The Press. — London, England, 1854-04-22 00:00:00

380 rather far-fetched title of the piece. But all defects are concealed by a smart dialogue, and a quick suc cession of positions, which carry it through very swimmingly. SADLER'S WELLS. Is our notice of the theatres we must not forget this, the last resting-place of the legitimate drama. Though the present summer season is not conducted by Mr. Phelps, the management deserve great credit for the efforts they are making to produce their plays with care and good effect. We cannot commend the selection of The Times, which is a poor straggling piece, confused in its incidents, and devoid of all real interest. Still the acting is very creditable to the company. Mr. H. Farren and Mr. George Vining made a great deal of two rather ungrateful parts, and Mr. Barrett represented a poor curate with earnestness and feeling. Miss E. Horton, too, who is new to the London boards, promises to be a clever actress. The afterpiece, Mr. Talfourd's burlesque of The Willow-Pattern Plate, seemed to divert the audience highly, and was very efficiently interpreted by Miss Gordon, Mr. Summers, and other ladies and gentlemen. We sincerely recommend Easter holiday seekers to enter " Sadler's Wells " in their theatrical visiting-books. /Tusk. ROYAL ITALIAN OPERA. Fon some time past the more fashionable portion of the Covent Garden supporters have complained that the constant and almost exclusive performance of German music has gone far to deprive the Royal Italian Opera of its distinguishing characteristics, and loud have been the clamours for a greater allowance of Italian music. Donizetti being quite " used up," and Verdi at a discount, we presume the manager has determined upon the revival of Matilda di Shabran, produced last Monday, as a sop to these frondeurs. The history of this opera we be lieve to be this :—ln the year 1821 Rossini, being in the north of Italy, was requested at a very short notice to write an opera for the carnival season of the Tordenone or Apollo Theatre in Rome. At first he declined to do so, but upon being greatly pressed by the mangement to meet the emergency he proposed to make up a pasticcio opera out of materials he bad already used. His offer was accepted, and an opera intifa, Matilda di Shabran, written in ten days, was the result. Any person familiar with Rossini's music will at once, on hearing this opera, suspect the na ture of its origin. Though there is a perpetual flow of melody in the vocal score, and much brilliancy of instrumentation, we are at every turn met by some familiar phrase which we have no difficulty in recog nising as belonging to one of the gifted author's better-known and more successful works. If the opera were of shorter duration, or its action in any degree intelligible, it would, as what the Italians call " musica Imp," be ever listened to with pleasure ; but, wedded as it is to a libretto positively in sane, and occupying as it did three hours and a half in representation, it can never render any lasting benefit to the Covent Garden treasury. The heroine was excellently represented by Mme. Bosio indeed, we have never seen this lady in a part which, musically speaking, gave us so high an opinion of her abilities. The melodies she gave with great expression and feeling, and her execution of the difficulties with which the part abounds, espe cially the rondo finale, was beyond all praise. Mine. Bosio is no actress, and, as far as we can judge, will never be one ; but in those characters where the in- terest attaches exclusively to the singing she cer tainly stands at present without a rival on the Italian stage. Mlle. Marai as Odoardo made a very favourable impression. She sang with great accuracy, and was deservedly applauded. Sig. Ronconi enacted the buffo character of the opera, a " wandering minstrel " of the middle ages—it need hardly be said with success, for in what character did be ever fail ? Tragedy and farce are alike familiar to this gentle man, who by the truth of his expression, the excel lence of his vocalisation, and last, but not least, the clearness of his enunciation, shows himself the first singer of the day. Sig. Lucchesi is not fit to be a principal tenor in an establishment of the first class : the sooner be is got rid of the better. We sincerely wish that the ballet, except where it is in cidental to the opera, were extinguished. It does not possess any attraction, and nobody stays to see it. The manager would do far better to let the cur tain rise at half-past eight, and confine his bill of fare to the opera. DRURY-LANE. THE musical public have been taken quite aback by the sudden appearance of an opera at this theatre, and one, too, of no mean pretensions, inasmuch as the company numbers amongst its members several singers of reputation. Mme. Caradori is the prima donna assoluta, Mme. Sedlazek the prima donna, Sig. Pavesi the tenor, and M. Formes the basso. This last-named gentleman is also announced to be the regisseur of the theatre, though what that office may THE PRESS. be we have not yet been able to discover. Norma was given on Monday and Wednesday last. The performance was highly respectable, and well de served the applause which it received from crowded houses. As regards the future, great promises are made by the management. We shall watch the pro gress of this undertaking with much interest, and shall duly report thereon. We have not space on this occasion to say anything further than that we have always felt that a cheap and good opera would answer very well as a commercial speculation in this country. tortip t# > Sittraturt, INDIARUBBER SLEEPERS have been laid down 011 part of the New Jersey Central Railroad, and the re sult is that the carriages pass along with a springy elastic motion, without noise or jolting. A PATRIOTIC HYMN, from the pen of M. John Ga briel Seidl, a poet of credit, and the inspector of the imperial cabinet of gems, coins, and antiquities in Vienna, has just been approved by the Emperor, and is in future to be sung at all the Austrian national festivities. The text of this poem is said to combine a noble simplicity with an exceeding softness and pathos which cannot fail to touch all hearts. THE QUANTITY OF ICE cut and gathered in the eleven storehouses in the vicinity of Boston is stated to be two hundred and seventy thousand tons. The receipts of the several railroads for freight of this ice will amount to about one hundred thousand dol lars ; labour for cutting, &c., two hundred thousand dollars. Large sums are also paid for sawdust and other materials for packing, wharfage, &c., on the ice shipped. To ship the surplus from Boston to foreign ports would require about two hundred ships of one thousand tons each, the freight of which could not amount to less than four hundred thousand dollars. THE AUSTRIAN IMPERIAL ASTRONOMER states the comet of this year to be a new and entirely strange visitor—one quite distinct from that of Brorsen, ob served at Scuftenberg, and from that of 1556. On the 19th of April it will enter Orion. WHILE England is agitating the subject of ocean penny postage, the United States are adopting it. It has been officially announced that an arrangement for the transportation of the mails between America and Australia has been made, which embraces the entire ocean postal reform. It fixes the rate of letters between these distant countries at two cents, or one penny. Hence the whole postage for a letter carried 3,000 miles on the continent, and half round the earth to Australia, is only five cents. THE CZAR has just completed arrangements by which he may learn the London news of the morning almost, perhaps quite, as soon as the London merchants see their newspapers. The electric tele graph has long been in operation between St. I'etersburg and Warsaw, and for some time numbers of men have been employed in completing the line, which is to extend from Warsaw to the Prussian frontier. But, in order not to lose time while the works of the latter are going on, the Czar has caused the portion already constructed to be con nected with the Prussian telegraph near Myslo witz, and by this means St. Petersburg is placed in direct communication with the capitals of Western Europe. There is no longer any reason why the embarkation of a regiment at Southampton, or the departure of a ship from Portsmouth, should not be known in the Russian capital before either can get out of the Channel. There is, however, no reciprocity of advantage. The Russian line is not open to private despatches. THE PICTURE OF VICTORIA Comm., the cele brated Marchionness of Pescara, recognised by the Academy of St. Luke at Rome as the work of Michael Angelo Buonarotti, has been exhibited, by special desire of the Emperor Napoleon, in the Gal lery at the Louvre. This noble and valuable painting will continue on view there every week till further notice. AN IMPORTANT COLLECTION OF PAINTINGS, the property of Madame de Cbaragnac, among which are four cartoons of Girilie Romano, which may vie with the most sublime conceptions in the art of painting, will shortly be exhibited in the Ancienne Galerie Lebrun, Rue du Sender, Parc, previous to their public sale, which will take place in the course of the month of May. THE SUMMER SEASON AT THE SAN CARLO OPERA is to open with II Furioso. La be Roissi is the prima donna. This lady sang some years ago in London, since which she has appeared with success at most of the large continental theatres ; lastly, at Rome, in the Trovatori. Her voice is wonderfully educated, and she executes florid passages with as much ease and precision as Persiani. The other artists are scarcely equal to the fame which San Carlo is supposed to bestow on all who sing there. Two AMERICAN ARTISTS are now singing in Naples. Mrs. Escott is an American lady, who for more than a year has " drawn" at the Isiuovo. She came to SATURDAY, Italy knowing nothing of the Italian language, and only possessing such a musical education as can be picked up in the United States ; and yet, within a few months, became the favourite at the Nuovo. The other American artiste is Mr. Squires, who has come out at the San Ferdinando as first tenor. He has received great applause in the Trovatori, and in a new opera, by a new master, Signor Ruta, entitled Leonilda. The quality of his voice is very pleasing. THE FESTIVAL OF THE THREE CHOIRS will this year be held at Worcester, on the sth, 6th, 7th, and dth of September. Some of the engagements have already been made, and the following noblemen and gentlemen have accepted the office of stewards:— Lord Willoughby de Broke, Viscount Elmley, M.P., Sir E. H. Lechmere, Bart., Sir W. Smith, Bart., the Mayor of Worcester (Mr. C. Bedford), Mr. Laslett, M.P., Mr. R. Lowe, M.P., Rev. C. Allen, Mr. R. P. Campbell (Wychbold), Mr. J. Y. Bedford (Abbey, Pershore), Mr. W. Dent (Sudeley Castle), Rev. C. F4Farley, Mr. W. C. Heming, Mr. J. Holland, Mr. J. S. Pakington (Westwood), Mr. R. Peel, Mr. E. J. Rudge (Evesham), Rev. C. J. Sale, Rev. R. Sanders, Mr. W. F. Taylor (Monby-hall), Mr. T. Webb (Bir minghom), Colonel Wilmot (Malvern), and Mr. J. Woodard (Comberton). Upwards of 7001. has al. ready been raised as a guarantee fund. A MEETING of the Royal Geographical Society will be held on Monday evening next, at half-past eight, when the following communications will be read:- 1. " Observations on the Territory of Burica, in the Province of Chiriqui," by J. H. Smith, Esq., F.R.G.S., of Panama. 2. " Official Report on the Isthmus of Darien," by Commander J. C. Provost, R.N., of H.M.S. Virago. Communicated through Sir Roderick I. Murchison. TEE ST. JAMES'S THEATRE will be opened on Mon day, the Ist May, for the performance of French plays, under the direction of M. Lafont. Messrs. Hoflinan, Bardou, Ferville, and Regnier, Mlle. Luther, and Mlle. Fix, of the Theatre Francais, are already engaged to appear during the season. The pleasant gardens of CREMORNE opened for the season on Monday last, when the unusual conjunc tion of the Easter holidays and almost summer weather induced a very numerous concourse of visitors to attend. Since last year the grounds have undergone many renovations and improvements. There was a balloon ascent on the opening day, which will no doubt be repeated frequently dunng the season. But for every day there are entertain ments provided in infinite variety, and in profusion more than sufficient to occupy the hours between three o'clock and midnight without intermission. Nowhere, perhaps, is so much to be got for a shilling as at Cremorne. dultsiastital. PREFERMENTS AND APPOINTMENTS. The Rev. Joseph Henry Bainbrigge, 8.A., to the Curacy of Yoxall Staffordbhire. . . The Rev. Richard Maurice Bonner, M.A., to be Chaplain to the Sheriff of Denbighshire. The Rev. Mourant Brock, to the Curacy of St. Matthew's, Wid combo. The Rev. J. Colborne, M.A., to the Perpetual Curacy of Slad. The Rev. Henry Howson, MA., to the Rectory of Little Nor ated, near Uckfield. The Rev. C. G. Gambler Gambier, BA., to the Curacy of Ma vesyn Ridware, Staffordshire. The Rev. George Frederick Gilbanks, to the Curacy of Cosely, Staffordshire. The Rev. John liemated, to the Rectory of Gratwich, Stafford shire. The Rev. John Meebean, Lobe Chaplain of St. Andrew's Church, Colombo, in the island of Ceylon. The Rev. George Henry Augustus Perry, to the Curacy of Land End, Staffordshire. The Rev. John Ross, to the Perpetual Curacy of St. James's, Norwich. The Rev. Charles Seaver, M.A., to the Perpetual Curacy of St. John the Evangelist, Belfast., diocese of Down. The Rev. T. B. Sykes, M.A., to the Curacy of Barmbron-the- Moor. The Rev. Horace William Thrupp, to the Curacy of Pleasley, Derbyshire. The Rev. J. P. Williams, M.A., to be Sub• Dean of the Cathe dral Church of St David's. _ The Rev. James Keeling, M.A., to the Incumbency of St, Paul's Church, Limn-grove. The Rev. C. F. Norman, 8.A., to the Rectory of Portiahead' near Bristol. The Bev. Edward Whitehead, M.A., to the 'Ministry of Laura Chapel, Bath. The Rev. William Marsh,M.A., to the Vicarage of Wethersfield, near Braintree, Essex. The Rev. Edward Willson, BA., to the Incumbency of Wanley, near Brentwood. _ _ - - _ The Rev. Rhys Thomas Jenkins, to the Incumbency of Llan ginning, near St. Clears. The Rev. Joseph Patrick Murphy, MA., to the Stipendiary Curacy of Holy Trinity Church, Preston. VACANCIES. The Curacy of Chobham, diocese of Winchester; in the gift of the Rev. S. J. Jerram, M.A. _ _ The Curacy of St. Chrysostom Church, Liverpool, diocese of Chester; worth 1001. a year, in the gift of the Rev. John Mac naught. The Rectory of Eccleeton, near Chester; worth 4201. a year, in the gift at the Marquis of Westminster.