The Express.
London, England, 1847-07-23 00:00:00

RU(C.

Hsi MAIWITYS THUTW.E.—Verth's opera, com-
posed Mthis tlssedm, " I Xemadieri," was pnwiestd. last
evathag;the esmpsoor kimealf andeetieg the thribmasoce.
A mew WI% awl as aptheeathe Of homy Liad is a new
ohameter, moiled so swan ocemostioa ha the seeded circles,
aad drew lee of the most crowded-tedithow we ham over
seen in bar Majway's Theatre. Ilse opera is a version of
4, The Itaiders" of &hiller. The alluseter of
The itegthrze" is is its favoar,otheldwed maseetthet hales
misted the gr. It is meth mare laths& to le the Mai&
doe at es opera than • awoke and alessiod tragedy ; and
amordieldg we dad that the Mks drew*, the Cavaliers
be, bete swtheeift baggy it Ida weak of trassasata-
Mew He hoe oihred des* to the gleamed losidests of
Iltel PlaWalseleg deb& far while • atheical
rime eel moth eiterlas a flow sisthmstaaess
white me speadewsble la pit of taste end Jodgmes• mad
l'Alwthgp_lllo, awe of the most hither gamins of the
drum Massy when noon an tramlasing Arm delsfllrr,
when owe Inpip linsiond with grtht lbnesad beauty.

The rising of the curtain discovered Carlo ilo%, (personated
by Dirdoli zparttneti of a vi'iege fsn, Wm ea
his fines sine., and listening with disgust tali* drunken
songs of his profligate companions in the out rum. 1;:a
soliloquy was a recitative, finely delivered, and an, air,
solftelently common in itself, but sung with mat %tang.
Here, he receives the letter flea his um hurt antroancing
ant his father has cast him off, and agree with his ecen.
to form a band of robbeee—b resolution which
=ai the subject of a noisy chores. After some scenes, in
which the villain &specie (or Frisneesco) is introduced with
little effect, the old Count Maximilian is discovered sleeping
on a conch, and Amalie watching over him. This tableau
as presented byLablache end Jenny Lind, was beautiful.
Her figure bending over the old man, her face beaming with
tender pity, and he, soft accents, praying, with celestial
sweetness, that his sleep might he tranquil, were moving
in the extreme; but we were quite unable to compre-
hend the composer's design in immediately putting into
her mouth an air full of brilliantforiture Notwithstanding
the exquisite manner in which it was sung, its went of doe
matic truth seemed to be felt bdrihe audience. Francesco
enters with his agent Arai/tie ised es a messenger, who
announces the death of Carlo. e old man sinks fainting
in his chair, while Ansolia shrieks that he is dead, and Fran•
cesco, with a burst of fiendish joy, exclaims—" Dead! I am
master now !" This 'cue is loomed into a quartet of some
musical beauty, and greet dramatic power, which closed the
first act with much erect. The tamed aet diecoven Antalia,yl
deep mourning, kneeling at her uncle's tomb. The sir,
" Voles* alma beata," is • simple and expressive melody,
which Mdlla, Lind sang with indescribable sweetness and
feeling. Arminio, repentant of his deceit, hastily enters
and tells her that her lover yet lives. After a moment's
stupor, as if overwhelmed by excess of happiness, she burst.
into • strain of rapture, Carlo vive ? 0 care accento!"
which Mdik. Lied made the most striking presage in the
ra ope. It was truly " Joy's ecstatic measure," and seemed
to throw the whole audience into transport@ equal to those
which it expressed. They encored it with acclamation, and
called for her again after she had left the stage.
In the following scene, in which Francesco's addresses
are indignantly rejected by Asseilies, Coletti's powers were
exhibited to great advantage. The remainder of this act
presented nothing remarkable. A seen consisting of Car-
lo's musings on the setting sun, translated from the beautiful
language of Schiller, end evidently intended to be a promi-
nent feature, had no effect whatever, notwithstanding the
excellent manner in which it was delivered by flardoni. In
the third act, Aesalia, having. fled from the castle,
is found by Carlo in the neighbouring forest. This
scene of their recognition was beautifully performed.
Her boundless, confiding love, contested with his
deep sense of guilt and misery, were truthful and
affecting; and the concluding duet, "Luse resplendere,"
was brilliantly executed. The scene in which Carlo diem-
vers his father, and rescues him from his dungeon, brought
Lablache again upon the stage. The old males story of his
son's horrible wickedness, thrown into an arid parlante, was
told as Lablache only could tell it, with a simplicity and
depth of expression which produced a thrilling effect on the
audience. The scene in the fourth act, in which
Francesco Metes his terrible dream—the most power-
ful passage in the original play, was well deli-
vered by Coletti, but marred by the composer's errone-
ous idea of its musical expression ; and indeed the appalling
horrors of the description were beyond the strength of Verdi
—they would have required the genius of Beethoven in his
darkest hour. The shuddering, conscience-stricken wretch
should have told his fearful tale of death and judgment in
low, trembling accents, accompanied by deep and hollow
murmur from the orchestra, instead of delivering •
piece of ranting declamation, and contending with the
trombone players in strength of lungs. The final scene
was rendered deeply affecting by the acting of Madman!
sells Lind and Lablache. When Amelia, with die-
ordered dress and dishevelled hair, was dragged in by the
robbers, her looks of wild affright as she pond an the
savage groups around her—her burst of joy sad 111110 OR 111111
threw herself into Carlo's arms—her utter deseindon when
she heard him declare himself the chief of the robbers—and
the eagerness , with which she seemed to court the blow
from her lover's hand, which wu to be the last proof of
his lore—all three things were scarcely more deeply
moving than the utter helpless misery of the poor
old man as expressed by Lablsche in every look, tone,
and gesture. These effects, great as they were, derived no
aid whatever from the music; and this, indeed, was the case
throughout the greatest part of the opera, which certainly
has owed its success more to its striking dramatic character
and its admirable performance than to its merit is a musical
work. Those, in abort, who admire Verdi already, will ad-
mire the music of this opera; those who do not, will not be
converted.

ROYAL ITALIAN OPERA.—We recorded, not long
since, our admiration at the Covent-garden performance of
" Don Giovanni." Last night " Figaro " was produced
with equal excellence—indeed, both these masterpieces have
been given here With greater completeness and general pre.
cision than on any former occasion—at least within our re-
collection. In the performances of last night we have to
notice, as the chief and most interesting novelty, the ap-
pearance of Mdlle. Alboni as Cherubino. Never have we
seen the part so worthily filled. This accomplished artist
possesses not only the mechanical facility of the best school
of Italian vocalisation, bat those rarer and Wither qualities,
tender and heartfelt pathos, and reverence for the text of a
classical author, the purity of which she never invades by
the slightest interpolation. In short, her singing of
Mozart's music is perfection, and in the air, " Voi
rho sapete," her thrilling tones reached the hearts of
all her auditor,. Marini, as Figaro, .sang judiciously and
acted with discretion, although lacking somewhat of the
airy vivacity which belongs of necessity to the character.
Madame Steffanoni was the Countess; Signor Rovere, Don
Bartolo ; and Signor Lavia, Don Basal° ; Susannah and
the Count being played, as on many former occasions, by
Grisi and Tamburini. After the opera a new ballet, under
the title of "La Rosier.," was performed. It is rendered
effective by some good scenery, tasteful grouping, and, above
all, the clever dancing of Mdlle. Fuoco.