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No. 446, October 9, 1858. J
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THEATRES AND PUBLIC ENTERTAINMENTS. • • ...
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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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No. 446, October 9, 1858. J
No . 446 , October 9 , 1858 . J
THE LEADER , ' - ' ' ¦ ¦¦ ——^—^—^—^—^— . ^ m ^ m
1071
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Theatres And Public Entertainments. • • ...
THEATRES AND PUBLIC ENTERTAINMENTS . • Princess ' s Theatre . — The last season , as the public * reat present ad vised-althoug h such arrangements are by no means immutable even after publicationof Mr . Charles Kean ' s skilful , and , we hope , 1 ucrative tenure of this theatre , was opened on ^ Jurday night , when The Merchant of Venice was Performed to a crowded house , with all the correctness for which the lessee has legitimately acquired a worldwide renown . The careful reading of the text , enforced artist by the precept and example
upon every of their leader , the splendour of the accessories , the propriety of the restorations in points of detail , leave an impression of unity upon the mind of the spectator who has witnessed any of Mr . Keans bhakspearean revivals that ordinary managers can rarely be expected to furnish . We consider the combination rare of adequate capital with a large amount of dramatic' talent , and a thorough mastery of the business of theatrical management ; but he is no common theatrical director , who to these adds a large spirit of commercial enterprise that unflinchingly incurs liberal outlay in such fugitive commothe calculation that
dities as stage properties , upon he will in time be recouped by the public to whom lie otters a first-rate equivalent for their admission money . Such a manager is Mr . Kean , who in aid of all other resources can draw upon the celebrity of his name , and the esteem his character has procured for him in influential circles . With felicitous discernment he has restricted his great managerial efforts to the illustration of Shakspeare , for no other alliance could have supported him against the costs of the entertainments with which he has delighted the town . Under Shakspeare ' s ensign , however , he lias fared , they say , so well as to contemplate retirement ; and we must riot be the last to congratulate
¦ him upon his prosperity . The Pyne and Harrison Company . —Drttrt Lane Theatre . —Neither the public nor ourselves iire weary of the Rose of Castille , and , to all appearance , it will be long before either of us cry , " Hold , enough ! " The serried ranks of the pit and galleries still show none of those dismal gaps that make treasurers to quake , and tradesmen , who watch the weathercock of " the business , " and shake ominous heads at " paper , " to press for their little amounts . That the celestials should delight to honour the present X ) rury Lane company as they have done no other for many a long year , we can account for after a visit to the region of their high Olympus , for ,
towards the close of the performance on Wednesday evening , we wandered to the erst famous slips—in our schoolboy-days a coveted yet forbidden precinct , as sacred to opulent or extravagant flaneurs , and as distasteful to the respectable patresfamiliaruni of that period as are the Casino galleries of to-day . We stood alone on the once crowded benches of that dizzy height , which we once had looked to as a barely possible culm of delight , and were rewarded for our airy climb by an appreciation of Miss Pyne ' s delicious songs and singing as Elvira , that we certainly had never reached in the more aristocratic circles below . We confess that with all our desire to find beauties in this opera , and with no dull ear
for them , wo had before understood neither the extent of this gifted lady ' s talents , nor the beauty of the orchestral and clarionet obligato accompaniment to the air " Oh joyous , happy days 1 " although we have doubtless more than onco alluded to it as the gem of the opera . No noteworthy change has taken place in the performance or other arrangements of the Rose of Castille , which the bills now announce to have been performed a hundred times . The novelty , however , which drew us to Drury Lane on Wednesday was the production of a new balletdivertissoment , in two tableaux , composed by M . Petit , entitled La Fleur d Amour , which might have been a 9 appropriately callod lajlaur da Ha , des champs , de jasmin , or d ' asperge , if you will , for nil wo could unravel of its meaning . There was an artist in the
case , Sylvio ( Madlle . Zilia Michelot ) , in a short blnck tunic , black belt , long grey silk stockings , and a pair of captivating bottines , who did , we admit , after dancing a revival of the nearly fossil Polka Originalo , prceent a flower to a lady in the most unwieldy specimen of truncated crinoline it hns yet been our misfortune to behold . The aforesaid anomaly threw so little light into the subject ns it went on that we must abandon the unprofitable inquiry , what it came for and what came of it afterwards ? Wo Bhould say that Mesdllcs . Morlncclu and-Pasquaio—the former a dametw of groat power , though not yet in fornv- ^ -are interesting , progressive , and , what must to thorn be rnoro satisfactory them all our opinions , much applauded dancers . The second scone , "Tho Neapolitan Harvest Homo , " is a view on or of , if we remember right , the Chiaja of Naples , filled
up with an admirably grouped corps of coryphee peasantry , and a harvest-wain and drivers a la Leopold Robert . Here a very spirited tarantella is introduced , which more than redeems the dulness of the first scene . But the most startling feature of the ballet—an invasion , perhaps , which may prove fatal to old and sensitive amateurs—was the introduction of a chorus in aid . This time it is only behind the scenes . What it may come to is at present incalculable . As the peasants are working away at their tarantella , a procession of the Host is imagined to pass outside , and the dancers drop upon their knees , thus unveiling to the spectators the beauties of the scene itself : a solemn strain of church music floats
over all , and the divertissement is legitimately brought to a close . Of Mr . MeUon ' s music , and the . almost faultless manner in which it is executed by the band , we may speak very highly . It is clear that no class of music is foreign to Mr . Mellon . He feels , we believe , more at home in the lighter compositions , but we are nevertheless of opinion that he will not be aware of his own power until he has tried his hand upon work of more solidity , range , and pretension than quadrilles or ballet" music . Had we space we could say much more on this head , but must return to the Pyne and Harrison doings , from into reflections
whom we were nearly straying upon English composers . On Monday next will be produced the romantic four-act opera of Martha , arranged for this company by Mr . T . H . Reynoldson , with Mr . W . Harrison as Lionel , Mb . J . G . Patey as PtunTtet , Mr . G . Honey as Lord Tristan , Mr . T . Grattan Kelly as the Sheriff of Richmond , Miss Louisa Pyne as Lady Henrietta , and her sister as the soubrette Nancy . The management have , we hear , taken much pains with all arrangements * and the opera will be very completely produced . The publication of the libretto in a handy octavo form , with musical illus > trations , is a novelty , and will no doubt be
appreciated by thfi public . - . Egxptian Hall . — Mr . and Mrs . Howard Paul , to borrow a phrase from our fashionable reporter , continue to entertain numerous circles of friends by re ^ peating the performances to which we drew attention a fortnight since . It is hard to say whether Mrs . Howard Paul ' s racy impersonation of Molly Doolan , the good-humoured maid-of- ^ all-work , with a military sweetheart , Barmj Ryan , or her " unprotected female , " Selina Siugleheart , most delights the air portion of the audience . We bave not before alluded to . this lady ' s very capital imitation of Mr . Sims Reeves in " Come into the garden , Maud , " which , coming at the fag end , is so near the end of the bill that we had not heard it until a night or two
ago . We can speak with equal approval of Staley Mildew , the " poor relation , " who lives no one can tell where nor cares how . Poor Staley ' s comic hits , a la Billy Barlow , at the topics of the day , were intensely relished . As we must—true to our vocation — season our praise with the usual aliquid amari , let us again suggest to the clever couple that their entertainment would be all the more entertaining for the omission of The Good Old Days , a burlesque of one of Mr . Woodin ' s impersonations . These caricatures of senility , popular though they unaccountably are with entertainers—for Mr . Howard Paul is not alone in this sin against good taste—are rather painful than otherwise , if not repulsive , to the majority of their audiences . Let them be assured that none but the very vulgar enjoy them . Profe Frikellat the Hall
them , and we beseech the Herr not to continue his revelations . Let us have a little pleasure left in an exhibition of natural magic . That pleasure must be as much damaged by demonstrations , as is that we take in stage plavs when we first see the wrong side of the curtain . " The secret of the once-celebrated bottle trick has been so ventilated that it has almost ceased to be attractive . If Frikell once explains his wonderful performance " the inexhaustible hat , he may as well , like Prospero , Break his staff ,
Bury it certain fathoms in the earth , And drown his book . Great Globe , Leicester-square . — Mr . Wyld has just opened a new and very pleasing set of twenty-six tableaux illustrative of the new treatyports in China , and of a few of the localities best known to us through her Majesty ' s special correspondents of both services , and the admirable letters of Mr . G . W . Cooke . We have a pleasing evening view of the Cow-Loon pass with Chinese shipping , and a bright glowing one , which we can speak highly of from personal recollection of the island and harbour of Hong-Kong , with her Majesty ' s guard-ship and a number of junks . Tiger Island , a x > cale of more recent and more stirring incident—if
we except the Boca Forts—is also represented , bo are the Peiho river , Chusan , Whampoa , the French Folly , Ningpo , Shang-hae , and the cities of Nankin and Pekin . About the verisimilitude of the latter we can say nothing , but of the general correctness of the former , and several others we have not space to particularise , we can speak in terms of high approval . As works of art the tableaux have merit , and the authorities from which they have been comjiled are Colonels Anstruther and Kennedy , Lord Cochrane and Captain Hall , besides private sketches by military and na * al men , and those in possession of the East India Company . This exhibition is very well worth a visit either by day or night . The morning diorama is at 3 . 15 , and the evening one at
8 . 15 . English Opera is India . — English amateurs and composers will welcome the intelligence that English Opera has taken root and blossomed at one coup in India . On the 31 st August last , Wallace ' s grand opera , Maritana , was performed at the Theatre Royal , Kirkee , with the following caste :-r-Charles the Second , King of Spain , Mr . Crowe ; Don C & sar de Bazan , Captain Miller , 3 rd Dragoon Guards ; Don Josede Santar em , Mr . Newnham , C . S- ; The Marquis of San Fernando , Major Learmonth , 17 th Lancers ; Don Philip , Captain of the Guard , Mr . Tende , 3 rd Dragoon Guards ; Setwr Luis , Alcalde of Madrid , Captain Stanley ; Don Torribio , Grand Inquisitor , Captain Cockerill , 3 rd Dragoon Guards ; Archbishop of Madrid , Captain Frank Chaplin , 3 rd Dragoon Guards ; Lazarillo , Mr . Rawliuson , 3 rd Dragoon Guards ; Maritana , Mrs . Frank Chaplin ; The Marchioness of San Fernando , Viscountess Dangan ; Choruses , Men- at-Arms , & e . Signor Costa officiated as conductor of music , and Captain Rose , A .. D . C , hud the pleasant sinecure of prompter . After the overture an appropriate prologue was delivered , amidst great applause , by Sir Robert Walpole . The right hon . gentleman , considering that he had been buried for nearly a century * presented a gallant appearance , and spoke with much spirit . At the close of the opera the enthusiasm of the audience was unbounded . Maritana was called for , and almost buried under an avalanche of bouquets . We have positively no space here for enthusiasm . Our Indian friends are of course delighted to announce the performance of the first opera in India , and by an amateur company , too . So are we to record it , for it is really an event , and , considering the times , a remarkable one . Mr . Crowe ' s make up , singing , and acting , are described to us as little short of ideal perfection . Captain Miller was a masterly Don Caesar , and Mrs . Chaplin ' s impersonation of Maritana , yro are informed by our contemporaries of Bombay , was a lesson to all actresses , present and future . Lieutenant Watts , of the South Mahratta Horse , painted the scenery . The Costa of the evening was , it is whispered , Mr . lAow ' , the Director-general of Public Instruction ; and tho stage-manager was Greathed , the horo of Agra . After tho opera there was a ball and supper at tho Mess of tho 3 rd Dragoon Guards , when several couples formed a Muritann , Quadrille . Lord Elphinstone , the Chief Just loo . tho Ooi » mandor-in-Chief , Sh' H . So . nersot . Slr « "f »> « JJg and many other celebrities , besides of oourso wg « oh youth , beauty , and grace of the fair' % dXfijH collected , wore pleased to assist at this deJWjwjf iniiutriirntioii of Eiitflish oporu in India , wlilah all whoTerc ^ pUenrwiU remember with great pleasure .
himself is his own only apparatus . He seems really a complete self-acting machine , and even to astonish himself . Lest some innocent member of the public should bring him under the notice of the authorities —these being evil days for sorcerers—he goes the length of illustrating- one of his feats between the parts . He performs it . first rapidly , and then step by step . The audience fully-comprehehd it now , and its charm in lost for ever . But all others are still a mystery , for the same key will not unlock
ssor , Polygrapiiic , King William-street . —We have been for several weeks looking for a change of the performances at this establishment , but the extraordinary delight with which the original performances of this true professor of the black art was received has prevented our having that pleasure until how . Tho greatest favourites of the former bill being still retained , wo need do little more than again express our admiration of tho » Little Devil ' s present of 100 / ., " " Frikell omnipresent , " and " The golden egg . " We cannot pretend to explain to our readers—but if they will go the magician ' s hall they may always find somebody olHcious enough to do so — how Herr Frikell , whom we consider , par excellence , tho most elegant artist of his tribe , contrives by his now method " to sew on buttons , " or these d
"to see without spectacles ; " but even eceptions sink into abatement bosido tho " exchange of heads , " which , to uso tho expressive hyperbole of a visitor , " completely paralysed us . " We saw produced a black dove and u white clove . We saw them— -we insist upon it , without the slightest reapect for tho assertion to tho contrary of the thick matter-of # fact man next us—duuapitated . We saw tho living black dove flitted with tho white dove ' s white head , and tho living white dove with the'black dove ' s head , To say that wo did not scu those things when \ vo did , is absurd . Tho professor was there to give explanation . "It is not mt ' aanique , " ho told us every minute , and wo could soo well enough it was not " mdeaniqve . " Thoro was not , and thoro never is hero , any such visible apparatus , rudely fashioned and absurdly painted , as other wizards indulge in . Tho gentlemanly , busy little Alerr forgot ; that ho
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Oct. 9, 1858, page 23, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_09101858/page/23/
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