questionably the best of
the present opera company. His acting and singing are alike good, and
his voice, of a less delicate texture than a tenor, has preserved its
vigour and freshness. It would be unfair to estimate his abilities by
his performance, some two years ago, at the London Opera-house. He was
then in ill health, and was heard to great disadvantage. He has been
fifteen years on the stage, but only the last five of them have been
passed at Paris. He previously sang at various Italian theatres, chiefly
at the San Carlo. Donizetti's Roberto Devereux and Belisario were
composed expressly for him. Madame Rosine Stoltz, whose portrait, a very
fair resemblance, is prefixed to Mr. Hervey's sketch of her operatic
career, is a highly dramatic singer and an excellent actress, but her
voice, of unusually extensive range, has a metallic sharpness which to
our ear is not pleasant. She possesses a good stage face and figure, and
her performance is most effective both in tragic and comic parts,
although she is usually preferred in the former. We believe she has
never sung in England, perhaps on account of the short respite allowed
her by the French opera--but one month in the year. She is said to be a
god-daughter of the Duchess of Berri. Various notices of her life have
been published, but there is little agreement between them. It is
generally understood that her early years were unprosperous, and that
she endured much suffering and misfortune. If so, she learned mercy from
persecution, for she is now noted for her benevolence, and for the
generous assistance she affords to the needy amongst her comrades.

[14] Doubtless Gardoni was apprehensive of some such deterioration
of his voice, for he has just left the _Academie_, after much
opposition on the part of the manager, and has made a highly
successful appearance at the Italian opera.

Notwithstanding the efforts and merits of these three or four singers,
the French opera is in a declining state. A numerous company is not
always synonymous with a strong one. The present manager, M. Leon
Pillet, has been accused of disgusting, dismissing, or omitting to
engage, some of the best singers of the day. Poultier, the Rouen cooper,
a tenor of the Duprez school, is cited as an instance. He was engaged by
a former management at a thousand francs a-month for eight months in the
year, but, although much liked by the public, he was kept in the
background, owing partly