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^^ BOUFFE. There is no audience less cap...
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THE OPERA. I might fill two columns with...
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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I " I Jl 'Z^Y^T Nia !!;:*:!,> K '^1 »-«>...
The Tutor ' s Ward is interesting as a passionate story , written wilh unusual eloquence , " most musical , most melancholy , " and containing three or four scenes of great pathos . Written with an eye to an especial " moral , " it is , perhaps , hypercritical to object to the want of lifelikeness pervading it ; but the following description of Miilicent ' s aunt and cousins will show that the writer is not deficient in sarcastic observation : — " This lady was the personification of dignified
propriety , and of composed , resolute acceptance of all the advantages and privileges , physical and moral , which were to be derived from her station in society . Stately looking , well dressed , never varying one hair ' s breadth from the routine of life , easy and luxurious , which is the settled system of existence for persons of her fortune and position , everything in her house , her person , her manners , and her religion , were arranged to meet the approving eye of the world .
" Whether she were the urbane hostess , the careful mother , the mildly reproving , silently determined wife , or the benevolent dispenser of soup and blankets at Christmas-tide ( these benefits being transmitted to her awe-struck tenantry through the hands of a housekeepe r in black satin and pink ribbons , who wore kid gloves in case she should accidentally toucli any of the recipients of her bounty ) , Mrs . Egerton still acted up to the one principle which guided her in all things of making a faultless appearance in the si"ht of her fellow-men , and obeying to
the very letter all the requirements of established custom , according to her rank and circumstances . If there were any one quality peculiarly prominent in Mrs . Egerton ' s character , it was what is commonly called ' proper pride , ' that mysterious virtue belonging we know not to what faith or to what tenets , which is held in such esteem by those who not the less , through some , subtle calculation of their own accommodating mind , firmly expect that inheritance of the meek which is promised in the doctrines they profess .
" Millicent received another measmed English embrace from this stiff but comfortabl . e-looking representative of good feeling , dignity , and respectability , who was further remarkable for a serenity of aspect peculiar to herself , and which emanated , no doubt , from the pleasant conviction that everything she had ever done , said , or thought , was exactly as it ought To have been . She was th > n ushered into the drawing-room , having just cau « ht a glimpse of poor
Nanette , hurried off , with despairing looks , by three or four gigantic footmen , to the care of a housekeeper , awful in satins and stateliness , who appeared dimly in the far perspective . The drawing-room seemed to Millicent blazing with light and full of people . She clunjr involuntarily to her uncle ' s arm , and . stood looking round from under the mass-es of her long brown hair , with the shy , timid glance of a startled deer .
" Mr . Egerton presented her in duo form to the various members of his family ; three daughters , Anno , I ' unny , and Sophia ; two soiu , Charles and Arthur . ' Anne , tall and frigid , look in p ; by no means po young as she could have wished ; unpleasantly handsome , having bold features and hawk's eyes , haughty ; uul supercilious in manner , as though she had discovered some excellent reason why she was to consider herself superior to every one ;» rouml her , inul thu ' , duly pious un < l Christianized as she was
bhe . had received a special licence for giving pain to others by coldness and contempt . Tliis young l . icly was wont to delight , herself solely in mutters altogether beyond a , woman's province , for she talked politics and philosophy with an assurance which had its desired effect , on the majority of her acquaintances . We may further add , that Miss Anne M ^ crton also fully expected to reap the reward of all the virtues , such as humility , gentleness , and self-denial , iiiculcriticd by the creed she professed with much Sunday ostentation .
" Fanny , with indistinct hair and indefinite features , a mi . mil mind and a small voi « e , loving to fcinj * small songs and to entrap unwary individuals into swearing an eternal friendship ; all nerves and sensibility , continually declaring she must have sympathy , that she could not exist without it , ; tlmt she was entirely dependent on her friends for happiness , and therefore , though she was sorry to l > e troublesome to them , yet ically , constituted us she was , she must entreat of them to sacrifice theinse ve . s to her ; che must really elaim all their time mul attention ; whatever their avocations initrhl be ,
they could never be so important as the necessity that she , in her highly wrought state of mind , nhould have some one to whom she could tell her foeliiigM : — Fanny fell into the common snare , ol iina"ining that she established a legitimate excuse ; for her caprice , self-indulgence , and thorough egotism ( qualified , of course , by tar daintier names ) , when she affirmed that they were inherent to her nut urn , and therefore indispensable evils , not to be TeBiHted . " Sophia , decidedly plain , short , thick-net , and able-bodied , having a worthy look , which wan tt
species of moral livery to the peculiar l'ne B ^/? ° chosen ; for this young lady had discovered that her especial vocation was the improvement ot manKina , and to this end she laboured with a noisy ™*}>™ detail of which was ever allowed to nass unobserved by her numerous acquaintance . She pursuea ntr calling without the slightest references to established principles or authorities ; for , as she loved to say , when setting at defiance those before whose grey hairs she should have bowed in reverend silence , sne had a thoroughly independent mind , and acted in all cases on theories of her own . Her conversation an v-ooco uii Lij . W'i'iiv ^ u ^ - * » ¦<»_ . » . - ¦» -.--. _ ior she
never was of the most lively description , as was fully convinced apparently that no one would be so much acquainted with her own merits as herself , she habitually undertook the task of doing herself justice , and discharged the duty with extraordinary fidelity . She was at all times to be heard quietly detailing her own meritorious acts , never dreaming that any merit they might have possessed was turned to veriest poison by such an open display , and in her daily descent on the village , armed with medicines and tracts , and stocked with severe * , overbearing admonitions , she gathered up material for much complacent haranguing at her father ' s luxurious table . "
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^^ Bouffe. There Is No Audience Less Cap...
^^ BOUFFE . There is no audience less capricious in its attachments than an English audience ; once captivate it , and your empire is assured ; nay , you mayeven found a dynasty , and your children will succeed to the throne by right of birth—by right of that influence which lies in a name . The greatest of French actors—as Bouffe unquestionably- is — has every right to be a favourite with our public , and is one . On Friday last he reappeared after a long absence and a serious illness , the ravages of which upon his face and frame were affectingly
noticeable ; the reception must have told him unequivocally how little he had been forgotten by his English admirers , for the applause was heartier than I ever remember it within the quiet walls of the St . James ' s Theatre . Hi 3 voice was weak and husky , but whether from illness or " stage fright " I cannot say . Perhaps you think that with so old a stager nervousness is the last cause to be predicated 1 ; but I can assure you that an actor never loses " stage fright" if he be once troubled with it .
Why even the " spoiled darling of the public , Madame Vestris , never lost it ! A curious psychological inquiry might he opened here as to the nature of this " nervousness , " and the class of minds most allecteu" Dy it—tfie phrenologists would probably settle it oil'hand by saying that Love of Approbation produced nervous apprehension , and that Self Kstecm kept the actor confident and calm ; bat 1 am in no mood for psychology , and must return to Bouile .
Michel 1 'err hi—or , as the F . nglish version is called , Secret Service—wan the piece chosen iur his dehut , -and happily chosen ; it is a pleasant little Comedy , healthy in its tone , ingenious in construction , and affording the actor free scope for the representation of one typical character . BouHc * as the simple-minded old Cure is a study . If actors would follow it closely , they would observe that its success lies in the predominance given to the
character over the " points —to the whole over the details , Boufl ' e ' s constant , aim is to represent the character if that be laughable or touching , he is laughable and touching ; if not , he leaves the audience to blame the author . All his speeches addressed to persons arc addressed to them , and not to the audience ; all liis " asides" are murmured as if to himself . This seems a small thing to notice— yet watch other actors , and see how larely it is their custom to do so . liouife is natural , in the
highest sense ; lie ; represents the nature of the character ; the " stui ! "" of human nature is plastic in his hands , and out , of it , lie carves images which nil the world can recognize as true . The comedy expands your heart , with laughter , at , which you are not , afterwards ashamed , for judgment approves what instinct , caught , at—the pathos moistens your eye , for it , is real suffering , not indeed the high
impassioned sorn wand and majestic pains of Tragedy in it , M " sceptred pall , " but the grief of simple nature appealing to the common heart , of sympathy . lie seeks effect , and not effects—he cares for an artistic whole more than applauded " points ; " and that mainly is the reason why he is universally recognize . d us the most consummate actor now living . In Le I lamia de . Paris ; for example , which lie played on Monday , it was curious to see the
number of " points" which he refused to make , and which any other actor would have made , though at the expense of the general effect ; so that his acting was almost as admirable for what he forbore as for what he accomplished . It is needless at the present time to dwell upon & performance so well known and so unique as that of Bouffe ' s Gamin its gaiety , feeling , boyishness , and its nicely discriminated boy-grief . His rage and pathos are never those of a man , but always of a boy .
I must not omit a word of emphatic praise to Lafont for his very remarkable performance of the General in this piece . It was a perfectly dressed , perfectly represented character . The great scene of indignation , where he taxes his son with dishonourable conduct , and tears from his coat the ribbon of the Ugion d'honneur , was played with fine truth and intensity . He fairly divided with Bouffe the honours of the evening .
The Opera. I Might Fill Two Columns With...
THE OPERA . I might fill two columns with criticism on Madame Barbieri Nini , and her debut as Lucrezia Borgia at her Majesty ' s on Tuesday , but it would all amount to this : She is not young enough to captivate , and not young enough to improve ! What she may have been some years ago I will not pretend to decide , after having seen one of my own idols and the grandest lyric actress of our time—Giuditta Pasta;—exhibit the affecting
spectacle of her ruin to those who had never worshipped the fulness and magnificence of her power . It may be that the faults so obvious in Madame Barbieri Nini are but the ravages of edacious Time , or the consequences of her attempts to conceal those ravages . This much is certain , that her voice is irrecoverably gone , only some few notes of the higher register being still agreeable ; and although great singers make shift with fragments of a voice , nothing short of greatness can extenuate such defects .
As an actress we are in a better position for judging her , because what might be lost in grace and youth ought to be compensated by experience , and she did not play a youthful part . Confidence , vigour , energy , and a certain brio she undoubtedly has ; but no . dignity , no breadth of passion , no subtlety of expression . 1 will not compare her with Grisi , because Grisi is incomparable as Lucrezia , ; bufc comparing her with Parodi or Frezzolini , I will say that , surpassing both in energy , she is surpassed by both in grandeur and delicacy .
Needless to say that her success was immense , colossal ! Bouquets and wreaths , rnllinffe before the curtain , vociferating " orders " , and all the items of a triumph ( for two nights ) saluted Madame Barbieri Nini , as they have saluted so many other marvels ! Needless also to say that Alboni ' s lirindisi was the gem of the evening , though her acting was so culpably deficient of all respect for the audience , that even I , her sworn chevalier ,
cannot stifle a protest . During the very quarrel , when the angry knife is flashing in her hand , she was chatting" F . l . ablache aside , with a sweet smile upon her sweet face , thus destroying the situation . Marietta ! Marietta ! not even your exquisite voice and delicious singing can make the public forgive lhat . Respect your Art . You may not bo uu actress , but you can at least be conscientious !
As if to make amends for her careless MafiV * Orsiui , she played Marie in La Wtqlia del . lleggimento with great care . It was her first appearance in tliis part , and the very announcement prejudiced many against her . What ! Alboni aa La Figlia ! Alboni after Jenny Lind ! It eecmed incredible But such a singer can do anything . After surpassing Viardot in the Prophete—at least bo Meyerbeer says—why should she not play I ' Figlia with perfect success ? And she did . Her singing was enchanting . The opening duet , " 1 ° vidi la luce . " lies awkwardly for her voice , and produced no effect : but the ciascun lo dice ,
confession si ardente , and the lively rataplan , were sung with a verve and brilliancy indescribable . 1 " the rataplan she herself played the drum , and played it very well too . Neither Jenny Lind nor Sontag did so ; though that is an accomp lishment La Figlia ought to possess . If 1 remember rig ht * Fiaiilein Tuc / . ek , at Berlin , used to play it- A 1 " boni ' s acting in the first act was sprightly without being remarkable . In the second act she was les « successful , though her divine voice and axquj "' . method made the singing lesson and the aria »* sedur / tan credit /<; " thingu to go home and dreaM of , which I did . Vivian .
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Aug. 9, 1851, page 18, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_09081851/page/18/
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