311tigir.
Hex MAJESTY'S, it appears, is to be opened this season after all. Mr. Mapleson, whose short but successful season of last year at the Lyceum is said to have brought him into favour with the noble otrner., announces April 26 as the opening night, and besides Titiens,
Vialetti, Graziani, Ciampi, &c., the Musical World speaks of
Mademoiselle Kellog, a young and talented American artiste, who may be expected to prove a formidable rival to Mademoiselle Patti, as one of the company. Signor Arditi and Mr. Benedict (says the same journal), are to be joint conductors, and the orchestra will be almost identical with that of the Philharmonic Society. Covent Garden Opera House will close to-night with a performance of Dixorah, and a new operetta, for the benefit of Miss Louisa Pyne, and will reopen for the Italian season on April S. Mr. Gye issues his prospectus on Monday next. A rumour, which has not met with a greater amount of contradiction than seems essential to the very existence of a rumour in musical matters, asserts that Miss Pyne and Mr. Harrison intend to migrate to Drury Lane, where a summer season of English opera will be inaugurated with the production of Mr. Wallace's Maid of Zurich, a work, it is said, composed previously. to the timber Witch. It would certainly be a subject for regret if our national opera were not represented in a season as stimulating for musical entertainments as a "comet year" for vintages.
The concerts of the week have been but two in number, besides the " Monday Popular," held as usual in St. James's Hall, Herr Joachim and Miss Arabella Goddard's being [twain the attraction. That of the Vocal Association took place iu St. James's Hall on Wednes- day, and on the same evening Mr. Henry Leslie's choir gave their third concert of the season in Hanover-square Rooms. Mr. Henry Leslie had wisely excluded from the programme any of those inju- dicious harmonizations of airs never meant to be harmonized, which detracted from the success of the first concert of the season. On Wednesday night, however, the fresh and powerful voices and the careful training of his choir were manifested in such works as Mo- zart's "Ave verum," Mendelssohn's 43rd Psalm, for an eight-part choir; Wesley's Motett, "Ia exitu Israel," and Mendelssohn's • Motett for female voices, " Veni Domine."
Such was the effect produced by the 43rd Psalm that its repetition was a matter of course, and not a few of the audience would willingly have heard it a third time. A motett by Mr. Leslie himself, "I will extol thee," for soprano and contralto soli and chorus, also met with a large share of applause, the concluding chorus being especially effective. Miss Arabella Goddard played a suite de pieces by Haudel, and the Spinn-lied and Friihlixos-lied from the Lieder ohne Wader, with her wonted skill, and the " padding" being judiciously selected from ancient and modern English glees, the concert may be said to have quite equalled, if not surpassed, its two predecessors in interest.
AMATEUR.
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