clear difference between the opera and the symphonic poem. While the orchestration did not lose its ardour between 1880 and 1884, the author notes a loss of the ardour and intransigence with which the composer modulates 'frequently contenting herself with loving modulation from tonic to dominant'. Fernand Le Borne also notes that the orchestration does not sound, remaining dull and grey when it should have been bright. For him, the instrumental texture lacks body, with a loss of middle harmonies, leaving the bass and treble uncovered. There is also a dissonance between the orchestration and the situation on stage. Although the critic emphasises the presence of motifs, he doubts that the composer has used them in the manner of Wagnerian leitmotifs. For him, the lyric drama would therefore be closer to an opera, leaving an ordinary work, lacking modernity and personality. According to Arthur Pougin in Le Ménestrel, the best pages are the passages of gentleness, grace and tenderness, while the pages that are intended to be energetic are only noisy and banal, with the exception of the introductory scene in Act I. One of the most successful passages is Yamina's lied-like aria 'Près des flots d'une mer bleue et lente' in Act II, which illustrates the captive's lament for her homeland. The same applies to the duet of Mirko and Yamina in the third act, when they arrive in the forest. Apart from these passages, the author emphasises the lack of momentum, energy and expression in the play as a whole, making for an uneven drama. Georges d'Heylli wrote in the Gazette anecdotique: "Mme Holmès has perhaps presumed her strength in seeking to triumph both as a librettist and as a musician", denying her the title of playwright and describing her opera as severe, although he concedes a few skilfully treated scenes, and several very welcome melodies. For Ély-Edmond Grimard, the failure of this opera was due in particular to the weakness of the libretto written by the composer. He wrote in Les Annales politiques et littéraires that, unlike Richard Wagner, whom she imitated, she evoked history and not legend. According to the author, the adaptation is banal and the plot mediocre. The music, which is sometimes lyrical, often lacks energy. He adds that the instrumentation is far from reminiscent of Richard Wagner or César Franck, but sometimes briefly recalls Jules Massenet in Le Roi de Lahore. The interpretation