The Sun.
London, England, 1859-08-01 00:00:00

ITALIAN OPERA, DRURY-LANE.

The fourth performance of the " Vespri Siciliani," on Sa-
turday night, was also the last ofthe present season. Had
this opera been produced earlier, there can be little doubt
but that the treasury would have benefitted considerably ;
for though the piece itself, in spite of its melodramatic and
spectacular character, appears somewhat heavy and spun
out, it is enriched with many of Signor Verdi's happiest
thoughts. Instance among others the fete, with its spirited
tarantella and pretty unaffected chorus, "Del piacer
s'avanza l'ora," in the barcarolle style (act ii.); the whole
of the music to the incidental ballet of the "Four Seasons"

;which, being characteristic and sparkling from end to end

should not have been curtailed so unsparingly as at Drury
lane Theatre); the duet for Helene and Henri ; the quarte
for Helene, Henri, Procida, and De Montfort, with chorus
of monks ("De profundis"), and chorus of women, solicit-
ing mercy for the heroine and patriot, condemned to execu-
tion (act iv.)—the most ingenious example of concerted
music in the opera ; the bridal song of Helene, " Merce
di lette amiche," a bravura in bolero measure and accent
(which made the fortune of the opera in Paris) ; and last,
not least, the tenor romance for Henri, "La brezza e
leg
gia" (act v.), than which Sig. Verdi has invented no more
graceful melody. The oftener these are heard the more
likely are they to become popular. Moreover, tho "Vespri
Sicialiani" afforded the first opportunity of bringing forward
that universal favourite, Mdlle. Tietjens, in a new part (new,
at least, to her English patrons), and of exhibiting the splen-
did voice of Sig. Mongini, for whom the music of Henri is
in every respect well fitted, to the greatest possible advan-
tage. Nor could the barytone and bass parts (De Montfort
and Procida) have been intrusted to more competent repre-
sentatives than Signors Fagotti and Vialetti. That the
opera was successful on the first night has already been re-
corded; and it may be added that three subsequent per-
formances have fully justified the verdict delivered on that
occasion. In short, it may reasonably be concluded that
the "Vespri Siciliani" will maintain its place among the
best operas of its composer. Next season may probably
afford it a better chance.
On Saturday night the performance went off from first
to last with unflagging spirit. Mademoiselle Titiens never
sang and acted more finely; Signor Mongini scarcely ever
before in a manner so thoroughly to warrant the belief
that his continental reputation has not been built upon
sand. When the curtain fell on the third act, Mr. E.
T. Smith, being unanimously summoned, advanced be-
fore the footlights, and addressed the audience. He
thanked them for the warm reception accorded him at
the end of this the seventh year of his management. The
Italian Opera season had included 81 representations on
consecutive nights, during which only one disappointment
had occurred. He (Mr. Smith) had brought out 14 operas,
and trusted the public would consider he had fulfilled the
pledges entered into before the commencement of the sea-
son. In addition to the artists announced in the printed
prospectus, he had secured the services of Mademoiselle
Piccolomini, Miss Balfe, Signor Belart, Signor Vialetti,
and others of more or less note. It had always been his
desire to fix the prices of admission at as low a rate as pos-
sible, and he had been more than repaid by the amount of
sympathy exhibited towards him by the public. The ex-
penses of the season of 84 nights had exceeded £24,000, but
he was happy to say that, thanks to the liberal patronage
of the public and the support he had obtained in excess of
subscriptions, he was no loser. One instance he wished
particularly to mention. A lady who has held a private
box during the season sent him a letter that morning, en-
closing £5O, with the expression of her sympathy in his
endeavours to produce high class operas at such a tariff as
to place them within reach of the general public. Such a
mark of generous appreciation encouraged him to perse-
vere, and he would bring forward the same eminent artists
next season, together with as many others as he could
secure. - He would scour Italy in the recess, and all that
he could find worthy to be heard by a British audience
should figure on those boards. He begged to be allowed to
return thanks to the ladies and gentlemen of the company
for their zealous co-operation, to the members of the
band, to the press, to his subscribers, and to the
public generally, who, by their liberal and continued pa-
tronage, had shown that the existence of more than one
Italian Opera was not only possible, but desirable, in this
metropolis. The address was frequently interrupted by
loud applause. After the opera the national anthem was
performed, Mademoiselle Tietjens, by the earnest, emphatic;
and intelligible manner in which she gave the principal
solos, reading a lesson by which nine foreign singers out
of ten might profit.
That Mr. Smith has deserved well of his supporters can
hardly be denied. He had to contend against most inaus-
picious circumstances in the earlier and middle part of the
season ; and if he has not sustained a very considerable loss
'le may fairly be congratulated. The 14 operas presented
were the " Sonnambula," with which the season began,
and which brought forward Miss Balfe and the new tenor,
Signor Mongini ; the " Favorita," in which Mademoiselle
Guarducci, one of the most admirable artists on the Italian
stage, was first introduced ; •' Lucrezia Borgia," for the
debuts of Mademoiselle Tietjens and the accomplished tenor
from her Majesty's Theatre, Signor Giuglini ; the " Tro-
vatore ;" the " Barbiere ;" the " Huguenots," one of the
most creditable achievements of the comp any ; " Lucia ;"
the " Traviata," for the first appearance of Mademoiselle
Sarolta and Signor Ludovico Graziani, the tenor; " Don
Giovanni ;" " Rigoletto," in which two new prima donnas,
Mademoiselles Weiser and Elvira Brambilla, were succes-
sively essayed ; the " Zingara" (" Bohemian Girl") ;
" Norma ;" "Il Giuramento," the early demise of which
foreshadowed a like result in another and a greater estab-
lishment ; and last, not least, the " Vespri Siciliani," the
second novelty, which was just as favourably received as
the first was snubbed by the public. All these operas
were more or less well executed, and some of them in a
manner that would not have discredited any lyric theatre.
Among the new singers Mademoiselle Guarducci and
Signor Mongini must be regarded as real acquisitions—
the position of the lady being firmly established from
the beginning, that of the gentleman after consider-
able doubt and hesitation. Of Mademoiselle Tietjens,
Signor Giuglini, Miss Balfe, Mademoiselle Piccolomini,
Signor Badiali, and Signor Marini, already known to the
public, it is enough to say that they maintained their repu-
tations. About the litigation connected with the non-ap-
pearance of Signor Graziani (the barytone) and its results
our readers know enough to make any further allusion to
the subject unadvisable. This gentleman's brother, Signor
Ludovico Graziani, achieved a quasi-success in the " Tra-
viata," which, it may be remembered, was in a great mea-
sure confirmed by his performance in the " Giuramento."
With regard to Madame Lemaire, a really excellent con-
tralto, who appeared as Maffeo Orsini and Maddelena
(Rigoletto) when those characters were abandoned by
Mademoiselle Guarducci ; of the other tenors, barytones,
basses, sopranos, and contraltos included in this (from a
numerical point of view) altogether unprecedented com-
pany, we having to add to -what was said, from time to
time, in the regular notices of the transactions of the sea-
son. The ballet may be dismissed with a strong compli-
ment to Mademoiselle Boschetti, one of the ancient stars
in the Lumleyan hemisphere, and an admission of the gene-
ral efficiency of the choregraphic corps. The band, led by
M. Tolbecque,—with Mr. Viotti Collins as solo violin, Mr.
Benedict and Signor Arditi as alternate conductors—was
good, but, although numbering eminent performers in its
ranks (to single out any of whom from the rest would be
invidious), might, for evident reasons, have been improved.
The chorus, en the other hand, was by no means satisfac-
tory.
To conclude, with much to criticise but much more to
praise, Mr. Smith's experiment has exhibited a degree of
enterprise and spirit that entitles him to the consideration
of the operatic public, and especially to that large section
of it which cannot afford to pay high prices.