The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1855-10-23 00:00:00

MUSIC .fArD THE DRAMA.

AT TILE TIIE.4.TRE-ROYAL, Mrs. F. German Reed, late Miss
Priscilla Horton, has been, in company with her husband,
delighting select and intelligent rather than very. numerous
audiences with an entertainment admirably suited to display
the vivacity and versatility of the charming vocalist and
actress. It is an entertainment in which the lady plays several
parts, in the same manner as the elder Mathews was in the
habit of doing in tlays of old, when the march of intellect had
not brought the world acquainted with so many prodigies of
wit and talent as now "strut and fret" their brief hour
upon the stage. The acting and singing of this lady are so
well known to the ',play-going world as to require no eulogium
from us; her merits in these respects have been ratified by a
delighted public ; and little remains for us to do beyond ex-
pressing the grateful satisfaction we experienced in listening
to her exquisite warbling of " The murmur of the Shell," and
her happy and varied yet all clever personations of Mrs.
Myrtle and Miss Snowberry.; of Mr. Perky Primrose and
Sir Johnquil. The other characters introduced by her are also
cleverly illustrative and most artistically delineated. Mr. Reed
is a judicious accompanist on the piano, and by their united
talents the lady and gentleman place before their audience a
mirth-provoking and interesting performance.
AT THE ROYAL AMPHITHEATRE, the celebrated tra-
gedienne, Miss Cushman, has been performing during the past
week, in the course of which she has given a series of her
favourite characters, including one or two not so familiarly
known by her performance of them in the provinces. Among
these was the character of Queen Catherine, in Shakspeare's
noble play of "Henry VIII ;" and Lady Macbeth. Her
personation of the former was given on Wednesday evening,
and although in the early portions of the performance her
port and bearing were queenly and impressive, as well as
striking and suggestive, the latter seems never scarcely equal
to what might have been expected from an artiste of her re-
putation and deservedly acknowledged talent. In the dying
scene particularly, it appeared to us that she mistook the
nature of ;the part, making it almost exclusively a reflex and
a harrowingly powerful one of physical pain, instead of, as we
have been led to regard the character, one of intense mental
agony. The indication of bodily suffering, as delineated by
Miss Cushman, was great, vigorous, and truthful • minute in
detail and broad in generalised effect. As Lady Macbeth
she was much more at home than in the patient, long-snffer-
ing, and much-loving Queen. Her Lady Macbeth was
energetic to the degree of grandeur ; and in the sleep-walking
scene she was impressive and original. Of the other per-
formers in these two fine dramas, charity induces us to be
silent,—but to repress the declaration of dissatisfaction in
respect to Mr. Loraine's Macbeth and Cardinal Wolsey, is
an effort of no ordinary self-denial. Miss Edith Heraud, on
Wednesday evening, as Donna Violante in the Wonder,
elicited well-deserved applause. This young lady makes a
good appearance, and promises still better. At the same
house, Mr. Wright, the favourite comedian, commenced an
engagement last night, appearing as Paul Pry in the play of
that name, and as Tristram Sappy in " Deaf as a Post."
AT THE CONCERT HALL, LORD NELSON-STREET, Madame
Anna Thillon, Mr. Augustus Braham, and Mr. Henry Drayton,
together with Mr. George Case, the celebrated performer on
the concertina, are to give a concert this evening, and on each
of the evenings of the week except Saturday. The programme
is varied and attractive, and the vocalists of high standing.
The present is Madame Anna Thillon's farewell visit to
Liverpool.