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RISTORI IN COMEDY . It is the opinion of many excellent critics that Madame Ristobi is better in comedy than in tragedy . We care not to decide the question . For nothing seems idler than a dispute upon comparative merits . Where many things afford delight , why torture yourself to decide which is the most delightful ? The task is ungrateful , and pre-eminently useless . The Locandiera which was selected for the debut of this remarkable actress m comedy , is one of Goi-doni ' s , and to our mind it is an excellent play . The incidents are simple , and yet the interest never flags . It is thoroughly lively and entertaining-. There are the Marquis of Forli pqpoli , the Count of Albafiorita , the Cavaliere di Ripafratta and his servifct , two ladies , a lodging-house keeper , Mirandolina by name , and her servant Fabrizio . T he scene is at the lodging-house of
Mirundolina . The position of this lively lady is something like the head of a great boarding-house . Although she looks after the cuisine and the comforts of her guests , still she occupies a better position than a mere letter of lodgings . She is pretty , fascinating , beautifully dressed , and indeed captivates by her manner and conversation every man who comes to the house . The poor Marquispoverty-stricken and proud as he is—is compelled under her influence to become almost generous . He relies on his nobility ana makes desperate love . The Count , trusting t o his wealth and his costly presents , laughs the Marquis to scorn , and is confident of success with the fair Mirandolina . The Cavaliere professes a profound contempt for all women , and , like Benedick , is satisfied that he never will marry . Mirandolina ' s object is to conquer the Cavaliere , and she succeeds . But having conquered him she rejects him , and marries her servant . The principal use of the two ladies seems to be to withdraw the Margidsaad the Count from the scene , whilst
the Cavaliere is being vanquished by Mirandolina . In such a play , the dialogue , of course , is everything . There are no striking situations—no moral lessons inculcated—no preaching in soliloquies . The play is the work of a thorough artistas Goudohi certainly was . Mirandolina subdues the rebellious Cavaliere with the most perfect womanly art . She does it so imperceptibly , that it is quite impossible to say when the poor man is really overcome . The dialogue is smooth , natural , and singularly ingenious . Some persons think it common-place . No doubt it is very like real society . But just as a dull man sees nothing to remark , and nothing to afford amusement in the ordinary society of life—whilst in truth there is ample material for observation and for amusement—so in Gojldoni ' s play a censorious critic " only proves his own dulness and inexperience of society by his disparagement . Mirandolina ' s projected victory over the boastful womanhater , in preference to an attack upon the nobleman or the millionnaire , is quite the notion of a woman conscious of her power of fascination . Her first attempts to make an impression by ministering to his selfishness—by attending to his comforts , his linen , and his table—are admirably natural . And , when ' the ice is the
slightly thawed , when the bear is a little tamed , it was inimitable to note somewhat obtrusive familiarity of Mirandolina ' s conduct , justified only by the assumption that the Cavaliere is impervious to all tender impressions , and that therefore the lady may treat him with an ease and frankness which , in the case of any other man , would certainly be misconstrued . It was excellent to observe , during the progress of the campaign , how the surprise of the Cavaliere at her proceedings merged into passionate admiration—with what tact Mirandolina concealed her real purpose , and how dexterously , as each new spark kindled in his soul , she inflamed it into ablaze . After the conquest is achieved she enjoys her victory to the full , but—marry her victim she will not . Some critics seem to think this proves her heartless . But is it so ? Mirandolina is only attracted to the Cavaliere by his boastful weakness and by the consciousness which she entertains of her own power . Success like hers is more likely to engender contempt than love . It would have been very different had she begun by falling in love with the Cavaliere , and to gratify that love had set herself to subdue him . Accordingly Mirandolina lets him rage on in his disappointment and marries Fabrizio—in obedience to her late father ' s injunctions .
Not one of the Italian plays exhibited at the Lyceum has been so well performed in all its parts as the Locandiera . There was less inequality between Madame Ristori and the other actors . Indeed , S . Gleck , the Cavaliere , S . Boti , his Servant , and S . Belxotti-Bon , the Marquis , were all excellent . The Marquis was quite the old Italian nobleman , with a touch of that pompous humour which generally goes with a nobleman ' s poverty . In all the other dramas in which we have seen Ristori , it is clear , even in reading them , that one of the chief objects of their authors has been to make points . The spectator looks out for the fine bits . But in this comedy there is nothing of the sort . The dialogue runs pleasantly on , and there is not a single passage—except , perhaps , the toast which Ribtori gives over the Burgundy—which excites the desire to demand an encore . JLong as the play is , and barren as it ia of incidents , you feel that you
are being permuted for an hour or two to look in upon a scene of real Italian life and manners . We are free to confess that , nt times , Mad . Ristoui seemed almost inclined to assume the tragic cothurnus . The figure and face are so imposing , her force of manner is so overwhelming , that she must always seem Clytemnestra in disguise . This leads us to doubt whether Ristoui could by possibility perform those miraculous transformations which Bouff 6 and even Cuarj . es Mathbws sometimes achieve . Is it possible , think you , that Ristori could within a few hours play the Gamin de Paris and then the Pere Turlututv , —a mischievous boy , and a man in his second childhood ? We think not . Still her nonchalance and thorough appreciation of the character which sho lias assumedher sly touches throughout showing that all her winning ways are being used for the sole purpose of compelling her victim , the Cavaliere , to acknowledge her power—are worthy of all praise .
Having taken her benefit and acted in Silvio Pki . lico's play of Francesca da Rimini , and in a one-act comedy , / Geloai Fortunati , Ristouk haa betaken herself to the provinces . We wish this accomplished lady all success .
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MR . ROBSON'S " MEDEA . " The tondoncy to burlesque a noble performance , conceived in a spirit of mingled truth and ideality , nnd executed with consummate art—to cast down what is beautiful and noble , for the sake of exciting the morbid laughter of a few " barren spectators "—is an objectionable feature of our time , or perhaps not so much of this time specifically as of our English naturo in general . We wore pained , therefore , when wo saw announced one or . two travesties of Madame Ristoiu ' s
grand conception of Medea . Mr . Wright , as we chronicled last week , was the first to bring the comic mask into leering competition with that majestic vision of the fierce enchantress conjured up by the classical features and throbbing genius of the Italian lady who has just departed from our London world ; and this week we have parody Number Two served up for us at the Olympic But there can be no question that , if we are to have a burlesque of such a performance at all , it cannot be placed in any hands so fit as those of Mr . Robson . We all knew beforehand that he would dash into the very midst of the " fun " and vulgarity a sort of gusty torchlight flare of passion ; of rage that seems to be at odds with itself whether it shall mouth and mock at its own manifestations , or be " terribly in earnest ; " of elfish malice , darting forth , every now and then , from the ambush of a fantastical drollery , and seeming to carry with it a certain
dwarf-like distortion , intensity , and abruptness ; and of pathos , truer than that of many " legitimate " actors , capriciously dovetailed into the comic pattern , and in a measure , sorting with it , in accordance with some grotesque and hitherto undiscovered rule of art . And such proved to be the case . Mr . Robson ' s performance of the sorceress transports us into a kind of wild witch region , as if we were admitted to a broomstick " Sabbath , " where all the elements of human nature may be supposed to exist in startling reality , and yet to be combined with dreamlike waywardness and extravagance . His Medea is a St . Giles ' s beggar-woman , fraudulent , hypocritical , avaricious , and abusive ; and yet a hag with supernatural will , passion that flares and lightens into poetry , and the tenderness of a veritable mother over her forsaken children . He reconciles the extreme of vulgar reality with the ve ry soul of grotesque romance ; links the facts of our modem London streets with the dreams of ancient Colchis ; and
through the one brief act of which the piece consists has a complete mastery over his audience , and sways them as he likes . That awful comparison in the original play , of the leopard rending his human victim in the forest , which Medea puts forward as typical of the manner in which she desires to treat her rival , is here converted into a cat pouncing on a mouse . Ludicrous enough , it may be said . But with Mr . Robson it is not ludicrous , any moTe than the fact 33 ludicrous . The cat herself is not more quietly fate-like in her approach ; more remorseless in the dart with which she pins her prey ; more grotesquely cruel in the ghastly banter with which she dallies with the victim ; or more fiercely earnest in the final grip and hurried deglutition . The effect on the house was forward the fronts of the boxe 3
remarkable . We observed people leaning over and stalls while the passage was proceeding ; and , at the close , the applause was long and loud . Mr . Robson ' s gradual subdual of rage in the last scene—the melting and softening over the children—the running frantically about the stage with them , when pursued by the mob—and the final murder of themwere also singularly and strangely fine . And let us not forget to notice the graceful compliment paid to Madame Ristori at the close , when a bust of the great actress , and statues of Tragedy and Comedy ( executed by Signor Monti ) , are revealed , crowned with rays of fire—Mr . Robson singing an apology for what might otherwise seem like disrespect to a " noble woman . " We were glad to observe that Madame Ristori herself was in a private box , and that shelaugheJ
heartily at many parts of the performance . The other actors went through their parts with neatness and vivacity ; but they do not call for particular criticism . The burlesque is brightly and wittily written by Mr . Robert Brouoh ; and the scenery and dresses are closely copied from the original .
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HER MAJESTY'S THEATRE . Majdixk . Johanna Wagner ' s performance of Luerezia Borgia confirms the opinion we very reluctantly expressed of her Romeo . Extraordinary physical power , incessant exaggeration , and a total want of true feeling , are the chief characteristics of this German prirua donna . To those who were familiar with the Luerezia of Grisi the contrast was at once ludicrous and painful . Witness the last s cene , in which we all remember the passionate abandonment of despair and tenderness of Grisi when she throws herself on the body of Gennaro , the son sacrificed to her cruel lust of vengeance . At this terrible moment Madlle . Wagner is seen gesticulating coldly but fiercely across the footlights , invoking , we may suppose , the excited sympathies of the pit and gallery . Yet the bouquets which descended upon Madame Amadei , the Orsini of the evening , proceeded from the side-boxes .
Mr . Charlks Braiiam , who essayed Gennaro , sang his best : we are sorry to add that his best is totally inadequate to the part vocally and dramatically . Ho seems to have studied in a good school ; his method is not inelegant : but he has one fatal defect as a primo tenore : ho cannot sing muaic written for a tenor voice . The new Imperial ballet Le Corsaire recals the best days of Her Majesty ' . Theatre in this department . It is superbly put upon the stage , and Madame Rosati ' s dancing is the perfection of her art .
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THE AMATEURS AT DRURY LANE . Tiik amateur performance on Saturday last was signalized by " the first appearance on any stage " ( in the Loan of a Lover ) of a young nnd fair debutante , whom wo are persuaded the public will not willingly let die into private life ngnin . To the uninitiated , who were not aware that so rare a gift was hereditary , it was astonishing ; and to all it was delightful to see acting so arch , delicate , and truthful , accompanied by all ttie charm and freshness of youth , and to listen to a speaking voice sweet and tender as u lute , which , set to music , became a pure and clear mezzo-soprano , finely cultivated and exquisitely delivered . Mrs . Kkkley played the part of Peter Spyk , and , maternal solicitude notwithstanding , never acted more admirably , to the triumph of 0110 most dear adding a new triumph of her own . Touching the Amateurs , the Pantomime went well , but wo may be allowed to express a hope that the future performances of this band of brothers may bo ol a higher order . At all events a Pantomime in tho dog-days is preposterous .
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Two of tho best concerts of tho season have been given this week : on Wednesday , by Madame Viahdot , when that consummate artist and most esteemed lady displayed all tho prodigal versatility and abundanco of her genius to h crowded and delighted audience ; and by Signor Bazzini , tho accomplished violinist , yesterday . Signor Bazzini ' s programme wus rich and varied , tlio executants first rate , and tho audienco at onco ample and select .
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THE LEADER . [ No . 330 , Saturday ,
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Leader (1850-1860), July 19, 1856, page 692, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2150/page/20/
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