ns sing their solemn litany
("Ave Maria") on their way to chapel; and as they disappear, the
quaint tones of the curfew chant are heard, and night and rest settle
down upon the city. It is a striking introduction to what
follows,--the exquisite duet between Marcel and Valentin, the great
septet of the duel scene, beginning, "De dritti miei ho l'alma
accesa," with the tremendous double chorus which follows as the two
bands rush upon the scene. As if for relief from the storm of this
scene, the act closes with brilliant pageant music as De Nevers
approaches to escort Valentin to her bridal.

The third act is the climax of the work, and stands almost unrivalled
in the field of dramatic music, for the manner in which horror and
passion are illustrated. After a dark and despairing aria by Valentin
("Eccomi sola ormai"), and a brief duet with Raoul, the conspirators
enter. The great trio, closing with the conjuration, "Quel Dio," the
awful and stately chant of the monks in the blessing of the unsheathed
daggers ("Sia gloria eterna e onore"), and the thrilling unisons of
the chorus ("D'un sacro zel l'ardore"), which fairly glow with energy,
fierceness, and religious fury,--these numbers of themselves might
have made an act; but Meyerbeer does not pause here. He closes with a
duet between Raoul and Valentin which does not suffer in comparison
with the tremendous combinations which have preceded it. It is filled
with the alternations of despair and love, of grief and ecstasy. In
its movement it is the very whirlwind of passion. Higher form dramatic
music can hardly reach. In the Italian version the performance usually
closes at this point; but there is still another striking and powerful
scene, that in which Raoul and Valentin are united by the dying
Marcel. Then the three join in a sublime trio, and for the last time
chant together the old Lutheran psalm, and await their fate amid the
triumphant harpings that sound from the orchestra and the hosanna they
sing to its accompaniment.

THE STAR OF THE NORTH.

"L'Etoile du Nord," an opera in three acts, words by Scribe, was first
performed at the Opera Comique, Paris, Feb. 16, 1854, and in Italian
as "La Stella del Nord" at Covent Garden, London, July 19, 1855. In
English it has been produced under the title of "The Star of the
North." The opera contains several numbers from the composer's earlier
work, "Feldlager in Schlesien," which was written for the opening of
the Berlin