The National Register. — London, England, 1812-07-26 00:00:00

THE NATIONAL REGISTER. 460 DRA3L4TIC REGISTER. LYCEUM. On Wednesday a new Opera wag produced at this Theatre, under the title of Rich and Poor. This piece is founded on The East Indian, a Comedy, by Mr. M. G. LEwts. The success which attended his turning his Wood Arm, 1 into an Opera, it should seem, has encou raged him to ;bring his Coinedy before us in this form. We are not d:.•posed to quarrel with him in this, as in the for mer in when he turned a Pantomime into a first piece. Jibe c , ;n find his account in'turning his five-act rlays into pieces of three acts, NVO care not if be take it in his head to turn his: Alphonso and his Cusa.'e Specire into a couple of Comic. Operas. The tra-li which we have lotyz been in the habit of seeing obtruded on the Public, under the name of opera, has been so truly z-lbomiliablc, that when a writer like Mr. M. C. J.,rwis tries kris hand in this way, he cc' tainlv has an excel lent chance of making a tolerably respectable figure. The present performance of Mr. Lewis, contrasted with the rub bish which has gone before it, has considerable claims on public approbation. These claims were admitted on the first riAlit to their full extent, and the piece went off with un bounded applause. This Opera, like most of Mr. Ltwis's performances, boasts an abundant st,ck of ah ! and ohs ! starts, and embraces, It is, however, not generally of a tragic cast, hut, on the contrary, many of its scenes are extravagantly farcical; and it really excites something like admiration and surprise to see with what facility the Author can pass from bombast to tibraldry, and from ribaldry to bombast. As usual, Mr. Lewis has disdained to suffer his lively genius to he fettered Ly the restrains of norality and consistency, and lie has therefore introduced his principal character as a mass virtuous Man, well diThstd towards duelling, tr 4 viewing the prejudices of fe.hion and of folly with dignified contempt, while he Limse:f appears tricked out in all the wretched finery of modern honour. Despising those silly rides which fashion bas. prescribed for the conduct of her votaries, he delibe rately ztpiroves of the iriational and immoral mode of seek ing sari-faction at the mouth of a pistol, with all the zeal of a despe; ate gamester, and all the heroism of an inebriated debauchee. Bich and Poor, however, with these and with other tic fects, still boast 4 corkiderahle merit. Some of its scenes are ilzighly entertaining, others in a more than common degree . affecting. The songs have, gencra!ly speaking, no great merit. The music, composed and selected by Mr. 1-lorticE, -gave general satisfaction ; and the performers acquithd ,s - themselves admirably in their respective parts. IIAYM.IttKKr. A Comedy, in three acts, called The Fortune Hunters, was performed, for the first tune, on Thursday. We understand it is the production of a new candidate for Dramatic honours, of the name of lIEwLETT. We cannot say it is a perform ance that holds out much promise of future excellence in the Author. .The plot is not good, and the manner in which it is:conducted is worse than the plot itself. The characters ore extravagant, and they are not drawn with that humour , wbile/4 can compensate for a fault of this kind. Here and there the piece was enlivened with a few good things, but the4"did.not occur sufficiently often to give the piece much - 4 chimice of becoming a favourite. if considerably curtailed, Liitlt4y run the usual number of nights ; but we do not think 'ffprobable that it will, be placed on the stack list. COVENT GARDEN. JULY 06 On Monday se'nnight a young lady named JOHNSON, from the York theatre, made her filst appearance in Londo n at this house, in the character of Isabella. The difficulties of this part were increased by the consciousness which Miss JOHNSON must have felt, that Mrs. SIDDONS still formed the standard of excellence in every mind, to which the pin. sical qualities and expressive powers of a new performer would naturally be referred, - as gold to a touchstone to try its purity and value. Diffidence, however, served to render her more interesting without itupait log her exertions. Sh e possesses a correct judgment and true feeling, which enabled her to form a just conception, and to give a faithful pictu re , of the sorrows of the widowed mother, and the di•ttessftd madness of the innocently faithless wife. Her voice is pow. er ful in the deep tones, and she manages with much effect that semi-whisper which expresses so well the concentrated grief of the heat t, almost too big for utterance. In her bursts of madness her voice occasionally broke into shrill nesq, and in her milder sorrows, she sobbed with too much violence. Her countenance is pleasing, but by no means of a tragic cast. Upon the whole she is a correct, though not super-eminent performer, and her greatest False is, pt:itap., that she frequently emitted stolen gleams of Siddonian ex cellence which none but a mirror, dear and polished can reflect. Iler reception was most flattering. VAUXIIA LL. The Masqnerade which has het II tome time announced. took plate uu Mond,.y night, and noNithstandi; g the unfavout able Ntor of the weather, attracted u great number of visitors. Among tl.rm true t vaiitty of clivracters, sevtral of which were supported with great spi rit and humour. The place was decorated in the most t eaoliful sit and txcited a vivid conception of all the splendour of Oriental umg infieetice. But tl.e visitors had not only full reason to be delighled with whht was intended to gratify the big!: t , bot the mare solid rokr tainment of an exec:kilt tapper, a hich served up in a very 0:- derly and regular aia:.ner, and w;ts plentiful in a degree boiderae, profusion. This is an cccurrence tic mere entitled to not , ce, it one Unit does nut happen often at eluCTlalltlitellib of thls Lit,u. The Managers had very judicicu-ly closed the &ilk walks, tai that all tic vagaries of tl:e :body group were brought Llmost, at the saute iu stant, under the v.ew of the spectator. A number of persons of dis tinction were present ; and among flu m we ought, Meth ifs, to notice Mr. CockadoAle Coates, who had the satisfac:ion to reap the hart . e4 of that popularity which his cztruorditrarg talents have procured 111 , a as, beln4 recognized, he was followed by a crowd of masks. who tr• tertatned him with crowing. and exclauettions of " 0 Romeo, met ! wherefore art thou Runes."—With a variety of other ex clamat:ons, accompanied with action which the hero did not apprarto think the most graccJia in the ww Id, and which ti . timately forced hou to (lint the gat tic ill the course of the evening a skirmish took place between a maa and a Spanish Grimace, which was rather mare than a jest. has was the only drawback upon the entertainment of the night that caw , : under oar observation. With this exception, lafrsunny set.med univer sally to prevail, and the votaries of Pleasure did nut quit the mutlif..l scene till lung after " the grey-eyed Morn" had begun to peep. Letters from Smyrna state, that General ANDREOSSI had arrived in the neighbourhood of Constantinople. as Aruba,- .sador EXtraordinary from Fiance to the Ottoman Court. RELIEF WITHOUT . DANGER OR INCONVENIENCE. Warranted, trod the • full Cost returned. it not approved after any '1 rial, Wear, or Dam ag e. SALMON, ODY, and CO. tti, Strand, PATENT SELF.ADJUSTINfi TRUSS-MAN CFACTUR‘RS t 6 hi: blajesty's 11.0);11 Navy, the Honualable Edit. India Company, &c. These Instruments are epos an entire new p r i n ciple. The springs are io co;-- stracted, alto admit.of increase and decrease An size and force, will answer fur either right or left side, without au) strap whatever. The, Patentees ha. ing gi , en Relief without Danger on Iscouvesdenee so upwards of 6660 Knew, os a re enabled to warrant their lastraineats srior iu ease and effect to every other inrention, the above terms ; and confident upe ly recommend atrial to 3.1.1 those who prefer Per' feet ease and aeouslo.46 the galling appileation of the emaanbw 'rnio• 'a N. B. Palmas goading the Coustry sendleg the cireausference of the 800 lathes, just Itbdre the say depeed upon being accurately fitted. . , .