The Press. — London, England, 1857-04-18 00:00:00

390 understanding of the Churchman to other doctrines which depend on these two revelations. These I imagine to bo (I ) The continued Presence of Christ in His Church, (2) The Commission of His Mi. nisters, (3) The office of His Church, (4) The office of the Comforter, (5) The efficacy of Common Prayer, and (6 ) The Mission of Christ's representatives ; all which subjects ate successively unfolded during the Season from Easter. tide to Whitsuntide ; while the prize of our high calling, the Acceptance of Human Nature, is placed before our eyes by the doctrines of Ascension Day. On Whitsuntide, I imagine that the reason why the Christian and the Churchman is called upon fur the per formance of works so far beyond his natural capacity as a child of Attim, is fully disclosed to us ; and that the whole scheme of doctrine is summed up and concluded on Trinity Sunday, by a revelation of the Great Name into whio'i we ate all baptised. This completes the doctrinal part of the year—the remainder is the application of those doctrines to the ordin try and overy.day life of the Christian. The Church having led us through this regular chain of systematic teaching, seems to consider us as the Lord considered those', who, having accompanied Him through His mission on earth, having worked out the meaning of His successive' nvelations, and having " tarried hitherto at Jerusalem,' abided, that is to say, in the Church until they had been " endued with power from on high ;" had now been taught, also by that power, to understand the nature of the gifts they had been endued with. We are now sent forth on our several missions in the world, in order to let our light shine before men, and to set forth the glory of God, by practising the virtues which we have been taught and enabled to perform. These virtues, I believe, the Sundays after Trinity are intended to unfold, each after each, ac cording to their natural succession, growth, and develop ment. Much has been said recently on the subject of sermons and preachers, and people are dissatisfied that they do not hear from the pulpits of the Church the same exaggerated declamation which delights sectarian eongre ptions. But such persons should remember that it has ever been the aim of the English Church to discredit these appeals to the emotions, as being apt to create a delusive spiritual excitement, which is accepted in lieu of real religion. A highly wrought state of the feelings—the ecstacies of despair and hope—the rapture springing from a conviction of God's favour, or the horror of his abandon ment—are not conducive to the better per• formancc of the nractical duties of life; nor do they seem much in consonance with the spirit of that creed whose most perfect realisation is, we are told, to visit the father less and widow, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world. Be it right, therefore, or be it wrong, the tone of pulpit instruction which prevails in the Established Church is not the result of any decline of earnestness or lack of ability ; it is designed and systematic, and the present publication is an admirable specimen of its excellence. The Church here speaks as with the voice of one having authority, who believes that florid exhortation would be as much out of place in addressing her children as in the mistress of a household when directing her ser• vants' tasks. " A perverse generation seeketh after a sign," and flocks to hear Mr. Spurgeon ; but if that sober and sensible divinity fur which our Church has ever been distinguished will not suffice them, neither vulgar vehemence nor maudlin sentimentality will improve their frame of mind. When people find practical religion irksome they fly for relief to enthu siasm, and are doubtless delighted to find that they can he dissipated and devotional at the same time. Against all such errors, sermons like those before us are a sound standing pro test ; they exhibit the teaching of the Church in a methodical and clear style, and are cal culated to please, instruct, and strengthen all true Churchmen. On Preaching and Preachers. The Inaugural Address at the Opening of the New Baptist College, Regent's•park. By the Rev. John Leif. child. London : Ward and Co. Tins little work seems to be something like an echo of a complaint recently put forward by a person signing himself " Habitans in Sicco," whom, if those words imply that he is thinity, we could not address more appropriately than in the words of Johnson—" Go, my lad, and drink some beer." We are as sensible as any one of the deficiencies of pulpit eloquence at the present day, but we greatly doubt the virtue of such exhortations as Mr. Leif. child's. We believe, however, that he is in earnest, and, as a well•written academic praileetion, have nothing to say against his volume. His language is well chosen, and his style impressive ; and if he THE PRESS. desires to train up a race of pulpit rhetoricians, doubtless his means are very well adapted to his end. We should add, however, that in the light of a treatise on public speaking Mr. Leifchild's volume is far more valuable. Some of his precepts deserve universal attention ; and he has evidently studied the art of oratory to considerable purpose. PUBLICATIONS EEC EIVED.—ArBIL le. The Lost Friend. A Crimean Memory. J. Chapman Alcazar ; or, the Dark Ages. A Novel. J. Richard Beate, Esq. Three Vols. Hurst and Blackett The Inaugural Address. Ward and Co. Peripatetic Papers. Jaw% Blackwood The Life and Opinions of General Sir Charles James Napier, G.C.B. Lieut.•lieneral Sir W. Napier, K.C.B. Murray 6USxt. HER MAJESTY'S THEATRE. La Favorite was expressly composed for and pro duced at the Grand Opera in Paris, in 1810, with French words by MM. Royer and Vaez. Mme. Stoltz was the Leonora, Barroilet Alphonso, the King, and Duprez the neophyte Fernando. That first representation will live in the memory of the amateurs who were ►hen present. The three parts of the mezzo-soprano, the baritone, and the tenor, were admirably adapted for the three artists just named. Habeneck was in fill possession of his powers as a conductor; there was a fine orchestra, a thoroughly-drilled chorus ; there was a gorgeous mounting of the work, and the ensemble consequently was quite marvellous. On the whole, the performance has never been equalled—the nearest approach to it being that at the Royal Italian Opera in 1848, with Grisi and Mario as the unfortunate lovers ; but the general cast was defective. In 1847 the opera was produced with Italian words by the clever poet Jannetti, but the attempt was a failure, the only redeemable point in the execution being the trium phant debut of Gardoni in this oeuntry as Fernando. How many versions of La Favorite it has been our destiny to listen to in France, Belgium, Italy, Ger many, and England, it is now useless to refer to ; but let justice be done, and, after Grisi and Stoltz, we can cite no Leonora to be compared with that which our own English prima donna, Miss Romer, presented at Drury-lane Theatre, in the days when the much-abused Mr. Bunn gave the public some thing like a national opera. As regards the repro• sentation of last Tuesday night, it would be untrue to affirm that it was what the connoisseurs have a right to expect at such an establishment, but it was not the less a positive improvement on former seasons. The orchestra has been bettered in some of the wind instruments—the stringed still require additional strength. The choruses were steadier than here tofore, and, we think, have received an accession in numbers. The high opinion formed of the abilities last year of the new conductor, Signor Bonetti, is fully confirmed ; and if the director will venture to advance still further in the way of amelioration, more decided results will assuredly follow the change of system. Two of the newcomers may be summa rily dismissed. The prima donna, Mlle. Spezia, although better than Mlle. Sanchioli, is not up to the mark. Her upper notes are much fatigued ; ht r execution is anything but finished ; her intonation is too often imperfect ; and her acting is cold and conventional —as, for instance, in the scene of ex communication, and in the death finale. The new basso, Signor Vialetti, is a Belgian by birth, and has all the vices of the French school of singing, grafted on a ponderous and monotonous organ. Signor Beneventano's King was insupportably coarse and exaggerated. And now to the reverse of the medal. The operatio world has at length found a treasure at the old house ; but so many failures, which never theless have been duly recorded as triumphs, could be specified, that it is somewhat perilous to hazard an opinion of a debut at this house. Without the slightest arriere pense, we can declare that a more genuine success has never been achieved than that of the gentle Giuglini, and we state the fact broadly— not on the amount of applause which was afforded by the auditory—not on the showe:a of wreaths and bouquets—not on the recalls, however numerous— not, indeed, on the organised impromptus of the night, the whole of which is worse than a sham in these days—is, in short, to use an expressive phrase, " perfect rot ;" but we rely confidently on that inde scribable intimacy which is observed to be formed at one interview between persons whose mutual sympathies approximate. We never heard a Fernando who cbarmed an audience more, and who startled one less. Charm with Giuglini is the word which describes his style ; force be has not. Singers with every speciality are rarities. Do not look for the thrilling fervour of Rubins ; do not anti cipate the luscious unction of Mario's voice ; do not SATURDAY, suppose that you will Snd the intellectual decle.ma tion and fiery vehemence of Duprez ; but imagine a singer softly stealing on your senses, by a subdued style, as refined as it is finished—a touchi ng , sym pathetic voice, with perfect intonation, and delicious phrasing. Giuglini never forces his voice, never exaggerates ; and the same observations will apply to his acting. His pantomime is particularly quiet; but the mobility of the features and the working of the eye indicate that he is no stranger to the em o ti ons of the scene. He made Ills way gradually. Th e opening romanza, in six-eight time, to the uninitiated might have been tame, but the artist was apparent not the less ; and in the two duos wit'i Baldassare and Leonora it was recognised that the meth o d was of the right school. This even mode of singing continues throughout the opera. It cannot be termed langour—it is the peculiar idiosyncrasy of the artist; and in all parts in which melancholy, anguish, and surprise are to be depicted, will tell on an auditory as it did in Fernando. in the romanza in the Cloisters was, therefore, the culminating point of the intensely interesting singing of Giuglini. Here too he received his highest compliment in the breathless silence with which every bearer dwelt on every note. Of what use, after all, are hireling clacqueurs, when the voice of nature is heard, and asserts its supre• macy ? Will managers never trust to the responsive sympathies of truly excited audiences, moved by genuine artistic displays ? La Favorita is a great work; and there is nothing to be found in any opera more powerful than the last act. The story, no doubt, is repulsive to English notions, but the music which Donizetti has wedded to the words entitles it to be placed in the first rank of lyric dramas. Of the ballet it need only be said that a most charming dancer bas been introduced to us in the person of Mlle. Pocchini. Mlle. Piccolomini will make her first appearance this season in Fiylia del Regiment°, on Tuesday next, to be followed on Thursday by the Traviata. Orto lani has already arrived from Madrid, and Alboni is daily expected. ROYAL ITALIAN OPERA. BELLINI'S ever fresh and blooming Paritani was selected for the opening opera at the Lyceum, Grisi resuming her original part of Elvira, Gardoni icing the Arturo, Graziani Riccardo, and Tagliafico taking, for the first time in London, Lablache's great part of Giorgio. There is one thing that, has been written of Grisi which applies with peculiar force at this moment, and that is, in every part, she has either " created " or performed since 1834 she has as yet met with no artiste who has deprived her of a single laurel. There is no difficulty at the present moment at pointing out how far her vocal volubility may be affected, but in the brilliancy of her organ and in the dramatic power of her acting Grisi has yet no successor. Her undiminished fame has outlived that of all the vocalists who have " fretted" their hour for the last quarter of a century. She is an operatic wonder, a musical marvel, who merits to be treated with profound respect, and not to be assailed with cold-blooded levity. The notion of any critic, at this period of Grisi's history of denying to her the triumphs of former years in Elvira is worse than absurb, it is malignant. Such a tone is unworthy and unjust, and can only be ascribed to a remnant of the feeling of partisanship engendered by the feuds between the two Italian Opera-houses when the Royal Italian Opera was opened in 1847. We must confess that we see with regret any attempt to revive the antagonistic spirit of those days. Critics who expect to earn the character of independence and impartiality must not constitute themselves the champions of either of the rival establishments. It is not, for journalists to thrust themselves forward as advocates either for Mr. Gye or for Jlr. Lumley. They do not make a dead set against Mr. Buckatone at the Haymarket because Mr. Webster is the lessee of the Adelphi, nor do we find that Charles Kean's management is attacked because Mr. Wigan directs the Olympic. Let each opera-house stand or fall on its own merits or demerits. The eventful existence of the Royal Italian Opera is now a fait accompli. It is nonsense to talk of a " Restoration." There was one in France as well as in England, and it has been truly stated that the Bourbons had forgotten nothing nor learnt nothing by their niisfortunes. Musical history will record that the creation of a second Italian opera-house, the plan of working which was the conception of a single literary amateur, was a necessity of the period. It was established for art and artists, and also it was the assertion of a great principle in the world of criticism—namely, to fix the line of demarcation between the manager and the public through the exercise of a free and uninfluenced press. And eleven years have rolled on since 1847, and Yet the Royal Italian Opera has survived its difficulties and disasters; but if it had been untrue to its origin, it must have sunk long