t1je Opettator, &umber 18tb 1852
ENGLISH opera, after years and years of gradual decline, has now fallen to the condition of a puppet-show; the Marionettes, at the St. James's Theatre, are the only operatic company that we have, or are likely to have. They have been playing Guy Mannering, as well as could be expected. The soprano and tenor have good voices but an unformed style; and sad work is made of the concerted music, in which the singers and the band fall into much admired disorder. The piece is neatly got-up; the figures,are well dressed, and as long as they stand still the scenic illusion is well sustained; but their absurd attempts to walk and act set all gravity at defiance. The audience laugh incessantly—at the actors, not with them; the loudest laughter being always in the most interesting scenes. It is a mistaken ambition to apply this clever entertainment to any branch of the serious drama--. its proper sphere is farce and burlesque.
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