Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-08-18 00:00:00

ITALIAN OPERA. AT TETE THEATRE ROYAL.

The first series of Italian Operas commenced last night
with " I Puritani," at one time so great a favourite as
al cost to supersede all other operas, when Grisi, Rebini'
Tambourini, and Lablache took the principal characters.
Last night., by some mistake on the part of the
managers of the operatic company, Madame Bosio was
advertised to take the character of Eleira, which it appears
was never intended, and on the bills Millie. Parepa was
announced, and actually filled the part very crelitably, if
not so satisfactorily as might have been expected of
Madame Bosio. Madlle. Parepa has a fine person, rather
exuberant in some feminine attractions, with a brilliant and
well-trained voice, but rather hard in some of the upper
notes. Tne general Tiality of voice is sweet in tone, with great
compase, and clear and distinct execution. The Po!acca
Son Virgin Vizzosa, and the air Qui la core, were very
highly applauded, and were rendered with great ease and
fluency, though a little more passion would have been
admissable in the latter. Gardoni made a very gallant
cavalier of Arturo, and sang the music with great spirit
and pathos ; but we malt confess that we did not like
his commencement of . that beautiful air, A
te, Ceara. Graziani, also, 'disappointed us in Riccardo,
notwithstanding his exquigive voice. His conception of
the cba acter, as well as too much of his execution, e as,
we think, unnecessarily coarse. The duet, Lima la
tronzba, was encored, more for the noise made
than for the musical character of the perfor-
mance. Tagliafico, admirably made up for Giorgio,
was all that could be wished. The band
and the chorus were fall and effective, but
the accompaniments were frequently too loud and
overpowering. The opera was admirably put on the stage,
and drew a full pit, but a less attendance in the boxes
than should have been attracted by a highly dramatic
plot, allied to some of the most beautiful music Bellini
ever composed.
Verdi's "Rigoletto" to-night will probably be better
attended. It has never been played here, and has
a very great reputation on the continent and elsewhere.
The plot is very singular, and in accordance with the taste
of the day. Rigoletto is a deformed court buffoon, at the
court of a dissolute Duke, to whose dissipation he lends a
hand. Rigoletto has a daughter, Gilda (to be played by
Madame Bosio), who is kept so closely concealed
that the courtiers, who appear to be of similar character
with the Duke, supposes her to be a mistress,
and under the pretence of carrying off the wife of Count
Cepreizo, they make .Rigoletto an assistant in carrying off
his own daughter to the Duke. Ho soon discovers the

trick played upon him, and, rushing to the court, aston -
ishes the courtiers by demanding his daughter. Gilda
comes in complaining of the outrage to which she
has been subjected, and Rigoletto determines
to revenge himself by mutlering the Duke.
With this object he eng,ges Sparafucile, a hireling assassin,
for twenty ducats, ten of which are paid down, and the
remainder to be paid when the dead body of the Duke is
handed to him. A'pa..afacile has a sister Magdalena, wllO,
enveigles victims to the lonely, half-rained inn at 7,:nieh the
murders are committed, and a river runs r,z,nveniently near-
for the disposal of the bodies. The Juke is enticed here, and.
accord ug to his usual habit commences flirting with
Magdalena. Eigo'etto brings Gilda disguised in men's
attire to see the conduct of the Duke, and a striking
quartett, which has born sung at the Philharmonic Hall-
more than once, takes place between the Duke and
Magdalena in the house, seen and heard through the
gaping walls, and Bigoted° and Gilda concealed outside,
Magdalena is worked on to endeavour to save the Duke,
and proposes to her brother that he shall mur-
der Bigoted° instead, and thus secure the other
ten ducats. Sparafucile is quite indifferent to
any other object than getting the ducats, and consents to
murder the first man that knocks at the door. Gilda
hears the plot, and having become attached to the Duke
'(
who had introduced himself to her as a poor student),
womanlike, forgives the outrage subsequently offered to
her when taken to the palace, and determines to save
the Duke by knocking at the door and being the
victim instead of him. Rigoletto comes to the inn,
and receives the body of his daughter in a sack
to throw in the river, and, to his horror, discovers, on
hearing the Duke's voice, that the intended vengeance had
recoiled upon his own head, and he sinks overpowered by
the fulfilment of a malediction uttered against him early
in the opera, and to which he has constantly referred with
dread. It will be seen that Gilda is the only character
that is not absolutely repulsive, and she is made the victim
of a fate as inexorable as that of the ancient. We should
pity Bigoted°, if he had not lent himself to do to others
what he ultimately suffers from himself. The opera
affords some fine situations.

GOI:DON CUMMING'S ENTERTAINMENT—CLAYTON HALL.
The Hall continues as attractive as ever, and the more the
public see of the entertainment, the better it is liked,—no
wonder. We have given a sample of his description of
Lion Hunting—take the ft.:Rowing graphic (fawn his really
interesting book on Africa.) ,ketch of an Elephant hunt :
" Belo! e us stood a herd of mighty bull elephants, peeked.
together beneath a shady grove about a hundred and fifty
yards in advance. I rode slowly towards them, but as soon
as they osserved me they made a loud rumbling noise
and tossing their trunks, wheeled right about and made off
in one direcion, crashing through the forest and leaving a
cloud of dust behind them. The distance I had come, and
the difficulties I had undergone to behold these elephants,
rose fresh before me ; I determined that on this occasion
at least I would do my duty, and dishing my spurs into
'Send ay's' ribs, was very soon much too close in their
rear for safety. Tee elephants now made an inclination
to my left, whereby I obtained a go el view of their ivory.
The herd consisted of six bulls, foyer of them fall grown
first rate elephants; the other two ware fine fellows, bat-
h-id not yet arrived at perfect stature. Of the four old ones
two had much fiber tusks than the rest, and for a few
sscon Is I was undecided which of these two I would
follow, when, suddenly, the one I fancied had the stoutest
tusks broke from his e comrades, and feeling convinced he
was the patriarch of the herd I followed him according ly.
Cantering alongside I was about to fare, when ha instantly
turned, and, uttering a trumpet sound, so loud and shrill that
the very ground seemed to vibrate beneath my feet, he
charged furiously after me for several hundred yards in a
direct line, not in any degree interrupts] in his cours e
by the trees, which he snapped aad overthrew like reeds in
his headlong career. At length he pulled up in his charge,
and, as lie slowly turned to retreat, I let fly at his shoulder,
Sunday' capering and prancing and giving me much
trouble. Oa receiving the ball, the elephant shrugged his
shoulders, and made off at a free majestic walk. This shot
brought several of the dugs to my asiistanet, far they had
bests following the herd, and on their coming up and
barking, another headlone charge was the result, accom-
panied by the never-failing trumpet as before. In this-
charge he passed close to me, when I saluted him with
a second bullet in the shoulder, of which be di I not take
the slightest notice, and I now determined not to fire again
until I could make a steady shot; but although he turned
repeatedly, Sunday' invariably disappointed me, capering
so that it was impos;.ble to fire. At length, exasperated, I
became reckless of the danger, and springing from the
saddle approached the elephtnt under the cover of a tree
and gave him a bullet in the side of the head, when,
trumpeting so shrilly that the forest treenhled, he charged
amongst the does, from whom he seemed to fancy the blow
came, and alts wards took up a poeitioa in a grove of
thorns, with his heed towards me. I now walked up olose
to him, and as he was again in the act of charging (being
in those days trader wrong irnvessioa as to the practibility
of bringing down an elephant with a shot in the fore-
head,) stood cosily is his path until he weft within fifteen
paces of me, and let drive at the hollow of his forehead,
in the vain expectation that by so doing I should end his
career. The shot only served to increase his fury—an
effect which I have remarked shots in the head invariably
produce, and, continuing his headlong course with incredible
retickeess and imeetuosity, he all but terminated my
elephant-hunting for ever. A large party of the Bachnanas
who had came up yelled out simultaneously, imagining I
was killed, for the el,phatat was at one moment almost on
the top of me; h :mese-, my activity saved me, but as I
dodged round the bushy trees an enormous thorn ran deep
int) the sole of my foot, the old Bedenoch brogues which
I that dty sported being worn through ; this caused me
severe pain, 'amities me throughout the rest of the ceteflicle
The elephant new hell on through the forest at a sweeping
pace; still he was hardly out of sight when I was loaded
and in the saddle, and once more alongside. About this
time I heard Isaac blazing away at another bridle but
when he charged the fellow's cowardly heart failed him
and he qaielCy mode his appearance at a safe distance in
my rear ; my elephant kept crashing along at a steady
pace, blood streaming from his wounds ; the clogs, knocked
up with fatigue and thirst, dropt astern, and it was long
before I fired again, fit I was afraid to dismount, and
Sunday' was extremely troublesome. At length I gave
him a sharp 'right and left' behind the shoulder, when he
made a long charge after me, rumbling and trumpeting as be-
fore. The whole body of the Bannangwato men had now come
up, and were following a short distance behind me ;
among these was Mollycon, who volunteered to help, and
being a very swift and actives fellow rendered me impure
tant service, by holding my fidgety horss's head while I
fired and loaded ; I tired six broadsides in this way, the
elephant charging almost every time, and pursuing us back
to the main body in our rear, who fled in all directions as
he approached. The sun had now sunk behind the trees r
it would very soon be dark, and, notwithstanding all he
had received, the elephant did not seem much distressed.
I recollected that my time was short, and therefore re-
solved to close with him and fire on foot. This I did,
approaching very near, and sending my balls right and
left in the side of the head, upon which he male a long
and determined charge ; but I was now thoroughly cool,
for I saw he could not overtake me, and in a twinkling was
loaded and gave him both barrels behind his shoulder.
Another trumpeting, which sent ' Sunday' flying through
the forest, and a terrific charge followed ; this was his
final one. His wounds began to tell, and he stood at bay
beside a thorny tree, with the dogs, who perceived it was
nearly over, barking furiously around him. Reloading,.
I now fired right and left at his forehead, but it was
evident he could not charge again, and on receiving these
shots tossed his trunk up and down, and by various signs
aid motion, most gratifying to the hungry natives, evinced
that his end was near.

SECOND GRAND ASCENT OF THE ROYAL CREYORNE
BALLOON, AT THE ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS, NEXT MONDAY•

TELEGRAPITjO NEWS.

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