The National Register.
London, England, 1809-09-10 00:00:00

LYCE (far .

The nonsense of comic-operas hat long Leen tolerated
under the pretext that any thing may serve for a vehicle
if music. The Muse of Melody it seems cannot he treated
too disrespectfully ; the meanest machine which tolly and
insipidity can put together, is thought good enough for
her : and though we run to meet her, like crouals to au
execution, yet we feel no indignation if we find our fa-
vourite carted by some of the veriest Jack-ketches of
Poetry. It is true that the music of most modern Operas
merits every degradation. It is a debauched aud decrepit
being of no species aud of no sex : it is neither expressive,
nor mellifluous; it touches no passion, it excites no ewe.
tion, it possesses no ideas : it is a mere jumble of concords
which just serves to kill our time easily for us—without
pleasure and without absolute pain. riny vehicle might
indeed serve for the conveyance of such a being—but why
convey such a being into ear public theatres at. all I
The adaptation of music to the drama must always have
been desirable; yet if the theatre is to be considered as the
mirror of real life, music unfit certainly, be excluded front
conversations and the representations of common transac-
tions. Men and women do not either quarrel or make love
in musical airs :—true—but still the language of the drama
is frequently elevlted above the language of real life s
blank verse and turgid prose are both admitted upon the
stage with considerable apphtuse, and therefore the powers
of musical diction have certainly many claims to be re-
ceivecL To speak in recitative, and to utter impassioned
passages in rapturous melody, would not be absurd as ex.!
• pressions of warm and animated sentimeuts, if such ex-
pression were confined to subjects elevated above common
transactions and common agents. Instead of joining the
general cry of critics against Operas we are willing to
admit them with all the extravagancies of machicery and
spectacle: we wish even to go further, we NV 14h to hear the
highest and most embellished poetry blended with their
powers of harmonious utterance,---we wish to see the'
genius of the ancient drama received into our Opera.
The English Opera is tbunded neither in nature or com-
mon sense : it bath, however, inundated our theatres of
late years with inure pieces than any other species of
dramatic entertainment. It is said to have received ins
origin from the Beg., ar's Opera of Cray, bat we think that its
source arose in the inordinate love ot sing song, with which
an English audience seems always ,to be possessed. Gay
began his Beggar's Opera with the intentiotc of satyrizing
the Italian Opera, but as he proceeded with his subject hi
forgot his purpose, and grew sir fond of his pericrmrsece
that he laid entirely aside the idea of a harh'squc recietaat%
and extravagant airs. and blended a humorous and ch 3.,
racteristic dialogue with the most simple and most at tractive
melodies. Few other English Operas seem 0) !rave aspirei
to the slightest literary merit : Lore in a Village and the
Ducnna, are the only compositions of this species that cam
be read without disgust.
The taste. of the British public is however chiefly di rev!, 4
to this sort of Musical Drama, which forms so distiligeishi. g;
- a feature in our National Theatres, that it becomes a
mount duty in criticism to enquire what, are its leaglie; cha-
racteristics, and how far it may he improved. Many spec.ir3
of composition that are net natural in themselves, may yet
be rendered probable anti interesting by observing a certain
proportioe of their parts to each other, and by establish-
ing such boundaries as might be known ;)), the enquiry that
66 If such things were, in what manner would they be ? IT
it were natural for meg an 4 women to sing their sentiments
occasionally to one another, it is probably that the most
lofty-or the most interesting feelings only wouht flow into
musical diction,. and that such music would be the most
j perfect combinations of impassioned melodies. .As it is itt
this only that the English Opera pretends to depart .frinn
modern Comedy, it must in every other respect conforal