534] 
chestras, by singers the most com- 
passing and smooth toned, have 
concurred in winging the shafis of 
his song to our inmost sensibility. 
The painter’s magnificent perspec- 
tives, the dazzling pageants of the 
decorator, the easy floating motions 
of groups of graceful dancers, and 
ail the magic glories of realized 
mythology, have mingled at the 
theatre their influence with that 
of the poet, and have assisted in 
stirring up within us that luxurious 
irritation and tumult of feeling, 
which form the highest scope of the 
artist and the purcst enjoyment of 
the connoisseur. Stript, however, 
of all these circumstances of effect, 
Metastasio has acquired a reputa- 
tion for genius and abilities, which 
the philosopher who peruses his 
writings in the closet will not pro- 
bably, hesitate to ratify. Yet how 
often does it hapyen that, removed 
from within the glare of theatric 
illumination, the god of the opera- 
house has withered into an ordinary 
man; and that the liquid Jan- 
guage of the skies had Jent an ora- 
cular solemnity to simpte thoughts, 
or a bewitching harmony to insig- 
nificant insipidiries ? Be this, how- 
ever, as it may, and even supposing 
that the literary charaéter of Me- 
tastasio himselt should be fated to 
suffer depreciation by time ard 
revolutions in taste; should his 
dramatic writings even become a 
mere school-bock for the learner of 
Italian ;—yct he has resided so 
much at courts, and has been the 
darling of so many artists, that his 
life can never be an object of in- 
difference to those whose gentie cye 
preterably fixes on. those places and 
periods, in which the pleasures of 
man tave been the chief occura- 
tio: { his rulers; and in which 
ANNUAL REGISTER, 1796. 
factions have confined their blood. 
less struggles to the establishment 
of a theory of music, and have never 
extended their proscriptions bey ond 
the condemnation of a tragedy. 
To she inherent fashion of the 
subject of these volumes, is super. 
added the stronger recommenda. 
tion which they derive from the 
celebrity of the author. The his- 
torian of music is accustomed to 
convene and to satisfy an elegant 
audience ; and, whether he touches 
the harp or the monochord, he dis- 
plays a masterly hand. His ma- 
terials have been industriously col. 
lected’ at Vienna and in Italy, and 
comprehend, besides the well. 
known biographies of Retzer and 
of Christini, many works of infe. 
rior note, as well as the posthumous 
edition of the poet’s letters. ‘The 
bulk of this publication consists 
indeed of a translation of those 
letters, connected by the requisite 
interstices of narrative; all.which 
form a very amusing wh/e, 
Metastasio was born at Rome 
in 1698, where his father had set. 
tled as a cenfectioner. At school 
he displayed early talents as an fm. 
previsct.vz, and befcre eleven years 
of age could sing extemporaneous 
verses. Gravina, the civilian, 
known by having written tragedies 
on the Greek model, heard, admir. 
ed, and adopied the young bard ; 
to whem he gave a literary educa- 
tion, getting him admitted to the 
bar, and to deacon’s orders, that 
civil and ecclesiastical preferment 
might be aike open to him. 
When 22 years of age, Metustasio 
visited Naples, having inherited 
the preperty of Gravina, and at- 
tached himself as cicisbeo to the 
fermule singer Romanina. He there 
wrote an opera, which succeeded, 
as and 
