io," and "Trovatore"; and her
versatility was displayed in the fact that when she was called on,
through the illness of another singer, to assume a comic part, she won
golden opinions from the public for the sparkle and grace of her style.

II.

The English manager, Mr. Lumley, had heard of Mlle. Titiens and the
sensation she had made in Germany. So he hastened to Vienna, and made
the most lavish propositions to the young singer that she should appear
in his company before the London public. She was unable to accept his
proposition, for her contract in Vienna had yet a year to run; but,
after some negotiations, an arrangement was made which permitted
Mlle. Titiens to sing in London for three months, with the express
understanding that she should not surpass that limit.

She made her first bow before an English audience on April 13, 1858, as
_Valentine_ in Meyerbeer's _chef d'oeuvre_, Giuglini singing the part of
_Raoul_ for the first time. She did not understand Italian, but, under
the guidance of a competent master, she memorized the unknown words,
pronunciation and all, so perfectly that no one suspected but that she
was perfectly conversant with the liquid accents of that "soft bastard
Latin" of the South. Success alone justified so dangerous an experiment.
The audience was most fashionable and critical, and the reception of the
new singer was of the most assuring kind.

The voice of Mlle. Titiens was a pure soprano, fresh, penetrating, even,
powerful, unusually rich in quality, extensive in compass, and of great
flexibility. It had a bell-like resonance, and was capable of expressing
all the passionate and tender accents of lyric tragedy. Theresa Titiens
was, in the truest, fullest sense of the word, a lyric artist, and
she possessed every requisite needed by a cantatrice of the highest
order--personal beauty, physical strength, originality of conception,
a superb voice, and inexhaustible spirit and energy. Like most German
singers, Mlle. Titiens regarded ornamentation as merely an agreeable
adjunct in vocalization; and in the music of _Valentine_ she sang only
what the composer had set down--neither more nor less--but that was
accomplished to perfection.

As an actress, her tall, stately, elegant figure was admirably
calculated to personate the tragic heroines of opera. Her face at this
time was beautiful, her large eyes flashed with intellect, and her
classical features were radiant with expression; her gra