he directed the Philharmonic and Choral Societies of Vienna, and shortly afterwards made another tour, during which, in 1872, he came to this country with the eminent violinist, Wieniawsky, as will be well remembered.  His greatest works are the “Ocean Symphony,” “Dramatic Symphony,” and a character sketch for grand orchestra called “Ivan the Terrible;” his operas, “Children of the Heath,” “Feramors,” “Nero,” “The Maccabees,” “Dimitri Donskoi,” and the “Demon;” the oratorios “Paradise Lost,” and “Tower of Babel,” and a long and splendid catalogue of chamber, salon, and concert music, besides some beautiful songs, which are great favorites in the concert-room.

NERO.

The opera of “Nero,” the libretto by Jules Barbier, was first produced in Hamburg in 1879,—­though it was originally intended for the French stage,—­and in this country, March 14, 1887, at New York, by the American Opera Company, under the direction of Mr. Theodore Thomas, with the following cast:—­

NERO                Mr. CANDIDUS. 
JULIUS VINDEX       Mr. LUDWIG. 
TIGELLINUS          Mr. STODDARD. 
BALBILLUS           Mr. WHITNEY. 
SACCUS              Mr. FESSENDEN. 
SEVIRUS             Mr. HAMILTON. 
TERPANDER           Mr. LEE. 
POPPOEA SABINA      Miss BERTHA PIERSON. 
EPICHARIS           Miss CORNELIA VAN ZANTEN. 
CHRYSA              Miss EMMA JUCH. 
AGRIPPINA           Miss AGNES STERLING. 
LUPUS               Miss PAULINE L’ALLEMAND.

The first act opens in the house of Epicharis, a courtesan, which is a rendezvous for the dissolute Roman nobles.  The guests assembled sing a chorus in praise of the establishment, followed by a scene in which Vindex, the prince of Aquitania, Saccus the poet, Terpander the citharist, and others conspire against Nero.  Suddenly Chrysa, daughter of Epicharis, who is ignorant of her mother’s real character and dwells apart from her, rushes in and implores the protection of Vindex from a crowd of revellers who have pursued her.  A very spirited duet follows in which the prince promises her his assistance.  Upon hearing the shouts of her pursuers he conceals her just in time to escape the masked band, headed by Nero himself, which bursts into the apartment.  The tyrant demands the girl; and as he throws off his mask the guests stand amazed.  Saccus at last breaks the spell by the suggestion that Nero shall marry the girl.  When she is led out, and Vindex discovers that Epicharis is her mother, he no longer espouses her cause.  Then follows the music of the mock marriage, interspersed with dance strains and sardonic choruses by the courtesans and their associates, at last rising to a wild bacchanalian frenzy, in the midst of which Vindex breaks out in a spirited song, with harp accompaniment, and finally hurls invectives at Nero, as Chrysa, who has drunk a narcotic at her mother’s order, falls senseless.  The latter declares she has been poisoned, and the act closes with a scene of great power in which Vindex is hurried away as Nero’s prisoner.