311usir.
Her Majesty's Theatre has opened—in other words, the London " sea- son" is begun. Mr. Lumley has at once played his great card—Made- moiselle Titions. the new Viennese prima donna—and she has proved a trump. Since the first appearance on the same beards of Jenny Lind eleven years ago, there has been no such debilt as that made by this lady on Tuesday night. Another great card was the piece produced—the gorgeous .Ifteguettots—in, which, at a great distance of time, he has fol- lowed, the lead of the other house. This he has been enabled to do by the possession not only of Mademoiselle Titiens but of Giuglini, the only tenor capable of standing his ground in London as a rival to Mario. As far as the IffIguetwts is concerned we thus have " a play fitted " ; for, with two great lyrical tragedians in the characters of Valentine and Raoul, the rest of the dramatis personae present little difficulty.
Mademoiselle Titiens is said to be a Hungarian, and about the age of six or seven and twenty. Her whole appearance and qualities seem to indicate this age. Her person and her powers give token of maturity altogether free from decay. Rather above the middle height, her form is strikingly handsome, her air commanding, and her movements graceful. Her features, in repose, have somewhat of German heaviness ; but, excited, her eyes (which are very fine) lighten up, and her countenance becomes animated and capable of expressing the strongest emotion. As a singer her gifts are of the highest kind. In her voice power and sweet- ness are exquisitely blended. Its compass seems unbounded ; for in a range of two octaves, from C to C, which Meyerbeer's unmerciful musie demands, and in which the highest sound is often dwelt on for many bars together, there was never the slightest sign of inequality, weakness, or effort : we always felt sure that she could do much more if she were put to it. We know little of her antecedents, but her style and execution clearly indicate the best and purest- Italian school. She found herself thoroughly supported by Giuglini, to whom the character of Raoul is well known, though this was his first performance of it in England. Whether as a piece of tragic acting or of finished vocal execution it was the greatest and most successful effort he has yet made here, and he fairly divided with Mademoiselle Titiens the triumph of the evening. It was such a triumph as is seldom witnessed. The great scene—one of the most tragic the stage has ever produced—in which the hapless pair in the midst of despair and horror, forget everything but their delirium of love,—was acted and sung with so much truth, force, and beauty that it threw the whole house into a tumult of excitement.
Of the other parts it is sufficient to say that Mademoiselle Ortolani, as Marguerite of Valois, looked very pretty, and warbled brilliantly ; that Vialetti gave a good.picture of the sturdy old Huguenot soldier; and that Belletti gave due weight to the important but ungrateful character of St. Bris. The orchestra was exceedingly good, but the chorus was wanting both in strength and quality. In this, as in some other accessories, the management might have taken a lesson from the old performances at Covent Garden.
Mr. Gye has followed Mr. Lumley in the publication of the general prospectus of the Royal Italian Opera season. The theatre, it is posi- tively announced, will open on the 15th of May—this day four weeks. To look, from Bow Street, at the unfinished aspect of the building, and the surrounding confusion, one would hardly think this possible : but money is a mighty magician, and now-a-days in London will perform wonders like the enchantments of an Arabian tale. The programme is meagre. No new performers are announced, except two of so little note that they are not even named. The company will be the same as that of last season, with the addition of Tamberlik, after an absence of two years. We are to have, too, the old repertory of the theatre ; the only additions being Flotow's Martha, lately, produced with success at Paris, and Herold's Zampa, which was brought out, without success, a good many years ago at Her Majesty's Theatre. A third—Mercadante's Il Giuramento—will be produced " should time permit" ; which is as much as to say that it will not be produced—and no great loss, for it is an opera of small reputation.
The Philharmonic Society gave their first concert of the season on Monday. It was a first-rate performance, though made up of pieces well known to the Philharmonic habitues ; s phonies of Mozart and Beet- hoven, overtures of Mendelssohn and "eher; concertos on the piano- forte by Mr. Cusins, a young English pianist of rising name, and on the violin by Sainton ; and vocal pieces sung by Madame Csatallan and Miss Dolby. Professor Sterndale Bennett continues to be the conductor of the orchestra.
The society of fashionable amateurs called the Musical. Union had their first concert on Tuesday morning, at the new St. James's Hall, in- stead of Willis's Rooms, their former locality. Two fine quartets of Haydn and Beethoven were extremely well performed; Molique being the first violin and Piatti the violoncello • and a young German pianist, Oscar de Chula, a pupil of the celebrated enemy, made his debut in a sonata of Weber's, He displayed.great execution, but was indistinctly heard ; and we have some apprehension that this splendid new hall is but indifferently fitted for solos on the pianoforte..
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