THE GERMAN AND THE ITALIAN OPERA.
Osa Thursday, Signor WINTER, one of the performers of the Italian company; took for his benefit the German opera of Fidclio, in which he did-not• sing a note. Had he not, he might have asked, with the unhappy Frenchman, on settling his accounts with the thea- trical treasurer on a similar occasion, "But where the Devil is my lthnhfice .?" The German opera, after having been introduced into the King's Theatre on nights when the theatre would otherwise have ,jmen closed, has now invaded the nights so long sacred to subscribers and sing-song; and who knows where its encroach- ments may end. ? If the Italians do not, like all the world, be- come Reformers, the Germans, it seems likely, will soon push them from their stools: We have been accustomed to comment severely on the ma- nagement. of this theatre, long before it was assumed by Mr. MONK MASON. Its wretched conditiMi for years past is far from being attributable altooether to the managers; and although, in so far as regards the Italian performances, it has seldom been worse than during the present season, yet Mr. MASON seems chargeable with less blame than many of his predecessors. In truth, the management of the King's Theatre; ever since it began, has consisted 'of an imperium in imperio of the worst kind; the real power being vested in a set of idle, frivolous, sensual nobility and gentry, whose movements were guided solely by flishion, whim, and selfishness. Their desire of patronizing some syren who had become the rage in their exclusive coteries, has made her be thrust upon the unfortunate manager, who, in his turn, has been com- pelled to thrust her upon the public, in defiance of taste and com- mon sense. In a theatre so conducted, the public, of course, has never taken an interest; and the lessee has depended solely on the patronage of his titled and fashionable subscribers,—a patron- age as fickle as the wind. Hence, manager after manager has been ruined, from HANDEL downwards,—who, having been made a bankrupt and a beggar by the patronage of the great, would have so died, had it not been for his divine Oratorios, which were supported wholly by the pUblic. Against such a system, no manager could contend, but by a most disgraceful parsimony. To make up for the enormous sums lavished on the favourites of his patrons, he was compelled to retrench on the performers in general, on the chorus, on the orchestra, and on the decorations, till the theatre was rendered disgusting to everybody but the afore- said • patrons, who kept their boxes, because they had what they wanted, and cared for nothing more. 'Mr. MASON, on entering upon his management, seems to have been little aware of the difficulties that awaited him. His character, as a gentleman of a cultivated mind, and of high musical attainments, was well known ; and his preliminary an- nouncement of his designs indicated a zealous and liberal spirit, which gave great pleasure to all but those who knew the impossi- bility of his realizing the chateaux en E.spagne which he was bUilding. The result has justified their apprehensions. Mr. MASON, we believe; is not gifted with the fawning suppleness re- quisite to gain the favour of the great ; while he remains (as every manager must be, while this theatre continues on its present footing) subject to their interference and control, from which he has been unable to emancipate himself by making his entertain- ments worthy of the favour of the public. His difficulties are increased by the total decay, since Rossi xi has ceased to write, of the Italian school of composition, and the impossibility of obtaining singers who can perform any thing but the threadbare operas of that composer, and the paltry trash of his. imitators. • -To these, which are the true causes of Mr. Masoaf's failure in the management of the Italian theatre, may be added another, which will serve, at the same time, to account for the signal suc- cess of his German opera: the German musical drama is more mined than the Italian to the taste and intelligence of the modern public, in every country, save Italy itself, where music is culti- vated. The MUsid of the Italian opera, notwithstanding its great beauty, never was at any time essentially dramatic. With the Italians, music always has been every thing. To music they have sacrificed consistency of character, rapidity of incident, and dra- matic effect. The philosophical mind of GLUCK exemplified to his German countrymen the true principles of composition for the stage .• though he carried them, perhaps, too far; and; in studying to address his music to the intellect, he often neglected to address it to the ear. His countrymen, however, in profiting by his les- sons, have improved on them; and the chef dceuvres of MOZART, WEBER, SPOHR, and BEETHOVEN, are the rich harvest sown by Genets.
In Italy, CIMAROSA, too, was a reformer. But lie fell upon evil days. In graver matters, his freedom of thought and expression (for his life was unstained by crime) brought him to a Neapolitan dungeon and an early.grave. In music, his mantle fell on a man worthy to wear it. But he, with the most thorough knowledge of dramatic propriety, has trampled upon it more recklessly than his predecessors. Since the musical decease of Rossi NI, we have been left to the P AC INIS, MERCADANTES, and other butterflies of the hour.
In this intellectual age, it has been discovered by the " most thinking people," that when they go to an opera, as well as any other kind of play, they ought to be amused, interested, and af- fected. They find this done by the German, and not by the Italian operas; and therefore the German operas universally receive the preference. Even on the Italian stage, the operas that have most strongly impressed the English public have been German operas in an Italian dress,—such as Don Juan, under the guise of Don Giovanni. We. now find we can have German operas, in their native language and by their native performers, and in such a way as equally to gratify our reason, our taste, and our feelings. Such a discovery the English public will not, we think, allow to pass unimproved.
We should be sorry, certainly, to lose the beautiful productions of the Italian stage. But if Italian operas are to be performed with any prospect of success, a complete change of system must be adopted. The trash of the present day must be banished, as well as the singers who can or will sing nothing else. The works of. CIMAROSA, and some others of the truly great Italian masters, as well as those Germans who have written for the Italian stage, must be reverted to; and. the manager must address himself en- tirely to the gratification of the intelligent part of the public, without caring whether or not his boxes are occupied by a set of aristocratic subscribers. Whether Mr. MASON has it in his power to do this, we know not. But the gratitude we owe him for his admirable conduct in regard to the German Opera, makes us sins cerely hope he has.
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