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Article THE DRAMA. Page 1 of 2 →
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The Drama.
THE DRAMA .
IN the affairs of the Drama , we regret to say , there is no improvement since our last . They cannot , in the phrase of the markets , be quoted even " a shade higher . " DRURY LANE ancl COVENT GARDEN , under the control of one lessee , have been closed , in order to get rid of some of what was deemed the " superfluous" company , ancl since re-opened for Madame MAHBRAN ancl Italian operas . We do not join in a cry against foreign musicians ,
or foreign genius , in whatever sphere it may be developed ; but as there is one theatre specially licensed for exotic operas and ballets , and as there are only two houses in all London legally permitted to play the English Drama , it is , we think , too much that British writers ancl British actors should be " push'cl from their stools , " by the toe of even a PERROT or TAGLIONI . However , the system is wearing out : the high prices at the two patent theatres render them unapproachable by the
mass of the public , the real play-goers . The ENGLISH OPERA-HOUSE has opened with tolerable success . Hitherto its strongest hit is The Shadow on the Wall , a drama of romantic interest , by Mr . SERLE . It is written with extreme purity . There has been a " paper war" between Mr . ARNOLD and the musical composers ; they charging the manager with broken faith towards the public in the
production of foreign operas , the licence being expressly granted to him for the encouragement of British music . Mr . ARNOLD has replied to these charges at some length ; and we gather from his letters this consolatory information—namely , that he has no objection to encourage English musicians if they will write for—nothing . Miss RO . IIKR has sustained her high reputation , but having had to contend with Gitrsi at one house and MALIBRAN at the otherit is not surprising thatgreat as
, , her powers really are , the treasury has not presented a cheerful fulness . The HAYMARKET season has commenced ; ancl Mr . C . KK . HBLE played several of his best characters to , we are happy to say , crowded houses ; and consequently , to the confusion of those shallow or interested reasoners who contend that there is no taste extant for the real Drama .
Mr . MORRIS promises many novelties ; but a glance at his play-bills must convince the town that he certainly has not " the best actors in the world , either for tragedy , comedy , history , pastoral , pastoral-comical , or historical-pastoral . " The SURREY , with its low prices , prospers : the manager is making a rapid fortune out of one shilling to the pit ancl sixpence to the gallery . For the character of the entertainments , we can say but little . AVith the exception of a few of Shakspeare ' s tragediesin which Mr . S .
, BENNETT has appeared with much applause , the pieces are either gross farce or sanguinary melo-drama . ELLISTON did better things . The A ^ ICTORI A has again fallen into the hands of its former proprietor , Mr . GLOSSOI- , of looking-glass notoriety . Mr . DENVIL , who , very far from a first-rate tragedian , has we think been roughly treated at the Patents , has appeared in Richard to tumultuous galleries . The company at this house contains some clever actorsworthy of original lays ;
, p but ive fear they are rather to he hoped for tb ? . yi expected . The QUEEN ' . — Here we have Mrs . NISHKTT , the nominal ruler of a score of pretty faces ; pieces which defy the fingers of criticism ; tlie " acting" of Mrs . HONEY , ancl the coarse improvisamcuti . of . Air . JOHN REEVE !
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Drama.
THE DRAMA .
IN the affairs of the Drama , we regret to say , there is no improvement since our last . They cannot , in the phrase of the markets , be quoted even " a shade higher . " DRURY LANE ancl COVENT GARDEN , under the control of one lessee , have been closed , in order to get rid of some of what was deemed the " superfluous" company , ancl since re-opened for Madame MAHBRAN ancl Italian operas . We do not join in a cry against foreign musicians ,
or foreign genius , in whatever sphere it may be developed ; but as there is one theatre specially licensed for exotic operas and ballets , and as there are only two houses in all London legally permitted to play the English Drama , it is , we think , too much that British writers ancl British actors should be " push'cl from their stools , " by the toe of even a PERROT or TAGLIONI . However , the system is wearing out : the high prices at the two patent theatres render them unapproachable by the
mass of the public , the real play-goers . The ENGLISH OPERA-HOUSE has opened with tolerable success . Hitherto its strongest hit is The Shadow on the Wall , a drama of romantic interest , by Mr . SERLE . It is written with extreme purity . There has been a " paper war" between Mr . ARNOLD and the musical composers ; they charging the manager with broken faith towards the public in the
production of foreign operas , the licence being expressly granted to him for the encouragement of British music . Mr . ARNOLD has replied to these charges at some length ; and we gather from his letters this consolatory information—namely , that he has no objection to encourage English musicians if they will write for—nothing . Miss RO . IIKR has sustained her high reputation , but having had to contend with Gitrsi at one house and MALIBRAN at the otherit is not surprising thatgreat as
, , her powers really are , the treasury has not presented a cheerful fulness . The HAYMARKET season has commenced ; ancl Mr . C . KK . HBLE played several of his best characters to , we are happy to say , crowded houses ; and consequently , to the confusion of those shallow or interested reasoners who contend that there is no taste extant for the real Drama .
Mr . MORRIS promises many novelties ; but a glance at his play-bills must convince the town that he certainly has not " the best actors in the world , either for tragedy , comedy , history , pastoral , pastoral-comical , or historical-pastoral . " The SURREY , with its low prices , prospers : the manager is making a rapid fortune out of one shilling to the pit ancl sixpence to the gallery . For the character of the entertainments , we can say but little . AVith the exception of a few of Shakspeare ' s tragediesin which Mr . S .
, BENNETT has appeared with much applause , the pieces are either gross farce or sanguinary melo-drama . ELLISTON did better things . The A ^ ICTORI A has again fallen into the hands of its former proprietor , Mr . GLOSSOI- , of looking-glass notoriety . Mr . DENVIL , who , very far from a first-rate tragedian , has we think been roughly treated at the Patents , has appeared in Richard to tumultuous galleries . The company at this house contains some clever actorsworthy of original lays ;
, p but ive fear they are rather to he hoped for tb ? . yi expected . The QUEEN ' . — Here we have Mrs . NISHKTT , the nominal ruler of a score of pretty faces ; pieces which defy the fingers of criticism ; tlie " acting" of Mrs . HONEY , ancl the coarse improvisamcuti . of . Air . JOHN REEVE !