The National Register. — London, England, 1817-04-14 00:00:00

APRIL 14. THE DRAMA. KING": THEATRE. THEATRE. That highly celebrated Opera, the Don .luan of Mo zort, was, after being announced for many weeks, at length brought forward on Saturday evening. So 111116 has already appeared in the papers on the musi• cal history and merits of this grand composition, that little of the critics duty remains to be performed. We can but place oft record what had been so generally an ticipated; and on the present occasion we have pleasure in stating, that the success of Don Juan was eminent and complete. The acting throughout was just and spirited; the music was delightfully executed; and the new seen c decorations were picturesque and splendid. Ambrogetti acquimd himself with extraordinary energy ; and with respect either to vocal or dramatic action, we have rarely seen any performance more powerful than his, from the opening of the second act, to the conclu sion of the supper 'zone, where the Annie and a hest of devils beset Don Pcdro's murderer. Naldi's Lepo rello was a piece of comic and assured extravagance, which relieved the sombre complexion of the crimes upon which it WAS employed. Crivelli was correct enough, but overpowered by superior organs. Some of the airs by the female performers displayed much taste and feeling; and the noble, and often terrible and thrill ing, harmonics were poured forth by the assembled corps of singers with masterly precision. Among the deco rations of the Opera must be noticed the striking view of the Cemetery and Equestrian Statue in the second act, where the shades arc managed with unusnal depth and softness, and the moonbeam is thrown with prodi gious effect upon the ghastly figure of the horseman. The story may be comprised in the following state ment : Don Juan is a dissolute nobleman, a libertine of the higher class ; regardless of the impediments, moral or divine, that impede the gratification of his passions, h. commences his career with an attempt to violate a lady of beauty, wealth, and rank. Her fatht.r, Don Pedro, con i es to her a<si , ia■ce, and receives a wound from the libertine th:.t oho; tie termi nates in his death. The hero then proceeds the ' lt ch a va. ricty of adventures, all having the same objei t and at length, to avoid the comequeiters of an unfortunate dilemma in s.vhich he has placed himself, lie takes refuge in the een.iitery in which the remains of Don Pedro are di ' , mired. If( re commence , the terrific part of the teem , : a %mind ft out the Ecptestrian Statue excites his attention ;—it is the warning •iacc of the figure of Dim which tell , him, that before the dawn his mi►lh will hat e all end; it denounces the v CH pane of beaseit for his da►ing to disturb the ...pose of the dea I ; and says it waits for vengeance on the impious man who deprived hint of life. Don Joan disre:ards these threats, and invites the spectre to stopper. The invitation is accept ed. Afterwards, at a splendid banquet, the guests are ills. torbrd and terrified by the entrance of the ghost of Don Pedro, clad in complete white armour. The spirit, in its torn, invites the libertine to *upper; this invitation is like wise accepted: and Don Juan, presenting his hand to the figure, is instantly seized a ith a mortal terror; his conscience his awakened, and he is at once distracted and stung with remorse. Dlemons arise, bearing fiery torches, a flaming abyss opens, into which he ii precipitated, to receive the punishment due to his crimes. Such are the materials of the drama. DRIIIRV-LANE.—Montlay evening a new naulo-drama was presented at this Theatre, called The Innkeeper's Daughter. It is founded on the wclLknown ballad, " The Maid of the Inn." Mary, the heroine of the piece, Miss Kelly, is in love with Richard, a young sailor, Mr. Wallack, who is associated with a band of smugglers. The piece opens vs ith the burning and explosion of a vessel of the smugglers ; one of whom, in re ven;e, murders the Conger, in consequence of whose infor mation the vessel had been taken. Richard meets with the murderer, soon after the deed was !trip( trated, nail at his solicitation, assists hint to convey away the body In the mean time Mai y, to win a wager, and spew her WWII of fear at ghosts, goes to the close of an old abbey at mid night to pluck a slip of yew. The smugglers pass at the time with the body of the Guager, and tic hat of Richard drops off. Mary CoIICCIOS herself, and perceiving that a notriler has been committed, hot not recognising the persons of tio•e who passed her, carries off the hat, and .► presumption of the guilt thus fails on her lover. The Drama, however, does not, like the hallad, cm! here. Richard i. apprehended ithd con fined, but connives to escape ; and in the mean time proofs are hrunght forwai .1 cf his innocence, or rather of the guilt of Harold. The latter nips him to fly in a boat dining a violent storm; in the hope that he, and with him all elite to a discos cry of the murder, would en lost. 'l•he• boot sinks; but Richard chugs to a rto k, and is rescued liont it ►v the efforts of his mists ess thus the piece end•. The intereq of the piece is strong anti well kept up, though it but slightly approaches to the terrific effect of the ca!a.,troplie the ballad. The characters arc drawn not with much power, but with tolerable cor rectness. There xvai a sufficient number of pistols missing fire, and hair-bre:oth escapes, according to the approved receipts tin- ludo-animas: which, together with n little amusement from .the Gauger (Hughes) a Dutchman (T. P. Cooke), and a busy foolish Justice of the Peace, won it amAlerable popular favour, and it has been since repeated with increased applause. COVENT-o,la N.—OTI Miday night, after the play of - 7p/the/int., a new ineloAraine, flaunted on the well-known story of Robia3ms Cratoe, was brought kit at this Theatre. It professed to be founded On that Dart of the story which had not previonsly been dramatised, and which involves the hhtory of the Buccaneers The piece possesses a great deal of interest. The characters were well adared for reresentation, and ably per. THE NATIONAL REGISTER. formed. Farley was I?obinson esor, and Grimaldi his man Friday.—The Buccaneer part of the drama (which we do not recollect, though we have often read the story) involves a mutiny, at the head of which is Windlass, the boatswain ('['okely), against the Captain of the vessel, Diego ;Abbot), the son of Rohinson err soe, in which he is joined by the rest of the crew, with the exception of ITh4J, the mate (Emery). They set the Captain and his, Crnsoe's wife (Mrs. Parker), on Ro binson Crusoe's Island. Some very interesting and cu rious scenes take place in consequent*, in which Nip cheese, the ship's steward (Blanchard 1, bears a prominent part. The characters were well supported, partiCu lady Crusoe, IVipeherse, Friday, and WiwrNass, and the combats were well managed. 'The piece differs from former representations of' the same story, as pan tomime is avoided, and the characters are generally speakers. Even Mrs. Parker, we believe for the first time, uses her voice. The scenery is beautiful, and the dances are deserving of applause. The Misses Dennett danced a pas de trois, in tvhich they were encored. The dialogue of the piece is well written. If there is any objection, it is to be placed solely to the length. It has since been repeated, and is likely to survive the holi days, for which it seems to have been prepared. Mr. Booth, the new hero of Covent Garden, appeared for the first time, on Fridav night, in London at least, in the character of Sir Edward 3fortiwicr, in The iron Chest. This play, which borders a little on the Ger man School, is so familiar to the public, that criticism upon it would be superCnous. Placed, as Mr. Booth now is, as a kind of rival exhibitor to Mr. Kean, and as a magnet of attraction to Covent Garden theatre; yet being so new to the town, he is in a situation to require some liberal and even merciful considerations. Justice and candour induce us to say, that he is a young man of very considerable stage talents, and that • he is likely to become an eminent performer ; but he is not pos sessed of equal original genius with Mr. Ktan. Hence, though his Sir Edward Mortimer was very well re ceived by an audience by no means crowded, his per formance was greatly inferior to Kean's, in all the nicer and the stronger touches of the passions, which are ge nerally the closest tests of dramatic ability. As it was his first appearance in the part, improvement may be looked for. The new actors who are rising as candi dates for public favour and fame on the sun-set of the school of the Kembles, are said to be more natural than their immediate predecessors, who, with the exception of Cooke's intervention, held so long the taste of the lovers of the drama in magic chains. It• may be so: but yet bustle and activity, and a tolerable share of natural ability, arc seldom sufficient compensations for the want of a close and correct study of the authors whose conceptions they attempt to penamify. There was certainly often a cold, elaborate, artificial manage ment in the Kemblcs' school ; but it tended more to gratify persons of taste than the warm and smart ebul litions of young performers, who have not lent them selves sufficiently to their proper studies. Abbott rcr formed Wilford extremely well ; and we thought Mrs. Egerton deserved much praise as Judith. The musical parts of the piece were well executed. Saturday night restored Miss O'Neil, after a serious illness, to her pndessional labours at this Theatre, and to the expectations of a crowded audience. Her ap pearance was greeted with that warmth and cordiality with which the lovers of the drama, never fail, after a temporary absence produced by such a cause, to wel come the return of a deserving and established favourite. The kindness which prompted these plauditory compli ment.: made a visible impression on the feelings of Miss O'Neil, whose indisposition has left evident traces of its severity, without impairing in the least the merits of her performance. She resumed the character of Juliet, and enriched it with new beauties both of conception and execution. Never before did this victim of passion appear so natural or so engaging. It would seem as if the mo ments of sickness, instead of being surrendered to a cor responding indoknce, had been converted into profit able leisure, and studiously applied by this distinguished actress to the cultivation and depelopement of new fa culties. Every shade of thought or feeling was touched by a preceptien of unerring a. curacy ; no latent charac teristics were left unrevealed ; and every bur:it of sen timent breathed the fire and cneigy of n!Ltui . e. It is im possible to detach from a piece of acting so beautiful in its symmetry, any scenes of pect: I lam!. seearate excellence. To the native graces of her 1/IVII manner she added, as the progress of the action required, and in themanagement of the lighter incidents, all the nrtsof womanly fitscination ; and as her heroine adva7 evil to the crisis of her fa te assumed a thrilling tenderi:css of espressh.n, and those accents of despairing soma., which first-rate artirts Inow how to employ in exciting the sympathies and actions of our nature. Anode proof kal been heretofore afford sl of Miss O'Neil's , operioritv in the ddineatii n of this character, by the crowfled houses that her rare at tracted to a dram which expe.ri.mce Intl shown not to be calculated in itself for frcqnent repetition ; but never was that superiirity so incontestibly asserted as by her perthnnance of it on Sattinhty night. Mr. Abbott played .llereutio in place of Mr. Jones, with leas of ex travnennt vivacity than his predeccsi.:Jr, but with no striking inferiority of hum our. - ; 117 'rue SUMAIIIR THEATREB.----On Easter Monday the following Minor Theatres commenced their career of amusements :—Sadler a Wells, the Surry Theatre and Royal Circus, and Astley's Amphitheatre, Webtminster Bridge. The amusements at these little The atrea iTo • not seem is. all to be abated by the pressure of the times. There is the same brilliancy, the same attention, the same disposition on the part of the proprietors to please, and the same desire on that of the public to be pleased as on former occasions. THEITRICAL TUMULT. GLAfOOW THEATRE.—Friday being the last night of Mr Kean's engagement at Glasgow, a tremendous crush took place at the opening of the various doors of the Theatre : in which n;any 10Z their cloatbs torn, and others their pockets picked. One gentleman had a long coat converted into a neat spencer or jacket, by the mere motion of the crowd • and several had the misPortune of 'tiding a friendly hand in their pockets, and could not prevent the theft being committed by !Timm of both their hand; being raised to preserve their hats. The play was that of " Bertram, or the Castle of St. Aldo hrand," which was performed for Mr. Kean's beneit, and was received with unanimous platolits, till •be die of the third act ; when Imogene desires tl e stranger (Bertram) to be introduced into her presence. Clat'lda, accordingly went out for Be tram, hut no Pe /rims was to be found, and Imogene (performed by Mrs. Cooper) was obliged to rctiie from the stage. At last Mr. Kean n tide his appearance, bu.t was received with !cud noise and disappr bation by the audience, and an apology culled for. Mr. Ken, with bat irresistible turn of fea. tore, !coked o the :.rdi e--moved his lies in -ilenee— his ceuntenan , e t:nd wanner -Foie more than a th o usa n d anclogies— be was fir iven, andhu zraed with lot: d tokens • of approbation. . The audience conceived that the fourth act had been shortened, and immediately grocns, hisses, catcalls, &e. re-echoed from every quarter of •he house. In vain the fifth art was attempted to he gone throne—the per formers were at last obliged to retire. Loud and re peated calls of " Johnston"—" Manager"—" Fourth act repeat( d"—" Apology"—" Off, off"—were I card ' from every part. At last Mr. Johnston came. " What are your commands, G: ntlt men ? I am called I I now not why ; tell me them, that they may be mtendee to." " Fourth act over again!" from every month. Mr. Johnston said, that were the play to be performed the way it was originally written, it would te•danined.— Some wag replied, that it was darneed even as it was, and Johnston had at length to leave the stage. The fifth net proceeded, but it wes nu bet , er than pantomime complete dumb show ; nothing could le heard for the hisses, groans. and marks of disapr r bution of every kind. In this manner the play was cone'uded—in a manner very unusual indeed in a Glasgrw Theatre, to hear si. eh uproar ; and nothing can give a better idea of the mile than the 0. P. riots in London. During the noise and uproar, Mr. Kean came for ward on the stage and motioned to be heard : and silence at lust obtained, he, with a lock of ineffable turned up his countenance to the galleries, and add' u s ed the Gods with, " What is your pleasure, Gentlemen?" ' A s these gentlemen had been the I•eginners of the uproar, and as the way in which Mr. Kean expressed this ad drc as was so laconic, it had an instantaneous effect on those of the lower regions, and they immediately com pletely outdid the cetcstia/inhabitants, in their turn, with their shouts of applause. A writer in the Glanrotv Herald, on this subject, says, the audience retired in great disgust. Instead of the lively expression of the character Mr. Kenn had adopted for his final appe.nruace, and the strn..g display of feeling it na:umlly (It mandi, and be is so well cal culated to exhibit, they acre surprised by a careless, inanimate, and uninteresting representation. The ec neral o:.inion, though naturally scarce credited at Fret, was, that Mr. Kean was labeurig. under the effects of intoxication ; an opinion which. I am sorry to s a y, t}•erc was filially too good reason to btlieve. The Way, wise, was so mangled and rurtailril, nod Mr. 1; can's part, and the others, so ill fir cd, that the displeasure of the audience, heightened by some iwproner (imam stances in his conduct, began to show itself, towards the end of the 4th act, in considerable signs of disapproba tion ; and as the curtain crew np a: t 1::: •, the hisses and groans were. so lei,cl ruin r. eller)! as • o pre clude the possibility of a word being heard After some lame and unsatisfactory attempt!: at apolot•' - . Mr. Kann and the other actors, *oriel :11l the winch. nt en stoutly with their parts in dumb show, till (a thing un precedented in the curse of his brilliant t:.•ecr the curtain (Implied amidst mumernus marts and univtrsal feelings of disapprobation. We are desired by the Drury-lane managers, to eon. tradict a statement whi,b has appeal.. .a in .ome never? papers, that the committee of Drury-lane theatre e.. 'Banded a rent of 16,0001. I,csides q.e taxes, &c., .t-d the purchase cf the wartlmbc. Tl , , rnmittee on he contrary, do not prorcse ary terms, 1 1 t expect the bid dings to be made by sealed :cr.lers, uron a clear :.• nual. rent, fur a term of yours, ...%e • f .