Drury Lane opened for the season on Saturday, under unpropitious
circumstances for the new management : the Dude Light, that was so prominent a feature in the bills, did not shrine forth, the audience was scant, an apology was made for the hoarseness of the principal singer, and to crown the disasters, the opera of the Fairy Lake was a total failure. The public were indulgent, and greeted the new massager most heartily when he came on in the farce; but good-will won't fill the treasury, and attractive performances alone -will fill the house. Vocalists will take cold within the theatre as well as cold without, and sanguine projectors will make light promises that they cannot perform: such misadventures the most experienced manager cannot avoid ; but these were unimportant compared with the grand mistake that Mr. IIA3DIOND made in supposing that entertainments which were popular at the Strand Theatre would be successful at Drury Lane. He has dis- covered his error, and is doing all in his power to repair it : we will therefore say no more on this head. The new decorations have not materially changed the aspect of the house, the principal alterations being confined to the proscenium. The new drop-curtain is more showy and elaborate than elegant: a drapery parted in the middle and looped up at the sides discloses the bust of SHAESPERE in a blaze of light ; above and around hang portraits of the old dramatists, most of the heads being invisible ; and a stiff effigy of the Queen frowns above all. The new motto, "One touch of nature snakes the whole world kin," need be borne in mind by the actors, since the audience have it always before them. The act-drop is an odd com- pound of Greek temple and feudal castle, where the eye seeks a resting- place in vain amid a scattered heap of forms marshalled in not very in- telligible perspective. • Of Mr. ALEXANDER LEE'S adaptation of AunEn's opera, and of its performance by Mrs. WAYLETT, Messrs. COLLINS Mid LEFFLER, the less said the better : as for the libretto, it is fairly entitled to the distinc- tion of being the worst ever produced : in short, the whole performance was as like a burlesque as so very dull a caricature could be. The beautiful scenery, a little bit of pageantry, and a medley of dances, be- gulled the tediousness of the entertainment ; and these features may make it tolerable as an afterpiece, to which position it is now relegated.
This week the strength of the company has been tried in comedy; and the result is unsatisfactory. Of Wild Oats we judge only from the cast, our unfavourable surmise being confirmed by the reports of the daily papers ; but the performance of SHAKSPERE'S Much Ado About Nothing and Henry the Fourth we witnessed ourselves. Notwithstanding a new Ilenediek was announced, the house was not half-filled on Wed- nesday- night ; nor is the fiusse of' Mr. MARSTON likely to draw an audi- ence, though lie is a valuable acquisition in the present state of the company. The debutant is a passable actor ; but his voice is husky, he has a sing-song delivery, his Thee is not very expressive, and his action is redundant : his Benedick is only a careful copy from CHARLES KEMBLE, wanting, of course, the spirit and vivacity of the original, Mrs. STIRLING is a lively but brusque Beatrice; she has good animal spirits, but her acting wants finish, depth, and refinement. The Hero of Miss MonnAuxr and Claudio of' Mr. J. LEE are not tolerable. We never saw this delightful comedy go off so flatly : even the ludicrous scenes with Logherry and Verges foiled of eliciting a hearty peal of laughter, for the quaint humour of COMPTON'S Verges was marred by the dulness of poor old DOWTON'S Degberq. Hem?, the Fourth was to introduce Mr. HACKETT in Falstaff He is mirthful and enjoying, but has too much mobility, and is only a section
of the " tun of man : " he wants the ponderous swag, the rolling gait, the rich, full, unctuous voice, and the deep heaving chuckle of the fat knight. Mr. HACKETT gives an intelligent reading of the character, and makes it amusing ; but his tones are too shrill and his laughter too
thin : he does not pant for breath, but gives mere whiffs. ELTONS Hotspur was clever and spirited ; but his choler is too loud, and his fiery haste weak and inconsequential. Mr. MARSTON -wants dignity for the Pritice Wales: his merriment was well enough, but his sepul- chral tones m the serious passages were more suited to the Ghost in Hamlet. Till the closing of the Haymarket season in January release Mr. MACREADY, there is no chance for tragedy at Drury, and then but for a short time; and however desirous Mr. HAMMOND may be to reinforce i his company, talent s not to be got : the market was forestalled when he entered on his speculation. He should be now on the look-out for next season. Meanwhile, one course is open to success, and one atene—the production of new plays, Novelty, novelty, novelty, is the first, second, and third requisite. Two new vocalists are an- nounced—Miss DELCY, who is to appear as Cinderella, and Mr. VEnxox in Der Freischatz but where are the other singers ? Miss BETTS and Mr. FRAZER will scarcely satisfy in operas such as these. A new domestic drama is also underlined.
Previous page
