e, and the affair ends to everybody's satisfaction.

ROMEO E GIULIETTA.

Grand Opera in five acts by CH. GOUNOD.

Text by BARBIER and CARRE.

This highly favored opera by Gounod presents much that is worthy of
admiration, though it does not rise to the high level of his Marguerite
(Faust). {304 The libretto follows Shakespeare's version pretty
accurately.

The first act opens with the masked ball in Capuletti's palace, where
the first meeting between the lovers takes place, Romeo being disguised
as a pilgrim. They fall in love with each other, and Tybalt, Capulet's
nephew, recognizing Romeo, reveals, but too late, their true names and
swears to take revenge on his foe, who has thus entered the Capulet's
house uninvited.

The second act represents the famous scene on the balcony between
Juliet and her lover.

In the third act Romeo visits Friar Lorenzo's cell, to get advice from
him. There he meets Juliet. Lorenzo unites the lovers, hoping hereby
to reconciliate the hostile houses of the Montagus and the Capulets.

The following scene represents the street before Capulet's palace,
where the rivals meet; there ensues the double duel, first between
Tybalt and Romeo's friend Mercutio, who falls and then between Romeo,
who burns to avenge his comrade, and Tybalt. Tybalt is killed and
Romeo is obliged to fly, all the Capulets being after him.

In the fourth act Romeo sees Juliet in her room, but when the morning
dawns he is obliged to leave, while Juliet's father comes to remind her
of his last promise to the dying Tybalt, which was to marry Juliet to
Count Paris.--

Juliet in great perplexity turns to Friar Lorenzo for help.--He gives
her a draught {305} which will cause her to fall into a deep swoon, and
after being laid in her ancestor's tomb, she is to be awakened by Romeo
and carried away into security.

In the fifth act Romeo, after having taken poison enters the tomb to
bid farewell to Juliet, whom he by a fatal misunderstanding believes to
be dead.--She awakes, and seeing her bridegroom die before her eyes,
she stabs herself, to be united with her lover in death, if not in life.

IL SERAGLIO.

Opera in three acts by MOZART.

Text after BRETZNER by G. STEPHANIE.

Mozart modestly called this opera a Vaudeville (in German: Singspiel).
They were the fashion towards the end of the last century, but "Il
Seraglio" ranks much higher, and may be justly called a comic opera of
the most p