The Press.
London, England, 1857-10-31 00:00:00

M. JULLIEN'S CONCERTS.

THE quietest and best-behaved audience ever assem-
bled at Jullien's opening promenade concert was
assuredly the one gathered last night within the
walls of Her Majesty's Theatre, and yet the pit
flooring was crowded to excess. It is true that after
the National Anthem and Rule !Britannia, the pitites
singing the latter with great gusto, their spirits began
to be effervescent, and the classical games of forming
a ring and of bonneting with obligato cries and
exclamations were commenced ; but Jullien, who
since the failure of the Surrey Gardens has turned
orator, addressed the mutineers, and in plain terms
requested them to conduct themselves as gentlemen,
oddly enough reminding the yelling " sepoys" of the
house that the Casino had lost its licence, owing to
the misconduct of the frequenters thereof—a hint to
the disaffected which Mr. Lumley must have
considered highly complimentary to his aristocratic
establishment. The appeal, however, was not made
in vain, and there was " silence in Israel" whilst the
new operatic selection;on themes from Don Giovanni
was performed. It was concluded by some amateurs
that Jullien had effected a revolution in the prome-
nade blackguardism of the former days. May it not
be ascribed to tither reasons ? How was it that the
lovely andante from Mendelssohn's " Italian Sym-
phony," and the grand storm-movement from
Beethoven's " Pastorale," were heard without a
hand? Are the promenade frequenters tired of
being told to admire fine mw-ic ? Has not high art
at a shilling at the Surrey Gardens signally failed ?
M. Jullien's polka-mazurka— which, after all, is
nothing but a mazurka, albeit " originated by a
curious incident at a Moscow ball on the occasion of
Alexander's coronation"—and his English Quadrille,
evidently tickled the ears of the masses hugely.
Jetty Treffz, from Vienna, is to be the 'vocal
star this season of Jullien's concerts. Her

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voice, never very good in quality, is not
what it was, and her style of drawling " Vedrai
carino" was monotonous. She was well received,
not the less, and was encored, giving poor Sir Henry
Bishop's " Home sweet home " with such excellent
accent and simplicity, as really to touch her hearers.
Perhaps the recollection of absentees in India might
have come across many minds. The soloists of the
night were T. Harper, whose "Soldier tired" on the
trumpet was mercilessly redemanded, in spite of its
enormous and trying difficulties for the excellent
player ; Mr. R. S. Pratten, flute ; Lavigne, oboe ;
Lazarus, Iclarionet ; De Folly, piccolo, Sec. Romig
was announced, but did not show ; his place was
filled by the first cornet-a-piston from the Coldstream
band, a decidedly clever player. The orchestra,
although not so strong as at former concerts, is effi-
cient. Willy is chef d'attaque. General Wilson
having just taken Delhi to oblige M. Jullien, the
last-mentioned commander-in chief has issued the
following order of the day :—" In active rehearsal
and shortly to be produced, a grand descriptive com-
position entitled ' The Fall of Delhi,' composed by
M. Jullien, as a companion to the ' British Army
Quadrille' and the ' Fall of Sebastopol.' Consider-
ing the quantity of artillery employed at the late
assault, it may be assumed that Jullien's efforts will
be "stunning." A month of these musical caricatures
from the idiosyncracy of the conductor may pass
muster with the English public, but to associate such
exhibitions with art progress is an insult to the
common sense and good taste of the metropolitan
amateurs, who believe such assurances as much as
they credit the musical martyrdom at the Surrey
Gardens of Jullien, " with his personal expenses at
V. per week," his nightly mist en seine alone con-
tradicting his economic theory. The interior of the
theatre has been decorated precisely as it was last
year, and the effect is animated.

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