"When the trumpet shall have sounded thrice,"
is marked by a proud enthusiasm which extends to the
chorus, whose voices carry on the theme swelling
and augmenting it to a superb crescendo. The trio
which follows is intermingled with an adorable
accompaniment. In the second act the aria sung by
the first of the messengers of peace, felicitating
Rienzi, was warmly and insistently applauded. Nothing
could be more sweet, more tender or more delicate
than this melody, admirably sung by Mlle. Priolat,
from whom the entire audience demanded its repetition.
The chorus of conspiring patricians is also very
fine; under the dull murmurs one divines the revolt
of injured pride and the muttering of an, as yet,
powerless hatred. The entrance and the grief of
Adriano, are expressed in the orchestra by two notes
of the hautboys which are like the sigh of a broken
heart. This pure and charming detail foretells the
later Wagner whose orchestra is able to reveal all
things and to make one experience all emotion. The
septet and the final chorus are fragments of such
power and grandeur that you feel as though you were
floating upon wings. In the third act, we especially
noted the military march with its firm and warlike
rhythm; and the prayer of the women, augmented in its
fervour and its terror by the intermittent sounds of
battle. In the fourth act, the march of peace and the
magnificently dramatic situation of Rienzi, accursed,
excommunicated, deserted, alone upon the steps of
the church. In the fifth act, the prayer of Rienzi,
admirable in its sadness and its fervour.
"Rise, O Sun, and make the light of liberty to
shine upon the world."
In this part one again sees the powerful Wagner
of to-day, and the entrance of the Sister of the
Tribune, who consoles him by her devoted love, is
like a vista through which one catches a brief
glimpse of the angels with fluttering wings of the
prelude to Lohengrin. One must congratulate M.
Pasdeloup, the new director of the Théâtre-Lyrique,
who has already done so much for art by means of his
popular concerts, for having pro-produced Rienzi.
The notable success of the first representation, a
success which will, undoubtedly, continue, allows
us to hope that we may also have before very long,
The Flying Dutchman, Tannhäuser, Lohengrin, Tristan
and Isolde, Die Meistersinger, and all that unknown
repertory, rich casket of new treasure.
Rienzi is sumptuously mounted, the costumes and
decorations are rich and appropriate; the choruses
well arranged and the whole forms a splendid
spectacle. The final tableau of the death of Rienzi
on his balcony is presented in a highly dramatic
manner.
Montjauze, in his impersonation of Rienzi, surpasses
all one's expectations, he is transfigured into a
singer and an actor of the first rank. This role is
for him what William Tell was for Duprez. He sustains
with wonderful ease the continuous dialogue with
the chorus. His voice dominates those great, those
formidable crowds, and with a gesture he restrains
the flood of people pressing about him in a transport
of eagerness and joy. He wears with artistic grace
and majesty the splendid white draperies, richly
embroidered in gold, with which the Tribune clothed
himself in his vanity as a parvenu whose head was
turned at the summit of his grandeur. One could not
imagine a more perfect incarnation of the type of
Rienzi.
Mme. Borghese sings with warmth the rather thin
arias of Adriano, lover of the Tribune's sister, who
is herself very gracefully represented by Mdlle.
Steinberg. But this poor little love episode is
tossed about, in all senses, like a drowned flower by
the tumultuous foaming upheaval of this great tragic
drama, which begins with a battle and ends with a
riot.
The choruses are excellent, and the orchestra
executes with splendid spirit that overture of
Rienzi, already popular long before the opera itself
was known.