d in lieu of those
who don't. A couple of these last are probably already in circulation.
Madame Sopranini is confined to bed with an inflammatory attack; and
Signor Bassinini has got bronchitis. Nevertheless, the concert begins;
and oh! the length thereof. The principal vocalists seem to have
mostly mistaken the time at which they would be wanted; and the
chopping and changing of the programme are bewildering. Bravuras take
the place of concertos; a duet being missing, an aria closes the
ranks; a solo on the trombone not being forthcoming, a vocal trio
(unaccompanied) is hurriedly substituted. Still, there is plenty of
the originally announced music; all the favourite airs, duets, and
trios from the fashionable operas; all the ballads in vogue--the music
published by the house which has set the whole thing on foot, of
course; all the phenomena of executive brilliance are there, or are
momentarily expected to appear. We begin after an overture with, say,
an air from the _Puritani_, by a lovely tenor; another, from the
_Somnambula_, by a charming soprano; a fantasia by a legerdemain
pianist, with long hair, and who comes down on the key-board as though
it was his enemy; the famous song from _Figaro_--encored; the
madrigal, 'Down in a Flowery Vale'--the latter always a sure card; a
duet from _Semiramide_, by two young ladies--rather shaky; solo on the
clarionet, by a gentleman who makes the instrument sound like a
fiddle--great applause; 'In manly Worth,' by an oratorio tenor; the
overture to _Masaniello_, by the band; concerto (posthumous,
Beethoven), by a stern classical man--audience yawn; pot pourri, by a
romantic practitioner--audience waken up; ballad, 'When Hearts are
torn by manly Vows,' by an English tenor--great delight, and
encouragement of native talent; glee, 'Glorious Apollo,' or, 'The
Red-cross Knight'--very well received; recitative and aria, from
_Lucia di Lammermoor_--very lachrymose; violin solo, by Signor
Rosinini, who throws the audience into a paroxysm of delight by
imitating a saw and a grindstone; 'The Bay of Biscay,' by the
'veteran' Braham, being positively his last appearance (the 'veteran'
is announced for four concerts in the ensuing week!); ballad, again,
by the native tenor, 'When Vows are torn by slumbering Hearts'--more
great applause; the page's song from the _Huguenots_, for the
contralto; 'When the Heart of a Man,' _Beggars' Opera_; quartett for
four pianofortes, great bustle arranging