THE MUSIC OF " MASANIELLO" AT DRURY LANE.
An adaptation of Air BEE'S Opera, Masaniello, ou la Muette de Portici, was brought out at ,Drury Lane Theatre on Monday last. T. COOKE, whose extraordinary versatility of talent exceeds that of any musician we ever heard or read of, was the adapter. A French opera is, generally speaking, but a barren field to cultivate. The opera of the French has no, musical style or character: their compositions (with the exception of their vaudevilles, which are gay, slight, and pleasing) are a compound of the worst parts of the German and Dalian schools : like bad champagne—froth but no flavour. Masaniello has scarcely redeeming qualities sufficient to form an exception to this rule. In the first act there is not a melody which we can remember: abundance of noise, but nothing to make an impression on the memory; nothing like the gleams which break through the murky atmosphere in which the German writers love to revel, and which, once heard, are fixed in the remembrance for ever. BRAHAM was the hero,: he does not appear till the second act; and his first air, "Behold hOw brightly breaks the morning,": aroused Our tagging attention,.and gave new life and interest to ...the piece. --We never felt more forcibly the supreme excellence of his articulation. 'We should imagine that not only every note, but every word of his most subdued delivery, was distinctly heard in every Corner of house. In the last scene, while suffering under mental aberration from the effects of poison, his vocal performance was that of a consummate master : as a piece of dramatic singing, we remember very little equal to it. Miss BETTS'S was an insipid character, with nothing in the music to redeem it. Will this lady (wholas very respectable musical talent) allow us to suggest that her singing would be very much improved by greater attention to that department of her art in which BRAHAM so much excels? In truth, we could not catch a single word of any of her songs. Mademoiselle ALEXANDRINE, the dumb Fenella, is well practised in all the attitudes of pantomimic action. T. COOKE had not carved out for himself a veq: effective part, but he did what there was to be done respectably. The market-scene at Naples is cleverly managed. The stage is covered with venders of their different wares, who (in the manner of sonic of our catches) are offering them for sale. The chorus was very well drilled, and in spite of some startling transitions, gave the scene with good effect.
The opera was announced for performance every evening in the week.
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