The Press.
London, England, 1856-08-09 00:00:00

THE PRESS.

scene of the Traviata the " apotheosis of prostitu:
Lion." THE PRESS stood alone in this view of the
disgusting drama when it was first produced. The
diurnal musical critics never made the discovery, but
the editorial writers, when it is too late, whoa the
scandal and the mischief have been perpetrated,
come out vigorously. The licence to Alfieri's Myrrha
has been refused to Ristori. The licence to the
Dame aux Camelia. was rejected for the English
translation, but the Italian version ha 4 been ap-
proved by the authorities and been accepted by the
subscribers at Her Majesty's Theatre.
To conclude, the doings of the brief season are not
provocative of much comment. It was a state of
transition, and the director had to work against
time; many sins of omission and commission may,
therefore, be passed over ; but Mr. Lumley must not
forget the rock on which be split in former days,
namely, in looking too much to the audience portion
of his noble theatre, and not paying sufficient at-
tention to bis stage. If he will attend to the effi-
ciency of the ensemble therein, the preferable site
of the house cannot fail to tell; but if success is to
be achieved solely on the star system, sustained by
clacquism, and by puffing publicity, it requires no
prophet to foretell the future.

POYAL ITALIAN OPERA.
REVIEW OF THY SEASON.

THE closing scene of the famed Govent•garden
Theatre was a disgusting bal masque, given by the
wily Wizard of the North, and a fire which consumed
the whole of the interior of the house, together with
the costly scenery, appointments, and musical
library, the collection of nine seasons of the Royal
Italian Opera, under various managements. The
morning of March 5 looked like the expiring glare
of the lyric light of other days. For a moment it
seemed as if there would be an end of those magni-
ficent performances which had rendered London the
possessor of the finest Opera in the world ; but Mr.
Gye's energies were not to be defeated by the cata-
strophe, the origin of which, to the public, will always
remain a profound mystery, whilst the initiated few
could only mutter their dark suspicions. On the
15th of April following the sad event, the Lyceum
was opened with Verdi's Trovatore, her Majesty and
a long list of fashionable subscribers being present
on the occasion. In little more than a month the
theatre had been fitted up with private boxes and
stalls, and the services of the entire company had
been retained, the artists, both vocal and orchestral,
in skin concessions as to their salaries, highly honour.
able to them all. But the arena was small, although
the subscription was large, and there was little room
for the miscellaneous public, large receipts under
the old regime being cut off. To meet this difficulty
the happy notion was conceived of farming the corn
pany to the Crystal Palace Company for twelve weekly
concerts, and to this source of additional revenue
was superadded the engagement of the great Italian
tragedienne, Ristori. These combinations, promptly
and skilfully made, have produced their fruits—one
of the most successful seasons the Royal Italian
Opera undertaking has yet experienced. The tenth
year, in fact, in place of being a loss to the directors,
as was feared, has proved most prosperous, and a
surplus is left for the erection of the new theatre,
which, it is given out, will assuredly not be postponed
later than the season 1858, and it is not quite out of
the bounds of possibility for 1857. To make
sure, however, of a locality, Mr. Gye has taken
Drury-lane Theatre, first, for his winter per-
formances in conjunction with M. Jullien, and,
secondly, for the ordinary Italian Opera campaign
at the usual period, namely, at Easter, 1857.
That sound discretion was exercised in re-
sorting to the Lyceum in the first instance, there can
be now no doubt. But the subscribers and public,
as well as the artists, will be glad to be emancipated
from its narrow precincts. The theatre is not well
adapted for sound, and the smallness of the pit left
no room for the applauding operatic amateurs ; and by
these the organised claque is not referred to, for Mr.
Gye has honourably followed the example of the
original founders of the Rnyal Italian Opera in dis-
pensing with the services of these handy gentry with
their premeditated impromptus of bouquets and
wreaths. Applause is unquestionably a powerful
incentive to artistic exertion. There are many ar-
tists who cannot play or sing if not cheered by their
admirers, but the approbation which is so bestowed
per order has become an intolerable nuisance. A
smart critic, a foreigner, remarked the other day, in
discussing the abilities of Mr. Lumley and Mr. Gye,
" the director of Her Majesty's Theatre makes the
most of a little talent, whilst the director of the
Royal Italian Opera makes the least of a great
talent." There is truth in this observation. Excess
in " working the oracle " to make a sensation is no
doubt a bore, but apathy in not turning to account
undoubted ability is also a great mistake. Without
specifying names, there are artists who have sung

765

this year at the Lyceum who would have been great
prize in Mr. Lumley's hands. Between outrageous
puffery and judicious publicity there is a wide differ-
ence.

Mr. Costa has not repeated his enormous effort
of 1847, the opening season, when he mounted
seventeen works. In 1858 the number was only ten,
the pledges in the prospectus unfulfilled being Ros-
sini's Otello and Gazza Ladra, Cimurosa's Matrimonio
Segretto, Donizetti's Don Pasquale and Lucia, Verdi's
Traviata, and Beethoven's Fid&lio. Ll:hi:Lobe's ab-
sence from illness is sufficient excuse for some of
these omissions. The non-production of the Traviata
was a great boon; the music, except in the last act,
is feeble, and it was quite enough to have ccughing
instead of singing from one prima donna in a con-
sumption. The account will therefore stand thus
as regards the labours of the season :

O. OF REM.
SZNTATIONS.

OPERAS. COMPOSERS.
Trovatore
Rigoletto Ditto .... 8
Elisir d'Amore Donizetti. 7
Lnerezia Borgia Ditto .... 6
Favorita Ditto .... 5
II Barbiere Rossini .. 4
Comt Ory Ditto .... 4
Norma Bellini .. 4
Furitani Ditto .... 3
Don Giovanni Mozart .. 2

52
The above list, as will be seen, is without a novelly,
but some changes in the casts, and some debuts, are
worthy of notice. Tamberlik having left for Rio
Janeiro in May, Mario took his post in the Trova-
tore, in which Mme. Bosio followed subsequently
Mme. Ney as Leonora. In the Puritani Grisi re-
sumed the juvenile Elvira, and Gardoni succeeded
Mario as Arturo. This variation, of course, settled
the Puritani as a draw. A new tenor, Neri-Baraldi,
one of infinite promise, sung one night only in
Nemorino. Mme. Devries pleased at the Crystal
Palace Concerts, and displeased as Donna Anna,
which, being one of Grisi's greatest characters, she
gave up. These are eccentricities, the key to which
can only b 3 found in the secrets of the coulisses.
Apart from artistic caprices and management errors,
everybody has admitted that the majority of the per-
formers this year were worthy of the Royal Italian
Opera fame. Perhaps no greater treat was found
than in the Comt Ory—albeit, not one of the most
generally attractive works in the repertoire. In the
singing there was little to remark; Gri,i and Mario
were much the same as heretofore, having their
grand moments, in which they are unapproachable,
and their little contrarieties. Bosio has taken a de-
cided step in advance, and Mme. Didee is improving.
Ronconi remains the unaltered tragic and comic
artist, his Don Giovanni failure not disturbing his
fame. The ballet has been null and nil, although
with Cerito, now the first of danseuses. The reten-
tion of Beverley as scenic artist, and of Mr. Harris
for the mise•en-scent, is sufficient to mention to prove
that the stage business has been attended to. The
loss of the grand operas has been felt; for, after all,
the speciality of the Royal Italian Opera, and one on
which its glory has been earned, is in the noble
works of Meyerbeer. The opportunity will here-
after be afforded to remount them, and when the
period arrives it will be for Mr. Costa to communi-
cate with the composer as to certain restorations,
and to amend the " cuts" which were originally
made in the hurry of production. Some rumours
are afloat of changes in the company for next year,
but the names will not affect in any way the effi-
ciency of the ensemble, which is so properly regarded
as the chief characteristics of a Royal Italian Opera
representation.