ne to render Miss Greenfield an
object of uncommon interest to musicians.
"We have been spell-bound by the ravishing tones of Patti,
Sontag, Malibran, and Grisi; we have heard the wondrous
warblings of '_the Nightingale_;' and we have listened with
delight to the sweet melodies of the fair daughter of Erin:
but we hesitate not to assert, that, with one year's tuition
from the world-famed Emanuel Garcia, Miss Greenfield would
not only compare favorably with any of the distinguished
artists above named, but incomparably excel them all."
"The Globe," Toronto, May 12-15, 1852, said,--
"Any one who went to the concert of Miss Greenfield on
Thursday last, expecting to find that he had been deceived
by the puffs of the American newspapers, must have found
himself most agreeably disappointed....
"After he [the pianist] had retired, there was a general
hush of expectation to see the entrance of the vocalist of
the evening; and presently there appeared a lady of a
decidedly dark color, rather inclined to an _embonpoint_,
and with African formation of face. She advanced calmly to
the front of the platform, and courtesied very gracefully to
the audience. There was a moment of pause, and the assembly
anxiously listened for the first notes. They were quite
sufficient. The amazing power of the voice, the flexibility,
and the ease of execution, took the hearers by surprise; and
the singer was hardly allowed to finish the verse, ere she
was greeted with the most enthusiastic plaudits, which
continued for some time. The higher passages of the air were
given with clearness and fulness, indicating a soprano voice
of great power. The song was encored; and Miss Greenfield
came back, took her seat at the piano, and began, to the
astonishment of the audience, a different air in a deep and
very clear bass or baritone voice, which she maintained
throughout, without any very great appearance of effort, or
without any breaking. She can, in fact, go as low as
Lablache, and as high as Jenny Lind,--a power of voice
perfectly astonishing. It is said she can strike thirty-one
full, clear notes; and we could readily believe it."
From a Brattleborough (Vt.) paper, June 23, 1852:--
"The 'Black Swan,' or Miss Elizabeth Greenfield, sang in Mr.
Fisk's beaut
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