The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1844-09-10 00:00:00

MISS WHITNALL'S CONCERT.

The expectations which the public had formed of the
attractive character of this concert have certainly not been
in any degree disappointed. A more magnificent audience
never before met within the walls of our patent theatre
than assembled on this occasion, to listen once more, and
with unabated interest and admiration, to the unrivalled
vocalists engaged, and to greet the young lady whose
spirit and liberality had provided for her friends a treat
seldom within the reach of the Liverpool public. Ac-
cording to the original plan, the entire pit and boxes had
been thrown into a dress-circle, for which places were
advertised
.to be takeri on Tuesday and Wednesday, at
Messrs. lime's, in Church-street, and on Friday morn-
ing at the box-office of the theatre; the remaining portions
of the house being left to be occupied by those who might
fortunately be in time to secure sitting room. So great,
however, was the eagerness of the public that, on Tuesday
morning, by half-past eleven o'clock, the whole of the
dress-circle bad been engaged, and numbers of applicants
were left uncrovided with places. In this emergency, it
was suggested at one time that the upper boxes might be
occupied at dress-circle prices, but this suggestion was
rejected as unfair to the public ; and, by the judicious and
spirited efforts of the managers of the 'theatre-Royal and
she beneficiare, the whole of the stage itself, with the ex_
:eption of a small space in front for the singers, was laid
out in stalls, elegantly fitted up and beautifully lighted,
and made to accommodate three hundred additional per-
sons. By this arrangement, an increased splendour was
given to the house, the singers and orchestra being thus
placed between two audiences, comprising a large portion
of the beauty and fashion of th. e town. As a mere spec-
tacle, without a note of music being added to heighten
the charm, there were, we are sure, few present who
would have begrudged the cost of admission to see an
assemblage which, possibly, they might never again be
privileged to look upon, and which, by the eminent
vocalists whom they had met to hear, must have been re-
garded with feelings of infinite pride and gratification, as
a tribute to their talents greater than was ever paid them
in any theatre in Europe.
The opening Overture (Massaniello) was played with
great correctness by the orchestra, under the leadership
of Mr. Aldridge, who certainly made the most of it with
the limited means at his disposal, which were not at all
compatible with the extended space of the house. The
enthusiasm of the audience had not as yet been excited,
and this fine composition fell flat upon the ears, as, did the
Aria " Pro peceatis," which was givan-by Signor Paltoni
with a chasteness and power worthy of a better reception.
The Romanza " Or la suit onda," magnificently sung by
Faivanti, completely dispelled tha-coldness of her, hearers,
working them up from absoluts- impassiveness-to,a height
of enthusiasm rarely witnetanel.. A. tumultuous- encores

followed, which was responded to on the part of the singer
by the substitution for the piece called for of her favourite
"Non piu mesta," which she gave in a style such as to
stamp her as the unchallenged occupant of the very first
rank amongst the professors of her divine art. The Duett
" Venti Scude," was splendidly sung by Signors Mario
and F. Lablache, after which, the house was again en-
raptured by the Cavatina " Qui la voce sua Saave,"
which was given by Madame Grisi with a power and
sustained beauty which none save that unrivalled song-
stress could have imparted to it, and which called down
a unanimous encore.
The excitement scarcely had time to subside :when
Miss Christiana Weller came on to give her beautiful
performance of the " Grand Concert Stuck," in which
she has created such a sensation in musical circles.. We
have already spoken in favourable terms of the abilities
of this young lady; and certainly, whatever may have
been the amount of praise bestowed, it will be unequal to
her merits as displayed on Friday. We may explain to
those of cur readers who were not present that Miss
Weller plays this most difficult composition from memory,
and with partial accompaniment from the orchestra. On
the present occasion, she displayed a little natural timidity
at first, and was, perhaps, on that account, not sufficiently
audible in some of the opening passages, allowing the
effect of her beautiful taste and execution to be injured by
the too boisterous orchestral accompaniment. As this
feeling wore off, however, she shone forth the almost un-
rivalled pianiste which she is now recognised to be, and,
towards the close of the composition, displayed a vigour
of tone and a brilliancy and facility of execution which
gained for her the hearty applause and admiration of an
enthusiastic audience.
We must direct our further remarks, beyond a few brief
ones, to a notice of the new ballad by Lover, " The Chain
of Gold," which was assigned to Miss Whitnall, and sung
by her with a chasteness and correctness of style which,
with the addition of a fine voice, are the characteristics of
this lady's singing. Of the substance of the song itself
we cannot say much, its principal merit being its adapta-
tion to the fine old music to which it is set. By those
who can appreciate the peculiar beauty of the ancient
melodies of the sister country, it will no doubt be admired
and sung ; but it fell coldly, on this occasion, upon an
English audience, although rewarded with the honour of
an encore. The favourite ballad " Bonnie Prince Charlie"
however, giver, most beautifully by the same lady, was re-
ceived with an enthusiasm which fully made up for the
comparative coldness which greeted her first effort. We
never heard this noble song more finely and tastefully
delivered. _

The leading features of the second part of the concert
were a Duett between Madame Grisi and Mario, which
was unexceptionably beautiful. The Aria "Se amarlo
solo beve," was sung by Favanti, with an exuberance of spirit
which was at once delightful and surprising. The singer
absolutely revelled amidst the difficulties which she
created and solved at will, her fine voice display-
ing its whole and wonderful compass to a delighted
audience. The song alone would have sufficed to estab-
lish the fame of the singer. The fine Cavatina "In terra
ci divisiro " was sung by Mario very beautifully; but the
Polacca " La Fidelta," by Grisi, was the performance of
the evenirg. It was splendidly sung, in the very best
style, and with all the power and brilliancy of this un-
rivalled artiste.
As a whole we cannot but regard this concert as credit-
able to all parties engaged in it, amongst whom we must
not overlook the claims of the management of the Theatre-
Royal for their efforts to provide for the accommodation
of the public, and of Mr. Cook, the attentive box-keeper,
for the excellent arrangements made by him, and the un-
deviating politeness displayed in providing for the con-
venience and comfort of all in his portion of the house.
In an audience so great we never saw regularity so com-
plete, and every arrangement so faultless.
The following impromptus upon the leading stars at
this concert have been sent to us, and we have much
pleasure in giving them insertion. The originals are from
the pen of Signor Zandotti, professor of Italian in the
Collegiate Institution ; the translations were made, cur-
rente calamo, by Miss Christiana Weller—

Per Ia VI, tuosa Damigella
M. WHITNALL.
Fra quegli Astri, to loci pi?" bells,
Come luce, tra gli astri una stella,
E Ia luce the ottieni da lor,
La rimandi con doppio splendor !
'Midst proudest stars we catch thy rays,
And love thy light the more ;
Through thee, those orbs enchant our gaze,
Reflected o'er and d'er !

GRISI.

Se la Grisi dagli Elisi.
Sia discesa io non lo so ;

So the un astro in lei ravoisi, •
Che la terra illuminO !
Was Grisi from Elysium sent?
.A h ! none may tell from whence her flight ;
But through the boundless firmament,
No radiant star
That beams afar
O'er earth can shed diviner light !

AL DIVO MARIO.
Mario col canto
Diletta tanto,
Che un Nume sembrami
Sceso dal ciel,
O Spirto angelico,
Che voglia alquantl
Da not celarsi
Con mortal vel !
Oh, Mario! thy soul-inspiring song
Must surely to a brighter world belong;
Thyself a god descended from the sky,
Or wandering spirit of celestial birth,
Disguised in mortal shape to charm the earth,
With deathless strains of heaven-born melody !