The Press. — London, England, 1853-09-03 00:00:00

pasit. THE DRURY-LANE OPERAS. TRE public crowd to witneas the operatic per formances at Drury-lane Theatre, but the directors have not been fortunate in fulfilling their promises. On Wednesday evening Norma was announced, with Signor Luigi Mei as Pollio. He did nut appear, and his place was taken by an incompetent person. As the opera proceeded, some of the woreeaux were omitted altogether ; and at about the middle of the second set the curtain fell, amidst a general uproar, which was increased by injudicious ett'orts on the part of Mr. Stammers, " the manager," to defy the public and justify the management. The difficulty lay in the indisposition of Madame eartelori, who exerted herself to the utmost, but at length broke down. Her Norms, even under these disadvantages, established her as a more than usually able Inustatic singer. Aria and Galatea is announced for this evening, with Formes as Polyphemus; the entertain ments being for the benefit of Mr. Jarrett, the di- rector. OPERAS AT THE LYCEUM THEATRE. A claimant for the ps►st of a principal tenor on the pos sible future English opera stage has appeared in the vermin of Mr. Augments Brabant, a son of him who reigned supreme in the bygone days of ballad opera. Mr. Ailer►tt had engaged the Lyceum Theatre for a brief series of operatic performances, with Mr. Sims Reeves as the " star." It was no slight disadvantage to Mr. Augustus Brahmin that he should have sue eeeded a performer so popular with the general musical public. He sustained the retrospective com petition, however, manfully, and with considerable snecoss. A coulee isou w►th Mr. Sims Reeves is provoked, not by the mere accident of juxtaposition, but also i►y a something in the voice and style of sing ing of Mr. Augustus Brahatn, which recals the method of the other. Mr. Brahmin's voice is a tenor, clear, sweet., and pure in tone, but deficient in the power neressary to meet the exigencies of modern dramatic singing. He avoids the violent contrasts which disfigure the singing of Mr. Reeves; and, if he wants the marvellous physical energy of that singer in the forte passages, on the other hand he more than makes up for the deficiency by an un usual, and at times exquisite, distinctness in even the pianimmirno notes. Mr. Brahmin has appeared in two characters —Edgar and larine. In the latter he excels. He sings with much te►nderneas and pathos, and is evidently inspired by an artistic feeling, which forbids his sacrificing the sentiment of the music for the mere purpose of startling contrast and stage effect. Upon the whole, his performance% must be pronounced to have been suffleiently successful to encourage the hope that he may hereafter prove a valuable aid in the development of national opera. In other respects these , performances have really re. fleeted credit on the manager. The orchestra, with Mr. Tolbecque as conductor, though small, is excel lent, and the chorus well selected and effective. This evening Mr. Braham repeats the character of Eivino. THE BRADFORD MUSICAL. FESTI VAL,. Ileums's') now vies with Liverpool in the possession of a magnificent music-hall, the inauguration of which has been signalised I►y a grand festival, similar to those which take Owe triennially at Birmingham. "To plant," says the philosophic critic oldie Morning Chronicle, noticing the performances, " amid the forest of factory chimneys and the jungle of factory lanes, a building where gold-seeking is not to be the sole object; a factory where the machines that play, and the fingers that work, produce what to the ma terial sense is literally nothing; a warehouse which, perpetually receiving aecessions of wares, seems none the fuller, and which apparently Sell& forth nothing, is to set a new idea before the operative. If his attendance here, where nothing ministers either to his vanity, or his love of sensuous pleasure, or to his praetieal love of Sale and barter, can be secured, a further met of ideas will be generated in that shrewd, if ill-trained, mind; and, sooner or later—it may be in rambling and illogical fashion—he will arrive at a conclusion on which ho is not the man to act other than promptly. Teach him, or rather let him think that he teaches himself, that he has something to learn, and he will learn it ; and, while the process is going on, you are weaning hint from vicious ple f isnees, and from the even more injurious enjoyment o f it spurious intellectuality. And therefore, in the eon. victim% that in opening this hall for the habitual presentation of music to the operatives of Bradford (for a splendid festival, or an occasional aristocratic concert, at exclusive' priees„ are merely exceptional mixes), the mayor and the other wise and far-sighted custodians of the town are doing one of the best works that men, mindful of the higher interests of their fellows, could have effected, the congratulations upon yesterday's brilliant success—the. opening of a " harb►ur of refuge " from occupations of mere money-making—have an earnestness which m;ght need justification were a temple ;of art all that was designed in St. Ueorge's Hall." THE PRESS. The musical portion of this festival (which com• t►wnoel on Wednesday) went off with klat. Clara Novelle, returned from her Spanish successes, sang the first notes which were heard in St. George's Hall. She is in tine voice, and delivered the opening verse of the national anthem in her largest and noblest style. The remainder of the hyn►n was sung by the soloists and chorus together. Then came, performed in its entirety, Mondelssol►n's noble oratorio, St. Paul. The chorus, which won an enviable reputa tion, is composed of contingents from the madrigal, motet, and choral societies of Leeds, from Bradford, Halifax, Huddersfield, Manchester, and other nor thern towns, and the orchestra and chorus combined consisted of upwards of 350 performers. Costa was the conductor. Among the most striking features in the oratorio were Stephen's address to the council, exquisitely given by Mrs. hockey (late Miss Wil liams); the fiercely resolute chorus of Jews, "Take him away;" the sublime outcry of the martyr, " ho, I see the heavens opened !" delivered with a lofty in tensity by Clara Novelle ; the solemn chorale, "'l'o Thee, (1 Lord, I yield my spirit" (which was con tin►►ously performed at the funeral of the Duke of Wellington); and the fiery energy of Formes in Saul's furious "Consume them, Lord Cod of Sub- The whole convention scene was superbly executed, more especially the chorus after the com mand to the awe-stricken Soul to go into the city, " Rise up, arise, shine;" in which the expression of joy mutes throbbing up, like a mighty heart, faster at each beat, until it swells into the triumphant climax, " The glory of the Lord is upon thee." The unsurpassed chorale, " Sleepers, wake, a voice is call ing," came in a torrent, jubilant, and exciting melody. Formes gave the utmost pathos to the lamenting aria, in which the humbled Saul implores mercy ; and the full, rich, calm exultation of the concluding chorus, "0, how great is the depth of love of the Father," worthily concluded the first part. lit the second, Sims Iteeves's delivery of the noble cavatina, " Be thou faithful unto death," was as tine and artis tic an utterance of earnest devotion as has ever been heard : ho was in admirable voice, and the effect upon his audience was most remarkable. It was aided by Mr. Lucas's masterly treat►nent of the violoncello obligate. The quartet with chorus, by Miss l'yne, Messrs. hockey, Beeves, and Weiss, "Far be it. from thy path," where the congregation seek to dissuade Paul fr►u► his journey, was sung with much pathos; and the glorious concluding chorus, in which the abiding hope of the Christian is so triumphantly expressed, formed a noble climax t► the work. In thu evening there was a miscellaneous concert, and on Thursday morning The Messiah wits given. s,titutt int ( ) Silent= tbroab. GOTHA INDUSTRIAL EXIIIIIITION.—Saxe Gotha is acquiring some importance under its reigning Sove reign (brother of Prince Albert). The present in dustrial and art exhibition attracts thousands of visitors, who, there can be no doubt, derive some ad vantage, at least instruction, from this sight. On amount of the great interest shown by even foreign exhibitors, the time of admission for industrial %peel 11101K has been prolonged to the list of September. .IKrx FLousex IN PnovnNcg.—On the t2lst of August some eighty Provencal poets, amongst whom were several ladies, held a meeting at the Town-hall of Aix, where a number of poems in that dialect were recited. They intend to revive the ancient Comm d'Amour and Jeux Fier:tux, which, in the middle ages, shed so much lustre on the land of Provence'. Seii,'ol.s AND noSPITAL AT JERUSALEM.—The establishment of a Protestant bishopric in the Hebrew metropolis has been already followed by the most beneficial results. The inhabitants, to whatever religious profession they might have previously be longed, can now read the Bible without molestation. There are already two schools of Vroti?stant children at Jerusalem, numbering nearly one hundred pupils of both sexes. The hospital, also, attended by the Prussian Protestant Sisters of Mercy, is doing mense good. HOMAN WALLS IN ENGIAND AND GEnium.—The eombined German historical and antiquation 11.450- ehitions hove convened a general meeting at Nitrem berg, which will be presided over by Prince John of Saxony. As English archaeologists have of late visited Germany for the sake of examining the limes imperii Romani, viz., those Roman walls erected against the encroachment of the German aboriginal inhabitants, the central association has nonutiated nn especial commission to examine these remnins ; and they have published a number of queries and in structions on the subject of the limes imperil, the solution of which will east much light on the history both of the English and Gentian monuments. CoLosso. MosumEsT Ilt.rrtmo.-09 the •214th ult. this monument was inaugurated at Erieblowits, in Silesia. in presence of the King of Prussia. It consists of a square, measuring at its base eighteen feet, but tapering upwards. The intsrior of the SATURDAY, structure has the form of a cross, and is lined throughout with large slabs of granite. This forms the mortuary chamber of the defunct tiele. marshal, and is shut by two huge doors of cast and wrought iron. Above rises around tower-shaped structure, in the front of which the colossal marble bust of Blucher is placed in a niche, a masterly work by Professor Rauch. An immense balustrade sur rounds the whole stucture, and a slab of seventeen and a half feet diameter serves as a roof to the monu ment. The entire height of the whole is thirty-six feet. 'lt is formed of huge granite slabs front the quarries of Staehlen. AMMONIA VONTAINED IN RAIN-WATER, SPPINGS, AND SNOIC—M. Botufflingault, of the French Institute, has of late made experiments on the presence of ammonia in rain and other water, which are of some importance to agriculture, ke. It appears that the greatest quantity of ammonia is contained in rain water. Some that had fallen on the roof of the Patis Observatory yielded 4 milligrnmmes in the French litre, while the water of the rivers does not contain 1-10th milligramme in the same quantity. Known as it is that snow atfords a protecting covering for young crops and other tender plants, the observation is of importance that snow gathered after lying 30 hours on some fields yielded ten times more ammonia than that gathered immediately after it had fallen. AT Pommt, in the street loading to the theatre.:, three human skeletons, belonging apparently to the same family, were recently discovered, and near to them the skeleton of a dog, which had probably re fused to abandon his masters at the moment of peril. They were trying to escape the terrible eruption, bearing with them a great quantity of silver and bronze coins in a linen hag. One of the skeletons is that of a young girl, probably the daughter of the two others, and a flirt, to judge from the jewels 1 y which she is yet adorned. She had put on all her rings, of which two are gold. They had nearly suc ceeded in their flight, but were overtaken by the burning torrent below the l'orta Stable, and died together holding each other tightly embraced. THE TRIENNIAL ART EXHIBITION was opened at Munich on August 25, the birthday of King Louis of Bavaria. The day was also commemorated by the conferring of the grand cross of the Order of Merit of the Bavarian Crown on the Nestor of naturalists, Alexander von Humboldt, at Berlin. MANY TRACER of' ancient Roman establishments have been recently discovered on the Rhine, espe cially in the vicinity of Niederheimbach. A whole group of Roman tombs has been found at Vreelt tingshausen ; some were opened, and led to the dis emery of a considerable quantity of rings and col lars ; NO coins, mostly of the era of the Roman em perors, were found at Sonneck. M. WOLFGANG KAMEN has exhibited at Berlin a cyclorama of the civilisation of all nations, with ta u ; most important epochs and monuments of their his. tory. It is 1,500 feet in length. A RECENT TRAIT OF BIGOTRY has given rise to a good proof of artistic comradeship. The celebrated Uerman sculptor, Rauch, had completed for the Pro testant church at Arolsen, his native town, four statues representing the cardinal virtues, Pru dence, Strength, Temperance, and Justice; the church wardens refused to admit them because they did not seem sufficiently Christian. The not less celebrated painter, Cornelius, on knowing the decision, refused to deliver up the two large pictures he had just finished on command for the same church. The wardens were obliged to submit, and both statues and pictures will go from Berlin to Arolsen. THE GRAND DUKE OF SALE WEIMAR has engage Professor Schwind, at Munich, to decorate with historical frescoes the Castle of the Wartburg at Eisenach, which the sojourn of Luther has rendered celebrated. The work will comprise three halls, and occupy Professor Schwind during three years. THE LONG-EXPECTED MEMOIRS BY VERON have begun to be printed. The work is entitled "The Memoirs of a Bourgeois of Paris, by Dr. Louis Veron." They are to comprise the end of the hist empire, the restoration, the monarchy, the gown - ment of July, the republic, and the restoration of the empire. To excite public attention the cicver doctor will have his work preceded by a special chap ter e-ntaining his own life, entitled " Who I am," and in which he promises to show in their month g ymens a host of political and literary notabilities, la Lamartine, Alexander Dumas, Eugene Sue, °cone Sand, Louis Napoleon, Thiers, tae. A MixEnvtootest. CELEBRITY on the Continent, Councillor Karsten, has just died at Berlin. AT one of the last representations of " 17n4 le Tom's Cabin," at Bale, in Switzerland, the directs r, M. Loewe, who was the impresario of an unlucti troop of singers in London some years ago, wee wounded by an accidental shot and died some how a after. A GRAND SAM: OF PICTURES is announced for oito her at Brussels, comprising the rich collection of one of the best amateurs in Belgium, and authentic pictures by Rubens, Teniers, Jan Steen, Ostade, Bcr ghem, Both, Wouvermans, To these may be added