Drury Lane, always in a state of chang e , has once
more assumed the aspect of an English operahouse. In this guise it opened on Easter Monday, with an English version of Verdi's Trovatore. The perform- ance, got up under the direction of Mr. Tully, an able and experienced musician, was better than we expected. The orchestra was large and really excellent, the chorus not amiss, and the spectacle very fair. But the opera was badly chosen : its pretensions are greater than its merits, and it is ill adapted to the English stage. The performers, moreover, are not strong enough for musical tragedy. Miss Lucy Escott has become something of a favourite ; she is rather a pleasant actress in a small way, and a pretty singer in a florid style. Mr. Augustus Braham is a "stick" of an actor, but he has a fine voice and can sing sweetly. Mr. Drayton has vigour, and he sings like a musician ; but his acting, when he wants it to be very fine; is apt to get ludicrous. Miss Fanny Huddart, how- ever, adds to her superb contralto voice real tragic power ; and the re- presentation of the Gipsy (Madame Viardot's part) would have done her honour on any stage. Were this company to confine themselves to operas of a comparatively light description, they might give very agreeable per- formances.
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