Marie as her niece by means of a letter which was found upon her by the Sergeant, and carries her off to her castle hard by, leaving the unfortunate Tonio to the bitterest reflections.  In the second act Marie is at the castle of Berkenfeld though by no means at ease in her unaccustomed surroundings.  Her efforts to imbibe the principles of etiquette are pleasantly interrupted by the unexpected arrival of the regiment, with Tonio now as Colonel at its head.  But even his promotion will not soften the Marchioness’s heart.  She discloses the fact that she is in reality Marie’s mother, and adjures her by her filial respect to give up the thought of her low-born lover.  Marie consents in an agony of grief.  The lovers part with many tears, and at the psychological moment the Marchioness relents, and all ends happily.

Even slighter in scope is ‘Don Pasquale,’ a brilliant trifle, written for the Theatre des Italiens in Paris, and there sung for the first time in 1843, by Grisi, Mario, Tamburini, and Lablache.  The story turns upon a trick played by Ernesto and Norina, two young lovers, upon the uncle and guardian of the former, Don Pasquale.  Ernesto will not marry to please his uncle, so the old gentleman determines to marry himself.  Norina is introduced to Don Pasquale as his sister by a certain Dr. Malatesta, a friend of Ernesto, and the amorous old gentleman at once succumbs to her charms.  No sooner is the marriage contract signed than Norina, acting upon her instructions, launches forth upon a career of unexampled shrewishness, extravagance, and flirtation.  Her poor old lover is distracted by her wild vagaries, and in the end is only too thankful to hand her over bag and baggage to his nephew, who generously consents to relieve his uncle of his unlucky bargain.

The music of ‘L’Elisir d’Amore’ is not inferior to that of ’Don Pasquale’ in sparkle and brilliancy, but the plot is tame and childish compared to the bustle and intrigue of the latter work.  It turns upon a sham love potion sold by a travelling quack to Nemorino, a country lout who is in love with Adina, the local beauty.  Adina is divided between the attractions of Nemorino and those of the Sergeant Belcore, who is quartered in the village.  In order to get money to pay for the potion Nemorino joins the army, and this proof of his devotion has so convincing an effect upon the affections of Adina that she discards the soldier and bestows her hand upon Nemorino.  To this silly plot is allied some of the most delightful music Donizetti ever wrote.  Fresh, graceful, and occasionally tender, it forms the happiest contrast to the grandiose nonsense which the composer was in the habit of turning out to suit the vitiated taste of the day, and is a convincing proof that if he had been permitted to exercise his talent in a congenial sphere, Donizetti would be entitled to rank with the most successful followers of Cimarosa and Paisiello, instead of being degraded to the rank of a mere purveyor to the manufacturers of barrel-organs.