On this page
- Departments (1)
-
Text (6)
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
-
Cmmim-rial Mniw.
-
Untitled Article
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.
-
-
Transcript
-
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.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
Untitled Article
It is a strange state of Art when the mere accessories become the aim and purpose of representation—when truth of archaeology supplants truth of human passion—when " winged bulls" dwarf heroic natures ! Charles Kean is so bad an actor , and his troupe is so incompetent , that the policy of subordinating drama to spectacle is undeniable from his point of view ; but how about the public ? Why not give up the Drama altogether , and make the Princess ' s Theatre a Gallery of Illustration P Far be it from me to deny the pains and liberality displayed in getting up this spectacle ! The ballet was really an ingenious adaptation of those quaint attitudes one sees in the old Assyrian paintings to movements of the dance—the Hall of Nimrod and the grouping of the revellers —indeed , all the stage effects of the third act , were finer than almost anything yet put on the stage , of their kind . Laud these to the utmost and
you do not meet the two fatal objections—first , that the sum total of all this splendour , all this archeology , all this " business , " is overpowering weariness ; and second , that in a drama the accessories are but accessories , subordinate and not to be brought into the first rank . In proportion as the drama claims a hearing in right of its poetical conception and execution—that is to say , in proportion as it appeals to our higher faculties , and not to the lower appetites—the accessories become unimportant , and their prominence becomes impertinent . When Macready produced Sardanapalus the play was worth seeing ; and of his acting I have vivid remembrance , although twenty years have glided on since then . The impression Charles Kean is likely to leave is one of astonishment that any man accustomed to the stage could speak
the verse so ignorantly , and evade expression bo successfully . To say that he did not represent the character of Sardanapalus is to say nothing new : what character did he ever represent in more than a single aspect ? But there is something remarkable in the ignorance seemingly implied in his delivery of various passages , which jars on the mind of the audience . It may not be in his power to represent the fluctuations of feeling ; he may not have the plastic power of mimetically setting forth the varying aspects of character , but he must know the plain meaning of plain English words , and therefore is it astounding to see him not only carefully evading any representation of the effeminate voluptuousness and careless indifference of Sardanapalus , but also uttering the words in tones directly contrary to the sense . Thus , when the sword is placed in his hands , he gives it back , with the remark that it is too heavy , and this remark , instead of expressing effeminacy , he utters as if it were a stolid assertion of
a matter of fact ! Mow Byron would have fumed could he have heard his intention thus rendered ! Charles _ £ ean omits the detail which Byron laid so much stress on , viz ., Sardanapalus calling for the mirror to arrange his curls before rushing into battle ; but as he also omits to give any indication of the effeminacy , he , perhaps , instinctively felt that detail would raise a titter ! In writing to Murray , Byron says , " Sardanapalus is almost a comic character ; but , for that matter , so is Richard the Third . " Charles Kean would have been comic had he not been so dull . He may , perhaps , reply that his notions of dramatic effect differ from those of others , which is true : he thinks no proper dramatic effect possible except with " authentic costume ; " the world thinks it possible only with an intelligent mind and expressive face ! Costume , however , was avowedly his object . He offered himself merely as a lay figure for a Layardian picture . That object he has attained .
Untitled Article
GENEVIEVE . I was speaking just now of scenic effect ; in Genevieve , as produced at the Adelphi , such effect is in its right place ; and , instead of being wearisome , it is only too uninterruptedly exciting . The drama is a drama of tableaux and incidents : for more than three hours you are kept in agitation , in terror , in suspense , by the movement , perils , intrigues , and evershifting positions of some actors in the Reign of Terror . The tumult of mobs , the clash of swords , the cries of agony , the conflicts of passion with duty , the palpitations of hope , the forlorn waihngs of despair , tne machinations of hate , and the triumphs of virtue-all the spices of melowith ! iou
dramatic flavour are here scattered a prodigal nana aro stunned , but never wearied . It is as exciting as a wild gallop through a Dumas novel It is indeed a Dumas novel , Le Chevalier de Maison Mouqe , dramatised for the TUatre Historique where it had . enormous success ; and adapted to the exigencies of the Adelphi , where it is likely to have another enormous success . Drama in any high sense of the word it is not-cloes not pretend to bo ; but melodrama of " startling interest , " and welcome as sucli , it assuredly is The mobs aro admirably grouped , and their tumult more natural than usual with stage mobs . The dresses are throughout picturesque and striking The tableaux are arranged with great clloct . I speak solely of the spectacle , for there are only two dramatic scenes in thepieeo-lho scene between Dixmer and las wife , and tho duel hotwcon £ ixmer and Lorin ; tho scene in the condemned cell has good
" intentions , " but wants culmination . 1177 Madame Celeste as Genevibve had what the French call de beaux mo-JnfTZtablyin tho line scene with Dixmer and in the boudoir « ceno ^ ih Mauril Webster wan not gay and light-hearted onou « li a «^ Lorm , but his duel scone , and the seeno in the condemned coll , wore both very vtCocive Wi « an plavinK tho villain of A-a «« was . not in Lib proper 0 enont novortholoHs , no olid all that faco and intelligence could do ior the
part , find made it stand out by the pieturesquenesa of costume and the force of characterization . The dael between him and Webster was as fine as the famous duel in the Corrican Brothers . Leigh Murray was , I regret to say , violent and stagey as the romantic Maurice . ILeeley , as * drummer in the National Guard , distinctly opposed to dying for h » cxxHrtarf was , what Keeley always is , immensely humorous ; and Mrs . ILeeley , as the classic Artemise , goddess of reason , and the riotous enfant de Paris , kept the scene alive with gaiety . A word also in praise of O . Smith's make up as Simon , the gaoler—it was a picture .
Untitled Article
OMNTANA . A few words will sum up all the rest of my theatrical news . On Saturday , a debutante at Covewt G-abdest—Madame Medori , made a great hit in the feeble opera of Maria de Rohan , and in strict accordance witk the wisdom which characterizes operatic management , we hear no more of her ! I was not present at her ddbut and can only report hearsay . Rachel took her benefit on Wednesday , and to a physically hot and dramatically cold audience , played Louise de Lignerolles , a very stupid drame in five acts , which was revived in Paris for her last year , one knows not why . Her acting had some perfect touches—especially of comedy- —and much that was conventional and mechanical . The calineries of her scene
in the third act , —the natural way in which , when she learns how she has been wronged , she rose up and walked rapidly from the room ^ without once pausing to give an " exit look" —the tone in which she indicated the return of her confidence in her husband ' s affection—and the playful " strongmindedness" of the first act , when she will not suffer the prince to trespass on her grounds—these were touches which revealed a fine actress . But for the rest , her emotion was forced , cold , and mechanical ; to use a theatrical phrase , it was " business , " not feeling . There is n& concealing the fact—Rachel has fallen off 1 Vivian .
Untitled Article
THE EOYAL ACADEMY . III . —PoETBAITS . I _ r portraiture , the object is to give a life-like reflex of the original . It mostly happens that the sitter grows dull under the tedious process of sitting—the muscles of the frame relax ; the flexible parts of the countenance hang heavily , the eyelids fall . The painter who merely coj n 6 B his model , gives a heavy sombre version , which few will recognise . The ordinary remedy is " to flatter" the original ; usually a very imperfect kind of compliment , and in some cases a positive satire . The true painter , however , knows how to observe his sitter in moments of enlivened action or expression ; and using " the sitter" merely as an aid , designs the
figure which he has to paint , touching it with a skilled memory of the passing traits of life . For portraiture , the colouring should be as nearly as possible the effect of light on the actual objects , avoiding harsh and infelicitous accidents ; and the composition should be in the same veinnothing added to nature , but untoward accidents avoided . Tried by such tests , how do the portraits that annually smile from the walls of the Royal Academy pass P Indifferently . Merits there are , hero and there . Watson Gordon gives a vigorous and characteristic view , when the subject is a rough Scotchman , but it is not often a pleasant picture , and it almost always happens that the tone of the colouring is that of a man sitting in a dark room on a leaden day . He exhibits this year many of his characteristic portraits—tho most characteristic being
those most marked by his sombrer peculiarities . Francis Grant gives you a lively sketch , —like enough in general resemblance ; but at no distance do you lose a sense of tho pigments . The young Lady Sophia on her pony is an example : there is the lively young lady , pleasant and engaging , —there is action in tho horse ; and yet what the eye rests upon , you are painfully conscious , is neither more nor less than " paints . " A sweeping mannered stylo of handling , a sketchy generalizing design , are the causes of this unsubstantial result . A picture of Lady B p lton , by another artist , exhibits similar faults , with more careful finish : the painter can imitate silk and lace , but his eye fails to trace the delicate indefinite tints of the face , and a pretty mask confesses that the roses of its cheek come from the colourman's . We find an improvement when
wo come to the work of an artist whose labour tells better—Knight ; but still ho cannot enough master tho sluggish stubborn oils to give you the free flow of George Dawson ' s hair , the moving blood under his sallow skin , tho flashing of his eye , tho steadfast , yet almost wild expression of the preacher whose preaching is not bound , by walls , but speaks in the very elements of nature . Knight , however , has attempted a dosign of George Dawson , and has produced a striking study . Still more of a design , still more living , is Lucas ' s portrait of Sir Joshua Rowe , the Chief Justice of Jamaica ; and with a more picturesque subject , E . Williams sets before you the eagle-eyed Charles James Napier , of Meeanee . Some portraits besides those wo have mentioned aro interesting for their subjects ; such as tho collective portrait of " Tho Arctic Council , "
including Sir John Franklin and many other noted Arctic discoverers ; Sir David Browstor ; Hiram Power , the sculptor of the Greek Slave —the man lit his work , admirably painted by II . W . Phillips ; Douglas Jerrold . But how ninny of these ' paintings aro only pigments , struggling to imitate humanity , and often remaining nearer to tho paletto than to flesh and blood P H .
Untitled Article
MONEY MARKET AND CITY INTELLIGENCE . Friday Kveiiiuf ? , Juno 24 , 1 S 53 . £ 3 & 2 ^ < S _? £ S 5 _ = £ p ^^_ _^ TS ^^ -- » -- **
war , or that tho . Kmporor of Russia really onii ho ho Insano an to pitt liiH OoHBiiolcn ngaiimt civilized Europe ; tho daily oleotne telegraph messages which aro Hont from Paiio , always have this oflcufc upon tho French und other foreign ( thares , and tho only business done in tho Stook Exchange has been confined to tho Foreign market . Tho fluctuation in the loading lines of Franco Iiiih been from 11 . to 30 » j tho mining market Tmu boon nearly at a stand-still . Thorn will bo a considerable demand ior Californiuu adventures uhould tho present crisis posa otV , and a rouotion take place . From tho HtuteincntB of tho different manage ™ of tho Californinn mincH , it would scorn that the qu-rtz-tiruHliinK machines being brought to bear upon the auriferous rocks , vory groat results must arise . Take , for instance , tho Aoqua I'rias , one of tho earliest and most respectably conduct od of thi-HO ad ventures—they calculate to send home annually MMHXtf worth of gold ; thin return on a paid up capital of 100 OOW . i loivvo you to judgo how inuuonaoly m value tho
shares must increase . There are now in California throe or four minus , which aro availing themselves of maohinery for crushing the quartz , and if this anticipation of the Aoqua Friaa Comnanv bo correct , of courao it will prove of tho greatest sarwoa Co « U tho miiion . In Land and other Companies but little has bean doing . It in stated that tho Scottish Investment , an Au * tr * b > M Company , -which for so lone n . time ran a neck and neck race with tho North British Australian Land wad Loan Comply , will declare a dividend of 10 per cent . ; the shares How be ** S premium of 2 | per Bhare , while North British aro only | to per Bhare premium . Jamaica ooppor mines have been BteadjT throughout the week . Port ltoyala have receded ft Uttto . Throe o ' clock . —Prices since this morninghava been better JIMtuinod , nn 4 considerably more business hap been transacted . CohhoIh have town done at RB | ana , | mud cloMd « t tftf-and f . Money is oiiay ou tho ( Stock Uiohtiiigo ut If and 2 per cent , for ohorL louuB ,
Cmmim-Rial Mniw.
Cmmim-rial Mniw .
Untitled Article
Jpne _ 5 , 1853 . ] THE LEADER . 621
-
-
Citation
-
Leader (1850-1860), June 25, 1853, page 621, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1992/page/21/
-