THE MAGIC FLUTE AT DRURY LANE.
ALTHOUGH Die Zaubedlote was the most popular of MozanT's operas in the land of its birth, it has never been produced entire in England until now. Its popularity in Germany is easily accounted for. Ito. none°, Le No= di Figaro, La Clemenza di Tiro, Ii Don Giovanni, and Cosi fan trate, were all written to an Italian libretto, and in imita- tion of the Italian vocal style. In the orchestra, Muzawr followed his own impulse and proved his own power; but the vocal structure of his Italian operas is formed upon Italian models. The story, too, of Die Zauberflote is a dreamy abstraction, which, although suited to the prevalent character and feeling of Germans, has hitherto been re- garded by managers and adapters as an insurmountable obstacle to the success of the opera in England. Some attempts have been made to rewrite the story, with a view to render it more palatable to an English audience ; but they ended in nothing—nothing at least as far as re- gards public exhibition on the stage. Mr. T.COOKE and Mr. PLANCHE have at length ventured on the experiment ; taking the opera pretty much as they found it, and giving the music of Alozater with Fhe text of the original drama in English. To the English version is prefixed the following argomento, which will sufficiently account for the hesita- tion of our managers to venture on the production of so dark an alle- gory. " According to Plutarch, the Egyptians held two principles—one good, the other evil. The good principle consisted of three persons,—Isis, Osiris, awl Orus their son. 'fhe evil principle was Tryphon; to whom all bad passions, diseases, tempests, and earthquakes were imputed. Osiris was synonymous with reason, or light; Tryphon with the passions without reason, or darkness: and the whole plot of this opera turns upon the struggle between these parties for the mastery over Pamiva, the daughter of a priestess of Tryphon, called the Queen of Night. The magic flute, by the agency of which Tornio°, a prince of Thebes, acquires influence over the mind of Panaina, has the power of inspiring love : but this passion, bestowed by the powers of dark- ness, is merely sensual ; purified by those of light and reason, its magic is made subservient to the holies.t purposes, and guides the faithful pair through all worldly dangers to the knowledge of truth, as typified by their initiation in the mysteries of Isis."
We have heard that in this allegory there are parts and allusions which render it peculiarly acceptable to the brotherhood of Freema- sons and that much of its music is habitually sting in German lodges ; but on this subject we speak with the proper hesitation of ignorance. The fact, however, is certain, that no opera ever obtained such an ex- tended and fast hold on the affections of its countrymen as Die Zauber- flote. It was performed in every theatre throughout the empire ; its airs were familiar to every child; and we eemetnber hearing it quoted with strong emphasis and approbation from the pulpit. To managers, publishers, and singers, it formed a source of large and permanent re- venue. To its immortal author it brought only fame, and the gratifi-
cation of having done an act of rare though unrequited kindness. The manager of a German theatre applied to MOZART, then suffering under
the disease which terminated his brief and dazzling career, to extricate him from approaching ruin, by supplying him with an opera. Its cha- racter was to be level to the general capacities of the German multi- tude, although affording occasional scope for the display of higher
powers of invention. MOZART, touched by the unfortunate manager's entreaties, promised to undertake the work ; and in answer to the
inquiry as to terms, replied, " Why, it seems that you have no- thing to give : but, that I may serve you and not wholly lose my labour, you shall have the opera, and if it succeed, give me what you
please, on condition that you allow no copies to be taken." The suc- cess of the opera we have stated ; but the result to MOZART was, in money—nothing. The man whom he had served in the time of dis- tress was raised to affluence by the success of Die Zauberflote, and copies of it were multiplied by him throughout Germany ; while he allowed its author to sink into the grave unrecompensed and in penury. The fame of this opera extended to Italy, where it was produced under the title of Il Flauto Illogic° ; and in 1811 it was performed in London for NALDI'S benefit ; but so as only to shadow forth the true character of the original. In fact, Die Zauberjlote is a work wholly unsuited to Italian ears and Italian tastes : his thoroughly and essen- tially German, or, as the Itttlians would say, barbarous. Neither had the Italian Opera-house then, or ever, the singers capable of mounting such an opera. It has been more effectively performed since, when DE BEGNIS was the Papageno and ANGRISANI the Sig/Warp; but never well. The chorus was always feeble, the spectacle mean, and the singers (two or three excepted) incompetent. Added to which, the Italian version is a wretched burlesque on the original libretto, in which the music is deformed by wanton and barbarous stretching and clipping, and its sense frequently destroyed. The English, therefore, have never till now heard this splendid opera. But while we give Messrs. T. COOKE and PLANCIIE the highest credit for the way in which it has been brought out, the stupidity of the Drury Lane manager in producing it as an afterpiece would deserve a severe castigation, if stupidity could be cured by any discipline of that kind. DUNN, here, has not only run his head against a wall, but has taken the trouble to build one for that especial purpose. The music of Die Zauberflote is serious almost throughout—often solemn ; that of the entire character of &trash.° (11. PHILLIPS) is of the most severe and impressive gravity ; the choruses are the hymns of priests; and the situation selected by the manager for such an exhibition is after a five-act tragedy, and the hour past midnight ! The opera, which, as it proceeds, assumes a more strictly ecclesiastical character, does not terminate till near one o'clock, long before which the boxes are nearly emptied. But let us dismiss the manager and his fully, and turn to the more agreeable task of dwel- ling on the performance. Awl, in the first place, we are bound to say that Mr. I'Leectte has executed his difficult task with great ability and good taste. Unlike the wretched Italian version, he has not only
given the sense and spirit of the original, but has adhered with gene fidelity to its metre and accentuation,—two essentials (as we regard them) in such an undertaking, that the ignoramuses who usually per. petrate these translations for our stage, habitually disregard, or don't understand. He has curtailed the part of Papageno, and omitted that
of Papagena : we lose, thus, the comic dialogue towards the conclusion of the opera ; but, dramatically regarded, the omission is judicious. If the story excite any interest, it is completely broken down at the period of its strongest excitement, by the buffoonery of the Bird. catcher and the supposed old woman. Die Zaubeolote demands 6 stronger female cast than any opera we know of ; and in the present state of the Drury Lane company, this could be and it wits given, Mrs. E. SEGUIN was the Kaidginn der Nucht, Miss Rostea the Pa. mina, Miss Pooix, Mrs. ANDERSON, and Miss H. Cawse the Genii, and Miss FORDE, MISS HEAL?. and MIS. MAPLESON the at. tendants on the Queen. The part of the Queen of Night, originally written for the display of a voice of extraordinary compass, wn :sustained by Mrs. E. SEGUIN with considerable ability ; and the concerted pieces, the most beautiful features of this beautiful opera, were sung with admirable precision by the several ladies engages in them. TEMPLETON did his best with Tamino, but he is below Mozawr "pitch." There is a classical purity about Moz,rintavihiciceh: TEMPLETON cannot reach ; his energy degenerates into noise, his pas. sion into vulgarity. Pintairs's Sarastro was a fini,hed perfsoter his voice is not massive enough for the songs, but in all that regards conception and execution, nothing could be more satisfactory. Bassi: was the Birdcatcher ; which has rarely found a better representative. Ile had all the fun of the piece to himself, and it lost nothing hi his hands, without ever degenerating into mere buffoonery. The chorus was steady and effective.; and of the orchestra it would be difficult to speak in terms of exaggerated commendation. While every thing was given perfectly, there were no impertinent and noisy explosions ; every singer was heard, even through the mass of instrumentation which the score exhibits, without shouting or screaming. As accompanists, the opera band must yield the palm to that of Drury Lane. T. COOKE conducted, and ELIASON was the leader ; and of course we were not indulged with those new readings of Mozater which occur under Mr. COSTA'S direction at the Italian Opera-house. They were content to play Die Zauberjlote as its author intended it should be played. The scenery is splendid—a striking contrast to the miserable display at the representations of II Flout() Magic° at the King's Theatre in former times. Altogether, the performance of this delightful opera was the most satisfactory we have ever witnessed in this country.
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