Image TileImage TileImage TileImage TileImage TileImage TileImage TileImage TileImage TileImage TileImage TileImage TileImage TileImage TileImage TileImage TileImage TileImage TileImage TileImage TileImage TileImage TileImage TileImage Tile
Image size: 7680x10752 Scale: 35% - PanoJS3
Page overview thumbnail

Article text

TI1L OPERA.
'Flotow's comic opera 'Martha' was produced
on Saturday night. It was sung in English, and
with' numerous omissions, as well as a few
additions; adapted, we suppose, to the occasion.
jut. oqutrea, its xnonei, was louaiy applauded for
the way in- which he sang the air '31'appari;''-
and Madame Simonsen, as Martha, was encored
iii'' The last Bose of Summer.' Mr. De Ha«a,
as Farmer Plumket, was not altogether successful
with the drinking song 'Chi mi di ra;' but in
several of the concerted pieces his voice was heard
to great advantage. The well-known quartette
'Dormi pur' afforded a good instance of this.
The admirers of comic opera will no doubt have
other opportunities of seeing the present company
in that kind of entertainment; for Mr. F. Lyster,
Miss Hodson, and Mr. Kilts have plenty of
humour; and Madame Simonsen and Mr. Squires
are always good for the parts of sentimental
lovers. The audience seemed well pleased with
this effort, and even the novelties of a pugilistic
encounter, a la Tom Crib, in the second act, and
the appearance of dancing dogs, in the fourth act,
seemed to be highly approved of. However
«... k^ttutv^ *m*u ^uauaiuc O1U1UU&CU UJWaYS 5U)g
well, and Miss Hodson is never at a loss in
whatever she undertakes.
Mr. F. Ly^ter, as Sir Tristan, took his part
capitally; and Mr. Ritts, as the Sheriff, repre
sented the pompous official with great unction.
As to the choruses, they have done so well during
the past week that it would be a shame to find
fault with them on a Saturday night
This evening Bellini's Noruia will be performed.
This grand opera is in two acts; the scenes being
laid in Britain alwut the time of the first invasion
of the Bomans. The principal characters are
Nonna, the high priestess of the Druids; Adelgisa
a vestal virgio, bound by sacred vows to the allar
of Irmiusul; Pollio, a Konian warrior, who has
been secretly united to Norma, but is in love
with Adelgisa; and Onoveso, the High Priest of
the Druids. It contains many extremely beautiful
melodies, and its choruses are occasionally grand
almost to sublimity. It has always been a favourite
both in England acd on the Continent. Malibran
Pasta, Grisi, Adelaide Kemble, Parodi, Piccolo
mini, and many other prinia donni have achieved
their greatest triumphs in the character of Norma.
Act l.-The first scene presents a view of a sacred
forest of the Druids, by night. In the centre stands
the oak of Lminsul, at the foot of which i3 a
Diuidical stone, serviug as an altar. A inarch is
heard, and a procession of Gallic warriors, Druids,
priests, priestesses, bards, &c, with Onoveso,
enters. The High Priest instructs the subordiuata
priests to watch for the first appearance of the
new moou irom tuc nuuops, auU to sound the
sacerdotal bronze, when Norma herself will arrive
and cut the sacred mj-seltoe. The chorus, 'Ob!
with thy prophetic power,' is then sung, and they
all disperse among the trees of the forest. Pollio
now enters, attended by Flavio. They are closely
wrapped iu their tog:is. Flavio mentions the name
of Norma as the mother of PolhVs two children;
when Poliio avows that he Iove3 another. It is—
— ' The enchanting Adelgisa;
Jut thou shalt see her, flower of youth and beauty,
Of innocence and love. And in the temple
Of these Gauls' bloodstained god, she radieut
beams,
like some bright star that cheers the gloomy
night'
Polio then relates a dream he had at Home. Adal
gisa was kneeling with him in tke Temple of Venus,
when the altar was struck by a thunderbolt, and a
shadowy fonu floated between them in Druid robes.
Darkness surrounded them, his biiile vanished, a
groan was heard mixpd with the wailing of his
children, and a sepulchral voice informed him that
' thus Ncrma had avenged the treachery of her
lover.' The booming of the sacred bronze now
startles the Human warriors, who, shuddering,
retire. The Druids return, headed by Oroveso
and sing the sublime choriu, Norma viene ! (See,
Norma comes). At its close Norma, attended by
priestesses, enters, and ascemls the DruMical
stone. A deep silence is maintained by the
assembled Druids, who are eager to hunt 'proud
Home's imperial eagles' from the sacred forest.
But Norma advises peace, and exclaims—
' The dreaded battle-axe of the Sicatnbre
Has not jei strength to turn the Homan jave
lins.'
She affirms that she had read in the mystic
volumes of the starry heavens that Home would
one day fall, but it woidd be by her own vice*.
She then cuts the sacred misletoe, which tiie
priestessss deposit in their consecrated baskets.
Norma now advances; they all kneel reverentially
around her; the moon shines forth refulgently,
and Nonna, with uplifted hands, sings that very
sweet and elegant cavatina, Costa Diva (stainless
goddess), which has been justly characterized as
'a concentration of chastened loveliness.' The
Druidical rites thus closed, directions are given
to clear the woods of all profane intruders, tiie
warriors threaten vengeance upon Koine, bat
Norma, in another beautiful solo, declares her
ueicrimnuuuii io ucicuu rouio against tiie worm,
and retiies, followed by the assembled Druids and
Druidesses in statelyprocession. Adal;. isa nowentew
aud while lamenting that her heart is torn by
conflicting emotions, caused by her vestal vows
aud the love which Pollio has inspired, Pollio him
self enters. Adelgisa, t mid and alarmed, is about
to fly to the sacred temple, 'like a bird that
seekcth its 'Other's nest/' but Poliio detains her,
and vith all the eloquence of a lioman and a
lover he pleads his passionate affection for her
alone, -and ultimately induces the confiding
maiden to engage to leave with him on tiie day
following for the Imperial City. In the next
scene Nonna is seen caressing her two children by
Pollio, with maternal tenderness, and then directs
Clotilda, their nurse, to conceal thdin, footsteps
being heard approaching her dwelling. The next
instant Adelgisa enters, and discloses to Norma all
her secret thoughts and desires. She had loved
and was beloved, the had struggled to extinguish
her affection in vain. Her lover had subjugated
her will to his own, for —
' Sweet as the notes of the harmonious harp,
Flowed the rich accents df his love-fraught
words.'
She imploies Norma either to liberate her from
her obligations and vows or to save her from her
self. Nonna approves of Adelgisa's love for
another, releases her from her vestal vows, and
gives her her benediction. She then presses to
be informed of the name of her lover; when
Polho enters, and Adelgisa, with an innocent and
contidin-' smile, exclaims, 'II. 7/iira '' (Uehuld
him.) The scene that follows is appalling. There
is a brief silence. Nonna, like a wounded tigress,
is enraged and panting for revenge. She charges
Pollio with his perfidiousness, treachery, alid
? infamous deception. Pollio endeavours to conceal
from Adelgisa his former alliance with Norma;
but the anger of the priestess intensifies, and she
iliscloses all. For a moment she restrains the
impetuosity of her rage, but it returns with ;iccu
uiulated force; and in her frenzy she pours upon
both Pollio and Adelgisa her most bitter male
dictions. In the midst of this tempest of her
wrath a chorus from within summons Norraa to
the altar, and the curtain falls.
Act 2. As the curtain rises the interior of
Norma's dwelling is seen, and her tn-oohildren
are sleeping upon n couch. Norma enters with a
lamp and a dagger in her hands. She is pale and
distracted, and is struggling to crush out of her
^maternal heart all affection fcr her innocent oil
spring. They must live no longer. Their fate in
Kome would be opprobrium; yet -ah! they are
her children, and she recoils with horror from the
thought of being thejr murderer. But they are
also Pollio'8 children. That is their crime. They
must die; and there is a compensating feeling in
the reflection that their sacrifice will cause him
eternal remorse. Now she has nerved her heart
to the frightful deed, and aaain aonroaehes Hir
iuuv,u. u([ iuui }» luiiicu, v\u, s-je umre a ieauui
scream, and the children awake. Adelgisa, who
has become reconciled to Norma, now enters,
and is charged by Norma to seek out
Pollio, and place the children under his care;
but Adelgisa remonstrates, and at length induces
Norma to abandon this proposal. It is in this scene
that the two following beautiful soprana duets
occur, 'See, oh! Norma,' and 'Calmly till closes
life's last fleeting moment' The next scene
represents a solitary spot near the Druid's wood
surrounded by rocky caverns, with a stono brid'e
over a lake in the distance. The soldiers complain
that the forces of the Bomans constantly increase
yet they are not permitted to attack them. Oroveso
informs them that he has in vain tried to ascertain
the will of Nonna, but he counsels that they
should at present feign submission. The scene is
now shifted to the temple t-f irminsul. and
Nonna 13 there informed by Clotilde that Adelgisa
had renewed her vows, andj that Pollio had sworn
to force her, 'e'en from the alter of her God '
Norma, t thereupon, is again incensed, and in her
fratb she twice strikes the ebHd of
IrnunsuL This m the summons of the wrta*
no™,^ fOithe^' soon m{ the temP'e.
*01TOMt,l?,cn,taH??ner pIace at the altar and de
crees 'War! War! Linage! Extermination''
In answer to Oroveso she assures him that she 'is
prepared to name, the victim, who. according to
custom, is to be immolated on the altar of the
sods. Clotile then enters with the intelligence
that a Koman lias desecrated the sacred clof tera
of the noviciate virgms and has been arrested It
is. Polho, and he is brought into the temple a
pnsoner. Oroveso presents a sword to -omiaT
and ihe assembled warriors urge her to strike the
culprit dead. But Norma hesitates, and then
orders the temple to be cleared. This being done:
Norma promises Pollio hp liberty conditional^
upon his sweanpaby hisGod aad his children to
renounce Adelgua for ever and quit the country
This he refuses to do, and prefers to Jie rut
Nonna has other wnnnnna nt tn-i,,.n „.. „„... u;
-nts cniwren. they were in her power She
S,sr*J» syfs t krJS.
and Adelgua-she-thetraisoiess should suffer in
ftfrt Pollio isnowstung and tortured
beyond the endurance of even a Koman by the
refined cruelty of a woman. He supplicates for
pity, but N orraa derides him. He falfa ather feet
SSK-*^ ^^ °f h?r the dap«er- tnat K5
terminate his own misery with a stroke; but
Norma refuses, and tauntingly exclaims.
Crouching slave,, arise!' She then calls for
the pnests and priestesses, and they enter with
Uroveso. Druids, bards, and warriors; and Norma
declares her readiness to name the victim who is
to De saenfaced upon the burning pile. It is
?n_. . , , ' ? A perjured
±*riestes3, who her sacred vows has broken :
Betrayed her country, and her God offended.'
All except Pollio, who dreads that Adelgisa will
be named, are intensely anxious to know who it is
that has committed the horrible crime, Norma
then— during the most profound silence denounces
—not Adelgisa, but herself. It may be here
mentioned, parenthically, that on the last occasion
m which Miss Adelaide Kemble impersonated
Norma, at Covent Garden, the house was filled to
excess, yet at this particular climax, the silence
was so great, that the fall of the chapletfrom the
hand of Norma waa distinctly heard in every part
of the theatre. The surrounding Druids aie in
credulous-amazed-Norma persists in proclaim
ing her own guilt— recommends her children to
the care of Oroveso, and is led away to the funeral
pyre, covered with a black veU, and execrated by
the. crowd, who cry MalakUal Makddtal^
$