Eglantine revives, and when she hears from the King that Euryanthe is dead she exults at the news, and shows the barbarous side of her nature in a savage song of wicked triumph, in which she tells the whole story of her trickery. Lysiart becomes enraged and stabs her. He is disarmed and carried away to a dungeon, and later falls into the hands of the hangman. From a distance we now hear a joyful chorus telling us that Euryanthe still lives, and soon she enters with the hunting chorus, and again we hear the passionate duet " Hin nimm die Seeie mein" (" Take my soul, I am wholly thine "), the one sung dur ing the first meeting of the lovers.
The music score of Euryanthe contains some of the most beautiful products of Weber's genius, but the story is improbable, and is not artistic enough to overcome this fault, and the libretto is badly constructed. This com bination is an unfortunate one, and though several ope ratic managers, realizing its musical worth, have endeav ored to make the work popular, it has almost completely disappeared from operatic repertory. When it was first presented in Vienna, Castelli said it had come half a cen tury before its time, and his was a tongue of prophecy, for it was just about fifty years later that it was really ap preciated for its true worth. Musical critics recognize its
dramatic defects, but also the beauty, dignity and mar velous tenderness of its music, and wonderful intensity of its expression of passion. But the public has failed to understand Weber just as it did Wagner, and though here in our own country Euryanthe was beautifully staged, and in every respect well sung and dramatized, it failed to gain the spontaneous and sincere approbation for which its promoters hoped, and it soon disappeared from the list of operas in New York. That it will again be revived and its defects corrected, and in time be gladly received by the same public which now asks for Wagner, is the hope of the sincere admirers of this opera.
In the concert-room there is still heard the ever charming overture, and occasionally Adolar's romanza "Unter bliihenden Mandelbaiimen " ("'Neath the boughs of the flow'ring Almond") in which he recalls the first meeting with Euryanthe. There is in this song the tone of the Troubadour-Knight, and the accompaniment is a charming bit of work. Another solo frequently heard is Lysiart's recitative and aria "Wo berg ich mich " (" Where can I hide"), which occurs in the second act, and is descriptive in character.