Mme. Viardot's high position on the operatic stage of course brought her into intimate association with the leading singers of her age, some of whom have been mentioned in previous sketches. But there was one great tenor of the French stage, Nourrit, who, though he died shortly after Mme. Viardot's entrance on her lyric career, yet bore such relation to the Garcia family as to make a brief account of this gifted artist appropriate under this caption. Adolphe Nourrit, of whom the French stage is deservedly proud, was the pupil of Manuel Garcia, the intimate friend of Maria Malibran, and the judicious adviser of Pauline Viardot in her earlier years. The son of a tenor singer, who united the business of a diamond broker with the profession of music, young Nourrit received a good classical education, and was then placed in the Conservatoire, where he received a most thorough training in the science of music, as well as in the art of singing. It was said of him in after-years that he was able to write a libretto, compose the music to it, lead the orchestra, and sing the tenor role in it, with equal facility. His first appearance was in Gluck's "Iphigenie en Tauride," in 1821, his age then being nineteen. Gifted with remarkable intelligence and ambition, he worked indefatigably to overcome his defects of voice, and perfect his equipment as an artist. Manuel Garcia, the most scientific and exacting of singing teachers, was the _maestro_ under whom Nourrit acquired that large and noble style for which he became eminent. He soon became principal tenor at the Academie, and created all of the leading tenor roles of the operas produced in France for ten years. Among these may be mentioned _Neocles_ in "La Siege de Corinthe," _Masaniello_ in "La Muette de Portici,"_Arnold_ in "Guillaume Tell," _Leonardo da Vinci_ in Ginestell's "Francois I," _Un Lnconnu_ in "Le Dieu et la Bayadere," _Robert le Diable, Edmond_ in "La Serment," _Nadir_ in Cherubini's "Ali Baba," _Eleazar_ in "La Juive," _Raoul_ in "Les Huguenots," _Phobus_ in Bertini's "La Esmeralda," and _Stradella_ in Niedermeyer's opera.