On the 9th of June, the splendid musical spectacle of "Lodoiska," translated from the French by John Kemble, was produced; the translation was highly creditable to his talents, and the poetry admirably suited to the music, which Storace, with his never-failing taste and judgment, selected from the rival composers, Cherubini and Kreutzer. I was in Paris at the first representation of
" Lodoiska" at both theatres. Kreutzer's was performed at the Theatre des Italiens, and Cherubini's at the Feydeau, both got up with great effect and care; but, partiality apart, the Drury Lane piece surpassed …
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On the 9th of June, the splendid musical spectacle of "Lodoiska," translated from the French by John Kemble, was produced; the translation was highly creditable to his talents, and the poetry admirably suited to the music, which Storace, with his never-failing taste and judgment, selected from the rival composers, Cherubini and Kreutzer. I was in Paris at the first representation of
" Lodoiska" at both theatres. Kreutzer's was performed at the Theatre des Italiens, and Cherubini's at the Feydeau, both got up with great effect and care; but, partiality apart, the Drury Lane piece surpassed them both. Storace selected the most effective music from either, and enriched the piece with some charming melodies of his own composition ; the scenery was picturesquely grand and beautiful, the dresses in perfect costume. Mr.
Kemble took great pains in getting up the piece, all the minutiae were especially attended to, and it was enthusiastically received by the public. In the last scene, when Mrs. Crouch was in the burning castle, the wind blew the flames close to her; but still she had sufficient fortitude not to move from her situation ; seeing her in such peril I ran up the bridge, which was at a great height from the ground, towards the tower, in order to rescue her; just as I was quitting the platform, a carpenter, prematurely, took out one of its supporters, down I fell; and at the same moment, the fiery tower, in which was Mrs. Crouch, sank down in a blaze, with a violent crash ; she uttered a scream
of terror. Providentially I was not hurt by the fall, and catching her in my arms, scarcely knowing what I was doing, I carried her to the front of the stage, a considerable distance from the place where we fell. The applause was loud and continued. In fact, had we rehearsed the scene as it happened, it could not have appeared half so natural, or produced half so great an effect. I always afterwards carried her to the front of the stage, in a similar manner,
and it never failed to produce great applause. Such are, at times, the effects of accident...The overture to " Lodoiska" is one of the most spirited compositions I ever heard, and was admirably played by the Drury Lane band. Storace had the second movement of it struck off in an allegro spirituoso time, which electrified the audience, who called for its repetition with vehement applause.
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