The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1825-04-21 00:00:00

COVENT GARDEN 7HE.4TRE.

Last night was produced at this Theatre, a new Tragedy. en-
titled Orestes in Argos, founded, in will be immediately retained,
on the well-known crimes and misfortunes of the devoted house of
Atreus. The plot and 'conduct of the present piece are principally
derived from the Elea ra Sophocles. 'fhe Greek drama has been
hitherto known to our stage only through themedium of translations
from the French adaptations of Corneille, Racine, Voltaire, &c. a
mode of introduction peculiarly unfortnnote for the originals. The
French ate the last people in the world czpable of appreciating the
severe and chaste dignity of the founders of the Grecian stage, and
accordingly, wherever they have touched upon 'subject common
to both, or attempted to follow the footsteps of their illustrious pre-
decessors, they have done en " haul partible' aquas," and mani-
fested the great and total difference in the genius of the two people.
If they did, in their imitations of the Greek drama, transmit a por-
tion of the original light (and it was scarcely possible to avoid it
nhogethcr), it became coloured by the lens through which it was
pissed. Aceordingly the heroes in the Oresti of Crebellon and
Voltaire are anything but Greeks—they are Frenchmen dig.
guished in the pulliem, and all beaux of the freshest fashion.
They have worked up the tinsel of their own interminable
and needless amours with the tissue of tragedies least calculated I
to admit such an admixture, and in that manner destroyed the
moral unity of design so scrupulously maintained by the tither' of
the Greek stage. In one nord, they can do nothing simply. We
recollect an instance in point, which elucidates the nature of
French refinement better than a thousand arguments. It is to be
found in en adaptation from Schiller :—the German poet had des-
patched his hero with poison infused in water ; this was not aufli-
ciently delicate for the superfine Frenchman, and he prefers com-
pounding the draught with lemoratie, and sending his hero out of
the world like a gentleman. Deriving their notion of the Greek
Theatre through such ,edit, it is nut to be supposed that the
generality of our play-goer' ran have had any jiißt idea of the true
d'aucres of the Greek stage. But we must hasten to the con-
eideration of Orestes in Argo:. It is not necessary to go into any
lengthened detail of the plot, as it is exceedingly simple and well
known. Orestes returns to his native country, after escaping the
snares laid for him by lfehither. He is recognised by his sister
Electra, and after the usual number of difficulties and disappoint-
ments succeeds in killing the tyrant—first, by some unaccountable
mistake. having been unconsciously accessary to the death of his
mother Clytemnestra. Orestes. struck with horror at his unin-
tentional matricide, is mind with horror and dies raving. The
story, as our readers will see, is closely copied from its Greek
original, with the exception of the mode of Clytensrestrdet
death, which is taken irons Crebellon, and, as we think, no
improvement upon the *simplicity sod fervour of she original;
The diameter cif Celle/Teat* has also undergone a great alt
tint) in the hands of the English dramatist. Instead of being re.
presented as she is by /Eschylua, Sorbs:Kies, and Euripides as the
ravening sne-wolf who had murdered her husband and was diverted
of all natural election for her own nff-pring—the Lady Mai Zietit
of the Greek stage—she is tamed down into an imbecile and lament-
ing penitent. if.gisthrts is brought forwent more than in the origi-
nal, and is represented properly enough as a crafty and timid ty-
rant. Nemesis and the Furies are introduced in two scenes, for no
other purpose, as far as we could see, than to sing tome very indif-
ferent airs and choruses. They tossed about their rosin torches, and
were perfectly unintelligible, and exercised no influence upon the
action of the piece or the conduct of the dramatis persona., with
none of whom hid they at any time the slightest communication.
This was wrung : the witches an not intwdueed into it facbeth for
nothing. We would recommend them to be entirely discarded
from the scene, %Wait they only interrupt, notwithstanding t'"e
pretty singing of Miss Hammersley, as Nemesia, and that Ma-
dernoisellen, Hallande, Henry, and Cody matte very lauda-
ble furies. On the Greek tage these amiable goddesses
constituted the chorus to several plays, and amounted in num-
ber originally to 60, but on account of the fatal effects pro-
duced by their tenors upon children, ct lea femme, enriente, they
were reduced by so express law of the State to 15. end afterwards
to 12 ice number. We think the present piece would be better
without them, and we suppose they have oily been i atroduced in
compliance with the taste for horrors introduced by she Der Preis,
rhutz school of the drams. There are several rem and effective
situations in the course of the piece. particularly that in the second
art, where the recognition between Orestes and Electra takes place.
The (fiction of the piece does not possess very high claims, and Is
in many instances only a repetition of the stale and ordinary corn-
Ilion places of the drama. 'fhe stoner/ was (as is usual with this
!souse) remarkably good, and the dresses, generally speaking, cor-
rect. With regard to the performance, Mr. C. Kemble is entitled
to very high praise for the effective and powerful manner in which
he represented Orestes, and we will join with him Mrs. Bartley
and Miss Larry for a display of similar emelisies. Of the repre-
sents:iye of ifsristk:s (Mr. Bennet) we would rather say nothing,
and of Mr. Cooper, in l'ylado, we have nothing to say. On the
whole, the piece was better received than has of late been usual for
t. agedies, and will, we doubt not, become deservedly popular.