The Express.
London, England, 1866-04-06 00:00:00

ROYAL ITALIAN OPERA.

We are going, it would seem, to have another
" Verdi Season." Covent-garden opened on Tuesday with
Um Ballo in lifaschera ; last night, at the same theatre, we
had the Trona/ore ; to-morrow we are to have the Travis/a;
and moreover, the Trovatore has been chosen for the open.
lag to-morrow of her Majesty's Theatre. It is not
in England only that the undiminished ascendancy
of this most popular composed is apparent ; in
Italy, Germany, France, Spain, America—every count'/
which possessed an Italian opera—the same thing is the
ease. Mozart, Rossini, Bellini, Donisetti, all " pale their
ineffectual fires" before the blazing star of Verdi,
although this star has shone for the best part of half •
century. This fact leads to one inevitable soncluzion
which cannot be shaken by all the criticism in the world
—Verdi is a great artist. His permanent success is the
proof of his merit.
The performance of the Trona/ore last night presented
only one novelty—the very successful debut of Mile. Morensi
in the character of Azucena. This lady poesesseshigh qualities
both as an actress and a singer. Her representation of
the gips,' was full of dramatic power, and she sang like as
accomplished artist. Her voice is not a mere memo-
soprano, but a true contralto of extraordinary depth sad
volume. If there is any weakness in it, it is in the higher
region of the scale, and she consequently sometimes
forces it beyond its real strength, thereby rendering it
somewhat harsh and untunable. But this probably arose
last night from the agitation of a first appearance, for it
gradually disappeared, while the exceeding beauty of her
lower tones became more and more apparent The wild
and impassioned air, " Stride la vamps," in which the
gypsy tells her terrible story, was a powerful
piece of dramatic singing ; and the tragic tone of
the scene was finely sustained during the whole of
the subsequent dialogue with Manrico—• duet which we
have scarcely ever heard mere strikingly sung by both per-
formers. It was vehemently applauded, and Malls. Morensi
and Matto were called for with acclamations. Trial was a
very pleasing and interesting Leonora and sang charmingly;
and Graziani's Count di Luna has never been excelled by
any one, nor, indeed, never equalled by any one whom we
have heard save only Bentley. The whole performance, in
short, was excellent, and went off with that degree of
serve which always indicates sympathy and good under-
standing between the stage and the audience.

TiE LORD WARDEN or TEE CINQDE Posts.
Yerierday, at a meeting of the Town Council of Dover,
the Town Clerk (Mr. K Knocker, seneschal of the Court
of Shepway) intimated that he had, by desire of the cor-
poration, obtained en interview with Seri Granville, KG.,
at Widmer Castle, to elicit his lordship's views as to his
public insinauguration as Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports
and C. of Dover Castle, amordiAg to anent
Kul Granville expressed his willingness to is-ceile to the
request, should it be in conformity with the wishes of the
Porte, and fixed the time when it should take place at
Whitsuntide, his lordship's duties as Lord President of the
Council preconticel Ma installation at an earlier period. The
Town Council of Dover requested the mayor to convene
a common hall of the inhabitants, inviting them to form a
committee for giving a public banquet to the Lord Warden,
in odebratlea of the event, and to effete other arrange.
manta for giving eclat to the forthcoming event. The for-
mation of the Court of Shepway rest* with the Lord War-
den
who is to be installed, according to ancient custom,
onstoon kilt, where the imposing ceremony took
placer in 1861, on the installation of the late Lord Pal-
As it is tindentood the Royal Beet Kent
BMA sad the Wert Kent (Quion's) Yeomanry
Cavalry will most at Dover in Key next far their annual
Maisie& the Town Council of Dover yesterday mooted
Moe question whether the time of their assembling could
'not be so fixed as to give these regiments the opportunity
of takingticgitn the public display which is to characterise
the ins of Uzi Granville as Lord Warden.