The Sun.
London, England, 1865-05-03 00:00:00

THE ROYAL ITALIAN OPERA,

MARIO IN " LE PROPHETE."

If we are this year without Tamberlik at either
house, if there yet remains a shadow of a shade of
a doubt as to Giuglini's recovery so far as to admit
of his appearance this season, in fulfilment of Mr.
Mapleson's promise, on the boards of Her Majesty's
—we have, happily, still left to us, the King of all
the Tenors, Mario, one who is yet to the last
the pride and paragon of the Royal Italian ! It
is, in truth, among the most notable facts in re-
gard to the musical season now in progress that
Mario is in glorious voice—is nightly in such voice
as he was " in" only upon two or three occasions,
quite exceptionally, during the whole course of last
season ! The freshness of his beautiful and, in some
respects, matchless organ, we recognised ourselves
with delight and duly notified in these columns
in our critique upon the Opening Night at the
Royal Italian, when, as will be remembered,
the season was inaugurated so very bril-
liantly with Gounod's chef d'oeuvre, Faust e
Margherita. Since then the same delightful fact
has been evidenced, again and again, and quite as
conspicuously. On Monday the same fact was
recognised as once more matter for
.general congra-
tulation among the audience assembled together
within the walls of the Royal Italian, to witness
the performance of one of the four—not the greatest
of them, to our mind, but still one of the most not-
able of the four—of those prodigious musical achieve-
ments of Meyerbeer, called, with full justice, not
simply Lyric Dramas, but Grand Operas 1 Colossal
evidences of the wonderful genius of the Maestro,
of which genius the world had a foretaste more than
three and thirty years ago, when the precursor of
this series of Grand Operas, Robert le Diable, was, in
1831, first produced. At deliberate and lengthened
intervals, since then, have appeared the four gigantic
masterpieces known now, the wide world over, as
the Four Grand Operas of Giacomo Meyerbeer—
Les lluguenots (the grandest of all operas to our.
thinking)—Le Prophke (the opera before referred
to as having been performed at the Royal Italian on
Monday evening)—Dinorah and (what is announced
we rejoice to see, for performance again at the Royal
Italian on Saturday evening next) L'Etoile du Nord.
Added, at length, to that glorious list—added to it
only as recently as Friday evening last—there is yet
the fifth of these Grand Operas of Meyerbeer—
crowning the radiant catalogue—perfecting, accord-
ing to the report of those who have actually heard
this last of his greatest works—just perfecting
the reputation of the composer of Les Huguenots, of
Le Prophete, of Dinorah, of L'Etoile du Nord, with
the posthumous triumph of L'Africaine. France,
Paris, in each instance, being the starting-point in
the marvellous career of each—as, in truth, the
very perpetuation of the French title of each of these
five Grand Operas (even in their Italian form) clearly
enough, distinctly enough, serves to indicate.
L'Africaine we have yet to make acquaintance with
—happily, according to Mr. Gye's programme (and
Mr. Gye has long since proved himself to be a man
of his word, a fulfiller of promises as well as a giver
of them, what though he is Director of a great
Lyrical Establishment !)—happily, we say, the Time
for our making acquaintance with L'Africaine is
during this present season, and the Place Covent
Garden Theatre, otherwise the Royal Italian !
Meanwhile, we have reasons enow to rejoice 'over
the good the gods have (already) given.us—those De-
migods of Song, the Great Composers—interpreted
as they are by such High Priests of their art, let us
say, as Signor Mario! We had reasons, for example,
abundant and overflowing, for exultation (during the
delay yet awhile of L'Africaine) on Monday evening,
when Mario, nobly assisted by other artistes of emi-
nence, interpreted yet once more for us the
Prophke of Meyerbeer. In the absence from the
lyrical stage of the incomparable Garcia, Madlle.
Edelsberg enacted Fides with a singularly pathetic
impressiveness—Madlle. Sonieri co-operating with
her very charmingly as Bertha, Jean of Leyden's
betrothed. The Three Anabaptist Leaders of the
revolt in Westphalia—picturesquely clad in sable,
like so many puritan Hamlets, without, however,
their princely stars and loosened garters—found ad-
mirable interpreters, both histrionic and lyrical—
Zacharia in Signor Capponi, Mathisen in Signor
Polonini, and Jonas in Signor Neri-Baraldi.
The gorgeous and tyrannical libertine, Count
D'Oberthal, was, as usual, the character allotted,
most judiciously, to Signor Tagliafico. But the hero
of the night in every sense (here again, let us say, as
usual) was Signor Mario as Jean of Leyden, the
Prophet ! In the second part of the first act, in the
tavern at Dordrecht, where Jean appears simply as
the innkeeper, Mario was as charming and as fasci-
nating as ever, not alone in his rendering of those
dreams of glory, which may be said to be audibly,
almost visibly revealed to us, in the visionary " Io
stava in pie prostrato," but in his earnest bye-play,
when listening to the temptations held out to him
by the conspiring leaders of the Anabaptists. And
so, for that matter—as indeed who that has gazed
upon and listened to the Jean of Leyden of Mario
knows not already, and who has not seen and heard
it ?—so, for that matter, was it throughout the
whole of the four acts on Monday, as it has been so
often previously ! Throughout—through the mag-
nificent pomp and tragic situation of the coronation
scene in the cathedral—through the breathless soli-
citude and anguish of the scene in the dungeon_
up to the very climax of all, where, in the banquet
scene, in the Town Hall of the City of Munster,
the disenchanted Prophet of the Anabaptists
still robed in his royal apparel, figuratively speaking
lapped in soft Lydian airs and crowned with roses,
breathing an atmosphere of fragrance, surrounded
by voluptuous dancers, bearing aloft in his jewelled
hand a golden tazza, brimming, one might fancy,
with the wine of the gods sings as Mario
alone can sing it the one delicious halnting melody
of Le Prophete, " Bevicn, e intorno giri"—to fall
prostrate afterwards at the foot of his throne in the
midst of the crashing flames and ruin he has
prepared for himself like another Sardana-
palus 1 After the final descent of the curtain
on Monday, Mario, as a mere matter of course,
or rather, let us say, as a sheer matter of
necessity, was summoned before the footlights,
to be there greeted with acclamations. Everything
prospers so well this season at the Royal Italian
that we have reason once more to congratulate Mr.
Gye on his propititious preparation for what will be
his crowning achievement this year—the first pro-
duction, that is in England, of Meyerbeer's Afri-
caine.

Gallery of Illustration,

--~-

Yesterday afternoon a new Opera di Camera,
composed by M. Emile Jones, and adapted from
the French by Mr. German Reed, entitled " A Fair
Exchange," was produced with the greatest success.
It consists of one scene and four characters, sup-
ported by Miss Henderson, Miss Pitt, Mr. J. Sha
and Mr. Whiffin, and the fun of the little trifle con-
sists in the cross purposes of four lovers, each of
whom has become an adorer to the other's sweet-
heart. The opera was capitally rendered by the
artistes engaged, and will assuredly become a general
favourite with the lovers of sweet and simple
melody. There was a pretty duet, which was
encored, between Miss Henderson and Mr. Whiffin,
and a quartet between them and the other pair of
lovers, played and sung by Miss Emily Pitt and Mr.
J. A. Shaw, which was much admired. The suc-
cessful chamber operetta by Mr. Macfarren, called
" The Soldier's Legacy," still holds its place,
and is received with favour. These musical per-
formances are quite independent of Mr. and Mrs.
German Reed's entertainment, and are only given
on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons.

REPRESENTATION OF LAUBETII;—It is expected
that the writ for the election of a member for the
borough of Lambeth will be moved for next Friday even-
ing, and that the nomination will take place on an early
day next week. At present it appears unlikely that there
will be any opposition to the return of Mr. Alderman J. C.
Lawrence, to whom a requisition bearing upwards of 2,000
signature's was some time since addressed, in anticipation
of the retirement of Mr. Williams. The names of several
other gentlemen have been mentioned in connection with
the fokthcoming election, but no efforts appear to be made
to bring them prominently before the constituency.
The Earl Delawarr arrived in town on Monday
from 13uckhurst Park, Sussex.