tatrts.
Jessonda was performed at the Royal Italian Opera on Saturday last, for the first time. It had been promised since the beginning of the sea- son ; and Spohr himself came to London so early as the middle of June, chiefly for the purpose of superintending its production, but the obstacles and delays which intervened obliged him to take his departure re infects. In Costa, however, ho had a zealous and conscientious as well as an able substitute, who did everything that lay with him to prevent the perform- ance from suffering from the absence of the composer. The music bad evidently been carefully rehearsed ; the orchestra went superbly ; the choruses, though deficient in numerical strength, were good ; the spec- tacle did not lack richness; and the stage-business was well managed. In short, had it not been for two drawbacks-but they were and ones, the total nullity of the principal tenor and the dramatic feebleness of the hero- ine-the representation would have been altogether satisfactory. The music of Jessonda has been known to our amateurs these thirty years, but the English public are scarcely at all acquainted with the opera as a drama. In the season of 1840 it was performed by a German com- pany at the St. James's Theatre, on the whole admirably ; the character of the heroine being sustained by Madame Steckel Ileinefetter, then one of the stars of theGerman stage. It made a great impression ; but two or three performances, in a small theatre and to an audience consisting chiefly of people already musical, could not do much to spread a knowledge of the piece. Since that time its production on our Italian stage has often been talked about, and it has been repeatedly announced in the prospectuses of both the rival houses ; but it is only now that one of them has fulfilled its promise. In the mean time, however, few operas have contributed more largely to the entertainments of the concert-room. The noble overture is as familiar as those of the ZauberflOte or the Freichiitz ; and the prin- cipal airs and duets are heard every season, sung by our most favourite performers. But the detached pieces, thus heard, give a faint idea of their own beauties, far less of the beauties of the opera ; for Jessonda is eminently dramatic. It is the masterpiece of a man of deep thought as well as transcendent genius,-a man who, like Gluck, has studied profoundly the philosophy of his art. Like Gluck, too, Spohr not only acted upon fixed principles, but enunciated them with singular literary, ability. Gluck's famous preface to Alceste is not more remarkable than the critical essay on dramatic music in which Spohr developed his views in writing fes- sonde. We learn from it that this opera was not only an experiment in the use of recitative, previously unknown in German opera, but an exem- plification of what he regarded as essential to dramatic propriety and in- terest on the musical stage.* The dramatic construction of Jessonda, accordingly, is simplicity itself; but the subject is romantic and interesting. A young Hindoo widow, about to be sacrificed on the funeral pile of her husband, an aged Rajah, is saved by a Portuguese officer, who bad been the object of her early attachment ; a young Bramin, who loves her sister, being instrumental in her rescue. This is the whole story, but it furnishes affecting situations, and gives scope for passionate expression.
The music, though strongly marked with the peculiar characteristics of Spohr's style, may be described as bolding a mean position between
* Se?hr's " Address to the Composers of Germany " was more particularly referred to in the Spectator for June 20, 1840; which contained an account of the performance of Jessonda at the St. James's Theatre. the schools of Gluck and Mozart; less strictly and severely dramatic than the former, but much more so than the latter. Gluck, sacrificing every. thing to his sole consideration of making music a language, does not give his themes their complete melodious development; and his airs, accord. ingly, though always full of force and character, are often too curt and dry to satisfy the sense of musical beauty. Mozart's Italian nurture, on the other hand, led him to expand his ideas into beautiful pieces, often fitter for the concert-room than the stage. Spohr, indulging less than Mozart in the luxuries of Italian vocalization, is less able to please a popular audience ; to whom, likewise, his melodies are often obscured by the rich and complicated harmonies with which he covers them. But Spohr's melodies really are as full of beauty as of truth ; and it is always found that the oftener they are heard the more they delight the ear as well as satisfy the mind. This has been apparent even in the two recent performances of Jessonda. The second time, we felt the impression of heaviness, derived from Spohr's habitual elaboration, begin to disappear ; and this feeling seemed to be general, if we may judge of the increased warmth with.which the second performance, on Tuesday, was received. Madame Bosio, who performed the part of Jessonda, looked the cha- racter charmingly, and sang with exquisite beauty. But she was only a fine singer-of the poor Indian girl she did not give the faintest idea. Still worse was Lucchesi, who had the attractive and interesting part of Nadori, the young Bramin. He got through the music well enough, but was as cold and hard as a wooden block. En revenche, Castellan was delightful in the tender, pretty part of .dmacili and Belletti's performance of the Portuguese general has never, we feel certain, been surpassed on any stage. As a manly, energetic piece of acting, and as highly finished singing, it was equally admirable. Formes, in the Bramin chief priest, was quite at home ; no doubt, he has often performed the part in Ger- many. Even with the drawbacks we have noticed, the opera was a mag- nificent entertainment ; and we trust it will be reproduced to still better advantage next season.
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