rt prayer ("Ruler of this
Awful Hour"), which is impressively solemn, and then follows Reiza's
magnificent apostrophe to the sea ("Ocean, thou mighty Monster that
liest curled like a green Serpent round about the World"). The scene
is heroic in its construction, and its effective performance calls for
the highest artistic power. It represents the gradual calm of the
angry waters, the breaking of the sun through the gloom, and the
arrival of a boat to the succor of the distressed Reiza. The immense
effect of the scene is greatly enhanced by the descriptive
instrumentation, especially in the allegro describing the rolling of
the billows and the recitative and succeeding andante picturing the
outburst of the sun. The mermaid's song ("Oh! 't is pleasant"), with
its wavy, flowing melody, forms a fitting pendant to this great
picture of elementary strife; and a delicate and graceful chorus
closes the act.

The third act opens with a lovely song for Fatima ("Oh! Araby, dear
Araby"), consisting of two movements,--an andante plaintively
recalling past memories, and an allegro of exquisite taste. The song,
even detached from the opera, has always been greatly admired in
concert-rooms, and, it is said, was a special favorite also with the
composer. It is followed by a duet for Sherasmin and Fatima ("On the
Banks of sweet Garonne"), which is of a vivacious and comic nature in
Sherasmin's part, and then passes into a tender minor as Fatima sings.
The next number is a trio for soprano, alto, and tenor ("And must I
then dissemble?"), written very much in the style of the trio in "Der
Freischuetz," and yet purely original in its effect. Reiza follows with
a smooth, flowing, and pathetic cavatina ("Mourn thou, poor Heart"),
which is succeeded in marked contrast by a joyous rondo ("I revel in
Hope") sung by Sir Huon. The next scene is that of Sir Huon's
temptation, a voluptuous passage for ballet and chorus, interrupted at
intervals by the energetic exclamations of the paladin as he
successfully resists the sirens. The gay scene leads up to the finale.
Sir Huon and Reiza are bound to the stake, surrounded by slaves
singing a weird chorus. A blast from the magic horn sets them dancing,
and a quartet for the four principal characters based upon the subject
of the slaves' Chorus ensues. Oberon appears and takes his leave after
transporting the whole company to the royal halls of Charlemagne. A
stirring march opens the scene, a beautiful ar