The Press.
London, England, 1853-06-25 00:00:00

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ROYAL ITALIAN OPERA.
On Saturday last Madame Medori, a lady who has
acquired a considerable reputation in various conti-
nental theatres, appeared for the first time iu London,
and obtained a decided success. She has a voice of
much power and mane sweetness, and her histrionic
ability, which in paint of intelligence and weaning
is
much superior to that of the great majority of prime
douse, gives an additional interest to her performance.
In person she is neither handsome nor even good-
looking ; but the energy she displayed, and the cer •
vsiuty and confidence with which she sang the music
of au opera she had never fully rehearsed in this
theatre, deservedly called forth loud applause from a
well-filled house. Madame Modori's defects aro
imperfect musical elocution and bad pronunciation.
We suspect, moreover, though it is scarcely fair to
speak after one hearing, that she is not overburdened
with musical feeling and sensibility. The music of
Maria di Bohan becomes more intolerable and ap •
pears inure worthless after every fresh hearing. We
should gladly have hoard the opinions of the fashion-
able critics had this opera been the work of au

English composer.
A short ballet divertissement produced the same
night is remarkable fur nothing except a very beau-
tiful scene painted by Mr. Beverley. The general
design and arrangement is excessively good, and
many of the subordinate parts are admirably executed.
If we are to find a fault we should say that a better
effect would have been obtained had the background
beenless undefined. Berlioz's opera, &menet° Gel-
lisi, is positively announced for to-night; and Mme.
Tedesco, a new singer, is to appear next week in
Meyerbeees opera 11 Pro/eta.

QUARTET' ASSOCIATION.
THE programme of the last concert was ax follows :
Quartett. No. 32, Haydn, WAWA (MM.), Piano and Violin, Bente-
diet, Brat time of perfornistuoti—guartett, N.'. L op. 44. Illeudela.
wadi; Solo Pianoforte, Tito Mattel; (trawl Nonotto,
The two quartetts were both led by Mr. Cooper,
and admirably executed. It speaks well fur M.
Sainton's feeling for art that he should take the second
violin part with so little hesitation. We were much
pleased with Mr. Benedict's sonata for pianoforte and
violin • the "intermezzo" movement in particular is
very clever and original. The performance of Spohr'a
nouetto received an additional interest from the pre-
sence of the veteran composer, and, with the exeeptimt
of one or two slips on the part of the horn, this most
important chamUy-work in existence woo RpII
played ; but we were 00011d0W1 ar more mail 4411
power amougst the stringed instruments thanioggr-
ps desirable. The boy Mattel is a very clever

pianist, and played with much expression. He
seems a fine•grown lad for his age (12 years). We
shall have occasion before the end of the season
again to refer to the performances of this society.

COLOGNE UNION.
THE members of this society gave their last concert
on Tuesday, and the conclusion of their admirable
and instructive performances gives us the opportunity
of offering a few remarks upon the subject of vocal
music, which, made with sincere honesty of purpose
and intended to remedy a crying evil, will, we trust,
be received in a right spirit by those persons to whom
they principally have reference.
We think there can be no question but that the
merit of the Cologne Union consists in the wonderful
precision of their intonation, and the readiness with
which they obey every motion of the conductor,
rather than in the good voices of the singers and the
expression which they impart to the music they per-
form. They are, in fact., a set of musical automatons
who, at the will of their instructor, move
in any given direction with incredible certainty and
excellent effect. Still, in perfect part singing, there
is something more required than the qualities for
which this company is so pre-eminently remarkable :
many vocal writings require to be felt as well as sung
by every individual performer, and in this respect the
Germans seem to us greatly inferior to our own
countrymen. If proof be required, we can with con-
fidence refer to the last meeting of the Choir Benevo-
lent Fund in Westminster Abbey, or the performance
of the music in St. Paul's Cathedral on the occasion
of the Duke of Wellington's funeral, as illustrating
what may be accomplished by a body of men and
boys, who, although unacquainted with each other
and strange to their conductor, by their intelligence,
self. dependence, and musical knowledge produced,
without rehearsal, a result far superior, not only
in quality of tone but in musical expression,
to anything we have heard from the Cologne
company. If, however, the truth of these observations
be admitted, the question may then be asked,
how comes it that the performances of the Cologne
Union have caused such a sensation in Lon-
don? If the merit we have already acknow-
ledged them to possess be no sufficient an-
swer, we will further reply, that the audience
which has attended these concerts has been almost
exclusively what the newspaper slang calls "fashion-
able," a class of society which, generally speaking,
exhibits more ignorance on the subject of music than
any other in existence. Their musical education is
almost entirely foreign; they are taught from their
infancy to despise everthing English ; and the manner
in which they run after novelty is most injurious to
art. Should they have a fancy to hear part
music, let them give a trial to the compositions of the
English school, and if these fail to please we will
unconditionally surrender our position. The con-
certs given by the highest classes in this country
have long been a reproach to their order.
There is neither meaning nor gratification in
bearing a series of hacknied Italian songs,
shorn of their orchestral accompaniments, and
*Alen sung in a slovenly manner. Our hope
is that we may live to see some improvement
effected in this particular fashion, and that the Eng-
lish glee, madrigal, and catch, the perfection of vocal
chamber music, may not for ever be allowed to lan-
guish unnoticed by those whose duty it is to foster
and encourage the music of their country.

Mr. Benedict's annual monster concert, which took
place on Wednesday last, was most fully attended.
Bach's triple concerto for three pianofortes, performed
by Miss Goddard and Messrs. Benedict and Hiller,
was a great treat to lovers of good music, and ap-
peared to give more satisfaction than any other piece
in the programme. A duet of Spohr's, for violin and
tenor, was most admirably played by Messrs. Stanton
and Vieuxtemps. If we could find the heart to part
with the greatest violinist in Europe, we could almost
wish that M. Vieuxtemps would become exclusively
a tenor--player. Certain it is that scarce anybody we
ever heard could so effectually give out the difficult
passages from this instrument with which the duet
abounds. Madame Viardot, in a new piece of Balfe's,
showed her wonderful powers of vocalisation to great
advantage; and a host of other artists, good, bad,
and indifferent, contributed their talents to amuse
and instruct an audience which sat with the utmost
patience from two o'clock till half-past six.