The Sun.
London, England, 1864-05-04 00:00:00

HER MAJESTY'S THEATRE,

Otto Nicolai's " Falstaff,"

Fifteen years after its original production at
Berlin, Nicolai's sprightly opera "Die Lustigen
Weiber von Windsor"—otherwise the operatic
version of Shakspere's "Merry Wives of Windsor"
has been at last performed (let us say at once, with
the most brilliant effect) here in London. It was sub-
mitted for the first time to an English audience last
evening at Her Majesty's Theatre, and that too with
a success throughout the whole performance so really
remarkable of its kind that upon that success we
may at once offer Mr. Mapleson our very heartiest
congrr.tulations. Foremost upon the extraordinary
list of novelties, promised by the Director of Her
Nlejesty's, at the commencement of the season,
Nicolai's chef d'oeuvre is aptly enough the earliest
of those novelties to have been produced, And the
manner of its production is such that it renders us san-
guine as to the possibility of Mr. Mapleson being yet
enabled to fulfil within the compass of this present
season the majority at least of the radiant promises
massed together in his prospectus. Although
Nicolai's comic opera has been condensed in its
present form from the original fear acts into Three,
the performance of merely those three acts was not
over until atter midnight. Again—although the
libretto has been duly Italianized from the German
original into " Le Spose Allegro di 'Windsor," the
week comes, even in its Italian form, before an
English audience under the more terse and equally
appropriate title of FALSTAFF ! Its production, thus,
at length upon the stage of Her Majesty's, occurring,
moreover—of all good years that could have been
selected for that purpose—in the year of the Shak-
sperian Tercentenary. And, as if in especial
honour of that circumstance, the whole strength
of Mr. Mapleeon's establishment may be said
to have been lavished upon its performance.
The characters, to begin with, were distributed
among the very pick of his cotupany. Signor
Giuglini was the young lover, Fenton. Made-
moiselle Titiens was one of the Meery Wives, Mistress
FJrd—Mademoiselle Bettelheim, the new contralto,
being the other, that is Mrs. Page. Signor Mar-
cello Junca was the Fat Knight. Mr. Santley, the
Jealous Husband. Signor Gassier being not only
the other Husband, who is not jealous, to wit, Mas-
ter Page, but as such (an innovation this, as will be
seen, in the plot of the comedy) the impersonator
of Herne the Hunter, in the closing scene of the
Opera—to the crowning terror of Falstaff, himself
already duly disguised in that scene as the antlered
spectral-huntsman. Added to these Multi°. Vitali
was Anne Page—Signor Mezzetti undertaking
Doctor Caius—acd Signor Manfredi, Master Slen-
der : absurdly misprinted, this last, " Flanders" in
the libretto. It will be seen at once, therefore,
that nothing whatever was omitted to be done
that could be done, with a view to ensuring the
effective impersonation of the different characters.
Reduced as it is to three acts, Nicolai's " Die Lusti-
gen Weiber von Windsor" has most appropriately,
as it happens, been rechristened '° Falstaff," seeing
that each of these three acts is an exhibition of one
of the priuepal practical jokes played off by the
Merry Wives upon Sir John, or rather, as he now
masquerades before us in his title, upon Sir Gio-
vanni. The first act reaches its climax with the
carrying away of the buck-basket to have its con-
tents tumbled into the Thames at Datchet. The
second act attains its climax with the trouncing
administered by Ford's cudgel to the burly Lothario
while the latter,
in waddling out in the disguise of
the Fat Woman of Brantford. The third and last
act, closes, as a matter of course, with Felstaff's
final escapade under the Haunted Oak in Windsor
Forest. Most appropriately, therefore, we repeat,
the opera, thus revised and condensed, is entitled
not the " Merry Wives," but " Falstaff."
Now, however, as to what was obviously, of course,
the consideration beyond all others of paramount
importance in regard to the performance yesterday
at Her Majesty's, for the very first time here in Eng-
land, of Nicolai's masterpiece—the music ! Saving
and excepting only, in regard to the inetru menta-
tion, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to
detect through the opera itself, its German author-
ship. The animation, vivacity, sprightliness, and '
espeelerie of the whole of this graceful and vari-
able composition, breathe far more of an Italian, or
even it might be said, of a French, than of a German
origin. The charming overture (already familiar
to us, the only portion of the opera we will acknow-
ledge that was familiar to us) inaugurated the even-
ing, so to speak, respendently. In this Overture it is
that occurs the loveliest air in the whole opera,
for that matter, it should be said, the only haunt-
ing one—that air, namely (any one who has ever
listened to it will surely recognise it by the de-
scription), resembling, as we may say, an undulat-
ing wave of melody, the outline of the curves of
which are carved out, as it were, by the sweeping
bows of the violins. So masterly was the performance
of the overture last night by the orchestra at Her
Majesty's, under the potent wand of Signor Arditi.
that the last movement of it, before the raising of
the curtain, was announced with a thunder of ap-
plause, evidencing the admiration with which the
whole crowded house had listened to it. A
similar greeting was accorded to that slow
movement, beginning with the "Bends geloso
umore, " of Ford, which constitutes the
moat admirable portion of the brilliant finale of
the Second Act—admirably rendered by Mr.
Santley, Madile. Miens, and the rest, and re.
demanded with acclamation. Frequent though the
encores were during the later portion of the
evening, the most censpieuous success of all in that
way was achieved by Signor Giuglini, whose
exquisite delivery of the Serenade " Nel boschetto
6 l'usignuolo"—to the delicious acoompaniment of the
hushed violins and warbling flutes--was rewarded
at its close with a crash of palms and an unanimous
cry of encore from boxes, stalls, and amphitheatre.
Of Signor Marcella Janet% s Falstaff we would say
at least this, unhesitatingly—that in the mere look
of it, in the make up and so forth, it was an ex-
cellent impersonation. As for anything else—well,
we must_ freely acknowledge our incapacity to ad-
mire it. Enough perhaps if we say in explanation
of our remarks, here, that it, Sir John as repre-
sented by Signor Junca, lacked altogether one
particle of fun—if we except only, that is, the
assumption of a shrill tone of voice by the basso
profundo when disguised as the Fat
Woman of
Brentford. Otherwise, Signor Juneaes Falstaff was
a Falstaff with all the fun taken out of him. Mr.
else
Santley's Ford, like everything he does,"was
admirable—admirable alike in acting and en
singing. Mademoiselle Titiens, as
Mts. Ford, was
the most charming contrast to her jealous spouse
in the latter's more serious moods, when eaten up
with suspicion or infuriated to outbursts of un-
governable indignation—the most charming con-
trast, with her bright, happy, delightful face, her
features often sparkling all over with laughter, and
beyond this, by reason of her
gay, glorious voice,
fresher than ever it seemed last evening, and more
dazzlinglin its brilliancy As for the Alaster Slender
of Signor Bettini, and the Doctor Caius of Signor
Mazzetti, they were the merest shadows of character
well imagineable—the latter ill his make up
resembling, by the way, one of John Leech's bullet-
headed Frenchmen—in masquerade. The way
in which the whole opera was put upon the stage
reflects the highest credit upon Mr. Mapleson's
establishment. Two of Mr. Telbin's scenes were
exquisite—the garden scene at the back of Master
Page's House—.and
(best of all) the moonlit glade
in Windsor Forest. This last one being an eminently
beautiful and really wonderful stage Llusion. Alto-
gether, we are speaking strictly within the limit of
plain truth,
when we say that a more brilliantly
sue,cessful first eight of any opera could not by
possibility have rewarded the strenuous efforts
of the management to ensure it. At the end of each
of the three acts the principal performers were
summoned between the curtains and the footlights ;
the last time, receiving
what is called an ovation,
meaning thereby simp'y a greeting marked by
genuine enthusiasm. We are equally notifying
here a mere matter of fact, we believe, when we
add that the audience assembled last evening within
the walls of her Majesty's Theatre was the most
brilliant that has been there collected together
this season, if we
except only that purely excep-
tional night, tho night set apart at her Majesty's
for the entertainment of the great Italian Adyen.