The Sun.
London, England, 1846-11-10 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, ITESDAY EV,

have killed him. As it was, the unfortunate man has
received such serious internal injuries that it is a matter
of doubt whether he will recover from the effects.
Mr. SECKER immediately granted warrants for the
apprehension of the assailants.

DRURY-LANE THEATRE.

A new three act opera, entitled, Loretta, a Tale of Se-
ville, the music by Mr. Lavenu, the words by Mr. Bunn,
was produced here last evening with complete success.
The heroine, Loretta (Madame Bishop), is a Spanish
peasant girl, residing in the neighbourhood of Seville,
but albeit she is of humble birth, gentle blood flows in
her veins. Her father, Don Juanito (Mr. Weiss) is an
old soldier. He has won honours in the service of his
country; aid to his son Philippo (Mr. Borrani), who has
enlisted in the army, be gives a medal and a cross, to be
worn when he shall have won his way to a commission
by his valour. The opera opens at the Posada of
Gaetana (Miss Rebecca Isaacs), where the re-
cruits are assembled preparatory to joining their
regiment, and, at the rising of the curtain, we
find the soldiers and the peasantry singing a joyous
chorus. Loretta and her father are there to take leave
of Philippo, and the revellers are joined by Don Carlos
(Mr. W. arrison), the nephew of the Governor of Se-
ville, and the betrothed of his daughter Florinda (Miss
Poole). He sees Loretta and he loves her ; and, not-
withstanding the efforts of Ferdinand (Mr. D. W. King),
his brother officer, and the lover of Florinda, he deter-
mines to carry off Loretta, in which he succeeds ; and,
in the next scene, we find her a prisoner in the apart-
ment of Don Carlos, in the Palace of Don Henriquez
(Mr. S. Jones), the Governor of Seville. Carlos is full
of remorse for the crime which he has committed, but
yet does not give up his prey, and he gives utterance to
his remorse in the ballad, "That feeling which exalts
the soul," which is full of melody, and which
was well given by Harrison, and honoured with
an encore, not, however, without some resist-
ance on the part of some portion of the
audience. Loretta enters nearly senseless with fear ;
and here occurs a fine duet, the gem of the act, " Sime
hearts there are too changed with grief," which was
beautifully given by Madame Bishop, who was well sup-
ported by Harrison. The scene then changes to a
Gothic saloon in the castle of Henriquez, who informs
Carlos that war has been declared—and that he
(Carlos) has been appointed to the colonelcy of a
regiment, and that when he returns from the war
he shall wed Florinda. The act concludes with a quar-
tette, carefully written, and well sung, by Messrs. Har-
rison, D. W. King, S. Jones, and Miss Poole), and
a chorus, during the singing of which Loretta escapes
by letting herself down by a scarf from the window.
This concludes the first act. A lapse of five years is
supposed to take place during the first and
second acts. The second act opens with a fête in a
village on the banks of the Guadalquiver. Loretta
enters melancholy and downcast, and sings the recita-
tive, " The bosom of yon waters," and the romance,
" On the banks of the Guadalquiver," which is the gem
of the opera, and which was exquisitely rendered by
Madame Bishop. The audience were enthusiastic in
their plaudits, and from that moment the opera, the su.a •
ess of which had previously' been somewhat doubtrul,
was safe. It is needless to add that this beautiful ro-

_ .
mance was rapturously encored. A peasant girl enters,
bringing in a child, which Loretta takes in her arms and
kisses. A. flourish of trumpets is 'heard, and Carlos
Henriques, Ferdinand, and Fiorinda, enter. Carlos re-
cognises Loretta, and seems bewildered; he, however, is
roused by his companions, and retires into the chateau
with Henriques, and Ferdinand and Florinda are
left alone; and here occurs an exquisite duet, " The
keenest torture to the mind," which was beautifully
given by Mr. King and IViss Poole. From*" that mo-
ment Florinda and Ferdinand understand each other.
She knows that Carlos, to whom she is betrothed, loves
her not—that Ferdinand has long loved her, and she
feels that she loves Ferdinand in return. Then

glows a most animated scene of a village
file by night. Stalls are erected, the trees are illu-
minated, the stalls are lighted up, and there is a dance
on the village green to a chorus sung by the revellers.
_ .

Soldiers join &e festivity. In the captain of the trocp
Loretta recognises her brother, and rushes into his
arms. Carlos, who is the colonel of the regiment,
recognises Loretta, and his jealousy is roused at seeing
her in the arms of another. When, however, he learns
that that other is her brother, he is appeased ; but soon
the child enters. It is hers. Her brother is out-
rageous, and would sacrifice her on the spot. Carlos
however interferes and saves her, and in the midst of the
melee the drop falls. The whole of this scene is in con-
certed music, which is most characteristically written.
It tells well, and promises much for the future of Mr.
Lavenu. The composer who, as a young man, can write
thus, will do great things—looked upon merely as an
academical exercise it is worthy of all praise ; but it is
better than this, there is genius about it. It is a com-
position full of promise. The third set opens with the
preparations for the marriage of Carlos and Flo •
rinda—Florinda is surrounded oy her women, who
sing a carefully written chorus, while dressing her
for the wedding. Her women and her father leave
her—she is sad—she feels that Carlos is indifferent
to her—that Ferdinand loves her, and she gives vent to
her feelings in the exquisitely beautiful romance "Happy
heart," which was so feelingly rendered by Miss Poole
that it was deservedly rewarded with a double encore.
It is, indeed, a delicious mot ceau of pure melody.
Carlos and Ferdinand enter, and the former, who
wishes to be alone, consigns her to the care of
Ferdinand. Scarcely have they left the apart-
ment, when Philippo enters leading his sister. He
has earned bis commission—he is entitled to his die.
charge—and he demands it of his Colonel, in order that
he may devote the rest of his days to his fallen—his de-
graded sister. Carlos grants him his discharge, and leads
him to another apartment to prepare it. Loretta is left
alone. She surveys the apartment. She recognises,
article by article, the furniture of it. It is the apart-
ment in which she was confined as a prisoner by her ab-
ductor—the father of her child. The recitative and
scene, " What vision comes upon me," and
" When pale and clouded is our star," is
one of the most marvellous pieces of execution
ever heard. There is no one on the stage who could
venture to attempt to.sing this trying scena but Madame
Bishop. It taxes the highest soprano voice to the very
uttermost, but superbly did she give it. Never has a
greater triumph been achieved. It was not only sung
exquisitely, artistically, but fairly. There was no
attempt to shirk a single note, every difficulty was fairly
met and fairly conquered, nay more, she herself seemed
to create difficulties only for the pleasure of show-
ing how easily she could conquer them. It
was sung beautifully, tastefully, and with the
greatest ease, and marvellous for such a scena with
such a voice, there was not a single fault of intonation, not
a single note sung false throughout. In this particular
Madame Bishop stands alone ; she is the only pure so-
prano who never on any occasion sings out of tune. Her
ear is as perfect as her voice—more perfect it cannot be.
Carlos enters, and in him she recognises her seducer,
and denounces him to her brother, who tears up his
discharge ; and in the presence of Don,. Henriquez
and his, suite, inflicts on Carlos a blow. He strikes
his superior officer, and is condemned to death.
He is led out to execution—the soldiers are
ready to fire on him. Loretta, with her child in her
arms, rushes between him and his executioners. Carlos
recognises her, confesses his crime, and offers her the
only reparation in his power. Philippo is pardoned—
Loretta and Carlos are married—and Florinda being
then at liberty, willingly accepts the proffered band of
Ferdinand. The opera concludes with a finale, "Ah !
heart be hushed and calm," by Madame Bishop,
in which she proves herself superior in powers
of execution to any prima donna on the stage. Per-
siani herself, in her best days, never surpassed Madame
Bishop in this finale. Nothing could exceed the luxu
riance of her fioriture in this finale, except the exquisite
taste with which that fioriture was introduced. Luxu-
riant almost to excess, it never overlayed the melody.
It was a perfect triumph. At the conclusion all the
principal artists were called for and overwhelmed
with bouquets, and then Mr. Lavenu was called for
and led on by Harley, who " made fun" in collecting the
bouquets and presenting them to the young composer;
and then Mr. Bunn was called for, and after awhile came
on and bowed his thanks. This opera, considered as the
work of a young composer, is full of promise, of course he
has not, in every instance, ventured to go alone; here and
there, as might have been expected, we meet with re-
miniscences ; but the music is, throughout, enrac-
teristic. For instance, any one hearing the manic
without the words, would at once be aware
that it was descriptive of a Spanish love story. It is,
moreover, dramatic, and is evidently the production of
one who has studied his art scientifically—the
instrumentation throughout is most carefully written.
That alone would reflect credit on the Royal
Academy of Music, of which Mr. Lavenu is a pupil. It
is an opera full of promise. We hope to meet Mr.
Lavenu again, and if he gives himself fair play, he will
be one of the "notables" of the English school of dramatic
music. The house was crowded.

pended already. He has assumed the name and bearing
of a noble, and he has saved the life of the Princess through
the instrumentality of the Demon steed (a beautiful
blood mare from Barbary, and not the least perfect actor
on the boards). This animal also carries him through
the dangers of a grand tournament, and he is proclaimed
the victor. Ulric aspires to the hand of the fair Odyle,
and is, with the consent of the Count, to be wedded, when
his mother, Jeannette Martens (Mrs. Brooks) rushes in
and proclaims him to be a vassal, and her son. He is
thrown into a dungeon, and is visited by one of the
Demon's satellites, who renews afresh his dreams of am-
bition by informing him that the child of the Sultan of
Damascus has been carried off by a noted pirate Hans
(Mr. Henderson), and that he is confined in
a lonely town in Iceland. With the aid of his
steed, the prison doors are opened, and Ulric, in a good
ship and with a band of trusty soldiers, appears before
the robbers tower. The demon steed rescues the boy,
and the next scene introduces us to Damascus and to
the Sultan, who is no other a personage than Ulric, a
renegade. A proclamation has been issued denouncing
death to all Christians, and who are informed that the
Count of Flanders and his s'n are marching on the city.
The Sultan is reclining on his velvet cushions observing
the dance, when his mother and Alicia, who had tra-
velled to Damascus in hopes to reclaim him,
rush in, pursued by some Mahomedans, but they
are rescued by Ulric. The final scene exhibits
the storminc, and capture of Damascus, the death
piece, as a spectacle, was first rate, and this is all we
of Ulric, and his repentance before it is too late.
The
ever look for at Astley's. Feats of horsemanship and
vaulting in the circle followed, and the evening's amuse-
ments were wound up with the favourite afterpiece of the
15th Lancers. The house, as we have already stated,
was crowded, and the reception given to the whole of
I the performances was enthusiastic.