THE THEATRES.
..AwovstEn foreign opera done into English was waived at Covent Garden on Wednesday night; the manager selecting one of the French school, in order to exhibit the versatile powers of his company. The public have now an opportunity of solving the question—which is the worst, a good opera badly performed, or an opera intrinsically bad ? The Maid of Cashmere is, as we have said, a revival. It was produced by Mr. Burns a few years since, at the time when it was the fashion to adapt any opera by A UBER that appeared at Paris to the English -stage; and it is a favourite specimen of the present French dramatic school—its ingredients being dancing, with noise and jingle as its accompaniment. Music is but the means to an end, that end being the ballet; for even the songs suggest only dancing ideas. A Monsieur LECOMTE personated the Unknown, and unfortunately pronounced his recitative intelligibly : his impassioned declamation in broken English was irresistible, and provoked the involuntary laughter of his hearers. In what language the other singers delivered their portion of the recita- tive, we could only conjecture. But it is fair to say, that the Covent Garden singers are equal adepts in the style of ADDER and of ROSSINI, and that they deal with the Italian and French school indifferently. Suppose, by way of novelty, they were to try their hands at that of England ? Madame LECONTE is a well-trained and expert dancer, but with no peculiar charm in her style, nor extraordinary powers of execution. DArs.: GRATTAN, from the Adelpbi, afterwards made her first appearance on these boards as Kate O'Brien, in the interlude of Perfection ; wearing a bouquet that would have become a state coachman on a court birth- day, and a profusion of trinkets. She did not take the trouble to act, but merely spoke the words as at rehearsal : in short, she appeared to think it a mere matter of personal display ; which it really was ; though not quite to the taste of the audience, who rather tolerated than approved this piece of self-exhibition. On her being called for after the curtain fell, by a few personal admirers in private boxes, reinforced by the clamours of some half-price people, hisses were heard, that ex- pressed a very prevalent feeling among the more fastidious visiters.
Previous page
