On this page
- Departments (1)
-
Text (5)
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
-
<dh ftl> %X\1& ?* ¦ ?-—-
-
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
' PIZARRO' AT THE PRINCESS'S . Mr . Kean is certainly the prince of theatrical antiquaries . He seems determined to illustrate every period of history and every nation under the sun . Assyria , mediaeval England , ancient Greece , Sicily , Bithynia , early Scotland , and modern France , having been in turn exhausted , the enterprizing showman of Oxford-street has turned his . attention to the New "World , and has ' reproduced , ' as the phrase is , the life , dresses , architecture , and customs of the natives of Peru at the time when the fierce Spaniard , Pizarro , shattered their gorgeous theocracy , ruined the golden splendours of their temples and their mystical gardens , and rendered them , at this comparatively close epoch , far more obscure and dreamlike than the remote Greeks of the ancient world , or even than the Egyptians and . Hindus . Our readers are aware that we have
always objected to the disrespectful treatment of Shakspeare implied in burying his creations beneath a weight of spectacle ; but we have little to complain of on that score in connexion with Sheridan ' s translation of Kotzebtjb ' s Spaniards in Peru . ¦ - Originally written as a piece de clrconstance , it will now serve very vrell as a vehicle for show , without the aid of which it would probably never have been revived . Wheti it was originally produced , more than half a century ago , at Sheridan ' s own theatre , it was designed to typify , in the valorous patriotism of Rolla and his Peruvians , the determination of the universal British "Volunteer to die on the altars and hearths of his fathers ( that , we believe , is the right language ) , rather than , submit to the threatened invasion from France ; in the same way that Addison ' s Cato was intended to shadow forth the resistance of the
Whigs of that day to the designs of the reactionary Tones and adherents of the Pretender . The loyal Briton of fifty yeaTS back applauded tlie covert ' true blue' sentiments of Pizarro , and the piece was a decided success , though produced under the most disadvantageous circumstances . Sheridan , with his usual indolence , delayed finishing the play till it was found absolutely necessary to produce it wrefimshed ; and the choruses actually sang their hymns without any words , making tip for the want by a judicious employ rnent of ri-toU There is also an . amazing myth , to the effect that the words to b e spoken in the last few scenes were not written , or translated , till after the play had begun ; that they were then scribbled off as quickly as possible on little slip 3 of paper , and that the actors and actresses learnt them as best they could . But we do not vouch for this green-room leg-end .
The reproduction on Monday night was as great a success , only on other grounds , as that which attended the first production . The scenery , dresses , and effects , are of the most gorgeous kind . For the sake of adding to these , there is an interpolated scene , representing , the Great Square of the- city of Cuzco during : the festival of Raymi . To build up the splendours here unfolded to the spectator to their greatest height , no pains have teen spared to search Mr . Prescott from title-page to colophon ; and Manco Capac , the first of the Incas , if he could be induced to come down from his home in the sun , and take a stall at the Princess ' s , might fancy himself back in his adopted land . We cannot do better than repeat the description of this scene given by the eloquent critic of the Times : —
" The stage is completely filled with a multitude of Peruvians , attired in gorgeous and fantastic dresses , who greet the sun as he gradually appears above the horizon , tinting the summits of the edifices , first with red , then with white , till the whole scene becomes one blaze of lustre , sparkling from innumerable golden implements and jewelled garments . A dance I ) y girls dressed as Peruvian warriors will bear comparison with the Pyrrhic dance in the Winter ' s Tale ; and for the Dionysian festival in Bithynia we may almost find a parallel in the riotous leaping with which the ceremony concludes , and . which is rendered more strange by the heads of-brutes placed on h The
some of te figures . landscapes are as beautiful in their kind as these representations of Peruvian pageantry . The ' Gardens of the Royal Palace , ' in which the foremost beds are set with golden plants , shaded by golden trees , slope up a hill-side in most picturesque diversity . The mountainous scene in which Rolla effects the rescue of the child is a masterpiece of rock and torrent , and , moreover , allows a terriflc leap across a chasm to be substituted- for the traditional run across a bridge . Nor are the European peculiarities leas studied than those of Peru . The old firelock and the steel cap recal a class of warriors very different from those conventional Spaniards who so long held possession of the stage . "
Rolla . is performed by Mr . Kean , Pizarro by Mr . Ryder , Orozembo "by Mr-Coopbk , Elvira by MrB . Kean , and Cora , by Miss . HEATH . The child , we may add , is a real child , and not a wax doll . Some of the dialogue is omitted , and so is the death of Pizarro , for the sake of historical truth . It is perhaps needless to add that the revival was a complete success
Untitled Article
AUTUMN LEAVES . London is now , according to the fashionable census , ' < juite empty ; ' that is to say some few thousand persons having gone out of town , the remaining two million and upwards of ' mechanical , salt-butter rogues' must be politely regarded as ft vacuum . Truth to tell , at this time of year , the said vacuum finds a great vacuity in the matter of . amusement ; but this year such has hardly been the Case . Several theatres arc still open—the late Autumn Leaves , surviving the gaudy summer . The Princess ' s , as we have just seen , has reproduced Pizarro ; at the Haymarket , Messrs . Buckstone and Co . continue to discourse on Second Love , and the Spanish Dancers to expound the mysteries of Terpsichorean love ; Mr . and Mrs . Barney WiLtiAars are still unctuous and volatile at the Adelpiii in their Irish and Yankee portraitures ; TtousoN yet goes through , his marvellous peformance of Medea at the Olympic ; and at Astlet ' s you may see Richard 111 on horseback , with " the death of the king ' s charger ' White Surrey , ' and the fall of Richard on the battle-field , " warranted to " produce a perfect furore" if you are fond of that excitement . As for the future , there is the Liceiim about to
open , under the management of Mr . Dillon ; and the Souo Theatre is to inaugurate a season next Monday with the Winter ' s Tale . Had the Londoner last week chosen to leave London and go to Bradford , he might have been present at the Musical Festival , where he would have heard tlie best of performers executing the best creations of the best composers ; and tlie same may be said of another melodious festival held during the present week nt Birmingham , where a magnificent new Music Hull was inaugurated in the midst of " pomp and threatening harmony . " But not to travel so far , we have had at the Havmarkf . t this week a novelty in the shape of * a young lady' without a name , wlio made her first appearance in the difficult part of Rosalind in As You Like It , Wo have not yet seen this fitir mystery , and cannot therefore pretend to criticize her ; but report speaks of some good points in her acting , together with some short-comings . She was verj' favourably received .
Then , for tho present time , and for all time , there is the Crystal Palace , and there arc the waterworks , of which another grand display took place last Suturdny . " . The sun looked out with a smile , " and the water smiled back at him ; and there , with the solid crystal of the Palace for a . background , the ever-shifting columns nnd vapoury phantasmagoria of fluent silver rose and fella cloud , a smoke , a brilliance , an obscurity , a foam-world of sparkling visions , a shower of jewellery , brighter than tlio rainbow that mocked it , the common element of water , and yet tlie most glorious of mysteries . Assuredly , thoso nonentities who 1111 the emptiness of London at this time of year have got somettii"K to look at Unit is worth the seeing , if they will go forth to the green slopes of Sydenhani .
Untitled Article
more . guide conducts us to the summit—laughing , singing and telling endless stories , all the way—is as subject to our mortal needs as th dullest of us ; and , in plain language , Mr . Albert Smith at this time of vea finds it necessary to get a little rest , and to gather fresh strength and fresh ideas from a new route to the wonderful mountain . So , last Saturday evenin he ' went through his performance for the fourteen hundred and eighty-se cond time , " and then dismissed his audience from further attendance in a speech whioli ran thus : — l " And now , Ladies and Gentlemen , as the monarch of mountains is unable to Ipiv histhrone of rocks at present , from the pressure of tourists and excursionists I » m compelled to prorogue his parliament , by deputy , myself ; and I will theret o ™ according to established form , read my speech , 1 hope 'in that clear and dlsHm * voice ' the reporters usually connect-with that ceremony . " My Lords , Ladies , and Gentlemen , —The period having arrived when , you require some relaxation from the incessant labour and fatigue you must have undergone during- the past session , from hearing me tell the same long story , over and over again , I feel a few words are due from me to you , not only respecting tlie present \ mt the future . " ¦ ' ¦ ' ¦
" I continue to receive the most friendly assurances from foreign powers on ftiv passport , of ' permission to pass freely , and aid and protection in case of need' of which I am about immediately to avail myself , as I hope , for your future amusement His Majesty the King of the Belgians has by his consulate visa placed the travelling resources of his charming country at my disposal , in accordance with the treaty of fares laid down in the Continental Bradskaw . His Majesty the King of Prussia hag thrown open the navigation of the Rhine to me , subject simply to an adherence to the tariff of prices between Cologne and Mayence , as issued by the Kolnische Gcsellschafft Company ; and our gallant ally , the King of Sardinia , has granted me permission to cross the Alps , between Switzerland and Piedmont , by any pass between the Col du Bonhomme and the Simplon practicable for troops—of tourists . " The gambling-tables at Baden will occupy my extreme attention ; and the still helpless and lamentable state of Brown , everywhere on the Continent , calls for the most earnest measures to alleviate those miseries which cloud his tour , and turn his holiday into a prolonged excursion of imaginary extortion , self-created irritation , disappointed anticipation , and misunderstood behaviour .
" Ladies and Gentlemen of the Area and Gallery , —I have directed supplies of fresh . seats to be laid under you before we next meet- Considering that the absolute comfort of tie public is the very first thing that ought to be attended to in any resort intended for , and supported , by them , without the compulsion of an extra payment—that the miserable system of extorting every extractable sixpence from , the audience , by the combined agencies of boxkeepers , bpx book-keepers , bill-sellers , arid saloon-keepers ( in- whose toils oui managers appear to be so > hopelessly entangled ) , is a shame and a disgrace to our public places of amusement—considering this , I shall still end < ftvour to improve your condition and prospects ; your condition , as far as your individual ease is concerned ; your prospects , as may relate to a . clear , comfortable view oi everything that is going on . As heretofore , every reasonable complaint or suggestion will receive my best and readiest attention ; and as heretofore , the price of admission will include every possible auxiliary to comfort and accommodation that the room or the attendants can offer . "My Lords , Ladies and Gentlemen , —Having bad the honour of telling you the same story in the' same room fourteen hundred and eighty-two times up to this evening , I will not venture to refer to it , for yoa must know it almost as well as I do . But you must permit me to add , that I novr release you from your flattering attention until the middle of November , when I return from the Continent . And , until that time , wishing you every possible enjoyment and happiness that you most desire yourselves , 1 bid you , very gratefully , good-by . "
CLOSE OF THE MONT BLANC SEASON . The morning papers , a few days ago , contained the awful announcement' Mont Blanc has Closed . ' Messrs . Brown , Jones , and Robinson , who at this eeasou of the year are fond of scrambling up the sides of the mountain monarch ( sometimes taking withttiem Mrs . and Miss Brown , Jones , and Robinson )—of peering with their Cockney noses down the crevasses , sporting their Cockney shooting-jackets and wido-awakes on the Grunda Mulcts , and sputtering their Cockney French on the Mer de Glace—these enterprizing tourists must have been startled at first on seeing the notification , and must have feared that the monarch , offended at such free-and-easy company , had shut tho doors of his court for over against confederated Cocknoydom . But no doubt they soon reeoiicctod that there are two Mont Blancs in tho world-one in Switzerland , tlio other in PiccacHll y-tho latter of which is only on view through about half tho year , jsor tlie last flvo years , indeed , Mont Blano has been one of tho established s . ghte of London . - ™ metropolitan as the Bnixisu BIttsecm , and much
≪Dh Ftl≫ %X\1& ?* ¦ ?-—-
' —? - — . . ¦ ¦
Untitled Article
visitedBut the wlio 860 ^ J ^ - ~^^^
-
-
Citation
-
Leader (1850-1860), Sept. 6, 1856, page 860, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2157/page/20/
-