8 APRIL 1843, Page 13

THE THEATRES.

AN opera by Pamir, entitled Sappho, was produced in an English dress at Drury Lane Theatre on Saturday ; chiefly, we presume, for the purpose of introducing Miss CLARA NOVELL° to the English stage. Paean was one of the earliest copyists of Rosana ; and if the dra- matic fame of the master has waned, that of the follower had become extinct. Twenty years since, a few of his songs had acquired noto- riety, from their being frequently sung by the most popular performer of the day ; but Psalm has long ceased to be connected with the Ita- lian opera stage in this country. It appears, however, that he is not defunct, and that Sappho is a comparatively recent production. Esti- mated by the present standard of dramatic composition in Italy, it will take an equal rank. There is more invention, and there is also more of the skill of an experienced workman, than in the operas of Don- ZETTI: but Sappho can only be regarded as an average specimen of an inferior race of operas.

The story on which this drama is founded may be given in the " arga- mentum" to the well-known letter " Sappho Phaoni" of °vim-

" Sappho was a native of hfltilene, a singer and a courtesan. .eElian says that Phaon was the most beautiful of men, with love of whom all the Lesbian women were inflamed, but especially Sappho.

TJror, ut indomitis iguem exereeutibus Earls, Fertilis accensis messibus ardet ager.1

When Phaon departed for Sicily, Sappho, incited by her passion and the pros- pect of Phaon's desertion, resolved to cast herself into the sea from the Lem- tian promontory."

To this tale the Italian poet has made sundry additions, and contrived to render the progress of the story ridiculous and unintelligible. There are individual situations which afford ample scope for the musician's and the singer's powers ; but for the personages of the drama no sympathy can be felt, and the last act is tediously prolonged.

The translation, which is understood to have been made bj Mr. SERLE, and which is by far the most successful attempt of its kind, is preceded by a very modest and sensible advertisement, in which those difficulties to which we have on former occasions adverted are thus ac- curately stated- " The translator of an Italian libretto must accommodate to the same number of notes, in the same rhythm, and with the same arbitrary divisions of musical phrase, the same number of syllables, in a language whose idiom and accent are almost opposite." " He must take care, in a language full of con- sonants, to give vowel sounds wherever a note must be at all insisted upon, or wherever rapid articulation is necessary—that is to say, almost through the opera. He must, for the sake of musical expression, put certain words in cer- tain places, in despite of idiom, and yet must endeavour to avoid inversion. ' Enough ! ' says the Prince in Rasselas; you have shown me that no human being can be a poet.' The reader will, perhaps, paraphrase his sentence." These opinions are the echo of our own : complete success in such an undertaking is impossible, but comparative success Mr. SERLE has attained. His diction is that of an educated and accomplished man, and his versification more free and fluent than, under such embarrass- ments and fetters, could be expected.

As an opera suited to the voices of Miss NovELLo and Mrs. SHAW, Sappho was well chosen ; but only in this respect. When a performer claims the highest station in her art, she asserts that claim unwisely by associating it, in the first instance, with a confessedly inferior produc- tion, such as Sappho. It failed at Paris, although Gam', ALBERTAZZI, Menlo, and TAMBURINI were in the cast ; and even the accustomed eulogists of the present race of Italian writers are constrained to con- fess that " the occasional gleams of merit scarcely sufficed to dispel the ennui of wearisome phrases with which his opera was crowded." itself.

Miss enough of the opera tself.

Miss Novaixo, it is scarcely necessary for unto repeat, has a voice of considerable compass, excellent quality, and unusual power. Her chief faults as a concert-singer were habitual coldness and indistinct articulation : her practice as a stage-singer has imparted energy and passion to her performance, and her enunciation is more clear and dis- tinct. In other respects no important change is discernible. In fact, to suppose that any marvellous transformation can be effected in the position or character of a singer whose style and habits are already formed, is to suppose what has never happened, and probably never will:

" Ctelum, non animum mutant, qui trans mare currant : "

and it is the mind which, more than the mere organ, stamps and deter- mines the character of a singer. Mrs. &Law maintained her position as the most finished of English female singers. Her admirable and perfect delivery, the skilful man- agement of her fine voice, and the exquisite purity of her style, aided by her dignified'and lady-like demeanour, combine to accord her this station. The most effective piece in the opera was a duet in the second act, sang by her and Miss NOVELL°. The other English singers were out of their element, and generally Mat ease. Pner...unis's is a very poor, heavy part ; and if TAMBURTNI could, not invest it with suffieient interest to render it attractive, it was not very likely to receive animation from an English singer. The house was crowded, and the sympathies of the audience were with the performers, and with the piece ; but the applause abated as it proceeded, and much of it must be ascribed to the hearty welcome with which an English audience greets the return of a former favourite, and to the golden opinions which another performer had previously won. Not a little of the enthusiasm we witnessed is also to be imputed to the manner:in which the piece is got up. Here the evidences of Mac- RRADY'S classical taste were conspicuous. Not only is the scenery ad- mirable, but the entire Beene is perfect. Every thing portrays Greece in her pomp and glory. Every chorus-singer is an actor : instead of masses of inert matter, ranged in platoons on each side the stage, the groups are instinct with life and animation ; and their singing seems the natural and involuntary exclamation of a strongly-excited crowd. This tells with immense power upon an audience; who catch animation from the scene before them, and break into sympathetic noise. The musical arrangements reflect the highest credit on Mr. T. COOKE: to whom we have only to recommend a judicious employment of the prank g-knife.