The Press. — London, England, 1857-05-23 00:00:00

J 11 a a r. S 11 to a a P 0 al e: al tl al w tl w 01 t( di 0' 01 w L rl pl R' 1 ' 1 ) .01 Itt - s1 T fr. al w .01 'fr •cl 'st B al I sl 10; Ic 81 Si w fi h lt el tl tc e: b. 1 1.11 .1 0 a MAY 23, 1857. Ritz HER MAJESTY'S THEATRE. A MORNING performance of the Trarinta is an nounced by the directors fur Monday, June 1. The 2'raviata will be followed by one " condensed act " of the Barber of Seville, in which Alboni, Belletti, and Vialetti will appear. The performances are announced to commence at half past one, and to terminate at half past five p.m. The new Spanish ballet, brought out last Saturday night, is one of the prettiest ballets produced for some time past. Perea Nena, the premiere dansense, has scarcely sufficient opportunity to do full justice to the. nipassioned dance of her race, but the ballet has been highly successful and proves very attractive. ROYAL ITALIAN OPERA. YEW performances within the memory of the " oldest amateur " can be cited to rival in perfection of ensemble the two representations of Verdi's Traviata on the 16th and 19th inst. ; and it is positive that not a single lyric establishment in any country could now approach in excellence the Lyceum cast. The plaintive introduction before the rising of the curtain, and the entr'acte music played prior to the last act, were executed by the orchestra with marvellous delicacy and precision—such violin playing has, in fact, never been surpassed. The accompaniments were through the work performed with an observance of the nuances, and with such a marked development of the inner workings of the score, as reminded many hearers of the Conservatoire's best days. The choral portions, weak as they are, were also given with infinite animation. How Bosio sang the music of Violetta, how Mario gave that of Alfredo, and how Graziani " came out " in Gerniont, the father, it is scarcely necessary to indicata in THE PRESS in detail, for a real success is like the electric telegraph in rapid communica- Sion, and town-talk at once decides whether the ovations within tha walls of a theatre are genuine or false. La Traviata is in everybody's month within the region of musical circles as enacted at the Lyceum. Connoisseurs have an undoubted right to quote the performance as remarkable in every respect, and yet rumour states that it was accom plished ,with only a single rehearsal. If so, the greater triumph for the conductor, Mr. Costa, the greater compliment is due to the executants, and the greater merit is due to the stage manager, Mr. Harris, for his effective and brilliant mise en scene There is, however, not the slightest reason to modify .any of the opinions expressed in the columns of THE PRESS at the time of the original production of this opera at Her Majesty's Theatre last season. The music is on the whole weak compared with that in the Trovatore and in the Rigoletto. The second act of the Traria ta is wearisome, and nothing but the con summate skill of Bosio, Mario, and Graziani can make it endurable. In death-scenes Verdi gene rally excels, and that of V ioletta's is no exception. The libretto is thoroughly repulsive. We were the first to draw attention to its foul attributes, and no acting that we have seen on the part of the heroine, whether it be the thorough ladylike version of Bosio -or the piquant vivacity of Piccolomini, can reconcile us to the acceptance by the public of such an abomi nable story for the lyric stage. It would appear 'from all accounts that V ioletta is by no means a diffi cult part to act. Good judges mention the several 'successes of Mme. Penco in Madrid and. of Mlle. Boccabadate in Italy, as well as those of Piccolomini and Bosio in London. The fault of the latter is that ishe is too artificial and dignified fur such a heroine. Piccolomini's version sins on the side 'of exaggeration. She is more of a grisette than a torette. a distinction which was thoroughly under stood when she played the part in Paris. We may here observe that as it is intimated the fair lady is resolved to study vocalisation, we would suggest to her the policy of hearing Bosio sing the duos with Mario, and the cavatinas in the first and last act., in the cabaletta of the first of which her vocal volubility and finished fluency were abso lutely astounding, and her pathos in the latter was equally remarkable and -irresistible in its effect on the sympathies of her delighted listeners. If it be 'desired by any anti-musical person, if such there Le, to learn what the human voice can do to charm and excite a large aasenfulage, let him go and hear Mari r in the love songs of La Traviata, and, de `lighted as such hearer would be, he would scarcely be in a less degree moved by the rich, mellow, and Unctuous tones of Graziani's incomparable baritone voice. Thursday was not one of tho Royal Italian Opera " field " nights in the revival of Bellini's Puritani the orchestra excepted, which as usual was superb, the general execution was unsteady, and the cast was not a happy one. Tag- THE PRESS. liafico's Giorgio wants weight—the music is not adapted to him. Graziani's Ricardo, although ex quisiteiy sung in poi tions, was acted with privoking frigidity. Gardoni's Arturo lacked fire and anima tion, finished and elegant as was the style of some passages in the music. The new prima donna, Signora Parepa, in Elvira, was exposed to unavoid able comparisons, and could not stand by them, however attractive are the powers which she indu bitably possesses. She has the advantage of a pure-toned soprano of extensive range, and she has considerable flexibility. It is stated that she is only twenty—she has the face of a girl of sixteen, and the figure of a woman of forty. Her dramatic instincts appear to be good; her smile is engaging, and the facial expression is generally varied and dramatic. Perhaps a more promising debut has not been met with for some time pust, and her success would have been infinitely greater if she had been assigned, or had chosen, some character not exacting the vocal and histrionic gifts which any new comer in Elvira must have to insure an unexceptionable triumph. Mlle. Parepa, who has been singing, it is stated, at Lisbon, Malta, and Barcelona, has been prematurely brought out in this country; but there is a future for her, which is more than can be stated of the many aspirants who have fretted their hours of late years. Mlle. Parepa will not the less be of great service in the present company. Mlle. Victoire Balfe's debut has been postponed till next Thursday, when she will make her first appearance on any stage, as Agana, in the Sonnam• Lula, Gardoni being the Elvino. Aubeeta Fra Diavolo will soon be produced, with Mlle. Balfe, Mile. Marai, Mario, Neri-Baraldi, Ronconi, and Herr Formes. CONCERTS. JFAN SEBASTIAN B ACM'S antiquated and contra puntal overture in D was quite a curiosity at the third Philharmonic concert. Professor Bennett, the conductor, was quite right in his veneration for the great master, the father of all the great composers, the pioneer of classic art, to introduce this clever " suite"—which is the proper term—so full of ideas carried out in such a masterly manner. Next to Bach, the debut of Rubinstein the pianist, after an absence of some years, when he visited London as a youth, was the great event. He performed a con certo in G, a nocturne in G flat, and a polonaise in B tint. Of his wonderful powers as an executant there is but one opinion—of his capabilit;es as a composer there are, as usual, strong dissensions amongst the amateurs and professors. One objection taken against him will not stand for a moment, namely, the introduction of new effects. It will never do to limit the extent of executive skill. Paganini on the violin, Bottesini on the contrabasso, Lindley and Piatti on the violoncello, Liszt and Thalberg on the pianoforte, and other great soloists on ogler instruments, have widened the domain of art, by proving what could be done in overcoming difficulties, or rather in achieving appa rent impossibilities. What is extravagant is soon banished; what is really within legitimate bounds remains. An original thinker mu.st not be summarily judged and sentenced. To define Rubinstein's claims as a creator will require more than a single hearing. Mme. Clara Novello sung two grand airs from Mozart's Idemino and Gluck's Ipheginia en Tauride ; and the symphonies were the A minor, No. s, of Mendelssohn, and the,F,No.S, of Beethoven, with Spohr's Bergveist overture. Here were noble materials judiciously balanced. At the third concert of the Musical Union, Sainton, Gotirie, H. Blagrove, R. Blagrove, and Piatti were the stringed players, and C. Halle the pianist, the latter playing to perfection Heller's " Promenades d'un Solitaire," and iu Spohr's trio No. 2, in F, op. 123. Mozart's Requiem and Mendelssohn's Lobgesang were performed on Wednesday night at St. Martin's hall, un ler Mr. Hullah's direction, the chief singers being Miss Banks, Miss Palmer, Miss M. Moss, Mr. Sims Reeves, and Mr. Thomas. Mr. Reeves' singing in the " Hymn of Praise" was of the loftiest order of declamation. Whilst the above performance was going on, there was no inconsiderable gathering at Exeter hall to a concert given by Mme. Madeleine Graver, the pia niste, and Herr Goffrie, the violinist, the latter con ducting the Royal Italian Opera orchestra. Mine. Graver's vigorous playing of the D minor concerto by Mendelssohn, and of her share in the duo by Moscheles and Mendelssohn, on Weber's Preciosa march, having as colleague Mme. Schumann, was well appreciated by the auditory. There was a new vocalist—heard for the first time in England—Mlle. Westerstram from Stockholm. Her speciality is in the altitudes of the soprano register, attacking the F in alt with ease and with no ordinary certainty. As the Queen of Night in Mozart's Zauberfiote she would be valuable. Ernst, Bottesini, Mine. Novello, Mine. Caradori, and Miss Dolby, Weiss, and Rei chardt assisted in the programme. 511 Mrs. Anderson's annual morning concert is one of the fashionable events of the season. As in 1850, it was given at Her Majesty's Theatre, with the artistes, vocal and instrumental, of that establishment, with the addition of Mme. Novello, Signor Bazzini, the violinist, Mrs. F. B. Jewson, the pianiste, and Mr. W. Cusins, who is equally pianist, violinist, organist, and composer. Mrs. Anderson, who is pianiste to the Queen, and instructress to the Royal Princes and Princesses, has been rarely heard of late years; but when she does favour the public, a classic display may assuredly be relied upon. Amateurs owe her especial thanks for keeping the name of Hummel, one of the best of composers for the pianoforte, from being forgotten. Why his works are so much neglected by modern players is unaccountable. Bazzini's execution of the Donizetti theme was brilliant and thoroughly effective. Giuglini and Alboni were the vocal stars of the programme; and Piccolomini's vivacity was transferred with success from the stage to the concert-room. The Crystal Palace Concerts, with the Royal Italian Opera forces, vocal and instrumental, in crease in attraction on every occasion. The pro grammes are necessarily confined to operatic selections, as, in the thick of the season, there can be no time to rehearse novelties; and, as the thousands congregated within the transept are evidently in the aggregate not the regular visitors at the Lyceum, the pieces so familiar to the latter are received with un exampled enthusiasm, almost every item being redemanded. These concerts, in fact, open to the suburban residents an opportunity of hearing the greatest singers of the age in the daytime at mode rate prices. The madrigals, so nicely sung by the chorus, and the concerted finales make also a great impression. Mme. Enderssohn gave a concert on Wednesday at the Beethoven rooms in Harley-street, having the co operation of Messrs. Millard, Allan Irving, Miss Stabbach, and Mrs. Lockey as vocalists, and Mme. Schumann and Herr Ernst as instrumentalists, with Balfe as accompanyist, a new song by the latter, " The deserted bride," being well sung by Mme. Enderssohn. MR. RUSSELL'S LECTURES UPON rim CRIMEA will be resumed this afternoon, at three p.m., at NVillis's rooms, and continued on Thursday afternoon, May 28, and Monday afternoon, June 1, at the same hour. THE FIRST FLOWER SHOW of the season took place on Wednesday, in the grounds of the Royal Botanic Society, Regent's-park. Favoured by fine weather, the lete proved unusually attractive. The gardens themselves were in full glory, with the turf fresh and green, the lilacs and chesnuts in their earliest bloom, and the tender green of the leaves untarnished by the influences of heat or dust. Within the great flower tent the view from the mound did not present the accustomed panorama of rich and variegated colouring, for the flowers were unusually backward. The roses and exotic orchids were not in full bloom. The show of geraniums, pelargoniums, and of azaleas, was in each case ex cellent. Cluster globes and pyramids of their three species were judiciously intermingled with other plants of less hardy character or less exuberant bloom, and filled up every chasm that might other wise have broken the continuity of brilliant tints and blooms. The fete, on the whole, was very success ful and was well attenued, the leading not)ility and gentry being present. CREMORNE-GARDENS were opened on Monday last, with a grand fete and illuminations. The weather was favourable and the gardens were crowded. There was also a good concert, in which great vocal talent was exhibited, in various a/ fresco perfor mances, by artists new to London audiences. In the theatre, which has been newly decorated, a troupe of sable rnelodists performed a burlesque opera, which excited bursts of laughter ; and a very beautiful pantomimic ballet, entitled, The Gipsy Girl, or, the Doctor in Love, supported by the talents of Miss Cushnie, Miss Louise Leclerq, and an efficient corps•de.ballet, under the direction of M. Milano, afforded intense amusement to a crowded audience. Two OF THE RAREST SPECIMENS of xylographic or block books, cut entirely on wood, which were the precursors of printing by means of moveable types, have recently come into the possession of Messrs. Boone, of 19, New Bond•street. Of these the first in point of rarity is the " Liber Regum," or, " Life of David," pictorially illustrated with two woodcuts on a page, with descriptive texts beneath, and extending to twenty pages. So little is known of this work, printed about the year 1430, that it escaped Heinecken, who specially devoted his researches to the history of early printing. Brunet and Dibdin are alike meagre in details—in fact, but one other copy is known to exist, and that is in the Imperial Library at Vienna. The other is known as the " Biblia Pauperum," of which facsimiles have been The copy in Messrs. Boone's possession corresponds with the description given by Heinecken as being the first impression, a copy of which sold at sale for 215 guineas. Both these volumes "4 een given. orrevonds Ls being of at Willett's aes are in