The Press.
London, England, 1853-08-13 00:00:00

~~ USIC.

ROYAL ITALIAN OPERA.
MERE can be no question but that the incapacity
of the modern Italian composers has been of advan-
tage to the public in this eonntry, in that. it has re-
sulted in driving the opera managements to produce
works of the Berman school of a high order of
merit; and thus the lack of original talent in the
land "of song" may fairly enough be said t) have,
in some measure, assisted the advance of the musical
art in our own. To this dearth of ability we are in-
debted for the production of Nleyerbeer's operas, as
well as those of Beethoven, Weber, Spohr, and other
classical writers, upon the Italian stage; and we
really seem to lave made a serious step towards
establishing, upon the ruins of the Italian school, a
lyric theatre which has some other °Wert in view
than to tickle the ears of fashion, and be the lounging-
place for dandies, and the fountain-head of slip-
slop. This year we were, amongst other things,
promised the opera of Jessonda, and though, as we
are told, unavoidable circumstances have combined
to prevent its production during the sojourn of the
illustrious composer in London, the opera was
brought out on Saturday last. The plot of Jessonda,
though in point of construction and imagination
much superior to that of Faust, is uninteresting and
without much pretensions. Sutliee it to say, that the
heroine is the widow of an aged Rajah, and being
young and beautiful, and moreover in love with a
Portuguese officer, has an excusable repugnance to
be burnt alive with the remains of her husband, and
that she is ultimately saved from the flames, and
united to her lover, through the agency of a renegade
priest, who betrays the city to the Portuguese army.
The music of this opera is exceedingly beautiful, and

THE PRESS.

well worthy of the composer's great reputation : a
certain degree of monotony inseparable from Spohr's
mannerisms, difficult style of writing, and want
of the power of dramatic construction, is per-
haps its only fault. But any defects which it may
possess are forgotten in the masterly instrumentation
and flow of original and lovely melody which pervade
the whole. work. No one will deny Spolir's genius as
a writer of orchestral and concerted music ; and, in
our judgment, the song of Jess(mda in the first act,
the duet between Jessonda and A mazili in the second,
as well EIS the songs of Tristram and Nadori, deserve
to be numbered amongst the best compositions for the
voice that have ever been written. The first act is
unquestionably the best of the three ; and it is
a matter of regret that, as the opera proceeds,
the interest should fall off; indeed, the finale
of the last act is singularly abrupt and poor.
The execution by the orchestra was all that
could be desired, but we can by no means speak as
favourably of the vocalists. Mine. Bosio has ob-
viously but little intellectual power, and seems in-
capable of singing music which requires thought as
well as mechanical dexterity. Her performance of
Jessonda was throughout ineffective and without
meaning ; and the unanimous demand for the repeti-
tion of the larghetto movement of the principal song,
as well as the general applause she obtained, were
more dm to the beauty of the music than to her in
dividual exertions. Signor Belletti was admirable as
Tristrano. He seemed thoroughly at home in the
music, and he sang his aria in so excellent a manner
that it was instantly redemanded. Signor Lucchesi,
as Nadori, exerted himself in a praiseworthy manner,
but he has neither ability nor physical power to
master the difficulties of a part which demands
talent of the highest order. Mine. Castellani
and M. Formes acquitted themselves respectably as
Amazili and Landau. The chorus wax weak and
unsteady, and seemed imperfectly acquainted with
the music. We do not presume to venture an opinion
as to whether Sp►hr's operas will ever be popular in
this country, but it is perfectly clear they never can
become so unless all the characters be performed by
competent singers. A great work, to be understood
by a general public, requires to be fully developed in
all its parts; and it follows, therefore, that, if the vo•
enlists are incapable of interpreting the ideas of the
writer, an untoward result must follow. With the
exception of the llayuenots, the Prophet, and the
Mayie Flute, the German operas have never been
produced at Covent Garden with efficient prime
demur; and the consequence is that they have not
attained that success to which their musical and
dramatic excellence entitles them. It is quite a mis-
take to suppose that good music is damaging to the
performer ; on the contrary, the greater the merit of
the work, the more the talent of the singer will shine
forth. The conduct of the Italians in invariably en-
deavouring to shuttle out of every part which involves
the study of classical or intellectual music shows a
distrust of their own powers as well as a want of true
feeling for their art.