The Express.
London, England, 1861-08-20 00:00:00

MUSIC.

-41.-
MR. MELLON'S PROMENADE CONCERTS.

The tint specialty of the present series of concerts
took place last evening. when • very large audience was
attracted by the announcement et a " Mendelssohn night."
The first portion of the programme was entirely devoted
to the compositions of this great master, the onwani•g
popularity of whose works is this country %Mate alike
their permanent value and the soundness of English taste.

The concert comoienced with the overture to the Mid-
stliesser Nip At's Dhow—that marvellous inspiration in
which the boy composer (far he was but sixteen when he
wrote it) evinced a poetical fancy and romantic imagination
worthy of the text which be has illustrated.
In nothing have Mendelssolin's facility sad geniality (the
almost invariable amompinirsents of high genius) bees more
remarkably displayed than is his exquisite music to the
Afaintaaster Night's Dream. Recurring, after the tapes al
many years, to the work of his boyhood, he amplified his
early ideas, and composed the incidental pieces which, with
the overture, have now taken rank as the most important
illustrations which musical art has ever contributed to the
weeks of car gnat poet.

The perfencianee of last night was in every way vanity of
the messiow. The orchestra, numerically strap' sad
excellent, played the neuter, with a mingled deli-
cacy and fire which lett Dothan to be desired. TM other
pings selected from this work were the " fiakierso," the
" Intennezzo," the " Nottumo," and the "Wedding
/Lerch," which latter wee, as it usually is, enthusiastiadly
encored.

T. air, " But the Lord," with its preliminary recitative,
is of too sombre a cast to be placed immediately after music
to bright and vivacious as that which preceded it. It was
impressively sup' by Madame Laura Baxter, but could not,
wader the cironmetawees, produce much effect.

The great feature of the evening we M. flaintos's pier
tidy execution of the violin oormerto, that great work which
don to the import's'''e of an orchestral symphosy, bang
set sorely a medium for the display of mechanical easel-
Issas, hot a thought/al and thoroughly developed oompo-
skim. is whieb, peat so are the executive difficulties, stall
biers demob are made on the player, who can scarcely
elsoos4 is rendering this concerto unless he euperadd sesti-
nas% sad refined feeling to high technical skill. It is DO
mall rah* to say that IL fialatoes performance lest night
Minot all requirements. Indeed, it ooald scarcely have
Isms sarpassel by any living artist, and it was received with
load and prolonged applause.

The remainder of tie Mendeloam selection celsistad of
the pretty duet, "Now here, sow there" Men Sou sad
Stranger), sung by Male. Pereps and fidme. Lars Bo:-
ter ; and the glowing overture to Ray Bias— a work w►ioh
for pusiooste intensity may pair with iv.b.e. "Bolt of
the Spirits."

Of the orchestra we have already spoken in terms of high
praise, and Mr. Mellon's conducting is equally worthy of
commendation. He evidently has the score in his mind as
well ea before his eye.
The remaining portion of the concert, consisting of a
miscellaneous selection, calls for no special notice.
Those who paid their shilling (and they were very many
hundreds) for the sake of the Mendelsohn pert of the con-
cert only, made as excellent investment of their money—
indeed nowhere out of London could such music, so well
performed, be heard for eo small an outlay.

DRAMA.

LYCEUX.

This theatre, &flex having done duty for • coil-
sidesshis parties of the fashionable months as an opera.
how, Was reopened last night for an autumn dramatic
semoo, the lemesehip and masagership berg omiceetrated
in the pergola of Yr. Edmund Faiormor. lb. inaugurating
novelty was • new comedy from the pen of the lessee, who
thus adds to his other important dries that of principal
author to the establishment, • opacity in which he
has certainly accredited himself se well that we trout
it may be regarded r an augury of arum in the other two.
Wunwn; o► Lore dpw•st eke World!, which is the tile of
the new comedy, is • good, healthy-reed, and, upon the
whole, well and sesartlpwritten addition to our list of
modern English stage plays. It is marked in the hills r
"original," and if it has a prototype it is not likely to be
found in that universal mils, from which the playwrights
of the present day are wont to draw their inspirsticas, viz.,
contemporary Fiench dramas, but rather in the better ekes
of those efforts which characterised the Drilla theatre at
the close of the last and the early part of lie prompt en•
fury. Tbe success was complete, and the leading Man
and actresses, and subsequently the author, were allsd
before the curtain to receive the cengestidatione of • very
full audience.

Mr. Oxenford's farce, Magic rep concluded the eves-
Wes estertainmente.

The entertaiumentwhTchhae for some time past
been gives, with aa burrowing popularity, by Yr. sad Mn.
Howard Paul, has been introduced, with some ward Mina
Cons, at the &reed Thodwe. lint Paul adds to bar song
in imitattos of NIL %es ROMP. " Come into the gardsw,
Maud," a ballad yids\ the peat llasiish town hee lately
helped late the hew thee ill osiglia by slaw hell

of merit have attained i■ a longer promos of
time, ern withmi his important aid. We allude
to the well-written and well-set lyric, "My own, my
eliding star," from the opera of Robin Hood. The faint-
' liar ismastsen of the entertainment, sad the yet more
Lamaist Nip pertaining to their emirmemielisis, wen on.
acted and meg with undiminished Wei ; and a few fresh
features wens innimperned. But the pricimd novelty Ira
"a mere er lam histories:, miasisal, drawing-room her-
lookl■••" 'mat Queen Linda* and seandslising that
so►ereigu chiefly by pitting an excess of slang into
her month. Although we cannot my much for
the Lawrie of this burlesque, which would be
in place anywhere rather than in a " drawing.
room." we have no hesitation in praising its perform-
ance by Yr. and Mrs. Paul, assisted by MIN Jenny
Taylor. The soup were well sung, sod, being stringed oa
a basis of extremely popular melody, did good service in
aid of the sumer which may fairly be assigned to the entire
production.

Thrl "MILLE BLONDIN."

The deLieney in the arrangement of the rope
across the Thames, at Cremorne, having bees remedied, the
" female Moodie" made her second attempt yesterday, and
with a swum which fully demonstrated the feet stated by
in last week, namely, that the only failure was in the ap-
pliances, There had been, as oar readers will remember, •
west of specific gravity in the rope to wasponate the specific
levity etUe reps-walker. One or more el the gays bad bees
found mining ; so that the public maid was re-enured, last
evening, when all was egomania to be right, and the
anxious gaze of thousands at once perceived in its proper
place under the rope "another guy." The daring total-
brut began her exhibition of skill an hoar earlier than on
the first occasion. She stood forth in the light of the de-
clining sun, her gold-broidered dress and white pole
gleaming refulgently. Her progress was firm, and at
time* rapid, the whole distance being traversed in
seven mintftes, which would not have been slow
walking under ordinary condition. of crossing the
Thames by way of bridge. So steadily, indeed, wee the feat
performed, that there is nothing to be said of it but that it
was well done. The river was mu low tide ; so that a great part
of the journey was over beds of mud. If any danger of •
fall existed—which we are strongly inclined to doubt, seeing
the great firmness sad souses of the performer—the result.
arising from such an accideat would have been much more
serious by this circumstance.