ny reminiscences of other well-known
composers. It is pleasing and graceful, and the orchestration is so
brilliant, that it may even deceive the hearer as to the poverty of
invention.

The subject, arranged by Kienzl himself, is highly romantic.

The Apsares, (virgins of heaven), who are sometimes allowed to visit
earth and its inhabitants, have just made use of this permission.

{339}

Urvasi, their Princess, isolates herself from their dances and is with
two sisters caught by the wild Prince of the Asures, their enemy. They
cry for help, when the King of Persia, hunting in those grounds,
appears with his suite and saves Urvasi.

They fall in love with each other, though Brahma has prophesied to the
King, that he will die poor and unknown, if he does not wed the last
Princess of the Persian kingdom, Ausinari, to whom he is already
betrothed.

Urvasi tells him, that not being a daughter of earth, she can only be
allowed to see him from time to time. The King swears eternal faith to
her; and she in return promises to be his in heaven. But should he
prove false, nothing can save them both from fearful punishment.

Then she bids him farewell, promising to send a rose every time she is
allowed to descend from heaven.

In the second act Ausinari, walking in the moonshine, mourns for the
King's love which she has lost. Mandava, priest of the moon, consoles
her, designing [Transcriber's note: designating?] the present night,
that of the full-moon, as the one, in which the King's heart shall
again turn to her.

After his departure Ausinari first prays to the good and mild god of
the moon, but afterwards invokes Ahriman, the Spirit of Night, lest the
moon-god should prove too weak. When she has left the park, the King
walks in dreamily. His whole soul is filled by Urvasi; he fervently
calls for her, {340} and a rose, her love-token, falls at his feet.
But he waits in vain for her, she does not come and as the priests of
the moon appear, to celebrate the festival of their god, he retires
disappointed into a bower.

Now follows a sort of ballet. All the maidens and their lovers, who
desire to be united, sacrifice to the god; the young men throw a
blooming rose into the flame, the girls a palm-branch.

Ausinari appears and is greeted, with joyous acclamations, while Manava
enters the bower to conduct the King to the sacrifice. He vainly
strives against Ausinari and the priests, who urgently demand the
sacrif