VINCENT WALLACE'S new opera, The Amber Witch, was produced at
Her Majesty's Theatre on Thursday evening. At present we can only record the fact, reserving till next week our account of the piece and of its performance.
It is reported that an arrangement has been entered into between the directors of the Crystal Palace and the lessee of Her Majesty's Theatre for a series of Italian Opera performances at Sydenham during the summer, with Grisi and Mario (who are engaged to Mr. Smith for the season) as the principal performers. For this purpose, it is said, a theatre is to be erected in the central transept of the Palace.
The first concert for this season of the Philharmonic Society is an- nounced to take place on Monday next. The programme includes Mozart's symphony in C, Hummers septuor for the pianoforte, with wind and stringed instruments, Spolir's overture to The dkhymiet, Beethoven's seventh symphony, and Mendelssohn's MS. overture in C major. The directors for the present season are: Messrs. G. F. Anderson, J. B. Chatterton, F. B. Jewson, J. McMurdie, J. Turk, Marrnaduke, C. Wilson, and J. Thomas.
The council of the Musical Society of London for the current year consists of the following professional musicians and amateurs : Messrs. Jules Benedict, Henry Blagrove, William Chappell, J. W. Davison, Joseph Duggan, Charles Horsley, Edward James, Q.C., Joseph Lidel, G. A. Maefarren, Frank Mori, George Osborne, J. D. Pawle, J. S. Pierce, E. F. Riinbault, LL.D., Charles Selman, Augustine Sargood, John Simon, and Henry Smart. This society gave its first concert of this (its third) season at St. James's Hall, on Wednesday evening. As the fellows, associates, lady-associates, and nominated subscribers number no less than sixteen hundred, the hall was crowded to the doors, the audience including a host of the most distinguished musicians and amateurs in London. The concert was very good, but destitute of novelty—all the better probably on that account—for there is no new orchestral music now-a-days worthy to be compared , with the classic works of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Spohr, Weber, and Mendelssohn. The programme included Beethoven's violin concerto (superbly executed by Vienxtemps), Spohr's symphony in I) minor, Mendelssohn's overture to Buy Bless, Benedict's overture to The Tempest (a composition of much merit), and Auber's overture to Le Philtre. All these pieces were admirably performed bya great
and powerful orchestra, under the able direction of Mr. Mellon. The vocal performers were Madame Sherrington and Mr. Weiss, who sang pieces of Mozart, Rossini, and Weber.
. Madame Catherine Hayes has been making a professional tour in Ireland, assisted by a small party of eminent vocal and instrumental performers: Miss Lascelles, Mr. Tennant, Signor Burdini, Herr Becker, the violinist, and Mr. F. Berger, the pianist and composer. Catherine Hayes is an Irishwoman, and idolized by the natives of the Emerald Isle. The party have been giving concerts at Cork, Limerick, Dublin, and other places, and the local journalists have everywhere been exhausting their Irish eloquence in eulogizing their accomplished countrywoman and recording her triumphs. Scribe is dead. In the midst of his triumph from the success of his last dramatic effort, given to the world only a few days before, and while we in London were enjoying the production of one of his master- pieces of an earlier day, he was suddenly struck with a mortal malady, and carried in an instant into another state of existence. On the day that the Domino Noir gave so much pleasure and amusement to the Covent Garden audience, Scribe had expired, struck with apoplexy in his carriage, while on his way to meet Auber and a party of friends, to celebrate, by a cheerful breakfast, the success of their joint produc- tion, La Circamdenne. And the last words which he wrote were an acceptance of an invitation to dine with a friend on the following day. The great dramatist was seventy years of age, but his mental vigour was unimpaired, and his activity undiminished. His last opera is pro- nounced by the unanimous voice of the Parisian public to be marked with the strength and brilliancy of his best days; and when he died his hands were full of occupation. A journal gives the following list of pieces which he has left, completely or nearly finished: L'Ecrin du Rai 'de Garbe, a comic opera in three :acts, with music by Auber ; L'Assge Gardien, a comic opera, in one act, upon an original subject, the meek by Adolphe Nibelle; La Beatsk du Diable, a one-act comic
opera, with music by Ahu7; La Dame des Bruyares, acomie opera in three acts ; and a five-act comedy. Some of these pieces, doubtless, will he produced. Besides them, Scribe has left an immense number of sketches of pieces and detached scenes, the completion of which might have been sufficient to occupy a lifetime.
N'elluti, the once celebrated soprano singer, the last of a class now extinct, died a few days ago, at the age of eighty, at his villa, in the environs of Padua. Velluti was an artist of the highest order, and, during the period when he flourished, had great influence on the state of the Italian Opera. It was for him that Meyerbeer composed the &mita() in .4itto, and Rossini Aurelian() in Palmira. He was in London in 1825 and 1826; in the latter year he was manager of the Italian Opera.
A grand musical performance took place last week at Berlin, on the occasion of the termination of the first period of deep mourning for the late King Handers "Dead March in Saul" and the Requiem of Mozart were performed, under the direction of Meyerbeer, and one of the principal singers was the celebrated basso, Formes. Joachim is giving concerts at Vienna with the most brilliant éclat. He had intimated his intention to visit London this season, and his arrival was expected about the beginning of May. But we have just been informed that his success in the Austrian capital has so greatly exceeded his own expectations, that he means te prolong his sojourn there, and consequently to abandon his design of coming to England this year.
The Teatro Nuevo, at Naples, was destroyed by fire on the night of Tuesday last. It was a fine and spacious theatre, devoted princi- pally to the opera bufa. Mdlle. Emma Livry, the favourite dansense of the Grand Opera, is engaged by M. Gye for Covent Garden during. the approaching season. From the rapturous language of the Parisian journals, this lady seems to be reviving the halcyon days of the ballet. We shall see.
A new grand opera, called La .Reine de Saba, by Gounod, is in pre- paration at the Academic Imperiale. Wagner's Tannhauser‘was to be produced last eveninp, and the Parisian musical public is in a state of excitement accordingly. Felicien David has completed a piece in two acts for the Opera-Comique. Hermann Patzold, a distinguished young musician, died suddenly on the 6th of February, at Konigsberg, while in the act of conduct. ing a performance of Mendelssohn's Elijah. He was only thirty years of age. He was a great performer on the organ, and an excel- lent composer for that instrument.
Previous page
