The Press. — London, England, 1857-06-27 00:00:00

JuNt 27, 1857. ing this acute sensibility, his enunciation becomes choked, and the notes are often emitted from the throat. His Catalonian enthusiasm—he is a native of Barcelona—carries him away. With more steadiness and self.possession he would achieve infinitely greater results. We cannot illustrate our tneaning better than to refer to the case of Giuglini, who has not a tithe of the voice, wl ether in power or in sympathetic quality, of Belart, but whose pure method and unfailing a plomb give him a better position with the general public. Belart has all the elements of a great tenor, but he requires a guiding band. He is young, and shot in stature, but he has a well•formed figure, the grace of which will be seen when he is not assuming the action of the rustic, as in Elvin°. He has the faculty of fixing the attention of his auditory on his movements whilst on the stage—and this is a sign of no ordinary promise. The magnificent singing of Alboni cannot remove the physical objections to her Amiga, especially if the Elvin° be undersized. She sang the rondo finale so brilliantly as to insure her recall before the curtain, firmly declining the encore. On a recent occasion we had to protest against the Lisa. at the Royal Italian Opera, as being unworthy of such an estab lishment, but the Lisa of Tuesday, at Her Majesty's, was really " too bad." Corsi was the Count, singing and acting like a thorough good artist, but he has riot been yet well placed before the public. The Doge, in the Due Foscari, is one of his great parts, is which he ought to be seen. Another morning performance is promised for Monday, June 29th, when IL Don Giovanni will be given for the convenience of those who have been enable to attend during its extraordinary run as an evening opera. The strength of the cast is now well known, including, besides Giuglini, Spezia, Ortolani, and Vialetti, Mile. Piccolomini and Signor Belletti. An act of Sonnambula will be added, in which Alboni and the new tenor Belart will sustain the principal characters. The benefit of Mlle. Piccolomini is fixed for Monday evening, July 6th. The perfoirnances for the evening will consist of the second act of the Figlia, the last act of the Trovatore, the last act of the Traviata, and the last act of I Martiri, in three of which operas Mlle. Piccolimini will perform. THE MUSICAL UNION. RUBINSTEIN is still alive. He has survived the onslaught of the daily press on his arrival. If ever there was a case illustrative of the danger of prema ture condemnation of a new light, this is one. The reaction has commenced rapidly. The Russian composer was apparently hanged, drawn, and, we were going to add, quartered, but he had no quarter ; and now it is a question whether the return of any pianist will be more heartily welcomed than that of Rubinstein, or whether there be any young composer whose works will be watched with more curiosity and interest. " Magna est veritas et prtevalebit !" What an excitement was that of last Tuesdey, when he played in Mendelssohn's magnificent trio in C minor with Sainton and Piatti—a Russian, a Frenchman, and an Italian—such is the universality of art in an age wherein nationality will pr3ve no passport for mediocrity. Since the immortal Mendelssohn's cosi' interpretation of this impassioned trio, never has such a grandeur of effect been imparted to it. Such was the sensation at Rubinstein, with his able col leagues, that Beethoven's quartet in E flat, op. 4, which succeeded, was put completely into the shade; and we regretted the placing of the programme, as the trio ought to have ended the concert. The sonata for pianoforte and violoncello, op. Is, Rubin stein's composition, and executed by him and Piatti, elicited immense applause ; a quaintly piquant alle gretto, the subject being sustained chiefly by the violoncello, was quite a gem in its way, and narrowly escaped an encore. The sonata is the work of no ordinary mind ; the ideas are free and flowing, and the writing displays the mastership of a thorough musician. Then followed a melody in F and a caprice in F sharp, op. 21, (displaying striking on ginality on the part of Rubinstein, who wound up with a performance of the Turkish march from Beet hoven's Ruins of Athens. Here he rivalled Liszt in orchestral power. It was a wondrous exhibition of manual dexterity with all the light and shade of instrumental effect. from the softest pianissimo to the grandest climax. Nothing could be more pic turesque than the sound of the march heard in the distance. The room rang with acclamations at this splendid display of executive skill. MR. BENEDICT'S CONCERTS. Tnnnt was a large attendance at the second pro gramme on Wednesday afternoon at Her Majesty's Theatre. Alboni, as before, was the great star, and her sinning or the " Che faro senza Euridice," from Gluck's Orfeo, was the grand displaf of the day. It was originally intended to have produced this work for Mario at the Royal Italian Opera, and perhaps THE PRESS. we ought not to despair yet of hearing the revival of some of Gluck's operas, whenever a director shall be found who for once will risk profit for glory. Fine music, well executed, may suit only the " few " ; but, after all, it is not the " many " who give the repute. tion of a lyric establishment. Next to Alboni was the signal triumph of the new Spanish tenor, Signor Belart, who was rapturously encored in Vaccai's variations on an air from his opera Pietro it Grande. As we surmised, Belart took the house fairly by storm by his wonderful execution. He does, how ever, still more astonishing things in his Spanish airs. Benedict performed with Lindsay Sloper the duet of Moscheles for two pianofortes, " Hommaga a Handel," in a masterly manner. The chorus of students, and the ballad, " 'Tis sad thus to fall," sung by Charles Braham, from Benedict's charming opera, The Gipsy's Warning, and his overture, Der Minnesinger, were also in the scheme. Piccolomini's version of Balfe's ballad, " I dreamt that I dwelt in marble halls, like Giuglini's "Adelaide " of the former concert, was a failure. Is it not surprising to find the repertoire of the Italian singers so limited ?—the least thing out of the beaten track and they fail—a strong evidence of bad musical training. Amongst the soloists were Piatti and Pezze in a duo for two violoncellos, a double-bass solo by Bottesini, a violin solo by Bazzini, and Mendelssohn's pianoforte concerto in C minor, admirably played by Miss Arabella Goddard. TIC► VOCAL UNION.—At the Hanover• square Rooms, on Wednesday morning, Miss Marian Moss, Mr. Foster, the celebrated alto, Mr. Wilbye Cooper, Mr. Montem Smith, Mr. Winn, and Mr. Thomas, commenced a series of concerts for glees and madrigals. Miss Dolby also sang airs by Balfe and Hullah. MR. HULLAH'S CONCERTS.—St. Martin's-hall was crowded on Wednesday evening for the concluding concert. The chief vocalists were Miss Banks, Mile. Maria de Villan, Miss Dolby, Miss Palmer, and Mr. Sims Reeves. THE TONIC SOL-FA ASSOCIATION.—On Wednesday evening, at Exeter-hall. there was a juvenile choral meeting, the Rev. W. W. Whittemore, Rector of St. James's, Aldgate, occupying the chair. There were upwards of 1,000 voices in the choir, composed of children belonging to various metropolitan schools. HER MAJESTY has commanded a private repre sentation of Mr. Wilkie Collins's drama, The Frozen I Deep. It will be given on Saturday week at the Gallery of Illustration, the characters being sustained by the original corps of amateur ladies and gentle ' men who played in it at Tavistock.house. THE ITALIAN DRAMA—MADAME RISTORI. THE dramatic amateur must be in the late autumn of his days who can recollect a powerful piece of acting by a Miss Taylor (the original Jeanie Deans in Tom Dibdin's popular version of Sir W. Scott's " Heart of Midlothian "), at the Surrey Theatre, in a play called The Italian Wife, which, under the title of Fazio, was produced at Covent-garden Theatre in 1816, with the famed Miss O'Neil as Bianca, Charles Kemblc as Fazio, Blanchard as the miser Bartolo, and Mrs. Faucit as the Marchesa Aldabella. The tragedy was written by Dr. Milman, the present Dean of St. Paul's, a divine who has honourably distinguished himself in every branch of literature. Fazio has been and is a much-abused play, and yet it maintains its position on the boards. Whenever there is a new aspirant for histrionic honours, Bianca is generally selected as a prominent part to attain distinction. Miss Somerville, Miss Fanny Kemble, and Mrs. Charles Kean have all gained glory in its assumption. Miss Cushman, the great Ameican actress, always produced a p-o• digious sensa. r ion in depicting the jealous wife, provoked to accuse her husband of murder, in order to tear him from the arms of a rival. Miss Glynn at the Sadler's-wells Theatre in 1853 took the Isling tonians by storm as the Florentine dame. Fazio was also translated for the famed Mdlle. Mars, and at the suggestion of Mr. A. Harris, we believe, the stage-manager at the Lyceum, Signor F. Dall' Ongaro, with the reverend author's express banction, adapted the tragedy for Ristori, who made her first appearance in the character of Bianca on Wednes day night. If, as it was bruited, the worthy dean was present, be must have been as excited as the remainder of the audience at one of the most powerful dramatic displays ever witnessed on any stage. There is something graceful in the conduct of Ristori, after her triumphs in the plays of the poets of her own sunny land, in acknowledging her cordial reception in this country by creating a part in a tragedy by an English author. Art reciprocity is the order of the day, and who can say whether Ristori's success may not eventually lead to a restora tion of the British drama—a restoration not based exc lusively on sbcw and spe ctacle, but one appealing 635 to the intellectual appreciation of a dramatio public ? The fact cited above as regards the vitality of Dr. Milman's Fazio shows that adverse criticism has been erroneous in its estimate of the play. That it has defects of construction are palpable. The two prison scenes are too much; one would have sufficed, after Bianca's vain appeal to .41dabella to save her condemned husband. The conversation of the courtiers might be omitted, and the scenes with Aldabella, the less of whom is seen the better, might have been abbreviated. But with even an ordinary actress in Bianca, the situations are telling(; and it is felt that the poet in making the wife the accuser of her husband, however deplorable her ignorance of Tuscan law as regards mur der and robbery, was illustrated by human nature. Ristcri imparts an irresistible charm to Bianca in the earlier scenes ; the signs of dawn ing jealousy are indicated with exquisite skill. In the palace of Fazio, the change that has come over him is keenly watched ; and the maddening question put to the domestic whether her husband had passed the night at Aldabella's house, told how such an outrage would be fearfully revenged. The scene of accusation opens the way to the subse quent development of despondency and despair. From this moment Ristori rose with every point until the climax was attained in the scene of execu tion, and in the final scene, where Bianca's heart breaks under the effects of remorse and sorrow. As iu all her previous delineations, the play of the fea tures marked the phases of passion with a truthful ness beyond all description, unless every passage was to be referred to in detail. The whole performance bore the impress of the highest genius. Never was an auditory mom moved. THE SOURCES OF THE NILE. AT the last meeting of the Geographical Society an interesting paper was read by Mr. A. W. Twyford upon the recent expedition to discover the sources of the Nile. The cxpedition, framed under French and Egyptian influence, left Paris in August, 1850. Mr. Twyford was the only Englishman accompanying the Count de l'Escayrac and suite, and the whole party reached Cairo by the '27th September following. After three weeks' preparation, Mr. Twyford, on the 19th of October, started in charge of the flotilla, consisting of two steamers and eight boats, manned by sixty men. Upon reaching the first cataract, it was found, after several trials, impossible to carry over the larger steamer of the two, owing to the lateness of the season and the falling of the Nile. " I am persuaded," said Mr. Twyford at the Geogra phical Society, "that in the months of July and August it would be comparatively easy to pass any vessel not drawing more than ten feet over the first cataract." It had been reported, but without the slightest foundation, that this steamer was lost by Mr. Twyford on this occasion. The waters of the Nile were falling rapidly, and, in spite of every effort of six hundred men driven in from the conotry around to pull on the tow-ropes, the steamer emit! not stem the current, and was driven on the ro •Its. After undergoing great peril and the most arduous labours for three days, Mr. Twyford was compelled to leave the vessel behind at Assouan, though the rest of the flotilla was passed over in safety. At the second cataract, the water, rushing down a suc cession of rapids at the rate of some twenty knots an hour, presented almost insuperable difficulties for so large a vessel as a steamer, but the skill, courage, and indomitable perseverance of Mr. Twyford overcame every obstacle, and after eleven days and nights of the most intense anxieties, and by the help of 3,500 men, driven in from the villages, the flotilla was got safely over by the 15th December, and started at once for Dongola. On their way, four cataracts, more of less dangerous, at Ambercole, Tangour, Dal, and Hamek, were surmounted by great exertions, and on the 4th Jan., Pongola was at length reached, and here the expedition stopped to refit. Mr. Twyford on the 28th started for Meroe, but on reaching Amber cole he received a despatch from his Highness the Viceroy, under whose especial patronage the expedi tion had been prepared, ordering a return and informing him that the whole affair was about to be broken up. The reasons for so sudden a whim on the part of the Viceroy are well known. No one officer of the expedition but Mr. Twyford had left Cairo from September to January. An enoous s um of money had been squandered, and rm the Viceroy, indignant at such proceedings, broke up the expedition. The skill and courage displayed by this young Englishman undertaking so serious a responsibility, and without the assistance or advice of a single colleague, carrying out of his own accord in the most successful manner the duties allotted to him, while the test of the officers of the expedition were enjoying themselves at Cairo, is a " great fact," e.nd one considerably to the credit of Mr. Twyford. ~~ A-. ~~