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began about a quarter before eight, and
continued till past eleven o'clock.
Friday 19. This evening I went a
third time to the church of San Fran-
cesco, and heard the performance of the
scholars of another Conservatorio, Santa
Maria di Loreto. They appeared all in
a white uniform, with a black kind of
sash. The singing was a little better
than the day before, but the instruments
were hardly so good. The first air, after
a spirited overture and chorus, was sung
by an inoffensive tenor; then another
by a soprano, not quite so; after which,
a third air by a base voice, the direct
contrary of inoffensive. Such a bawling
Stentor, with a throat so inflexible, sure
never existed before. The divisions were
so rough and so strongly marked, that
they became quite grotesque and ridi-
culous; if it had not been for the serious
effect which his performance had on the
melancholy audience, no one could pos-
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