KING’s THEATRE.

THIS theatre has passed, as we predicted, out of the hands of the be-puffed Mr. Mason, into those of the be-praised M. Laporte, and opened on Saturday the 16th of February, with nearly the weakest of Rossini’s operas, therefore one of the greatest favourites with Italian singers, La Cenerentola. In this appeared for the first time in England, Madame BOCCABADATI, who recently was presented to Parisian audience, but with no very flattering result; she therefore was not extremely reluctant to accept an engagement at our Italian Opera House, where anything is tolerated, provided the manager is a Frenchman, and the boxes are let at the moderate price of 300 guineas for about fifty nights.

Madame Boccabadati possesses a soprano voice, of that kind which makes its way into the house, though it sometimes forces people to make their way out. This potent quality is a piercing thinness, and, as commonly happens with a vocal organ of such description, is accompanied by an apparently total absence of all feeling. As counterbalances, however, her intonation is good, and she sings with that firmness, that self-confidence, which leads one to suppose that she understands music,—at least the modern opera music, for the chances are that this lady never sang, never dreamt of, any other. In person Madame B. is much shorter than her name, but what is wanting in height is made up in breadth. As to age, a well-bred critic would guess her at half of that allotted by the Psalmist to man: the less polite manager of an office for insuring lives, would add seven or ten years to this, and be much nearer the mark.

With the exception of DONZELLI as Ramiro, and perhaps DE BEGNIS as the Magnifico, the opera was got up in a manner highly gratifying to those who wish to see this kind of amusement put down by force of public opinion. If a Puritan by any unaccountable accident found himself in the house, he most have chuckled exceedingly at the performance. But what he would say to the theatre remaining open till nearly three o’clock on Sunday morning, we can hardly guess.

What is the prelate of London about?—What the magistrates of Middlesex, who, if they hear a fiddle or a fife in a public-house after the eleventh hour, go crazy with the fear that law and religion are rapidly approaching their final overthrow?

DRURY LANE THEATRE.

ON Tuesday the 5th ult. Mozart’s chef-d’oeuvre, under the English name of Don Juan, was produced at this theatre, cast as follows:—

Never was foreign music produced with more success on our national stage than in the present instance, and the vast trouble and expense bestowed in getting it up have been amply repaid by the most unequivocal sign of public approbation—large receipts.

The dialogue seems to have been taken from the English version made in 1817, and is adapted for the present purpose by Mr. Beazley. It departs in no way from that translation, except in a few merely verbal alterations. The music is said in the advertisements to include all that was originally written by Mozart; but this is not exactly correct, for the manager has, and very wisely, omitted the last scene, which, splendid as is the concluding chorus, is injurious to the effect of the opera as a whole. But the pieces published in the appendix to the German editions of the music have now been all introduced, and embodied in the opera, an alteration certainly well meant, but by no means to be approved, for they add to the length of the drama, and diminish its interest. It is worth while, in the case of so important a work—the glory of the lyric stage—to have this matter properly understood.

In a catalogue of Mozart’s compositions, in his own hand-writing, in the possession M. AndrÉ of Offenbach, a copy of which is now before us, is the following entry:—‘28ten October, 1787; in Prag. Il Dissoluto Punito, o, il Don Giovanni, Opera buffa, in 2 Atti. Pezzi di Musica, 24.’ Now, by looking at the list of pieces in the original edition of the music, it will be seen that these are exactly 24, exclusive of the few bars sung by the Statue in the cemetery, and that the airs, &c. in the appendix are not included among these; they, in fact, never formed any part of the opera as at first performed, but were added from time to time, afterwards, to gratify particular performers, and to induce them to accept characters, which, in their vanity, they thought not good enough, not sufficiently important, without some augmentation. Accordingly we find, in the very same catalogue, a memorandum made on the 24th of April, 1788, in the following words:—‘Aria zur Oper Don Giovanni, in G dur, Mr. Morella, Dalla sua pace, etc.’ On the 28th of the same month and year, the duet ‘Per queste tue Manine,’ is entered as composed for Madame Mombelli and Mr. Benucci; and on the 30th is a notice of the scena, ‘In quali Eccessi,’ and aria, ‘Mi tradi quell’ alma ingrata,’ introduced for Madlle. Cavallieri. There is no record of ‘HÒ capito,’ which, doubtless, the great composer either forgot, or thought unworthy of notice, as it really is.

In 1817, when Don Giovanni was first made known to this country, ‘Dalla sua pace’ was introduced, in order to strengthen the part of Don Ottavio for Signor Crivelli, the first Italian tenor then in Europe, and so lovely an air was gladly received, and being short, very little retarded the progress of the drama. The scena of Donna Elvira is, unquestionably, a very fine composition, but that the author himself never meant it to form a permanent part of the opera is clear. Equally obvious are his intentions respecting the duet, ‘Per queste tue Manine.’

Besides these, a scene is interpolated, (where Leporello is blind-folded,) which is all too much, and ought certainly never to have been admitted.

Though Mrs. WOOD insisted on singing the duet ‘La ci darem,’ (we forget the English words,) and the air ‘Vedrai, Carino,’ rather too slow, and dragged the time of both, yet she performed the character very charmingly: in the concerted pieces her knowledge and power were fully displayed. Mad. DE MERIC makes an excellent Donna Anna, and with Mesdames CAMPORESE and RONZI DE BEGNIS fresh in our memory, we yet were perfectly satisfied with the new representative of the character. Miss BETTS did more justice to the part of Donna Elvira than it has commonly received at the King’s Theatre. Great praise is due to her for her share in the opera.

Mr. BRAHAM’s Don Juan much surpassed the expectations of those who have been in the habit of viewing him as a singer, and nothing else, on the stage, and fully realized the hopes of those who have recently learnt that he can act as well as sing. The whole performance was spirited, easy, and gentlemanlike: in his scenes with Zerlina there was exactly enough of that warmth, that empressement, which forms the just medium. His serenade, ‘Deh, vieni alla Finestra,’ proved very delightful; his share of the duet, ‘La ci darem,’ admirable. Mr. H. PHILLIPS sang all that is allotted to Leporello in a most perfect manner, particularly ‘Madamina,’ or the list of Juan’s conquests; but he wanted a little more of that comic humour, of that archness, which the character requires. Mr. SEGUIN’s Masetto did him great credit, though it was evident that the intrusive air, ‘HÒ capito,’ was not introduced by his wish. Mr. BEDFORD made a very good Don Pedro. As the statue, both equestrian and pedestrian, his voice, figure, and firmness, told surprisingly well.

The orchestra, in order to do justice to such a work, was augmented by the principal instruments of the King’s Theatre and Philharmonic band, whose assistance was very sensibly felt, and contributed much to the brilliant success which attended the whole performance. Mr. Bishop acted as conductor, and Mr. T. Cooke led the band, who, we believe, undertakes this duty only on extraordinary occasions. The scenery throughout is good; that of the cemetery by moonlight, perfect; but the last scene, borrowed from Martin’s Pandemonium, is most magnificent, and was not lost on the spectators. Indeed the whole was received with acclamations, continues to draws full houses, and promises to reimburse the manager for the great expense he has incurred, and is incurring, in the performance of such an opera.

Mr. H. PHILLIPS’s engagement having terminated shortly after the production of this piece, his part has been taken by a gentleman quite new to the London stage, named MARTIN, a pupil of Mr. T. COOKE, who, with a good base voice, correct intonation, and an unaffected manner, promises to supply the want of such a performer, which has long been felt at our theatres, Mr. Phillips not being gifted with ubiquity, though evidently very locomotive.

COVENT-GARDEN THEATRE.

A PROJECT often talked of, but never before listened to by the Lord Chamberlain, was, on the 15th of last month, the first Friday in Lent, carried into execution by M. LAPORTE, namely, the performance of something like an oratorio in action, on the stage, with scenery, dresses, &c. For this experiment Rossini’s sacred opera, MosÈ in Egitto, was chosen, which, with a chorus and a few scraps from Handel, was announced as The Israelites in Egypt, or the Passage of the Red Sea, the music ‘selected from the works of HANDEL and ROSSINI,’ a most extraordinary union, it must be confessed, had the mixture been equal; but, luckily, the ‘Hailstone chorus’ was the only entire piece of the former composer introduced, the rest having been neither more nor less than the Italian opera with English words. The Jewish lawgiver was represented by Mr. H. PHILLIPS, who had just stepped out of the character of pimp to the Spanish grandee: and Mr. SEGUIN, who, the night before and the night after, was the Masetto, or bumpkin, in Don Giovanni, personated the obstinate autocrat of Egypt. Mr. WILSON represented the brother of Moses, the chief priest named by divine authority; and the character of the first of the ‘first-born of Egypt,’ Pharaoh’s son, sustained by Mr. WOOD. Mrs. WOOD, Miss H. CAWSE, and Miss SHERRIFF, were the ladies on the occasion; the first, a Hebrew captive, the two last the wife of Egypt’s king, and the sister of Aaron.

All, or nearly all, the music in MosÈ is preserved, the name of Handel being a palpable deception. The grand chorus of ‘The Horse and his Rider’ is cut down to a few bars, though ‘Sing ye to the Lord’ is retained in compliment, doubtless, to Mrs. Wood. The ‘Hailstone’ chorus is, we have before stated, performed entire. Some of the pieces of the opera—for opera it is, however disguised the name—were well executed; others as badly. Mrs. WOOD and PHILLIPS of course bore the chief weight. The band, led by MORI, was reinforced by some of the best performers from the King’s Theatre, and this department was extremely well filled. Mr. ROPHINO LACY, who has the merit of having contrived this strange mixture, gives Moses a snow-white beard, while he bestows on the elder brother of the lawgiver a remarkably black bushy one. There were a few other absurdities committed, but none worth notice. The house was very thinly attended, and we doubt whether the speculation will answer. Though we are persuaded that something of the kind, well considered and managed, would succeed.