The Express.
London, England, 1860-07-05 00:00:00

PHI 001OVE—ata ANTRONO-
i. DIA.OIIIIM, WWI.. psyllea Wr 0011111
In relation to Ye Onnolallailtia of On Dm* nf=ol
in
tin LONDON 1211711, alml 11111111LLT SOW/14
by Charles Mackay, of SATIMIDAT by* JILL
Moe, 11, lholbempisealrobl.

Snosx Am

RSIORT VOIR JUNK

Nor* WWilvooralge vegan, Ipe Ike time of year we 'lever
remember. There Mu maresty men a tine day during the
whole mouth, and, at times, the rais has fallen in torrents.
The bemoklaisda have in many instances been flooded three
or four times, and a splendid crop of gram completely
destroyed. There is • heavy crop, both of- seeds and gram,
mil a considerable quantity ham already been cut ; but,
with the weather we have hail, it has been impossible to
make hay. A good deal had been carried, but mostly in
very lad order, sod we expect there will be a rem many
stacks over-bested, or—what is wady am had—will turn out
to be musty. Within • fortnight hem this time the harvest
bat year dud commenced, hut at primal the great bulk of
the wheat crop im cot eves in ISE. There are wane few
pieces of Talavera that ars out full and in bloom ; but
generally speaking the ears are oily jest making their ap-
psarsece, mad, wider the most favoutehde circumstances,
the harvest must be late, most so the has hero the came
for many years pest. To jedis hem present appearances,
it will be at least Ave womb before die very earliest of the
wheat will be 1111 te out, sad hem swoon to eight before
fospiiii will be peseral As to the propped of the crop, we
are of opinion that there le • sheared anaverage on all dry
evils, for although there nn se wthis pleat, it is
=ay looking wall, ad dons net appear to have suffered
tile extreme wet; but • eoefiletnanse ef each weather
me we have lately hod wild of amen have • most inju-
rious meet. Upon the clays • arep is eat of the question,
it is spindly and looks yellow, the ears are small, and with
the most favourable weather the Odd meet be bad. Oats
sad barley, cm dry sods, are Swift Ink more especially
the termer, wkielt bids fair to him very Urge crop, but on
the clays the oats are as bad as the wheat. The porn mar-
bees have bees steady during the mouth, although there
has been • slight toodeecy to • decline in the % alue of
whist, sad we love iso doubt that • 001bLillOSOCO of line
wean' would mew ma ieersand Anima fora Vine, but we
do me aatilipaes &goy sitberial 6011.—Brieklas Gezette.
HMI Plug or BUTCRIOL'S Mary.—At a nume-
rously attemlul of the operative dames residing at
Illealised sad Ile iiay the following resolution use
seispesel"Tkell Ike lyeeriet high price of butcher's meat
Adele OM peeties of ow daily food kayoed the reach of
the eyeeeillee dkassa. sad We 1111111111111111 strongly loge the
memell, ofeketridothees seek hut emu its sold at a
awe mammas" pins A 00101116111111 WOW formed to arrange
tar beams es=lCrommeeties the lame subject at
Meshy Perk s

The revival of Weber's Oberon is an inte•—
occurreacein several respects. la the Ant place it reeds *1
memory the wieleaohoiy sad Ismebbg, bat now almost foie]
gotten eiremilemasedissAktg the Mobil pubdustion
this opera at the OffewebOardes Theatre d Omar Yew
bb's day. Weber warn engaged by that mann* to ammo
ea event and the peential Okras was written for him by
the atemapihhed Y,. lismehi. Weber arrived a Leedom LI
lira. and Oterva me perfumed far the first time
wader his owe mpariatasdence on the 12th at April. In
these distant days Eagle apes was Om at *at theatre
la a ENNA' which bee serer beta equaled dome. The
priasipel garb were meta** by )~wham,' Yin PLa-1
drmileVestris, and Yr. Taweett,the first twetbeamS t
II
alai lagers ot their day, the third a sbusig
spd • captivating actress, and the WI • ampikel miedie
lager is well as a great comedian. Weber her teethasay
ID the merits of tb•perfonoors in nos ci his caries Win
lb hie wife during his stey in Loudon. " And new, my
dier love (he said), I mut assure you that you may *gabs
at seas both as to the lagers sad the teshsetra. ' Me'
Paton is a eager of the dm rack, and wW play Reber
divinely. Brabant not lees se, though in a totally different
style. Then are also swami geed taros, seed 1 *se I
fishnet bee' IRiy the roglisti tinging should be so mock
abused. The singers have a perfectly good Italian
adoption, fine voices, sad a:prosaic°. Ti. orchestrw
le not remarkable, bat still very good, and
the chorus particularly so. In short, I feel quite
at ease as to the fate et Oberon." Apparently be
had meson to be so. IL. harebell describes the scene of the
first night. "My best beloved Caroline, through God's
grace and seldom I have this evening met with the most
conspleie engem. The brilliancy and affecting nature at
the triumph are indescribable. God atone be thanked for

it ! When I 'stared the orchestra the whole of the house,
which wee filled to overflowing, rose up, and I was stinted
by buss and waving of hats and handkerchiefs, which I
thought would never have done. They insisted on encoring
the overture. Every air was interrupted twice or thrice with
bursts of applause. So much tor this night, dear life, from
your heartily-tired husband, who, however, could not sleep in
peace till he had communicated to you this new blessing
el heaven. Good night !" When Weber laid his tired
bead that night on his pillow, full of pious theuldulnaa,
could he have dreamed that ins' a little month," or less,
Oberon would be playedto almost empty benches! Yet so
It was ; and when, after his sudden death, the opera was
performed for the benefit of his family, the receipts did not
cover the expenew of the house. On the sth of June,
Weber was found dead in his bed, in the house of Sir George
smart, whose guest he was during the whole of his stay in
Larks.

The rapid transition from enthusiasm to indifference,
with respect to this opera, has been laid heavily,
especially by foreign critics, to the charge of
the English public But something may he said in their

justification. Of the character of Weber's music there ran.
not be two opinions, but, with all respect for our &coons.
pliahed countryman, Mr. Manche, we must say that his
poem, though written with much grace and elegance, is
not worthy either of himself or of Weber. The subject is
taken (ruin Wieland's Oberon, a poem greatly admired by
the Germans, and the admirers of the extravagant creations
of German fantasy. But such fancies, though they may
amuse the imagination of the reader, act differently on the
spectator of their representation on the stage. Addressed
only to the imagination and the senses, and not at all to
the feelings (for in this story of Oberon there is not a grain
of human interest) they pall upon the mind and iodises sa-
tiety and fatigue. How can we have•my sympathy with ahem
and a heroine about whose fortunes we are never left far a
moment in suspense? The Christian knight is chivalkons,
amid the Banos Princess is fair ; but we know fro* the
het that they an destined for each other, and that serer-
natural span is at hand to intrieste than from every
danger. VI Ina marten it that the Wren en
the guards of the harem and threatened with Malan d
when Sir Hon has only to wind his magic horn, and is in •
twinkling carried with his mistress • thousand leagues
away? The whole drama is a tisane of such adventures, all
of them absurd, and some of them childish. And, more.
over, the incidents are so disjointed and incoherent
that it is impossible for the spectator to follow them.
Bach being the case, all the charms of Weber's music will
scarcely render Oberon an attractive and popular opera.
In preparing it for performance at Her Majesty's Theatre,
M. Planche, the author of the drama, and Mr. Benedict
(who was Weber's principal and favourite pupil) have been
employed. The dramatist has cut out a considerable
quantity of dialogue, and removed some of the incidents
which only tended to perplex and complicate the plot. The
mended has written recitatives for the dialogue which was
mrislal►y English prose and is now converted into Italian
vine ; nabs Minim interpolated several pieces taken from
another of Weber's operas, Surly...ol6e. Of these, one is a
duet for Huon and Reiss ; the other is the brilliant and
wall.it Down air and chorus, "Alarm gli sears,"
which Mr. Benedict has substituted for the proper
finale of the opera. On the propriety of these
alterations we scarcely feel prepared to offer an
opinion. As • general rule we object much to any liberties
being taken with the text of a great writer, either in the
way of alteration, addition, or omission. But we have great
faith in the soundness of Mr. Benedict's judgment, and we
know how deeply he reveres the memory of hie illustrious
master.

The performance at Her Majesty's Theatre is entitled to
high praise. The character of the heroine could not be
more superbly sustained than by Male. Titiens, whose
noble aspect became the royal maiden, the daughter of the
removed Haroun Almschid. In her principal airs she pro-
duced the same effects that Miss Paton used to do of old.
The great air, " Yes, my lord, my joy, my blessing" (V,
min hen, min sol tesoro) was a fine display of vocal
power and passionate expression : and a still greater effort
of strength and eocrgy was made in the famous monologue,
" Ocean, thou mighty monster." The demand which this
scene makes oa the powers of the singer i► unequalled even
in any of the operas of Verdi. Miss Paton almost de-
stroyed her health by singing ft nightly during the run of
the opera, and we would advise Mdlle. Titian, to beware of
a similar consequence. Margie, Huon was a very energetic
performance, though he did not avoid his besetting sin,
exaggeration of voice ►nd manner. He was very successful
in Bmham's famous song, "Oh ! 'tis a glorious sight" (0
pa.l Fnnen ardentel. —Nothing could exceed the beauty
with which Madame Alban rang the music of
the part of Fatima—a part, too, which she
acted charmingly. The two little aus, "A lowly
Arab maid," and "O Araby, dear Araby!" than
which, anything more characteristic, more expressive,
more lovely, cannot be imagined, received a new charm
from her inimitable warbling. The comic part of Sho-
ne:Ws had an excellent representative in Signor Everardi.
The duet between him and Alboni, "On the banks of
sweet Garonne," was delicious.
The osier re arhte was of rare magnificence, but magnifi-
cence ebastemed by good taste. The piece had been 0110-
fully rehearsed, and the chorus and orchestra went ed.
mizably. The finale to the first act especially—the sight
seene in the harem, with the march of the guirds as they
make their rounds, the Muezzin's call to prayer, and the
sounds dying away into silenoe--was striking and imposing in
the highest degree. The whole of the scenery was new and
full of picturesque beauty ; and, in the dresses, weapons,
standards, and other decorations, the greatest &netlike has
bees paid to historical and local correctness. The produc.
tiou of this opera, in short, must have been very costly to
the spirited manager, who, we hope, will be reimbursed ,by
the sowers of the piece. But the performance should be
shortened ; four hours and a half in a crowded theatre in
the dog-days, try too severely the play-goer's power of
endurance.

Tits Miotrei. Council. or EDUCATION AND Ag-
eismrm.—At s meetize;
.L 1 the council of the Royal
College of Serpens of yeetertlay eftereme
James Monerteff Araott, Pmeitkint of the
wee sleeted em the ropreesedstiee of that InetitutianTlC
Medical Councilaf Eilimnikeimol RogiMentien is the miserly
occasioned by the prowelica of Mr. Omen to tie president's
&JUN vice Sir Benjamin Brodie, Bart, r
The number of patient,' treated a:ted.
Barearitan
Tres Hospital for women and ehlkimme, Edirambutreek
PortmasHeiunre, during the week foam Jew IS*. is
OK of which 137 were new awes.