CORNELL 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 FROM THE INCOME 
 
 OF A BEQUEST 
 
 MADE BY 
 
 BENNO LOEWY 
 
 pnusic 
 
 1854-1919 
 
Cornell University Library 
 ML 420.H41M53 
 
 Memoir of Miss Catherine Hayes, "The swan 
 
 3 1924 022 456 770 
 
Cornell University 
 Library 
 
 The original of this book is in 
 the Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924022456770 
 
MEMOIR 
 
 MISS CATHERINE HAYES. 
 

MEMOIIl 
 
 MISS CATHERINE HAYES, 
 
 " THE SWAN OF ERIN," 
 
 A CONTRIBUTOR TO THE DUBLIN UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE. 
 
 WITH A PORTRAIT. 
 
 PUBLISHED BY CRAMER AND CO. 
 
 201, REGENT STREET. 
 
 PRICE FIVE SHILLINGS. 
 
CATHERINE HAYES. 
 
 It is a singular fact that Ireland, so essentially the land of song, whose bardic remains 
 have obtained a world-wide reputation, whose national melodies alternate from the touchingly 
 simple to the thrillingly superb, being alike " beautiful exceedingly," whether they breathe 
 the soul of pathos, or glow with the fervour of martial enthusiasm; whose "keens" express 
 the very passion and abandonment of grief; whose war-songs stir up the heart like the 
 sound of a trumpet — it is a remarkable fact, we repeat, that our musical Island has given to 
 the lyric stage but a single female vocalist, within our memory, capable of interpreting, 
 with success, the highest order of dramatic music. Although in every other branch or art 
 our country has given proof of that genius and talent which are the inalienable birthright of 
 her children, as a vocalist, Irish by birth, and Irish in heart, who has already achieved 
 triumphs which place in the shade many of the proudest lyric victories of the Italian and 
 German prima-donnas, Catherine Hayes stands alone. 
 
 A few years only have passed since Miss Hayes may be remembered in this city, a fair 
 and gentle girl, receiving musical instruction from Signer Sapio, singing with him at the 
 Anacreontic and other societies, and exhibiting on every re-appearance increased purity of 
 style, refinement of taste, correctness of ear, and volume of voice. The committee of 
 this society expressed their approbation of this remarkable improvement by a propor- 
 tionably rapid increase in the amount of her salary — the inexperienced vocalist herself, 
 then unconscious of her powers, receiving with blended bewilderment and delight this 
 proof of her onward progress in the art she loved. Yet, then, though rising so rapidly 
 and so steadily in the estimation of these, the best judges among our musical amateurs 
 — though greeted with public applause and private eulogium, increasing every day in 
 flattering warmth r— though not a little bewildered at the unexpected enthusiasm of the 
 " bravas" and " encores" with which her early public performances were greeted — not 
 one of her admirers could have foreseen the brilliant destiny that awaited her — not 
 one of them could have anticipated her return to her native country, in 1849, after 
 having won in the land of song, both from fame and fortune, a golden and glorious 
 triumph. 
 
2 
 
 Catherine Hayes is a native of Limerick, having been born at No. 4, Patrick-street, 
 in that city, where she resided with her mother and sister up to the period of her depar- 
 ture for Dublin, to be placed under the tuition of Signer Antonio Sapio. The development 
 of her musical talent was early, almost without precedent. From her childhood she 
 exhibited a precocity of vocal power that excited astonishment and admiration, and won for 
 her the generous patronage of the late Bishop of Limerick, to whose warm and liberal 
 encouragement she owes the eminence she has gained, and whose congratulations, when 
 she had triumphed over every difficulty attending her arduous upward struggle, and 
 returned from Italy matured in genius and beauty, she ever acknowledges with tearful eyes 
 to have been her best reward, 
 
 An incident, somewhat romantic in its character, formed the first introduction of Catherine 
 Hayes to the late Hon. and Right Rev. Edmund Knox. Near to the See House, then 
 situated in Henry-street, is the town mansion of the Earl of Limerick, in whose family an 
 aged female relative of Miss Hayes resided. The gardens attached to these houses stretch 
 in parallel lines to the banks of the Shannon, and were remarkable for their picturesque 
 beauty. A woodbine-covered arbour near the river's brink was a favourite resort of 
 Catherine Hayes, then a yOung and delicate child^ — timid, gentle, and reserved, shrinking 
 from the sportive companionship of her playmates ; her chief apparent source of pleasure 
 being to sit alone, half-hidden among the leaves, and warble Irish ballad after ballad, the 
 airs and words of which she appeared to have caught up and retained with a species of 
 intuitive facility. One evening, while thus delightfully occupied, " herself forgetting," and 
 never dreaming but that she was " by the world forgot," some pleasure-parties on the 
 river were attracted by the clear silvery tones of her voice, and the correct taste she even 
 then displayed. Boat after boat silently dropt down the stream, pausing in the shadow of 
 the trees, whence, as from the cage of a singing-bird, came the warblings that attracted 
 them. Not a whisper announced to the unconscious child the audience she was delighting, 
 till, at the conclusion of the last air, " The Lass of Gowrie," the unseen vocalist 
 finished the ballad, dwelling on the passage " And now she's Lady Gowrie" with that 
 prolonged and thrilling shake which owes nothing to all the after-cultivation her voice 
 received, and which, in years to come, was to cause the critical and fastidious pit 
 occupants of the Grand Opera to " rise at her,'' and to forget, in the passionate fervour of 
 their enthusiasm, the cold formalities of etiquette. Then from her unseen auditory arose 
 a rapturous shout of applause, the first intimation the blushing and half-frightened vocalist 
 received that her "native wood-notes wild" had attracted a numerous and admiring 
 
audience. The Eight Rev. Edmund Knox was one of those unseen listeners, and his correct 
 taste and refined discrimination at once discerned the germ of that talent, the matured 
 growth of which has so happily proved the soundness of his judgment. That evening the 
 open air practice terminated, and the timid girl, who knew not the glorious natural gift 
 she possessed, found herself suddenly a musical wonder, and heard, with a kind of incredu- 
 lous delight, confident anticipations of her future celebrity pronounced. She was 
 immediately invited to the See House, where the kindest encouragement overcame her 
 timidity, and she soon became the "star" of a series of musical re-unions, given chiefly 
 for her instruction by her kind patron. These concerts were under the direction of the 
 Messrs. Rogers, musicians of great promise, one of whom is now organist to the Cathedra], 
 Limerick. Singing to their accompaniment, amid a circle predisposed to receive her 
 with favour, Catherine Hayes " came out," her rapid onward progress being soon manifest 
 to all. 
 
 Mention has been made of the beautiful shake, clear, thrilling, and brilliant, with which 
 Miss Hayes is gifted, as having produced the irrepressible burst of applause that indiuated 
 the presence of her first audience — applause, the memory of which, we dare aver, like that 
 of a first victory, has been more dearly cherished than any, the proudest of her after 
 triumphs. A brief history of the first discovery of this rare natural gift, which arduous and 
 persevering study and constant practice may succeed in imitating, if not partially acquiring, 
 but which, to he perfect, must be natural, may not be uninteresting. Shortly before the 
 period of Miss Hayes's introduction to Bishop Knox, and when quite a child, a lady in 
 Limerick — a highly-accomplished amateur — took great interest in the gentle and thoughtful 
 girl, and invited Catherine frequently to visit her. With this lady as her first instructress, 
 she essayed to improve her style of singing some simple ballads; and, displaying in them 
 considerable flexibility of voice and facility of execution, her patroness proposed that she 
 should essay a shake. Surprised, yet flattered, and never dreaming that she really possessed 
 such a gift, she refused with blushes and smiles ; but, on her return to the solitude of her 
 garden-practice bower by the river's brink, she at once endeavoured to imitate the shake 
 her patroness had played for her instruction. She then ascertained, to her extreme delight, 
 the existence of that beautiful and perfect ornament, which is one of the greatest charms 
 of her singing. Timid by nature, retiring by habit, and scarcely believing in the possession 
 of the precious gift, so newly discovered, she kept the secret to herself. At length, one 
 day, having taken her wonted position at the .pianoforte, and being lost, as it were, in the 
 pleasure of singing, she for a moment forgot alike her timidity and caution, and, at the 
 
 B 2 
 
termination of the concluding verse of the ballad, finished with a shake so brilliant, so 
 thrilUng, so perfect, that it extracted a literal scream of delight from her astonished and 
 gratified patroness, who, though pleased with, and proud of her young pupil, knew not till 
 then the musical treasure she had discovered. 
 
 It was from this lady Miss Hayes acquired all the first elementary knowledge of music, 
 which gave her, while still a child, those facilities of brilliant execution, fully developed by 
 after-instruction ; and, amid all the triumphs of her splendid professional career, she has never 
 ceased to cherish the remembrance of th6 surprise, " affectionate and glad," with which her 
 shake on this occasion was greeted. 
 
 Bishop Knox, gratified beyond measure by the astonishing progress o{hiaj>roteffS, con- 
 sulted a number of his and her friends in Limerick as to the best means of fully developing 
 the qualities of her voice, and of making the great natural gifts she possessed subsidiary to 
 her future maintenance. It was then determined that she should be placed under the care of 
 some musical professor of eminence ; and to obtain the funds necessary for this purpose, a 
 subscription list was opened among her friends, a large sum being very speedily collected. 
 After much consultation, and a careful consideration of the merits of the various professors 
 then in this metropolis, Signer Sapio was unanimously selected, a just compliment to the 
 well-known abilities of this professor, and the pains-taking care he devoted to his pupils. 
 These arrangements having all been completed, and Signor Sapio having notified his 
 willingness to undertake the charge, received the following communication : — 
 
 " Mr DEAE Sib, — I have succeeded in obtaining the requisite sum for Miss Hayes's 
 board and tuition for one year, and shall be very much obliged if you will have the kindness 
 to write to me to say when you and Mrs. Sapio can receive her. All her friends here, and 
 she has many, are delighted to think she will be placed under your protection. She is a 
 very amiable girl, and I have no doubt will do you great credit. 
 
 " Believe me, my dear Sir, most truly yours, 
 
 " Edmond Limerick. 
 « Palace, Limerick, 8th March, 1841." 
 
 Signor Sapio immediately replied, expressing his intention of at once making the 
 necessary preparations for Miss Hayes's reception, and requesting to be informed when her 
 arrival in the metropolis might be expected. His residence was then in Percy-place, where 
 commenced what may fairly be termed her first professional studies, and where that young 
 
ambition to excel was awakened, wliioh never, through all the toils of arduous practice, lost 
 faith in the encouraging belief that success would ultimately crown perseverance. The 
 rejoinder of Bishop Knox was as follows : — 
 
 " My dear Sib, — Miss Hayes will be prepared to leave this in a week or ten days, 
 at farthest, and I shall feel greatly obliged if you will let me know, by return of post, if you 
 and Mrs. Sapio can receive her at that time. Mrs. Edmond Knox is quite enchanted at the 
 success she has had in raising subscriptions, and, indeed, so are all her friends, and they are 
 anxious to have her with you' as soon as possible. She is a most modest, gentle, unassuming 
 girl ; and so anxious is she for improvement (knowing, indeed, that her livelihood depends 
 upon it), that I am convinced she will give her very soul to it. 
 
 *' Believe me, my dear Sir, most sincerely, your obliged 
 
 "Edmond Limerick. 
 
 " I have sent Mr. Pigott the amount of her account for the overtures. I hope to be in 
 Dublin in about three weeks, and shall be happy to see you on my way to London. I can, 
 if you wish, let you have £30 in hand. 
 
 "Palace, Limerick, 12th March, 1841." 
 
 Catherine Hayes arrived in Dublin on the 1st of April, 1841, and took up her residence 
 with Signor Sapio, in Percy-place ; it being a great additional recommendation to her mother, 
 and her anxious relatives and friends, that the home thus provided for her was eligible in 
 every respect, combining the greatest comfort with the utmost respectability. Her voice 
 then possessed the beautiful clearness and silvery mellowness which are its characteristics ; 
 her natural taste was pure and refined ; but, in what may be called the mechanical portion 
 of her art, in which it requires carefully and judiciously directed study to acquire a mastery, 
 she was still extremely deficient. In a few weeks, however, her improvement was 
 astonishing, and her eagerness to learn, the assiduity of her study, and the persevering, 
 pains-taking constancy of her practice, amply fiilfilled the Bishop's anticipation, that when 
 once placed in a position where her abilities might have room for development and display, 
 she would " give her very soul" to her art. 
 
 Her first appearance in public took place on the 3rd of May, 1841, just one month after 
 her arrival in the metropolis. The scene of this then great event in her life was the annual 
 concert of Signor Sapio, in the great room of the Rotundo, an entertainment uniformly com- 
 manding a large, fashionable, and discriminating auditory. Although it may be supposed 
 
her timidity was very great, so great, indeed, that the cordial welcome she received 'Scarcely 
 sufficed to restore her aelf-possession, her Jlrst public performance gave her friends assurance 
 that their confidence in her natural powers was not misplaced. Even then, after only a few 
 weeks' tuition, her improvement was so marked as to astonish the professional friends of her 
 able master who had only heard her sing previously, immediately after her arrival from 
 Limerick, when the cultivation her voice had received amounted merely to the amateur 
 instruction of her early frieiid in Limerick. The following notice of the debut of Miss 
 Hayes appeared in the Evening Packet, the other metropolitan critics also speaking 
 favourably of her singing : — ■ 
 
 " On this occasion a fair debutante (a pupU of Signer Sapio) made her first appear- 
 ance as a vocalist, and promises, ere long, to stand high in the profession she has chosen. 
 She sung most efieotively, with Signer Sapio, the duet ' O'er shepherd pipe,' and was 
 loudly encored, being also favourably received in an Italian air which followed. Her voice 
 is a soprano of considerable volume and compass, and has evidently, so far, been carefully 
 cultivated." 
 
 The second appearance, in public, of Miss Hayes was thus heralded in one of the public 
 journals, and we may parenthetically remark, that, from the beginning, these organs of 
 opinion were almost unanimous in their encomiums : — 
 
 " It is, we understand, the intention of the conductors of the Anacreontic Society to 
 introduce to their friends, at the forthcoming concert, a young lady of great promise, 
 who has had the advantage of some instruction from Signer Sapio. The musical world 
 is on tiptoe of expectation of the treat provided for them by this ancient and distinguished 
 Society." 
 
 It was on the 8th of December, 1841, that this concert was given ; and the Packet 
 thus noticed her performance : — 
 
 " Miss Hayes is a highly promising vocalist, and, despite of the timidity under which 
 she was labouring, she sung sweetly and expressively. Her style, which is naturally pure, 
 has been cultivated with the greatest care ; and we have no hesitation in affirming, that 
 all she requires is a little more experience and public practice to render her a decided 
 
acquisition to the concert room. We were pleased to find that she, in a great degree, 
 conquered her nervousness in the air ' Qui la voce,' irom Pwitani, which she executed 
 in a manner that showed the excellence of her tuition. Miss Hayes was also very- 
 effective in the air Come per sereno, which was loudly encored." 
 
 The following month. Miss Hayes, accompanied by her pains-taking instructor, paid 
 a visit to her birth-place, and greatly pleased her early patrons, whose astonishment at 
 her rapid progress knew no bounds. The Bishop of Limerick gave a private concert 
 expressly in her honour, and her performance gratified him exceedingly, and greatly 
 delighted his guests. Ere leaving Limerick on this occasion, she also sung in public at 
 a musical entertainment, announced for her joint benefit and that of Signer Sapio ; 
 and the audience was both surprised and gratified to find her improvement so decided. 
 
 Having returned to Dublin, still under the care of Sapio, with whose family, as 
 before, she resided. Miss Hayes pursued her musical studies with unremitting diligence, 
 and an ardour, indeed, that required to be checked by the kind hand of her instructor, lest 
 health might be sacrificed to over-practice and too close application. Still she occasionally 
 sang in public, as, on the 12th of January, 1843, her appearance formed one of the 
 attractions of a concert given by Mr. J. P. Knight. At this entertainment, Miss Hayes 
 was introduced to Liszt, the celebrated pianist, who was so greatly pleased with her 
 voice and style, that he addressed a congratulatory letter, from which the following is an 
 extract, to Mrs. Knox, daughter-in-law of the Bishop of Limerick : — 
 
 " I do not know of any voice more expressive than that of Miss Hayes. I doubt if, 
 amongst the singers of the day, there is one equal in extent and volume to what her's will 
 be. As to her singing, it is easy and natural, and devoid of all false method ; and what- 
 ever her career in future may be, she will owe a good debt of gratitude to Sapio. Whether in 
 London, Paris, Italy, or wherever I may be, I shall always be happy to forward her in her 
 profession. 
 
 "F. Liszt." 
 
 During the remainder of the year 1843, Miss Hayes continued to be one of the leading 
 vocalists at the Anacreontic, Philharmonic, and other metropolitan concerts, her terms 
 gradually increasing from five, till they reached ten guineas each performance. This may 
 be an extremely commercial method of indicating steady improvement, but it is more 
 
expressive than pages of eulogium. She visited Belfast (singing at the opening of the Ana- 
 creontic Hall there), Limerick again, Parsonstown, and other places, during the summer and 
 autumn of 1843 ; and on the 12th of September, a great event in her life, as she then con- 
 sidered it, took place — an introduction to no less a personage than the great Lablache. 
 Costa was also present at this interview, during which, with much difficulty, as she often 
 even now declares that she vividly remembers being really frightened, she was prevailed on 
 to sing " Qui la voce," in order that the veteran might pass his awful and dreaded judgment 
 on her pretensions to take some rank as a solo concert singer, the position at that time her 
 proudest desires only sought to achieve. Lablache heard her with attention tiU the air 
 was finished, when, instead of pronouncing the opinion which she tremblingly awaited, he 
 asked her to try another and more difficult solo, and then a duet, in which he joined, and 
 then another duet, so that, in fact, the trial terminated in a day's practice not soon to be 
 forgotten by the gratified debutante. Lablache's opinion of her pretensions was at once 
 flatteringly pronounced, and that opinion was afterwards communicated to Sapio in a letter? 
 of which the annexed is a translation : — 
 
 '■' Dear Sapio, — I have heard with infinite pleasure your pupil. Miss Hayes ; and 
 I find she possesses all the qualities to make a good singer. With your instruction, she 
 can but gain every day, and I am certain she will end by becoming a perfect vocalist in 
 every sense of the word. 
 
 " Believe me, your sincere friend, 
 
 " Louis Lablache." 
 
 It has been stated that the highest desire of Catherine Hayes at this period was to 
 succeed in obtaining a position of some eminence as a concert singer : and it was only after 
 her interview with Lablache, during which he invited her to go to the theatre the following 
 evening, and see Grisi and Mario perform together in the grand opera of Norma, that she 
 felt the current of her destiny was changed. She had never witnessed great acting united 
 with great singing before ; and as she sat, with lips apart, eye dilated, and heart 
 tumultuously beating, while the most splendid personation of the Druid priestess that the 
 stage can boast passed like an exciting dream before her ; as she heard the peals of applause 
 reverberating through the house ; as she beheld the literal shower of floral wreaths and 
 bouquets with which, finally, the Queen of Italian Song was crowned, the first seeds were 
 sown of ambition to excel in the lyric drama. How tame, how cold, how incomplete then 
 
appeared the greatest triumph or most flattering reception of the concert-room ; how 
 treasured was the after presentation to the Norma ; how little was the illusion aflected by 
 that dingy locality "behind the scenes;" how fixed, settled, and all-absorbing became the 
 idea, that no glory could surpass that of being called again and again before the curtain, 
 and, half-blinded by the glare, half suffocated by the heat of vainly endeavouring to hold 
 the armful of bouquets, presented, after his most fascinating fashion, by Signor Mario. 
 
 Miss Hayes remained under the tuition of Sapio until August, 1844, when she returned 
 to Limerick, one of her last performances in Dublin being at a private concert given by the 
 Countess De Grey. Once amongst her friends, she painted, with all the enthusiasm of her 
 nature, and in the brilliant hues that youth extracts from hope, the prosperity that the stage 
 held out, and implored their sanction in undertaking the study necessary to ensure even a 
 moderate amount of success. Her then most earnest desire was to proceed forthwith to 
 Paris, in order to be placed under Signor Emmanuel Garcia, the master who educated 
 Malibran for the operatic stage, and from whom Jenny Lind had received some of her earliest 
 lessons. This proposal would not at first be at all entertained by her relatives and friends ; 
 but there was no combating the anxious and incessant pleadings of the enthusiastic girl, and 
 it was ultimately arranged that she should be at once placed under Garcia. A question then 
 arose as to how the journey could be performed by one so very young and inexperienced, 
 and it was proposed that she should remain in her native city until a family, about to leave 
 for Paris in two months, would be ready to depart, when she could accompany them. This 
 the ardent girl declared not to be thought of, as two months' delay would be two months 
 lost; and so feverishly anxious did she at last become, that her friends fmally consented to 
 her starting alone! The requisite preparations were then promptly made, and on the 
 12th of October, 1844, Catherine Hayes arrived in Paris, bearing a letter of introduction to 
 George Osborne, the celebrated pianist,* to the care of whose amiable and accomplished 
 wife she was warmly recommended. Her reception was friendly and encouraging ; and she 
 ever speaks 'with affectionate warmth of their undeviating kindness, which rendered her 
 stay in the French capital so full of happiness. Miss Hayes diligently pursued her studies 
 under Garcia, who proved, to use her own enthusiastic words, " the dearest, the kindest, 
 and the most generous of masters," during a year and six months, when her tutor declared he 
 could not add a single graqe pr charm to the then fully developed and beautiful organ she 
 
 • This eminent performer, among other te.^timunials, has been honoured \>j receiving " La Coronne de fe( 
 C'Aene" from the King of the Netherlands, being the only English artiste ever before so highly distinguished. 
 
 C 
 
10 
 
 possessed, so richly pure in tone, so extensive in compass, and so perfect, both in the 
 upper and lower register. He advised her at once to proceed to Italy, as the best theatre 
 for obtaining the dramatic requirements indispensable for success on the lyric stage. Miss 
 Hayes accordingly proceeded to Milan, where she placed herself under the instruction of 
 Signor Felice Ronconi, brother to the celebrated baritone, and then professor of singing to 
 the Conservatoire Royale. While studying under his tuition, and laying the foundation 
 of that fame which was shortly to bewilder the astonished girl herself, her elear, fresh voice 
 and cultivated style added not a little to the attraction of sfeveral musical parties to which 
 she was invited. At one of these reunions she was introduced to the once-celebrated 
 Grassani, aunt to Madame Grisi, who warmly congratulated her on the possession of an 
 organ so beautiful, and on the good fortune that attended its first education and after 
 cultivation. Indeed, the impression made upon Madame Grassani by Miss Hayes's singing 
 was so great, that she wrote to Signor Provini, then manager of the Italian Opera at 
 Marseilles, telling him of the star that was about to dazzle the theatrical world, and advising 
 him to lose no time in offering her an engagement. He immediately came 'to Milan,' 
 obtained an introduction to Miss Hayes, and, after having heard her sing, offered her terms 
 that seemed to her an absolute fortune, as an inducement to sign an engagement with him 
 for three months. Her debut, that terrible ordeal for one so young and inexperienced, 
 accordingly took place at Marseilles, the opera chosen being Bellini's I Pv/ritani ; and 
 a house crowded to overflowing, tending not to reassure, but unnerve her, as she well- 
 knew how severely critical was her audience. The kindness of her reception also 
 added to her embarrassment, the 
 
 " Quiet and attention still iis night, 
 Or summer noontide air," 
 
 with which the first tremulous notes of her voice were listened to, rendering the ordeal still 
 more trying. At first she felt a sensation of faintness and prostration ; she thought her 
 failure almost a certainty, and has often declared that the agony of that thought was 
 nearly insupportable. The faintest cheer, the smallest demonstration of approval, would 
 have been somewhat reassuring. But no — the long-trying scene between Elvira and 
 Sir George passed off in solemn silence. Not a " hand" did the deiutante obtain after 
 her. first welcome, until at last the eighth scene opened, and, in he^rich nuptial attire, the 
 agitated Elvira entered, her lips as white with fear as the pale rose garland encircling her 
 
11 
 
 brow. Faint and frightened as she felt, the beautiful opening polaee^, "Son Vergin," 
 awakened in her musical soul the enthusiasm she so largely inherits, and never, perhaps, 
 did she interpret this delightful air with more sweetness, more tenderness, more ex- 
 pression. 
 
 The ice was at once thawed. A generous burst of approbation startled her from almost 
 despair into perfect rapture. A flattering encore then further bewildered her with a new 
 and exquisite joy, and at its termination, as the shouts of approval followed her from the 
 stage, she wept with pleasure to know that the dream of her life's ambition had begun to be 
 realised — she felt she had succeeded. The curtain fell amid the most enthusiastic plaudits, 
 renewed again and again, till the agitated but delighted girl reappeared, when numbers of 
 the passionately music-loving audience, who had rushed en masse from the theatre, and 
 returned loaded with artificial flowers, literally filled the stage with their graceful ofierings, 
 making a perfect garden around the embarrassed debutante. The second appearance of Miss 
 Hayes in Lucia di Lammermoor , and her third opera, Mose in Egitto, confirmed the 
 favourable impression her dehut created ; and during the three months of her stay at 
 Marseilles her popularity increased so rapidly and vastly, that Signor Provini used every 
 argument, golden ones included, to induce her to accept an engagement for the Opera in 
 Paris. However, as she felt that she had much to learn, she declined all these offers, and 
 returned to Milan, where she gave her undivided attention to study, under the direction of 
 Signor Ronconi. 
 
 It was while still diligently pursuing her studies and practising under, her able master, 
 with a pains-taking assiduity that surprised hira, that Signor Eonconi requested her 
 assistance at one of his annual musical reunions. At this concert she met Signor Morelli, 
 manager of the La Scala Theatre at Milan, who immediately offered her an engagement, an 
 offer she proudly and gratefully accepted ; the post of prima donna at the first theatre in 
 Europe being then, perhaps, for the first time occupied by so youthful an artiste, and only 
 three months after her debut ! The Linda di Chamouni of Donizetti was the opera chosen 
 for her first appearance ; and it may convey some idea of the unprecedented enthusiasm of 
 her reception, to state, that, on the falling of the curtain, she was called before it no less 
 than TWELVE times ! Her second appearance was in Otello, and it was also a perfect 
 triumph : the character of the gentle Desdemoua being one which her delicate and graceful 
 beauty of face and form peculiarly adapted her to represent'. Her touching portraiture of 
 Desdemona won for her the flattering designation, " The Pearl of the Theatre'' (La Parla 
 del Teatro), a happily descriptive title, by which she was known during the remainder of 
 
 c 2 
 
12 
 
 her stay at Milan, where she continued to win " golden opinions." She proceeded thence 
 to Vienna, where her reception was also extremely flattering, so flattering, indeed, 
 that, in her letter home, she declared she was quite " spoiled," and expressed some 
 apprehension that her " head" might " turn" with the happy intoxication of such unexpected 
 success. 
 
 On the first night of the Carnival, Miss Hayes made her appearance at Venice 
 in a new opera, composed expressly for her by a young Italian nobleman, entitled Albergo 
 de Romano. The overture with which it was introduced was spiritless and unpleasing, and 
 the music of the opening scenes contained little promise, and was entrusted to inferior 
 artistes. It fell with ominous coldness on the ears of the audience, and that heavy silence 
 which sometimes precedes a theatrical as well as an atmospheric storm, gradually settled 
 down, as it were, over the house. When Miss Hayes entered, in the middle of the first act, 
 she had, in fact, not only to contend against the ill-humour of a disappointed and displeased 
 auditory, but to sustain the chief part in an opera that already had all but failed. Her 
 fame, however, fortunately for the author, had preceded her, and when she entered, so 
 young, so animated, so graceful — when the first tones of her sweet soprano, so silvery in 
 their freshness and purity, were heard — the displeasure of the audience gradually subsided, 
 and, ere the curtain fell, she not only saved the opera from summary condemnation, but 
 rendered its first performance a triumphant success. Her next appearance was in Lucia, 
 in noticing which the Bazar di Novita, the Figaro, and the other Venetian journals, 
 exhausted the vocabulary of praise. The rapturous critic of the first-named journal said — ■ 
 
 " Elle venne accolta da una interminabUe salva d' applausi : dest6 entusiasmo, fanatismo 
 e furore nella sua cavatina, nel duetto con tenore ed in quello col basso, e non saprebbesi 
 come caratterizzare il trionfo che consegui al suo rond6 finale, mentre gU applausi e le 
 grida di brava indicavano un vero universale delirio." 
 
 We annex a translation for the benefit of " the country gentlemen" : — 
 
 " Catherine Hayes comes to Venice to gather an interminable salvo of applause. In 
 her cavatina the furore created amounted to an enthusiasm almost fanatic, as also the 
 duet with the tenore and basso. But we cannot find words to describe the triumph of her 
 rondo finale, the acclamations and the hurricane of ' bravas' indicating a universal 
 
13 
 
 The critic in the Figaro was even more rapturous in his praise. He said : — 
 
 " Perd il pezzo dell' Opera, e quelle in cui apparve piu straordinaria la bravura 
 della Hayes, fu il suo rond6 nel terz'atto, di cui non pud dirsi a parole tutto il bene 
 che si dovrebbe. L'attenzione, cosi viva e generale che si sarebbe inteso il ronzio d' 
 una mosca, venina di tratto id tratto interrotta da grida d' entusiasmo rapite dalla sublimita 
 di quel canto, alia fine del quale furono tanti gli applausi e le chiamate, che riapparsa 
 r artista al proscenio le tre volte permesse, dovette ricomparirvi un' altra volta ancora 
 col beneplacido della direzione, dopo forse un dieci minuti di plausi e di grida continuati. La 
 Hayes non poteva desiderare un piu splendido trionfo." 
 
 " But the great feature of the opera — that which produced the most extraordinary 
 effect — was the rondo in the third act, of Vphich it is impossible to speak in terms of 
 sufi&cient praise. So lively and geHeral was the attention of the audience, that the buz- 
 zing of a fly might have been heard ! the dead silence bursting at intervals into the most 
 enthusiastic shouts of applause. At the end of the performance the Hayes was called three 
 times before the curtain, the applause continuing full ten minutes. Truly the Hayes 
 could not desire a more splendid triumph." 
 
 In the Linda, too, our fair countrywoman delighted the Venetians, an unprecedented 
 theatrical emeufe attesting the effect of her performance. At Venice, the law regulating 
 theatricals prohibits any artiste, at any theatre, from appearing before the curtain more 
 than thrice, in compliance with a call of the audience. At the termination of Donizetti's 
 charming opera, however, the excited crowd would insist on Miss Hayes coming forward 
 a fourth time ; and as she did not dare to disobey the police regulations, the excitement 
 became alarming, her admirers declaring that if not permitted to pay her this compliment as 
 many times as they pleased, they would tear down the theatre. Permission was finally 
 granted, and when Miss Hayes at last came forth, she was literally covered with floral 
 offerings. After a short stay at Vienna, to which capital she was commanded to return by 
 order of the Emperor, she again proceeded to Italy, her first stop being at Bergamo, where 
 she received unusual favours. Here she had the gratification of meeting, for the first time, 
 the celebrated tenor, Rubini, who was one of the guests at a splendid banquet given by the 
 Podesta in her honour. She had always ardently desired to hear this great master, and 
 having hinted this wish, he, with the most flattering promptitude, sang for her his most 
 celebrated air from the Pirata, asking her afterwards to accompany him in the duet Su Icf 
 
14 
 
 Tomba, from Lucia di Zammermoor. Singing with this great master, Miss Hayes put 
 forth all her powers, and completely astonished the world-renowned tenor, who could with 
 difficulty believe that a style so perfect could have been acquired after a comparatively short 
 period of practice. He repeatedly assured her that he looked with the most lively antici- 
 pations for her success in England. During the remainder of her sojourn in Italy, Miss 
 Hayes received unceasing complimentary marks of attention. At Florence, Catalani's villa 
 was always open to receive her ; and, on one occasion, when she sang there with unusual 
 success, the ex-Queeii of Italian Song kissed her aflfectionately before the assembled guests, 
 and said — " What would I not give to be in London when you make your debut / 
 Your fortune is certain. And remember, whenever i/ou come, my doors shall be always 
 open." 
 
 At Genoa, on the occasion of her farewell benefit, when the curtain fell, the ladies, who 
 are among the proudest of Italian patricians, all left the boxes, and, coming behind the scenes, 
 presented her with enormous bouquets, uttering the warmest wishes for her success in 
 England ; for at this time Miss Hayes, after considerable persuasion, had been induced to 
 accept an engagement in London, the managers of the Royal Italian Opera (which 
 then boasted among its company Mesdames Grisi, Persiani, and Alboni,. Signor Mario, 
 Tambourini, &c. &c.) offering her such flattering terms that she could not prudently 
 decline them. 
 
 Her first appearance in the British metropolis took place at the Koyal Italian Opera 
 House, Covent-garden, on Tuesday, the 10th April, 1849. The piece chosen for her debut 
 was Donizetti's semi-serious opera, Linda di Chomouni; and the Times thus noticed her 
 performance : — ■ 
 
 " Miss Hayes's style of singing is artistic and graceful ; she never forces her voice, 
 but has abundance of energy at command, which she uses legitimately, and without any 
 tendency to exaggeration. In the first scene, the uproarious welcome she received from the 
 attendance appeared to overcome her altogether, and it was not till near the, end of the 
 Well-known cavatina, ' O luce di quest' anima,' that she entirely recovered her presence 
 of mind ; here, however, an elegant cadenza, introducing a clever and well-executed shake, 
 gained her great applause and an encore, which restored her to confidence, and enabled her 
 to repeat the eabaletta with double effect. Her next hit was in the duet with Carlo, Salvi, 
 in which first occurs the pretty melody so frequently employed in the opera, " A conso- 
 larmi affrettisti ;" this was given so effectively by both singers, tjiat it was unanimously 
 
15 
 
 r«demanded. In the grand scene with Antonio (Linda's father), Miss Hayes was excellent ; 
 and the mad scene that follows was sung with admirable effect, especially the well-known 
 bravura passage, ' Non e ver,' where her execution of the chromatic passages was perfect, 
 and the ascending trait with the violins, at the end, was accomplished with remarkable 
 decision and brilliancy. In this, as well as in the last scene. Miss Hayes gave evidence of 
 * great deal of dramatic feeling, and a thorough familiarity with stage-efSct. Nothing could 
 be warmer or more unanimous than her reception by the audience, who applauded 
 her enthusiastically, and recalled her before the foot-lights after every act." 
 
 The other London journals were equally eulogistic in their criticisms, and, in the 
 fullest sense of the words, her London debiit was a " triumphant success." Yet those who 
 closely observed her that night might have perceived in her every look, tone, and move- 
 ment, the existence of a deep emotion, for which even the ordeal of a first appearance 
 was not sufficient to account. When, however, the curtain fell, and when, in a private box, 
 kneeling before her first and best patron, she sobbed out all she felt, and ascribed to him 
 every honour and reward she had gained, that unusual emotion was more than explained. 
 From the stage she had recognised Bishop Knox among her auditory, and their first meeting 
 took place as described. 
 
 Her second appearance, in the part of Lucia, confirmed the highly favourable im- 
 pression made by her debut ; and during the remainder of the season Miss Hayes continued 
 to win golden opinions from, perhaps, the most critical audience in Europe ; the evenings of 
 her performance being almost uniformly distinguished by an unusually crowded attendance. 
 At a private concert at Buckingham Palace, ere the close of her engagement, she was honoured 
 by a command from Her Majesty to attend, and her interpretation of Nini's air, " Oh vane 
 pompa,'' from La Maresciella, created a marked sensation. During the evening, Her 
 Majesty, in the most gracious and condescending manner, advanced to Miss Hayes and 
 entered into conversation, complimenting her on what the Queen was pleased to term her 
 " deserved success," and anticipating for her fiirther honours and rewards. Prince Albert 
 and the Duke of Cambridge also paid her the most flattering attention ; the unwonted 
 tribute being as mucl^a recognition of her virtue and amiability, as of her grace, beauty, and 
 genius. 
 
 The period now approached when one dream of the fair vocalist's ambition was to 
 be realised — when one passionate desire of her childhood's fancy was to be more than fulfilled 
 — ^when her return to her native land, to her native city, " a bright particular star" in 
 the lyric world, was to repay her early patrons for the care with which they tended her 
 
16 
 
 dawning genius. On the fifth of November last, after just seven years' absence, the an- 
 nouncement of the engagement of Miss Hayes, by the Dublin Philharmonic Society, drew an 
 unusually full attendance to their concert, their Excellencies the Earl and Countess of 
 Clarendon, and suite, forming, for the first time, a portion of the audience. The welcome 
 home of the " Irish Lind," as she was termed, has been thus truly described by the 
 Freeman's Journal: — 
 
 " The reception of Mademoiselle Hayes was, beyond conception, enthusiastic. We 
 need not remark, that at concerts matters partake too much of the drawing-room or soirie 
 character to admit of such an exhibition of applause as to amount to a furore. Our 
 fashionables at all times, no matter how delighted they may feel, make but indifferent 
 claqueurs ; but on last evening the peals of applause that greeted each glorious effort 
 of our Irish soprano were worthy of the theatre during the Lind epidemic." 
 
 Her singing created an immense sensation. The critics, recollecting what her 
 voice had been, and what it then was, speculated on the possibility of " climate" and 
 " refined education," absolutely " creating" a new organ, and their only embarrass^ 
 ment seemed the impossibility of commanding language sufficiently eulogistic to express 
 their admiration. 
 
 Miss Hayes made her second appearance in the Theatre Royal, when, perhaps, one 
 of the most extraordinary scenes that ever occurred in that building took place — a scene 
 sufficient to have shaken the nerves of a Grisi or an Mboni, much less those of a fair and 
 delicate girl, treading, for the first time, her native boards, after seven years' absence. 
 The opera announced was Lueia di Lammermoor : the 'f Edgardo" of the piece being a 
 Signer Paghere, unknown before here, and not heard of since. His ludicrous inefficiency 
 elicited shouts of laughter, with a variety of ingenious, mimicries from the " wags" among 
 the audience — these manifestations of disapproval for him being blended with loud 
 applause for the frightened debutante. In the midst of this uproar and noise, a more glaring 
 break-down than before on Edgardo's part, was followed by a hurrvane of " catcalls.'' 
 Miss Hayes, with wonderful self-possession, courtesied to that unfortunate gentleman, and 
 left the stage. The curtain was then rung down ; and an indescribable scene of tumultuous 
 excitement followed, cheers, groans, laughter, and hisses, forming a very Babel of discord. 
 Mr. Sims Reeves, who, with Mr. Whitworth, Miss Lucombe, and an English operatic 
 company, had terminated an engagement the day qf Miss Hayes's firrival, occupied a private 
 
17 
 
 box, and sat, during all this turmoil, full in view of the audience. He was quickly recog- 
 nized, and shouts of " Reeves, Reeves," arose from nearly every part of the house. The lessee, 
 Mr. Calcraft, on this, came forward, and intimated that "he had then no control over 
 Mr. Reeves, whose engagement had terminated, and who, on being asked to sing, in this 
 unhappy emergency, had positively declined. Mr. Reeves instantly sprang to his feet, 
 leaned out of the box, and, on obtaining a partial silence, said, in no very temperate tone, 
 " Ladies and Gentlemen, I will sing to oblige you, but not to oblige Mr. Calcraft ;" on which 
 the 'lessee, in the blandest tones, concluded the first act of unpleasantness in these 
 words — 
 
 " I am not angry, I assure you, that Mr. Reeves has declined to sing to oblige me ; 
 but I am gratified to find that he has consented to do so to please the audience, and doubly 
 gratified, because, under the untoward circumstances, he will support your gifted and dis- 
 tinguished young countrywoman." 
 
 After the necessary delay of dressing, &c. the curtain again rose and the opera pro- 
 ceeded, Mr. Reeves performing Edgardo better than on any former occasion in this city ; 
 and Miss Hayes nerving herself so fully for her task, that no trace of tremulousness, no 
 shadow of the agitating scene through which she had passed, marred the magnificence of 
 her singing and acting. At the termination of each act, they were both called before the 
 curtain ; and when the opera concluded, their presence was again and again demanded, amid 
 the almost furious waving of hats, canes, handkerchiefs, and umbrellas. The curtain 
 having finally descendei^the lessee came forth, when the appearance of Mr. Reeves 
 at the side wing, and nis advance to the centre of the stage in the costume of 
 Edgardo, occasio'ifflft_ a renewal of the uproar. However, having mutually " ex- 
 plained," and the petulance of the petted favourite having given way before the frank 
 cordiality of the manager, they shook hands upon the stage, thus terminating the " row" 
 which had neasly^roved fatal to the first appearance of Catherine Hayes in the metropo- 
 litan theatre of her birth-place. And that appearance, so ardently, yet so tremblingly longed 
 for — that success which was felt to be the great and crowning reward of all the toil of in- 
 cessant practice, all the years of diligent study — that success, so suddenly imperilled, so 
 nearly marred — it is not any wonder that Miss Hayes ever refers to this incident as the 
 most painful throughout her entire career. The following evening she appeared in Norma, 
 and concluded her brief engagement in La Sonnambula, her first gratifying professional 
 
18 
 
 visit to Ireland terminating -with two concerts given in her native city. Her second ap- 
 pearance in Dublin took place in February last ; and she proceeded hence to Limerick and 
 Cork, on that occasion, as the prima donna oi an Italian company. Her reception was 
 deeply gratifying. Numbers of the most respectable inhabitants of the former city 
 assembled at the railway terminus to meet her, and their welcome was indeed a demonstra- 
 tion of respect and attachment not to be forgotten. The theatre, each night of her perform- 
 ance, was crowded to overflowing. On the occasion of her benefit, her performance presented 
 a scene of intense excitement, and her leave-taking has thus been described by an eye- 
 witness : — 
 
 " The hotel was surrounded from an early hour, and it was with dif&culty she was able 
 to proceed to the carriage in waiting to convey her to the railway terminus. Hundreds of 
 the poor, to whom she gave liberal charity, blessed her as she departed ; and amid the 
 farewell salutations of large groups of ladies and gentlemen, the latter uncovered in her 
 honour, she at length drove away, affected to tears by the favours enthusiastically heaped 
 upon her." 
 
 In Cork, also, the " Irish prima donna" received a truly Irish welcome. Hundreds 
 could not obtain admission to the theatre on the night of her appearance ; and, on more than 
 one occasion, costly presents were handed to her by the ladies in the boxes. 
 
 On the 2nd of April, Miss Hayes, having accepted an offer from Mr. Lumley, made her 
 first appearance in her Majesty's Theatre ; the adroit manager thus securing himself, in the 
 absence of Jenny Lind, from a rivalry he especially dreaded. ^Her debut in ZMoj'a was 
 triumphantly successful, the London critics, without a single exception, speaking in laudatory 
 terms of her vocal and dramatic powers. ^ i0^ 
 
 It is not for us to profess to comprehend the mysteries of theatrical managemient, or to 
 account for the singular fact that, during the season now just terminated. Miss Hayes, 
 whose past career was so brilliant, whose debiit was so suecessfiil, wholfe leputdbtioji, in a 
 word, was established, should have been afforded so few opportunities of appearing. Although 
 a large payment was secured to her, and although every Overture of the most flattering 
 description was made by the management, in order to attach her to the company for the 
 season, after the engagement was signed. Miss Hayes was rarely called on to gratify the 
 patrons of the opera. A prima donna oi former years — whose performances, however 
 wonderfully pure, fresh, and brilliant still, were associated with the recollections of the past. 
 
19 
 
 was brought prominently forward every night, while Miss Hayes was " shelved," as far 
 as the management could effect this obscuration. Certainly the diminution in the attrac- 
 tion at her Majesty's Theatre, which has now turned that noble building into a species of 
 promenade concert-room, has not afforded proof of the wisdom of this arrangement, nor has 
 the unworthy treatment of our fair countrywoman diminished in any, the least degree, the 
 popularity she enjoys both in England and this country. 
 
 We have now briefly traced the vocal career of Catherine Hayes, from that early period 
 when her first audience cheered the child-songstress on the Shannon's brink, till pronounced 
 second only to Jenny Lind by the coldest and severest critics in the world, — till described 
 by one of their cautious organs as " certainly the sweetest, the most graceful, and the most 
 interesting representative" of Lucia on the stage. Her professional triumphs have been as 
 brilliant as her private life has been pure and amiable. If to Grisi and Adelaide Kemble 
 it has been given to astonish by the sublime grandeur of their tragic acting, the passion and 
 the thrilling beauty of their vocalism ; if to Alboni, mighty in all the meaning of the word, 
 be granted amazing attributes of power, and a voice organ-like in blended depth and 
 sweetness ; if to Sontag be confided the charm of pure and delicate expression, wedded to 
 delicious floridness of flute-like execution ; if to Jenny Lind, greater than all, the queen 
 of song, be given that purely beautiful perfection of vocal melody — that true " sunshine 
 spoken," blending light, and loveliness, and feeling, which never till her advent came 
 from human throat — to Catherine Hayes have descended the deep sensibility, the mournful 
 pathos, the heart-speaking expression which characterise her native music. Her voice is 
 a clear and beautiful soprano, of the sweetest quality in all its ranges ; ascending with perfect 
 ease to D in alt., and in' its freshness, mellowness, and purity giving no token of having at 
 all suffered by the excessive severity of her Italian discipline. It has been well said of 
 Jenny Lind and Catherine Hayes : — 
 
 " The one, like a gem, flashes upon the sense, and emits a thousand rays, each glorious 
 in itself; the other, like a flower, is redolent of our soil, and gradually diffuses sweetness 
 around. Or we might compare the foreign artiste to one of her native landscapes, basking 
 in . splendour, and clear in its outline and objects beneath a starry sky; Miss Hayes's 
 beauties are those of our own clime, with its features of tenderness melting into light, or 
 darkening into shade.'' 
 
 As an actress, too. Miss Hayes, during her career, has displayed dramatic genius of 
 
 D 2 
 
20 
 
 the highest order, repudiating the idea, to a great extent still existing, that, in opera, the 
 interpretation of the music alone was the essential of success. What, for instance, can be 
 more true to nature than her Amina, so full of innocent and joyous animation in the. earlier 
 scenes, so painfully real in the after-abandonment to grief, so tender in love, so touching 
 ih sorrow, so purely simple throughout P Then her Linda — ^is not the madness of that love- 
 lorn girl painfully real ? Was ever sorrow expressed in more plaintive utterance, more 
 moving action ? Her Lucia too — ^is it not an exquisitely original conception, truthfully 
 carried out P And even her Norma, a part for which the soft and gentle attributes of 
 her nature render her almost unfit — is it not still a grand and moving performance, a fine 
 portraiture of the woman, not, as is that of Grisi, of the fiend ? 
 
 Having accepted an engagement at Rome as prima donna during the grand carnival. 
 Miss Hayes will leave for that city on the termination of her present engagement in 
 Ireland, proceeding thence to Naples, and returning to London in March next. When 
 again to Ireland ? 
 
 Sketch of Miss Catherine Hates, the cekbrated Irish Vocalist. 
 
 Of our other highly gifted and talented citizen, Miss Catherine Hayes, the volume of 
 the University just bound gives us an interesting memoir, which, as a matter of local 
 history, may take its place alongside that of Sylvester O'Halloran. some time since 
 transferred to our columns — an interesting] review of Mr. Aubrey de Vere's travels in the 
 East occurs also in the present volume of the University Magazine. Like Lord Gough at 
 Chillianwallah, Catherine Hayes, we learn, has had her great triumphs ; but if anything 
 should dash our spirits with regard to the Memoir of the University, it is that the sketch 
 had unavoidably left out the most essential part of Miss Hayes's career, and the engraver 
 has been specially infelicitous in his department. Three admirable pictures of Catherine 
 Hayes have been drawn for her friends in London, we are informed, which makes the 
 omission less pardonable. We feel we can now speak " less advisedly" on the subject, as 
 our gifted towns-woman is in Italy, and her retiring and humble wishes may be disregarded 
 without a breach of good feeling or good taste. In continuation of the memoir that has 
 
21 
 
 already appeared in the Chronicle, and as a matter of historic interest, we feel pleasure in 
 supplying the few links recLuired to complete that memoir. 
 
 " On coming to England in 1849, Miss Hayes established herself at once, by her 
 almost miraculous performance in Meyerbeer's opera, the " Prophete ;" few so fortunate as 
 to have seen at this time the subject of our memoir and the great sister of Malibran, the 
 gifted Viardot, but recognised in the Irish girl talent of the very first order. Some of Miss 
 Hayes's dearest recollections are bound up with her association with the sister of Malibran 
 in this opera ; any one at all accustomed to the echoes of the stalls at this time at Covent 
 Garden, could learn that Viardot was teaching everybody ; that trombones and ophicleides 
 all looked to this great artist to teach them what to do ; but that in teaching her " gentle 
 spiriting" to Catherine Hayes, it was a labour of love and sweet devotion. In common 
 with all the operas of this greatest of modern writers, the "Prophete" is a dense jungle 
 of most labored harmony and counterpoint — more learned and elaborate than anything in 
 the Italian or French school, and filled with German mystery. In the long but beautiful 
 opening romance, where Oberthal makes his appearance, and Bertha tells, in the music, the 
 story of her love for Jean of Leyden, there was no mistaking Miss Hayes's fine conception 
 of the part ; in the elaborateness of the music, the pleading of Viardot for her, the grand 
 junction of the tv?o voices, there was something magnificent, and of all imaginable difficul- 
 ties the most difficult ; it was at once highly dramatic, but truthful to nature. Then the 
 dream of Mario (Jean) — who shall forget it ? — his love for the gentle Bertha — her escape 
 from Oberthal — 'her seizure again by the tyrant, all so graphically told in that most 
 wondrous music — the rush of Bertha from the tyrant. This, we take it, was the greatest 
 thing Catherine Hayes has ever done. The music would puzzle a college of musicians ; yet, 
 in all her emotion, there was not a note out of joint. Jean and the Anabaptists — their 
 attack on the town of Munster— the celebrated, but very foolish, seating scene — that 
 grandest of all grand spectacles, the coronation scene, of course everybody has witnessed— 
 the wail of Viardot, as a mendicant, meeting Catherine Hayes, the Pilgrim ; the former 
 believing her son dead, the poor lorn Bertha joining in the lamentation, and both intent 
 on the destruction of the Prophet, who happens, though they are in ignorance of the fact, 
 to be no other than the self-same Jean. Then the coronation of the impostor ; the grand 
 roll of the organ through the cathedral — that unearthly chaunt of the Anabaptists — the 
 broken discords in some way harmonising all the broken chords ; the fi-ightful impreca- 
 tions of Viardot ; the grand solemn procession music — ^the electric crash " Mio figlio !" 
 when Viardot discovers who the Prophet really is ; her scornful denial of the king, but 
 
22 
 
 broken and withering aecents of reconciliation -with the son, mixed with the upbraidings of 
 Bertha for his massacre of the people, his cruelty and treachery separating them for ever ; 
 the final burning of his castle and himself — that beautiful piece of poetic justice — for his 
 perfidy to theprojid'but loving Bertha. In all this, the interest of the opera centred in 
 Viardot, in the trusting and lovely BeTtha (C?itherine Hayes), and the grand notes of 
 Mario. The opera was written for Viardot originally by Meyerbeer. She has amazed' all 
 Europe by her conception of the part of the mother of. the Prophet. "We have since seen it 
 with the lively Castellan in the part taken by Catherine Hayes ; but Bertha was a 
 French coquette, something we have seen at the little theatre of the Varieties, in Paris, 
 or a speech in the House of Lords turned into a penny feutillon in French. 
 
 Miss Hayes's performance of sacred music in London has elicited universal shouts of 
 applatise. In the Messiah, the Creation, the St. Paul of Mendelssohn, she has no rival 
 but Jenny Lind. Exeter. Hall has been crowded to the ceiling, tO' suffocation almost, on the 
 nights of her performance. If there is anything she is perhaps finer in, it is her 
 own national melodies. We remember, about the time' we are speaking of, joining an 
 exploring expedition to some far-off eastern part of London to hear Catherine Hayes — 
 that the Irish girl who was to sing was quite attractioii enough for some bucolic cousins 
 from the spreading beeches of the country ; it was a fearsome night ; however, at last we 
 reached our. destination. The audience was particularly well behaved — ^riot a murmur. 
 Thalberg and Ernst, if we remember rightly, went through their parts ; Ernst, especially, 
 was looked at, iii his violin performance, something like a bottle conjuror ; the old ladies 
 stared through their glasses; everybody stock-still; at last the "Hayes" made her 
 appearance, amidst a thunder of approbation, almost as suddenly suppressed — and there 
 was again not a murmur — .to speak, would be about as absurd as to interrupt a sermon ; 
 the song was " Kathleen Mavourneen ;" one could hear a pin fall ; the gentleman at the 
 piano preluded very meritoriously, and she had just got to that spot — " pulse of my heart" 
 — every ear erect— when an old gentleman, in a state of abstraction, said out loud, as if 
 quite in a state of satisfaction to himself, ""Well done — bravo, Ireland!" The effect was 
 magical — every one burst into a shout of bravo, and the poor Hayes ipaid the penalty by 
 being obliged to come again and again and ackiiowledge the compliment. The incident, 
 unexpected in itself, told volumes for the singer ; the beautiful Bertha, that seemed to 
 captivate all hearts the night before in the Prcyph^fe, in the PeUon upon Ossa elaboration of 
 that most wonderful opera— could still become one with the simple old ditty of her native 
 country. In Exeter Hall, anything like applause during the performance of sacred music 
 
23 
 
 is sedulously prevented; yet we have oftea fancied old gentlemen there ready to shout out 
 after the heavenly melodies of the Si, Paul and Messiah by the gifted subject of our 
 memoir. 
 
 Miss Hayes's character of mind is essentially religious, and in the deep pathetic feeling 
 of religious music she is peculiarly at home. The writer and some literary friends were 
 particularly struck with this during one of her performances last year in Mendelssohn's St. 
 Paid; it was the first night the Nepaulese Ambassadors, all twinkling with diamonds, 
 made their appearance in public. Exeter Hall was filled to the ceiling. Prince Albert, who 
 is an excellent musician, had his book and followed the score most religiously. Among other 
 gems sung, Catherine Hayes excelled everybody in that exquisite air of Mendelssohn's, 
 " Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets and stonest them sent to thee, 
 how often would I have gathered thee as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wing," &c. 
 The effect was quite beautiful ; there is nothing finer, perhaps, in Handel than this air ; 
 many were thinking doubtless of poor Mendelssohn, many lost in the sublime simplicity of 
 the passage of Scripture — our half score eastern friends stared, and wondered, and twinkled 
 more and more in surprise. In their eastern paradise they had never heard anything like it. 
 Prince Albert, at the feet of his Gamaliel of the Midsummer Nights Dream, was all 
 attention ; the hush through the haU was painfiil, the plaintive broken tones of that sweet 
 voice, welling up from that pure heart, could not be surpassed — every one seemed, to feel 
 it; a shade of a note, wrong would have dispelled the illusion. Some minutes, and it was 
 over ; and the applause, in spite of all rules made and provided in such cases at Exeter 
 Hall, came in peals of thunder. We could have joined thee, old gentleman, who shouted, 
 " Bravo, Ireland !" for every one felt Ireland had vindicated herself grandly. Kings and 
 princes had literally been enthralled by a simple, truthful Irish girl. AH the repetitions of 
 this oratorio, and Meyerbeer's Pvqphbte, during this season, were .equally fine. 
 
 In the highest opera music of Meyerbeer and Mozart; in. the oratorios of Handel, 
 Haydn, and Mendelssohn ; the masses and chaunta of the .Gjegorian school ; her own wild 
 melodies, and the songs of Germany and France ; Catherine .Hayes has only, one rival — 
 Jenny Lind. Among those other glorious singers, Viardot, Sontag, the never-dying Grisi, 
 Parodi, the petted favourite of poor Pasta, the graceful Castellan, she has very steadily 
 maintained her place. If the golden grandeur of Alboni's voice is beyond that of Catheiine 
 Hayes, it is because it is beyond everybody else's — past, present, and to come. If " Jenny 
 Lind is alike, yet different," it is that the beautiful Swede and she seem like sister spirits, 
 bent on different missions, and can never meet ; one enthrals all hearts by that matchless 
 
24 
 
 voicej up at heaven's gate singing ; the other brings heaven to earth. We shall not pretend 
 to any analysis of both voices ; quite agreeing with Dogberry, that comparisons are anything 
 but pleasant things. Every one, of course, has seen the Irish girl and the Swede in their 
 best parts ; one stirring up old schoolboy recollections of Gustavus Vasa, the Frithioss 
 Saga, Tegner, and the Khunic songs of Sweden ; the other, in our less romanceful moments 
 of Ireland, made up of a thousand mistakes, if we are to credit John Bull. We have felt, 
 in common with millions, a warm thrill of delight, that even one gifted child of the Green 
 Isle is left to sing us the songs of Moore, whose harp, now mute upon the willows, is 
 still remembered ; and in these sun-set, dying echoes, faint echoes, indeed, of the truth- 
 fulness and beauty of Moore, but more beautiful by their faintness, echoes of the witchery 
 of our old books, the witchery lingering about our old ruins, the lone shadows of Glenda- 
 lough, the sweet sunshine of Killarney, and the unimagined grandness of Glengariffe. 
 While Jenny Lind has been greatest in the New World, with its stars and stripes, the little 
 Lussmore in the Irish story, who has his hump removed by the fairies' music in the old 
 world, is the counterpart of many yet in Ireland, who strive to forget the past in the songs 
 of Catherine Hayes. 
 
 Miss Hayes has now gained the topmost point in her profession. Her singing in 
 Meyerbeer's Prophbte, and Mozart's Figaro, the St. Paul, the Creation, and the Messiah, 
 leave nothing more to be wished by her many friends. Her sweetly beautiful voice is, 
 perhaps, finest in sacred music. Like the Agatha of the Freischutz, she is all tenderness 
 and love ; Jenny Lind, like Arnetta, the child of coquetry, her limpid song gushing as a 
 prattling brook ; that of Catherine Hayes marked by the one beautiful, calm, softening spirit 
 that has endeared her everywhere. We may never see her again ; but every trusting, hoping 
 Limerick man must be delighted still to hear the magical word " Excelsior" — that voice 
 ever " falling like a falling star," still trying to do good, and yet speaking to all, " Excel- 
 sior." Crossing the Alps lately into Italy, as first mentioned by Longfellow, we have heard 
 the word "Higher.'' We have seen our gifted Child of Song under every possible 
 circumstance — as a girl as described in the "University,'' wandering by the banks of 
 the Shannon ; Anteus like, she has recently gained strength by revisiting her native earth ; 
 our next tidings will be possibly of her in the New World. But wherever she goes, she 
 must carry the sincerest and best wishes of all who love what is true, and hopefiil, and 
 trusting in this life. 
 
25 
 
 Extract from the Times, April 11th, 1849. 
 Donizetti's semi-serious opera, in three acts, entitled Linda di Chamouni, was 
 produced last night, for the first time at this establishment. Miss Hayes's style of singing 
 is artistic and graceful ; she never forces her voice, but has abundance of energy at com- 
 mand, which she uses legitimately and without any tendency to exaggeration. Her intona- 
 tion is perfect ; there is no feeling of uncertainty. In the first scene, the uproarious welcome 
 she received from the audience appeared to overcome her altogether, and it was not until 
 near the end of the well-known cavatina, " O luce di quest' anima," that she entirely 
 recovered her presence of mind. Here, however, an elegant cadenza, including a clever 
 and well-executed shake, gained her great applause and an encore, which restored her to 
 confidence, and enabled her to repeat the cabaletta with double effect. Her next hit was in 
 her duet with Carlo, in which first occurs the pretty melody, so frequently employed in the^ 
 opera, " consolarmi afirettisti." This was given so efiectively, that it was unanimously 
 redemanded. In the grand scene with Antonio, Linda's father, Miss Hayes was enchanting ; 
 and the mad scene that follows was sang with admirable effect, especially the well-known 
 bravura passage, " Non e ver," where her execution of the chromatic passages was 
 perfect, and the ascending trait with the violins at the end was accomplished with re- 
 markable decision and brilliancy. In this, as well as in the last scene. Miss Hayes gave 
 evidence of wonderful dramatic feeling, and a thorough familiarity with stage effect. In 
 place of the duet which stands for the finale in Donizetti's score, she introduced a cabaletta 
 from an opera by Luigi Ricci. Although we cannot admire this air, we are bound to 
 acknowledge the brilliancy and correctness of Miss Hayes's execution, which redeemed it 
 Irom its natural insipidity. Nothing could be warmer or more unanimous than her reception 
 by the audience, who applauded her enthusiastically, and recalled her before the foot-lights 
 after every act. 
 
 The Times, Thursday, April 26. 
 
 Last night. Miss Catherine Hayes appeared in her most celebrated character — that of 
 Lucia, in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, The cast was further strengthened by the 
 powerful co-operation of Signor Mario, who sustained the part of Edgardo. Miss Hayes has 
 a very graceful conception of the character of Lucia ; her acting is full of gentleness and 
 resignation. When Enrico, her brother, shews her the letter which discovers Edgardo's 
 supposed falsehood — and, further on, when, writhing under the malediction of her lover, she 
 is overwhelmed with despair, her demeanour rather betrayed the evidence of intense 
 
 E 
 
26 
 
 suffering than of vehement passion. Her mad scene, too, depicted the wreck of a gentle 
 nature. There were no violent outbreaks, no sudden bursts of rage ; it was throughout a 
 soft and touching picture. In her singing, Miss Hayes gave further evidence of those 
 artistic accomplishments which we have found occasion to praise. Her first cavatina, 
 " Perche non ho," was delivered with equal brilliancy and refinement : the largo was sung 
 with great feeling, and the long note that preceded the cabaletta was sustained with the most 
 perfect ease — the gradual increase and diminution of power being exquisitely managed. In 
 the cabaletta, the shakes were even and finished, and the fioriture, of which there was 
 rather an excess, developed both neatness and invention. In the long scena of the second 
 act. Miss Hayes exhibited a still more happy combination of the dramatic with the vocal 
 art than we had even observed in her Linda ; the one did not interfere with the other, but 
 each played, as it were, into the other's hands. Her delivery of the theme of the rondo 
 was not too slow, nor over elaborated, and in other respects the entire scene was a piece 
 of surpassing excellence and highly finished execution. The opera was altogether most 
 effectively rendered ; the applause throughout was liberal and unanimous ; the success 
 of Miss Hayes was complete, and she more than once appeared, with Mario, before the 
 foot-lights. 
 
 From the Dublin Evening Mail, November 7, 1849. 
 
 Miss Hayes is a native of Limerick, who from her childhood gave indications of her 
 passion for music. She began her studies in Dublin, under the direction of Signer Sapio ; 
 and the rapid progress she made was the inducement to send her to Paris, to take lessons 
 of Manuel Garcia, the brother of Viardot and Malibran, and the teacher of Jenny Lind. At 
 the end of a year and a half, Garcia advised her to go to Italy, to learn the language and 
 prosecute her studies. She took lessons at Milan, of Signer Felice Ronconi, the professor 
 of singing at the Royal Conservatoire, and brother to the celebrated artist, Giorgio Ron- 
 coni. To give her practice on the stage, she was engaged to sing three months at 
 Marseilles, and, on the lOth of May, 1845, made her debut in Bellini's Puritani, as 
 Elvira ; and afterwards sang in Lucia, and in Rossini's Mose in Egitto. Such was her 
 success, that she received large offers to go on the French lyric stage ; but she declined 
 them, and returned to Milan, to continue her studies under Ronconi. It was at one of the 
 annual concerts given by Ricordi, the musical publisher at Milan, that the manager of the 
 Imperial Theatres at Milan (La Scala) and Vienna, heard her, and, struck with her voice, 
 immediately engaged her. She made her debut in Donizetti's Linda di Chamouni, and the 
 
27 
 
 enthusiasm of the Milanese was raised to the utmost pitch. Her next part was Desdemona, 
 in Rossini's Otello, in which she fully confirmed the impressions made on her debut. In 
 the spring, she made her dehut at Vienna, with equal success — returning to Milan in the 
 autumn, to have an unprecedented triumph in Lucia. She also sung in Mortedo, an opera 
 expressly composed for her ; and in Mercadaute's Giuramento. During the carnival of 
 1846-7, she was at Venice, where two new operas were composed for her — Griselda, hy 
 Frederico Ricci, and Albergo di Romano, by Malespino. The following spring was her 
 second season in Vienna, where Ricci wrote his Estella expressly for her. She also appeared 
 in Norma and in Don Pasquale. From Vienna, Miss Hayes went to Bergamo, and added 
 to her former repertoire the part of Maria di Rohan. At Verona, she sang in the Duo 
 Foscari and Masnadieri, of Verdi. She became acquainted with Rubini and Mercadante, 
 who both were delighted with her, and predicted her future success in her native country. 
 From Verona, Miss Hayes went to Florence, and there gained the friendship of the cele- 
 brated Catalani, who expressed publicly the greatest admiration of Miss Hayes's vocal 
 talents, and prophecied that she would be crowned with the most decided success when she 
 appeared in London. The last place Miss Hayes visited was Genoa, where she sung at 
 the Carlo Felice, and where the fame of La Hayes, as she is called in Italy, was as great as 
 in former cities. She passed the winter here, prior to her debut last Tuesday, at the 
 Italian Opera. — April 10, 1849. 
 
 The Morning Chronicle, April 11, 1849. 
 
 The part of Linda was sustained by Madlle. Catherine Hayes. A high continental 
 reputation has preceded this young lady, upon whom fell the doubly arduous task of keeping 
 up the prestige, and of competing with the impression which Madlle. Lind had implanted in 
 the memory of opera-goers. Allowing for the tremor and agitation incidental to a debut, 
 Madlle. Hayes has encountered successfully both these obstacles. Her person and manner 
 are winning, and her voice has a natural tenderness of tone, while her musical attainments 
 evince great physical qualifications and successful culture. The first air, " luce di quest' 
 anima," is well calculated to draw forth the resources of a singer, and was given by the 
 debutante with a freshness and purity of intonation that at once established her in favor. 
 Her high notes are singularly pure and facile, and throughout her range she possesses a 
 control over the volume of sound which afibrds to the hearer a succession of delightful 
 nuances. In the duetto, " Da quel di," Madlle. Hayes attained a composure and firmness 
 which enabled her to render with exquisite feeling the remorsefiil strain, " A mia madre 
 
 E 2 
 
28 
 
 un sol finora," and its joyous contrast, " A consolarmi." In the second act, the duet of 
 recognition, " A bel destin," between Linda and Pierotto, commanded a rapturous encore ; 
 and the scene in which Linda repels the advances of the amorous Marquis, established 
 the position of Miss Hayes as a dramatic vocalist. This impression was still further con- 
 firmed in the scene in which Linda relieves the wants of her father (Tamburini), is after- 
 wards recognized by him, and sinks under his malediction. The subsequent scenes exhibit 
 great difficulties for the artist, being devoted to the delineation of a temporary madness 
 and joyous recovery — phases of existence which have become hackneyed on the Italian stage. 
 There was one touch in Madlle. Hayes's acting in the last scene which drew down deafening 
 applause. When she partly recognizes Carlo, Linda exclaims, " Egual voce, eguale 
 accente, cosi un di mi lusingo." This passage, and the syncope which followed the broader 
 conviction of her lover's identity, may be taken as the basis of this young lady's fame. Her 
 execution of the concluding aria was joyous and accurate, and confirmed the impression of 
 her musical talents ; as the last-cited instance had established that of her high abilities as 
 an actress. 
 
 The Morning Post. 
 
 Miss Catherine Hayes is young and handsome, very easy and graceful in her 
 deportment, and there is a gentleness and poetic sentiment in her manner that engage the 
 sympathies of an audience. Such was the enthusiastic reception given on her first entrance, 
 an evident feeling of nationality being the great incentive to the rapturous greeting, that 
 it was some time before she could overcome her emotions. Her aria d'entrata, however, at 
 once commanded the admiration of the amateurs. The rich sonorous quality of her sym- 
 pathic organ could not be mistaken, and the polished refinement of her sytle indicated that 
 she had studied in the best schools. She was encored in the polacca, and won the same 
 distinction in the duo with the tenor. At the end of the first act, therefore, her triumph 
 was secure. In the second act she gained ground on every occasion, until the finale, when 
 the rapture of the audience knew no bounds, and she was recalled before the curtain with 
 enthusiasm. The third act was beautifully depicted. The expression of profound 
 melancholy was touching, and the outbreak of joy, on the return of reason, fiill of sponta- 
 niety and exquisite naturalness. The position which Miss Hayes will take on the operatic 
 stage is equally pointed out. She is not the lofty tragedian, capable of developing the 
 stormy passions like Pasta, Grisi, and Malibran ; but she belongs to the school of Persiani 
 and Lind. There is a mellow sympathetic sweetness of tone in Miss Hayes that touches at 
 
29 
 
 once the heart, and her execution of vocal intricacies is effected with consummate skill. The 
 retirement of Madlle. Lind from the stage, and the withdrawal of Madame Persiani, have 
 left Miss Hayes the successor to their repertoire ; for there is not an artiste who has been 
 heard in Linda in this country can for a moment be compared with our gifted country- 
 woman. Nature has been bountiful in physical requisites, and the studies she has 
 pursued in the best schools have matured and developed her natural gifts. 
 
 From the Freeman's Journal, Tuesday, November 6, 1849. 
 
 We have seldom addressed ourselves to the task of noticing a musical per- 
 formance in our city with feelings more truly pleasing, than we now experience in 
 recording the brilliant opening of their concert season by this Society on last evening. 
 
 The long files of carriages which lined the streets to a considerable distance at either 
 side of the concert rooms, enabled us to guess that we should find a fashionable and nume- 
 rous audience assembled within; but, in truth, we were scarcely prepared for the brilliant 
 coup d'oeil that presented itself to our view on entering. The spacious hall was literally 
 crowded in every part, with an audience comprising the very dlite of our nobility and gentry. 
 The front and side seats in the body of the hall shewed a dazzling of the beauty and ton of 
 our city and its vicinity. 
 
 The Viceroy and the Lady Lieutenant arrived about eight o'clock, and were escorted by 
 a body of the gentlemen stewards to the raised seats provided for their reception. Prince 
 George of Cambridge was also present. We observed, besides, the Right Hon. Chief 
 Justice Blackburne, the Right Hon. Chief Justice Doherty, Lord Dufferin, and several 
 others of the nobility. Their Excellencies were attended by a numerous train, amongst 
 which were the private Secretary and Aides in attendance. 
 
 It would be evident to a person visiting the Hall of the Ancient Concerts on last 
 evening, not aware of the expected musical treat, that something more than ordinary in 
 the shape of attraction was about being presented. The brightest eyes in the world seemed 
 to flash with anticipation of coming pleasure, and many a glance was thrown towards the 
 platform, where the long-desired of many who love sweet music, and the admired of all, 
 the fair and gifted Irish Siren, Catherine Hayes, was soon to present herself to a delighted 
 and admiring auditory. 
 
 The reception of Mademoiselle Hayes was, beyond conception, enthusiastic. "We need 
 not remark that, at Concerts, matters partake too much of the drawing-room or soiree 
 character to admit of such an exhibition of applause as to amount to a furore. Our 
 
30 
 
 fashionables at all times, no matter how delighted they may feel, make but indifferent 
 claqueurs. But, on last evening, the peals of applause that greeted each glorious effort of 
 our Irish soprano were worthy of the theatre during the Lind epidemic. We may notice, 
 amongst her most brilliant successes, the " Casta Diva," from Norma, which was encored 
 with enthusiasm ; also the duetto, " Dalla mosa," from Meyerbeer's Prophete, with Miss 
 Poole. In the second part of the concert, Madlle. Hayes sang an air, " Why do I weep for 
 thee ?" a rapturous encore followed ; but instead of repeating the song, she whispered to 
 Mr. Benedict, the piano-forte president, who forthwith struck a few chords of the sweet 
 Irish ballad, " Kathleen Mavourneen ;" the audience were at once stilled into silence, 
 and the fair vocalist broke forth in a tone of wild and plaintive melody, rendering the sweet 
 and heart-breathing music of this exquisite melody with a degree of pathos, feeling, and 
 taste, that kept the audience as if spell-bound : these, together with the recitative and 
 cavatina, "0 luce di quest' anima,'' from the Linda, form her crowning triumphs. Madlle. 
 Hayes, in person, is extremely prepossessing, she is somewhat thin, but eminently gracefiil 
 and symmetrical in figure. Her eyes are large and lustrous, and the expression of her 
 features, which are regular, is full of intellectuality. Combined with that nameless charm 
 which continental habitude produces. Miss Hayes's manner seems racy of that artless yet 
 inimitable grace so peculiarly distinctive of the Irish girl. The fine enthusiasm in voice 
 and manner that marked her rendering of the Irish ballad, seemed to win ever)' heart, and 
 cause every hand to applaud her. 
 
 From the Freeman's Journal. 
 
 The opera of Lucia di Lammermoor was announced for last evening, and the first 
 appearance of Miss Catherine Hayes ; at least, her first appearance since many years ago, 
 when we heard the first promise of her vocal excellence, under the tutelage of Signer Sapio. 
 Our fair countrywoman was then but a very young aspirant ; but many good judges even 
 then foretold the splendour to which her voice would soar ; and not a few of those who had 
 witnessed the early capabilities of the young Irish girl, and prophecied for her a career of 
 celebrity, provided her vast natural powers and undoubted musical genius were judiciously 
 cultivated and directed, were the delighted witnesses last evening of her triumph, and joined 
 with enthusiasm in the rapturous plaudits which greeted the soul-stirring and magnificent 
 melody of that voice, now refined by art, and developed in its fullest beauty by judicious 
 training, and which they once encouraged in its earlier flights, and pronounced to be of a 
 character and volume one da.y to astonish and delight the musical audiences of Europe. 
 
31 
 
 Besides the proverbial respect which our Dublin audience ever concedes to genius of every 
 kind, no matter from what country its possessor may come, there was, in the instance of 
 Miss Catherine Hayes, a reason for enthusiastic welcome and appreciation. This divinely 
 gifted vocalist and truly natural actress is one of ourselves ; Ireland claims her, and is 
 proud of her genius; and who that heard the exclamation from the gallery on last evening, 
 of " Garry owen for ever," uttered by some enthusiastic Irishman, will hesitate to acknow- 
 ledge that our audience feel proud in appropriating and claiming as their own, the magnifi- 
 cent natural powers, the pure voice, the matchless musical skill, and the rare dramatic 
 genius evidenced in the performance of our young prima donna. Nothing could be more 
 truly enthusiastic than her reception on last evening. As she came out before the audience 
 in the first act and commenced the recitative, "Ah non giunge," the whole house rose 
 en masse, and the cheering and waving of hats from the pit and galleries, and of kerchiefs 
 from the box circles, continued for many minutes before the fair artiste could commence the 
 music of her part. As she proceeded, her splendid voice expanded in soft and brilliant 
 power, thrilling on the ear delightfully, and renewing in some measure that peculiar 
 sensation of pleasure derivable from listening to the voice of Alboni, being seemingly en- 
 dowed with much of that peculiar rotundity and full body of melody that gave such distinct 
 and mellow grandeur to the vocalism of the great contralto. We need not dwell on the 
 magnificent singing of Miss Hayes and Mr. Reeves, throughout this splendid opera. We 
 need but state, that they were rapturously encored in the more prominent parts, and loudly 
 applauded. They were called for at the conclusion of every separate act, and greeted 
 with the enthusiastic cheers of the entire house. We cannot but advert to the really mag- 
 nificent acting of Miss Hayes in this opera; her conception of the character and feelings 
 of Lucia was about the most exquisitely classical piece of histronic presentation, apart from 
 her superb singing, that we have witnessed for a long time. 
 
 Evening Packet, 7th March, 1850. 
 
 Miss Hayes is about to leave our metropolis, to the regret, we venture to say, of 
 every one who can appreciate genius and grace. Her successes here mark an epoch 
 in Irish theatricals^ and are honourable alike to her audience and herself. For they prove, 
 not only that the Irish taste can still distinguish and delight in the charms of perfect 
 vocalism, but that, unlike our English neighbours, who invariably neglect their native 
 singers, we feel our interest in art increase, when the artist is one of ourselves. 
 
 Time was, when to stamp a work of art as "Irish," was to secure for it a general 
 
32 
 
 disregard. In our affectation of a character foreign to our own nature, we despised what 
 was excellent, if it belonged to ourselves. We still betray something of this want of self- 
 respect in preferring the formalism of English to the genialities of Irish manners. But the 
 genius of our Barrys, our Hogans, our Maclises, has saved us from making a similar esti- 
 mate of art ; and our national taste is true to our national master-pieces. We have learned 
 to set a proper value upon our own poets and painters, sculptors and orators. It was 
 reserved for Miss Hayes to call out this feeling in behalf of our native vocalists. It is her 
 glory to have filled up a void in native art by her triumphs in music, and to have secured 
 for it our national admiration. 
 
 We venture to think the peculiar excellence of Miss Hayes is an expression of the 
 pathetic. In this she is true to her country's character. For in nearly all Irish works 
 of art, whether drawn out on canvass or in stone, or starting from the poet's brain or 
 orator's tongue, the tones of sensibility prevail. Her's is not the vocal tragedy of Grisi, nor 
 the organ-like grandeur of Alboni, nor the " sunshine spoken" of Jenny Lind ; it is the 
 pleasing sweetness of a feeling mind, translated into perfect melody. Other artists astonish 
 the sense ; her triumph is to steal the heart. Hence, if we admit that, upon the whole, 
 other artists have performed more difficult feats of song, or have evinced more proofs of 
 power — that, for instance, Grisi's idea of Norma is more sublime, or Jenny Lind's brilliancy 
 more sparkling — we deny that any living singer can so thoroughly reach the soul of 
 feeling. Her execution of that famous duet in Norma, in which all the powers of music 
 have been tasked to express tenderness and sorrow ; her imploring tone of grief, as, in the 
 Sonnambula, Elvino plucks from her hand the ring he thinks her unworthy to bear, were 
 never approached by any singer of the day. 
 
 It is the fashion to compare Miss Hayes with Jenny Lind ; but, in truth, there is 
 no other resemblance than that of a common excellence. The power of Jenny Lind 
 consists in a lucidness and brilliancy of tone which make every note tell, and cause her 
 singing to appear more like the mechanism of an instrument than the articulation of a 
 voice ; the triumph of Miss Hayes is in the combination of sweetest sounds into a stream of. 
 melody, which gradually sheds itself into the heart. The one, like a gem, flashes upon 
 the sense,- and emits a thousand rays, . each glorious in itself ; the other, like a flower, is 
 redolent of our soil, and gradually diffuses sweetness around. Or we might compare the 
 foreign artist to one of her native landscapes, basking in splendour, and clear in its outline 
 and objects beneath a starry sky: Miss Hayes's beauties are those of our own clime, 
 with its features of tenderness melting into light, or darkening into shade. 
 
33 
 
 The charm of Miss Hayes's acting too is its exquisite sensibility. She has not the art 
 of " gorgeous tragedy," with its lofty declamation and sublime majesty. Her figure is too 
 gracile, her voice is too tender, and it would seem her mind is too gentle, to impersonate the 
 sterner forms of female character. But no one who has seen it, can forget her delineation of 
 Lucia's love and sorrows ; the almost painful truthfulness of her Linda's madness ; and the 
 unspeakable pathos of her Amina. Every look, tone, and gesture, she makes happily 
 subservient to her beautiful conceptions of these characters ; and, through the entire imper- 
 sonation, wears a look of the most perfect grace. We are certain we are only echoing the 
 wishes of all our fellow-citizens, by expressing a hope that this charming vocalist may 
 everywhere command as sincere admiration as she has received amongst us, and that she 
 may soon return to claim our homage again. 
 
 The last appearance of our fair countrywoman, previous to her departure for Limerick, 
 Cork, and Waterford, will take place on Saturday evening. The entertainments, on this 
 occasion, will be for her benefit. To anticipate other than an overflowing auditory, were an 
 insult to the taste, the good feeling, and the patriotism of our citizens. 
 
 Concert of Miss. Catherine Hates.— 7'mes, May 20th, 1851. 
 
 The first fashionable morning concert of the season took place yesterday, in the 
 Hanover Square Booms, before a crowded and brilliant audience. The programme was rich 
 in novelty and interest, and Miss Catherine Hayes had the good taste to provide an ef&cient 
 orchestra, instead of the meagre pianoforte accompaniment for which our benefit -concerts 
 have, of late years, been so unworthily distinguished. The band, which was numerous and 
 complete, performed the overtures to Oberon and Zampa, besides a manuscript overture by 
 M. Silas (a work of merit, though inferior to the later works of this rising young composer), 
 under the direction of Mr. Lavenu. 
 
 Miss Catherine Hayes, whose flattering reception by the audience was not needed to 
 establish her popularity, sang "Ah! mon fils," from the PropMte, "Casta Diva,"i-om 
 JVorOTfl!, and a ballad, "Come where sweet-toned zephyrs," by Mr. Frank Mwi. In' the 
 romance of Meyerbeer she displayed a pathos in true keeping with the music, and gaveji«^ 
 sustained notes with singular purity of intonation. But it was in the " Casta Diva" that 
 she produced the greatest sensation ; and on no former occasion, perhaps, has she sung with 
 such force and effect. Her expression in the largo was at once graceful an3^ correct, and the 
 pabaletta was vocalized with a fluency that showed her a perfect adept in the hravwra school 
 
34 
 
 of the Italians. Mr. Mori's ballad is a very elegant trifle, and the young composer was 
 lucky in having such a singer as Miss Hayes to do justice to it. We shall not attempt to 
 describe the applause that greeted each of"the performances of tlie fair concert giver, which, 
 at the end of the " Casta Diva," was quite uproarious. Among the novelties must be cited 
 the dehut of Mr. Augustus Braham, the youngest son, we believe, of the celebrated English 
 tenor. This gentleman possesses one of the purest and most agreeable tenor voices we have 
 heard, rich and mellow in the lower notes, clear and telling in the higher register. Occa- 
 sionally some of his tones strikingly resemble the Voice of the elder Mr. Braham, who has 
 bequeathed a name to his sons which it is not easy to support with credit. Mr. Augustus 
 Braham sang the tenor air from La Sonnambula, and a Scotch ballad. In both, he exhibited 
 a great deal of taste and feeling ; but he has still much to acquire in the study of his art, 
 which, with perseverance, under competent direction, he will doubtless attain. He was 
 received with great favour, and liberally applauded. Mademoiselle Anna Zerr (from the 
 operas of Carlsruhe and Vienna) is a phenomenon in her way. 
 
 As our limits confine us to the mention of novelties, we must pass over with a single 
 word of admiration Herr Ernst's splendid execution of his Otello fantasia, and his humorous 
 delineation of the Carnaval de Venise ; be content to mention that Madame Parish Alvars 
 displayed a large amount of facility, and more than ordinary taste, in her execution of a 
 solo for the harp, to which the name of Alvars was attached ; and conclude with a short 
 apostrophe to Signer Bottesini, who is a marvel even in this age of prodigies, and some- 
 thing quite unprecedented even at the time of the Great Exhibition, when the wonders of 
 the world would seem to have met together by common consent. Signer Bottesini's instru- 
 ment is the double bass. He will be remembered, two years ago, as having played once or 
 twice in public, but not often enough to make known his remarkable and entirely original 
 talent. The double-bass, we need scarcely say, is the most cumbersome and unwieldy of 
 instruments ; to play upon it at all is not an easy matter, but to play with it, as does 
 Signer Bottesini, is something quite unparalleled in the annals of musical executancy. 
 Signer Bottesini has not the deep and broad tone of the late Dragonetti, but he has nearly 
 twice his powers of execution ; his tone is varied, but pure and singularly sweet for the 
 strings of such an instrument ; on the first string he possesses what, without absurdity, may 
 be called a falsetto, which, at times, is like the softest tones in the higher register of the 
 violoncello, and at times closely resembling a flute, an aboe, or something between the two. 
 His command of the finger-board is astonishing; and, in his variations upon a favourite 
 Italian theme, he played passages which, had we not heard them, we should have considered 
 
35 
 
 impossible on the instrument. But, amid all this lavish exhibition of manual dexterity, 
 Signor Bottesini (who is known to be an excellent musician) has" qualities that give him 
 another claim to admiration. To " sing upon the double-bass" sounds like a paradox ; but 
 more tender and graceful expression could scarcely have proceeded from the lips of the 
 most accomplished vocalist, thas was developed in his performance of the simple cantilena 
 which formed the subject of his variations. Indeed, his manner of phrasing and his 
 unaffected sentiment appeal as directly to the heart, as his prodigious execution surprises the 
 ear and perplexes the understanding. Signor Bottesini produced a sensation commensurate 
 with his very remarkable powers, and was enthusiastically applauded, and recalled into the 
 orchestra by the whole andience. What next phenomenon shall we have, in the musical 
 line, during the time of the Great Exhibition ? 
 
 Mr. Lavenu conducted and Mr. Willy led the band throughout the concert, which, 
 though excessively long, gave general satisfaction. 
 
 The Illustrated London News, May 24th, 1851. 
 
 Miss Catherine Hayes's Concert. — The grand morning concert, given by the above 
 distinguished vocalist, last Monday, at the Hanover Booms, attracted an immense auditory, 
 thus establishing the popularity of the young and gifted prima donna. The sensation 
 produced by her vocalisation was very great, it was quite a Lind fmore ; and it was per- 
 fectly justified by the ability developed by her in a variety of schools. She' first sang the 
 cavatina of Fid^s (in French), " Ah ! mon fils," from Meyerbeer's Prophete, with 
 impassioned feeling : this air brought out the compass of her fine voice, and the hearers 
 were evidently astonished at the richness of her lower notes. Her next essay was in the 
 " Casta Diva" of Norma ; and neither Grisi nor Lind, in a concert room, ever created a 
 more thrilling effect in this cavatina than did Miss Hayes. The slow movement was 
 rendered with the highest dramatic sentiment ; and the cabaletta was characterised by a 
 series of roulades, executed with the utmost certainty and brilliance. Miss Hayes took a 
 part in Biletta's quatuor, " 1 Poveretti." With Herr Eeichart she sang the " Da quel di" 
 duo from Linda ; and finally gave Mr. F. Mori's graceful ballad, " Come where sweet- 
 toned zephyrs ;" in each piece distinguishing herself greatly, and winning the rapturous 
 plaudits of the comfany, which, at morping concerts, is generally noted to be so cold and 
 sparing of applause. There were some attractive novelties in the programme: a MS. over- 
 ture by Silas must be cited, as bearing artistic evidence of a bright future for the young and 
 
 F 2 
 
36 
 
 rising composer; the introduction, leading to a flowing cantabile, is remarkably fine ; but, in 
 the general conduct of the work, it was too full of breaks and episodes : no key to the 
 composer's intentions in this overture was published; in form it seemed to be more sym- 
 phonic than dramatic. The band, under Lavenu's able direction, with Mr. Willy as chef 
 d'attaque, also executed the " Oberon." and " Zampa" overtures. Ernst surprised and 
 delighted the amateurs with his " Otello" fantasia and " Carnaval de Venise" eccentricities. 
 Signor Bottesini made his first appearance this season, and electrified the room by his 
 inimitable double-bass solo. He has been styled the " Paganini" of the contra-basso ; but 
 this is not enough to do him justice ; he must be called the " Bottesini" of the double bass, 
 for his genius is creative and not imitative. He produces the rich mellow tone of a tenor 
 from his huge instrument ; he executes with ease the most intricate violin passages. His 
 marvellous mechanism must be seen to be appreciated ; the orchestra shared with the general 
 public in the wonderment at his unparalleled achievements. Madame Parish Alvars, in a 
 harp fantasia by her deceased husband, the famed Alvars, won the sufirages of her hearers 
 by highly finished execution. 
 
 Two new vocalists made their dibuts in London at this concert — Mdlle. Anna Zerr, from 
 Vienna, and Mr. Augustus Braham, a son of the Nestor of tenors. Mdlle. Zerr is ^ prima 
 donna of fame in the Austrian capital. She first sang the grand air of Yitellia from 
 Mozart's Clemenza di Tito, full of difl&culties, and requiring a singer of dramatic power 
 as well as of executive skill. Whether it arose from nervousness, or a cold, or from both 
 causes, the singing was so spasmodic and exaggerated, that it was quite a failure ; and if 
 anybody left without having heard her sing an air by Proch, with variations, in the second 
 part, such person must be under a grievous mistake as to Mdlle. Zerr's qualifications. She 
 is essentially a bravura singer, with an organ — somewhat worn out, by the way — of three 
 octaves in extent, reaching the high F : she is thus enabled to sing the part of the Queen of 
 Night, in Mozart's ZauberflOte, to perfection. In her variations, she made quite a sensa- 
 tion by her cadenzas ; one of which, arpeggio, and another, staccato, were astounding : her 
 shakes were beautifully articulated and well sustained. 
 
 Augustus Braham, like his brothers Charles and Hamilton, possesses a fine voice — 
 certainly the finest organ of the three sons ; but his method requires the counsel of an expe- 
 rienced master to correct and form in the right school. His sympathetic chest notes will 
 always tell in ballads of expression. He gave a Scotch melody, in which he was more happy 
 than in the tenor air from the Sonnambula. The audience received him with the greatest 
 cordiality, the father's name being still a magnet of attraction. Herr Mengis, Herr Jules 
 
37 
 
 Stockhausen, and Miss Bassano, were the other singers. The singing of the last-mentioned 
 cantatrice of Handel's air, " Lascio oh' io pianga," was one of the treats of the day, so classical 
 and feeling was the interpretation. 
 
 We learn that Miss Catherine Hayes, at the close of the season, will depart for America. 
 After the brilliant career of the vocalist in Italy, after being prima donna both at Her 
 Majesty's Theatre and the Royal Italian Opera, and after her immense success in the 
 provinces, at our great festivals, and in Ireland, her success in this transatlantic trip cannot 
 be doubted. 
 
 The Musical World, Saturday, May 14th, 1851, 
 
 The Hanover Square Rooms were filled to overflowing on Monday morning by an ele- 
 gant and fashionable company. Miss Catherine Hayes had prepared a programme of unusual 
 excellence, and the executants reckoned among them Ernst, Bottesini (the great contra- 
 bassist — his first appearance for two years), and others of note. Miss Hayes was in splendid 
 voice, and sang with immense effect ; in fact, we were never more surprised than at the im- 
 provements we found in Miss Hayes. Her voice has gained greatly in power, and there is 
 more decision in her tones. The peculiar sweetness and plaintiveness, so remarkable before, 
 are as conspicuous, and her intonation as faultless, as ever. The cavatina from the Prophete, 
 " Ah,mon fils!" and the " Casta Diva," fi-om Norma, in their different styles, were both ren- 
 dered to perfection. The low notes of Miss Hayes, in Meyerbeer's song, were exceedingly 
 fine, and created a deep sensation. In the brilliant school of vocalization. Miss Catherine 
 Hayes has few rivals ; hence her scena from Norma was a great feat. She also sang with 
 great effect a duet from Linda, with Herr Reichart, the tenor, which barely escaped an 
 encore. Miss Catherine Hayes created an unusual impression : her voice and singing were 
 the themes of universal admiration, and her immense improvement was generally allowed. 
 The prodigious enthusiasm Miss Catherine Hayes created in Ireland can no longer be matter 
 of surprise. Herr Reichart will certainly prove a valuable acquisition to the concert-room. 
 We have already spoken of his talent on the occasion of his debut at the last Philharmonic 
 concert, and hope we shall frequently hear him in Schubert's " Lieder." A vocalist from 
 Vienna, Mile. Anna Zerr, we have likewise to congratulate on a most successfiil debut. This 
 lady has a soprano voice of great compass, and of clear and agreeable quality. Her execu- 
 tion of an air from Za Clemenza di Tito, as well as some bravura variations written for 
 her by the Lieder composer, Heinrich Proch, stamped her as an artist of pretensions. Herr 
 Jules Stockhausen affords, at all times, pleasure by his unaffected manner of rendering the 
 
38 
 
 German Lieder. On the present occasion, he sang Mendelssohn's Lied, " On song's bright 
 pinions," and Schubert's Lied, " I heard a streamlet gushing." Miss Bassano's charming 
 contralto was heard with considerable eifect in Handel's '.' Lascia ch'io pianga ;" and again 
 in a quartett by Biletta. Herr Mengis obtained also his share of applause. His voice has 
 gained in softness. Mr. Augustus Braha,m, a son of the veteran, who made his debut in 
 London, created a highly favorable impression in the cavatina, " Tutto sciolto," from Son- 
 nambula, and a Scotch ballad, both beautifully sung. His voice is a pure tenor, of power 
 and undeniable sweetness, which a little practice will bring to perfection. Mr. Augustus 
 Braham was loudly applauded. Ernst was as great as ever, and as perfect as ever, enchant- 
 ing everybody by the inimitable performance of his Otello fantasia, and his popular and 
 never-tiring Carnamal de Venise. Signof Bottesini, whose return from the Havanna has 
 been long anticipated, received a hearty greeting on his appearance. Whoever heard him 
 perform on his huge instrument can never forget the wonders of his achievements. Bottesini 
 is the king of contra-bassists. The bass in his hands seems often to assume the character of 
 the violoncello. Miss Catherine Hayes's concert proved one of the most interesting and 
 attractive of the season. Mr. Lavenu conducted carefally, and Mr. Willy led the band with 
 his usual ability. 
 
 The Globe, May 20, 1851. 
 
 The Hanover Square Rooms were crowded to excess yesterday by an assemblage of 
 rank and fashion, and more than an average sprinkling of the musical dilettanti. The at- 
 tractions were unusually strong — first, there was the fair heneficiaire herself, whose name in 
 the bills is a tower of strength ; Mr. Augustus Braham, son of the English veteran of song, 
 made his first appearance in London ; thirdly. Signer Bottesini, the distinguished contra- 
 bassist, made his first bow before an English audience. Besides these, an excellent orchestra 
 was provided. The great Ernst played, and several of the notabilities, vocal and instru.. 
 mental, at present in London, assisted. 
 
 The triumphs which have been won by Miss Catherine Hayes in her provincial and 
 continental toum^es, within the last eighteen months, have been of the most brilliant 
 character. Not to speak of Ireland, where she may be said to have set the whole nation 
 beside itself, her successes have been signalised by enthusiasm wherever she sang in England, 
 while lately she created a perfect Italian fwrore in the Roman States. Miss Catherine 
 Hayes possesses a voice of extraordinary power and compass. It embraces three octaves of 
 available notes — firom F to E, thus combining the tbree registers of contralto, mezzo-soprano, 
 
39 
 
 and soprano — a rare gift, and only found in singers " few and far between/' such, as Mali- 
 bran, Alboni,, and Cruvelli. It is this immense range of voice which gives Catherine Hayes 
 the power of singing all sorts of music with identical effect. She can interpret the brilliant 
 strains of Lucia and Linda equally with the deeper music of Norma and Lucrezia. She can 
 master the music of Fides and Bertha with like ease. Semiramide and Arsace are within 
 the compass of her organ. But it is to the quality of Catherine Hayes's voice we would 
 ascribe its chief beauty. In the florid school of vocalization, Catherine Hayes is not sur- 
 passed by any living singer. But to return to the main subject of our notice — the concert. 
 
 The band led off with Weber's overture to Oberon, finely played. After two or three 
 pieces, which we cannot halt to criticise, Miss Catherine Hayes appeared, and was received 
 with deafening cheers from all parts of the room. The fair cantatrice — incantatrice (en- 
 chantress) was the Irish term — looked remarkably well, and appeared to us to have 
 acquired more embonpoint since we saw her last. She was as strikingly elegant and graceful 
 in person as ever. Her first song was the pathetic " Ah ! mon fils," from the Prophhte, one 
 of Viardot's finest feats at the Eoyal Italian Opera. We have no hesitation in saying that 
 we prefer Catherine Hayes in this air. The intensity and expression of both artists are 
 equal ; but Miss Catherine Hayes has more upper voice, and this enables her to master all 
 the higher passages with more ease. More magnificent singing than that of Catherine 
 Hayes in this aria we never heard, or singing more pure, legitimate, or free fi-om exagge- 
 ration. 
 
 Miss Catherine Hayes's next essay was of a different kind, and in a different school. 
 It was the " Casta Diva" from Norma. The first belonged to the French dramatic school, 
 and was solemn and intense. The second appertained to the Italian operatic school, and 
 was brilliant and showy. The first was a contralto aria ; the second, soprano. In which 
 the artist was most successful we cannot pretend to say, seeing that the excitement of the 
 audience was boundless in both instances. In the scena from Norma, Miss Catherine Hayes 
 absolutely revelled in tours de force sxiA passages de bravowe. In the repeat of the caba- 
 letta, more surprising feats of vocalisation it would be impossible to hear. The high notes 
 were touched with the utmost precision, and flung out, as it were, with a carelessness only 
 justified by perfect accomplishment. Pass we by Miss Catherine Hayes's share in a quartet 
 of Biletta, and a duet irom Linda, and we come to a very pleasing ballad by F. Mori, which 
 perhaps produced a more profound sensation than any thing which had preceded. It was 
 delivered with the perfection of simplicity and pure taste. Miss Catherine Hayes withdrew 
 amid the most enthusiastic plaudits we remember to have heard in the aristocratic and 
 chilled atmosphere of the Hanover Rooms. 
 
40 
 
 Next to tlie beneficiaire, the debit of Mr. Augustus Braham appeared to excite the 
 most curiosity. So much had been said of this gentleman's talents and capabilities in private 
 circles, that nothing less than high success was anticipated ; and certainly nothing less was 
 achieved. Mr. Augustus Braham has a voice of excellent quality, power, and flexibility, 
 which is well cultivated. He was received with great favor, and liberally applauded. Ma- 
 demoiselle Anna Zerr (from the operas of Carlsruhe and Vienna) is a phenomenon in her 
 way. Her first effort, an aria from Mozart's Clemenza di Tito, made little impression, in 
 spite of a curious display of enthusiasm on the part of the singer ; but in the next, an air 
 varie, by Proch, Mademoiselle Zerr achieved some of the most extraordinary feats we ever 
 heard from a vocalist. Her voice is a soprano of three octaves in compass ; and, in the 
 course of her variations, she executed arpeggios, staccato, taking in the whole range of the 
 scale, and touching the F in alt with a facility bordering on the marvellous. Aided by a 
 voice of such unusual compass and singular flexibility, she executes traits de bravoure in 
 almost as great variety as Herr Ernst upon his violin. Bottesini's contra-basso pla3dng 
 cannot be described. We never heard any thing to which it could be compared. It is 
 entirely sui generis. It is one of the executive marvels of the age. Bottesini's playing 
 excited great applause. 
 
 On the whole, the concert yesterday may be emphatically pronounced one of the great 
 musical festivals of the London season of 1851. Mr. Lavenu conducted, and Mr. Willy led 
 the band throughout the concert, which, though rather long, afforded the greatest delight and 
 gratification. 
 
 Galignani's Messenger, March 29, 1851. 
 
 Rome. — The season here has closed. The last opera was Maria di Rohan, in which 
 Catherine Hayes appeared for twelve successive nights. Nothing could exceed the sensation 
 her singing and acting created. The enthusiasm of the audiences knew no bounds. The 
 proudest of aristocracies have paid Catherine Hayes the most marked attention. She had the 
 honour of being invited by the Princess Borghese, by whom she was introduced to the most 
 distinguished of the noble ladies present. She has also been honoured with the diploma of 
 « Sona della Pontificia Congregazione ed Accademia di Santa Cecilia," one of the oldest 
 musical societies in Italy, the last name of an artiste enrolled in it being that of Madame 
 Malibran, 
 
 LONDON ; PBINTED BY J. MALLETT, 59, WARPOUR STREET, SOHO. 
 

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