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    scena from " Mdelio , " and created , as her superb singing deserved , an intense sensation . The times are surely ripe for the popularisation of this wondrous opera . A few years since , during the unclassical period of our musical annals , to which we-so often refer ) it was produced before several full houses , on this very stage , by a German company , under the direction of Herr Formes . We well remember the delight this revival occasioned to the musical circles of that day , and we are of opinion that were Fidelio to be now revived in its integrity the wide vast musical public of our day would speedily recoupe the management for any amount of time , expense , and care , spent upon its worthy

    presentation . The able Don Florestan of the cast we speak of—Herr Reichardt—is now in London , and is always to be had for the illustration of the great master . In Madame Titiens we have the beau ideal of a Leonora . Jtoccos , it is true , hang not on every bougli ; but if the monster troupe of this opera house , which , we understand , are under engagement for yet another year * cannot produce one , let Mr . Santley be made to study for the stage . He has voice enough , if he have not the dramatic energy of Formes , we are sure ; and if a thorough operatic chorus cannot be found ( as is sometimes alleged ) after all these years of Mainzers' Hullahs ' , and Tonic Sol-fa ' s , why a great deal of useful time has been wasted , and a training academy for such an one

    should at once be set on foot to supply a want that is discreditable to us as a musical nation , which we have lately begun to esteem ourselves . To go on witli Mr . Smith : —the Signors Badiali , Slongini , and JFagotti sang the trio from " William Tell ; " Mademoiselle Piccolomini and Signor Giuglini gave the duet from " I Martiri , " which was performed with so much success last season at Her Majesty ' s Theatre ; and , finally , the lessee made a speech . He referred with natural satisfaction to his efforts on behalf of tlie public , and added some explanations in justification of his conduct in re Graziani . Mr . Smith ' s address was received with enthusiasm ; and the whole performance , from beginning to end , was thoroughly successful .

    We hear rumours , not -without considerable regret , that the company of proprietors of this theatre are again advertising for a tenant . Having succeeded in obtaining from Mr . Smith that novelty to thema regularly paid rental , they fancy that they can get more from some one else . The ridiculous rent terms obtained for short terms by the noble owner of the Lyceum has so inflamed their minds that they refuse to note the long seasons for which that playhouse is often closed . They are tired of the humdrum of punctually receiving a moderate income , and lust after a nominally heavy one , to be received by fits and starts , perhaps from a succession of unskilled adventurers , who will neither profit the landlords nor please the public , nor fill the mouths

    of the legion who are dependent for support on a large dramatic establishment like Drury-lane . JTor the sake of the class last mentioned , we look with apprehension at the proposed step of the committee , which . we think illiberal , and inspired by little less than lunacy . Possibly they dream of securing Mr . Charles Kean , after his fitful fever at the Princess ' s has terminated , or a new Barnum , with woolly horse , talking-fish , ct illuc yauis omne . Perhaps they hope Messrs . Gye and Co . will compete , in the hope of thus extinguishing their rival . Perhaps Mr . Charles Mathews , or some other distinguished actor with a wife to push forward , is able and willing . Perhaps some amateur of fortune has been heard of . The realms of conjecture arc wide ; but we have no further time to scour them

    . Tira Concepts of the l ' ast fortnight have been very long and very close together ; anything , in fact , but like angels' visits . They have been , nevertheless , it seems to us , most brilliantly attended in nearly every case . In fact , it could hardly seem otherwise ; for as the width of skirts lias grown , part passu , with the number of the population and the spread of musical taste , there are not only in these times more amateurs at each matinao or soiree , as the case may bo , but each of those , with few exceptions , docs also cover a larger superficial area than her

    ropresenttvlier . matinee musicale at Willis ' s the same morning . JBut this lady now ranks—and , as we have before intimated , deservedly— -so high with the public , and has so large a circle of admirers ; that she will not grudge the space we . have robbed her of in favour of her young sister vocalist . She was assisted by Mr . Benedict , Miss Lascelles , Herr Reichardt , and other eminences . She herself sang the " Ombre legere " and the " Aye Maria" of Schubert ; . On Friday Herr Bernard Molique , the great violinist , gave a high class concert at Willis's rooms , aided by several distinguished performers , among whom it is sufficient to name Joachim , Carrodus , Hies , Piatti—a " famous quadrilateral" ( to use the hackneyed word of the day ) of instrumentalists . Miss Palmer sang " The Nightingale , " composed for her by Molique , and Mr . Santley the " Parting , " also by the beneficiare .

    Mr . Benedict ' s second and concluding concert for the season took place at St . James' Hall , and was , of course , thronged . The learned and popular professor was assisted by a crowd of celebrities , whom we have barely room to mention , and the programme took four hours to get through—though two encores only were allowed . The public were , in their own interest , pretty resolved on this point , and the only exceptions from the rule laid down by the directors were made in favour of the interesting Victorie Balie and Signor Mongini j to the former an encore was awarded in " The Last Rose of Summer , " and to the latter in "La donna e mobile . " The strength of the vast operatic troupe of Drury Lane was there , with Madlle . Artot ( who generously

    would not be encored ) , Misses Anna Whitty and Stabbach , Madame Enderssohn , Herr Reichardt , Mr . Santley , Herr Joachim , Miss Arabella Goddard , and M . Paque . Miss Whitty , as the daughter of a gentleman well-known in the literary world , has claims on our notice , independently of her successes in Italy , " of which the fame preceded her debut in London . She has a clear voice , of considerable compass , and sang with much expression in Rossini's "Bel raggio , " and , with Signor Mongini , in a duo from Verdi ' s Vespri Siciliani . Mr . Benedict played a fantasia in his best manner on " Where the bee sucks . " The alpha of the matinee , which melted ( truly we may say melted ) into an early soiree , was the Freyschutz overture , and its omega , Benedict ' s " Marche Triomphale . "

    was not admired would be , of course , as ridiculous as to say that there was not something admirable about his execution : but on this occasion , as on others , we had the misfortune to hear him in some of those weak effusions which great singers occasionally offer to the public as genuine notes ! Whether the evil be due to an amiable tehdresse of the artistfpr the composer , or , as alleged by some more sensitive and knowing critics than ourselves , to arrangements with music sellersj we are not prepared to say ! No doubt it is to the former . But the nuisance is great ; and should the tendency to it become more obvious than at present , it must , ere long , be attacked by more vivacious and effective pens than ours . We

    have heard it related that no less a managerial potentate than John Keinble once found himself at grave issue with a no less eminent singer than the late incomparable John Braham on this very point . The vocalist was interested for a certain musicseller , and the musicseller was interested for certain airs just published , no doubt , with the superscription , " Sung by Mr . Braham , at the Theatres Royal . " He particularly desired , therefore , to substitute them for others in certain musical pieces , in which he appeared , and carried on the practice for awhile : but the autocratic manager , having become aware of it , declined any loBger to be an advertising

    agent for the publisher , or a party to the affair in any way ; humbled the great tenor considerably , and saved the public the infliction of much bad music . The imposing Tweedle-dumdee ' s and Falde-ral tits of the present day will never , we hope , force the public to protest indignantly against their selection of music : or rather , we hope that con-r ductprs , band-masters , entrepreneurs , and others concerned , will not , by giving up their proper responsibilities , ever lead innocent artists to grief and cause annoyance to the musical World . To revert to Madame Bassano and her concert : That lady sang well our old favourite , the " Pieta Signore" of Stradella . Madame Lemmens was excellent , with

    Joachim in an elegant novelty—aria and variations for voice and violin ; and was justly much applauded . Herr Reichardt was successful as ever in a romance from " Linda di Chamquni t" and a song of his own composition . The selection was excellent and satisfactory throughout . On Wednesday the "Vocal Association gave their last concert for this season , and proposing to devote to the Handel College the profits of the evening , made a more than usual display . To the usual strength of the society was added that of Mdlle . Artot , the brilliant young Belgian singer ; Joachim , the king of fiddlers ; and Madame Lemmens , whose rendering of the exquisite " Ombre legere , " from Meyerbeer ' s new work , the " Pardon de Ploermel , " justified us in all , and more than all , we have said of this lady as a first-class vocalist .

    On Tuesday , Miss Elizabeth Philp , a young composer as well as singer of promise , gave a concert at St . Martin ' s Hall . Among her patronesses appeared the magic names of the Duchess of Sutherland and the Ladies Wharncliffe and Waldegrave ; and among her assistants were Mdlle . Artot , Miss Dolby , and Mr . Jules Lefort , as singers , witli Herr Derffel on the piano and Wieniawski on the violin . The ballad , " 6 li , moonlight deep and tender , " composed by Miss Philp , was sung by herself modestly , gracefully , and , therefore , pleasingly . Her mezzo-soprano voice told well in a duo with Miss Dolby ( also of her own composition ) , and in a romance called " II prime amore . " It will afford us pleasure to hear Miss Philp again , and , to encourage her some clay on the smooth way to new triumphs as we now do on the thorny one of continued study .

    On Thursday evening , at the Hanover-square . Rooms , we were at a crowded concert given by a young and interesting debutante , Miss Eleanor Armstrong , a promising and encotirageable pupil of Mr . F . Mori . Besides joining in a duo of Rossini and two trios , Miss Armstrong sang Mozart ' s « 'Batti , Batti , " with so much sweetness , and was so ably accompanied by Herr Lidei on the violoncello , that the performance received a well-merited encore . The same compliment was attempted witli " The Lonely Harp , " in which Miss Armstrong was accompanied on the harp by Herr Oberthur , but the young lady had the modesty and good sense to curtsey her thanks , but to decline a repetition of the song . Mis . s Armstrong ' s

    On Tuesday evening , Miss Emily Spiller ( soprano ) , and Miss Clara Mackenzie ( contralto ) , joined their talents to produce a pleasing concert at St . Martin ' s Hall . The first of these aspirants was highly applauded for her charming delivery of the pathetic <* Ah non credea , " from "La SonnanVbula , " n . nd the triumphal " Ah non giungo , " from the same opera ; while Miss Mackenzie , a vocalist of eminent pronusa , was no less satisfactory in the " Green Trees , " a

    voico is a true soprano of considerable sweetness , though of not great powor ; and , with a little more experience , she is likely to become- a valuable addition to the concert-room . Her unassuming manner and lady-ljiko deportment \ vill always engage the sympathy of her audience . She will excuse us when , with the best wishes for her success , we would counsel her to overcome tlxc two grave faults so often to be found jta young artists : the one is , occasionally singing a few notes sharp , and the other an imperfect enunciation . These are the rocks that many split on ; and Miss Armstrong , who is yet young' to have dared the ordeal of the public concertroom , has time enough before her to avoid them if other

    ballad by M . ; W . Balfe . Miss Palmer deservedly obtained an enthusiastic encore in a song of Randegger ' s , and Mr . Sims Reeves was heard to perfection in a delicious trio , "Oh Memory I" in which he joined the heroines of the conoert s and in the superb " Adelaide , " of Beethoven . Miss Arabella Goddard played « The Last Hose of Summer , and " The Harmonius Blacksmith , " m her own best style ; and the London Glee and Madrigal Union aJded ' muoli , in our opinion , to the genera effect of this very well-arranged programme , by tljeir performance of several & their choicest moreeaux .

    she will take our kindly warning . Of the vocal performances none demand record here , save Madame Amadei ' s " Addio " ' ( Mozart ) , which was excellent . M . Rcmenfci played one of his own solos on the violin with such admirable expression as to have great difficulty in resisting- the loudly-demanded encore . Mr . Koallmarh dealt ably , as is his wont , with a Polonaise by Chopin . The Ilerren Lidol ( violoncello ) and Oberthur ( harp ) exerted them-i solves zoalously in behalf of il » e young bmefioxare , and contributed a very ample share to the pleasure of a very agreeable musical evening . Mr . Frank Mori himself very ably proaided at tho piano , and conducted the whole . Among tho fashionables present were Sir John and Lady Lawrence and a largo party . Wo had almost forgotten Madame Lemnaene ana

    The namo of Mr . Van Prang is so familiar m the mus cal vwld that wo were not inoro eurpnsed to meet a numerous audience at Ins concert at St . TnmnnVi lla 1 on Wednesday , than to find an admirably SotoS ed pVogrammeV and an excellent , list of principal artists , and a full orchestra . Herr WiSweld Played his scientific arrangement of the beautfiu Sr , " The Red Sarafan , " and another Russian melody , in his beat stylo . Ho was rapturousjy applauded , and only escaped an encore by Mr . Van Prtvag ' s appeal for mercy on behalf of both norfornior and sooiety at largo . Madame Bishop , Eamo Rudersdorti ; Miss Dolby , Mr . Wilbyo Cooper , Mr . Weiss , and Mr . Santley , whoso names are all sufficient warranty for interesting

    portives of the last generation . Tho parterre of tho St . Jamcs ' -hall , wherein several excellent concerts have lately been givon , has , on such occasions , presented a similar effect , viewed from the galleries of that building , to that wo endeavoured to describe in our notice of tho Handel Commemoration Festival at tho Crystal Palace ; and has , we might add , been no less distinguished in respect of company than hare boon the programmes furnished for the gratification of the latter , in respcot of voeal and instrumental variety and excellence .

    Tho first on our list is that of Madame Bassano and Herr Wllhelm Kuhe , at St . Jaraos ' s-hall , on Monday , tho 27 th of Juno , when those artists wore aseifitcd by Madame Albertazzi , Madame Lemmene , Horr Kcichardt , with Messrs . Santley , Sims Koovos , jPlatti , and Joachim . To say that the English tenor

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    Sfb . 485 V Jure *) , 18 * 9 . 1 . THE LEADER 815

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), July 9, 1859, page 815, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2302/page/11/