the title _role_ of
"Tannhaeuser" when that opera was produced in Paris in 1861; who
created the part of _Siegmund_ in 1876 at Bayreuth; and who, in his
way, has done as much to popularize Wagner's operas as Liszt did
during the Weimar period, when people had to go to that city to hear
"Lohengrin" and "Tannhaeuser," as they now go to Bayreuth to hear
"Parsifal." He is not only valuable for the sake of his artistic
qualities, but because of his enthusiasm for the cause of the best
music. Wagner held him in the highest esteem; and he wrote in his
review of the Bayreuth festival of 1876, that without Niemann's
devotion and ardor its success would not have been assured. He
regretted subsequently that he did not ask Niemann to create the
_role_ of _Siegfried_ in the last drama of the Tetralogy, as well as
that of _Siegmund_ in the second. Thanks to this mistake, New Yorkers
had the privilege of hearing Niemann's _debut_ in this _role_--at the
age of fifty-seven, an age when most tenors have retired on their
pensions.

Three artists are included in the present company at the Metropolitan
whom Mr. Stanton could not dispense with under any circumstances. One
of these is Herr Fischer, who, now that Scaria is no more, is beyond
comparison the finest dramatic bass on the stage. No Italian could have
a more mellow and sonorous voice, and his method has all the
conscientiousness, passion, and distinctness of enunciation that
characterize the German style. His _Wotan_ and his _Hans Sachs_,
especially, are marvels of operatic impersonation. Herr Alvary, the
second of the vocalists who unite Italian with German merits, is a
young singer who has a great future before him, if his _Siegfried_, a
most realistic and powerful impersonation, may be argued from. And as
for the third of these artists--Lilli Lehmann--her equal can hardly
to-day be found on the operatic stage. It is very characteristic of the
late Intendant of the Berlin theatres--Herr von Huelsen (who waited nine
years before he accepted "Lohengrin" for performance, and afterward
repeated the same _faux pas_ with the Nibelung Trilogy)--that he
confined Fraeulein Lehmann for years to subordinate _roles_. Indeed,
although she had acquired considerable fame abroad, it may be said that
her real career did not begin till she came to New York. Here her rare
merits were at once recognized, and instead of resting on her laurels,
she has grown more admirable as an actress and singer ev