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Leader (1850-1860), 22nd February 1851, Edition Town of 2, Page 182

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      present and not imitate—inasmuch as it must affect us in the space of a few hours with the emotions ot many months or years , it is thereby limited to what I may call Representative Conditions . An illustration from painting shall again help me . Ihe painter to represent his story can only choose owe 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 oi the figures with reference to their significance in expressing the whole . " Situation " inddent 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 c lick 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 , Ted fire , tremnlo 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 ? 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 -Ul been cut out and the piece given as a ballet £ action , I should have been quite as much amused .

      But it succeeded ? Oh , yes ; uproariously ! It will play for fifty nights , I dare say . The public—good , etolid , stupid public-are not particular . They 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 them of Samson drubbing the Philistines with the jawbone of an ass—an immense fact , but then he had su ' h 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 , a'i , like a Prometheus of private life ? Why not throw my cap . nto the air and shout , " The Hods are leaving its ; let us leave the Guds ! " since that is the order of the day ? Foolish questioner ! it is because in the very shouts which welcome Sextus V . 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 T / u ' utrc Historique bo universal . By substituting the material for the moral such is always the result .

      But enough , enough ! I croak in vain . What is logic against a full house ? 1 write my protest , and paH 8 on . The " getting up" of the piece reflects groat credit on the manure men t : it i . s both magnificent and effective . For acting there was not much scope , the best character being that of " Hugo the delicate , " u swashbuckler , played by Henry Farren , who played it better than I have . seen him play anything eltu ;;

      but he bus u most burlesque Kwuggcr , and an occasional relapse ! into his farcical manner , which produces an effect tantamount to a dropping of the mask ! Farren as ScxtiiH V . presented a finished study . Leigh Murray looked gallant and pictuiCMiue j but the part lies out of his capabilities—his ranting in the chapel wan cold in tho extreme . Misw L Howard was charming , acting ho well : nid looking ho lovely , that I declare if nuns are at all like that I shall at once betake myself to HummcrHmith !

      Before my senses had recovered their repose from nil the excitement of this terrible compound of " effects , " I wuh called upon to visit Azael the Prodigal , at Drury Lane . Thin is not Aubcr ' s opera , but the libretto of that opera fashioned into a spectacle , and a spectacle of a truly gorgeous kind . First we have a patriarchal Hcenu of tho Prodigal in Iuh father ' s tent in the deBcrl , which is interrupted by

      the arrival of strangers from Memphis , whose 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 rio ; ofa great city . There is something poetical m the situation ; but there is , unfortunately , no poeteym the execution . It is ballet poetry alter all ! Azael departs ; reaches Memphis ; loosens his soul in the debauches of Oriental sensuality ; is 1 " ™/ . > f ° ^ Temple of Isis , where , instead of beholding the traces of reverent worship , he beholds an appalling spectacle of priestly orgies ; is seized as an »***« and refusing to become a convert , is nurlea into the Nile as a sacrifice ! It is one thing how-SfeWs . r-s : s ^ « i ^ sc ^ syWirgss ZTr . h less to his taste than that of the gay Lothario

      at Memphis , surrounded by no end ot spangiea oane . 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 , Lavard—with no stint of dioramas ! The Temple ot Memphis has really a sublime effect—sublime irom its breadth of grandeur and simplicity of means . On a towering range of steps occupying the whole in

      width of the stage , the priests are carousing 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 nne 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 iact , 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 hone , revive the fortune of this theatre . 1 "Vivian .

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      TOE COMING SEASON AT HER M AJESTY'S THEATRE . The theatres of 1851 will be in a state of siege . There is no question of this fact . The immense crowds pouring dnily into London will look upon the theatres as not even second in importance to the Great Exhibition itself . The lyrical drama will be the grand aspiration of the numerous continentahsts 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 iust received , exhibits a determination that , for talent and novelty , the glories of the opera shall not be outshone by any lyrical attempt of former years . Wo have first a reengagement of last year's company , comprising Madame Son tag , Madame lMorentini , Mademoiselle Purodi , Madame Giuliani , Mademoiselle Ida Bertrand , Gardoni , Calzolau , Sims Reeves , Colletti , and the LablacheH . Then for novelty , we have one singer promised us , about whom the highest expectations are raised , Caroline Duprez , the brilliant daughter of tho great tenor whose largo and impassioned style has

      triumphed over every obstacle ; and we are alHo to have Madame Barbiere Nini , about whom Ital y has gone mad ; Mademoiselle Aluymo , spoken of as a real artist ; Mademoiselles Feller and Zagnoli , Signori Fcnanti and Scapini , who bring a . Parisian reputation , and Signor Scotti ; while , as a crown of the whole , the greatest sinyer in Europe , Album , will enthral u > s for a limited number of nights . Would that this mi"lit moan the whole season !

      Amongst the new productions promised , are a new grand opera by Meyerbeer , in which some of the most interesting melodies of the " Camp do Sileaie " will be introduced ; and it m . stated that the great maestro will arrive to superintend the production of his work . Scarcely inferior in interest , is ( the new ^ raud (> 2 > cra com posed by Thalberg—the libretto by Scribe . Another novelty is an opera now composing expressly for Alboni by Auber . Hen ( jianz is to be chorus master , and a number

      of choristers from Germany have been engaged , 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 Gxistavus , the principal characters sustained by Madame Fiorentini and Signor Calzolari , and a new ballet by M . Paul Taglioni , entitled V He des Amours .

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      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 journey 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 Lago Maggiore on the route over the Alps into Switzerland . The 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 .

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      to I ] 32 mt % t *** t . SATORPAr ' . _

      Irainrrattr Stimligrait.

      Irainrrattr StiMligrait .

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      LETTERS TO CHARTISTS . IV . The Unenfranchised a Politicax 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 va lue of such demonstration is very unsubstantial , it has a significance which extends throughout the entire range of public affuirs . Opinion governs the Government , as the late Sir Robert Peel confessed ; and public opinion includes , more or leas , 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 ho 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 p ossible 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 ot 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 thoy are quite an likely as members of Parliament to deserve well of their country . " What is wanted is , that the Unenfranchised shall see their power , and that DemagoguefiHoe how to umo it for the public good . The Mob—that creature ot poverty and passion—rude yet generous , brave but blind ! it believes in the Demagogue because he m the only one who condescends to addnwH it on it » own ground . Ah he inspires it , let him bewaro timi he does not deprave it . As he moves it , let him l »> care that he moves it for ita own improvement . J he excites it , let him take care that he elevates " . If the multitude were so trained , politicians vrou covet it , control , and would desire to uiclutic ^ enfranchised among ; the el ectors , in order to ^ their more subatuntial support . If tlic power w

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Feb. 22, 1851, page 182, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1871/page/18/