The Express.
London, England, 1863-06-18 00:00:00

THE PLOTS OF OUR PRINCIPAL OPERAS.

The Hon. Mrs. Norton, writing to the Times,
in defence of her new novel, "Lost end Saved," says :
"It is complained that this is not a book for the very

young. I did not write it for the very young ; I should nut
give novels to the very young, any more than I should
teach my daughter French out of ' Gil Bias,' though that
was a general fashion in the last generation. I myself read
no novels—saw no plays—nor ever attended the opera till I
was married. And to those who object to a story of the

cruel vices of fashionable life, written with a moral purpose
and an effort at wanting, I must say that this last amuse-
ment struck me then with a surprise which so after [anti.
liality has ever obliterated. The opera is unquestionably
the favourite amusement of the English aristocracy. Now,
what are the plots of the principal operas?
"The plot of Don Giovanni use well known that the name

has phased into a byword for profligacy. Is Norma two
Druid injection, are forfltitede Th, elder prlestesa, with
consummate hypocrisy, continues to head all sacred rights
till jealous frenzy forces from her the fact that she is the
_ . .

mother of two children. These children she threatens to

murder, but spares, and is ben elf executed ; leaviug it
doubtful whether or not the younger primates and lateen-
stent lover are to' live happy ever after,' or not.
"La the Sonnowdrela a young lord put. up at the village

inn, where two young women walk into his room at night;
one from wantonness, the other because she is a somnambu-
list. The somnambuhst, who was a bride on the point of
marriage, is unable to convince her betrothed by any
amount of melodious argument that she is innocent, till.
during a repetition of her somnambulism, he le compelled
. . . . . .

to admit that ' seeing is believing,' and all ends happily.
" In the Favorite • young monk falls in love with • lady
while dipping their mutual fingers in holy water ; forsakes
his monastery ; lives a life of pleasure ; goes to the wars,
and returns, covered with glory, to claim her hand. But
he discovers she is mistress to a king ; so renounces the
tainted bride and returns to his monastery ; where the lady
arriving, disguised as a male novice, he instantly reverts to
his earthly passion and proposes to her to elope. He then
finds that she has poisoned herself, sod, appointing the next
day for his own death from a broken heart, the piece eeds.
"In Luers--ia Borgia • beautiful youth, of unknown
parentage, falls in love at brat sight with his own
mother! Not knowing this fro:, but learning that she
is the infamous Lucrezia Borgia, he clambers up and strikes
out the first letter of her carved name with his dagger,
leaving the word ' Orgia.' Seized while completing this
insult, and dragged before her husband, a pretended pardon
from the latter (who believes him to be Luerezia's para-
mour) is followed by the presentation of • cup of poison.
Lucretia offers an antidote ea soon as she can, and he la
saved for the *once. But, attempting to destroy • whole
group of her Monitore, with whom he is feasting, she
poisons him over again. A few drops only of the antidote
remain, which he magnanimously refuses to take, aims
there is not sufficient to share with his friends. He there-
fore dies ; learning at the lust moment that the fatal
enchantress he had adored is his profligate mother.
"In Bigoleao the buffoon or jester in another most profli-
gate court has a beautiful daughter, who is seduced by the
duke, his muter, while he is encouraging the duke's vices
and ridiculing the misery of as aged nobleman in whose
&wily the like misfortune has occurred. Cursed solemnly
by the old nobleman, be discovers that his daughter is
ruined, and that he buns& connived at her fall, thinking
it was the abduction of some other woman. Finally, he
hires an assassin to murder the lover, tie him up in a sack,
and throw him into the river ; but the daughter is unfor-
tunately murdered in mistake by the hired bravo, so that
when the father triumphantly drags out the sack with the
bud; be finds it to he the corpse of his own child.
" W• have, besides these, an operatic version of Goethe's
Faust; and the Trernga, a story of an' oaf ortunate' be-
loved by • young gentleman of good fortune, and held to
be (Heaven knows why) a more improper opera than even
Leonia Borgia.
"Such are the subject" which twios or three times • week
recreate the understandings of the higher classes of Great
Britain. Whatever of sensuality can be added to these
themes by the sensuality of sweet music, the glitter of
light, and decoration, and the usual temptations of •
theatre, find their full measure in that ever fluetuatieg
crowd, the whole entertainment winding up with the
' ballet,' an amusement which as intelligent India, goalie-
man affirmed it bad ' paralysed him with astonishment' to
find was an entertainment for both eel's."

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