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¦ • ¦ ApbiIj 24, 1852Q THE LEADER. ^
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Cjft Ms.
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EOYAL ITALIAN OPERA. Of tlio Signor Galv...
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CItUVELLI AS AN ACTBESS. Quotation is on...
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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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Comte's Positive Philosophy.* By Gr. H. ...
rise at midnight . ' -Remark also that while in the present day no natural philosopher i » insane enough to , busy himself with the attempt to discover the dative of attraction , thousands are busy in the attempt to discover the cause of life and the essence of mind ! This difference characterizes positive and metaphysical sciences . The one is content with a general fact , that ' attraction is directly as the mass and inversely as the square of the distance ; ' this being sufficient for all scientific purposes , because , enabling : us , to predict with unerring certainty the results of that he metaphysician metaphysical physiologist the is
operation . T or , on contrary , more occupied with guessing at the causes of life than in observing and classifying vital p henomena with a view to detect their laws of operation . First he guesses it to be what he calls a ' vital prittciple '«— -a mysterious entity residing in the frame , » n ^ capable of engendering phenomena . . He then proceeds to guess at the nature or essence of this principle , and pronounces it < electricity , ' or ' nervous fluid / or ' chemical affinity / Thus he heaps hypothesis upon hypothesis , and clouds the subject from his view .
" The closer we examine the present condition of the sciences , the more we shall be struck with the anarchy above indicated . We shall find one science in a perfectly positive stage ( Physics )> another in the metaphysical stage ( Biology ) , a third in the supernatural stage ( Sociology ) . Nor is this all . The same varieties will be found to co-exist in the same individual mind . The same man who in physics may be said to have arrived at the positive stage , and recognises no other object' of inquiry than the laws of phenomena , will be found still a slave to the metaphysical stage in Biology , and endeavouring to detect the cause of life ; and so little emancipated from the supernatural stage in Sociology , that if you talk to him of the possibility of a science of history , or a social science , he will laugh at you as a ' theorize */ So vicious is our philosophical education ! So imperfect the conception of a scientific Method ! Well might Shelley
exclaim—• How green is this greyworld ! ' . The present condition of science , therefore , exhibits three Methods instead of one t hence the anarchy . To remedy the evil all differences must cease : one Method must preside . Auguste Comte was the first to point out the fact , and to suggest the cure ; and it will render his name immortal . So long as the supernatural explanation of phenomena was universally accepted , so long was there unity of thought , because one general principle was applied to all facts . The same may be said of the metaphysical stage , though in a less degree , because it was never universally accepted ; it was in advance of the supernatural , but "before it could attain universal recognition , the positive stage had already begun . When the positive Method is universally accepted— -arid the day we hope is not far distant , at least
among the elite of humanity— -tchen shall we again , have unity of thought , then shall we again ,, have one general doctrine , powerful because general . That the positive Method is the only Method adapted to human capacity , the only one on which truth can be found , is easily proved : on-italone can prevision of phenomena depend . Prevision is the characteristic jmd tKe ~ test of knowledge . If you can predict certain results , and they occur as you predicted , theft are you assured that your knowledge is correct . If the wind blows according to the will " of Boreas , we . may , indeed , propitiate his favour , but we cannot calculate upon it . We can have no certain knowledge whether the wind will blow or not . If , on the other hand , it is subject to laws , like everything else , once discover these laws , and men will predict concerning it as they predict concerning other matters . ' Even the
wind and ram , to two the language of one of our most authoritative writers , ' which in common speecli are the types of uncertainty and change , obey laws as fixed as those of the sun and moon ; and already , as regards many parts of the earth , man can foretell them without fear of being deceived . He plans his voyages to suit the coming monsoons , and prepares against the floods of the rainy seasons . ' * If one other argument be needed , we would simply refer to the gradual and progressive improvement which has always taken place in every department of inquiry conducted upon the positive Method—and with a success in exact proportion to its rigorous employment of that Method—contrasted with the circular movement of Philosophy , which is just as far from a solution of any one of its problems as it was five thousand years ago ; the only truths that it can be said to have acquired are a few psychological truths , and these it owes to the positive Method !"
Comte's Positive Philosophy.* By Gr. H. ...
* Dr ArnoU ' e Memonta ofFhyaivs , Fifth od ., vol . i . p . 18 .
¦ • ¦ Apbiij 24, 1852q The Leader. ^
¦ ¦ ApbiIj 24 , 1852 Q THE LEADER . ^
Cjft Ms.
Cjft Ms .
Eoyal Italian Opera. Of Tlio Signor Galv...
EOYAL ITALIAN OPERA . Of tlio Signor Galvaui , whose appearance as JSlvino we announced last week , we have only to say that he did not produce that degroeo of sensation which his name maliciously indicated—that he may becomingly ] . ) a p secon ^ y position , without being in the remotest sense capable of too first—afc tho Royal Italian Opera , we mean : that he sang like a robust tenor , with by no moans a robust voice , from his head and throat , rather than from his chest ; that his acting was cold , ungainly , and inexpressive ; that his method of pumping the voice was not pleasant to witness ; that his falsetto act one ' s teeth on edge ; but that with all these 8
«»« uacK , oignor ( jralvani was not unacceptable nor wholly unpleasmg , ana in moro than one phrase , ho surprisod tho most indulgent audionce m the world into warm applause , and was even recalled at the conclusion . j . ° pora , with Castellan ; who never looked more pretty , and never was in liner voico . Her Amina was faultlessly sung , and unaffectedly acted . Wo are not yet tired of the Sonnambula . ¦ T uesday , however , may bo called the first" solemnity , " as tho French s » y , ot a season that , oven in tho annals of tho Royal Italian Opera , promises to bo unparalleled .. Tho public should bo grateful for the production of
I MaHiri : At is a " grand opera" by a master , of whose works wo public dosires to know all j ' it is a good opportunity for displaying -lainoorlilc nrid Rohconi in parts not familiar to a Ldndon audience ; and ,. magnificentl y mounted . It is not , however , a work to oxalb'Donizotti ' s of ,. M £ ran < l opera' on tho Paris pattorn is not the highost kind S ( ' « . " i ° P ° ra 18 a pipco ' of music , illustrated by the action and < /' ' . V ; the grand opera is a spectacle adorned with music ; which bot ^ ° lo * j the medium of tho w ork of arfc , than one of its many adjuncts . fooTP fp ? tlj ° f taltin £ thafc wrong ground , Donizetti has worked it _ J ^ y ^ -Ihe vnst spread of music attains a certain individuality , chiefly
by tivoiditofl repetition of the author or Imitation of other's . By the help of some of those combinations , which iponiaetti knows so well how to dress , up ,- , of concerted piece , solo , and ensemble , the two last ^ actsyfbr which Scribe ' s libretto has done so much , go with far more animation ; and good scope is offered for the voices . The story needs riot be told :.. it is the same with Corneille ' s Pph / eucie * The hero , an Armenian subject of ' Borne , who turns Christian , is followed into his creed , through affection , by his wife ; and he suffers laariyrdoin with her . Tamberlik was Poliuto ; Madame Julienne , the wife PauUna ; Marini , her father , and Governor of Armenia ; IJonconi , the Proconsul , a lover whom Paulina has forsaken , supposing him to be dead , and who
remains / kind , considerate * and clement . The reader , who has not been to the Royal Italian , sees how these voices groupe in the lyric traged y * Some of the vocal situations are striking—such as a duet between Paulina and her husband ; Paulina ' s song of uncontrollable joy at hearing of Severuss arrival , " Perche di stolto giubilo ; " the duet between the two in the third act—highly critical to Paulina ' s conjugal fidelity ; Poliuto ' s song of defiance , and then the sequel generally . But it is as an opportunity for the voices that even the best of the music is best . Madame Julienne is an . accomplished , dashing , and genial singer . Time has somewhat impaired the tissue of her voice ; but for special passages she has acquired force , and at the top of her register her voice comes out , bold , piercing , and energetic . Ronconi makes his part , dramatically the best in the Opera , a finished character—manly ,
powerfultender , varied with the most delicate shades , but rising to the terrible in its disappointment and its rage . [ Dramatically , controversial martyrdom is not a favourable subject—Vivian would not often , recommend an impresario to borrow his libretti from the Christian fathers ; still less is the husband of a wife whose virtue and goodnature mate her faithful in spite of her inclinations , a commanding subject for a hero ; and accordingly Tamberlik walks through his part in the earlier scenes with a sort of conscientious uphill dignity admirable to witness . But he is rewarded : as the plot thickens , as the tumult rises , as Governor , Proconsul , mob , and lions , roar for their - prey , ike voice comes forth in all the raging potency of tenor defiance : the ' voice lords it over the scene like the wind above the billows . As the piece advances , these striking effects tell , and the curtain falls , as it has done to the climaxof the third act > to tumults of enthusiastic applause .
If you had left the house at the end of the second act , you would probably have gone away yawning and discontented , with the belief that it was no doubt very grand , and uncommonly heavy . But from the beginning of the third act to the final scene of the opera , it was one " sustained triumph" for the artists , and an ever increasing excitement for ^ the audience . _ We never remember , even in the reign of Jenny IAnd , to have seen an audience more thoroughly , " carried away" than by IJamberlik ' s masterly performance in the Marliri . Never had this great singer , often as he'had charmed , thrilled , electrified his admirers—never had he before revealed the full glory of that voice , ranging in its power and skill from the wayward pathos of a lute , to the clear vibration of a silver trumpet sustained far out of the reach of ordinary voices , above that gigantic or * chestra , above that mighty ehorus ; sustained ; not simply bursting for a moment of heroic effort . And the fire , and rapture , and reckless prodigality ofstrength in that last great duett , when Poliuto has blest Paulina ,
and their emotion swells into the martyr's anthem of praise and thanksgiving ! The most worn out habiUies were fairly taken by storm , and confessed to a " sensation ; " and as to the public , who came to hear , it was silence with held breath , and then a whirlwind of acclamations . What higher praise can we givo to Madame Julienne than to say that she sang up to Tamberlik P Had tho audience not been deeply moved , they could not have calmly sat out the lion and the tiger in the last scene , who , unmistakeabl y human ( perhaps even Christian ) themselves , were waiting to make a meal off their brethren : there was such a double action in the walk ,, and the tails were so helpless ! On the second representation , the Pagan beasts were more sparingly suffered to peep out , and tho reserve enhanced the final effect judiciously . If they wore to appoar only by attorney it would be best of all . Z .
Cituvelli As An Actbess. Quotation Is On...
CItUVELLI AS AN ACTBESS . Quotation is one of my incurable habits : a charming habit or an odious habit , as you will ; I do not defend , —I confess it . That the quotations aro often in other languages than English , is a vice or virtue incident to my education ; but that they should lack an English interpretation is a fault for which there is no oxcuso ; and ( as I be # to assure my correspondents who on several occasions have mentioned it ) is a fault Xvery rarely commit . Let me , onco for all , say that when there is no unmistakcable translation affixed , the sense is given either in the sentence which , precedes , or in that which succeeds tho quotation . Having eased my conscience , let me now ask you whether you were at Her Majesty ' s on Saturday last to welcome Cruvelli , Lablache , and Gardoni on their reappearance ; and if so , whether you were not delighted at the noble trumpet voice of the great . Lablache—who , as tho musical critics sav . " interpreted" tho part of Oroveso " with his usual ability "'—and
with Oardoni ' s manifest improvement in voico and manner P Havinjr . settled these questions , and congratulated tho management on the crowded and enthusiastic stiato of tho house , let his loave these matters , and endeavour to come to some understanding about Cruvolli . J shall assume that you agroo with . the brilliant critic of the Times in estimating CwiveUi aa another Malibran—an actress and singer of tho highest genius . Cruvelli has a voico of undoniablo beauty , and immense compass j bqfc tho production of it is seriously affected by two faults— . a tendency towards tho nasal , and a tondoncy to scream . So that on the wliolo , wau + I cannot but admire tho brio , tho dash , the power , and tho impetuosity of her singing , it never wholly gratifies me , and I detect in i ^ HVft same want of harmonious unity which makes me deny her claim Jg . W considered as a groat actress j and as acting is more within my critical
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), April 24, 1852, page 21, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_24041852/page/21/
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