the composer, succeeded in impressing the singers, and particularly the chorus, with the force of the sentiments they had to utter, and of making them enter into the spirit of the situations of the piece, many of which are full of real theatrical effect. How fortunate would it be if all theatres enjoyed these important advantages! at all events, more might certainly be done in this respect than has usually been attempted; too often the artists have been left to their own caprice, or to accidental means of comprehending the spirit of the poetry, and the force of the situations. By the way, we cannot let this opportunity pass of remarking, that the poem of Rossi is by far the best of its kind that has appeared in Italy for many years; the style is good, and in excellent keeping with the interesting nature of the action.

From what has been said, it will be seen, that in order to do justice to this opera, considerable depth of stage, and splendour of decoration is required, effective chorusses and performers, together with an energy of action corresponding to the striking situations of the piece; for on these, after all, much of the effect of the music will necessarily depend. The following were the singers who sustained the principal characters here: the soprano, Signora Canzi; the mezzo-soprano, Signora Carolina Bassi; contr'alto, (which was not effective,) Signor Villa; primo tenore, Signor Tacchmardi; basso, Signor

Bianchi.

The chorusses, a wonder for Italy, went off admirably, though, upon the whole, too feeble for the situations. The soprano parts are particularly defective in Italy generally, and yet we are led to believe that the children here sing almost before they can walk; whereas, with the exception of Naples and Milan, there scarcely can be found a chorus with soprano voices. With very few exceptions, the orchestra was perfect, and executed the music in its true spirit and time. No idea can be formed of the warmth with which the opera was received. Meyerbeer was called upon the stage no less than four times at the close of each act; the singers also enjoyed their full share of honour. After the performance, the composer was met at the door of the house by an immense concourse of people, who came prepared with bands of music, and lighted torches, and accompanied him to his residence with tumultuous acclamations. He was then obliged to show himself at the balcony, amidst the roar of a thousand evvivas, the clang of trumpets, and the deafening roar of drums:-no very judiciously-chosen compliment by the way, wherewith to greet this creator of sweet harmonies.

After partaking of some refreshment he was invited to repair to the Cassino, where he was accompanied in the same manner as before, and on reaching this place, he was installed in due form, and crowned with laurel, in the midst of a tumult of applause, and a riot of acclamation, of which those only who have witnessed it can form any adequate idea. This uproarious meeting did not disperse till four in the morning. Another honour, less riotous, but more grateful, was also shewn to the composer, in a public dinner given him by the principal people of the town; nor on this occasion was the poet Rossi without his share of honour; he was placed in a conspicuous situation near the composer, and greeted with the approbation which his merits deserve. From the more exalted loungers in the Cassino, to the ragged idlers on the quays, nothing is talked of, but Meyerbeer and the Crociato; favourite pieces of the music are

hummed in every direction, and the favourite romance is in every mouth. In a word, the magic of this modern music has effected more wonders on the shores of Etruria, Adria, and Illyria, than ever was done by the art in days of yore. P. V.

ON THE MUSICAL DRAMA.

[From a Paris Journal.]

SINGING is heard upon all the theatres of Paris, La Comédie Française excepted; nor is it satisfactorily proved, that Melpomene and Thalia are not sometimes Never was the saying of Mazarin more rigorously true: heard to utter there a kind of semi-lyric declamation. Voltaire expressed his astonishment, that the French could sit out three hours of music; were he still living, he would feel no hesitation in confessing, that without singing, they could not exist a single day. Music formed the delight of the greatest kings; David The same was also the taste of the people of antiquity. his sling; Alexander, after subduing the world, was decould no more separate himself from his harp than from sirous of learning to play on some instrument; Socrates music; Nero was more tenacious of the beauty of his could not discover that wisdom was incompatible with voice, than of all the prerogatives of absolute power. incontestible proof of this in the treaty of peace made by Our ancestors also were fond of the song; I find an In one of the articles it is stipulated, that the latter should Clovis with Theodoric, king of the Ostrogoths in Italy. be obligated to send into France an excellent player on the guitar. Dagobert, the same to whom

Le bon saint Eloi Disait; O mon roi, Votre majesté, &c.

fell violently in love with a nun whom he heard singing in the choir; Louis XII. composed little ariettes, and the grave Louis XIII. himself, noted down one, which is to be met with in the Musurgia of Kircher. Was it not Queen Elizabeth's wish to be lulled into her last long sleep by the sound of instruments? So many examples, the number of which I should find no difficulty in augmenting, justify the taste of the French for music, and are an excuse for their entertaining, in this respect, the opinion of the master of M. Jourdain, who assures us that without it a state canot possibly exist."

The Greeks were of the same opinion; they considered harmony as the image of good order in government. Full of this idea, they made a decree that nothing should be changed in their music. Woe to the rash man who should dare to propose any innovation! He was at once anathematized, and his name was added to the list of criminals of the state. Hence it is seen that the Greeks had their Société de Bonne Musique, the same as we have our confraternity De bonnes lettres. Our national character will not permit us to imitate the example of the Greeks on this point, for, rather than remain stationary in the art, we should have overturned twenty governments, in order to have enjoyed the liberty of changing

*For this composition, see p. 182 of the Music in the present Number.

our music twenty different times. Happily there has been no necessity of recurring to extremes like these: our ..musical revolutions have been successively operated without any other disorder, than some smart fisty-cuffs dealt out in quick time, and some wigs torn off in irregular cadenzas.

Honour! a hundred times honour to the dilettanti who, at a memorable period, risked their ears and noses in order to raise Gluck and Piccini to the worm-eaten thrones of Lulli and Rameau! It is they who prepared the way for the appearance of a Mehul, a Cherubini, a Grétry, a Daleyrac, a Nicolo, a Berton, a Boieldieu, who, by their learned harmonies and sprightly melodies, have proved, that in spite of all the eloquent sarcasms of a celebrated philosopher, the French could also have their music. Perhaps it would have been wise to stop there, and not to have forgotten the important truth that, le mieux est l'ennemi du bien; but, attainted with Garatism even to the third degree, our singers have been ambitious only of warbling, and our composers being constrained to write for birds, came at last to consider our lyric theatres as so many aviaries.

The principal movers of this great musical revolution have, doubtless, been the buffoons of Italy, who having had the address to bring themselves into fashion, have succeeded in making the public believe, that out of their theatre there is no salvation. Since that fatal moment our great composers have broken their lyres, and abandoned the French scene to all the wild furor of the point d'orgue, the crescendo, and the roulade. Our young musicians, seduced by the rage of the day, have sought for nothing but ultramontane inspirations; and our poets too, infected with the same spirit, have established their Parnassus at Berthelemot's, and set about rhyming prose more desperate than the following passage of an Italian Opera :—

"O ma charmante meûnière,

Tu m'a moulu le cerveau
Tu m'a reduis en farine,

Tu me pétris en gateau,

Tu me cuis à la sourdine

E m'avales d'un morceau *.”

These verses naturally lead me to speak of the operas at the Odeon; the success of which cannot possibly be called in question.

Rossini, Winter, and Weher divide the public favour, and in vain do Corneille and Moliere strive to make their voices heard; they are overwhelmed by the din of trombones and contra-basses. The question on this point is settled. The second Theatre Francaise is no more; it has fallen before the blast of the trumpets of the new Joshuas, and upon its ruins we already behold the rising walls of a temple to the God of Italico-Germanico harmony. The present might, perhaps, be the proper place to examine with what degree of right Melpomene and Thalia have been chased from the sanctuary assigned them as their property, by a royal ordinance; but this argument would carry me too far. I will return to my subject.

Oh my charming maid of the mill,
Thou hast ground my brain to meal,
Thou to finest flour has brought it,
And into a cake hast wrought it,
And when baked so nice and brown,
Swallow'd at a mouthful down.

In all the critiques which I have constantly launched against the pasticci of M. Castil-Blaze, I have never pretended to deny the advantages which our young composers may derive from the study of the scores of foreign composers; on the contrary, I am persuaded that no musical work can be appreciated, till it has been heard ; a simple reading will not suffice in music as in literature, and in spite of all the talent of our musical judges, they too often pronounce an opinion in the dark. In as far, therefore, as the Odeon affords us an opportunity of judging of the compositions of foreign masters, it is a useful institution, and serves at once to promote the interests of the art, and the enjoyment of the public; but from the moment its directors are determined no longer to keep within the limits prescribed by taste and good sense; when it is to be nothing but the same thing over and over again; to-day Rossini, to-morrow Winter, the next day Weber, there is an end of French music. Again, if we must have Weber, Winter, and Rossini, let us have them pure and genuine, not changed and garbled as fancy or caprice may dictate. Unhappily it is more easy to imitate the defects than the good qualities of men of genius; and in this respect, it is not difficult to anticipate the result. The danger is not imminent I will allow; the company of singers at the Odeon is not yet sufficiently strong, or so organized, as to afford any just cause for alarm; but the moment may arrive when our fears may not be groundless. Then will it come to pass, that attacked on both banks of the river, the French Muse will infallibly see her last asylum invaded, and will have no other resource left than the street musician, and his barrel organ.

But be it as it may, let not the young artist be disheartened; let him not lose sight of what one of our masters, and he no common man, has observed relative to this subject. The real sublime of every work," says Gretry, "is truth; upon that fashion can have no lasting influence. A sparkling pretender to excellence may eclipse for a moment the merit of men of ability; but it will not be long before the public will blush in silence at having been deceived, and fresh homage will be rendered to the native charms of truth."

The execution of M. Hummel is free, chaste, and in perfectly good taste; he does not strain to astonish. Many performers have more pretension, and, if we may use the term, more emphasis in their playing, but they seldom produce the effect he does. Mlle. Schiassetti and M. Bordogni were well received. An extempore performance by M. Hummel, although rather too long, shewed the surprising skill and facility of invention by which he is distinguished. Amateurs will long remember this agreeable musical evening.

The rooms of M. Erard, large as they are, cannot

contain the crowd of amateurs who wish to attend the concerts of this celebrated musician.

The extemporaneous performance at the end of the second concert which he gave last Friday, produced an astonishing effect upon some of the spectators. Madame Pasta surpassed herself in Gluck's cavatina in Orfeo, "Che faro senza Euridice ?"

The third concert given by M. Hummel was attended by great numbers. This distinguished composer again proved himself worthy of his reputation, and of the success of the two former concerts. The sonata for two performers, executed by Kalkbrenner and Hummel, appeared learned and original. An adagio in the old style, if it had lasted much longer would have fatigued the auditory. Interminable cadences, and shakes of a quarter of an hour long, may prove the skill of the performer, as a minuet well danced displays the ease and grace of Mlle. Noblet and M. Albert; but these ornaments of the old school, to be at all bearable, should be short. However, a very delightful rondo succeeded this musical minuet; and its charming light style was more apparent from the contrast. M. Kalkbrenner took the upper part, and M. Hummel the second. It was easy, to those amateurs who were a little experienced, to perceive and appreciate at once, the effect produced by the union of the brilliant and elegant manner of the former, with the free and easy style of the latter. The vocal part of this concert was composed of an air by M. Paër, sang by Madame Marconi; and a tezzetto, by the same master, sung by Madame Marconi, Mlle. Dorus, and M. Lavasseur; and another air by Paër, sung by Mlle. Dorus, who received some applause. A trio by Hummel, performed by Baillot, Norblin, and the author himself, was singular and learned, and on this account was approved by composers. M. Vimercati received the same applause for a very different sort of merit,—he executed a concerto on the mandoline. True connoisseurs are inclined to allow but little to the mere conquest of difficulties.

The composition of M. Vimercati was not in good taste. Why has he not dedicated to the harp, or even to the guitar, the immense time which he must have employed upon the mandoline, an ungrateful instrument, whose sharpness he will never soften, and whose dryness cannot be overcome. A theme from Mozart, Handel, and Weber, on which M. Hummel performed some variations, gave him an opportunity to introduce one of the most brilliant extempore pieces ever heard. We cannot enough admire this instantaneous creation, this facility of producing in a moment, music, as pure in style, and as brilliant, as if it had been polished in the study of the composer after long consideration.

ties of Prussia were present. His master on this instrument was the famous Lauska. He began the study of composition at a very early period under Bernhard. Anselm Weber, first Kapellmeister at Berlin, and afterwards under the distinguished Zelter. Being more advanced in age, he completed his musical education under the well-known Abbe Vogler, at the same time with C. M. von Weber, both being nearly of an age,-about 35. At Munich he composed his first opera, called Jephthah's Rash Vow, to German words. The reception which this obtained, encouraged him to cultivate his favourite art with increased zeal. He accordingly proceeded to Italy, where he adopted more of the Italian style, and produced several compositions, of which the most successful were his operas of Romilda e Costanza, Emma di Resborgo, and, last of all, his master-piece, Il Crociato in Egitto.

Meyerbeer being a man of very considerable fortune, does not compose from pecuniary motives, but altogether in the spirit of an amateur; the profits arising from his productions he has hitherto bestowed upon the most deserving of those who performed them, and in other acts of generosity.

THE YORK FESTIVAL.

THE Second Yorkshire Grand Musical Festival is fixed to take

place on the 13th of September, and three following days, in York Minster; there will also be Concerts on the first three evenings in the New Rooms,-the building of which was noticed in the Harmonicon for July, 1824,-which will be led by Messrs. Kiesewetter, Mori, and Loder, respectively. Mr. F. be conducted by Mr. Greatorex,-assisted by Mr. Camidge, Dr. Crainer leads the Morning Performances, and the whole will Camidge, Mr. White, and Mr. P. Knapton. The Cathedral' band will consist of upwards of 600 vocal and instrumental per

formers, and the Concert Orchestra of 140 to 150 instru

mentalists. The chorusses are to be delivered to the singers in June, and a rehearsal of them is to take place on Saturday the 10th September, which will ensure more correctness in the new pieces than has usually been attained at country meetings, at the same time that the pressure of numbers upon the roads will be somewhat more widely dispersed.

The first morning's performance will commence with the JUBILATE of Handel, composed for the peace of Utrecht, without any introductory symphony; thus producing the effect of all the voices and instruments at once upon the ear, the want of which is lamented by Dr. Burney in his Account of the Commemoration.

The 1021 Meeting of the three Choirs, takes place at Hereford, in the preceding week to that at York.

The Derby Meeting follows that of York in October.

SOME ACCOUNT OF M. MEYERBEER,

The Composer of Il Crociato in Egitto.

M. MEYERBEER is the son of one of the richest bankers of Berlin, named Beer*. At a very early age he evinced a remarkable talent for music, and at ten years old performed a concerto on the Piano-Forte, at a public concert given at Berlin, for the benefit of the charitable institutions of that place, on which occasion, their Majes

Meyer among the Jews-for of that community was this composer's family-is a prænomon; instead therefore of writing his name Meyer Beer, he has joined the two.

VOL. III.

MISCELLANEA.

IN those places where musical contests are carried on with violence and animosity; where there are more critics and theorists than composers and practitioners, it is not to be expected that the public taste can become very refined, or the fancy and enthusiasm of musicians be much encouraged or enlivened.

A RAGE for universality, or for gain, tempts many composers to quit the road which nature and art have destined for them, and to enter on another, where they are sure either to be bewildered, R

or to become so destitute of the necessary requisites for travelling through it, as to be obliged to rob and plunder every one they

meet.

THE Composer, who to genius unites soundness of judgment, will not lavish upon common and trivial occasions, what should be reserved for extraordinary purposes. He will leave to fops and pedants in the art, all that alarms, astonishes, and perplexes; he will let no other arts be discoverable in his compositions, than those of pleasing the ear, and of satisfying the understanding.

DR. BURNEY, after hearing the compositions of a German, in which, though great art and contrivance were perceptible, yet the modulation was natural, and the melody smooth and elegant, exclaimed: "As much art as you please. Sir, provided it be united with nature; and even in a marriage between art and nature, I should always wish the lady to wear the breeches."

THE Abbé Morelet, in his work Sur l'Expression Musicale, has the following just and beautiful remark. "A finished air of the pathetic kind is an assemblage of various accents, which have, at different times, escaped from souls endowed with sensibility; it resembles the painting of Zeuxis, which pourtrayed the Goddess of Beauty by an assemblage of the most exquisite traits of loveliness the painter could select. It is thus that the sculp; tor and the musician concentrate dispersed beauties, and succeed in inspiring us with that delight which nature could not of herself, unaided and unassisted, impart."

AN author, speaking of the famous quarrel between the partisans of the ancient and modern music, has the following remark. "If after having read all the authors upon music that came in my way, from Aristoxenes to M. Rameau, I were permitted to state the impression that has been left on my mind, I would do it in three words. The Ancients are the fathers of music; they left behind a numerous offspring, the greater part of whom did not know their own parents; and the other part, still more ungrateful, refused to know them."

THE Composer Vivaldi filled, at the same time, the functions of priest and of maestro di capella. A remarkable instance of absence of mind is related of him. As he was saying mass in a crowded church, the musician's mind wandered from the sacred

subject, and was busy amidst the creations of his fancy. Totally absorbed by the brilliant conceptions of the moment, which he was fearful of losing, what did the good priest do? He quitted the altar, to the no small amazement of the congregation, hurried to the sacristy, and scratched down the precious motivo upon the margin of a missal. He then returned quietly to the altar and finished the interrupted sacrifice. This abberation of fancy had, however, well nigh eost poor Vivaldi very dear. Some of the scandalized auditory made this pardonable irregularity of the musical priest, a subject of accusation to the Holy Office, but the Inquisition, with a lenity not always found at that tribunal, dismissed the complaint with indifference, for doubtless in the eyes of the successors of Torquemada, a madman and a musical virtuoso were one and the same thing.

MUSICAL paradoxes may be advanced and defended, with all the force of logic and the powers of persuasion; but at last it will, in all probability, be found, that common sense, habit, and prejudice will not leave the decision either to reasoning or eloquence, but insist upon having a vote upon the occasion!

THE grumblers, the laudatores temporis acti, are a very ancient family. Aristotle, Plato, and others, in the most flourishing period of music in Greece, are full of their lamentations for the corruption of the art. It is more than probable, that those philosophers, like certain modern amateurs, exaggerated the evils of which they complain. In music more than in any other

thing, men are apt to be influenced by the force of reminis cences, and are tempted to call that the decay of the art which is frequently nothing else than the decay of their faculties, and the effect of age, which steals on imperceptibly, and blunts the finer edge of sensibility.

which appeared under the fictitious name of J. J. Weidenero; the eighth division of the work has the whimsical title, Cantorse amant humores.

J. SCHULTZE has written a treatise De Usu Musicis, &c.,

INVENTIONS, says an Italian writer, make the tour of the world, and at the place which they reach the last, generally leave some memorial behind them. The only specimen I ever saw of the Tromba marina (the Trumscheit of Luscinio, as described by him in his Musurgia,) was at Tornia, upon the northern shores of the Gulf of Bothnia. It appeared to have been preserved with great care, and was in the possession of a merchant, but no one knew how to use it.

IT is reported here (Berlin), that M. v. Weber has just completed the first act of his new opera of Oberon, which he has been engaged to compose by the direction of one of the theatres of London. As a literary production, the poem he has to work upon, has been stated to be a very meritorious composition, full of dramatic situation and effect.

THERE has just appeared in Leipsic, Shakspeare's Lieder, mit Begleitung des Piano-forte in musick gesetzt, von Fr. von Boyneburgk, (Shakspeare's Songs set to music, with pianoforte accompaniments.) It is spoken of as a work possessing great merit, and abounding with original and effective me lodies.

ROSSINI's opera of Armida has just been published by Breitkoft and Härtel, of Leipsic, the whole handsomely printed in lithography.

BEETHOVEN is still active; he has just completed two new Quatuors, which are shortly expected to be given to the public.

SCHUBART, in his work entitled Esthetic der Tonkunst, Esthetic of Music), has given it as his opinion that the Jews Harp might be so far improved as to admit of Concertos being played upon it, and for this opinion he was not a little ridiculed. But strange as it may appear, the idea of this fanciful writer Heilbronn, has invented a new instrument, or rather improved has in a certain degree been realized. A. M. Eulenstein, from the little instrument already spoken of, which he calls the Mouth Harmonica, on which he has been performing various pieces of music to the astonishment and delight of numerous private circles. After much study, and by much ingenuity, he has succeeded in obtaining from this insignificant instrument, which in its vibrations usually produces consonants only, four entire octaves in the major scale, and hence he can give melodies, not only with ornamental passages, but even with entire varia tions. As the tone is formed by the mouth, this instrument unites the powers of the common harmonica with the modifi-. cations which the human breath is capable of imparting to it. According to M. Eulenstein, it cannot be played in the minor mode, because the vibrations form the major third, but it produces the minor sixth, which always proves an inconvenience to the performer in the major tones. This gentleman has studied thorough bass, in order to extend and perfect his powers on the instrument. He is a very modest, unassuming young man, and meets with much encouragement.

AN advertisement recently appeared in a German newspaper, for a gentleman's servant. Among other indispensable requisites, it was stated, that he was neither to sing nor whistle any part whatever of Der Freischutz !

MR. FERDINAND RIES is at present engaged in composing an opera, which has been written expressly for him by Mr. George Soane, author of Faustus and other dramatic works,

VIENNA. The only piece given here this season that can be entitled to the name of novelty, was Le Cantatrice Villane, an opera buffa by Fioravanti, which was admirably performed by Signor Lablache, and the Signoras Sonntag and Dardanelli. The ensemble was masterly, and the piece was received with considerable applause. The other performances have been La Molinara by Pasiello, six times; Nachtigall und Rabe by Weigl, once; Le Lazrione d'una Vedova by Generali, three times; Cordelia by Kruitzer, once; Alle fürchten sich, (They all Fear), by Isouard; Das Hausgesinde (The Domestic), by Fischer, twice; der Gebesserte Lorenz (The Lorenzo Improved), by Eulenstein; and Cenerentola, three times.-Among the concerts the most remarkable was that given by Professor Schunke and his two sons, who performed wonders on the horn, as well as on the piano. The elder, thirteen years of age, gave Hummel's grand Concerto in A minor, with a precision, taste, and feeling, which is not rarely surpassed. God save the King, with variations, performed on the horn by the father and the younger son, was a surprising performance, and called forth a burst of applause.

Our veteran Weigl had a very successful benefit, on which occasion his favourite opera of Die Schweitzer-familie was represented.

BERLIN. The greatest novelty that has excited the attention of the musical world here has been the revival of Sacchini's Edippe, that wonder of the last age. It was produced with considerable spirit, under the direction of the celebrated Spontini, who has already shewn great judgment in the manner in which he has revived some of the masterpieces of the old school. The great difficulty on these occasions is to know the true movement of the different parts of music, to which no positive indications have been left by the composers. In the present instance, so much attention was bestowed on this point, that all the old cognoscenti,-which, by the way, is saying a great deal, -appear to have been perfectly satisfied. Accustomed as we have been to the more perfect orchestra, formed since the days of Mozart, the music of the older school frequently appears meagre and unsatisfactory, and yet how is this evil to be remedied? A Mozart might venture to give additional accompaniments to the Messiah, but where are we to find the superior musician, the master-mind that would venture upon the same task with respect to the masterpiece of the last age? No wonder therefore that this opera could scarcely be said to have found a public, and that its run was not what the management had anticipated. We think that the principal reason of this may be, the too great formality and uniformity that prevails throughout the airs, duets, &c., a uniformity from which the taste of the time did not allow the composer to depart. Almost all his airs seem cast in the same mould, principal passage, collateral passage, and then entire reprise, like the first allegro and other determined forms of the sonata.

DRESDEN.-The Zelmira of Rossini was lately produced at the theatre here for the first time, and was received with moderate applause. This opera is another proof, among the many, of how much Rossini is capable, were a due direction given to his talents, and had he been solicitous rather to consult the real wants of art, than to be flattered into self delusion by the empty applauses of his frivolous countrymen. Driven by circumstances to hasty composition, he has rummaged without scruple in the scores of all the masters both ancient and modern,

and appropriated as much to his own use as he found convenient; and yet, in spite of all this, we must acknowledge that he possesses so ample a fund of his own, that he might with profit draw upon it if he would. The characters were well cast, and the piece excellently supported throughout.-At length Jessonda has been produced here. After the expectations that had been raised by the fame which this opera of the ingenious Spohr had obtained in Leipsic and Cassel, we were at length amply gratified, and are happy to bear testimony to the merits of this composer. The overture, the duet, chorus of soldiers, and air of the heroine, in the second act; the chorus of priests and air, in the third act, were the parts that pleased the most. It has been observed of this opera that it possessed the peculiar merit of having made no attempts at effect, but sought to attain its object by simple and natural melody, enforced by appropriate accompaniments.

The other operas given have been Seyfried's Der Waise und Der Mörder (the Orphan and the Murderer), twice; Der Freischütz, twice; Weigl's Nachtigall und Rabe (Nightingale and Raven), once; Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail, once; La Cantatrice Villane, once; Tancredi, three times; Ricciardo e Zoraide, three times; La Gazza Ladra, twice; La Giovantú d' Enrico V., by Morlacchi, four times; Margherita d'Anjou, by Meyerbeer, twice; and Rossini's Italiana in Algeri, twice.

WEIMAR.-The interests of music were never better consulted here than during the last season. It is with satisfaction we can state, that the utmost unanimity prevails between the members of the theatre and of the court chapel; and under such circumstances, even from performers of moderate talents, much may with justice be expected; how much more then from artists of the merit which this place has the good fortune to possess. The following list of the performances of the season will show that there has neither been any want of industrious exertion, nor of judgment in the selection of the pieces performed-Cimarosa's Matrimonio Secreto, twice; Libussa, Cenerentola, La Follie, Die Schwestern von Prag (The Sisters of Prague), Der Freischütz, six times; Bär and Bassa, twice; Der Wassertrager, (the Watercarrier), Das Neue Sonntagskind, seven times; La Molinara, Tancredi, twice; Die Zauberflöte, twice ; Jean de Paris, Count von Gleichen, twice; Das Opferfest, Die Saalnixe, the first time produced; Fanchon, Die Entführung aus dem Serail, twice; Euryanthe, three times; Ferdinand Cortez, twice; Le Nozze di Figaro, Richard Cœur de Lion, twice; La Clemenza di Tito, Den neuen Gutsherrn (The New Tenant), Camilla, twice; and Don Giovanni, once.

STUTGARD. A new romantic opera in three acts, entitled Der Bergkonig, (The Mountain King), the music by Kapellmeister Lindpaintner, was produced here, and was very favourably received. The critics commend the composition as containing many very charming melodies, worthy of the former fame of this composer, of whom we have before had occasion to speak with praise. The overture was full of new and striking effects, and was loudly encored, as well as several of the airs and a chorus. The composer was called for at the conclusion of the opera and received the warm congratulations of the public. It cannot be denied that in the composition of this piece, both the poet and the composer had an eye to the Freischütz, and appear rather to have sought a resemblance in many parts than to have avoided it. The decorations and the mode in which