The Press.
London, England, 1857-06-27 00:00:00

JuNt 27, 1857.

ing this acute sensibility, his enunciation becomes
choked, and the notes are often emitted from the
throat. His Catalonian enthusiasm—he is a native
of Barcelona—carries him away. With more
steadiness and self.possession he would achieve
infinitely greater results. We cannot illustrate our
tneaning better than to refer to the case of Giuglini,
who has not a tithe of the voice, wl ether in power
or in sympathetic quality, of Belart, but whose pure
method and unfailing a plomb give him a better
position with the general public. Belart has all the
elements of a great tenor, but he requires a guiding
band. He is young, and shot in stature, but he has
a well•formed figure, the grace of which will be seen
when he is not assuming the action of the rustic, as
in Elvin°. He has the faculty of fixing the attention
of his auditory on his movements whilst on the
stage—and this is a sign of no ordinary promise.
The magnificent singing of Alboni cannot remove
the physical objections to her Amiga, especially if
the Elvin° be undersized. She sang the rondo finale
so brilliantly as to insure her recall before the curtain,
firmly declining the encore. On a recent occasion
we had to protest against the Lisa. at the Royal
Italian Opera, as being unworthy of such an estab-
lishment, but the Lisa of Tuesday, at Her Majesty's,
was really " too bad." Corsi was the Count, singing
and acting like a thorough good artist, but he has
riot been yet well placed before the public. The
Doge, in the Due Foscari, is one of his great parts,
is which he ought to be seen.
Another morning performance is promised for
Monday, June 29th, when IL Don Giovanni will be
given for the convenience of those who have been
enable to attend during its extraordinary run as an
evening opera. The strength of the cast is now
well known, including, besides Giuglini, Spezia,
Ortolani, and Vialetti, Mile. Piccolomini and Signor
Belletti. An act of Sonnambula will be added, in
which Alboni and the new tenor Belart will sustain
the principal characters.
The benefit of Mlle. Piccolomini is fixed for
Monday evening, July 6th. The perfoirnances for
the evening will consist of the second act of the
Figlia, the last act of the Trovatore, the last act of
the Traviata, and the last act of I Martiri, in three
of which operas Mlle. Piccolimini will perform.

THE MUSICAL UNION.
RUBINSTEIN is still alive. He has survived the
onslaught of the daily press on his arrival. If ever
there was a case illustrative of the danger of prema-
ture condemnation of a new light, this is one. The
reaction has commenced rapidly. The Russian
composer was apparently hanged, drawn, and, we
were going to add, quartered, but he had no quarter ;
and now it is a question whether the return of any
pianist will be more heartily welcomed than that of
Rubinstein, or whether there be any young composer
whose works will be watched with more curiosity and
interest. " Magna est veritas et prtevalebit !" What
an excitement was that of last Tuesdey, when he
played in Mendelssohn's magnificent trio in C minor
with Sainton and Piatti—a Russian, a Frenchman,
and an Italian—such is the universality of art in an
age wherein nationality will pr3ve no passport for
mediocrity. Since the immortal Mendelssohn's cosi'
interpretation of this impassioned trio, never has
such a grandeur of effect been imparted to it. Such
was the sensation at Rubinstein, with his able col-
leagues, that Beethoven's quartet in E flat, op. 4,
which succeeded, was put completely into the shade;
and we regretted the placing of the programme, as
the trio ought to have ended the concert. The
sonata for pianoforte and violoncello, op. Is, Rubin-
stein's composition, and executed by him and Piatti,
elicited immense applause ; a quaintly piquant alle-
gretto, the subject being sustained chiefly by the
violoncello, was quite a gem in its way, and narrowly
escaped an encore. The sonata is the work of no
ordinary mind ; the ideas are free and flowing, and
the writing displays the mastership of a thorough
musician. Then followed a melody in F and a
caprice in F sharp, op. 21, (displaying striking on
ginality on the part of Rubinstein, who wound up
with a performance of the Turkish march from Beet-
hoven's Ruins of Athens. Here he rivalled Liszt in
orchestral power. It was a wondrous exhibition of
manual dexterity with all the light and shade of
instrumental effect. from the softest pianissimo to
the grandest climax. Nothing could be more pic-
turesque than the sound of the march heard in
the distance. The room rang with acclamations at
this splendid display of executive skill.

MR. BENEDICT'S CONCERTS.
Tnnnt was a large attendance at the second pro-
gramme on Wednesday afternoon at Her Majesty's
Theatre. Alboni, as before, was the great star, and
her sinning or the " Che faro senza Euridice," from
Gluck's Orfeo, was the grand displaf of the day. It
was originally intended to have produced this work
for Mario at the Royal Italian Opera, and perhaps