THE NEW GERMAN OPERA. .
WE regret the bringing out of Macbeth, both on account of Mr. MASON; and of M. CHELARD; the composer. It has interrupted the triumphant and profitable current of success which has hi- therto carried forward the German Opera ; and cannot fail to have sadly disappointed the hopes of its able author. The announce- ment of an opera by a composer hardly known even-by name in England, excited surprise, when it was recollected how many works there were of the greatest masters to which our musical public looked forward with eager expectation. When he might have given us the Don Juan and Zaubeiyliite of Mozwar, the Euryanthe Of WEBER, the Faust, the Jessonda Of SPOHR, Mr. MASON unnertOok a severe responsibility, in respect of taste and judgment, in bringing forward an unknown work. Its transcendent merit would have been more than a justification ; but he hazarded a good deal in seeking the laurels due to superior spirit and dis- cernment; and he has failed to gain them. WE regret the bringing out of Macbeth, both on account of Mr. MASON; and of M. CHELARD; the composer. It has interrupted the triumphant and profitable current of success which has hi- therto carried forward the German Opera ; and cannot fail to have sadly disappointed the hopes of its able author. The announce- ment of an opera by a composer hardly known even-by name in England, excited surprise, when it was recollected how many works there were of the greatest masters to which our musical public looked forward with eager expectation. When he might have given us the Don Juan and Zaubeiyliite of Mozwar, the Euryanthe Of WEBER, the Faust, the Jessonda Of SPOHR, Mr. MASON unnertOok a severe responsibility, in respect of taste and judgment, in bringing forward an unknown work. Its transcendent merit would have been more than a justification ; but he hazarded a good deal in seeking the laurels due to superior spirit and dis- cernment; and he has failed to gain them. The opera of Macbeth, though brought out in a German dress, does not belong, either dramatically or musically speaking, to the German school. The drama was written in . French, by ROUGET DE LILLE, the author of the famous Marseilloise Hymn ; and the music was composed by M. CHELARD (also a Frenchman) to the French words. German words were afterwards adapted to the music ; and the marks of this species of adaptation are everywhere perceptible. Macbeth is a bad subject for a musical drama. It is too uni- formly gloomy ; and the attempt to relieve its sombre monotony by some love-scenes, is quite unsuccessful. Then, SHAKSPEARE is distorted in a way there is no bearing in this country. To sim- plify or condense the story, might have done well enough ; but, with us, SHAKSPE ARE'S creations are like historical personages, and the great events of their lives are now out of the pale of fiction. Macbeth, in whatever form his story is told, must always be the tyrant of Scotland, as well as the murderer of Duncan ; and his wife must be the partner of his throne as well as of his guilt. The Italian Othello, bad as it is, has been tolerated in London, because the great features of the original, with its catas- trophe, have been preserved. When we see Lady Macbeth betray the murder, by a fit of sleepwalking an hour or two after it has been committed, and then stab herself in despair,—and when we find that Macbeth immediately shares her fate, we would exclaim, incredulus adi," even had these perversions of the truth been skilfully managed. But when we find the three Witches and a whole troop of Infernal Fiends make their appearance to carry off the hero, ii /a Don. Juan, to the infernal regions under the stage, while the ghost of Duncan is borne aloft on a pasteboard and party-coloured cloud, the whole affair becomes a childish farce. There are many other absurdities : such as Macbeth's seeing the air-drawn dagger—the coinage of his o'er-labouid brain, the fan- tastic result of lent-, brooding over dreadful thoughts—the mornent the 'Witches first ail him as "king hereafter," and the monstrous puerility of the prophecy being fulfilled by his sitting down on the throne, merely that it may serve him as a vehicle in his journey to the other world : but all minor follies are eclipsed by the splen- did absurdity of the catastrophe. To render such nonsense impressive, was beyond the power of any music, or any performance. Neither the music of BEETHOVEN, nor the acting of JOHN KEMBLE (supposing them combined), could have done it. M. CHELARD'S music exhibited so much talent, that we arc convinced he only wants a good subject to write very effectively. The bacchanalian chorus at the beginning of the second act was admirable, and admirably sung. Part of the music in the scene where Macbeth meets the Witches, was ex- cellent—particularly a trio sung by them ; but they were far from doing justice to it. The scena sung by Madame DE MERIC (who played the part of Moine, a character stuck in as a contrast to Lady Macbeth), contained pleasing and brilliant passages. There were many other detached beauties ; and the management of the orchestra was masterly throughout. The prevailing fault of the whole, however, was the want of melody : from first to last, we did not meet with one of those strains which, in the music of MOZART and BEETHOVEN, go straight to the heart, and remain for ever in the memory. But, really, the subject was so far from being calculated to inspire any such strains, that their absence is by no means surprising.
There were traits of great genius in Madame SCHROEDER- DEVRIENT'S Lady Macbeth,—particularly in the sleepwalking scene. Her sudden waking, amidst the execrations of the assem- bled household, to a sense of her desperate situation, was worthy of this admirable actress. But Fidelio taught us to think that her own nature is more congenial with the tender than the terrible. Our impression then was, that if PASTA was the Queen of Terrors, SCHROEDER was the Queen of Tears—and this impression remains unimpaired.
We trust that the long-announced Don Juan and Euryanthe will now make their appearance.
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