An opera called .Le'cotie has been produced at Drury Lane.
It is founded on the well-known little French piece called Monsieur Jaques, of which the slight substance is spun out to an enormous and wearisome length. Excepting two or three tolerable ballads it has no musical merit; and its performance is wretched, there not being a single singer deserving of the name in the company. It would not, indeed, have been worth mentioning at all, unless as showing how things are always done on our English musical stage when any attempt is made to have one. English operas are always written for the music-shops. Some publisher under- takes to print, not the piece, but the ballads in it, and hopes for remu- neration from their sale ; to secure which, the house is packed with clacqueurs, whose exertions are able to bring about a deceptive appear- ance of success and a few repetitions of the performance. On this occa- sion, though the audience were weary, and the applause palpably pro- ceeded from a few knots of people stationed in different 'Paces, the ma- nager was enabled next morning to stick up a placard with " Immense hit !!!" and to put in his advertisements, "In consequence of the en- thusiastic success, and rapturous and treble encores of the beautiful songs, the opera will be repeated this evening and tomorrow." The manager draws two or three houses ; the publisher advertises the songs "as sung With great applause by — in the new opera" ; and in a few weeks neither the opera nor the songs are any more heard of. Our musical stage, ever since we remember, has been degraded by this sort of hum- bug.
Previous page
