The Press. — London, England, 1853-05-21 00:00:00

MAY 21, 1853. to prevent tho , imitation of a brother actor and ma nager ttio matter how greet his peculiarities or el. surdities) front being hell out as tut inducement to the public to visit a theatre. PRIN CESS'S THEATRE. Fnox the reception which Mr. 'f. P. Cooke inet with at the Princess's Theatre on Mondai, it would seem that the creation of the British sailor, has still charms for a London audience. Mr. t'is,e's performance, considering his time of life. was very remarkable. and the agility which he displayed in the popular hornpipe was perfectly wonderful. As 111 r. Kean is said to pride himself upon the correctness of his costumes, he would do well to enlist in his ger %lee a more respectable end sohlierlike body of marines. 'l'he "jollies" in Blaek-recd Susan far more resembled the rug-headed kentes and gallowglamses who ahound in Macbeth than nent and well-dressed British soldiers. and their grotesque appearance wore than once caused laughter when the attention of the audience should have been absorbed in the serious interest of the piece. LYCEUM. A NEW play, The Lateyero, wag proatteed at this theatre on Thursday last, but owing to the prey; of mutter we utuat defer our notice till itt:t week. ADELPHI. To use the words of Mr. Webster's advertisement. Shakspere made his first appearance at the Adelphi on Wednesday last, in the play of The Merry Wires of Windsor, and we will venture to say that a per formance more discreditable to a manager never took place within the walls of a tleatre. For this un toward result. Mr. Webster is alott, responsible : he has unquestionably all the most eminent talent at his disposal. and, if he possessed one particle of right feeling, or any real love for his art, he would endea vour to obtain success by legitimate means, and by trust ing to the abilities of his actors, rather than by pm dining that which is virtually a travestie of Shakspere's play. and publishing the most con temptible putts of his performance in the newspapers andplaybills. The manner in which this play is cast is positively an insult to the audience. Can any num, of any rank of life, piettire to himself Madame Celeste, a lady incapable of speaking one sentence of English with any approximation to correctness of emphasis or accent, as Mrs. Ford, and not smile at the hare notion of the result.. Mr. Webster must, in deed, he as thick-skinned as the rhinoceros if he can hear the allusions which abound in this play to the bad English of Sir Hugh Emus and Dr. Coins without some sense of shame, and without feeling that he has acted most unkindly by a lady who is de servedly a public favourite. Unless some absolute necessity exists, we are decidedly of opinion that male characters should never be performed by ladies. Some excuse might have perhaps been found for inducing Madame Celeste to eppear as Dr. Coins, but nothing can justify the manager in assigning the parts of Slender and Fenton to Miss Woolgar and Miss F. Maskell. Miss Woolgar neither looked nor noted well, and we never saw her to such disadvantage. Mr. Webster% Fa/staff was a complete failure. He was so imperfectly acquainted with his part that he constantly tittered absolute nonsense, and his dress and make-up presented no redeeming feature. With the exception of Mrs. Page and Dr. Caius, excellently played by Mrs. Keeley and Mr. Wigan, all the remain ing personages of the play, from Ford (Mr. L. Mar ray) to mine host of the Garter (Mr. P. Bedford), were very indifferently represented. In spite of Mr. Webster's praise, the scenery seemed to its com monplace, and the dresses tawdry and in had taste. anl3 Plasitians. PHILHARMON IU S ' I FEY. Mr.xotmssons's symphony in A, No. 4, was perhaps never more effectively given than at the fifth concert of the Philharmonic Society on Tuesday - last. This eomposition, replete with graeefnl melody and vigorous expression, develops higher qualities of excellence on every fr sh hearing. It is, indeed, a masterpiece of constrnetion; and in respect of the originality of the andante and saltarello movements has acquired a po.:ition almost historical in the annals of the musical art. The selection of this symphony. which was per formed at. Exeter-hall at the New Philharmonic last week, naturally suggests a compaiison between the two orchestrns..tlthough we entirely deprecate any attempt tofoster a spirit of rivalry between these two societies, who, in ourjudgment, should be left to accomplish the laudable intentions they have in view. and to stand or fall by their own merits; yet the conduct of certain panegyrists (puffers they might rather be called) of the ynew society calls for a decided expression of opinion ; lest, by silence, we might be supposed to acquiesce in decrying the abilities of Mr. Costa and his admirable band. Atter an impartial hearing, our deliberate judgment awards the preference to the orchestra of the Old Philharmonic Society. Space THE PRESS. will not permit an elaborate disenssion, but we may observe. that the chief superiority of the or chestra of the old society consists in the unrivalled excellence of the stringed it strumeuts, which not only stwpass their would-be rivals iu quality of tone, but give far greater oleo, never to be mistaken for coarseness, to the softer and more delicate passages. Further more, Linelpaintner has not tlw decision of Mr. Costa. and he lacks that understanding with his orchestra which is so essential to perfeet sueeess. Beethoven's symphony in N. the least grand, but, nevertheless, one of the most eharming, of all the e"n l P"ser .,4 great-orchestral workA, met with its usual reception, and, aecortling to custom, the allegretto was redomanded. so amount of excellence eau justify the repetition of a movement in a symphony - . It is a practice opposed to the sound principles of art, and invariably detrimental to the composition itself. It is time that the Philharmonie directors. by en absolute prohibition of what in musical slang is called an " encore:' should show that they are tit to guide the public taste, and worthy of the trust reposed in them. M. Vieuxtempie concerto in D minor, performed by the composer, was the only instrumental solo. We have before had oecasion to notice this gentleman's great abilities, and it will, perhaps. be sufficient to say that, as he equals any violinist of the day in imagination and expression, he surpasses all in rich ness of tone and certainty or mend' . The force with which he gave out the chords on Monday night, and the purity of his harmonic notes, were the theme of universal admiration. We confess we were not favourably impressed with the concerto itself, which, so far as we could judge, after one hearing, seems ill-construeted lust devoid of any striking or interest ing subject. When M. lieuxtemps next appears at these concerts it. is to be hoped he will select some more classical work. The Weill 110111011 of the concert was, on the whole. more satisfactory than usual. IMe feature et' interest way a ClUltatal, written many years ago Mr the stsiety by Sir H. Bishop, and now performed under the per sonal direction of the composer. This cantata, excel lently rentkred by Miss L. ley lie, was received with loud and well-deserved applause. Miss L. Pyne is un questionably the best of all the singers, whether English (r foreign, who have of late years appeared at these concerts ; and, as excellence is ever profer able to novelty, it would be a source of gr2st satisfac tion to the subscribers it' she were engaged for the whole season. Should this suggestion lie adopted, the vocal music might erase to be a disgrace to the society, mid a perpetual source of annoyance to the audience. Signor tiardoni deserves a word of praise for his charming delivery of Stmilella's air, " Se i miei sosphi." Mozart's air," Lentil il pie," sung by Miss M. Williams, avoeal trio by Curschntatm, andthree over tures— I-Landers Esther, tileohr's Jeasuando, and Nlo /Art's Fiyaro—completed the programme of a voncert of unusual and unnecessary length. MUSICAL UNIoN. THE engag,emeht of Messrs. Itottesini and Webb, in addition to Lis usual party. enabled Ntr. halo, at his fotuilt concert on Tuesday last, to vary his ptsigramitte by the performance of two quintetts. tinslow's quintett in It, No. 5, was exceedingly well perform( d, although, to use Mr. lahis own epithet, the dottb.e-bass was rather "too deep and sonorous" in the slow movement. The great object or interest was, however, Nlendelssolas /whiten in } fiat, one or the last chamber compositions of the great musi cian, and infetior to none of his works in imagination and intellectual ismer. M. Vieuxtemps' abilities were fully developed by these /whitens, and Beethoven's sonata in E flat, for violin and pianoforte; but in this last composition he was not well supported by Mlle. Clams, whose power of execution does not compensate for her want of expression and musical feeling. A sonata by Tartini, performed by Messrs. l'iatti and ltottesini, was a decided failnre. if these gentle men were well advised they would refrain front attempting to perform a class of music which they certainly do not understand, and which is but little calculated to display their great and unquestionable talent. The execution of this sonata, especially in the quick movement. was most unsatisfactory, and M. l'iutti's intonation in the double-stopping pas sages and in the ascending shakes was ut blues very imperfect. AnnNo the forthcoming dramatic novelties is the announced return of Rachel. for a limited number of dramatic ►erforrnances at the St..lames's Theatre. Mr. Mitchell, too, whose unces , ing enterprise and general good taste provides the public with so rapid a succession of exot►c talent, takes, we presume, his annual benefit. WITH 1111 . !Willed Welttilt - 1* I•4lllii . S i1i ,,, 11111 , .! Vaitxllllll, nil the evening of tlir •• A bat isteoia umiuttnipti on t h e I 69 Tut: %tit . I(Arins.-11'ilil enough not to interfere with our ideas of .al age life. yet so disetptine,t, an d seemingly t.o well ilispo oil. as to preeltule fear in the most timid, the lulu Karin; now exhibiting at the St. tioorge's ;itller • at lark (the seeno of Mr. Cordon Cumming's exhibition), present au vitt4 rituu meta as interesting as it is rare. The ereated by their strange and uncouth talk and ges tures. a n d seaul cOstlllllo. is 101 , 401141 find 0111111101 A by the Set'lliTy, painted from sketelies math' in Eastern Africa. a n d the general Emboli:blamer of the t uvessorioi. These litith.s•—this party e nsi‘ta of eloveit men. a 11'4'1111Ra. 1111,1 a child---pertiNtal a perfri'l little representation of their ordinary life, t I their ilomestie habits, their nuptial ceremonies, sttpermi. lions, and enstoms of war. The whole is mitt neted with great spirit, and it constitutes an entertainment of a inert' than usually *Maldive mid instrneti‘e kind. T HE 1.; utTim p s .-__ In w a t er l oo pl ace an , t o b seen two little models of humanity—a girl of six teen, nail a youth of fourteen; who are said to belong to the mei, of Earthmen." Those who go to tleo the katirs may Mid it interesting also to pay a visit to these spvcalleas a a race the Wks are rapidly exterminating; the hunters and the limited ars almost side by sido. 'l hese little peotile ill !With k s)unnetry, anal paSsess much More altuniaelice than we hail necustomed ourselves to attribute to the Eiteo •• ;" whether they are as old as they are supposed to be must. depend mainly on conjecture ; us they are, they are interesting enough well to repay the trouble of a visit. TIII: EARLo► EI.I.ESMERE has again liberally dints it open the Itritl.gewater titillery to vi%itorpi on two dos a Mess.. smolt, of New liond•stroct. lone tliu issuing of the yank of ntinti•aull. It Army. THE l'Ame AT ctiomuoi. — The '.gal cou p on)• of the Royal s u pp e rs mild Minerr, mule'. the command of I.'ap• min .1. W. Lovell, Royal Engineer.., limo proceeded to Choblmm, to be employed ia oinking wells anal lo►lninl such neee.olary lievommoalatimtm of II tentlsn•ul•) character• its may be cuuviden•al inilispensablo to a asapwhich will be irvitpjf.ll b ) • from /4,000 to 10,000 men. 141sT II main) the first i tivkloa of this regiment timieheil front Kilkenny to Fertility, awl as to he fi'llowctl by the other divisions Miring the week. The regiment will he reliet•etl ht the 111,14 of the 7 Ith Lientethint-eoloncl Farr:mt. ..t, Inn ',OW! lan ieuti• of itliNtmlit . e, la•rpiosun• ) , it is oudt•rntond. imi lii. retiring lull stand of the regiment, 'l•he ' , OA were 'kitty esteent.4l lit Kilkenov Miring th.• .11.111 %pat.'. that the regiment wits permitted to remain. n 11l h,• held in readiness tit F'i't•tility for eutbarkstion ti a • the Kam !hairs. M A joi t •lliENl3l‘l. Wihixll.ll, ho far reetivereill from his recent indisposition that he hopes to be atilt• to resume his dot iVPI 111 a few 11194. IIEITII Or MA.11)114 iF.NEIIIU, '11604 VelletAble. iittlevE Iliva a few lima shier, at the ativanee4l time of oc.t• lie was formerly In tile I;iiyal Home titian's ( Moe,. and haw diatiut niched WlllO.lll AllielitlN 111111 1111 the isaithimit of Europe. Tiir. Kum !loin company intend to rase three new re• tritailits tilt 1111114, 111111 11 IM reportol that they will menet! *vomiting forthwith. NV %II 011 1:, MAI 1.. 74;III F00t..--Molor•livitetul W. .101..01i to 1. , Colonel. %fut. I.ivut.-Lit 'soul Mr H. Arbittlmot, 1%.‘ MII.II lA. Artillery l'orpa of the Royal lattestaltire--W. Campbell, Gent.. late Serie:tut-Major in the It4lVlll .trtillery, to he Alijithutt. Hampshire Artillery—J. Cluttla . ..l 1411/4. Adjutant. WI ill North Lincoln—Quartermaster Mu llet ill. late"( the It di !LEO meta of F 41411, t4l 11...‘11j111111111 011' h1411 1 1 .11 Y. Kilite * 0w111314 Regiment of Statronitshire—F. W. Iton, to be I.lev• tenant; 11. Irstrottee met lute Adjit• tam of lath 'tent. of Foot, to Ilene as Adjutant with the rank or captain. 1-tt }teat. of King'. Owe Stintoinkhlre-4'. Eaton, tient., to let Ideutctuitti—tpiorit's own Ito)al Regiment. of Stai, fords.ltire Yeomanry l'asairj —W. Holland. 111 be Ids-mein toil. Foto Kent-11'..l„1111., Eng., 111 lw Nglor, vb.. L ade, re. slotted ; .1. 11eid, tient., to be Aossostaitt•Sitrip 1111. krlll.- - • Captain E. Rollin-sew. from the Fast Kent in-gloom'. to he Cell , tate. INA. P4teitereet—W. ii. V. Villien4, lieut., ill la, Ets..i&ru, Lieutenant, atspenseileil. Yid Stotleraet--4 Chinni-et , line, field.. V. be Porter. ettper.....1...1. Lekoster • litwkley, t.. Etialuti. 111/ 1 )111 1.11 iiiiii rtnos-4, It. tioutiwrts, It e nt., to ire Smoot Lieutenant. l'enitorelarsitir. - - Lieutenant D. Poutosiu aunt Elul., to Ite H il o. o f Rojo! surrey—A. Illuishwortitj,litott.. to be Enaign. 2iitt !leo, oldie 1/iik-- of I.atteassuren Own—T. Nugent, K.., to le. Captain. 4th of the Oak, of I.atteaster'a Own—sir O. l'rrotton to be l.leutenant , Hee Fort, rerigned ; J. Taylor. tient., to be En sign and Asalatant-Surtgeou. Artillery Rent. of Lite Beyei lAu• ea-lore—T. I.etliard, lat. Captain ht.th Foot, tO Cap tain; Captain J. hounie, trout Hoe stud Regluieut Royal Lew caahlre, to be Major. WAlt OFFICE, MAY 20. Fmtit LNbt Nigheot 17th Itegii•telai Liglit Itrogo4btp4--4'lul'net plus .Trit‘r to he LielltetilLtat; Carnet A twitlati.4 tuti; , ),l Jernithr,httits. front the 7th Iltrugutitt b.• I i,iu • •