The greatest opera ever written for the Académie, and one of the three or four greatest operas ever produced, was now about to be brought out. _Guillaume Tell_ was represented for the first time on the 3rd of August, 1829. It was not unsuccessful, or even coldly received the first night, as has often been stated; but the result of the first few representations was on the whole unsatisfactory. Musicians and connoisseurs were struck by the great beauties of the work from the very beginning; but some years passed before it was fully appreciated by the general public. The success of the music was certainly not assisted by the libretto--one of the most tedious and insipid ever put together; and it was not until Rossini's masterpiece had been cut down from five to three acts, that the Parisians, as a body, took any great interest in it. [Sidenote: GUILLAUME TELL.] _Guillaume Tell_ is now played everywhere in the three act form. Some years ago a German doctor, who had paid four francs to hear _Der Freischütz_ at the French Opera, proceeded against the directors for the recovery of his money, on the plea that it had been obtained from him on false pretences, the work advertised as _Der Freischütz_ not being precisely the _Der Freischütz_[91] which Karl Maria von Weber composed. The doctor might amuse himself (the authorities permitting) by bringing an action against the managers of the Berlin theatre every time they produce Rossini's _Guillaume Tell_--which is often enough, and always in three acts. The original cast of _Guillaume Tell_ included Nourrit, Levasseur, Dabadie, A. Dupont, Massol, and Madame Cinti-Damoreau. The singers and musicians of the Opera were enthusiastic in their admiration of the new work, and the morning after its production assembled on the terrace of the house where Rossini lived and performed a selection from it in his honour. One distinguished artist who took no part in this ceremony had, nevertheless, contributed in no small degree to the success of the opera. This was Mademoiselle Taglioni, whose _tyrolienne_ danced to the music of the charming unaccompanied chorus, was of course understood and applauded by every one from the very first.