ris. He made his
debut with success in 1828, and at the close of his engagement returned
to Italy, where he appeared again on the stage. About this time
(1829-1830) he began writing Italian operas, and before he left the
country had produced three which met with considerable success. In 1835
he returned to England; and it was in this year that his first English
opera, "The Siege of Rochelle," was brought out. It was played
continuously at Drury Lane for over three months. In 1835 appeared his
"Maid of Artois;" in 1837, "Catharine Grey" and "Joan of Arc;" and in
1838, "Falstaff." During these years he was still singing in concerts and
opera, and in 1840 undertook the management of the Lyceum. His finest
works were produced after this date,--"The Bohemian Girl," in 1843; "The
Enchantress," in 1844; "The Rose of Castile," "La Zingara," and
"Satanella," in 1858; and "The Puritan's Daughter" in 1861. His last
opera was "The Knight of the Leopard," known in Italian as "Il
Talismano," which has also been performed in English as "The Talisman."
He married Mademoiselle Rosen, a German singer, whom he met in Italy in
1835. His daughter Victoire, who subsequently married Sir John Crampton,
and afterwards the Duc de Frias, also appeared as a singer in 1856. Balfe
died Oct. 20, 1870, upon his own estate in Hertfordshire.

Mazeppa.

The cantata of "Mazeppa," the words written by Jessica Rankin, was one of
the last productions of Balfe, having been produced in 1862, a year after
"The Puritan's Daughter," and several years after he had passed his
musical prime. The text is based upon the familiar story as told by Byron
in his poem of the wild ride of the page of King Casimir, "The Ukraine's
hetman, calm and bold," and of the

"noble steed,
A Tartar of the Ukraine breed,
Who looked as though the speed of thought
Was in his limbs."

The main incidents in the story--the guilty love of the page Mazeppa for
the Count Palatine's Theresa, his surprise and seizure by the spies, her
mysterious fate, the wild flight of the steed with his wretched load
through forest and over desert, and the final rescue by the Cossack
maid--are preserved, but liberties of every description are taken in the
recital of the narrative. It is but a feeble transcript of Byron's
glowing verse, and in its diluted form is but a vulgar story of ordinary
love, jealousy, and revenge.

The cantata comprises twelve