“Do you hear the heavenly lamentations of neglected love?” he said.  “Isabella calls to Robert above the grand chorus of knights riding forth to the tournament, in which the motifs of the second act reappear to make it clear that the third act has all taken place in a supernatural sphere.  This is real life again.  This chorus dies away at the approach of the hellish enchantment brought by Robert with the talisman.  The deviltry of the third act is to be carried on.  Here we have the duet with the viol; the rhythm is highly expressive of the brutal desires of a man who is omnipotent, and the Princess, by plaintive phrases, tries to win her lover back to moderation.  The musician has here placed himself in a situation of great difficulty, and has surmounted it in the loveliest number of the whole opera.  How charming is the melody of the cavatina ’Grace pour toi!’ All the women present understood it well; each saw herself seized and snatched away on the stage.  That part alone would suffice to make the fortune of the opera.  Every woman felt herself engaged in a struggle with some violent lover.  Never was music so passionate and so dramatic.

“The whole world now rises in arms against the reprobate.  This finale may be criticised for its resemblance to that of Don Giovanni; but there is this immense difference:  in Isabella we have the expression of the noblest faith, a true love that will save Robert, for he scornfully rejects the infernal powers bestowed on him, while Don Giovanni persists in his unbelief.  Moreover, that particular fault is common to every composer who has written a finale since Mozart.  The finale to Don Giovanni is one of those classic forms that are invented once for all.

“At last religion wins the day, uplifting the voice that governs worlds, that invites all sorrow to come for consolation, all repentance to be forgiven and helped.

“The whole house was stirred by the chorus: 

  “Malheureaux on coupables
  Hatez-vous d’accourir!

“In the terrific tumult of raving passions, the holy Voice would have been unheard; but at this critical moment it sounds like thunder; the divine Catholic Church rises glorious in light.  And here I was amazed to find that after such lavish use of harmonic treasure, the composer had come upon a new vein with the splendid chorus:  ’Gloire a la Providence’ in the manner of Handel.

“Robert rushes on with his heartrending cry:  ‘Si je pouvais prier!’ and Bertram, driven by the infernal decree, pursues his son, and makes a last effort.  Alice has called up the vision of the Mother, and now comes the grand trio to which the whole opera has led up:  the triumph of the soul over matter, of the Spirit of Good over the Spirit of Evil.  The strains of piety prevail over the chorus of hell, and happiness appears glorious; but here the music is weaker.  I only saw a cathedral instead of hearing a concert of angels in bliss, and a divine prayer consecrating the union of Robert and Isabella.  We ought not to have been left oppressed by the spells of hell; we ought to emerge with hope in our heart.