JUNE 9, 1860] his godship, endowing them with an extraordinary love of music, or at From Petersburg, with its shining honours thick upon her, she returned (To be continued). connected with it, being neither more nor less than a record of the The organ at this church is now one of the most powerful, L GREAT ORGAN, CC to G. CHOIR, CC to G. Viol di gamba 15th Flute (metal) 4 99 2 99 SWELL, CC to G. Double stopped 16 feet. Open diapason Stopped diapason ORGAN. THE church of St. Michael, Cornhill, one of the oldest and richest churches in the City of London, has recently been re-opened, after the employment of an amount of decoration which renders it scarcely second to any church in the metropolis for internal beauty. The ornamenting of the interior, which is far too elaborate to admit of our entering into a description thereof, has been accomplished under the direction of the architects, Mr. Gilbert Scott and Mr. Herbert Williams: and the wood-carving, which is extensive and of a most interesting kind, has been done by Mr. W. G. Rogers, wood-carver to Her Majesty. The Drapers' Company, the Merchant Tailors, and the Clothworkers' Company have interest in this church, the first of these being the patrons of the benefice. Special pews are assigned to them, with appropriate carvings and emblazonments; there is also a royal pew, a diocesan, and a city or corporation pew. A peculiar legend, relating to a Satanic visit paid to the belfry of this church, is mentioned in Honest John Stow's Survey of London:-" Upon St. James's night certaine men in the loft next under the bells, ringing of a peale, a tempest of thunder and lightning did arise, and an ugly shapen sight appeared to them coming in at the south window, and lighted on the north, for feare thereof, they all fell downe and lay as dead for the time, letting the bells ring and cease of their own accord. When the ringers came to themselves, they found certaine stones of the north window to be razed and scrat, as if they had been so much butter printed with a lion's claw, the same stones were fastened there again, and so remain to this day; I have seen them oft, and have put a feather or small stick into the holes where the clawes had entered three or four inches deep." An embodiment of this tradition appears in wood carving on one of the pews. A musically interesting fact appears amongst the scraps which have been published respecting the church and the Companies Dulciana Principal Piccolo. Sesquialtra.. Contra fagotto Horn Oboe Open diapason Principal Trumpet 4 ranks. PEDAL ORGAN, CCC to F. 16 feet. 16 8 COUPLES 99 Choir to Pedals, Swell to Choir. Swell to Great. TREMULANT. Every stop in the great organ is complete, and the only exceptions in the other parts are the viol di gamba and cremona in the choir, and the dulciana in the swell, which stop at C. There of power would have been no advantage in the actual completion of these stops, therefore the instrument must be mentioned as a commendable instance of conscientious building. The full the instrument, with its 12 ranks of mixture and its plentiful reed-work-2 of 4 feet, three of 8 feet, and 1 of 16 feet-is very grand. The pungency of the German gamba in the great organ is remarkable. The foundation tone of an organ is always wonderfully strengthened by a stop of this description, and it ought to find a place in every large instrument. The quality of the choir organ stops is unexceptionable, and there is sufficient variety for numerous and happy combinations. The swell is particularly effective. Great weight is of course gained by the double reed and the double stopped diapason, while the presence of two stops of 2ft. pitch, of different qualities, and indeed different material- the piccolo being of wood and the 15th of metal-imparts a singular brilliancy to this portion of the instrument. Taking the stops singly, we found the horn rather coarse, but this is the only objection we can urge. There are 3 composition pedals to the great organ, and 2 to the swell. The tremulant pedal is conveniently placed, and can be pressed by the same foot that is employed on the swell pedal, and simultaneously, which is a considerable advantage. We are not in possession of the date of the original organ, or of the particulars of its construction; but both Green and Harris appear to have had a share in it, as a small portion of their work remains. The great organ clarion is made out of the old trumpet of Harris's; the principal, and 15th, and part of the open diapason are Green's. The 15th in the choir is also Green's, and the same builder claims part of the flute and stopped diapason. The principal is Harris's. The case-designed by Robson, we believe-is exceedingly handsome. It is of massive oak; and each front (chancel and north aisle) has a buttress in the centre, a simple but in this instance most felicitous arrangement. The pipes are beautifully and not too gaudily decorated. Private performances have been recently given at the church, the powers and capabilities of the instrument being displayed by Mr. Limpus, Mr. Henry Gadsby, Mr. George Lake, and others. tremely telling. If we had space we could write an essay on Signor Mario's Raoul, but not having space we can only say it was transcendent. Mad. Grisi's Valentina is one of her grandest performances, even though the music does not always suit her. Mad. Didiée was the Page; and the other characters were sustained as before. The band was superb, and the chorus thoroughly efficient. On Thursday the second act of Fidelio and Norma were announced, but were postponed in consequence of the illness of M. Zelger, and La Gazza Ladra substituted. HER MAJESTY'S THEATRE. THE Huguenots was performed on Saturday, for the first time this season. The cast, unusually strong, was as follows: Mlle. Titiens, Valentina; Mlle. Louise Michal, Marguerite; Mad. BorghiMamo, Urbano; Signor Giuglini, Raoul; Signor Everardi, Nevers; M. Gassier, St. Bris; and Signor Vialetti, Marcel. Mlle. Michal, who made her appearance on the stage in this country, was eminently successful; Mad. Borghi-Mamo won golden opinions by her finished singing and graceful acting in the Page; Mile. Titiens was more magnificent than ever in Valentina; Signor Giuglini excellent in Raoul; Signor Everardi one of the best Nevers we have seen; M. Gassier was admirable in St. Bris; and Signor Vialetti very effective in Marcel. The band and chorus left nothing to be desired. The house was crammed to the ceiling. On Tuesday, Mlle. Lotti made her first appearance at Her Majesty's Theatre as Elvira in Ernani, and pleased greatly by the quality of her voice and her energetic singing. Signor Mongini was the hero, and Signor Aldighieri the king. A new basso, Signor Antonucci (not mentioned in the prospectus), made his first appearance in this country as Silva. Having a cold, however, he gave little indication of the talent we are assured he possesses. On Thursday Il Trovatore attracted an immense audience. After the opera a new ballet, entitled Adelina, was produced for Mlle. Claudina Cucchi, whose name has figured in the bills for some time past. The new danseuse is agile and muscular, and achieved an undeniable success. The ballet is got up with considerable taste, the grouping in the last scene being especially effective. On Tuesday, the new buffo, Signor Ciampi, makes his first appearance as Dr. Bartolo. ROYAL ITALIAN OPERA. On Saturday La Favorita was repeated. On Tuesday, the Huguenots, for the first time this season, with two important changes in the cast - Mad. Miolan Carvalho being substituted for Mlle. Marai in the character of Marguerite di Valois, and M. Faure for Signor Polonini in the character of St. Bris. Mad. Miolan Carvalho was as successful in Marguerite as TONIC SOL-FA. SIR,-It is with the greatest pleasure that I add my testimony to that of Mr. Bowley, chronicled in your last week's impression, touching the musical success of the recent "exhibition" by the Tonic Sol-Fa Association. The precision, singing in tune, and light and shade, were maintained in a most masterly manner throughout. Certain minor peculiarities-the result of perhaps too much zeal, or love of effects, on the part of the two most worthy conductors-excepted, the performance surpassed anything I ever heard, either here or in the land of songGermany. I was ashamed to have to acknowledge an utter ignorance as regards the details of the system. Since, however, I heard the glorious results, I have applied myself vigorously to the study of its principles, for I consider it is the solemn duty of every one to whom is entrusted the mental training of the rising generation, to find out the best, the very best means to the end, and having found them, to apply them in the simplest and most practical form. Yours, &c. Brighton, June 6, 1860. JOHN TOWERS. THE OPERA AT SYDENHAM, (From Punch.) UNTHINKING people may, perhaps, be startled by this heading, and may imagine that "Her Majesty's" has been transplanted near to Norwood, after the manner of the flying Palace of Aladdin. But the removal of an opera is possible without the removal of a theatre, and so Rossini and Mozart may migrate weekly down to Sydenham without having, like snails, to carry their house with them. Il Trovatore and Otello may start off arm-in-arm with Lucrezia and Fidelio, and their music may be heard where the orange-trees of Paxton by no means waste their sweetness on the seldom desert air. In plainer words, the Opera Concerts at the Crystal Palace are a means of giving vocalists a pleasant change of air, and of letting people hear the pleasant airs they bring with them. It is no new thing to hear an opera in a hot house; for thoroughly well ventilated as theatres may But an opera in a green house is a form of entertainment which, until be, the way is not devised yet to prevent the gas from heating them. the Crystal Palace came, we never had been treated to. Instead of dingy walls and a close and dusty atmosphere, we have there cool air to breathe and sweet flowers to smell and look at. Eyes and nose have in Dinorah. Meyerbeer's music is sympathetic to this lady, who equally a profit in the change; nor indeed are ears in any measure seems to revel in the florid divisions and brilliant passages of the illustrious master. Indeed, we never heard the aria d' intrata, as the Athenæum would say, nor the duet with Raoul, sung with greater fluency and ease. M. Faure both acted and sang in St. Bris like a real artist. The scene with the conspirators was ex losers by it. The lark-notes of Alboni gush forth all the more joyously for being in fresh air, and Mongini sings the clearer when the fog and the smoke of London are no longer in his throat. Nor can we much regret the absence of stage-scenery, surrounded as we are by such delicious greenery: while, if we miss the acting, we have our minds more left at liberty to give heed to the singing, and so we easily may master our sorrow for the absence of the creations of Grieve and Telbin. To fathers of a family, the Opera at Sydenham offers great advantages; for it enables them to take their wives and daughters to a concert without losing a good appetite by having to dine early, or else deranging their digestions by jumping up from table and jolting in a carriage, instead of sitting quietly over their dessert. Paterfamilias, when he hears the inevitable question, "My dear, when are you going to take the girls and me to hear Alboni?" will do well to reply "My love, I think we'll go next Friday." On which a chorus will arise from those well-informed young ladies, "Friday! Why, Papa dear, Friday's not an Opera night! Whereto, in his wisdom, the Pater may rejoin, "No, my loves, but Friday is an Opera afternoon; and as young persons are advised to keep out of the night air, you would not wish Mamma or me to risk our precious health by exposing ourselves to it." Opera-goers who dislike to turn out after dinner, should therefore pay a visit and a crown to the C. P., and they will have occasion to repent of neither payment. Good music is there to be heard in good society, and what more could the Haymarket habitué desire? It is said that it is possible to have too much of a good thing; but good music is a thing that we can hardly have too much of. Even if one could, there is very little fear of being surfeited at Sydenham; for the Crystal Palace Concerts are confined to such a length, that even people with short patience must often long for more of them. MR. AND MRS. GERMAN REED'S ENTERTAINMENT. - Mr. John Parry, after a retirement of seven years from the scene of his many successes, reappeared on Monday evening at the benefit of Mr. and Mrs. German Reed. His return to the concert-room must be regarded as an event of no ordinary importance, and much credit is due to Mr. and Mrs. Reed for the manner in which they contrived to introduce him without giving rise to an impression that the original entertainment had been interfered with. Mr. Reed is seated at the pianoforte, fulfilling the task which is set down for him in Mr. W. Brough's entertainment, "Our Home Circuit," when he is interrupted by a voice outside singing "Ah che la morte," and suddenly he is surprised by the entry of a young artist, who is on a sketching tour. The artist proves to be his old friend John Parry, who takes part in the business of the scene, joining in a trio with Mr. and Mrs. Reed from Le Pré aux Clercs, and singing "Fayre Rosamonde," one of those récitations by which he gained his well-earned fame. That the John Parry of the present moment was the John Parry of days gone by was beyond all question. Every gesture he made was received with laughter. That power which he possesses of blending humorous verbal expression with musical effect was illustrated as forcibly as ever; and the scene which followed "Fayre Rosamonde," representing a volunteer march, suggested by the "Rataplan" from La Fille du Regiment, proved that his talent for entertaining an audience has in no way degenerated. The trio commence the march together, and each alternately keeps up the tune on the piano, whilst the others preserve the order of the manœuvre. This scene was as effective as it was novel, and the audience testified their delight by unanimously demanding an encore. We need only add that Mr. Parry's last contribution to it (in some amusing reminiscences of Il Barbiere di Siviglia) was as full of excellence as the first; and when the curtain fell, a most satisfactory impression prevailed that an old, though long-lost, friend had been restored to his proper place before the world, and that Mr. and Mrs. Reed had done wisely in making so valuable an addition to their already popular "Illustrations." ENGLISH GLEE AND MADRIGAL UNION.-The taste for vocal exhibitions of the "drawing-room calibre" is on the wane, and is giving room to the more healthy concerted music of the English writers, which latter category comprises some of the most elegant compositions extant. The above-named association may claim a high position, possessing in its phalanx Miss Banks, always pure and simple in style, and never failing as to tune; Mrs. Lockey, an admirable contralto; her husband, a tenore of great accomplishment; Mr. Foster, alto of the first class; Mr. Montem Smith, * As we pen the last remark we cannot but remember how many otherwise talented vocalists are wanting in this important qualification. always capable and clever, but who lately has much improved; and to finish, Messrs. Thomas and Winn, two English basses of the genuine national breed. The programme of the first concert, on Wednesday afternoon, which was not like many other programmes-too long-comprised among others "Come see what pleasures," Elliott, beautifully sung, particularly as to the soprano; and "Shades of the heroes," T. Cooke, where the bass of Mr. Winn may have similar commendation; a four-part song by Mr. J. L. Hatton, "Sweetly blows the western wind;' "The silver swan," Gibbons; "Let me careless," T. Linley; and "Here in cool grot," Mornington. The Gibbons and Mornington compositions, and "Under the greenwood tree," Bishop, were encored. One instrumental piece only was given, duet for concertina and pianoforte, by Mr. Richard Blagrove and Mr. Harold Thomas. It is a pity, we think, that no vocal solos were in the programme. A song or two with obbligato accompaniments from Miss Banks or Mr. Thomas would have been very welcome to the audience. The absence of Mrs. Lockey, who was prevented by indisposition from appearing, was the only drawback to the performance, which took place in the new and elegant concert-room of Messrs. Collard and Collard. THE MUSICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON.-A Fellows' meeting for discussion was held at the Society's Rooms, St. James's Hall, on Wednesday evening, the 6th inst., at which the Rev. Sir William Henry Cone, Bart., presided. Mr. Duggan proposed the following question for discussion: "What is the Tendency or Aim of Modern Composition?" Several fellows took part in the discussion, after which, Mr. Charles Salaman, the honorary secretary, read a Paper on "The Intimate Connection of the Dance with Music in Ancient Times." A vote of thanks was given to Mr. Charles Salaman for preparing and reading the paper, with the hope that the subject would be continued by him at a future meeting. UNMUSICAL POETS.-Pope, though so musical a poet, had no ear for music: the same is reported of Swift; but the stronges instance is found in Garrick; it is an undoubted fact that he had no ear. This seems to decide the question at once, for it was universally allowed that no one ever possessed the tones of speaking in a superior degree to this man. I could much strengthen what has been advanced by many other instances, but my proof must rest on Garrick, in whom no defect of tones could ever be discovered. Perhaps the mistake may have arisen from using the same terms in poetry, oratory, and music: as ear (that is the discrimination of intervals) is absolutely necessary in music, so it has been supposed essential to poetry and oratory; and this is not the only instance of confusion arising from the wrong application of terms.-Ancient Leaf. LEEDS TOWN-HALL ORGANISTSHIP.- Last Monday the committee decided to invite the following eminent organists to act as umpires at the contest for the organistship at the Leeds TownHall:-Mr. Best, Liverpool; Mr. Goss, St. Paul's, London; and Mr. George Cooper, Chapel Royal, London. The trial-day is not yet fixed, but as the seven candidates are each to be allowed fifteen hours practice, the contest can scarcely take place before the end of this month. VIVIER AND ALBONI.-One evening, after a performance of the Barbiere, Vivier-who is not given to pay compliments-stepped out of his usual indifference, to pay one to Alboni, which (Vivier's compliments being as original as his bons mots) was equally original and expressive: "Je voudrais bien, Mademoiselle," he said, "que vous fissiez, de ci et là, quelques petites notes fausses. Vous chantez tout avec une telle perfection que cela ne me fait aucun effet; il me manque un peu de mauvais, pour fair sortir vos admirables qualités. Une seule note douteuse, je vous prie de grace, de temps en temps." But Vivier remonstrated in vain. AN ANAGRAM. Pantagruel.-I am trying to find an anagram for Messina, significant of the present condition of affairs. Panurge. In a mess. 364 HER Advertisements. MAJESTY'S THEATRE. This Evening Conte Almaviva, Signor BELART; Figaro, Signor GASSIER (his first appearance in that HE ER MAJESTY'S THEATRE.. NOTS. Raoul, Signor GIUGLINI; De Cosse, Signor SOLDI; Travannes, Signor [JUNE 9, 1860 which we have received to that effect. The yearly chorus of the little girls and boys under the great dome of St. Paul's is an institution of the country, as well as one of the finest of the established phenomena of Majesty, and we feel now what we should have felt then if the Crystal London. We are old enough to remember the coronation of Her posed to shunt the royal solemnity to that place of amusement from Palace had been in existence, and a set of insensate innovators had proWestminster Abbey. Transfer the children's festival to the Crystal Palace! Remove the Lord Mayor's show to Astley's. Banish the Rotten Row cavalcade to Victoria Park. Have the Derby run on Wormholt Scrubbs. Let the House of Lords adjourn to the CoalHole!" invariably the case) authentic, was shown on the very That the information received by Mr. Punch was (as is day when the eloquence of his indignation revealed itself in type. On that day, 4000 of the children were singing "All people that on earth do dwell," in the great Handel orchestra of the central transept. Nay, at the very hour while this was taking place, some thousands out of the 20,000 who came to hear them sing had Punch in their pockets. These were able to read (p. 230) the fervently formed, to the familiar tune of the "Old Hundredth," which expressed hope of Mr. Punch-who is never misinformedthat, in this particular instance, he may have been misinproved, beyond the possibility of doubt, that all our contemporary's worst fears were realised. For our own parts, aware that the causes which prevented the usual demonstration taking place this year in St. Paul's Cathedral' would be only temporary, and that in 1861 (D. V.) we TER MAJESTY'S THEATRE.-Mr. BENEDICT should again listen to "All people that on earth do dwell," HERE begs to announce that his ANNUAL MORNING CONCERT, at Her Majesty's Theatre, is fixed for Monday, June 18, under the immediate patronage of Her Most Gracious Majesty the QUEEN, H.R.H. the Prince Consort, H.R.H. the Duchess of Kent, and H.R.H. the Duchess of Cambridge. When all the eminent artists of that grand operatic establishment will appear, also CATHERINE HAYES, ARTÖT, and PAR PA; Miss ARABELLA GODDARD, M. LEOPOLD DE MEYER, Herr MOLIQUE, Herr BECKER, and Signor PEZZE. Early application is solicited for the remaining box and pit tickets, which may be secured at the Box Office, the principal Libraries and Musicsellers, and at Mr. Benedict's, 2 Manchester Square, W. FRENCH PLAYS. ST. JAMES'S THEATRE. LA TENTATION will be giveu for the last time on Monday. Mlle. DUVERGER. Positively the last appearance of M. BRINDEAU. Orchestra Stalls, 7s. 6d.; Balcony Stalls, 58.; Pit, 2s.; Gallery, 1s.; Private Boxes from £2. 2s. THE MUSICAL WORLD may be obtained direct from the Office, Terms ... The Musical World. 2s. 6d. LONDON: SATURDAY, JUNE 9, 1860. under that dome which canopies the immortality of Wren, 1 "Who could have the heart, that is the want of heart, to think of destroying a tradition so venerable? We should say that John Bright was at the bottom of the subversive proposal, had we not reason to believe that John has music in his soul, notwithstanding that he sometimes talks like one that has none. him to hear Handel's Hallelujah Chorus executed on the grandest scale abominable scheme on which we are now invoking public execration; Such an one was the author of the and we should like to punish him and all his abettors by compelling let them be taken thither after church for a treat, which, by considerin St. Paul's Cathedral every day for six months. The Crystal Palace is a very proper place to take the children to for a holiday. By all means able amendment in the victualling department, they may have there. Or give them two festivals, and let them repeat at the palace what they sang in the cathedral. But spoil not a spectacle and a concert, which, even to the veriest Cockneys, imparts a delight which they seem to share in fellowship with angels. The annual assembly and song of the innocents in St. Paul's was a fact that we learned together with the fiction that London was paved with gold. Another place is paved with the best intentions of the dolts who design to remove that hallowed celebration to the Crystal Palace." abord has impugnet is, that the interior of St. Paul's is not at present in a condition to allow of the annual festival assured. On the other hand, the holiday provided for the children grounds is quite a distinct affair from the anniversary in the salubrious atmosphere of the Crystal Palace and meeting in St. Paul's. As the palace is not a cathedral so their voices are not enlisted for a cathedral service; and JUNE 9, 1860] though the music given them to sing 'is all to words of a sacred character it forms no part of an act of worship. Moreover (which Mr. Punch-though, of course, not uninformed of the fact-may have forgotten), the meeting of Wednesday had already been preceded by two others in the same cheerful locality, and it is hoped the children may be invited to Why should one congregate there at least once a year. interfere with the other? Why should the anniversary in the Church of Stone preclude the annual recreation in the Palace of Glass? One thing is unquestionable, viz.-that the children derive far more genuine enjoyment, and their health and spirits far more real benefit, from the last, however the first may present a more unique and impressive The ceremony in St. spectacle to indifferent lookers on. Paul's, it should be understood, was never intended in the "concert." Let there be then light of a "spectacle" or a always henceforth (as Mr. Punch humanely suggests) "two festivals," one in London, the other in the country; but by no means let the children "repeat at the palace what they have sung at the cathedral," for we are much in error if, in a strictly musical sense, they might not be better employed both for their own profit and the edification of their ence. F the spread of musical knowledge only kept pace with IF the increase in the number of our musical entertain ments, England would be fast becoming the most musical country in the world. Enough morning concerts are now given in London (every afternoon) to entertain, or, to say the least, occupy, the amateurs of any other capital, morning, noon, and night. Then there are the evening concerts, of which some ten or twelve take place hebdomadally; and, in addition to all this mixed musical provender, sufficient in itself to give a musical indigestion, there are from six to nine grand operatic banquets every week, at which the public are invited, and what is more, actually expected, to attend. People sometimes express their astonishment that when, according to general report, one Italian Opera could never be carried on in London with anything like uniform success, there were found singers, subscribers, and other speculators sufficiently enterprising to start a second. It is true the managers of the second Italian Opera did not stipulate for the continued existence of the first, nor (as we imagine) did they even take into their calculations the possibility of its lasting; but the general body of the public, which includes few critics and connoisseurs, saw one thing only in the change which had taken place in operatic affairs-the impossibility of two operas prospering when a single one had never succeeded. With such considerations as these, the "general public" need not perhaps trouble themselves; but they are, of course, interested in the effect of managerial rivalry upon the performances, and this has not been quite so satisfactory as the admirers of competition in all things may believe. When Mr. Lumley ascended the directorial throne at Her Majesty Theatre, it was the custom to give two operatic representations a week, and no more. Thus there was plenty of time for rehearsals in the intervals between the performances, and the same singers could sing every often happened, opera-night for weeks together, as without being fatigued. The manager engaged one complete company, and, now and then, a star which had wandered from its natural orbit, and had reached London. Otherwise the subscribers found it sufficient variety to hear Let us explain. Formerly, as we have said, two operatic performances a week sufficed for all London. The singers were not overworked; the habituées who made a point of not missing a single performance (to say nothing of the critics) were not bored; and the manager, if he did ruin himself, at least did so more agreeably than the managers of the present day, who have three and often four performances a week to attend to instead of two. Mr. Lumley was the first to depart from the twice-a-week system. He it was who introduced what The Times used to call "long Thursdays," and which were so long that they usually finished on Fridays. At first the Thursday performance was like a Saturday's dinner at a boarding school, consisting of all kinds of scraps and fragments; but when the Royal Italian Opera was opened, Thursday had become accepted as a regular operatic day it was included in the subscription, and was honoured at the new theatre with an entertainment as good as that of Tuesday or Saturday. : Byron, speaking of Scott's inventive power, remarked, that after introducing a new form in poetry, by the publication of his "Tales in Verse," he introduced a new form in prose with the "Waverley Novels;" and added, that if readers had got tired of the "Waverley Novels," Scott would have thought of some other new form in which to address them. With similar felicity Mr. Lumley, after there had ceased to be anything remarkable in his "long Thursdays," straightway invented "interminable Mondays;" and the ingenious Mr. E. T. Smith has not only adopted the Monday notion from his predecessor, but has himself introduced what are already beginning to be known as "intolerable Wednesdays and Fridays." As a manager pays the same rent whether he gives two, three, or even six performances in the week, it is easy to see that on extra nights he gets the use of the theatre as it were for nothing. But the singers do not sing nor the musicians play for nothing; nor is it possible to increase the number of opera-goers proportionably with the number of operatic representations. It appears to us that the managers must lose in the end by these extra Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays; and we are sure that they are hurtful to the singers and musicians. Principal vocalists, as we are aware, are seldom called upon to sing several nights in the week (though Giuglini sang so often last year at Drury Lane that he to some extent injured his voice); but the orchestra and chorus are the same at each performance, and they must be, and evidently are, wearied by the onerous duties at present imposed upon them. The effect of these perpetual extra nights is, that there is no time to get up the operas properly, and that when they are produced the performers are too tired to do justice to the music or to themselves. The system is equally unfair to the artists and to the public, for music misrendered is not music at all, but only formalized noise. How is it possible that such a system can in the long run benefit the managers ? |