lieves to be his wife's
paramour. Gennaro is poisoned in the presence of his mother, who,
however, directly the Duke's back is turned, gives him an antidote which
restores him to health. In the last act Lucrezia takes comprehensive
vengeance upon the friends of Gennaro, whose taunts still rankle in her
bosom, by poisoning all the wine at a supper party. Unfortunately
Gennaro happens to be present, and as this time he refuses to take an
antidote, even though Lucrezia reveals herself as his mother, he expires
in her arms.

There is little attempt at dramatic significance in the music of
'Lucrezia Borgia,' but the score bubbles over with delicious and wholly
inappropriate melodies. Occasionally, as in the final scene, there is a
touch of pathos, and sometimes some rather effective concerted music;
but, for the most part, Donizetti was content to write his charming
tunes, and to leave all expression to the singers. The orchestration of
his Italian operas is primitive in the extreme, and amply justifies
Wagner's taunt about the 'big guitar.' In works written for foreign
theatres Donizetti took more pains, and 'La Favorite,' produced in Paris
in 1840, is in many ways the strongest of his tragic works. The story is
more than usually repulsive. Fernando, a novice at the convent of St.
James of Compostella, is about to take monastic vows, when he catches
sight of a fair penitent, and bids farewell to the Church in order to
follow her to court. She turns out to be Leonora, the mistress of the
King, for whose _beaux yeux_ the latter is prepared to repudiate the
Queen and to brave all the terrors of Rome. Fernando finds Leonora
ready to reciprocate his passion, and by her means he obtains a
commission in the army. He returns covered with glory, and is rewarded
by the King, who has discovered his connection with Leonora, with the
hand of his cast-off mistress. After the marriage ceremony is over,
Fernando hears for the first time of Leonora's past. He flies to the
convent for consolation, followed by his unfortunate wife, who dies in
his arms after she has obtained forgiveness. 'La Favorite' is more
carefully written than was Donizetti's wont, and some of the concerted
music is really dramatic. There is a tradition that the last act, which
was an after-thought, was written in an incredibly short space of time,
but it is significant that the beautiful romanza 'Spirto gentil,' to
which the act and indeed the whole opera owes most of i