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Show Scant Praise for Verdi's Music. An English critic said of Rigoletto when it reached London in 1S53: "There is little offensive music in Rigoletto; the ears are seldomer stunned than in most of the composer's com-poser's other works and there is, we fancy, less pretense in the writing Nevertheless Verdi's sins are apparent in every scene. Poverty of ideas, an eternal effort at originality never accomplished ac-complished strange and odd phrases, lack of coloring, and a perpetual swagger swag-ger in the dramatic effects, are unmistakably unmis-takably true Verdi. Yet there are airs melodies if you will in Rigoletto, which are sure to find favor with the barrel organs." |