The Press.
London, England, 1856-05-17 00:00:00

Pusir.

HER NIAJESTY'S THEATRE.
Wm. Mr. Lumley be able to maintain his position at
the ancient Italian Opera-house, which all the world
knows he reopened last Saturday night, after the
portals had been closed for three seasons ? The
critics respond in the affirmative almost unanimously,
but they were equally positive in 1847, when the
Royal Italian Opera startled the town. And Mr.
Lumley has doubtless grown wiser by his experience
than to trust implicitly to journalism. The geo-
graphical advantages of Her Majesty's Theatre are,
no doubt, great—the exquisite symmetry of the
interior is admitted—the amber-coloured curtains
charm many connoisseurs—and the feline attributes
of operatic visitors, as to house and faces, may be
overwhelming ; but all these attractions and pecu-
liarities will not suffice for the musical masses, which
perversely will throng tO the localities—be they east
or be they west—where fine performances can be
heard. It is a question of art, and not of situation—
a feeling for artists, and not a prejudice for managers.
Assuredly everybody must admire the courage and
perseverance with which Mr. Lumley has struggled
for years to reconquer the ground he lost—and the
manifestations of sympathy have been perfectly
natural—but there can be no mistake as to his ulti-

PIIE PRESS.

mate prospect?. If he presents a really fine opera,
he will succeed—if be returns to his old system,
he will fail as before. Laporte left him a magnifi-
cent enterprise, which for the first time in operatic
annals bid fair to be a permanently prosperous in-
vestment, inasmuch as the railroads had introduced
a class of supporters sufficient to fill the theatre
during the season, in addition to the fashionable fre-
quenters and regular subscribers. Let bygones be by •
gones. How Mr. Lumley lost his vantage-ground is
now matter for musical history. He is now striving
to regain it, and in his renewals of the struggle for
supremacy he must ponder on the past in order to
profit by the future. Now, the execution of Rossini's
Cenerentola, giving full credit to the delicious
vocalisation and incomparable organ of Alboni, and
to the pure Italian method, finished execution, but
unsympathetic voice of Calzolari' cannot restore the
musical fame of Her Majesty's Theatre. Beneven-
tano, the new baritone; Zucconi, the new buffo-basso;
Signor Vale°, the new second basso ; ani the repre•
sentatives of the two cruel sisters, may be summarily
dismissed as importations quite unworthy of the
place, in which they no doubt must have felt that
they had been so oddly misplaced. The braying cf
the brass is so powerful, that the stringed instru-
mentalists have little chance of distinction, and the
orchestra has, therefore, to win its laurels. There
are some good players, and the conductor, who is
zealous and painstaking, may, perhaps, make some.
thing of the entirety in time. The choralists are not
yet in working order. What the ensemble was can
be conceived, and it required all the charm of
Alboni's shower of pearls in the finale to excite the
enthusiasm of the amateurs and to compensate for
the deficiencies in the cast. The star system will
not, in short, answer; and if Alhertini, Piccolomini,
and Wagner are to make their public appearance,
adequate representatives should be found to support
them.

Belletti's first appearance on Thursday was highly
satisfactory. He sang the music and acted the part of
Figaro in the Barbiere with all the careful execution
and amusing vivacity for which he is famous. His
duet with Rosina," Dunque io son," and with Alma-
viva, " Ah! idea di quel metallo," were both admi-
rably executed. Alboni's Rosina and Calzolari's
Almaviva are well known. Alboni never sang the
" Una voce" or her duets more exquisitely, nor more
justly obtained the applause of the house. Calzo
lari's performance was marked by his usual correct
execution, but he was not in good voice. Bartolo
and Basilio were " respectably " sustained, as the
term goes. Of the ballet little more can be said
than that it is a slight but successful divertissement,
and has introduced to us four excellent dancers, of
which Bellon, agile, elegant, and vivacious, may
fairly claim the superiority.

ROYAL ITALIAN OPERA.
MME. Bosco, Mlle. Marai, Mrne. Didiee, Gardoni,
Zelizer, and Tagliafico, have reappeared in Rossini's
Comte Ory. The execution of this fine work was
noticed in THE PRESS of last season, as being one
of the most perfect and refined ensembles ever
heard within the walls of any lyric temple of art;
and its revival last Saturday at the Lyceum must be
a source or infinite delight to the subscribers and to
all admirers of the pure Italian school of composi
Lion and singing. Mme. Bosiu is advancing in her
art perceptibly this season. Mario, on his opening
night in the Lucrezia, was not Mario. As usual, he
begins his campaign with a reverse, to render more
striking his future triumphs ; and Grisi, aR is also
usual when Mario is under a cloud, was sublime in
the exhibition of the towering passions of the Borgia.
The advantage of having well-trained artists in the
background, should the great luminaries be not
forthcoming, was fully exemplified in the delineation
of the Duke by Zelger, on Tuesday, in place of
Ronconi. Didiee is not Alboni or Angri in Orsini,
but she is dramatic, and secures the redemand for
the drinking song. Costa is getting at home with
his orchestra; it was a rare treat in the Comte Ory.

CONCERTS OF THE WEEK.
WHAT a week for concerts—morning and evening!
What a task for the diurnal critics ! How do they
contrive to be present at the avalanche of matinees
and soirees, which increase so rapidly as to promise
to overwhelm even the organs exclusively devoted to
the record of things musical. The third PHILHAR-
MONIC, last Monday, was remarkable for a grand
display of singing on the part of Mdlle. Jenny Ney,
in the wondrous scena of Beethoven," Ali ! perfido,"
for the tine execution by Mr. Cooper, the able chef
d'attaque, of Spolir's violin concerto (dramatic), and
for the brilliancy with which the two Dopplers, aided
by Herr Huber, executed a concertante for two flutes
and violin. The symphonies (Beethoven's C minor
and Haydn's No. 10 in E flat) and the overtures
( Potter's Antony and Cleopatra, and Weber's Der
Freis:hutz) went steadily under Mr. Bennett's baton,
the current at these concerts running at present
agm inst new readings and against any strong colour-
ing, which current signifies, in point of fact, that the
band is master of the situation.

SATURDAY,
---

U

The chamber-music frequenters are all in ectasies
with Ernst's intensity in the andante of Mozart's
quartet in Or major, with Piatti's elegant violon-
cello playing, and Mme. Sohuma.nn's classical read-
ing of Beethoven's pianoforte air in C minor with
variations, at last Tuesday's Mustcm, UNION. The
German pianiste, on Wednesday night, again as.
tounded the amateurs at the third of Dr. Wylde's
concerts, given under the title of the " New Phil.
harmonic Society," a society which has no existence
except in name. She played her husband's concerto
in A minor, bristling with difficulties and brimful of
innovations, displaying the novelty of ideas in Dr.
Schumann's works, but lacking charm and cohe-
rency. Mr. Howard Glover's quaint cantata "Tam
o' Shanter" was repeated, under his own guidance.
Beethoven's symphony in A, and the three overtures
of Weber, Mozart, and Mendelssohn, were coarsely
handled, Dr. Wylde's oonducting being wavering.
The profits of the concert are to be given to the
Brompton Hospital for Consumption, If Dr. Wyide
will fairly hoist his banner, as the speculator in these
concerts, the musical public might appreciate his
labours.

The return to this country of the accomplished
pianiste Miss Arabella Goddard, who met her friends
at the Hanover-square Rooms on Thursday night,
will be heartily welcomed.
The concerts of Herr Schloesser and Mr. A. Goll-
mick are annuals, and it is thus that they make
known their pretensions as classic composers.
If admirers of orchestral playing desire a real
enjoyment, drop in at Mellon's " Union" concerts,
and it will then be proved how a well trained band,
even limited in numbers, can execute symphonies
and overtures, under a vigilant, sharp, and energetic

There is sad news this year for the lady amateurs
who grace the morning concerts. Such occasions,
as the French observe, are real solemnities, for do
they not supply the right moment to show of the last
" duck "of a bonnet? Alas! for all human institu-
tions! With the reorganisation of the two Italian
Opera•houses, has arrived Benedict's secession from
the monster morning concerts. Jenny Lind Gold-
schmidt has tempted him from his allegiance. He
goes this year to Exeter•hall, and in the evening !
What is to become of the bonnets ? Are they to be
exhibited at the Crystal Palace exclusively?

TESTIMONIAL TO COSTA.— Lord Willoughby de
Broke, the president of the Birmingham Musical
Festival of 1855, presented, last Monday, in the
Town-hall, a splendid piece of plate to Mr. Costa, as
a testimonial from the committee of management for
his generosity in handing over to the General Hos-
pital the sum of s^o/., the amount paid to him by
the publishers of Eli for the score. The subject
is appropriately chosen from the oratorio, and con-
sists of a group illustrative of the pri sentation of
Samuel in the Temple to Eli. the High Priest. Eli,
robed in rich vestments as High Priest, is placed on
a dais, on which stand the altar of incense, the table
of shew-bred, and the golden candlestick. Hannah,
accompanied by Elkanah, is in the attitude of pre-
senting Samuel to Eli. They have brought the ac.
customed offerings of wine and corn. The group is
executed in oxidised silver, with gold introduced in
the dresses of the figures, and in portions of the
ornaments employel. The group is placed ona
pedestal of Siena marble, on which is inscribed in
raised silver letters a quotation from the oratorio—
" Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the
Lord." The following inscription is engraved on a
silver scroll on the back of the pedestal ;

To Michael Costa, in commemoration of the first per.
formance, on the 29th of August, 18:55, of Eli, an
oritorio generously composed by him for the Birmingham
Festival in aid of the funds of the General Hospital. As
a tribute to his genius, and as a record of his disinterested
liberality, this testimonial is presented by noblemen and
gentlemen on the committee of management, 18,Y.W.
The testimonial was designed and modelled by Mr.
Charles Grant. The noble chairman spoke in strong
terms of eulogy of the great exertions of Costa in his
direction of the last three musical festivals. Mr.
Costa, in returning thanks, alluded to his kind recep•
tion at Birmingham in 1819, when he first came to
England an utter stranger.

Sly glrama.

DRURY LANE THEATRE.

Ax English version of Rossini's Cenerentola forms
the principal attraction at this house. The adapta-
tion is an old one, where Rossini's music meets with
no little alteration, and, instead of the original score,
we have the unhappie.l hash of operatic music ever
served up. Mr. Haigh, the new tenor, though sing-
ing with jndgment and taste, as the Prince, does not
achieve so great a success as in The Bohemian Girl,
but on the whole his performance is effective. He
possesses undoubtedly a very fine voice, but one
which study—and nothing but study—and practice
will render so far perfect as to enable him to achieve