LENTEN OPERATICS.
A PIECE of patchwork, under the title of Comas, was produced at Covent Garden on Wednesday. The playbills were headed by some- thing like an apology, or explanation of the circumstance ; which, to take things in their proper order' we notice first. It seems that the announced revival of Comm at Drury Lane was soon followed by a similar note of preparation from the fair manager of Covent Garden. King Arthur, too, was mentioned as another of MACREADY'S projected revivals; and lot King Arthur speedily appears in Madame VErrats's bills as the associate of Comas. This is what the explanation calls "a singular coincidence." Singular indeed! " Dryden's opera of King Arthur," it says, "had been brought under the consideration of the management by another person "—"a more operatic form of Comus having been suggested by Mr. T. Cooke." The first assertion we take leave to doubt, and our doubt is suggested by the very terms of the assertion, since no copy of " Dryden's opera of King Arthur" is known to exist. We also doubt the suggestion of what is called "a more operatic form of Comus by Mr. T. Cooke." At any rate, his suggestion was not and is not now adopted; for, as will appear, the new Covent Garden Comas is shorn of two-thirds of ARISE'S music. The playbill-address is therefore an ill-advised pro- duction. Managers of theatres may have a right to mangle, mu- tilate, and barbarize the works of Miurow and DRYDEN ad libitum; but when they do, they had better withhold their reasons. The Covent Garden management was ill-advised, too, to meddle with Comus. No one sets forth a modern comedy with so perfect a taste as Madame VzerRis ; but that her sympathies with Joan Mirrow are exceedingly slender, the version of Comus produced this week under her auspices makes too apparent.
comas was adapted to the stage by Dr. Deurow in 1734; in what spirit and with what view, may be gathered from his prologue, which opens with ajust and glowing eulogy on the great poet-
" Like some ethereal spirit he descends,
Mankind he visits and their steps befriends ; Through mazy error's dark perplexing wood
Points out the path of true and real good.
Attend the strains : and should some meaner phrase Hang on the style, and clog the noble lays, Excuse what we with trembling hand supply, To give his beauties to the public eye.
His the pure essence, ours the grosser mean Through which his spirit is in action seen."
The striking difference between Dr. Demotes Comus and that of Mlizrow is found in the musical portion of the masque. MILTON com- bines music only with words whichmenIcate some pure and noble senti- ment ; whereas Dr. DAvroze's added songs are almost exclusively bac- chanal and sensual. The original music was supplied by MILTON'S friend HENRY LAWES ; at whose request the masque was written, and by whom it was afterwards published. This music has been termed "antiquated "—so is Comas. Of its merits we are unable to speak, for every portion of it, a single song excepted, has perished. MILTON, we know, thought highly of it—and he was no mean judge. The original cast of Dwrow's Comas included QtriN, Mrs. CIBBER, (as Comus and the Lady,) Mrs. CrAvE, Mrs, ARNE, and BEARD. The dialogue was given to the most accomplished reeiters of their time—the music to the best singers. Both told upon the public : ARNE'S songs in Comus formed an tera in English musical history, for never were songs more popular ; and "the audience," says a contemporary authority of credit, "were nowhere more delighted than during the delivery of Milton's beautiful verse."
Still, if it be attempted to bring Comm on the stage, much yet remains to be accomplished in order to fit it for public exhibition. It must be essayed with a feeling of the deepest reverence for its immortal author, and a care amounting almost to dread lest the glorious edifice which his fancy raised up should suffer in the attempt. We can add nothing to MILTON that will not be feeble, poor, puny in the comparison. We can only impart to his language another form and mode of expression : and this may be done by a more frequent employment of music. In his own masque, represented in a castle at a remote corner of the king- dom, where the performers were the young members of a noble family and their music-master, the employment of music was of necessity very limited : but Comes offers ample scope for the composer, if one capable of an encounter with MILTON could be found. ARNE was not ; and he rightly estimated his own powers in confining himself to setting Dr. Deurow's bacchanalian songs. When the Comus of MILTON has found adequate musical expression—when its dialogue is intrusted to competent actors, and its scenery designed with correct and classical taste—Comus may realize the vision of our imagination. From such a day-dream we reluctantly descend to the exhibition of Wednesday night ; in which the text of MILTON was scattered to the winds. A few disjointed fragments of this unrivalled poem only re- mained—a line here and another there ; while every glowing thought and gorgeous image was either carefully erased, or if retained, retained to be murdered in delivery. The poor performers, evidently uttering words to which they attached no meaning, now and then tried to make one for themselves. This was DIEurow'sfate—ARRR's was little better : out of sixteen vocal pieces, five only were retained. PURCELL fared still worse : the fragments of King Arthur, which are to be purchased at the music-shops, were thrust into Comm, without the slightest regard to consistency, to situation, to story, to propriety. The assertion in the Times, that "Dr. Dalton ransacked Dryden's King Arthur" to piece out his version, is a mere dream : it contains no song of DRYDEN'S or Dusic of PURCELL'S. If any thing could be more barbarous that the treat--'-- ment of MILTON, it was that which PURCELL received. His beautiful chorus, "Hither this way," was a chaos from beginning to end: his "Frost scene," in which Mr. STREWON sang the Cold Genius, was perfectly hideous. We feared that his duet, "Two daughters of this aged stream," might stiffer a similax fate : fortunately this infliction was spared. It was reset ; and we had as pretty a namby-pamby suc- cession of thirds, written by we know not whom, as any two young ladies could desire who wished for an easy duet. The masque (of Comus, be it remembered) finished with "Come, if you dare "! I !
Further comment on such a travestie is needless. What class of hearers it will attract, we cannot guess. For the vulgar, it is even yet too refined ; for the refined, it is too vulgar. The great charm of Acis and Galatea is its completeness—its perfect keeping—its exquisite symmetry. The Comas of Covent Garden exhibits the opposite quali- ties—here "Chaos reigns supreme."
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