We do not remember a time when the commencement of
the Italian Opera season has drawn so near, the town remaining so completely in the dark as it now is with regard to the prospects of the season. Neither of the great houses has made any outward and visible sign of preparation, and nothing has transpired respecting the views and intentions of the rival managements beyond vague and unaccredited rumours. As to Her Majesty's Theatre, it is not yet known that Mr. Lumley has engaged a single per- former; and the momentous question, the reappearance of Jenny Lind, still remains in doubt. Everybody is asking it, and nobody can obtain any satisfactory answer. One thing is certain—that Mademoiselle Lind has repeatedly, and within these few weeks, declared her resolution to appear no more on the stage, either in London or anywhere else. With all her ex- traordinary dramatic genius, she does not love the stage; and the turn of her mind leads her to prefer the tranquillity of private life to the most in- toxicating incense of public applause. To the pecuniary inducements of her profession, rich as they are, the whole tenour of her conduct shows her to be singularly indifferent. So much was she in earnest in her intended retirement, that she had actually, according to report, given to some of her intimate friends ornaments and other articles of her stage wardrobe, as keepsakes and memorials of one dead to the theatrical world. Great efforts, we believe, have been made to induce her, for the present at least, to forego her resolution; but it does not appear to be at all certain that those efforts have been successful. And, no doubt, it is owing to this uncertainty that not a word has yet been heard of any arrangements for Her Majesty's Theatre, as all Mr. Lumley's plans must be contingent on the ultimate determination of Jenny Lind. We hope that it has been, or will be, fa- vourable; and that we shall once more taste the highest pleasure that the musical stage has ever afforded us. We hope too, in that event, that Mr. Lumley will be able to make provision for Mademoiselle Lind's ap- pearance in several of the characters which she has not yet performed in this country. For the narrowness of her round of parts hitherto it would be unfair to blame either herself or the manager. The great po- pularity of a piece or of a character necessarily leads to its repetition for a long time: as when Mr. and Mrs. Charles Kean, during the whole of last season, performed in nothing but The Wife's Secret, so Jenny Lind may continue to perform in nothing but Lucia, La Sonnambula, and the Figlia del Reggimento, and the audiences will be as crowded and enthusiastic as ever. But this is not enough for lovers of the art who are anxious to enjoy its most exalted and classical productions; nor, we apprehend, is it suffi- cient for a performer who, like Jenny Lind, has the spirit of an artist, and must sympathize with the feelings and wishes of the most critical and cul- tivated portion of her audience. With respect to the Covent Garden Opera we find the same darkness and uncertainty, the same absence of any information beyond bare rumour; and all that can be gathered even from rumour amounts to this, that the theatre is to open, some time in March, with an Italian version of Ma- sonic/1o, in which the dumb girl, Fenella, is to be personated by Cerito;
that there is to be no ballet this season, but only incidental divertissements introduced in the operas; and that Alboni (who, by the way, has appeared
with great éclat at the Paris Italian Opera) has been reengaged. But none of these things have been given on any authority that can be re- lied on.
In the mean time, Mademoiselle Lind continues her labours of benevo- lence and kindness. She has been this week at Norwich, engaged in giving a concert for the benefit of the charities of that city; and next Monday she is to sing at Exeter Hall for the benefit of Mr. Balfe, as an acknow- ledgment of his able and zealous professional services daring her pro- vincial tours since the close of the last Opera season.
Previous page
