The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1826-05-30 00:00:00

VAUXHALL GARDENS.

This Royal place of resort threw open its portals last
evening to the public, under circumstances of strong ex-
citement to those who admire all that is beautiful in song.
It will be in the recollection of our readers, that at a for-
mer period this place of amusement stood nearly first
among those where the public were gratified with the ex-
hibition of vocal talent. Of late, however, this peculiarity
has not been so conspicuous, and although many successful
attempts have been made to improve the amusements in
various ways, it has been left to the present proprietors to
redeem its honour, by presenting such a host of talent, as if
not to rival, at least to compete with the fondest remem-
brances of a bygone generation. In order that the public
should have the opportunity of hearing those orchestral
efforts with due effect, the rotunda has been converted into
a most capacious concert room, the orchestral space being
greatly enlarged, boxes formed on each side, and a gal-
lery extending down the avenue leading to the theatres, and
the floor of the rotunda occupied by forms capable of hold-
ing about Sno persons, independent of the space under the
gallery. The whole is lighted by a very magnificent
chandelier of thirty-six lights, suspended from the centre
of the room, the proportion!' of which are admirably
adapted to the space necessary to be illuminated. The
hail room leading out of the concert room is adorned
by various panoramic views by Thorne, of Florence,
Turin, Naples, the falls of Tivoli, and the bridge of
Gomlo, all ot' which do infinite credit to the artist. The
ceiling represents a grove of trees, and, with the waterfall
at the bottom, gives a most striking and finished effect to
this admirable promenade. The concert consisted of two
parts, and was most admirably sustained throughout. The
vocal performers were, Madame Cornega, Miss Stephens,
and Madame Vestris ; Signor de Begnis, :Messrs. Braham,
Sinclair, Taylor, Durmastle, Robinson, 'Pinney, and
Master Barker. Mr. Bishop presided at the pianoforte,
and the band was ably led by Mr. Hooke. The selection
was made from the works of Rossini, Braham, Bishop,
&c., and was; without exception, executed in the
very best tnanner. 'The performances commenced with
" God save the King." Among our old friends,
we had " Vice le Rol," from the Engli.l4 Fleet, by
Mr. Braham and Madame Vestris ; In infancy,
by Madame Wattle ; and the " Death of Nelson,"
by Braham. Mies Stephens sang " Bid me discourse" with
great effect. Of harmonized pieces we had " Zitti, zitti,"
" Under the Greenwood Tree," and " Giovannetti the
Fate." Sinclair gave " My Love is like the red, red
Rose," and " Araby, my noble steed," from Aladdin, with
his usual ability. De Begnis was very great in " Non piu
andrai, " and very comic in the harmonized parts from
Barbiere di Sirt;;rlia : in the former he was loudly en-
cored. Charles Taylor gave a comic song, which alluded
to the alterations contemplated in the management, in the
observations of a friend, somewhat like " Damper Yates,"
who objected to theiehaving a Bishop for conductor, be-
cause be apprehended, if that were the ease, they could
only have sacred music.
Between the first and second acts of the Concert there
was a delightful petit ballet performed in the theatre, called
" I:lntrigue du Village," which was most pleasingly per-
formed, and introduced two new candidates for popular
favour—Mademoiselle I'. Hos.signol, from Amsterdam, and
Monsieur B. Vestris, from La Scala, at Milan. There are
various other amusements to be brought forward ; but the
state of the weather precluded their exhibition on this oc-
casion; the only cords attempted being musical ones.
We cannot but think the proprietors of this establish-
ment are entitled to great praise for the manner in which
they have come forward to restore Vauxhall to the rank it
once held ; and we feel convinced that their efforts will be
duly appreciated. We have long felt the necessity of a
room so situated for morning concerts, and we feel assured,
that under such regulations as the present management
are capable of suggmting, the thing may 1:e Lrought
to bear. It has long been a desideratum in the
musical and fashionable world. The elements oti this
tweet:ion seemed determined to put the arrangements
announced by the Management to the test, for it rained
in torrents the whole evening; however, little incon-
venience was felt by the company on that score, except
that, as we have me:l6o:+M, the amusements were con-
fined to those that could be given in the Concert-room
and Theatre. Nothing was done a la Nagai; and the fire-
works are in reserve for a more congenial state of atmos-
phere. Indeed, the performance we have noticed could
scarcely be called more than a dress rehearsal; and we
shall take an early opportunity of returning to the subject,
we will not say under more favourable circumstances, but
when the whole of the ei:tertainineuts provided by these

enterprizing caterers for public gratification shall be in Atli
force. We cannot conclude without expressing our hop,
that the public will be presented with some instrumental
performances by the talented individuals now gracing !hi, country, in order to complete the work that has hem ,
ably begun; and, for their satisfactionvwe have the audio.
I rity of Mr. Brabam for stating that this Concert-room i,
one of the best for sound within his recollection. the
proprietors roust have incurred a large expense by their
I 1 present engagements ; hut we feel convinced that they win
amply remunerated by a discerning and liberal public.
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