Reviews — The New York Times

From the New York Times - January 23, 1882

Herodiade - Paris

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     Of “Hérodiade,” to which Dr. Boulommi‚ treated about 60 of his friends on Saturday evening, I cannot say as much as I hoped to be able to do. Mme Lafont did the part of Herodias admirably, and the same can be written about the Salomé of Marie Fechter and the John the Baptist of an amateur - almost an artist - of Dr. Fouquez. But it is impossible to form an intelligent opinion of the merits of an opera of which you hear only selections. M. Dusantoy, a nephew of the celebrated tailor, is an accomplished pianist who accompanies to perfection; but how, I again ask, can you judge of the orchestration of so important a composition as this last attempt of M. Massenet from its reduction to the piano. Then, too, the choruses were naturally suppressed, and with the choruses all the scenic effect to which “Le Roi de Lahore” - I believe the only other opera ever brought out by M. Massenet-owed much of its success. Of the plot I can speak from a perusal of the libretto, but of this you have already had a statement from Brussels. It is impossible to predicate the temper of a Parisian audience at any given moment that I cannot form even an approximate idea concerning the fate of the “Hérodiade” here; it was enthusiastically applauded by Dr. Boulommié’s guests on Saturday evening, and it may be applauded or hissed with the same enthusiasm at the National Academy or the Salle Favart. Personally, my impressions are that none but ultra-fanatics of harmony according to the rule of three will ever go twice to listen to a score which may have, and I do not deny has, eminent merits as a symphony or an oratorio, yet is no fitter for theatrical representation than is the “Messiah.”

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Last updated December 29, 2006