The Press. — London, England, 1855-04-28 00:00:00

PAMPHLETS. Railway Collisions Prevented. Alfred Ogan. G. J. Pope. Dr. Brett's Lectures on Ambulances. G. Phipps. A Hint from Modesty to the Ladies of England. F. Wheeler. Yoieee for Proyress and ether Perms. T. Foster Ker. Sampson Low. Notes on Nurses. Debate on the House of Commons Ridgway. The Attack on Intrenchments. Lieut.-Col. W. Hongh. W. H. Allen. The British Cavalry at Balaklava. By a Cavalry Ev Ocer. ffi ans. The Polish Question. By a German Statesman. Ridgway. Blackwood's Magasine. May. Blackwoods. di Glossary of Military Terms. Longmans. MUSIC. Siege of Sebastopol. W. R. Brame. Cramer, Beale, and Co, lint Arts. THE NEW SOCIETY OF PAINTERS IN WATER COLOURS. Tna private view of this exhibition took place upon Saturday last, and upon Monday it was thrown open to the public. Although the exhibition does not contain many works of imagination, yet for interest of subject and general excellence of execution the present is about, but not above, the average ex hibitions of this society. In landscape particularly there era several beautiful specimens displaying great artistic ability and careful execution ; but in historical and other works there are few, if any, which display much else than the mere mechanical part of art. No. 63, however, "Le Benitier in the Church of St. Peter at Rome ;" and No. 248, " St . Peter's Vesta," both by Mr. L. Haghe, must be excepted. The first is certainly the best painting in the room, the figures, breadth, and execution of the work, are beyond a doubt far before any competitors; the kneeling figure of the Roman girl is admirable for its grace and colour, while her expression betrays tne wandering of her mind between her lover and the saint she implores. In the latter of these two the coloring is gorgeous, and the magnificent interior of St. Peter's is most truthfully rendered. In the landscapes Mr. D. H. M'Kewan carries off the palm : he has contributed several pictures to the exhibition; all are vigorous and well-executed works, but No. 211, "The Mill in North Wales," and No. 283, "A View in Wales," are the most mas terly drawings. No. 12, " Place de la Busse Vielle Cour Rouen," by J. S. Prout, evinces great manipu lative talent, but the figures are coarse and faulty. No. 20, "The Return from the Harvest in Italy," by C. Vacher, is a beautiful drawing, displaying great artistic ability. No. 24, " Vessels Running into Flushing Roads," by J. S. Robins, is the best sea piece in the exhibition; there is something so peculiarly fresh and natural in the look of the sea and sky that the truthfulness is felt at once. No. 108, "Fetching Peat," by J. H. Mole, is a pretty and engaging pic ture, well designed and well painted. "No 279, " The Castle of Elz on the Moselle," by Mrs. Oliver, is a finely-executed landscape; the ruins of the old castle stand out in bold relief against the sky. This picture evinces very high artistic talent : there is less of that extreme finish, and more vigour of execution, which contrasts well with the affected nicety of the surrounding pictures. No. 287, "Solitude," by W. Bennett, is an effective picture; the grey rocks, the still stream, and the dark overhanging trees, bring to mind many a glen and "sweet retired" spot through which one has wandered in the highlands. Upon the screens there are some small pictures well worth a moment's study. In No. 310, " The Fair Reckoner," by L. Haghe, the expression of the different faces is itlmirably rendered, and Nos. 329 and 340, both by Mr. Wehnert, are well-executed drawings. Upon the whole, the exhibition may be considered a fair average one. Her Majesty and Prince Albert visited the room on Thursday, and were graciously pleased to express their approbation. The old Water-Colour Society opens to-day for the private view, and on Monday to the public. USit. ROYAL ITALIAN OPERA. Fi(Min was repeated last Saturday evening, With Mlle. Jenny Ney as Leonora, and on this occasion a more favorable opportunity was offered to decide upon her merits as a singer and actress. Her per sonal appearance is rather amiable than handsome, and her simple modesty of manner at once produces a favorable impression. Her acting is quite in ac cordance with her appearance; it is quiet and unob trusive, but full of deep earnest feeling, and although some actresses have made Leonora a much more brilliant character, yet few have invested the part with such reality, such suppressed pathos, as Mile. Ney. Her voice is a soprano of extraordinary corn pass, rich and mellow in quality, and highly culti vated. Her execution was perfect, and, although 1441i1i0 is rather a heavy opera, her success upon THE PRESS. Saturday night was decided. and well worthy of her great reputation. The other characters were cast as upon the previous representation—Tamberlik was the most magnificent Ferdinando, Formes was the gaoler Rocco, Tagliafico was Pizarro, and Mlle. Marai was a charming lifargueretta. Upon Tuesday Rossini's Conte Ory was repeated with the same cast as on its previous representation; and on Thursday Verdi's hackneyed opera Ernani was played to a very poor house. Mlle. Bosio's Elvira, for execution, was perfect. AR a finished vocalist, and most pet • feet mistress of her art, she stands unrivalled, but as an actress she is sadly deficient in animation, and in a character like that of Elvira, requiring the highest dramatic talent to support, Mlle. Bosio's cold and apparently heartless want of fervour becomes painful. In theopening cavatina, " Ernani involam,i" the tours-de-force which she accomplished were ex quisite, and in the duets and terzettos her singing was perfect, but in the magnificent" Solingo errante " her want of passion and pathos marred the brilliant effect of her voice. The only feature of novelty in the cast upon this occasion was the appearance of Signor Graziani as the King, Don Carlos. A little nervousness at first soon wore off, and his performance on the whole may be considered successful. His voice is one of the sweetest baritones we have ever heard—mellow and flexible to a degree, and almost resembling a fine tenor. His most successful effort was certainly in the finale of the third act, and his singing in the septet" Oh, sommo Carlo" was very warmly applauded. Tamberlik was the hero, and performed his part with great energy and passion. Tagliafico sustained the character of Don Silva, but hardly equalled his pre decessor, Belletti, in the performance; and the in ferior characters were well filled by Mlle. Bellini, with Soldi and Polonini as Riccardo and Jago. Of the new ballet Eva, in which Cerito sustains the principal part, we must say a few words. The story, pretty and interesting, is only surpassed by the beautilul and gorgeous scenery of the ballet. Of Cerito, it is needless to say anything than that she is more graceful and fascinating than ever, and in the ballet surpasses herself. Mlle. Battalini is also a great attraction, while M. Desplaces as the male dancer is as active as we would wish. The scenery and accompaniments are exquisite in taste and arrangement, and it is altogether one of the prettiest ballets which we have seen for some years at the Italian Opera. THE NEW PHILHARMONIC (under the direction of Dr. Wylde) gave their third concert on Wednesday evening, the programme consisting of the following morceaux PART I. - Overture, (Medea.) Cherubinl Aria, (Zsubertliite) Grand Syreph)ny in D minor, No. 9 (The Choral } Beethoven. Symphony) PART 11. Overture (Midsummer Night's Dream) solo (Paradise Lost) Concerto, pianoforte and orchestra, op. 25 Aria Overture (Don Quixote) Beethoven's symphony was the great feature of the evening's performances. The first move ment was played very fairly, though there was an evident want of " entente cordiale" between the conductor and his orchestra, which prevented any thing like a perfect tout-ensemble. There was an in decision about it which increased in the three fol• lowing movements, and when the chorus (which is almost always rather unmanageable) added its hundreds of voices, the effect was disastrous. Why will not Dr. Wylde insist upon more frequent rehearsals before such a work as this is produced in public We must admit, however, that Cherubini's overture to Medea was played with great spirit, com pensating in some measure for the ill-treatment which Beethoven met with. Herr Reichardt must have given great pleasure to the large audience assembled together by the charming way he sung Mozart's air from the Zauberitote. The overture to the Midsummer Night's Dream, seldom well played, was executed very imperfectly on this occa sion. Mme. Clara Novello was most deservedly encored in a solo out of Dr. Wylde's " Paradise Lost," which she sang with her accustomed purity of in tonation and perfection of style. Mendelssohn's concerto was to us a source of great enjoyment, not only from its great beauty as a composition, but from the very able way in which it was played by a very young performer, Master John Barnett, whose great feeling, neat execution, and perfect taste, rendered it the most agreeable part of the programme. He VMS very well supported by the orchestra. The concert was wound up by an air of Weber's, carefully sung by Signor Belletti, and Macfarren's overture to Don Quixote. The funds collected from the even ing's performance were to be devoted to the Hospital for Consumption, Brompton. IT is positively stated that Madame Jenny Lind (Goldsmid) will arrive in Paris in the course of next month. Whether she will sing in public or not is yet unknown, but a strenuous effort is in contem plation to obtain her aid for • charitable institution. SATURDAY, ate prima. DRURY-LANE THEATRE. DUPING the week we have had alternate nights of French drama and Italian opera; the one being sup ported by the troupe of the Gaiete, and the other by an operatic company comprising some exceedingly good singers. Les Coraques, the drama, is a piece which has met with the most extraordinary success in Paris, and although it has not been quite so enthu siastically received here, yet the drama, though with no pretensions to literary merit, and meagre in plot, is so much in the Adelphi style—full of striking situations and stage effect—that there was no doubt about its succeeding with an English audience. The story is a love story of course, and relates to the period of 1814 when the Russians had just entered Troyes, the place where the scene is laid. Louise Blanchard, in love with Maurice, an officer of the French Guard, is eagerly sought for by the Russian commandant who protected her and her mother when taken prisoners in Russia in 1812. Manzaroff, the Russian, discovers that Louise bates him and is in love with Maurice, who after a series of adventures at length falls into Manzarqrs hands, and is con demned by him to be shot, and upon the point of being executed, when the firing party turn sudden'y round and shoot Mansaroff instead, discovering them selves as French soldiers in disguise ; at the same mo ment the Emperor Napoleon attacks the town, defeats and drives out the Russians, Maurice and Louise fall into each others arms, and the curtain falls. To narrate all the incidents of this drama, which com prises some seven or eight tableaux, and five distinct acts of four hours duration in all, would be quite beyond our space ; but besides Maurice, the two grenadiers, Duriveau and Panel, are the most pro minent personages in the drama. They are fellow soldiers of Maurice and possess a genius for dis• guise and intrigue. Duriveau, philosophic and calm, Panel, simple and forgetful, are characters capitally contrasted and admirably drawn. They insult the Cossacks, discover their plans, arrange an iineute in a café, are taken prisoners, escape, and, finally dis guising themselves as veritable Dons, they manage to be at hand when Maurice is to be shot, and save the life of' their officer as well as avenge the honour of their country by shooting the Russian commandant instead. Moreover, they are the wits of the piece, and by their impudence and their eccentricity are exceed ingly amusing. Messieurs Menier and Alexandre personated the two old soldiers, and have achieved an immortality in Paris by their acting. M. Gouget played Maurice with great effect and feeling, and Mlle. Leontine as the cantiniere was exceedingly sprightly and entertaining, while Mlle. Clarissa as Louise was as interesting as a heroine under the e circumstances could be. As a specimem of tL Boulevard drama, Les Cosagues will well repay a visit to Drury Lane, and the applause and enthusiasm of the audience at the strong point of the cafe enzeute, where a slight anachronism brings English Guards to the rescue of their French brethren, and the cross of St. George and the tricolour wave triumphantly over the bodies of the shin Cossacks, if it did not say much for their knowledge of history, testified in some measure to their appreciation of the scene. " God save the Queen" has been sung by the company ( very night after this tableau, and " Partant pour la Syrie " insisted upon by the audience. Of the opera, as a whole, we cannot speak too highly. A cheap opera and a good one is a want which London has experienced for years, but an institution with which every capital in every petty State of Europe is supplied. We do sincerely trust that the success which has marked the opening of this present un dertaking will conduce to the estabishment in London of an Italian Opera at a reasonable price. Mine. Gassier, the prima donna, did not make a very effective debilt last week in the character of Amino, but her impersonation of Rosina, in the Barbiere this week, has been a most brilliant and well-merited success. Even upon the legitimate Italian stage, so charming a Rosina is not often seen, and few look or act the character so admirably as Mine. Gassier. As a vocalist she belongs to the florid school, and her execution of the most difficult pas sages displayed an artistic cultivation of voice and s brilliancy of delivery which drew down the most en thusiastic applause. The " Uric voce," " Dunque io son," "Air to 501 e.," and the singing-lesson , where she introduced an air, were rapturously ap plauded and encored. Mine. Gassier's forte, we should think, is vivacity rather than pathos, sod hence she achieves a much more brilliant success in a comic than in a sentimental opera. Signor Gassier, as k'igaro, was full of humour and spirit : his voice is an agreeable baritone, and his impersonation of the character very successful. Signor Fortini, as Bartel"), both acted and sang his part roost characteristically; while Bettini, as Alnuiviva, made much more of the character than usual, and sang with artistic delicacy. As to the miss en scene and dresses, they are both excellently well arranged, and with a trifle more harmony in the orchestra and choruses, whshi