The Press. — London, England, 1857-08-01 00:00:00

756 Majesty's could sing the music of the Count and Don Giovanni, and he is Signor Belletti ; but as he signally failed in the last part, there is no prospect that be would be better in the gallant Count. His Figaro was just like his Leporello, excellently well sung, but indifferently acted. He has been re proached for being too familiar with his master; but Belletti was quite right, for the Spanish servant is on intimate terms with all the members of the house• bold. It is right to mention this, for ignorant and flippant critics of Spanish habits and customs are constantly making the mistake. So far as acting went, the men in the remainder of the cast carried off the honours. Corsi's drunken scene was capital ; Belart's singing priest was not only admirably made up, but his singing of the air " In quegli auni " worthy of all praise. Piccolomini and Spezia ought to have exchauged parts; the Page is better adapted to the former, and there is infinitely less responsi bility in the singing portion. Spezia's Cherubino was such a palpable mistake that it requires no com mentary ; but her musical education is, at all events, more developed than that of Piccolomini, and the music of Susanna might consequently have been tolerable. Piccolomini is fast losing that piquancy and spontaneity which held out such hopes ?or the future in the first season. She is fussy and titagge rated, seeking for points everywhere, and pertness being substituted for vivacity. With Ortolani's peculiar quality of voice the lovely melodies allotted to the Countess, " Porgi amor" and " Dove sono," produced little effect. There were six encores during the opera, including the " Voi the sapete," " Non pia =drat ;" the two duos, "Crudel perche," and "Sull' aria"; the double encore, to " order," of "E schiatti," of Jenny Lind notoriety. But even with these redemands, which are ordinarily bestowed on the prominent pieces, there was great want of closeness in the recitatives and concerted pieces, caused principally by the conversational character of the voices and accompaniments not being sufficiently understood. A Berlin or Vienese amateur would have been horror struck at the entire representation, so much did the readings vary from the traditional mode of executing this work in Germany. Unless the Nozze be played and sung by artists, vocal and instrumental, of the first class, thoroughly well drilled to their task, the performance will hang fire, and the present resources at Her Majesty's Theatre are not equal to a complete interpretation of Mozartian operas, the most deplorable exhibitions of the season having been undoubtedly those in Don Giovanni and Lc Nozze. ROYAL ITALIAN OPERA. LAST night was the farewell performance of the operatic season. It terminated with Donizetti's Farorita, the farce of La Col!erica, with Mme. llistori, and the divertissement Les Abeilles. At the conclusion of the opera the National Anthem was sung, Grisi and Didiie singing their verses in fine style. The magnificent acting of Mario and Grisi in the final scene of the opera created unbounded enthusiasm, for they were both in splendid voice, and never acted with greater energy. Mario was rapturously encored in the romance " Angiol da l'Amore." Next week a summary of the doings of this campaign will be given in our columns. CRYSTAL PALACE CONCERTS. THE concluding concert was given yesterday after. noon. The orchestra, conducted by Costa, played the overtures Oberon and Zastpa ; and the celebrated finale, the " Benediction des Poignards," from Meyer beer's Huguenots, was superbly executed. Mario won a rapturous encore in the English ballad of "Good bye, Sweetheart ;" Grisi was compelled to repeat the prayer from Otello ; and Mme. Bosio was equally complimented in Venzano's False. Mendelssohu's part song, "Autumn," was nicely rendered by the choir. MUSICAL TOURS. IN addition to the two musical festivals at Worces ter and Norwich, amateurs in the provinces will have an opportunity of hearing Italian operas exe cuted by three separate companies, under the direc tion of Mr. Lumley, Mr. Gye, and Mr. Beak. Piccolomini, Spezia, and Ortolani, Belletti, Bene ventano, Belart, Rossi, and Giuglini, will commence at Manchester, and visit in turn Liverpool, Bath, Bristol, Plymouth, Bradford. Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Dublin. The Royal Italian Opera artistes, con sisting of Bosio, Mlle. Parepa, Mme. Didiee, and Mlle. Victoire Bette; Gardoni, Neri•Baraldi, Gra ziani, Tagliatico, Zelger, Polonini, and Ronconi, will be hoard in Dublin, Liverpool, Manchester, and Birmingham, with Alfred Mellon as conductor, and Mr. A. Harris as manager. Mr. Beale has engaged Grisi and Mario, Alboni, M. and Mme. Gassier, Herr Formes, Herr Reichardt, Mlle. Sedlatzek, and will travel to every part of the United Kingdom, a portion of the performances being given at the THE PiESS,_ AUGUST 1, 1857. Princess's Theatre. It is curious in glancing at the announced doings of Mr. Beale's company, as pub lished by our daily contemporaries, to find that Alboni, who has pertinaciously ret used to appear at Her Majesty's Theatre in contralto parts, is going to do for Mr. Beale what she certainly in common jus tice ought to have done for Mr. Lumley, who pays her a large sum. She will sing Orsini in the Lucretia Borgia, and Arsace in the Sentiramide, although no later than Friday last a morning paper declares that the reason she declined to resume her part of Cherubino was on account of her objections to appear in male costume. We notice also that Mario, who would have raved at Mr. 02;e if the director had asked the great tenor to play Polio in Norma, is about to do so for Mr. Beale. We con sider that in this line of conduct, on the part of the Italian singers, there is much ingratitude as well as inconsistency. Mr. Lumley and Mr. Gye go to enormous expense to secure the best talent for the opera season, only to have the satisfaction of seeing their finest artists taken away from them by another speculator, who turns to account the thirst for gold of these capricious singing-birds. THE ITALIAN DRAMA—MADAME RISTORI. THE engagement of Ristori for this year will terminate next week. Next season this great actress will again return, and appear in a larger arena than that of the Lyceum. She repeated her grand performance of Lady Macbeth on Wednesday night, a representa tion which will be more thoroughly appreciated on the boards of the new Covent-garden Theatre, on the site of which once stood the renowned Siddons in the same character. As if to show that her un rivalled powers were not confined to the classical and romantic schools of what is termed the " legiti mate " drama, and to refined comedy, Mme. Riston, after her terrible sleep-walking scene, appeared in a farce called La Colleriea, in which .she enacted a passionate wife, whose defect of temper is cured by the system of counter-irritation, her husband, after the wedding, being able to reform her choleric im pulses by pretending to be as much given to gusts of passion as herself. This is paraphrasing Kathe rine and Petruchio, and it is spiritelly done in the little Italian play. The acting of Ristori was spon taneous and animated. She was without the dagger and the bowl, but in place of thrilling and terrifying her hearers she made them smile and laugh inces santly ; nothing, in fact, could be more genial and graceful than her picture of the touchy wife, who possesses not the less the most affectionate qualities. It is a nice little part added to her rich repertoire. The second season of her advent in this country has been remarkable for her delineation of three new characters—namely, Bianca, in Milmau's tragedy of Fazio, Lady Macbeth, and Canines, in every use of which she achieved distinguished success. In another year her representations will not be eouttled to fashionable audiences, who are remarkably un demonstrative in their signs of satisfaction, but she will have a capacious pit and extended amphitheatre filled with lovers of the drama, ready to "rise at her," as the elder Kean used to boast ; and her genius will then shine forth more pre-eminently as her originality is warmly acknowledged by a miscella neous public. Last night Mme. Ristori repeated her performance of Rosa in La Collerica, and she will next week give four farewell representations. LABLACHE.—We have great pleasure in contradict• ing the statement in the daily papers that the Titan of Basses was no more. Letters were received yesterday, stating that be was at the Baths of Kimengen, and that his health was improving. appears to indicate that for the present the Bullion and the Reserve have reached their highest point, and the Private Securities the lowest. Although it can hardly be said that the supply of money in the market has actually diminished, a very different state of things prevails now to that at the close of last week. Then the demand was rather increasing and the general tendency was less favourable than it had been ; but now the demand has become exceedingly active, with great strin gency in the terms, and there is an expectation, which seems well founded, that the rates will, in a few days, return to six per cent. This sudden change is by no means regarded as likely to prove temporary only. It is essen tially attributable to the expenditure already incurred, and to be incurred, on account of the outbreak in India, neces sarily diverting large amounts of capital from profitable employment in the market, and to the extremely small pro. speet of things returning to their normal position for a long time to come. In fact, capitalists are acting, naturally enough, upon the assumption that the struggle is substan tially one for our very existence in India, for the latest tele graphic despatches published by a quasbofficial Govern 'tient paper state that a large body of rebels had encamped outside Delhi, that the mutiny continued to spread, and that the serious character of the rising might be inferred from tha fact that the original plot involved the seizure of Calcutta. When to these considerations is added the belief that the East India Company will shortly require a loan of 5,000,0001., that fully half a million has already been expended here in preparing transports for the de. spatch of troops, that consignments of goods to India are falling off, and the export of silver increasing, it will be admitted that there is ample cause for the banking and discount houses to contract their operations for the time. Along with these unsatisfactory features the ex. changes with the Continent and the United States are declining, and gold is leaving the country, while the arrival of supplies from Australia is again delayed. In the Stock Exchange loans on Government securities cannot be had under five and a half and three-quarters per cent., while except in very rare cases, all the discount establish , ments are requiring the Bank mininum. The demand today was very active at full rates. Specie has arrived dining the week to the value of 124,0001., of which rather more than 00,0001. was directly on French account. The exports are believed to have exceeded 300,0001. The Bank up to yesterday had parted with 202,0001. to pay for silver purchased out of the Continent and 70,0001. were taken out for the same object today—making a total of 313,0001. The value of the silver for India and China, which will be taken out by the packet of the 4th, is expected to be between 900,0001. and 1,000,0001. Against this drain we have to set about 400,000/. expected by the West India steamer in a day or two, and about 1,100,0001. now upon tLe voyage to this country from Australia._ The ° Continental Exchanges are all flatter ; and the rate of interest in the chief commercial cities of Europe appears to be increasing. Owing to the nature of the intelligence from India, and the feelings it has inspired, together with the adverse turn in the Money Market, there has been a heavy pressure of sales in the Consol market, particularly by leading firms; and the consequence has been a decline of about one and a quarter per cent. in Consols since this day week. Twice, once on Tuesday and again yesterday, the feeling was analogous in many points to an absolute panic; awl on each occasion there was a sudden fall of a half per cent., from which there was neither rally nor reaction. The market at present is sensitive and unsettled, the principal features in it being an indisposition on the part of the public to invest, and the speculative operations of the Bears. The Bulls are effectually discouraged, and some fears are entertained as to the issue of the approach ing settlement. Last Friday Consols closed at 914 to 3; yesterday at DOI to 4. This morning they opened at 904 to 4. Some'pnrchases to realise profits on Bear transactions caused a temporary advance of one eighth, and after various minor fluctuations tho last official price was 904 to 4. After regular hours it was confidently rumoured that in telligence had been received of the capture of Delhi, and the immediate effect was an advance to 904 etactly, at which the market finally left off, looking remarkably good. Business in Foreign Securities has been very dull all the week. Turkish Six per Cents. have been chiefly dealt in. They have fallen about a half per cent. since this day week. The Railway settlement has taken place during the last day or two, and it has interfered with business; but cn the whole there has been no material decline in quotations, the increasing traffics and the forthcoming dividends in clining holders to refrain from parting with stock. The North-Eastern lines have imnmved nearly two per cent. in consequence of reports of high dividends. East Indian stocks have been flat. French on the whole better, but no improvement in Canadian descriptions. All the other markets have been quiet, without any features worth notice. After office hours today the report of the capture of Delhi caused a marked improvement in several stocks. Exchequer Bills are now quoted at 6s. dia. During the week, Mr. Giustiniani, an extensive Greek merchant, has suspended. The liabilities are considerable. The Board of Trade Returns to the end of June were issued on Saturday. The declared value of our exports show a decrease of 30,247/. in the month compared with June, 1836, but on the six months there is an increase of 6,857,9051., or about eleven and a quarter per cent. Com pared with the corresponding six months of 1855, the increase is 17,714,0a1., or about forty-one per cent. The imports were about the usual average. The Brazilian Government have made a strong repre sentation to the P.rttiguese Government regarding large amounts of forged Brazilian paper currency manufactured in Oporto, and sent for circulation in Brazil. For many Tears complaints have been made on this subject, but hitherto no attempt has been made to put the traffic clown. The present effort, however, is likely to be more succesehl. lone Market ant titg 3ntelligentr. FRIDAY E Telma. Tae return of the Bank of England for the week ending the I.sth inst., shows the following cuanges compared with that for the week preceding : Decrease in Circulation Increase in Public Deposits Decrease In Other Deposits Decrease in Securities Decrease in Bullion Increase in Rest .... 88,783 Increase in Reserve Bullion iu Both Departments Circulation, including Rank Post Rills This comparison bears eviden:e of a demand for money, although the securities show a decrease, inasmuch as a large amount of private deposits was withdrawn for active employment elsewhere. It is believed that no inisonsider. sole portion of the sum withdrawn was on account of the East India Company. The Bullion shows a large diminu tion—larger than was expected ; and the reduction will be continued next week, owing for the most part to the re quirements of the silver market and the additional circula tion of ooin, caused by harvest operations. The Public Deposits are again rising, the present addition being one of a considerable character. Altogether this return, when read in conjunction with the state of the Money Market,