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Leader (1850-1860), 22nd February 1851, Edition Country of 2, Page 18

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    • Ijmntrfltir Sutdtotrt
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      - -^ Sexttjs V. And Azael. On Monday Nig...

      present and not imitate—inasmuch as it must affect us in the space of a few hours with the emotions of many months or years , it is thereby limited to what I may call Representative Conditions . An illustration from painting shall again help me . The painter to represent his story can only choose one moment—one phasis of the action . The limits of his art condemn him thereto . His selection , therefore , must be that moment which best gathers into one the whole

      thread of the action . Here lies the difficulty of conception ; next comes the design , or distribution of the figures with reference to their significance in expressing the whole . " Situation , " " incident , " and " stage effects , " are the Representative Conditions , by which the artist has to produce his effect . To pretend to despise them is to show ignorance of the art ; to pretend—as the First School does—to elevate them into the first rank is to suppose that paintings depend on colours , not upon the artistic employment of colours .

      If I wanted an illustration I should point to this Sextus V . Situation ? The play is riotous with situation ! Effects ? The eye and the ear are dazzled and dimmed by them ! Incident ? It is a chaotic chapter of accidents . For four mortal hours the strangest adventures , perils , escapes , captures , reescapes , and recaptures are crowded pellmell together . The clash of swords , the click of muskets , the tumult of mobs , the pealing of organs , the chanting of nuns , the agony of death , the ravings of despair , the terrors of

      religion , red fire , tremulo agitations in the orchestra , shouts , stampings , and transports—all the ancient repertory of Mrs . Radcliffe , Dumas , and the melodramatists , ransacked of their most " startling effects , " and the heterogeneous robbery lumped together , as Fagin may have done with all the contributions of his pupils when they returned home from their predatory rambles . As far as " effects " go , the most ravenous appetite will be satiated . But , what then r > "What are these effects ? Colours scattered on

      a palette ! I emphatically declare that the piece did not interest me in the slightest degree . The horrors had no awe , the perils no danger , the sorrows no tears , the despair no pang : the bodily presentment of all these things wanted an " o ' er-informing spirit . " The piece was amazingly clever ; the ingenuity great ; but if the dialogue had nil been cut out arid the piece given as a ballet d ' action , I should have been quite as much amused . But it succeeded ? Ob , yes ; uproariously ! It will play for fifty nights , I dare say . The public—good ,

      stolid , stupid public —are not particular . 1 hey like noise , they like tumult , they like brigands bursting into convents accompanied by red fire and tremulos , they like to see one man defy an armed mob and scatter it as Leigh Murray does ( it reminds thorn of Samson drubbing the Philistines with the jawbone of an ass—an immense fact , but then he had such biblical sinews !)—in short , they swagger about Shakspeare in private , but in their heart of hearts they like a Melodrama . If I confess so much , why should I rail , and cry

      out ai , ai , like a Prometheus of private life ? Why not throw my cap . nto the air and shout , " The Gods are leaving its ; let us leave the Gods ! " ( since that is the order of the day ? Foolish questioner ! it is because in the very shouts which welcome Sextus J . I see an omen of inevitable decay : decay not only of Art , which is one of the sacred influences ; but decay even of the vulgar

      artifice that takes its place . Whoever knows anything of the human organization knows that the more you excite the public by sensuous stimulants the more you destroy the palate and pervert its taste . The four hours of tumult and surprise on Monday night will render more tumult and more surprise necessary for the next piece ; and so on till the whole stock is exhausted , and the fate of the bankrupt ThtUUre Jliatorique be universal . By substituting the material for the moral such is always the result .

      But enough , enough ! I croak m vain . \ vhat is logic against a full house ? 1 write my protest , and pass on . The " getting up" of the piece reflects great credit on the management : it is both magnificent and effective . For acting there was not much scope , the best character being that of " Hugo the delicate , " n ewafilibuckler , played by Henry Kurren , who played it better than I have . seen him play anything else

      but he has a most burleKque swagger , and an occasional relapse into his farcical manner , which produces an effect tantamount to a dropping of the mask ! Farren as Sextus V . presented a finished study . Iit'igh Murray looked gallant and picturesque ; but the part lien out of his capabilities—his ranting in the chapel was cold in the extreme . Miss L , Howard wan charming , acting ho well and looking ho lovely , that I declare if nuns are at all like that I shall at once betake myself to Hammersmith !

      Before my senses had recovered their repose from nil the excitement of this terrible compound of " effects , " 1 wax called upon to visit Azm . l t / to I ' rodigal , at Drury Lane . This is not Auber ' n opera , but the libretto of that opera fashioned into a spectacle , and a spectacle of a truly gorgeous kind . First we have a patriarchal Hcrne of tho Prodigal in his father ' s tent iu the deuert , which ia interrupted by

      the arrival of strangers from Memphis , vrhose narratives of the voluptuous golden-gated city , sting the mind of Azael with an unconquerable desire to quit the simple life of the desert for the varied riot of a great city . There is something poetical in the situation ; but there is , unfortunately , no poetry in the execution . It is ballet poetry after all ! Azael departs ; reaches Memphis ; loosens his soul in the debauches of Oriental sensuality ; is lured into the Temple of Isis , where , instead of beholding the traces

      of reverent worship , he beholds an appalling spectacle of priestly orgies ; is seized as an intruder , and , refusing to become a convert , is hurled into the Nile as a sacrifice ! It is one thing , however , to throw a man into the Nile—another to drown him . Heroes of melodrames and spectacles are not so easily disposed of . Talk of a cat ' s nine lives ! the life of a hero is untakeable till the last scene of the last act : that is the heel of Achilles ! Accordingly , we are quite passive when the bulky form of Mr . Anderson is tilted into the Nile — we know he

      will swim so well ! Sure enough , as the curtain rises there he is , the slave of a camel-driver who saved him . The situation of slave he finds much less to his taste than that of the gay Lothario at Memphis , surrounded by no end of spangled ballet girls , and raising to his lips the most capacious of golden goblets ; he repents , has a dream , returns to his father , and is so joyously welcomed that the market price of veal must inevitably have risen ! That simple and not unpoetical story forms the subject of a really artistic spectacle . Couleur locale has been aimed at with erudite enthusiasm . The quintessence of Champollion , Wilkinson , Lepsius ,

      Layard—with no stint of dioramas ! The Temple of Memphis has really a sublime effect—sublime from its breadth of grandeur and simplicity of means . On a towering range of steps occupying the whole width of the stage , the priests are carousing in a variety of attitudes , the simple uniformity of their white dresses and garlanded brows contributing to the massive breadth of the effect ; mingled with them are the almees , or dancing girls , gorgeously attired , their manners—not strictly prudish . This is the triumph of the piece ; after it , the third act is a wearisome anti-climax , redeemed only by the fine acting of Vandenhoff .

      The drama is tiresome . Anderson completely misrepresented the Prodigal : he neither caught the restlessness and eagerness of youth yearning for the excitement of more vigorous life , nor the gay elegance of the Spendthrift at Memphis . In fact , except " Vandenhoff ' s closing scene , there was no acting in the piece ; and as for Victorine Legrain , whose name " bears such an emphasis" in the bills , she is an ungraceful thick-limbed dancer , with a hard , cruel French ballet face , and no genius for pantomime . The success was unequivocal—immense . It will , I hope , revive the fortune of this theatre . Vivian .

      132 &Tf$ &*A&*T% Saturdav,

      132 & tf $ &* a &* t % Saturdav ,

      The Coming Season At Her Majesty's Theat...

      THE COMING SEASON AT HER MAJESTY'S THEATRE . The theatres of 1851 will be in a state of siege . There is no question of this fact . The immense crowds pouring daily into London will look upon the theatres as not even second in importance to the Groat Exhibition itself . The lyrical drama will be the grand aspiration of the numerous continentalists who will visit our shores , and there is no doubt that very meagre preparations would be quite sufficient to ensure overflowing houses .

      Mr . Lumley , it appears , will not rest satisfied with houses filled by tho mere pressure from without . His programme of the coming season , which we have just received , exhibits a determination that , for talent and novelty , the glories of the opera shall not bo outshone by any lyrical attempt of former years . We have first a reiingagement of last year ' s company , comprising Madame Sontag , Madame Fiorentini , Mademoiselle Parodi , Madame Giuliani , Mademoiselle Ida Bcrtrand , Gardoni , Calzolari , Sims Keeves , Colletti , and the Lablachcs .

      Then for novelty , we have one singer iiromised us , about whom the highest expectations are raised , Caroline Duprez , the brilliant daughter of the great tenor , whose large and impassioned Htyle has triumphed over every obstacle ; and we are alHo to have Madame Barbiere Nini , about whom Italy Ihih gone mad ; Mademoiselle Alaymo , spoken of m a real artist ; Mademoiselles Feller and / agnoli , Signori rYrranti and Scapini , who bring a Parisian reputation , and Signor Scotti ; while , as u crown of the whole , the greatest singer in Europe , Alboni , will enthral us for a limited number of nights . Would that this mi "lit . mean the whole season !

      Amongst tho new productions promised , are u new l ^ raud opera by Meyerbeer , in which Home of the most interesting melodies of the ; " (' amp de Silenie " will be introduced ; and it is stated that the great maestro will arrive to superintend the production of his work . Scarcely inferior in interest , i » ( the new grand opera composed by Thalhcrg—the libretto by Scribe . Another novelty is an opera now composing expressly for Album by Auber . Ilerr Ganz is to be chorus master , and a number

      of choristers from Germany have been engaged , to give additional effect to his exertions . The ballet has not been forgotten . The arrangements comprise Carlotta the incomparable , Amelia Ferraris , Marie Taglioni , Petit Stephan , and Carolina Rosati ; MM . Paul Taglioni , Charles , Gosselin ; while among the new aspirants are Mademoiselles Tedeschi , Mathilde , and Allegrini . A peculiar novelty is announced in the person of the greatest dramatic mime of Italy , Mademoiselle Monti , for whom a new grand ballet has been supplied by M . de St . George . The season is to commence early in March , with Auber ' s Gustavus , the principal characters sustained by Madame Fiorentini and Signor Calzolari , and a new ballet by M . Paul Taglioni , entitled V lie des Amours .

      Grand Tour Through Europe. Mr. Charles M...

      GRAND TOUR THROUGH EUROPE . Mr . Charles Marshall's moving diorama , illustrating the grand routes of a tour through Europe , was presented for a first time on Monday evening at the Tourist ' s Gallery , her Majesty ' s Concert Room , Haymarket . The purpose of the diorama is to reproduce , in a series of pictures , the most striking and memorable scenes which are so frequently visited . The first part consists of a rapid iournev

      through Germany down the Danube to the shores of the Bosphorus . The second introduces the visitor to a picture of Italy , starting from Rome on the north , and taking LagoMaggiore on the route over the Alps into Switzerland . T * ie third part is a descent of the valley of the Rhine from the vineyards of Johannisberg to the bridge of boats at Cologne . "We have only space this week to announce the opening of this diorama , reserving our critical remarks until next week .

      Ijmntrfltir Sutdtotrt

      Ijmntrfltir Sutdtotrt

      "^ Letters To Chartists. Iv. The Unenfra...

      " ^ LETTERS TO CHARTISTS . IV . The Unenfranchised a Political Power in England . The Mob , with so many a name of contempt , or descriptive of faction , is yet with us a political element . As an element its materials are uncouth enough , and the orators who are left to do the fashioning are commonly inscrutably constituted . But , however rough the ore or crude the workmen , it is the rude ore of humanity which is represented by the mob . Then let us accept what we find , and make of it the best that it is capable .

      The dissatisfied and angry roar of the public meeting represents an accredited political influence , and though without the franchise is one not without the power . In most countries of the world the habit of public meeting is unknown : so far as Europe is concerned it is a British peculiarity . No party in this country can claim the ear of the Government , that is , move it in any generous direction , unless it can plead the voice of the people in its favour . Beginning at a general election the show of hands by the multitude is popularly held to determine the choice of

      candidates , and though the value of such demonstration is very unsubstantial , it has a significance which extends throughout the entire range of public affairs . Opinion governs the Government , as the late Sir Robert Peel confessed ; and public opinion includes , more or less , the feeling of the whole people . By a species of political habit , belonging to the Ministry , this power of popular opinion , comes every year more and more into requisition . When a demand is made of the Government for some measure of reform the reluctant Minister flatly refuses to listen to it—unless there is an agitation out of doors .

      There must be a " pressure from without" before Parliament can be moved . And there is no pressure which moves them so soon as the earnest and universal pressure of the common people . Despise the multitude as we may , progress is seldom made in England except when King Mob reigns . The Government recognize this as plainly as possible whenever they refuse a measure , however just , unless backed by an agitation . Agitation , therefore , is in Britain an accredited political instrument ; and though members of Parliament in white waistcoats , afraid of the next general election , will talk scornfully of Demagogues , yet we could not get on without them . They have their own work to do , and if they do it well they are quite as likely as members of Parliament

      to deserve well of their country . " What is wanted is , that the Unenfranchised shall see their power , and that Demagogues see how to uho it for the public good . The Mob—that creature of poverty and passion—rude yet generous , bravo but blind ! it believes in tho Demagogue because he iB tho only one who condescends to address it on its own ground . As he inspires it , let him beware that ho does not deprave it . Ah he moves it , let him take care that he moves it for its own improvement . An he excites it , let him take care that he elevates it . If the multitude were bo trained , politicians would covet it , control , and Would desire to include tho enfranchised among the electors , in order to have their more bubstuntiul support . If the power which

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Feb. 22, 1851, page 18, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_22021851/page/18/