reveals to Marie that early in life she had been secretly married to
an officer of lower family position than her own, and that this
officer was Marie's father. Unable to dispute the wishes of her
mother, she renounces Tony in an agony of grief. At last Marie's
sorrow arouses old associations in the mind of the Marchioness, and
she consents to the union of Tony and Marie.

While the music of the opera is light, it is none the less very
attractive, and the work is nearly always popular when performed by
good artists, owing to the comedy strength of the three leading parts,
Marie, Tony, and the Sergeant. The rôle of the heroine, small as it
is, has always been a favorite one with such great artists as Jenny
Lind, Patti, Sontag, and Albani, while in this country Miss Kellogg
and Mrs. Richings-Bernard made great successes in the part. The latter
singer, indeed, and her father, whose personation of the Sergeant was
very remarkable, were among the first to perform the work in the
United States.


LA FAVORITA.

"La Favorita," an opera in four acts, words by Royer and Waëtz, the
subject taken from the French drama, "Le Comte de Commingues," was
first produced at the Académie, Paris, Dec. 2, 1840, with Mme. Stolz
as Leonora, Duprez as Fernando, and Baroelhst as Balthasar. Its
success in England, where it was first produced Feb. 16, 1847, was
made by Grisi and Mario. The scene of the opera is laid in Spain, and
the first act opens in the convent of St. James, of Compostella, where
the young novice, Fernando, is about to take monastic vows. Before the
rites take place he is seized with a sudden passion for Leonora, a