clouds from her mind, but renewed evidence of her disturbed mental state alarms her lover. He hears men, whom he knows to be in pursuit of him, approaching, and is aware that capture means death, but he will not leave _Elvira_. He is apprehended and is about to be executed when a messenger arrives with news of the defeat of the Stuarts and a pardon for all prisoners. _Arthur_ is freed. The sudden shock of joy restores _Elvira's_ reason. The lovers are united.

* * * * *

As an opera "I Puritani" lacks the naïveté of "La Sonnambula," nor has it any one number of the serene beauty of the "Casta diva" in "Norma." Occasionally, however, it is revived for a tenor like Bonci, whose elegance of phrasing finds exceptional opportunity in the rôle of _Arthur_; or for some renowned prima donna of the brilliant coloratura type, for whom _Elvira_ is a grateful part.

The principal musical numbers are, in act first, _Sir Richard Forth's_ cavatina, "Ah! per sempre io ti perdei" (Ah! forever have I lost thee); _Arthur's_ romance, "A te o cara" (To thee, beloved);

[Music: A te o cara, amor talora,]

and _Elvira's_ sparkling polacca, "Son vergin vezzosa" (I am a blithesome maiden).

[Music: Son vergin vezzosa, in vesto di sposa,]

In the second act we have _Elvira's_ mad scene, "Qui la voce sua soave" (It was here in sweetest accents).

[Music: Qui la voce sua soave]

For _Elvira_ there also is in this act the beautiful air, "Vien, diletto" (Come, dearest love).

The act closes with the duet for baritone and bass, between _Sir Richard_ and _Sir George_, "Suoni la tromba," a fine proclamation of martial ardour, which "in sonorousness, majesty and dramatic intensity," as Mr. Upton writes, "hardly has an equal in Italian opera."

[Music:

Suoni la tromba, e intrepido Io pugnerò da forte;]

"A una fonte afflitto e solo" (Sad and lonely by a fountain), a beautiful number for _Elvira_ occurs in the third act.

There also is in this act the impassioned "Star teco ognor" (Still to abide), for _Arthur_, with _Elvira's_ reply, "Caro, non ho parola" (All words, dear love are wanting).

It was in the duet at the end of Act II, on the occasion of the opera's revival for Gerster, that I heard break and go to pieces the voice of Antonio Galassi, the great baritone of the heyday of Italian opera at the Academy of Music. "Suoni la tromba!"--He could sound it no more. The career of a great artist was at an end.

"I Puritani" usually is given in Italian, several of the characters having Italian equivalents for English names--_Arturo_, _Riccardo_, _Giorgio_, _Enrichetta_, etc.

The first performance in New York of "I Puritani," which opened Palmo's Opera House, was preceded by a "public rehearsal," which was attended by "a large audience composed of the Boards of Aldermen, editors, police officers, and musical people," etc. Signora Borghese and Signor Antognini "received vehement plaudits." Antognini, however, does not appear in the advertised cast of the opera. Signora Borghese was _Elvira_, Signor Perozzi _Arturo_, and Signor Valtellino _Giorgio_. The performance took place Friday, February 2, 1844.

Gaetano Donizetti

(1797-1848)

The composer of "Lucia di Lammermoor," an opera produced in 1835, but seemingly with a long lease of life yet ahead of it, was born at Bergamo, November 29, 1797. He composed nearly seventy operas.

His first real success, "Anna Bolena," was brought out in Rome, in 1830. Even before that, however, thirty-one operas by him had been performed. Of his many works, the comparatively few still heard nowadays are, in the order of their production, "L'Elisire d'Amore," "Lucrezia Borgia," "Lucia di Lammermoor," "La Figlia del Reggimento," "La Favorita," "Linda di Chamounix," and "Don Pasquale." A clever little one-act comedy opera, "Il Campanello di Notte" (The Night Bell) was revived in New York in the spring of 1917.

With a gift for melody as facile as Bellini's, Donizetti is more dramatic, his harmonization less monotonous, and his orchestration more careful. This is shown by his choice of instruments for special effects, like the harp solo preceding the appearance of _Lucia_, the flute obligato in the mad scene in the opera of which she is the heroine, and the bassoons introducing "Una furtiva lagrima," in "L'Elisire d'Amore." He is a distinct factor in the evolution of Italian opera from Rossini to and including Verdi, from whom, in turn, the living Italian opera composers of note derive.

Donizetti's father was a weaver, who wished his son to become a lawyer. But he finally was permitted to enter the conservatory at Bergamo, where, among other teachers, he had J.H. Mayr in harmony. He studied further, on Mayr's recommendation, with Padre Martini.

As his father wanted him to teach so that he would be self-supporting, he enlisted in the army, and was ordered to Venice. There in his leisure moments he composed his first opera, "Enrico di Borgogna," produced, Venice, 1818. In 1845 he was stricken with paralysis. He died at Bergamo, April 8, 1848.

L'ELISIRE D'AMORE

THE ELIXIR OF LOVE

Opera, in two acts. Music by Donizetti; words by Felice Romani. Produced, Milan, May 12, 1832; London, December 10, 1836; New Orleans, March 30, 1842; New York, Academy of Music, 1883-84, with Gerster; Metropolitan Opera House, 1904, with Sembrich, Caruso, Scotti, and Rossi.

CHARACTERS

NEMORINO, a young peasant _Tenor_ ADINA, wealthy, and owner of a farm _Soprano_ BELCORE, a sergeant _Baritone_ DULCAMARA, a quack doctor _Bass_ GIANNETTA, a peasant girl _Soprano_

_Time_--Nineteenth Century.

_Place_--A small Italian village.