The Express.
London, England, 1847-04-12 00:00:00

RUM.

HER MA, ERTY'A THEATRE.—Another opera by
Verdi—" I Due Foscari"—was produced at this theatre on
Saturday evening, with • degree of sucrose which we are
unable, we confess, to trace to a corresponding amount of
merit in the work. Verdi has become the Italian Opera
composer of the day; his countrymen have placed him on the
mast throne of Donisetti, whole laurels are alnedy
withered even in the land of his birth. Nothing can be more
;temend than Italian musical fame among that tickle peo-
: their composers " come like shadows, so depart," and,
If their names outlive their persons, it is only beyond the
Alps that they survive. From Milan to Naples the very
memory of Cansarosa is dead ; and if the churning " Matra-
monio Segreto" is still occasionally heard, it is in • German
a French, or an English—never an Italian theatre. Suet:
being the fleeting nature of Italian fame, its value is bat ;
small ; end the prevalence of the present furore for Verdi
says nothing either for its durability or for its foundation In I
good taste and judgment. He at first attracted notice by a
peculiarity of manner which bad the semblance of original
genius. When we hear his music for the first time, it has an
air of novelty and freshness, because it departs from the form
and phraseology repeated and hackneyed throughout the
fifty operas oftlonizettl. Bat this prestige isdestroyed by fur-
ther acquaintance with Verdi. As websar he operas in suc-
cession the peculiarity of his manner remains, but its
novelty and freshness disappear. We become more and
more aware of the narrow range of his ideas, and the
limited Meat of his resources. We find that his effects are
produced by a broad, simple, and familiar melody, some-
times imposing and expresave,but more frequently trite end
sommon, and with so little variety of phis*, that their uni-
formity at length becomes matstonoes. Every pert of his
operas ts made up of this kind of melody—an air, a cm-
oerted movement, sad a chorus, being all cast in the same
mould. A chorus, let its subject be ever so grand mad im-
posing, is nothing but an air sung by many voles, instead of
by ens. The voices are almost always in ulnae (et, when
there are both ems, in unison and octave); and when
there is any counterpoint, it is of the most *artificial kind.
Several of Verdi's choruses have been turned into pretty
ballasts; but we have never beard one of them that can
be cited as even a tolerable specimen of real choral harmony.
Unison* choral singing, sparingly Wooden', may occa-
sionally produce baggy dins k as in the beautiful "
in Rim," sins,in the Barcarole " Taos al
=s? "
, in this opera sit "1 Das Fain* ; " bat the nen-
dinnamt of all the grand ants of vocal harmony can never
%obliged by a few exceptionaloates. There* the same po-
verty la the construction of the eeneerted pion. They are
mugs sung by the ihneanas in sumnion ; when the
vo, they snore ia the aniterpoiat, and (as
harm
in the dome tarry is salsa g bee, theor fine
s* latertestin the pts,
which we lad in the spares of Remark Oimosen,of Imd Res
mini, there is not a vestige. All this we ascribe *len be*
tation to Verdi'e ignorance sif his an; for it Is net te he be-
lieved that be world shandon its gusted ressunee if he
knew how to avail himeif .11i them. His his the Mil of
melody--a gift of whisk new has always been rroiW tin
his countrymen bat even @hie gilt has not bean whinted,
and of the more roe edits arnedes 'lino art he swan in
know nothing. Them shereeteatellee et this eissmosa
have been made more evident by every annonn
opera of his that we have board, sad by sane
pa
ss than " I Due Fesceri." The attract of the
is • very Ana one ,• the hhtory of Francesco
Postai, the celebrated Doge of Venice, who, es the head of
the execatire of that Metal republic, pronounced the nom
damnation of his own son to perpetual exile tar an alleged
crime against the state. The libretto is written with cow-
*doable power; and there are &vest MM. which (net-
withstanding the comparative foibles= of the was) are
hill of deep and lam& _lnnen The of the piece
is striking. The " Osendi el sme Yang ha their
secret ball of *limn ; and no sir", milltioni nada
of their chorus, " Sim* mine% ' ollastive. Jacopo
Foseari, the Dop's esm,h lams& Own his veins tn. ppear
beton the tribunal. la which he his
greli " Rem le Ink Vanoie," though eomuu trite in
mebdy, is appropriate is monseloa, and was sag by Fru-
nisi is a maws whist Isiimpsa s, load mom Luerssia
==itvies of Amps, Sins !ppm la hoe simalssr,
bee isms, tiger gait sad many for
bar Mimi% Me. This shaustor was whims& by Ma-
dams Xing" • Inv gresasslidy hams lest sewn as
assaishaisprorbe sow rub Mr Mist se air Italian
apses thigh She is a alkqamma, both ia hoe and person,
ink of ensiWlN demon and neat powers.
Tbs emu open with • selandaste, in uni-
son as nut, and of • ves/ Zmwesia sings •
'NFU** " Tv, al oni " which is
esssiskseseopshisil so the assi sr Madame
itslissish via nub sorasstasss. Her voice,
en the was of pod quality, though i id a *Annoy
I. shalom* and sassreainty of intonation in the

highest notes, We afterwards Bad the Doge, in his
private apartment, lamenting his cruel situation: Lu-
cresia enters, and implores him to have compassion
on her husband, his own son. This scene was admirably
performed. Coletti blended beautifully the dignity of the
supreme magistrate with the Lather's agony ; and Madame
Slontenegro poured forth the suppllmtions of the wife with
great energy and passion. This was the conclusion of the
first act; it bed a powerful effect, and the performers were
called for. In the second act the condemned Jacopo I. alone
in his dungeon, surrounded by the haggard spectres of a
delirious fancy ; but his ravings are far beyond Verdi's
powers of expression. His wife visits him, and the scene
between them only wanted better music to be deeply pa-
thetic. It coats-an, however, a pretty dart, " No, non
morrai," sung by Madame Montenegro, and encored. The
Doge then inters, and is followed by Loredano. his prin-
cipal enemy, and attendant officers and guards: a scene
of agitation is wound up by a quartet, in the time of
a lively waltz, and tremendously noisy, which, however,
roused a part of the audience to a pitch of rapturous enthu-
siasm. To us it appeared a preposterous contre•sens. The
finale to this act concludes, after a most astounding din, by
Jacopo being carried off by the soldiers, and Lucrezai fainting
in the arms of her attendants. The third act opens with a
gay scene in the Pieces of St. Mark: crowds assembled to
witness a boat-race, which they accompany with the pretty
barcarole chorus already mentioned. Jacopo, in the bandy
of his guards, and followed by his wife, embarks on board
the vessel which is to convey him for ever from Venice; and
we see him no more. We again find the Doge in his
private chamber. He is informed that there is proof of his
eon's innocence ; but his joy and hope are destroyed by the
entrance of Lucrerea, who frantically exclaims that
her husband is no more—that ho has expired at the
!figment of his departure. The Doge'. enemies then enter,
and announce his deposition end the election of his successor.
The sound of the hell proclaiming the new doge, strikes his
ear, and he falls dead, uttering with his last breath the name
of his son. There can be few finer subjects than this for a
lyrical tragedy; and it is a pity that so many fine subjects,
on the modem Italian stage, have fallen into incompetent ,
hands. On that stage, much feeble music is susuired by
strength Of caul feet ; while, on our English stage. much ex-
cellent music is swamped by dramatic silliness and absurdity.
The principal performers, Madame Montenegro, Fresehini,
and Coletti deserve the highest credit for their exertions, to
which the success of the opera must he almost wholly as.
Bribed. The orchestra was fearfully loud ; but that
must be attributed, not to the performers, but to the
system of instrumentation. The strongest brans and
percussion instruments were kept in incessaat play.
Even in the recitatives, every phrase was followed by a
burst of trombones. Drama rattled and trumpets brayed
during the most effecting scenes of tenderness and grief ;
and many of the airs were aceompanied, in unison, by the
trumpet or the trombone--a meet effectual expedient for pre-
cluding, on the pert of the singer, the slightest exercise of
taste or fancy. It is needless to talk of the chorus-singing,
for there is not a chorus in the opera that deserves the name.