3 JULY 1858, Page 13

Muir.

Flotow's Martha, performed at Covent Garden on Thursday, is a light pleasant piece, very French in the style both of the drama and the music. The subject (as we mentioned last week,) is the same with that of Balfe's opera, The Maid of Honour, which, again, was taken from the well-known French comedy, Lady Henriette. A young lady of quality, by way of a frolic, goes disguised as a servant girl, to Richmond fair, where she is hired by a young farmer as his domestic. The master and the maid of course fall in love with each other ; and, after their " course of true love " has been sufficiently disturbed by crosses, the story ends with their union, it having been conve- niently discovered, to save the lady from a me'salliance, that the lover is of noble blood. There is another pair of lovers, of a more comic cast, the lady's confidante, who shares her mistress's adven- ture, and gets hired by another young farmer, with a similar result. The music may be characterized, in one word, as Auherish. Flotow seems to have made the popular French composer his model, and has copied his manner with considerable success; the music being sprightly, full of dancing measures, and brilliantly instrumented. The opera was admir-

ably got up and performed i rformed ; the one pair of lovers being personated by Bost() and Mario, the other by Didiee and Graziani. The English cos- tumes of the fifteenth century have been carefully studied in dressing the characters ; and the scenery is full of freshness and beauty.

The principal concert of the week was that of the Vocal Association, the last of the season, at St. James's Hall on Wednesday evening. It was under the direction of Mr. Benedict ; and Mendelssohn's "Hymn of Praise" and several miscellaneous pieces were exceedingly well per- formed ; the principal singers being Miss Louisa Pyne, Miss Stabbach, and Mr. Montem Smith. The chorus and instrumental band were four hundred strong, and their steadiness and accuracy gave proof of Mr. Benedict's skilful training.

The young and rising singer, Miss Kemble, had an interesting con- cert on Wednesday morning, by permission of Lord Ellesmere, in the magnificent picture-gallery of Bridgewater House. There was a large end fashionable audience. Miss Kemble sang several Italian, German, and English airs, with much sweetness, simplicity, and feeling. Various pieces were sung by Madame Viardot, Signor Mario, and Mr. Santley ; and instrumental solos were played by Joachim, Halle, and Piatti.

The last of the morning representations at Her Majesty's Theatre will take place on Monday next. Lucrezia Borgia and La Serve Padrona will both be given.

The Sacred Harmonic Society deserve great credit for the steadiness with which they pursue their project of the great Centenary Commemo- ration of the death of Handel, to take place next year. The immense " Handel Festival Choir," first assembled at the Crystal Palace twelve months ago, has again been brought together from all parts of the king- dom ' • and what was called a " grand choral demonstration," or in other words, a performance of choral music, took place at the Crystal Palace yesterday, by two thousand five hundred voices, under the direction of Mr. Costa. It might have been expected that on such an occasion the music would have been selected from the works of Handel ; but it was of a miscellaneous description, with very little of Handel, while it in- cluded theatrical choruses from operas of Rossini and Auber. Never- theless several of the pieces were very grand and imposing; particularly Handel's chorus from Jephtha, "When his loud voice," and Mendels- sohn's from _Walt, "He watching over Israel." But none of the per- formances rose to the sublimity of the Old Hundredth Psalm. There was a great concourse of visitors ; thirty thousand persons, it was esti- mated, being present.