The National Register. — London, England, 1817-01-27 00:00:00

JANUARY 27, THE DRAMA. KING'S THEATRE. The musical drama of Griselda was performed last bight at this theatre for the first time this season. It ulay not be superfluous to revive in the minds of our readers the principal features of its story. The Mar quis of Sa ba lm-had long barn married to Griselda, the daughter of an humble shenherd, and the first fruit of their union was a lovely :laughter. The friends and relatives of the Marquis, however, were displeased with this unequal netrriage—particularly his sister, the Duchess; their frequent remonstrances in time subdued the ardour of his passion, and he resolved to obtain a divorce. • Griseida endures the decay of his love with exemplary fortitude—her affection for him remains unabated, and although she is compelled to quit his house, to return to her firmer rural occupa tions, and, withall, to endure the insolence of the Mar quis's domestics, particularly of Lisclia, she still pre scrvcs Tier fidelity to her husband, and cheerfully obeys his most mortifying mandates. Her virtuous and ad mirable conduct, under such severe trials, at length re kindles the bosom of the Marquis, and is rewarded by her restoration to his arms. Italian operas are not to be judged by the interest of their fable—theirchiefobject is to charm the ea, and to afford opportunities for the intro duction of lyric poetry. In the drama of Griselda there are some specimens truly beautiful, but the music, although compos4Nl by the celebrated PAIR, is not uni fl mnly as expressive of the sentiments as it might have been. Madame Fonoa made her first appearance for the season in the character of Griselda, and on her en dance was greeted with the expressions of general sa tistifetion. She sung with much spirit, and exercised most successfully that command of voice with which she is so eminently gifted. Her under tones are re markably firm, deep and mellow, and she can ascend to the highest note on the scale with equal facility and sweetness. Her duello with Nat.m, beginning L'angel c/ic sic sal nido, was an admirable performance, but it was excelled by her subsequent one with Madame Pas- TA-x- retied?) sot bram Content°, c or as it is translated, _ To see the life we doat on, Once more illumed with pleasure's smile ; To see the cloud forgotten, That dimm'd the beaming eve the while! This due/to was encored, and deservedly. Both the per formers sustained their parts with great skill and exci ted the rapturous applause of the audience. There was one air sung by Madame ninon, pier Axle, which we noticed as much for the excellence of her execution, as for that of Mr. WEICIISELL who accom panied her on the violin—we have seldom heard any thing to equal it. CntveLLU represented the Marquis; he looked the character well, and both his acting and sing ing were in a superior style. Madame PssTA persona ted Lisetta. This lady is already a great fivourite with the public, her manner is extremely natural and prepossessing. Mite HUGHES appeared for the first time on this stage in the character of the Duchess. She sung an air in the first act with considerable effect. NALDI was the Shepherd—as usualhighly animated and faithful to the picture which he had to delineate. From the length of the DrAtua there was no Divertise mod. The favourite Ballet of La parte de cliSese d'Henri Quatre followed, in which Monsieur and Ma dame Baptitle appeared, they were welcomed with universal applause,anddanced with their wonted spirit and elegance. DRURY-LANE. SOUTHERN'S tragedy of Oroonoko was revived last week at this theatre, decorated with some very hand some scenery. From the present dearth of ti lunatic talent, our managers are obliged, for the sake of variety, to have frequent recourse to the shelf, in order to as certain if, among our slumbering Bards, there still re mains one ray of unextinguished tire. We had, in deed, imagined, that the Royal Slave was long since fully consigned to the tomb ; and we arc inclined to think, that although the magic genius of KEAN has for a while waked him from the dead, he still carries his winding-sheet about him, and seems destined soon to retrace his steps to the region of silence. As this play was originally represented, it was a monstrous combina tion of farce and tragedy. The levity of the firmer was intended to relieve the deep colouring of the latter, and was, at the same time, the only portion of the com position which came recommended by liveliness and fluctuation of incidenc. The tragical part is perfectly isolated: it loses nothing by appearing without the companion which the poet meant fin it ; but, at the same time, in this manlier, it is much too short, and is withall incapable of exciting any great and lasting in terest. We do not mean to take from KEAN the merits which belong to him. He, so far like Mitkly, turns into gold every thing which he touches. The cha racter of Orounoko, however, will never add to his splendid reputation. It is too whining and too equal to suit his powers. It exhibits none of those way ward and impetuous feelings—none of those mighty combats among the passions which resemble the con fliction of electric clouds, and the thunder of which he rolls forth with so minh majesty. Who could express with dignity such au apostrophe as this ? 'THE NATIONAL REGISTER. Thou God adored ! thoa ever glorious sea, If she be yet on earth, send me a beam Of thy all-seeing power to tight me to her: Or if thy sister godiluss has preferr'd llerbranly to the skies, to hen star, fl tell me where she shims," Sze. 1 moinda was personated loy Miss SOMERVILLE. Her conception of the character was throughout appropriate —her appearance at the commencement perfectly in unison with the desolation of her heart—and her deli vers-, so far as concerned her voice, was unifOrtnly chaste and expressive. But we would wish that this charm ing candidate for exalted fame would yield more freely to the inspirations of her genius. There is a fertility and vividness of imagination in every tone of hers, but it never extends to her attitudes and gesture. She seems, in truth,. to treat the Muses with a species of coyness, and though she certainly is one of their special favourites, sh 3 is too diffident to believe :o. Mr. RAE perfhrmed Aboun with uncommon animation. His figure and manner are well calculated to sustain this character, and to us he appeared to divide the laurels of the night with his royal friend and master. COVENT-GARDEN. The Hantourous Lieutenant was submitted to a se cond trial on Friday evening, we cannot add with a much more successful issue than that which signalized its first representation. Mrs. FAUCIT performed Celia, and did every thing for the character which could pos sibly have been expected. The piece, however, is in. capable of being redeemed from its primitive inferi ority. ROYAL ACADEMY. MR. FUSELI'S THIRD LECTURE ON PAINTING. THURSDAY EVENING,JANUARY 23. The subject of consideration in this discourse, was Chiaro Scuro. The Word chiaroscuro, taken from the Italian language, in its primary sense, implied the di vision of light and shadow, in its more complicated sense, the distribution of light and shadow into masses; its purpose was to give substance to form, place to figure, and to create space ; it was either legitimate or spurious; legitimate, according to its disposition, strength, extent, and sweetness ; and spurious, when it aspired to form the sole object or consideration of a picture. Of every subject, unity was the soul, unity, there fore, was the soul of chiaroscuro; truth was its next principle, as the shade in chiaroscuro was an impor tant object, and as shade was but a mere absence of light, consequently it Could be of no tint but what it borrowed from reflection; the beauty, indeed the ex clusive excellence of shade, consists in its transparen cy and translucency; yet this should be produced with considerable regard to truth, and with khc least ex pence of the subordinate parts, at the same time aim ing at. the establishment of harmony and brilliancy throughout the picture. The celebrated School of Athens, painted by Ra phael, was a superior example of the power of chiaro scuro. From this picture it appeared, that the mere na tural light was not always the legitimate chiaroscuro; nature produced only sublime dispositions by accident, or casually, and then, most partially ; it was the bu siness of the artist to select these with judgment, and to apply them with propriety and taste ; the principal object of an artist, in the application, chiaro scum was to form a centre, and to dispose his light in rays diverging from it ; this ()Nut was more conducive to the excellence of the whole, than the utmost bril liancy of colours, it would give a sombre and pleasing hue. Every work of Corregio evinced that this dis position of light would produce brilliancy, the colours being at the same time actually of very inferior bright ness. In the picture of St. Sebastian, by Corregio, the yellow tint of the drapery was comparatively dull, yet the light upon it had the effect of a sun, it dazzled the eyes of the spectator. It was not until the lapse of 900 years after the restoration of the arts in Europe, that the important advantages of chiaro scum were understood. Chiaro scum might literally be said to have sprang from the loins of Leonordo da Vinci. The professor here con sidered the comparative advantages derived from it in the different works of Leonardo, and enumerated various pictures of his ; none of his pupils at any time were equal to their master, either in the chiaroscuro or design, and from this man the 'Tuscan school declined, till it dwindled into insipidity. Michael Angelo's pictures, with the exception of a few, exhi bited• but little effect from chiaro scam and in some of Raphael's cartoons, there was little more than natural light and shadow. There were a few excep tions of artists in the Roman school, who particularly succeeded in clam . ° scuro and colouring : but the grand examples of pictures which pnmemed the latter ex cellencies were.by Titiano ; as snug as the Entombing of CHRIST, as long as the Pilgrims paying their adora tion to the Virgin, should retain their tones, as long as the Infant Jl.,sus should resist the ravages of time, they would stand alone ; they will supersede every picture iu their respective styles. Nothing has been more injurious, more detrimental to the advancement of a true taste for prod:. , etions of artists of celebrity, than the dishonest deceptions of pic ture dealer:, and the imbecile credulity of self-imagined connoisseurs. No artist had suffered more from an enor mous multiplication of copies, than ciorgione. The picture of the conveyance of the corpse of St. Mark by water, by this artist, now at Venice, was one of the most sublime works ever beheld ; it represented a vio: lent storm ; every thing conduced to the end. One saw the fiends raging with vengeance against the bark ; the vessel, by dint of oars and arms, appeared scarcely to maintain itself upon the sea, which was rolling in moun tains ; the Heavens corresponded in universal anarchy ; one heard the very howling of the blasts, the very roar ing of the sea, and the feeble cries of the mariners. The colouring, the chiaro scum; the design, all were so daring, so grand, so sublime, so terrific, that the very pannel trembled. In chiaro scum, the light often derived its original from two sources; as in the subject of St. Luke, by Tintoretto,' it proceeds from the fire below, and from the Angel ministering to the Martyr from above. The nocturral studies of Tintoretto, from models of wax, were well known ; thus he adjusted, raised, suspended, and connected, to produce different effects of masses of lights and shadows. But the artist that succeeded be yond all others, in chiaroscuro, w as C orreg i o .—Hi s - Resurrection, and the Massacre of the Innocents, con towed every charm that could fascinate the admirers of chiaro scum. He expanded its powers through Heaven and earth ; his iron hand grasped every thing. Mr. Fuseli, after enumerating in a most able manner, the beauties of this artist, stated, that while we were in tranced by his spel, we were not aware of, nor did we consider the place, the space and the mode of his figures. The professor then formed a contrast between his Ma done, and his Jupiter and lo; the character of the for mer picture was beautifully expressed by the introduc tion of the most timid of animals; and the agitation and fear of lo in the latter, is marked by an exhausted stag. COBBETT AND HUNT. HATTON GARDEN. Mr. Hunt, accompanied by Mr. Cobbett, and two other persons, and the boy Thomas Dogood, who had torn down a posting bill, entitled, " Mr. Hunt hissed out of the city of Bristol," came to this office to know on what particular charge the boy was committed, when the following conversa tion passed between Mr. Hunt, Mr. Cobbett, and the Ma gistrates : • Mr. Hunt.—l understand the only offence this boy has been guilty of is tearing down a posting bill, entitled Mr. Hunt hissed out of the city of Bristol ; the bill in itself was a gross libel, and did not contain one word of truth, and for tearing down this bill he was committed ; I have fregnently torn down a posting bill, and until now I did not know I was offending against the laws of my country ; the boy is an orphap of industrious habits, and unblemished character, and from the circumstances of the case I look upon my self as his protector, and I am determined to see him justified : I de mand a copy of his cosiunittal. Magistrate.--Mr. Hunt. I recollect nothing of the case; the previous examination did not take place before either of us; the Magistrate who heard the case is not present; but I agree Ith von in thinking, that tearing down posting bill is not an offence that any recognizance can be taken of it ; it must be on sonic other Charge he was committed, and by applying at the prison you will of course obtain a copy of his commit ment we never keep a copy of the commitment in the office. Mr. Cobbett.—The boy when apprehended was found lowing his lawful business ; he wes employed in selling a few tracts of the religious society, when he was seized on and robbed of them in the public street. Magistrate.—We know nothing of his books; they ought to be returned to him. We suppose Limbrick has them, and he is now attending at the Old Bailey. • M. Hunt.—lt is now 12 o'clock : we are going further, and will call again at 2, at whit it time we hope Umbricl will be in the way to give them up, and likewise to answer any charge brought against him. At a quartet-past two o'clock Messrs. Hunt and Cobbett re turned. Limbrick and Reid were then placed at the bar, and Thomas Do_ good, the boy, was brought forward to prefer his complaint. Mr.Cohbett.—Boy, the tables are now turned, be not afraid. speak the truth manfully, you shall be righted, you are not now a pritoner, you are the accuser, and those who have accused you are now the accused. flag :mate.--Mr. Ford, be very particular in taking down every word the emnplainant says. have it from himself, and do net omit a ward, as the case is to be laid before the Secretary of State, that you may be in possession of the facts. Thomas IJogood deposed, that ho lodges at No. Gee's-enurt. Oxfunl-street ; that about eleven o'clock in the forenoon of Friday, the loth instant, as he was going along Long-acre, he saw a crowd of p:rsons reading sonic posting bills; he si.sv a mar.. after reading the bill, take and tear it down, and say, " I have 11 , ? n down that bill, and let some other of ye tear down the oiler," they were two large bills fresh stuck up, and in large lettas at the top was. " Mr. Hunt hissed out of the city of Bristol." He remained renting the bill until the crowd dispersed, end when he read it he tore it i.own and walked away. lie saw It and Limlnick come up to the ph.ee and gather up the fragments of the bill, on which he suspe.fed they were officers, and he ran away ; but they tidlowed hint. anti took him into custody, and Limbrick took the tracts now produced out of his bosom, and then conveyed him to this office, where he was searched, and lid. he lied in his pocket was also taken from hint t_ he was then locked up until evening, and at seven o'clock he va.: brought agein bet Ore the magistrate and connnitted: previous to being sent to son the sixpence was returned to him. I.imbrick.—Your Worships, the reason of this charge being brought against me is, because I ant of a different way of thinking from other goe,;:em e n (looking at Mr. C. and Mr. II.), fur 1 am a loyal man. and a lover of my king and country. Magistrate.—Limbrick, do not be so warm ; what you are, we know. Really, gentlemen. we cannot for a moment look on this in the light of a robbery, end must dismiss the complaint. Both Mr. I lion and Mr. Cobbett thanked the magistrat es f or t h e i r polite atteatiun to them; they laid no Maine to the o ffi cers; b ut they thought the magistrate who conauittA Use buy was wow VI hiai they wenkld we tutu.