THEATRICAL REVIEW. 617 



The plot, if plot it may be'called, is soon told. The Turks, under Al 

 Caumaurje, are besieging Corinth. A Venetian renegade, who has 

 joined their ranks, and by prodigies of valour acquired considerable 

 influence in their councils, is an old and favoured lover of the daughter 

 of the Venetian governor of the Greek city. In the course of the siege 

 she falls into the hands of Alp, and is restored by him to her father, 

 a sense of duty having overcome her affection for him, and induced 

 her to threaten her own life if he persists in detaining her. The 

 conflict between filial love and passion breaks her heart, and her spirit 

 visits the musing renegade amid the ruins of the half-destroyed town. 

 He refuses salvation at the expense of foregoing his revenge, and is 

 shot in the assault. 



Such is a brief outline of the framework of the opera. The music 

 is for the most part taken from Rossini's " Maometto Secondo," or 

 " Assedio di Corinto," and contains many passages of great beauty, 

 though it tastes somewhat too strong of the double drums for our ap- 

 petite. The finale to the second act is a most spirited and original 

 chorus, and was encored, as it used to be at the King's Theatre, when 

 first produced, two seasons since. 



We shall not make any individual comparisons, for our corps chan- 

 tant is so infinitely inferior to that of the Haymarket, that it^would be 

 invidious to draw parallels. We are happy to be able to speak in 

 commendation of the different performers, though our praise will not 

 be altogether unqualified. And first for Miss Shirreff " car les dames 

 avant tout," as our polite neighbours say. This lady has been of late 

 making rapid progress; we do not know, but we conjecture, that she 

 has quitted the tuition of Tom Welsh, and either trusts to her own 

 judgment or has got into hands better acquainted with the modern 

 style. Her present fashion is very pure and chaste, but not so much 

 of the old school : more spirit and " abandon " less of pedantry. 

 She has had, however, an arduous task to fulfil, treading in the foot- 

 steps of such an artist as Malibran, and occupying that strain which 

 would have been graced by Madame de Beriot, had she been spared 

 to us. Much, however, as we regret the loss of that incomparable 

 singer, it is but justice to Miss ShirrefF to state that she displayed 

 great abilities in her performance of " Francisca," and if it cannot be 

 said that she left nothing to be desired, at least she leaves no unpleasant 

 recollections to obtrude themselves on the imagination. Her voice 

 would be all the better if it were a little stronger, but, on the whole, 

 her acting and singing was such as gave great satisfaction, though no 

 particular portion of her performance was transcend ently good. Mr. 

 Balfe played " Alp," the renegade, and if a finished execution and a 

 refined taste, perfect self-possession and a complete knowledge of the 

 business of the stage, were enough to ensure the attainment of the 

 highest rank in his profession, he would already have been at the pin- 

 nacle of his ambition : but Nature has denied him physical power ; 

 and in a part such as " Alp,'' vigour and energy are absolutely necessary 

 to make the points tell. His " Sorgete 5 ' (the well-known chef d'ceuvre 

 of Tamburini) was feeble. In the duet with Miss Shirreff he was more 

 successful. A ballad, we suppose of his own composition, introduced 

 in the third act, and adapted to some of Byron's words, was very ori- 



