THE THEATRES.
WHEN Mr. MACREADY, in his address published some months sinoe, announced his intention "to revive the English Opera," every one felt that the pledge would be redeemed, not to the letter, but amply, libe-
rally, and in earnest ; not by a hasty scrambling together of some new or old materials, nor by an endeavour to naturalize foreign operas, good or bad, but by producing classical lyric dramas of native growth, with due care, competent singers, and ample preparation. Every one knew in what spirit he would act, though ignorant of the precise direction in which his first effort would be made. He has had the courage to fly at the noblest game ; and, while the unmusical crowd are content with the very sweepings and refuse of the modern Italian school as exhibited at other theatres, to revive an opera in every sense of the word classical.
It would seem, at the first glance, that such an attempt would be easy as well as obvious ; for in the strife between HANDEL and &MUNI, be the Scene of combat where it might, little doubt ought to exist as to the issue. But in selecting Aces and Galatea for representation on the stage, a series of difficulties would arise, of which perhaps the manager himself was scarcely aware. In order to understand these, it will be necessary to revert to the history of this celebrated masque ; which, in truth, has never yet been set down in print. When GAY brought out his Beggar's Opera, in 1727, the English opera had reached its lowest point of declination, and the race of Eng- lish singers was nearly extinct. Its unparalleled success had arrayed against HANDEL a formidable and -wholly unexpected competitor ; for his operas of ljicardo and Adroit° were performed to empty benches, while the theatre of Lincoln's Inn Fields was nightly crowded with applauding hearers. At this time HANDEL was an inmate in the house of the celebrated Lord BURLINGTON; at whose table he had almost daily intercourse with POPE, SWIFT, ARBUTHNOT, and GAY. Mr. Gay's new opera was the theme of frequent conversation, and HANDEL was not disinclined to seek an alliance with so popular a dramatic writer as the author of the Beggar's Opera. The structure of the legitimate English opera, however, did not accord with HANDEL'S views of operatic writing ; which, formed on Italian rules, he never deviated from, or ven- tured upon the varied employment of music on the stage which PrracEu. had introduced. These required the delivery of the entire dialogue in recitative, and the construction of the libretto on some event of classical mythology or history. To the first condition were opposed the taste of the English people and the incompetence of the existing race of English singers ; to the second no similar difficulty presented itself; and the result was GAY'S version of Aces and Galatea. Much of the music of this drama had been written by HANDEL some years before to Italian words; and GAY, who had evinced his uncommon (we may add still unequalled) skill in the adaptation of poetry to waging airs, was set to work upon the translation and revision of the work for the English stage. To the original, which exists only in manuscript, we have access ; and the alterations are not many. Polyphemus there appears in the first as well as the second act ; but the music, in its principal features, is the same. It was found, however, that the first act con- tained no incident—that there was nothing to act : Ads sang a love- song, Galatea another—ditto and ditto : while the chief incident of the second act was one which defied the powers and resources of scene- painters and machinists to represent. The result was a sort of com- promise, which will be best expressed by the advertisement that an- nounced the original representation of the piece, and which we copy from the Daily Journal of May 10th 1782— " This evening, at the Theatre in the Haymarket, will be performed Ads and Galatea, a Pastoral Drama by Mr. Handel; with all the choruses, scene., machines, and other decorations. 'There will be no action on the stage; bat the scenery will represent, in a picturesque manner antral prospect, with rocks, groves, fountains, and grottoes ; among which Will be disposed a chorus of nymphs."
From this it should seem that the principal performers were seated on the stage as in a concert-room, with the mere addition of scenes. The absurdity of such a kind of representation was soon apparent : Ads and Galatea was transferred to the concert-room; where its popularity con- tinued to the conclusion of the century which witnessed its birth. An attempt was made to reintroduce it to the stage some years since, at the Theatre in Tottenham Court Road ; but with little success ; and it may truly be said, that whatever of excellence it possesses as a musical drama has never been displayed to the public till last Saturday. The sketch which we have given of the origin of this celebrated com- position will explain some of the difficulties which the manager had to encounter, and which required no common skill, nerve, and perseverance, to surmount. But there was another difficulty. A giant, on the stage, can only be gigantic by comparison : WILSON, for example, as Acis, would have overtopped his rival: and, for this reason we presume, the Sicilian shepherd was represented by Miss P. HORTON. The monotony of HANDEL'S first act Was adroitly got rid of by condensing the two acts into one, and proceeding with the story uninterruptedly to its conclusion. Something is added by way of introduction ; but, musically speaking, this imparted nothing to the value or effect of the piece. If an opera ought to combine with somewhat of equality the powers of the poet, the painter, and the musician, then is Acts and Galatea, as now represented, one of the most complete exhibitions of its kind that ever was witnessed ; since it unites the talents of GAY, STANFIELD, and HANDEL. Every sense is charmed, every wish accomplished. There is no drawback, no alloy. The eye gazes with delight on a succession of pictures faithful as they are beautiful ; the ear is captivated with the sweetest melodies, or stimulated by the varied powers of harmony ; 'while the alternate grace, energy, or tenderness of the poet, finishes and completes the charm. Drury Lane exhibits the lyric drama in its highest form, invested with classic dignity and grace ; as Covent Gar- den, in the Anglo-Italian operas of BELLINI and MERCADANTE, displays its meanness, its poverty, its degradation. Let us hope that we express to MACREADY not merely our own poor thanks, but those of every lover of the divine art, for this intrepid and successful endeavour to restore it to its proper rank, and to assert its claim to the admiration of every cul- tivated mind.
We must dismiss the painter's share in this great work thus briefly ; for it merits a criticism which would interfere too much with our musical vocation to offer in this place.* We only echo the universal opinion in saying, that the scenes in Acis and Galatea alone will amply repay a visit to the theatre. The introductory or added sea-scene is the most perfect of scenic illusions. The waves curl and break—the tides flow and recede : and it was for the purpose of introducing this scene, we suspect, that its musical accompaniment of choral Nereids was interpolated. This is, otherwise, needless, and not in good keeping. 'F. COOKE'S music is of a totally different colour from that of HANDEL; and here alone was the perfect completeness of the performance violated. Had appropriate music for such a purpose been wanted, the works of HANDEL would have supplied it, if .they had been examined with evens a little diligence. But the only Handeltan addition (if addition it may be called) is a repetition of a portion of the overture with a choral ac- companitnent. The original drama begins with the chorus "0 the pleasures of the plains!" The stage is covered with nymphs and shep- herds, singers and dancers, intermingled with such consummate art as to seem the result of accident. For the first time we saw the measured mirth. of HANDEL assuming the character of graceful hilarity and unembarrassed ease. Even the close and artful interweaving of the parts in this beau- tiful chorus seemed free and unpremeditated. Nothing was omitted— not even the chirping of the birds, to add to the joyous character of the scene. Then came the well-known " Hush, ye pretty warbling choir," sung by Miss Rosati as Galatea. Alas I we have seldom heard it worse sung ; and we have heard it not unfrequently during the last forty years. This lady, educated in a more vulgar school, has not the slightest conception of the style of an author like HANDEL; and, in addition to her bad taste, she sang too sharp throughout. There was not the slightest sympathy between the composer and the singer. Miss P. HORTON, under very difficult circumstances, added a new claim to oar admiration. She looked the young Sicilian shepherd; she entered into her, part with a true perception of its capabilities ; she gave spirit and energy to every line ; and made the first song, in itself nothing, really interesting, by her earnest yet natural and unaffected manner. But the part of Ads, musically considered, suffered grievously from being allotted to a female voice. The relief afforded by the introduc- tion of the tenor part was lost ; the songs were all transposed ; and some charming effects were, as a necessary consequence, sacrificed. For instance, in the most beautiful song in the piece, "Love in her eyes sits playing," the voice and the oboe sustain a musical conversation ; which, owing to the change of key, was impossible, and the song thus lost half its charm. The same remark will apply to "Love sounds the alarm." If any thing could atone for such mutilations, it would be Miss Howrost's singing and acting. The only interruption to the continued recurrence of the female voice in the first act was the pretty song, "Shepherd, what art ,thou pursuing ? " (borrowed by HANDEL from a contemporary Italian composer) ; which was agreeably sung by Mr. ALLEN, as far as he confined himself to his author's text—his own additions might have been spared. After an interchange of amatory songs, the act (in the original piece) closes. This pause, as we have stated, Mr.. MACREADY has, most judiciously, avoided ; and the group of happy Bymphs and shepherds are awakened from their "dream " by the appearance of the giant. On a former occasion we said that the chorus of" Wretched lovers" was cue of the finest dramatic choruses in existence. We spoke then of a thing which existed only in imagination—we have now seen that vision realized. We except nothing—in no country, on no stage, have we ever seen such an effect produced by choral music in a theatre. We have traced the progress of this chorus in HANDEL'S mind from the first germ, which he derived from an old and very We-known German • The spectacle will form the subject of a separate article, on scenic illusion, next week; when the subject will be treated with reference to the principles that govern the art of stage-representation. writer, through his Chamber Duets, his "Triumph of Time and Truth," till it reached the magnitude and amplitude of this chorus. This is an interesting investigation for a musician : but the extraordinary fact is, that a man who had such discernment of the power of music, regarded as a dramatic agent, should so seldom have employed it. The choruses in HANDEL'S Operas disclose not the feeblest germ of such a dramatic composition as "Wretched lovers": they stand at the remotest possible distance from it, and are as commonplace as this is original,
The appearance of Polyphemus is, of necessity,,, ludicrous; but not
more so than the representation of any other imaginary being on the stage : Ariel, Oberon, Calibtio, a ghost, are all unrepresentable as well as a giant. In all these cases we are content to "piece out the imperfection with our thoughts," and we mast do so with P.olyphemua Paimaps sang his part well, of course : that is, he sang it with a cor- rect knowledge of the sort of singing which HANDEL'S music demands.
The catastrophe was a more difficult, thing for him to achieve— '
. . . . . partemeue e mute revetsam Mitt% et estremus quam vie perveoit ad ilium Angulus e sax°. totem Mmen obmit Acin." But it was managed with uncommon skill. The giant appears, half hid bra projecting mass, on the top of a mountain ; and when Acis, attracted by his exclamations of rage, rushes to its base in an attitude of defiance, the "massy ruin" upheaved by Polyphemus rolls over with a crash, and appears to realize Ovrn's description : Acis is juit then so completely masked by the group of shepherds, that the illusion is perfected, and the spectators involuntarily shudder at the supposed ca- tastrophe. These are the chief scenic and dramatic effects : what remains! is brought out with equal skill.; every thing that the head could desiga or the hand execute has been accomplished, and Acts and Galatea is represented with such a degree of finished accdracy and completeness,. as must satisfy the scholar, the artist, and the musician. The chorus is the most perfect part of the musical performance. Instead of a few au- tomatons, half-read in their parts, and bawling as if for a Wager, we have a corps of singers and actors sustaining an important portion of the opera with skill and precision ; their voices swelled or subdued as if,hy a common impulse, and actively engaged in carrying on the busiesS of the stage. The principal singers, PHILLIPS excepted, deformed their songs with the most vulgar and offensive terminations ; all of which we implore the manager, or his musical director, to forbid. Ia a representa- tion so truly classical; they are doubly disgusting.
The success of this opera—and never was success more complete—is most opportune. It serves to show what the English lyric drama can produce; and that when due preparation is given to an opera of sterling value the public are 'vet able to feel and acknowledge its excellence.
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