The Sun.
London, England, 1856-11-03 00:00:00

DRURY-LANE THEATRE.

evening every
corner
PERA.
On Saturday of our great na•
tional theatre was occupied, and we believe that many
, handreds were linable to obtain admittance at any
price. There were several combined causes for thin ex-
' traordinary confluence of people appertaining to almost
every class of the community. Firstly, Madame Grisi
was to appear for the first time in a character which
other singers had already rendered popular ; secondly,
Signor Mario was to sing with ber ; thirdly, Signor
Graziani had been brought from Paris, by a very large
numberof guineas, to perform his most celebrated part ;
and, fourthly, it was supposed to he the last night of
the Italian operas, which, at prices within the receb of
almost all, have been conducted by Messrs. Cramer and
Beale, and Mr. E. T. Smith, the enterprising le Isee of
Drury-lane, in so admi; able a manner as to win the an
probation of the press and the entire istinfi lence of the
public.
Here, most assuredly, were ample means for "bring-
ing a house," au the phrase goes, and a house there was,
such, indeed, as we have rarely seen.
I'he opera was Verdi's "Il Trovatore," and Madame
Grist essayed for the first time the character of Leonora.
We need scarcely comment upon the interest which any
fresh effort by so great an artist must necessarily awa-
ken. All musical London was anxious to learn what
the heroine of we
_know not how many operatic
triumphs would make of this new part—how she, who
has rendered the loveliest melodies of Mozart, Cima-
rose, Rossini, and Meyeriseer, more lovely by her ex-
quisitely beautiful singing, would acquit herself in '"ere
di's music, for she had never ventured upon it before,
at least in London ; and it was generally suppesed (why
we know not) that the great prima donna could not
do it justice. There could scarcely be a more erro-
neous idea than this. Grisi always could, and can still sing
to perfection anything within the compass of her voice ;
for she is a t' o roughly- rained artis:e, belonging to a
true and legitimate school ; whilst, with respect to
dramatic sentiment and emotional expression, she is uni-
versally admitted to be unsurpacsedly great. Why,
then, should she be unable to sing Verdi ? Can it be
said that his music is proof against all the magic powers
of executive genius, which, by a species of mental al-
chemy, can convert base materials into something like
pure gold ! Why, even we, who admire it not, would
not hazard such an assertion ! Was it imagined that
her pulrnonic means were unequal to it, and that she
could not scream loud enough to contend successfully
with the unisonic ravings of the maestro's score? It sr,,
there was some foundation for the doubt, for Grisi was
certainly not so great in the sere arcing passages of the
part as were many of her predecessors, and it is only in
this respect that we have to note shortcomings. Oh!
Pix culpa!
It should, however, be remembered that the sostcnuto
singing, such, for instance, as the "Carta Diva" requires,
is now much more trying to Grisi than even Verdi's start-
..

ling explosions of vocal fury, overlaid as they invariably
are by the instrummitation, and that, although she
might occasionally fail to out-scream the orchestra,
there could be no possible danger of an audible break-
down.

There was, therefore, no sufficient cause for supposing
that the "set/lima donna" would compromise herself on
this occasion, but, on the contrary, every reason to ex-
pect that she would give us an original and intensely
dramatic version of the character of Leororo—that she
would look it as it never was looked before, and sing all
that is properly vocal in the music divinely as she sings
everything. Such, at least, were our expectations, and
they were all fully realised.
The first air, " Tacea is notte," was given with a
parity of style, salt intensity of tone, and fervency of
expression which showed the fair cantatrice to be in the
best possible voice, and the happiest vein. This at once
put her admirers in epiritv, which were raised still
higher by the delightful execution of the succeeding
cabaletta, "Di Tale amor," in which the graces of
florid vocalism were combined with the more intel-
lectual charms of unaffected sentiment, for the accorn•
plishment of a result as nearly approaching perfection
as the music would admit. Grist was herself, and
there could be no room for doubt, even in Verdi-
ite minds, of the complete success of her new essay.
Henceforward, to the termination of the opera, she
shone with all her native lustre —in all the great
scenes and situations her "fiery and original" artistic
virtue vivified the score of Verdi, and imparted to it a
temporary dazzling splendour, which rendered us almost
blind to its manifold defects. In the frantic trio which
terminates the first act, and the eccentric finale to the
second, where the heroine of the drama is made to gasp
through a succession of halting measures as though ale
were suffering from asthma, Madame Grisi was crea-
tively great, for she made a vast deal out of very little ;
but in the bilious ?Owen scene, where there is a little
more help from the author—where the singer has rather
better material to work upon—she was greatest of all,
and far surpassed[all her predecessors. The whole of this
was rapturously redemanded ; and, indeed, the whole of
Mme. Grisi's performance was received with those un-
mistakeable demonstrations of genuine enthusiasm which
only attend a most complete and legitimate success. We
never heard Mario sing the muse of the "Troubadour"
so well, or saw him act the part with so much fiery
energy and purpose as he did on Saturday night. His
"Di (Fella pira" was quits an inspiration—the
mere execution of the thing carried us away—we
could scarcely have believed it possible to make so much
out of so little, and that little very bad in itself. Bnt
there was such " fine phrenzy" in the singer, so com-
plete an abandonment to the business of the scene, so
much genuine passion and exquisite beauty of voice, that
we could think of nothing but the wondrously-gifted
performer. We have spoken of this effor', first, because
it struck us particularly, and none of Mario's predeces-
sors, nor even Mario himself, had ever given equal effect
to the piece in question. It was indeed a grand ebulli
tion of lyrical and dramatic genius, sue: as even the
greatest artiste could not!safely reckon upon being able
to repeat. It must not, however, be supposed that this
was Mario'd only triumph ; for never did he sing
the serenade, " Desert() sulla terra," the "Ah si ben
mio" (unanimously redemanded), or the " Addio Leo-
nora" (similarly honoured), more beau ifully, or act the
entire part more finely. Signor Graziani, who was
most enthusiastically received, mug throughout the opera
in his very best manner, and his beautiful baritone voice
was heard to the utmost advantage in the popular ro-
manza, " Il Balen del suo sorriso," for which he elicited
a rapturous encore.

Madame Amadei, who is rapidly rising in public esti-
mation, displayed unexpected histrionic ability in the
very arduous part of Azucena, the old demented gipsy,
and sang the music like a well-trained artiste. With a
little more experience, Madame Amadei cannot fail to
become an important acquisition to the operatic stage.
There has never, perhaps, been so admirable a Fernando
as M. Gassier, and although the oart is a small one,
yet in the hands of this excellent artiste it appeared to be
of real importance to the dramatic action, and that his
performance contributed largely to the general success
of the opera. It was then but fair that he should be
included in the tumultuous call which brought the prin•
cipal artistes on the stage after the final fall of the cur-
tain.' The customary ovation ovcr—ovation, it should
be remembered, which had more than customary causes
and genuineness—a general cry was raised for Mr. E. T.
Smith, who stepped forward, amid enthusiastic cheering
from all parts of the house, to acknowledge the compli-
ment, and state that, in consequence of the great success
which has attended the Italian Opera performances at
" old play-house prices," he had made arrangements
with Messrs. Cramer and Beale to give a fresh series,
with Mesdames Griai and Gassier as the prime donne,
to commence on Monday, Nov. 10.—Morning paper.