The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1866-01-31

daring gymnast TO make a false step; and when
he had reached the topmost height, and seized
the standard which crowned the column, the
delighted audience burst into dealening shout
OF frantic excitement The height of the spiral
cLlumn is fifty feet.
FL ezzolini is singing at Milan in Lucia. A
critic there objects to the Scottish cavaliers at
Ashton Castle wearing during the marriage
festivities Of Lucia" the Turkish trousers thev
wore the night before, in Lonabdrd!, near the
walls of Altioch.
The Maretzek troupe Is still i'm Boston. Faust
and 1rOUdtOre we're the leading operas last week.
The Grover German troupe have given matinee
performances at the Boston theatres during the
season. Last Sunday evening tbev gave "Fidelio"
as an oratoIio at the Music Hall, emitting the
dialogue. Jonannsen, Dziuba, Hablemann, Her
manns, Weinlich, and Bernard we're the singers.
Tho prima donna Frcci has lately received
from the King OF Italy present OF a handsome
diam ond bracelet; and the King OF Prussia pre-
sented to Madame Pauline Lucca on the day of
her marriage paper spider, surmounted by a
golden hand, the index finger of which bears
ring, set in brlliants.
Manager Grau, now in Chicago, has got into
quarrel with one of the newspapers there-the
Chicago 1imes-which has been quite bitter in
its denunciations OF his artists. Grau publishes
| a card, in which he says that, when In Europe,
| he wrote letter to the Times. containing mu-
| sical Information which that paper published,
and now brings in bill OF one hundred dollars
| ior so doing. This Grau will not pay. Hanc
| Wg ldchigmG "Henceforth," quoth Grau, "the
| Times nay empty its overCharged receptacle of
| venom and slander: / shall not give u reply.n
| Grau has produced L'Aflicdine in Chicago, bat
| the hoarseness OF some of his singers lnterered
| with It's complete success. He was to have given
| the farewell performance last Saturday.
Speaking of the music of 1865 the Orchestra
says
'The oratorio has not been neglected and the
| NdGndn of Mr.. Costa, the Jo6 OF DR.. Chpp, the
Gideon of DIR. Stainer, testify to the industry of
| our composers, ana the appetite of the public
n nj
| There appears to be a determination to depart
| from the forms hitherto considered peculiar to
| this school of composition, and to take to any
! and every form of melody and modulation; but
| the exchange of modern and familiar thoughts
! and figures tending to the Punishment Of the
| reflective and calculated harmones OF the old
masters is not progress, and certainly no lasting,
| ii novel, phase iu the Interpretation OF an ora
| torio The only English oratDrio of this century
| OF any mark Is that by DR.. Crotch, and although
| OF strange and hybrid character, takes its
| place as classic by reason of the power dis
| PLAYED in its peculiar oddities, its peryerse
| anomalies, and its defiant integrity. There is
no Englisman living that can write a Crotch
| chorus"
Professor Wylde, in his last Gresham lee
ture on Musical taste," thus criticzes Meyer
beer-probably on the principle that "a cat may
| look at king:"-
Nearly all of Meyerbeers music is suggestive
OF IDEAS which fail IN actual musical representa-
| ton and, therefore, he presents us with species
| of composition only capable Of satisfying the
| judgment through the exercise of the lmagina-
tlon. Admitting that judgment requires cor
rect form, order, and design, in musical COM
| position, Mey yeTbeer's music cannot fully satisfy
the critic. In its appeal to the action OF the
internal sense which requires an idea SO OBJ
| V1ously represented in the music that it matters
| not whether the listener be instructed in the
science or not, Meyerbeer's music proves un-
satisfactory; but when we admit that judgment
| may pronounce verdict in favor of that which
the imagination fills up, and to a mind capable
of appreciating an idea, which the music even
| lmperiectly suggests, those compositions of
| Mey erbeer become eminently calculated to
Judgment, except as suggestions for ideas to the
mind, they are well adapted to find favor with
the ideallst and imaginative musical taste"
The system of boy choirs, which is becoming
so popular here, is thus satirically discussed by
one OF the London weeklies:-
I'm certain cases, we may take surpliced
chori.ters to represent an integral and import
ant portion OF a system of High Church mill
fiery and tailoring that has its charms for some
aesthetic tastes and for those to whom it is a
delicious sensation to tremble in the balance
between England and Rome, and to ape, as near
as possible, the gorgeous and sensuous ceremo-
NAL of the latter without renouncing the simple
liturgical worship of the former.
Nov, to vestments aud other ecclesiastical
frippery appertain the advantage that they are
insensate things, though productive of a taste
ior the sensuous; they can be Kept IN their place.
and, with monotonous regularity, made to as
sumo decent external garb. But singing boys
are but lads after all; and, although in Mrs.
WOODS novels they may be represented as prodi-
gles OF virtue and eXemplars OF good conduct
yet, IN reality, we know that they will often
laugh when they ought to be serious, and will
chatter when they should be intoning. The
chorister, in short, is one whose ill-behavior
must be winked at for the sake of his angelic
voice; so that oitentimes he Is UoT et prGtereG
nlhd"
| "A NEUROLOGICAL legend has been tortured
into play for the New Royalty Theatre, Lon
don, 1t is called Pron.ethe!iS; or The Man on
the Rock, and Is written by Mr.. r. Reece.
"Prometheus, one OF the Titans, incensed at
the usurpation OF Saturn's dominons by Jove,
has devised a plan of rebellion by modelling
| from clay the human race, but fails in the chief
oblect-the giving vitality to his models. Jove,
sucpecting his design, sends Mercury and Apollo
to discover the secret; and Promeheus, taking
advantage of their visit thrusts staff into the
wheels of the Sun chariot, and enlightens his
clay folks, whose sudden vividcation and progress
! greatly incense the gods who rush en- mdSSe to
JOve for retributon. Jove accordingly seizes
Prometheus, and after claiming him to crag OF
| Caucasus, causes Vulcan to iabricate model
woman, named suggestIvely Pandora, whom he
sends to Prometheus for wife, together with a
| closed box for a dowry. This box, which
contains all the ills of man. is incautiously
| opened (accordmg to Mr.. Reece's burlesque
| alteratiOn) by Quits, the mother OF Prometheus,
and the thousand woes now inflicted on man
! become the means OF Jove's revenge. Hope,
however, fingers at the bottom of the box, and
on her ntercession Prometheus is released on
| parole. The principal characters We're well
sustained by Miss Maitland (Apolo), Miss Banks
| lMercury(, Miss Reeves (Prometheus) and Miss
Burton (Venus).o