irable. Yet no! I must not say nothing:
Lablache is excellent,--voice, intonation, manner of song, action.
Ronconi I found good in the Doctor of "_L'Elisire d'Amore_". For the
higher parts Grisi, though now much too large for some of her parts,
and without a particle of poetic grace or dignity, has certainly
beauty of feature, and from nature a fine voice. But I find her
conception of her parts equally coarse and shallow. Her love is the
love of a peasant; her anger, though having the Italian picturesque
richness and vigor, is the anger of an Italian fishwife, entirely
unlike anything in the same rank elsewhere; her despair is that of a
person with the toothache, or who has drawn a blank in the lottery.
The first time I saw her was in _Norma_; then the beauty of her
outline, which becomes really enchanting as she recalls the first
emotions of love, the force and gush of her song, filled my ear, and
charmed the senses, so that I was pleased, and did not perceive her
great defects; but with each time of seeing her I liked her less, and
now I do not like her at all.

Persiani is more generally a favorite here; she is indeed skilful
both as an actress and in the management of her voice, but I find
her expression meretricious, her singing mechanical. Neither of these
women is equal to Pico in natural force, if she had but the same
advantages of culture and environment. In hearing _Semiramide_ here,
I first learned to appreciate the degree of talent with which it
was cast in New York. Grisi indeed is a far better Semiramis than
Borghese, but the best parts of the opera lost all their charm from
the inferiority of Brambilla, who took Pico's place. Mario has a
charming voice, grace and tenderness; he fills very well the part of
the young, chivalric lover, but he has no range of power. Coletti is
a very good singer; he has not from Nature a fine voice or personal
beauty; but he has talent, good taste, and often surpasses the
expectation he has inspired. Gardini, the new singer, I have only
heard once, and that was in a lovesick-shepherd part; he showed
delicacy, tenderness, and tact. In fine, among all these male singers
there is much to please, but little to charm; and for the women, they
never fail absolutely to fill their parts, but no ray of the Muse has
fallen on them.

_Don Giovanni_ conferred on me a benefit, of which certainly its great
author never dreamed. I shall relate it,--first begging pardon of
Mozart, and assu