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Accompanied ; old Nestor still renowned For fitting to wise words his wiser thoughts , Left his beloved sands ; and Theseus came From Athens , where the sword in myrtle shines ; And many more—great Kings , but all are dead . So will the old men say , and gently sigh , Then pause , and then with smiles begin again ; " But now the feast was served with copious store Of viands such as none but princes have , And goblets , massy with the crusted gold , Were drained of the delightful juice of grapes ; And songs were lifted up with glad acclaim In praise of that fair bride , who modest , calm , Sat mid the merry feasters by her lord . At length Eurytion , whom the circling wine Made dizzy with swift joy , half furious rose , And said , " Peirithous , keep your blushing bride With a strong hand , or I shall bear her off . " But ere he came Peirithous struck him down , Himself in turn struck down , for Centaurs thronged Around the fallen Centaur , raising him , And ' the Lapithae Peirithous rose . Then clamours eddied through the echoing halls , And tables fell and golden flagons spilt The ruddy wine ; and maids with yellow locks Scarce veiling their white limbs , for quick surprise , Were struck to earth ; and through the rushing strife The shrieks of women gathering round the Bride , Mixt with the drunken shouts of desperate men , While clashing of great shields and ringing spears , And the cross lightning of conflicting swords , Thundered and shone ; and heavy goblets smote Uncovered temples , and on helmets rang ; And some fell back , but yet retreating fought , Foot prest to foot , and eye still fixing eye . But Theseus near his friend Peirithous stood , Protecting him , and when some Centaur vast Made rash approach , he slew him with his spear . So Theseus and Peirithous , side by side , True , tender , fought , till round them ample space Was cleared , and Theseus through the giddy fight , Beheld the mad Eurytion dealing death . Then lifting up his spear , the Athenian chief Few steps retired , and running as men run For crowning action , hurled it ; and a cry As of some beast in pain told triumph near . Now all left fighting , and the Centaurs closed Around their prostrate lord , who howling lay Disabled , but on shield to shield conjoined They laid him , and so bore him from the feast ; But Theseus stood rejoicing with his friends , Who praised him as we praise him . Tims one day Old sires will tell their grandsons , handing down Heroic men , the royal blood of Time , And lighting our dull years that have no sun , With the great deeds of shining yesterdays . M .
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PIETRO TL GRANDE . Jitt / lits-n ' s long-tolked-of ° l wra WiVH produced on Tuesday last , and at first neemed as if it were going to achieve a brilliant success . The first act was bright , sparkling , effective , and full of promise . The second act was a noisy failure The third languished . The whole occupied five hours of our patience , and left uh dissatisfied—weary . When very great curtail inents have Wen made—and they will bo more easy as the repetitions of the same idea art * so frequent—the opera may have a run in virtue of the splendour of its scenery , costumes , and general spectacle , aided by the lite and animation there is in Home of the pieces , and by the splendour of Tamberlik ' s singing . But—and this is the point 1 wish to insist onthe success , whatever it may be , will be a spectacle success , not an operatic success . ... .... .... , little doubtThe who could write
Of Jiillien ' h capability I have . man the first act of thin opera , the duel , quartet ; , and septet , in the second act , and the chorus of conspirators , has proved his claims . The main cause of hia ambiguous success is the mistaken notion of what really constitutes operatic excellence . Ho ha » W' the Meyerbeer-llalevy model before his eyes : a detestable model , rendered doubly dangerous by the incontestable talent of Meyerbeer . Thai school as I endeavoured to show on a former occasion , departs from the true province of opera by everywhere subordinating Music to Theat rical KH ' oct . The same process of degeneration w going on m opera that has changed Poetic Drama into Melodrama—the senses iiro appealed to instead of the soul . ( Gorgeous scenery , sin lung " situations , ' picturesque effects , the glitter of armour , the clang of brass , the turbulence o multitudes , the splendour of i > roeeBsioutf , real horses , real water , real
pigs , rant and screaming—all that may be called the material of sta ™ effect grouped together—and the poor human soul , with its emotions scarcely thought of ! Not only is this material tendency ruinous , inas ' much as it is a downward tendency , but it has these two sources of ruin costliness and weariness . To put such operas on the stage as La J ~ uive or Pietro II Ghrande , must in the first instance cost thousands and thoul sands of pounds , ( and each new venture of that kind increases the expense , because it must surpass in gorgeousness its predecessor , or it will not sensation tm muiiey i wnat
produce a , ; auu wueu mau » » penx , is the result compared with the " effect" of one beautiful melodyP Take all the splendour of La Juive , the PropJiete , and JPietro , and on the other side place " Qual cor tradisti , " or " All is lost now , " or the barcarole in . Masaniello , ( you see I abstain from the great examples , ) and which is the most " effective P" In I Martiri the " getting up" was costly ; but tehat was the real effect P O santa melodia ! In Pietro the display is unbounded ; what are the real effects P The madrigal and the Muscovite hymn . That is to say music , not spectacle ! Give your thousands to a composer for every phrase of passion , for every true melody , and the thousands will be repaid by a delighted public . At spectacle they gape , a-nA nlar > + 1 iqit « Tnonfla fcllPV TlfiYt , flfl / V tlieV forffet it . % - » *— «/
C 11 J . U . V 1 UU VUV 1 X JkXl * 4 J-V *« y SM-m .- * s ^ j . v— j O What I have said of Spectacle applies equally to the mode of Composition . In Meyerbeer , stage effect is the one dominant passion . Take his music from the stage , and it is seen to be mechanical , umnelodic , tricky ; often quaint , but rarely beautiful , never exquisite . But Rossini , whom I hold to be infinitely greater in all ways , even dramatical—may be hummed , may be played on the piano , may be separated from all adventitious aid , may be sung by wretched voices or ground on perambulating organs , and the indestructible beauty of the music still enchants uccii ow uu avj t ^ ^^^ i " u"v ^^^^^^^^ uut
-r ^ OTi . j \ cieience uus . -m-y ^ j . « , •»• . ••• - nv , w , effect that his recitative abounds in melodic ideas , which , if developed , would rank him with the great melodists . But I , for one , demur . I am not disposed to credit a man for what he could do , if I see him never doing it . When Meyerbeer does develop his ideas , what is the result ? Whatare Uti imperopiu soare , or Beviam , beviam ! or any other of his songs , ( I except Robert toi quej ' aime , ) as melodies P A defence might as reasonably be set up for Bulwer's claims to be considered a poet . One might point to the many poetical ideas in his prose , and say , "Ah ! if he only chose to develop them into poems . " But in that lies the mystery ! I do not in the least question Meyerbeer ' s immense talent . 1 only question its rank . His operas are meant to be effective , and are so . . But nesiuttiun
although I see them with pleasure , ± nave not tne sngnxesT ; m saying ? that not only are they as far below Beethoven , Mozart , and Rossini , in my estimation , as Pumas is below Shakspeare , or Bulwer is below Goethe ; but that I would even give all he ever composed for Norma . This is a long preface to what I have to say about Julhen s opera , but he has so obviSusly chosen Meyerbeer as his model that these general considerations seemed necessary . Of his own music I may say generally , that the prodigality of noise , instead of being effective , prevents eflect and wearies the elr ; that the uncertainty ofthe style , remmding one now of this and now of that composer , and the incessant modulation which breaks the continuity of his phrases , also tend towards weariness ; and finally , that the pre-occupation of theatrical effect , which has led inm to bestow most of his attention on the choruses , and to care less for the dramatic effectexasperates rather than amuses the audience .
, Let me , on the other hand , note as bits of excellent writing the madrigal and the fugue in the first act , the quartet and septet in the secona , the chorus of conspirators in the third , and numerous passages m tne accompaniments throughout . The chorus of Vivandihres is gay and . tripping ; the Muscovite hymn , ear-catching and immensely eilectivc > , uit oallet , with chorus , flowing and animated ; passages in P *^ o * ^ . ™ " £ of great beauty ( sung by Tambcrlik as he alone could sing it ); the > simpi < and massive chorus JEvviva il Czar , the pathetic movement in the licm duet of the second act ( Non partire , non partir ) , and the Mazmlra oi i last act-all showing a faculty of composition little suspected by them » i . i _ . _ ri i i ,+ ^/^ o ^ . -t ^ otliM hv the excision ui uiuuui «« " » ^ wv * -- j
lority . Ana wnen mesu uro ^ - . .. ~ an \ naa <> lamr the surplusage , the ear , not previously stunned by the remorseless cianj , of the accompaniments , will gratefully appreciate them . . , . P . S . The above was written after Tuesday's performance . ^ haw J ^ left the theatre after a second hearing , and , although 1 sec no rt qualify in any degree what I have said of the music 1 navo ™ £ - tliat of th / general improvement in effect , owing to the large exus onB t have been made . Not only is the weariness that was tolt on' ^ j j ft night completely got rid of-except such as results from the assau u turbulence of tfto Srchestra-but tlie second act , which nearly killta rt « ora « n Tniwliiv . went off auito brilliantly on Thursday ; ana
lobby I heard nothing but loud testimonies of satisfaction . ^ PV .. / an ( l part ; I can say that I listened to the opera with increased admiral' , without any fatigue ; though I still think if an occasional passay and there were removed the whole effect would be lightened .
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SHAKSPEAItE IN THE PKOVlNCEb . # SjrAKsrEABK is the idol of the English . I know a ^^^^ « girl because sho said a clover thing about Shakspcaro . -i iil , jj () nhwho hates his nephew because that youth thinks illo / " { wnV with an inferior to the Princess : And I once travelled in the run *' pippe d elderly and wry nice lady who assured mo her husl > ai ia ¦ n , r wImn 8 hakfl eare . " Uo cares for no other book . Almost every t ^ ' ^^ ho he comes homo from business —( ho is a solicitor , sir , is m J ' ' roil ( l » io puts on his dressing-gown and slippers , and says , ' Hero , Jvi . j , vyml some Shakspeare : ' and I read it him , sir , till ho falls ^ , « t | , « Land ' s J ^ nd to John o' Groat ' s there is but one chorus in prain
swan . " , . ,- „ «« -Wh y ' * I By the way , pretty eyes posed me not long since , i " " * ' . „ J 3 ( . (« m »» poets called swans P '' With cai ^ less superiority , I ttn , "l " ' o 8 Uo « cr , they sing when they di <>—they don't , but ^ it is mud so . ^ ^ i ^ iouHly ^ however , was not so easily satisfied . " l * oetH , hs sn < - I . ^ j ^ o i \ w marked , " don't aing when they die , if swans do £ < o tnai
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810 THE . LEADER . [ SATuRPAY
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Leader (1850-1860), Aug. 21, 1852, page 810, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1948/page/22/
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