The Express.
London, England, 1868-05-12 00:00:00

I OYAL ITALIAN OPERA.

Lucia de Lammermoor was given here last night
for the return of Wegner Plural, who was the Edgard°, as
on the commie nof his ire! pea:slue last season. Thi
gentleman, wl o first app. aced at the Royal Italian Opera
in 1800, Las alg .t tenor voice c f agreeable quality, if
not very powerful, wi .h considerable command of the
high °best notes ; a goo I st 3 le of vocalisation, and much
earnotruse of soon anion. In everal paints of his per.
formanoe last a ieht Le produced fully as favourable an
impression as formerly—ibe gr at denunciation scene,
Illaledetto tie l'istante'' having been again given with
inch geed dram atm intention as to call down loud sp.
pleuse In the last mete, too, the recitative beginning
" Tombs degl'asi mid" was given with much genuine
feeling and artieCc phrasing; the following well-
known air, " Fret pace," being a display
of pure eantabi'e which was received with strong demon-
strations of &pi royal, as was also the final movement,
"Tu ohs a DM," given with much earnestness and passion.
Signor Fanelli can sem oely fail t 'prove moat valuable in
tenor parts of ma acclary importance, such as that in which
he appearedl at ni,lat,or as Elvino is La Sonnambala, for
which he Is a... zoom' w ilakezelay next. The grsdt for
Mere in last night's 1 erformence of Lucia di Lammermoor
was Mettle. Piddle admirable impersonation of the he-
roine. Only yesterday we op*r so fully of the high and
exceptional m. rite of Millie. Adelina Patti that were we
now to enlarge on her last night's performance it might
appear like hyperbole. Those, however, who have only
seen and beard this great artist in operas like
Marta, It Bat Liere, and others in which her re-
fined and elegant comedy is so admirable, would
scarcely expect from her the deep pathos and
intense sentiment which she infuses into her performance
of Lucia. In the carotins, " Regnava nel silenzio," and
in the following brilliant movement, Male. Patti produced
as great an impression as in previona performances ; and
her exquisite singing doubtless contributed largely (well
as she was supported) to the encore of the quartet, " Chi
mi (rena," in the finale to the second act. The climax of
Mdlle. Patti's triumph, however, was, as usual, in the
mad scene, towards the close of the a pera. The introduc-
tory "Il dolce suono," with the incidental florid cadences,
was a splendid piece of refined vocalisation ; the following
larghetto, with the concerted cadenza with flute obbligato,
and the ooncluding allegro, with its brilliant bravura pas-
sages, completing the triumph of the artist, who was re-
called amidst enthusiastic applause. Signor Gresiani again
sang the music of Enrico with the same power and finish
as before—Signori Marino and Capponi being efficient re-
presentatives of Arturo and Raimondo.

PHILHARMONIC SOCIETY.
The fourth concert of the season took place last •
night, when the following selection waa performed :

PIJIT I.

—. ..
Symphony in D minor Spohr.
Aria, " &opts" !Msonietto secoodo4 nig. Foil Rossini.
Ouverture Symphonious ,Yd.) J. k. Ramat'.
Cavallo', " Di pewee' (la Omen Ladis;. Moine
Kellogg
Conoerto, Pianoforte, Harr Alfred Jgell

eke.

PART U.

•
Symphony—Erolea Beethoven.
" Non s ode elate itet item del Nord,
Madlle Kellogg aleyerbeer.
Overture "Ruler of the Spirits" Weber.
The symphonies are both masterpieces in very different
schools. Although Spohr could never approach the idealism
and sublimity of Beethoven, his best works are productions
in which genius and art mastery are eminently displayed.
The second symphony, composed expressly for the Phil-
harmonic Society. is one of the finest of his eight works
of this clue, infinitely superior to those later symphonies,
such as "Earthliness and Godliness," "The Seasons,"
&c., in which he endeavoured to emulate the powers of
Beethoven in the musical illustration of some prescribed
suggestive subject. When Spohr departs from the clearly
defined form and symmetrical proportions per-
fected by Mem* he is apt to become vague without
being profound, and diffuse without being interrelitg.
Even in his splendid " Power of Sound" (his fourth sym-
phony) there are instances of this amid the general beauty
and mastery of the composition. The second symphony,
however, is close in thought, compact in form, and admi-
rably sustained throughout —it is indeed emi-
nently representative of Spohr's style and power.
The breadth and vigour of the first move-
m ant, the beauty and variety of the largbetto, the
melodious grace of the finak, and the finely-balanced in-
strumentation of the entire work, render it a model of its
kind. The new overture by Mr. Barnett is, as its title
implies, somewhat more elaborate than the ordinary form
of orchestral prelude. It contains some extremely clever
and effective orchestral writing, with some tendency to
over-elaboration of climax, and reiteration. A work, how-
ever, of such length and pretension is scarcely to be judged
on a single hearing, and we shall doubtless soon have
another opportunity of speaking of it with the advantage
of further acquaintance. The concerto of Herr Iteinecke
is the production of a thoroughly trained and highly-culti-
vated musician, who is also eminent as a pianist. If we
mistake not, the work has already been performed at one
of the Crystal Palmas concerts. Like the concerto of Herr
Ferdinand Hiller, recently noticed by us, that of Herr
Reineeke possesses almost every requisite but those higher
qualities of imagination and invention without which
there is small excuse for the production of a work of such
length and pretension. It is written with thorough
knowledge of the instrument, and great mastery over
orchestral effect, as displayed in some of the tutlis ; but
notwithstanding the brilliancy of many of the solo
passages, and the richness of some of the instrumentation,
the impression left at the close is one of great dispropor-
tion between the length of the work and the amount of
real thought contained in it. It was played with great
power and brilliancy by Herr Jaell ; an elaborate cadence
in the first movement being especially remarkable as •
display of mastery over the key-board. The third symphony
of Beethoven—the fait of the throe out of the series of nine, in
which its composer has avowed a distinct intention—is
one of those grand suggestive musical poems in which
that great man's genies has transcended all previous and
subsequent efforts by other masters. This work, however,
and Weber's romantic overture are too well known to need
comment on this occasion ; nor need we now dwell on the

vocal seleotioa-Bipor Foil having sarig the same air at

• recent concert, aid Mlle. Kellou'i brilliant singing of
"Di pincer" baring been lately noticed by as when com-
menting on bar performance in the opera to which it
belongs—the remaining air, with its accompaniment of
two dotal obbligati (played by Herr Svendsen and Hr.
Card) being one of the prominent solo pieces in Meyer-
beer's opera.

DRAMA.

ST. JAMBS'S.

This house has been reopened, under the dlr. ec
Sim et M. Raphael Felix, for a short series of French
plays, similar to the one which met with such a large
share of fuhketable patronage last summer. The two
principal performers are still M. Ravel and Mdlle. Des-
champs, waisted by )(dile. Mille and a company of ladies
and gentlemen who, though not Parietal' celebrities, pas-
MSS the peculiar French tact and instinct as actors. The
programme opened last night with three little vaudevilles,
le Cabaret de Lneturrw, Pauere Jacques, and Ride
d'Amour, in which M. Ravel sustained the chief charac-
ters. As during last season, comedies of more weight are
avoided for the Ant two nights, and it is not until Wednew
daythat we are promised anything of importance, when M.
V. Sardon's celebrated play of Reeirdirsa will be produced,
the Lord Chamberlain !mein sonsented to llamas this
piece as bsoonsestekto lisense Oliver Twist. The Pouvre
Jacques represented last night is, we believe, a play of
German origin, and the same Aim rendered very popular
many years ago by the late Morris Barnett under the taus
of Monsieur
and ed audience
tsish. Ravel was very well received
by • full , and acted with all
his old force and -consciousness- No actor plays more
to the pit. The programme of last night enabled Woo to
show Me mwernsnd of low dowdy ebsracter &Axe,
and be was well supported by the company.

Horniman's ton is sold Bd. w pound cheaper as
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