1826.] 
‘pulsiye jvillany,.., But, he. seems,a, sensible 
sman ; he has powers which must make him 
portant on the stage, and. if he. shall 
aye Sense enough—a rare stage quality— 
_to, avoid giving offence by the sell-impor- 
tance which often bes@ts an actor when he 
begins “to , taste of, popularity, by fasti- 
diousness. in. his reception of parts, and by 
carelessness in their representation, he will 
,zise without impediment in the public, opi- 
_nion. .. Nature has done much for his stage 
appearance ; his voice, still singularly rough 
_and antiquated, will probably soften into at 
least human tones ; stiffness be succeeded 
_by ease, and custom and confidence at 
length enable him to attain the perfection 
_of his theatric powers. 
_. Oberon’? has been revived, asit ought. 
Nothing would more argue a want of taste 
than, to let this opera perish among the 
dusty piles of the theatrical sepulchre. It 
has. finepassages, brilliant evidences of the 
composer. But it must be allowed that 
for Weber’s genius we must still turn to 
the original standard, the “ Freischutz.” 
It is true that the trial is unfairly made. The 
* Freischutz’’ was the work of leisure, lone- 
liness, ease, and aboye all, of health ; Obe- 
ron was the work of hurry, society, public 
_avocations, and.disease, Consumption hung 
over the composer while he held the pen in 
‘his hand ; ‘sleepless nights must have pro- 
duced days of exhaustion. The work was 
composed upon all but his death-bed, even 
in Germany. His) frame was »incurably 
broken down; and the true praise of this 
“highly gifted man is to be found in the 
" -yigorous perseverance, and strong invention, 
‘that could complete’ such a labour in the 
‘very face of decay.’ There are many others 
of his’ works’ still ungathered by the di- 
‘ Jigence of our theatrical missionaries, but 
whieh bear the stamp of ‘his genius; they 
‘ought to be adopted’ by our stage. They 
“would probably require to’ be selected, 
‘and put ito order, by some one acquainted 
‘with ‘the taste of the English public; but 
‘it cannot be doubted, that the success of 
the selection would more than repay the 
‘search ‘through the libraries of the conti- 
“nental stage. 
. “Deaf and Dumb’’ has been revised. 
~-But no French play can have any perma- 
*menthold ‘on an’ English ‘audience. ~The 
-feeblenéss which pleases the sentimental 
“gris ‘and Boulevard beaux of Paris, 
wearies us; a'soft look, or a tender ejacu- 
~Watian,y will ‘not feed our natural desire of 
~¥igorous expression, consistent character, 
‘and: ‘aétive' incident. Thus perishes a 
“"Preich play ‘on’ the English boards, irre- 
ttievably ;' or ‘ve-appears only to sink into 
‘fittal extinetion. The hero of the tale, the 
\ Dumb Boy, was a’ popular part of that most 
een Mrs. Charles Kemble in her 
earlier day. The simplicity and sagacity, 
SUT an 
- 
otebie 
Jt 20 bewrow, 
Monthly. Theatrical Report. 
661 
the easy tenderness. and. animation which 
she exhibited in the character, gave it, pe- 
culiar favoritism. _ The part is now played 
by, Miss Scott, a very pretty and _ intelli- 
gent girl. But the want of novelty in the 
drama enfeebles the interest of all the parts, 
and the ‘‘ Deaf and. Dumb’’ will speedily 
be sent where there is neither speech nor 
hearing: faite Pa ae 
Drury Lane has continued to perform 
the “ Two Houses of Grenada,” aniopéra 
in three acts... Lhe music and authorship 
are said to be both by the same pen, that 
of Mr. Wade, who some time since made 
himself advantageously known by an) ora- 
torio at one of the theatres. The dramatic 
labour was a bold undertaking,’ and» has 
only partially succeeded. Plot and» dia- 
logue are difficult things to be mastered, by 
eyen experienced authorship. | The’ drama 
is accordingly of no very brilliant kind, and 
at the conclusion the principal diffieulty.of 
the audience is to conceive what has been 
doing in the course of the play. But in 
Mr. Wade’s more usual department he is 
more happy; he has here produced a 
great deal of very ingenious, graceful, and 
pleasing composition. The memory may 
carry away but little: yet the ear is: eau- 
tiously pleased, and it is obvious that:the 
composer’s study of the Italian school ‘has 
been con amore. 
But he must do something more, if he 
would labour for fame. In music, as in 
all other works of the mind, impression is 
the test. Nothing is legitimate but. origi- 
ginality ; nothing permanent but power. 
He must vary his style, or change it alto- 
gether, must close up the score of Pae- 
siello and Cimarosa, or, what is better, try 
to exclude them from his mind, forget that 
they ever existed, and fearlessly turn to the 
resources of his own feelings. _ The finest 
melodies in the world—all that survive, all 
that sustain the honours of music—have 
been the inyention of either men. who had 
nothing to imitate, or who from their sta- 
tion in life were out. of the knowledge of 
models; or who, convinced that the bor- 
rower will always be a pauper, boldly deter- 
mined to live on their own intellectual fee- 
simple. Originality is at once the charm 
and the test of genius; and without it, 
however a composer may be listened to by 
a civil audience, his music will be instantly 
forgotten, and himself share the oblivion of 
his ballads and bagatelles, 
A strong experiment has been made, in 
bringing Laporte to play on the English 
stage. He is dexterous and pleasant ;. but 
the difficulty is excessive, and Laporte is 
not aman to overcome it. However, the 
engagement implies spirit in the manage- 
ment, and the quality is rare enough to be 
well worth panegyrizings 
