The Express.
London, England, 1847-04-07 00:00:00

Alittstt.

OPENING OF THE ROYAL ITALIAN OPERA,
COVENT-O.tRDEN.

The opening of the Royal Italian Opera at this
theatre must be considered an event of no ordinary impart-
anee. It is no ordinary event that a theatre so long de-
'seed should be restored to the public in a shape which
we may almost deserile as unrivalled. It is of n i or-
dinary ermarquence that we should hese in London •
' theatre pledged as this is to the production of
established works of the greaten masters son a scale of
the utmost perfection in every sis pertinent." It is of no
ordinary inthartance that such a theatre should open with •
company of such treat and varied talent, that there is reason
to bi.l.evc (contrary to the experience of theatres in general)
that the pledge its manager. liaise give 3 they will be able to re-
deem. Neither, let as obseen e, is itof ordinary importance in
the present nee of musieal appreciation, that there should he
collected theether such a body of artistes so form the orchestra
of this establishment; men whose names, not many years
ago, the public mirbt have searched for in vain in any lista
but those of performers at cancer!. of the highest and most
exclusive class, au -1 whom it may be considered a great ad-
vantage and encouragement to science that any manages
anent shondl have bean able to bring together under such
varied and eminent appliances.
It is not many years ago since Lord Byron wrote of the
Feinice at Venice, that " it be it our opera hollaw, and that I h.
Scala, at Milan, sunk into insignificaneo before it." In size
we have no theatres to equal either the Scala or the Fink*
each of which will bold nearly 4,000 persona, bid there can be:
no doubt that iu all other points either of the roSlidell Operas
will now bear the palm from those and most other continental
theatres, the fanned San Carlo included. The hoist which
opened to the public last evening i• Covent Gar-
den, will be admitted by all who see it to be
one of the finest of its class a theatre alike cre-
.

Bitable to our metropolis, and suited for the per-
formances designed to be represented within its
walls. In the commodiousness of its interior arrannt -
meats, and the exquisite character of its embellishments,
it may be palely raid not to be surpassed. The public are
aware that the theatre, which they knew as Covent-garden,
and which was itself extremely spacious, has been
greatly enlarged in forming this new house. Not only
lies it been much extended a breadth, but the pit has been
sunk and the roof raised many feet; so that we have a
house of unusual height, as well as of great extent. By this
arrangement, no less than six tiers of boxes, ea:h sufficiently
high, have heron obtaimel. The three lower ranges are
entirely devoted to private boxes. The fourth tier has a
wide space it the centre, corresponding to the gallery in
other houses, which is here designate t the first amphi-
theatre, and in which a select number of the brat seats are
railed off as stalls, and let at advanced prices. In the fifth
circle there is a second amphitheatre, subject to the same
arrangement ; and at the highest part of the house a gallery,
corresponding to that at the Italian Caren in the Ileymerket.
With respect to the pit, one half of its apace is appropriated
to stalls, and one half to unreserved places, both compartments
being provided with separate seats. The pit is the most
spacious and pleasant of any theatre we ever entered, and
would be the meat commodious if the backs to the seats were
somewhat more inclined, and if there were the
old accustomed "alley," w'deb, alas, is wanting
down its centre ! Thu" much as to the ar-
rangements. With respect to the embellishments, it
is scarcely passible to do justice to the exquisite lute
and almost unparalleled splendour with which the house
from pit to ceiling ia everywhere fitted up. The leading
colours are white and gold, relieved here and there with a
delicate turquoise blue. The ornaments, which are in relief,
are mostly fruit and flowers done in gold, or boys and satyrs
brought out in flake white. But perhaps the great glory of
the house is its ceiling: a most beautiful representation
of the sky, shadowed off from golden sunshine to
a border of deep serene blue, around which there
is a broad belt of chute and exquisite ornament. The
chandelier is the finest thing of ON kiwi in Eng-
land. It drop. from a large centre of gilded Kim
work, which serves the ;nu-poem of ventilation, and is se
li light and airy a thing—albeit so vast, and no fully adorned
with drops and other cram:le:its—that it seems an
absolute surprise how its pieces are he; t toge-
ther. In addition to several nags of light, there are
twelve distinct cluster., of some t,venty or twenty-five jets,
each of which seem almost a ball of flame. To this chsia-
delier the whole house is indebted fir its light, there being
but a few additional lights fur the first circle, made up of
branches holding each three tapers. In the early part
of the evening the light in the chandelier was Kept
down, after the etaeclights had been raised. There
was a general whisper that the house was heavy.
As the overture was about to commence, a flood of light
was suddenly and, to most persons, unexpectedly emit-
ted upon the house; anl en altered was its aspect
—so changed was its tone—so splendid was the effect, as well
on the most distant as upon the nearest objects—that the
whole awes mbly burst into a ehout of involuntary and raptur-
ous applause.
A feature of the house which has not preeinusly hero
described is its curtain, which is chaste and steeple, consist-
ing of a light gronnil, ornamented with flowers, and having
medallions of the Muses in each of their compartments.
As the groat width of the proscenium might detract from the
effect of the curtain, two side scenes are brought forward
when it falls, on which are painted looped curtains, car-
' responding in colour to these of the boxes,
which are a deep and not very brilliant crimson.
This pert of the decoration appeared to us the
only one to which any exception could be taken. A gayer
endear would hare beeu tan:e effective, and much relief
would hire been produced had velvet been subelituted for
the satin covering on what are termed the arnreits. The
curtains considered as draperies, moreover, were not last
night well disposed, being permitted to lay in be svy folds,
inatoad of being looped up, or altogether drawn back.
The select ion for the opening of the theatre of an open so
oft-repeated and so frniiier to the musical public as " Se-
miramide," hes given occasion to expressions of surprise;
but, on the whole, a better choice could hardly have bee
made. The character of the Assyrian Get en is one of
those in which Grisi leaves all rivalry far behind. Armee
is the fluent pert for a contralto voice that has ever been
written, and was consequently the hest adapted to introduce
to the public the greatest contralto singer (we arc cone
trinxd) that ever has been beard in England. The
music is preeminently rich in iustrumentation, and
fitted to call forth the whole powers of the magnificent or-
chestra. The subject demands the barbaric grandeur el
Oriental state, and affords roam for all the " pride, pomp, and
circumstance "of gorgeous spectacle. With all this, "See
miramide " is every noble lyrical tragedy—somewhat heavy,
it is true, but lofty in its tone, affecting in its principal teen'',
and calculated to bring into action the highest powers, both
dramatic and vocal, of the performers. Accordingly it has
been found, by the experience of a quarter of a
century, that few operas will bear greater frequency of
repetition than "Semirainide." Its heaviness certainly, Is its
principal fault. Last night it occupied four hours in repre-
sentatron—a full hour beyond the reasonable limits of any
dramatic piece; and this length is not caused by extent of
subject and number of incidents, but simply by excessive
diffuseness of style. What Mozart (and, still more, Gluck),
would have comprised in a brief dialogue, tarried on in terse
and emphatic phrase', is spun out by Rossini into a pro-
tracted duet, in which the strength of every thought and
feeling is diluted by the amplitude of its expression and the
frequency of its repetition, till nothing but wearitess
and impatience is the result. Trim is the case
with several of the most remarkable scenes in the
opera; particularly the first interview between Amer and
Armes; the stormy scene between Nemiramide and Astor;
and, meit of all, the scene in which Arsare discloses to his
mother the fatal secret that he is her son, and the son of the
monarch who had perished by her hand. Nothing eau be
finer, or more tragic, then the opening of this great scene ;
but presently it degenerates into a mere pins of singing.
Se:nil-amide and Aracr^c vanish from the imagination • an
in their room, we see Signora Orisi and Signora Alberni, and
hear them warbling very beautifully, but just as they would
in a concert ream. But to return to last night's per-
formance. When Costa took his place in the orchestra, he
' was received with a about of applause which burst from
every part of the theatre. The quality of the orehe Ara was
at once displayed in the performance of the overture, In
numerical strength it is greatly increased, and the increase
has been made in the proper part—the quartet of stringed
instruments. We have never heard, in any theatrical
orchestra, such a volume of tone from those instruments;
its fulness completely balanced the weight of brass, and
prevented it from being in the least overpowering.
Daring the whole piece, the hand wets as re-
markable for the delicacy with which it accom-
, panicd the nicest inflexions of the voices, as for the
powers with which it produced those grand detterip-
tive efforts of which the score of this open is en full. Of
Oriii, in the character of &min:nude, unthing new is to be
said. It must be mentioned, however, that, on her entrance,
she was welcomed with peals of applause, which she acknow
ledged with much appearance of feeling. She was looking
admirably, was in full peasesaion of all the powers of her
beautiful voice, and all her great qualities at a tragedian.
The reception given to Tamburioi, after his long
absence from this country, was enthusiastic. Aster
is one of his great parts; and he is so entirely unchanged in
appearance, seice, aid =liner of performance, that we felt.
as rf he had been absent, nly since yesterday. Tamburiei's
acting is remarkable for its plainness and simplicity, lie
identifies himself with the character in Its tons and spirit,
and brings out its features with great, clearness and force,
without trying to make points, or to produce small effects.
Hit engine is of a similar character—plain and unaffected ;
by no means unadorned, far he is rather florid in hit tnt-