The Sun.
London, England, 1859-07-28 00:00:00

ROYAL ITALIAN OPERA, COVENT

GARDEN.

Yesterday, want of space compelled us merely to record
the success of Meyerbeer's new opera, " Dinorah" ; to-
day we are enabled to give an outline of the plot. It is as
follows :

A young goat-herd Heel (Signor Graziani), and Dinorah
(Madame Miolan Carvalho), a year before the action takes
place, were on the eve of being united in marriage when the
ceremony was interrupted by a tremendous storm, and a
thunderbolt falling, destroyed the cottage of Dinorah's
father. Hoel yielded up all his worldly possessions to en-
able the father of his betrothed to rebuild his cottage, and
was persuaded by a village sorcerer to' hide himself in a
neighbouring forest for the space of a twelvemonth, believ-
ing that immense wealth would be the immediate conse-
quence of his temporary concealment. The year has just
elapsed, and the action of the piece commences. The sor-
cerer has been summoned away by death, but not until he
has betrayed to Heel the place where the money is
concealed, and informed him of certain conditions
annexed to the recovery of the treasure, namely, that he
who first touches the stone under which it is hidden will
die before the expiration of a year. This is a decided poser
for Hoel, who now, after the fashion of Caspar in " Der
Frieschutz," looks about him for a substitute and a victim.
Corentino (Signor Ciardoni) is an artist who displays his
talents by performing on the bagpipes. Moreover, he is
the nephew of the deceased sorcerer, and, to conclude, the
veriest coward in the canton. Notwithstanding his
timidity, Corentino is as fond of money as the bravest man
who ever lived, and when Heel acquaints him with the
secret of the treasure, only concealing the appended formula,
he is ready to face the devil himself, provided there is no
danger. Corentino, directed by his friend Hoel to the
secret spot in the " Accursed Valley," is just on the
Point of removing the stone, when he hears a voice in
the distance singing a romance in which the legend
of the treasure, and the fatal consequences to the discoverer
are related. The state of Corentino's mind may be imagined,
and nothing but cowardice prevents him from taking signal
vengeance on his friend Hoel for the trick intended him.
He does not, nevertheless, forego his idea of the golden
prize —so much does cupidity overcome faintheartedness—
but determines to select as his victim the singer of the
legend, who proves to be Dinorah, who, on the desertion
of Heel, has lost her reason, and has become a wanderer
among the mountains. It is not easy to instruct one
who has got no understanding. Corentino, however,
contrives, by great ingenuity and reiterated teach-
ing, to lead Dinorah to follow his directions. The mo-
ment arrives ; the young girl is about to remove the magic
stone, when the tinkling of a goat's bell is heard, and
Dinorah, diverted from her purpose, follows the goat, whom
she recognises as an old favourite. She is overtaken by a
storm, and carried away, by the overflowing of a torrent, to
seeming destruction. Her life, however, is not sacrificed, as
may be imagined. She is rescued from her perilous situa-
tion by her lover, whose voice brings back her reason.
Finally, she is conducted with groat pomp and splendour
to the chapel, where she is at last in reality united to Heel.
Madame Miolan Carvalho, from the Theatre Lyrique, is
a singer of the same school as Madame Marie Cabel, essen-
tially French in voice and manner, with less individual
charm but more dramatic intensity than her eminent con-
temporary, an organ of much the same compass, hardly so
sweet in quality but perhaps more flexible and more com-
pletely at command, a demeanour and familarity with stage
discipline in no respect inferior. Signor Grasiani has
rarely sung with greater care and general cor-
rectness than in the part of Hoel, but it is only
in the last act that he makes an attempt at his-
trionic expression. Signor Gardoni astonished every-
one—not so much by the artistic excellence of his singing,
which, being an acknowledged musician, might have been
anticipated from him on such an occasion—as by the sus-
tained animation of his acting, if not absolutely comic, so
near to it as almost to be admitted for proxy. The chorus
was unexceptionable, and the band beyond praise. When
it is remembered that three months' rehearsals were found
requisite for the production of the " Pardon de Ploermel"
in Paris, and that something less than three weeks' preli-
minary study, with only two full rehearsals, enabled Mr.
Costa (under the personal superintendence of M. Meyer
beer) to insure such a remarkable performance as that of
the Italian opera on Tuesday night, under the title of
" Dinorah," or, " Il Pellegrinoggio di Ploermel," some
idea of the value of that gentleman's services may be ob-
tained ; and M. Meyerbeer would, we are sure, be the first
to allow that no one after himself, the composer of the
work had a juster claim to the enthusiastic approbation
of the public.