THE OPERA. THE FAMOUS PAS DE QUATRE-OPERATIC CENTENARY OF THE REBELLION OF "45"-MADAME ROSSI CACCIA-BAROILHET. LAST month we were just anticipating the début of Madame Rossi Caccia and Monsieur Baroilhet. Here then we must take up the thread of our discourse. Madame Rossi Caccia has a voice of immense compass and But lo! what a blaze of brilliancy has burst upon us in the region of the ballet, making us forget all that is operatic or histrionic-all in fact but itself. Yes, we have seen the pas de quatre, that has fired the brains of habitués, and eke the pens of newspaper critics, so that they write, like boys with sticks of phosphorus. That pas de quatre is the all-important event, before which other events dwindle into insignificance, extinguished by too much light, as the moon is by the sun. The year 1845 shall be known as the year of the pas de quatre, and as a Highlander when he talks of 1745, simply says the "45," and means the period of the great rebellion, so shall the Southron have also his '45, thereby meaning the time when Taglioni, Carlotta Grisi, Cerito, and Lucile Grahn, were brought into august conjunction. And it is a circumstance worth recording that the pas de quatre took place on the centenary of the Jacobite movement. On the 14th of July, 1745, did the " Young Chevalier" sail from France to England, and the 12th of July, 1845, was the evening of the pas. Does some cold-blooded, calculating, wretched almanac-builder, dare to interrupt us in our sublime meditations, and to ask us how the 12th can be the centenary of the 14th -stick to thy craft, ne sutor, &c., we have a more lofty arithmetic, for we know what are opera-nights. We know, oh, dullard! that the 14th of July fell upon a Monday, a non-opera night, and one therefore on which the pas could not have occurred. Still dost thou torment us, contending that at any rate the pas might have been danced on the 15th, which would have been nearer to the 14th than the 12th? Out upon thee—again thou showest thy ignorance. We grant that the 15th, being Tuesday, was an opera-night, but then it is notorious that the Tuesdays are the least brilliant nights of the operatic week. The brilliancy of the West is poured into the Haymarket on the Saturdays, the wealth of the East flows in upon the Thursdays--the opera standing like old Venice, as the point of communication between the Levant and the Occident. The sun requires a zodiac to move in, and therefore must a pas so brilliant, necessarily be set a-going on a brilliant night. Therefore-we hope our readers can follow our fine chain of reasoning in spite of a tangle now and then-therefore the 12th of July, 1845 (Saturday), was the operatic centenary of the 14th of July, 1745, the day on which the Pretender set sail from France. Having thus established the remarkable coincidence in point of date, of the two important events; we proceed to demonstrate how the least important one (of course, we mean the Jacobite movement) shadowed forth the other. But, behold, our "old man of the sea"-our frigid calculator again remonstrates, telling us that the new style began in 1752, and that in comparing our '45 with the other, we are wrong by eleven days he reminds us of that awful year when the 14th of September, was the morrow of the 2nd, an act of Parliament having by some mysterious power caused Father Time to jump instead of fly. Thus does our beautiful theory topple to the ground, and we are obliged to confess that our respected calculating friend, whom we have so improperly called a "dullard" is right after all. Sympathise with us, oh readers, for the privation is yours as well as ours. If we have lost the pleasure of writing a superb historical parallel, you have lost the pleasure of reading it. Figures are stubborn things, and our understanding being convinced -much against our will-our imagination stands flapping its wings like a penguin totally unable to soar. Let us then look at the pas itself. We say it is absurd to assert that Taglioni has declined; applied to her the word passée has no meaning. Now we may hold our almanac-loving friend at arm's length, for it is admitted that the age of ladies belongs not to his jurisdiction. Mark the vigour with which Taglioni bounds across the stage-mark that step with the bended knee, achieved with such graceful pride. Do we not admit that she is, as it were, the queen of the entire pas? Is there not a something of reverence in the position of the rest towards her? How gloriously does she acquit herself, to show that she will not be indebted to prestige alone-will not rest contented under the shade of laurels given long ago, but will pluck them fresh and green. The more the pas de quatre forces itself upon our memory-and force itself it will, with a most monopolising spirit-the more beauties do we discover. There are some fireworks that fling off shining stars in all directions, as if wantonly trying to exceed the nimbleness of the spectator's eyes. Are we intent upon Taglioni? We have missed the commencement of that flying step by Lucile Grahn, who no longer, like a Scandinavian deity, erected among chilly votaries, wakens a thunder of applause from stalls and omnibus. She is before us—so is Cerito-so is Carlotta-but when did each begin?— -we have lost something-we must go again. Truly our mind is in a pretty condition. The more we try to collect these beautiful images, the more centrifugal they become. When in your youth, gentle reader, did you never experience the difficulty of getting four butterflies under one inverted flower-pot? We know that when you raised the earthen prison for the incarceration of No. 4, you were mortified to find No. 2, your best "Emperor" butterfly, taking advantage of the opening, and soaring off to flowery meads, whither you could not follow. Flowery meads bring us to flowers, and flowers to bouquets-the elements whereof a certain thing is composed, leading to the thing itself. Thus did the atoms of Epicurus lead to a world. Thus does chemistry, with a few abstract elements, think she has penetrated into the nature of things but truly was it said of the aforesaid chemistry, Hat freilich die Theile in ihrer Hand, Which we will translate: The parts indeed she holds in hand, That is to say, the band which shall tie all the parts to an unity. The Aug.-VOL. LXXIV. NO. CCXCVI. 2 Y stride from the flower to the bouquet is longer than the unphilosophical reader believes. Who would pluck and tie together all those flowers, if there were not some danseuse or cantatrice to be idolised? Those bouquets that are flung in such abundance to the four danseuses, are, indeed, materially bound by sundry twists of frilled paper and knots of ribbon, but the spiritual binding, without which the material binding would never have taken place, is a chain, whereof the four links are Taglioni, Carlotta Grisi, Cerito, and Lucile Grahn. As some compensation for his unkindness in demolishing our Jacobite theory, our calculating friend has promised us the statistics of the bouquets that were flung on the first night of the grand pas. In the meanwhile, we briefly hint that the total number considerably exceeds that of the bricks in the largest py ramid. Before we leave off, let us say, in sober seriousness, that this pas is the greatest thing of the kind that was ever achieved by any manager. In no theatre here or on the continent has such a combination been witnessed. With respect to Madame Rossi Caccia, she has made a fair but not a brilliant success. Her voice is of remarkable compass in the upper register, and the power she displays of sustaining her harmonic notes constitutes the great feature of her singing. Her execution often displays a mastery over difficult passages, but her voice is deficient in smoothness and flexibility. As an actress she is not without merit, as she displays energy and force as Elizabeth in "Robert Devereux," and vivacity as Despina in "Cosi fan Tutte." Baroilhet has brought evidence enough of his artistical cultivation, but his voice has manifestly declined. THE THEATRES. THE BRUSSELS COMPANY-ADELPHI-HAYMARKET-LYCEUM, AND PRINCESS'S THEATRES. Cou THE Brussels Company, after a series of successful operatic performances at COVENT GARDEN and DRURY LANE, have quitted London. Never was success more honestly and legitimately obtained. They began by playing to a scanty audience, the "town" barely knowing of their existence, and their performances have been finally acknowledged as among the most interesting of the metropolis. Madame Laborde, their prima donna, is a most charming singer, combining natural sweetness of voice with the most perfect intonation and the most finished execution. Her husband, Laborde, is an excellent tenor, though an ambition to rival Duprez in passionate singing occasionally leads him to strain his voice beyond the bounds of amenity. derc combines the merits of a clear, even tenor singer with the grace and liveliness of an excellent light comedian, having also the ability to become a low comedian on occasion. Laurent-Quillevery is a good baritone singer and a good actor, and the bass, Zelger, though his voice is not very powerful, is a thorough artist. In their choruses and piéces d'ensemble, the company have shown a degree of skill and feeling to which the English public is unaccustomed, and the life and animation which have been diffused over the entire stage in the performance of one of the grand operas, have been perfectly irresistible in raising the sympathies of the audience. Nearly all the pieces selected were previously known to the English public. The only decided novelty-" La Reine de Chypre❞— was almost a failure, in spite of the efforts of the vocalists,-particularly Madame Jullien, an excellent singer, whom we forgot to enumerate,-to sustain its weight. The company was under the direction of Messrs. Van Caneghem and Hanssens, the latter of whom appeared as the skilful conductor of an admirable and efficient band. An adaptation of a French drama to our own celebrated "Peg Woffington," has been produced with success at the ADELPHI, and Mr. Webster has been felicitous in the revival of Mr. Morton's "School for Grown Children," which had not been acted since 1827. It is not one of the best specimens of its school-a school in which people have long ceased to write-but being adapted to the company it acts agreeably enough. The brilliancies of "Cinderella" still continue to dazzle the visiters of the LYCEUM, and two or three little farces have been brought out to display the talents of Mr. and Mrs. Keeley. The PRINCESS'S is happy in the début of a new prima donna, Miss Georgiana Smithson, who has a high voice, of somewhat a shrill character, and exhibits powers of execution above the ordinary stamp. LITERATURE. THE NELSON DISPATCHES.* THE name of Nelson is, more than that of any other naval or military commander, beloved by all Britons. The wooden bulwarks of Old England have always claimed the strongest sympathies of the people in all that concerns them; and this predilection, so natural to an insulated and maritime country, is concentrated in that glorious name towards the greatest hero that ever adorned its annals. The maritime history of Great Britain, always dignified, and so often illustrious, was by him made still more exalted, till he left it unrivalled and unapproached by that of any other nation. The pride experienced then at the mention of the name of Nelson, and the love entertained for his memory, has a most just foundation, and deserves to be upheld with appropriate emphasis. It would be a sad feature in the national mind, if its sympathies flagged, or its affections began to waver towards the memory of its men of worth, or those who have rendered its arms illustrious. Patriotism cannot be a tame feeling; it is by its essence an ardent and glowing passion, full of all that is generous and inspiring, and the greatness of the country cannot be fairly contemplated from within the turbid atmosphere of domestic policy and intrigues, but must be viewed from that clear and commanding position, which enables man to see himself as a member of the great families of men, and his country as one of a great brotherhood, only distinet by incapability or insignificance; reprobated for ambitious, selfish, and aggrandising views; or exalted for using power as the instrument of justice, and making every step in national prosperity, an additional means towards goodness and virtue. *The Dispatches and Letters of Vice-admiral Lord Viscount Nelson, with Notes by Sir Nicholas Harris Nicolas, G.C.M.G. The Third Volume. The efforts of the immortal Nelson were eminently directed towards objects of this kind. After saving the Turks by his glorious engagement off the Nile, his whole energies were devoted towards protecting and afterwards restoring to the throne of their ancestors, a king and queen unjustly driven from their dominions by the rapacity of the then infidel French. It is most gratifying to read the terms of burning indignation, with which the admiral always speaks of those whom he never so much viewed as the enemies of England, as he did of all that was good and peaceful, and indeed of the whole world, and in reference to the formation of Neapolitan, Tuscan, and Genoese republics, he constantly expressed only one feeling, and which subsequent events showed to be the correct one, that these countries were first attacked because they were supposed to be least capable of resistance, and that their subjection was only preliminary to other crusades against, all monarchical governments. In a letter to Sir M. Eden, dated Naples, December 10, 1798, he says, almost prophetically, "In six months, when the Neapolitan Republic will be organised, armed, and with its numerous resources called forth, I will suffer to have my head cut off if the emperor is not only defeated in Italy, but that he totters on his throne at Vienna. * * * Down, down with the French! ought to be placed in the council-room of every country in the world, and may Almighty God give right thoughts to every sovereign." The third volume of the "Dispatches and Letters of Vice-admiral Lord Nelson," embraces the eventful period of from January 1798 to August 1799; and illustrates, perhaps, the most important as well as the most interesting events of Nelson's life-the first of his brilliant victories -- the ever-memorable battle of the Nile-and the only transactions in his professional career, to which blame has never been attached. The character of the first two volumes of Sir Harris Nicolas's admirable work, satisfied the public, that at length the most perfect work hitherto compiled, and the most complete literary monument which could be erected to the memory of our greatest naval hero, was really in progress. The assistance given from all quarters, public as well as private, at the very commencement of the publication, was most praiseworthy to all parties; and assisted in rendering the work so complete, as now to place those who withhold letters or documents from an otherwise satisfactory compilation, in an unenviable and selfish position towards the nation. The consequence has been, and will no doubt continue to be, the proffers of additional materials of great value. Thus the present volume contains documents from the important manuscripts contained in Lord Nelson's private "Letter Book" and "Order Book," and which have been generously placed at the editor's disposal by the Rt. Hon. J. W. Croker. Other important accessions to previously existing materials, are to be met with in the letters to the late Rt. Hon. Hugh Elliot, to Sir Edward Codrington, &c., &c.; and the journal of the late Miss Knight, who lived many years at Naples and Palermo when Lord Nelson was there, and came to England with him and Sir William and Lady Hamilton in 1800; has furnished several anecdotes of passing events at a peculiarly interesting period. Having hoisted his flag on board the Vanguard in March, 1798, Lord Nelson joined the Earl of St. Vincent's fleet, off Cadiz, whence he was sent in May, with a squadron of observation, up the Mediterranean. |