, interwoven with the chorus of women as they cheer on the
marching soldiers.

The third act opens with a romanza ("Dal cor per iscacciare"), very
tender and beautiful, in which the rugged Czar shows us the
sentimental side of his character. In the third scene occurs a long
buffo trio between Peter, Gritzensko, and Danilowitz, which is full of
humor. In the finale we have Catharine in the mad scene, singing the
scena, "L'aurora alfin succede," with bits of the old music running
through the accompaniment; and in the final scene, as her reason
returns, breaking out in the florid bravura, "Non s'ode alcun,"
accompanied by the first and second flutes, which is a triumph of
virtuosity for the voice. This number was taken from "The Camp in
Silesia," and was given by Jenny Lind with immense success, not only
in the latter work, but upon the concert stage. The opera as a whole
abounds in humor, its music is fresh and brilliant, and its military
character makes it specially attractive.

ROBERT THE DEVIL

"Robert le Diable," a grand opera in five acts, words by Scribe and
Delavigne, was first produced at the Academie, Paris, Nov. 21, 1831,
with the following cast:--

ALICE Mlle. DORUS.
ISABELLE Mme. CINTI-DAMOREAU.
THE ABBESS Sigr. TAGLIONI.
ROBERT M. NOURRIT.
BERTRAM M. LEVASSEUR.
RAIMBAUT M. LAFONT.

In the following year two versions in English, both of them imperfect,
were brought out by the rival theatres, Covent Garden and Drury Lane.
On the 20th of February it appeared at Drury Lane under the title of
"The Demon; or, the Mystic Branch," and at Covent Garden the next
evening as "The Fiend Father, or Robert Normandy." Drury Lane had
twenty-four hours the start of its rival, but in neither case were the
representations anything but poor imitations of the original. On the
11th of the following June the French version was produced at the
King's Theatre, London, with the same cast as in Paris, except that
the part of Alice was taken by Mme. De Meric, and that of the Abbess
by the danseuse Mlle. Heberle. On the 4th of May, 1847, the first
Italian version was produced at Her Majesty's Theatre, with Jenny Lind
and Staudigl in the cast. Gruneisen, the author of a brief memoir of
Meyerbeer, who was present, says: "The night was rendered memorable,
not only by the massacre attending the general execution, but also by
the debut of Mlle. Lind in this country, who appeared as