The second act opens with the quaint slumber-song ("In grembo a me”) which Selika sings to Vasco in prison.  It is oriental in color, and is broken here and there by a barcarole which Vasco murmurs in his sleep.  In striking contrast with its dreamy, quiet flow, it leads up to a passionate aria ("Tranquillo e gia”) based upon a strong and fiery motive.  In the next scene follows an aria of equal vigor sung by Nelusko ("Figlia dei Re"), in which his devotion to Selika changing to his hatred of Vasco is characterized by a grand crescendo.  The act closes with a vigorous sextet, the motive of which is strangely similar to the old song, “The Minstrel Boy.”

The third act contains a very impressive number, Nelusko’s invocation of Adamastor ("Adamastor, re dell’ onde profondo"), but is mainly devoted to the ship scene, which, though grotesque from the dramatic point of view, is accompanied by music of a powerful and realistic description, written with all the vividness and force Meyerbeer always displays in his melodramatic ensembles.  The fourth act contains the most beautiful music of the opera,—­Vasco’s opening aria, “O Paradiso,” an exquisite melody set to an equally exquisite accompaniment; the ensemble in the fourth scene, in which Selika protects Vasco and Nelusko swears vengeance ("Al mio penar de fine"); the grand duet between Vasco and Selika ("Dove son"), which has often been compared to the duet in the fourth act of “The Huguenots,” though it has not the passionate intensity of the scene between Raoul and Valentin; and the graceful choruses of the Indian maidens and Inez’s attendants which close the act.

The last act contains two scenes,—­the first in Selika’s gardens, where there is a long and spirited duet between Inez and Selika.  The second, known as “La Scene du Mancenillier,” has a symphonic prelude in the form of a funeral march, based upon a fascinating melody, which is beyond question the finest of Meyerbeer’s orchestral numbers in any of his works.  From this point the story hastens to its tragic denouement; and nearly the entire scene is occupied with Selika’s dying song, which opens with a majestic apostrophe to the sea ("Da qui io vedo il mar"), then turns to sadness as she sings to the fatal tree ("O tempio sontuoso"), and at the close develops into a passionate outcry of joy ("O douce extase").  Though the plot of “L’Africaine” is often absurd, many of its incidents preposterous, and some of its characters unattractive, the opera is full of effective situations, and repeatedly illustrates Meyerbeer’s powers of realization and his knowledge of effects.

MOZART.