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Mat 24, 1851.] ©fl* %tU}$tX^ 403
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IL BARBIERE. At last we have crowded hou...
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ONLY A CLOD. Did you ever read Charles d...
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THE CHEVALIER BO&CO. I have seen some wo...
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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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——-^—• F1del1o. Lovcih Of Music And Opo'...
bad one ; the utmost stretch of your musical appreciation is " a tune . When Titania asks Bottom if he will have sweet music , the self-sufficient clown sublimely answers , "I have a reasonable good ear for music : let us have the tongs and bones I" The opera has its Bottoms . Still there are lovers of music among that crowd : men who know and men who feel . These have been nobly treated of late : Donna del Lago—Der
Freischutz—Don Giovanni—and Fidelio—thus in an ascending scale of excellence , until the opera is given which appeals more to the musician and less to the tunelover than any known work , andthanks tu the numerous genuine lovers of genuine art , aided b y the profound hypocrisy of that large cla & s which knowing nothing of art , affects rapture as it swallows the caviare—Fidelio was triumphant , entirely , unreservedly triumphant !
If you are unacquainted with this opera let me urge you to become forthwith acquainted with iton the supposition , of course , that you care for something besides warbling and waltz tunes ; and , in order that you may go fitly prepared , let me hint where the beauty lies . It is not tuneful , it is not vocal . Singers complain cruelly of it , and with , justice . But , if instead of placing singers in the foreground , and allowing the symphonies and accompaniments to play the subsidiary part , you transpose the general order , and consider the voices almost as a subsidiary accompaniment to the orchestral grandeur and significance , then you will
feel hovv great a work it is , how true in its dramatic expression , how matchless in melodic invention and intricate harmonies . It is the complete contrast to a ballad opera , —and ballad lovers will have nothing to say to it . Written at the period when Beethoven was most blissfully unhappy , when he was tormented by his passion for Julia , and when the deepening shadows of his coming misfortune—deafness—rendered him more gloomy and more irritable than ever—this single opera , which the grand Titan of harmony composed with sublime indifference to the demands of managers , singers , or public , but with absolute and absorbed devotion to his own instinct of dramatic
art , remains one of the marvels of composition , to be studied and to be reverenced . If I ask you to throw the voices somewhat into the background , it is from no indifference to the noble expression Beethoven has confided to them , it is simply because I think if you do not pay unusual attention to the orchestral part the peculiar magic of the work will escape you . I am somewhat of a
fanatic about Beethoven . He moves the hei ghts and depths of my soul as no other artist—poet , painter , or musician—ever moved them ; and I warn you , therefore , to take my enthusiasm with due allowance for the fanaticism of love . I will not swear that you do not find Fidelio heavy , perhaps " slow . " But if you care for anything except simple melodies , do attend to the accompaniments o f this opera , and then decide .
But I have other business than to criticise Fi-Fidelio . On Tuesday it was produced at Her Majesty's for the debut of Sophie Cruvelli . The overtures—for there are two—were played with a delicacy and expression surprising at this house . Since Balfe has held his baton he never wielded it s <^ effectively in my hearing . There were points to which I should take exception , but on the whole his orchestra did him credit . Let me also add a word of praise- for tho way in which lie supplied the recitatives . But the ehorusseK were
uncertain and comparatively ineffective- : singularly enough , that wondrous piece of choral writing , where the prisoners are allowed for a moment to breathe the fresh air , was so inadequately sung as to secure its encore only alter great opposition . Now for the singers : the opera has but one great part , Fidelio herself , arid Mr . Luiulcy has been fortunate in securing one of the very few living King-ens who can fill it . Mademoiselle Cruvelli makes ample amends for the feebleness of liulunchi , who in toi , iill y ineffective as the gaoler , ami for the mediocrit y of Sims lieeves as Florestuu . It- wan a to ho
bold thiu ^ for a debutante select trying a part ; hut the greater the stake the greater tho triumph , and Mademoiselle Cruvelli unquestionably played the part with immense spirit and intelligence . She never lei- the character sli p through her fingers ; from firtst to last she wuh ubsoibed and absorbing . Sho in mi uctrenH of geiiiuH , and being Hlill very young—onl y tlnee-und-twenty 1 hearwill probabl y become a groat actress in time . Ah a singer sho in gifted with ati astoni & kmK voice , having a couajjiuu of three octaves : rich and sympathetic in the lower reuiBter , weak and indifferent
in the middle , exquisitely sweet and bell-like in the upper tones . I suspect she had originally a contralto , and that it has been forced upwards , like so many other voices ; in which case it will soon give way , for Nature is inexorable , arid , womanlike , permits ho caprices but her own ! About her proficiency as a singer I have some doubts which I reserve till another hearing or so clear them up . Meanwhile , I will say this of her , that she does seem
to me a woman of genius of whom the highest hopes may be entertained . You know the story , perhaps , of the young actress who was excusing her coldness to Voltaire , and wound up with remarking that if she acted as be wished her people would say the devil was in her . " Precisely ! " replied the poet ; you must have the devil in you to play properly . " Mademoiselle Cruvelli is not unacquainted with the gentleman in black .
Mat 24, 1851.] ©Fl* %Tu}$Tx^ 403
Mat 24 , 1851 . ] © fl * % tU } $ tX ^ 403
Il Barbiere. At Last We Have Crowded Hou...
IL BARBIERE . At last we have crowded houses , and so genuine are the crowds that Mr . Lumley announces his intention of opening the theatre five nights a week . Not the best news for us unfortunate critics ! On Thursday—a very " long Thursday "—we had the second and third acts of Masaniello—coldly received , as fragments necessarily are , though well executed . Pardihi sang the barcarole and the duet with Pietro in a manner that made me hope he would fulfil the expectations he raised by hia
first appearance ; but his voice was fatigued at the close of the act , showing that his failure really is , as I suspected , owing to want of stamina . II Barbiere followed , and set one ' s blood in a gallop with its joyous , animated , impulsive , graceful music . Sontag sings Rossini almost to perfection—the grace and playfulness of the part could hardly be better . She gives a German , not a southern version , of the character : a blonde , careless , coquettish Rosina , very
unlike the Spanish maiden with eyes of languor and pulses of fire , whom Rossini created ; but taking her view of the part , and allowing for that ambition of being a human Jlageolette , which seems the apex of Sontag ' s artistic imagination , I must say she was altogether charming . " Una voce " was a triumph of vocalization ; "Dunque io son , " of coquettishness and grace ; the singing lesson , of tours de force . She was in excellent voice , and seemed to play with it like a young lark rising from the waving corn fields .
Ferranti is hard , impudent , and ineffective ; nothing can make him more than a third-rate singer , but if he would attend somewhat more closely to his music and somewhat less to the stalls it would be agreeable . For Figaro he lacks every qualification . The censure is sweeping ; I ^ believe it deserved . Calzolari sang charmingly in the great sestett of the finale , but he shouted the serenade , Mcco ridente il ciel , so as completely to mar its effect . Basillo was ludicrously misrepresented . Bartolo , in the person of the great Lablache , was the most amiable and admirable of domestic tyrants . He omitted , however , the grand air Siynorina un ' altra vulta ; but omitted no opportunity for fun . Altogether it was a delightful performance .
Only A Clod. Did You Ever Read Charles D...
ONLY A CLOD . Did you ever read Charles do Bernard ' s novelet , I In Vtt'ndrc i * No ? Then do so , if you care to . see the tables lurried upon the dandy lover , who , on the strength of well-oiled whiskers and irreproachable boots , utterly despises the plain unpretending husband—a mere clod , not . worth y to be mentioned . It is not often in French literature that the husband plny « the heroic part . After all one must admit , that a husband is awfully prosaie ! Legal happiness is . so utterly respectable ! It is that keeps me a bachelor ! But , prosaie or not , the poor devil is a husband , and doesn ' t like his domestic arrangements multiplied by well-oiled whiskers and seehlcd manners ; and I have enoui / h
compassion in me to feel rejoiced wlien 1 see him rise out , of the prosaism of his part , and turn the laughter against , the lover . This you may see done in Charles de Bernard ' s tale ; this you may see k ( ill more pleasantly done in l'algrave Simpson ' s little comedy at the Lyceum , Only a < lo < l , which jfives Charles Mathews a new opportunity of showing what a perfect comedian he is—how , with dress , tone , gesture , anil smallest details , he fills up his conception of a jmrt , till it becomes something entire , living . In the gentleman farmerquiet , manly , hearty without coarseness , accomplished without affectation- ^ -he is really loveable . Indeed I Gverheslrd a lady exclaim— " I bhould like to kins him ! " and I applauded
her desire . Nothing can be more life-like iand unexaggerated than his fencing scene with Roxby—the sort of careless unswaggering confidence of his bearing , the left hand dangling in his breeches pockets , his whole attitude disdaining the salle d ' armes elegance . Only those who compare Charles Mathews with all other aciors on the stage , or who know the art which is implied in natural acting , can form an idea of his peculiar excellence . [ t is what we see in all French comedians of eminence , but rarely get a glimpse of in England .
Only a Clod is essentially an agreeable piece . The subject is amusing , the dialogue sprightly and neatly turned , the tone healthy and utlForced Miss Oliver makes a charming farmers Wife . Koxby is an excellent actor , but is not sufficientlythe man of fashion to bring out in contrast the rusticity of the " clod ; " still less so is Mt . Bellingham . This want of due proportion injures the picture . As a foil to Charles Mathews ' s rustic one ought to have consummate elegance .
The Chevalier Bo&Co. I Have Seen Some Wo...
THE CHEVALIER BO & CO . I have seen some wonderful conjuring in my time , but never anything equal to that of Bosco , whom I met at a small breakfast the other day . tn the first place , the wonder was enhanced by the improvised nature of the materials he Used ; instead . of the conjuror ' s apparatus , he took the knives and forks , the cups , the eggs , the bread , and the radishes that came on the breakfast table , and while we sat opposite and beside him , he
accomplished his tricks under our very noses . In the next place he had no accomplice , no mechanism . Sleight of hand enabled him to do all but the clairvoyant tricks . He was among strangers , his only f riend present being the greatest living violinist . If you imagine the difficulties under which he laboured in being thus deprived of all ordinary means of deceit , you will see at once that Bosco is not of the ordinary race of conjurors . I will relate one or two of his tricks .
He gave our host a cup to hold in which the green end of a radish was placed ; this cup had a cover which our host was told to place on the cup , having satisfied himself that the radish was there . Bosco , observe , stood at a distance of two or three yards , and did not touch the cup . When it was covered he asked if the radish were positively in
the cup ; then—still preserving his distance , he bade us remark a large ring on his finger . No sooner had we done so , than presto ! the ring was invisible—the radish was in his hand , and when our host lifted the cover oft * the cup there was the ring ! A burst o f astonishment greeted this ; and we beg-ged him to repeat it , which he did—this time with a . ball instead of a radish .
He then went up to our host ' s portrait ; looked steadily at it for some time , wrote something on a piece of paper , gave the paper folded up to our host , and desired him to put it in his pocket . He then took a pack of cards , requesting our host to tell him when to cease dealing the cards on the table . At the ninth card the word " stop" arrested him . He then bade us read . what wan written on . the paper , and we found , Monsieur will stop me at the ninth card ! Talk of clairvoyance after that I Another sample of thought-reading was t ^ iven .
Me told four of us to think of any number wo pleased , but not to name it . 1 thought of seven ; my neighbour of ten ; the other two of numbers which 1 forget , but they were not the same as ours . Bosco then took a pack of cards , and made each of us select one , and each selected a card having the . number each had chosen ! Many other wonderful tricks he showed us , for
some of which we could imagine a process , but ; these three were completely beyond even the scopu of guessing ; and we were told b y his friend that when he exhibits in public we shall see things still more striking . What peculiarly delighted us was the elegance and euae with which tho adioitent sleights of hand were accomplished . In that < jutility ho is formidable . At Vienna the waiters in the cafe refused to take hit * money Unless he jilaeed it on the table , for be paid them and whipped the money from ( heir bunds without their being aware- of it , till they looked and found their hands empty . I have given this hasty notice of the Chevalieor Botseo to direct attention to him vvheu he appears in public . Had he been a Hobin or a lloudin \ should not have fjoiio out of my way ; but at a , time when there are so many Wizards in the field , a man to gain attention must have a peculiar talent , and flucn a talent Bosco has . Vivian .
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), May 24, 1851, page 17, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_24051851/page/17/
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