The Express.
London, England, 1868-07-28 00:00:00

aiDLF.ar 8 WELL&

A " Dramatic Festival," or porformanoe ex-
tending over seven nights, commenoed at this house au
Saturday, and is to continue during the present week.
The beginning yea not very well organised, but ea the
festival ham a charitable object, we hope all difficulties
will be overcome. The performers who have promised
their assistance include nearly every leading artists in
London.

ItOYAL OPAILI HOME, 00,1111 T-GARDEN.

ita. w. wiamow's wan.

The performances which have berm for some
time announced in aid of this gentleman took place
last sight, when the programme presented a variety of
entertainments, chiefly of a dramatic clam.
It is scarcely necessary to remind our readers that Mr.
Harrison occupied for many years a prominent position as
a stage tenor ; and in association with that excellent vocal
artist Miss Louisa Pyne struggled for several seasons inthe
endeavour to establish and maintain a national English
opera. It some ten years since those two artists
commenced that career at Covent-Garden Theatre
which ended unsuccessfully in March, 1864—t0 be
followed by the far briefer and equally unfortunate
venture of the Royal English Opera Company
(Limited), which came to a sudden termination in
February, 1866. During the Pyne and Harrison lessee-
ship great effort/ were made to develop a school of Eng-
lish operatic mune, and many new works were produced,
including Mr. Benedict's Lily of Killarney and Mr.
Wallace's Intik* ; and other works in the grand opera
form by Mr. Balfe, Mr. Macfarren, arid composers
of lees note. Few of these, however, possessed much
sterling merit ; and the result, as already
stated, was failure, involving the lose of Mr. Harrison's
savings—added to which, illness now renders him power-
less. To aid Mr. Harrison under the pressure of this
emergency many individuals connected with literature
and art came forward and organised, under distinguish_ d
patronage, the performances of last night, which corn.
menced with the garden scene and the inn scene from
raid P►y, including Mr. J. L. Toole's richly comic
acting in the principal character. After this,
Mrs. Stirling gave, with excellent emphasis, an address,
written for the occasion by Mr. Tom Taylor, and which
was received with loud applause, followed by a rer-ail
of the elocutionist. The next item of the programme,
was a concert, consisting chiefly of airs from well known
operas, preceded by the overture to Wallaoe's Maritima,
capitally played by an orchestra (comprising several of the
principals of the opera band) conducted by Mr. Betje-
manna. The chief feature in the vocal selection was Signor
Mario's excellent singing of Donizetti's romance, "Una
furtive lagrima," which was received with loud applause,
and an encore responded to by the canzone from Rigoleno,
"La Donna f mobile," also given in the great
tenor's best style. The other performances were too
numerous and too familiar for specification; the singers
being Millie,. Sofia Vinta, Florence Lancia, Rose Hersee,
Sontay, Miss Whitten, Madame Weiss, Signori Gassier
and Caravoglio, Mr. Leigh Wilson, Mr. G. Honey (in
lieu of Mr. Vernon Rigby), &c. The concert was fol-
lowed by Miss Amy Sedgerick's capital reading of the
trial scene from " Pickwick "—and this by M. Ravel'■
Sake Boo&e, le Marchand de Programmes, delivered
from one of the boxes on the grand tier; to the esrpries
and apparent irritation of the few who were not aware of
its intent and humour, but the amusement of the majority
who were. An act of Mr. Robertion'a popular comedy
Cute followed, and this was succeeded by Mr. Arthur
Sketchley's amusing description of Mrs. Brown's opinions
of Shakspere. Offenbach's dialogue operetta Linden
wsd friltelons (by Miss Susan Galion and Mr. Whiffin)
and one act of his Grand Dwain Geroletein completed
the performances—other items having to be omitted in
consequence of the excessive length of the progninune.
The house was not so well filled as might km been
wished ; but it is to be hoped that the audience did not
represent the number of admissions sold, and that the re-
sult may be more productive than the aspect of the
theatre seemed to indicate.