SONTAG'S BENEFIT.
MADEMOISELLE SONTAG selected for her benefit, on Thursday even- inn., part of Die Zaubeilliitte and part of Tancredi. In reference to the former branch of the entertainment, the Times of the following morning observes—" The selection was so judiciously arranged, that an outline of the plot was preserved, as well as all the best vocal pieces bebnging to that deliglMul Co'' isition retained." Now, it happens, tint the musical critic of the -" i is just as wide of the truth as it is po:sible to be. Not a vestige of the plot was preserved, nor was there even an attempt to take the pieces in their order. For instance, after thE duet, " Pa-pa-geno," which is very near the conclusion of the opera, we had the chorus "E viva Sarastro," which occurs in the first act Many of the "most delightful" and most popular pieces of the opera were omitted; such as "0 cara armonia ; ' the two airs of Scrastro," Possenti Numi," and " Qui sdegno ; " as well as " Regna anore ;" the terzetti, " Gia fan ritorno," and " Dunque il mio ben ; " ant the greater part of the finale, which occupies more than one-fourth of the whole opera. In the place of these, or some of them, we were 'edified with long dialogues in the original German, or accompanied recitatives bereft of their succeeding airs. In short, we could hardly lave imagined it possible for a selection so dull, so ineffective, to have leen culled out of such materials. The curtain fell almost in silence. . The performance Was better, and but a little better, than the selec- tion. SONTAG reserved herself for Tancredi. Her part of the beauti- ful duet, "La dove prende," was so overlaid with ornament, that some- times not a trace of MOZART'S graceful and unimprovable melody was to be discovered throughout a whole phrase. ROSNER was the most effective singer in the piece. SCHiiTZ acted the Bird-catcher with spirit and drollery, but his singing was very mediocre. The part of S'arastro was almost omitted ; and nothing could be worse than the singing of M. VaLLANS-31; of what Was retained. We remembered DE BEGNIS and ANGRISANI, in these characters, with a sigh. The band was frequently at fault; and it required the most vigorous efforts Of SPAGNOLETTI'S bow, not upontiS mstruinent but On his book, to keep them from tumbling to pieces.
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