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    June 8, 1867.J THE TOMAHAWK. 59

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    MUSIC.

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    Don Carlos was produced on Tuesday at Go...

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    ENIGMA.

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    Away ! away ! to the sunlit downs, Away ...

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    Motto for the Adullamites.—Every dog has...

• 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.

    Dear Tomahawk, Step Do Without Take Up B...

    that it was necessary to confine oneself strictly with some pretaking scribed a — wrong though turning to me I of was cours again e unknown challenged — bounds as to whether , for on satisfactory I was a " friend an account of the of famil myself y , " and was being at once unable turned to into give the so outer darkness of the ball-room . , coats coats I couldn where where ' t I I stand was was at at this once once long addressed addressed , and so b bv soug an an ht unctuou unctuou the hall s s creature creature and the . , y

    who was , anxious to know if he might draw my attention to the , annuall Universal y . Beneficent This was too Society much , terms , and . of rushing membershi down p one the shilling steps I defied snatched the the Universal linkman Ben ' s lamp eficent out Society of his hand and , all lit a its cigar marquises with it , , and Pray so Separted scalp all shams in a-rage of . this sort . It ' s at least . too bad to get aguinea his out head nbf a and man then m to order finish to'heap it all every basking possible him insult for a

    shilling upon , a yeax . , . y Yours indignantly , Gaston . ^^^^^^^^^^^^

    June 8, 1867.J The Tomahawk. 59

    June 8 , 1867 . J THE TOMAHAWK . 59

    Music.

    MUSIC .

    Don Carlos Was Produced On Tuesday At Go...

    Don Carlos was produced on Tuesday at Govent-Garden . There was much interest attaching to the performance , inasmuch as this last-born of the offspring of Signor Verdi ' s brain has been pretty handsomely abused in " Taris , in which pleasant capital it first saw the light in March last . The piece is too longandeven in Pariswhere the public can

    , , , listen longer than in most places , it was found necessary to cut out a portion of it ; but still it appeared too lengthy to place before our dilettanti , who decline to go to the Opera if the curtain rises an instant before 8 . 30 . Under these circumstances Mr . Costa was entrusted with a pair x of scissors , and that he ha s made ferocious - . use of them - nobod — . yj

    will deny . In the first place , he has excised the entire first Act . pour encourager les autres , and has made other cuts , some of which are iudicious , whilst others cannot be defended on any grounds . The tenor song in the first act ( proper ) now appears in the third , or rather the second , as it is played

    at at Covent Covent Garden Garden , , and and , , for for any any good erood that that Sismor Signor Naudin Naudin does does with with it it ,. might be omitted altogether ; but we may have some more to say about this gentleman presently . Then , again , about thirty-five minutes of ballet is cut out—this is wise , because Verdi ' s ballet music is not good . In the last act the opening bars of Madlle . Lucca ' s scena lhave been removed ; this is nothing j short of penny j wisdom ; and . __ pound —¦— foolishrtess - ¦— - ^» —»¦

    as an ec r onomy of about ^^ a minut e is obtained ^ - — — , at the , ex ^ — pense of ^— one ^——w ^^ ^ rr of **^^ , m the best musical numbers in the opera . The song , as sung by Madlle . Lucca ( and cut by we don't know whom , ) , is a lopsided piece-of-work , and no musician can hear it without deploring'that the head should have been removed , and nothing but the body and legs allowed to remain .

    Amongst other disadvantages'that the excision of the first act entails ' may be counted the ignorance in which the audience is left as to what the story is about , to say nothing of the fact that the first scene contains a duettfbr < Don Carlos and Elizabeth , which is as fine as anything in the piece ; in truth f without this duet _ . _ , ___ and _ . , _ the ¦ ¦ -1 ^ » meeting - — — - ^ w « mj and —¦• t -vvv he ^ v vows mtr o tm f the rftf

    lovers j ^ ^ there is , _ little - t > r no - — raison — - iF ^ , _ & ire for the -w rest " , of the —^ w . iece w ^ r . v w ^^ w *»« With , regard to the performance , when we have said p that Madlle . Lucca was excellent in the part of the unhappy Queen , forced by circumstances of State to wed the father of the man whom she loves , we shall have accorded all the praise ¦ which we feel ¦ called m~— - - « - ¦ upon »¦¦ to distribute 1 1 if ¦ rmi '

    I ^ . ^ w —~~ — — - ' ^^^————__ ^™~ " ™^ ^ ^^ ^ ^ m «^ * v ^ m ^_ amongst the principals . The Don Carlos of Signor Naudin was throughout a mild and uninteresting performance ; he has a threadbare and colourless voice , and he has no method or school to make up for his ' weakness . It is probable that no singer has ever filled the position in a great theatre which Signor Naudin occupies at Covent Garden who has

    not had a better title to the consideration of the public . It is true that the tenor part in Don Carlos . is extremely severe , but either the opera should not be played at all here , or a man should be found ( and there are plenty ) who has got voice enough to sing the music . As for Signor Graziani , his fault does not lie in the want of a good

    voice , for anything rounder and prettier than his notes it would be hard to find ; still , with his spasmodic singing , his utter ignorance of the principles of phrasing , and his gaucfie style of acting , we are unable to say a good word for one whose natural capabilities , had they been at-

    Don Carlos Was Produced On Tuesday At Go...

    tended by some earnestness of purpose or desire for improvement , would have taken him to the top of the tree . Madame Fried , in the character of Bboli , was not what might have been wished , or indeed expected , from one who is generally a painstaking and intelligent artist . Madame Fricci ' s singing was rough and

    coarse , and her upper notes so shrill , that truly we would advise her to be careful , otherwise she will lose her admirers—and we hope their name is legion . M . Petit was King Philip , and his interpretation of the character was good— -not so goodhoweveras that of M . Obinwho takes the part at

    * Paris _» ; the latter t ^ presents , to , you the portrait of a , cold , hard , cr — uel man . Of cotfcrse there are not two ways of playing the part , and M . Petit acts it here on the principle that M . Obin adopts in Paris . Still , we prefer the last-named artist ; moreover , M . Petit has not enough voice for Covent Garden Theatre .

    One word must suffice to chronicle a rather good first appearance made by one Signor Bagagiolo , who took the part of the Grand Inqtiisitor . This gentleman , who has a good and sonorous bass voice , will possibly prove a valuable acquisition to Mr . Gye ' s company . ' Was the piece successful or not ? Wellit is difficult to say . There

    , was a good deal of applause—an immense deal of applause—so much so , indeed , as to lead one to imagine that it might not all have been quite genuine . The opera has a gloomy story , and one that may not be very popular with the public at large j but it contains some very fine music , and has , we consider , the elements of endurance .

    The band played too loud all through the opera , and when , in the second act , they had the assistance of a brass band on the stage , it is a mercy that the roof of the theatre was not taken off . The scenery , painted by Mr . Mat . Morgan , is beautiful beyond all i description — , whilst the decorations _______ and the costumes are costly and

    splendid . No expense can have been spared in mounting the piece ; and , as we think very well of the music in Don Carlos , we hope that it may be destined to have a prosperous career . If the opera pleases in England , Verdi had only himself to thank , for , with the afore-mentioned exception of Madlle . Lucca , who is quite charming , the pr incipal singers did . not do much , to help the new work through .

    Enigma.

    ENIGMA .

    Away ! Away ! To The Sunlit Downs, Away ...

    Away ! away ! to the sunlit downs , Away to the sleepless sea , Where the wild bird soars on its gleaming wing , And the white waves dance so free—Away ! away ! to the still sweet groves ,

    Where lovers linger and kiss : I search for a jewel , and search in vain , For all that I find is—This . Soft and low on my trembling ears The _ maiden _ ' s whisper A steals :

    She tells me of faith that can ne ' er be false , Of the deep , deep joy that she feels . Closer and closer I clasp my sweet , As I faint with the sense of bliss , A few short months , and I wake to find

    That a maiden ' s troth is—This . Oh , you who have dreamed Love ' s old , old dream , And have woke to the old , old truth—Who have trusted your fate to a lovely face , And your soul to a woman ' s ruth ;

    When the stifled sobs are choking your heart , And you curse the faithless Miss , Believe me , and own with a cynic smile , That Love and Life are but—This . Answer to last Enigma . —Bosh . Correct Answers from W ., R . S ., Hampstead ; B . O . C , L ., Greenwich G . H ; ,, S . . F B . . , , D Eccleston . R ., Z . Square A . L . ; , and Balderdash forty-three ( bv incorrect telegram . ) , L . O . C ,

    Motto For The Adullamites.—Every Dog Has...

    Motto for the Adullamites . —Every dog has its "Day . " _ *

• Citation
  • Tomahawk (1867-1870), June 8, 1867, page 59, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/t/issues/ttw_08061867/page/9/