| PREVIOUS | NEXT | NEW SEARCH |
Olympic Theatre. ...
OLYMPIC THEATRE.
Last night a smart lively burlesque, entitled Masaniello; or, the Fish'oman of Naples, was produced at this theatre with unequivocal success. The plot, as may be supposed, is taken from the book of La Muette di Portici, but the author, Mr. Robert Brough, while closely following the action of a long opera, so as not to omit a single incident of importance, has most dexterously avoided everything like tediousness, and on the fall of the curtain one is surprised to find how much has been done within the limit of a not very long act. The character of Masaniello is, of course, played by Mr. Robson, and the great scene is the last, in which, under the supposed influence of poison, this truly original actor sings snatches of his old song, and expresses the frantic emotions of his mind by dances terribly grotesque. finally, in the course of his delirium, he fancies himself a shrimp, and in the ditty which illustrates this extraordinary hallucination he contrives by his voice and gesture to convey a notion of infinate smallness and insignificance. But the character throughout is admirably conceived. Mr. Robson really becomes the light, sportive, penniless man of the South, with quick sensibilities and supple limbs, and seems to live in a region of tarantellas, till he chooses to stop short and sing an air to the tone of "Poor Dog Tray" with the twang of a London itinerant vocalist. The wronged Fenella is played by Mademoiselle Heckman, a French dancer, whose feats, gravely executed, were rendered comic by the significance of the tunes. Mr. G. Cooke, as a Neapolitan caricature of a London policeman, who afterwards joins the insurgents, is an amusing personage, whose kitchen amours serve to relieve the more portentous drolleries of Masaniello, and for the elegant figures of the picture we have Miss Swanborough, Miss Thirwall, and Miss Hughes, beautifully attired as Alphonso, Lorenzo, and Elvira, and uttering all sorts of pleasant sayings. Indeed, in studding over his dialogue with jokes Mr. Brough has been most unwearied and impartial, and many was the hearty laugh he gained in the course of the evening by the force of his verbal wit alone.
Although the piece is a burlesque, the scenery is painted in an earnest spirit, and the Neapolitan views are as bright and sparkling as possible.
Information about SGML version of this document.
| PREVIOUS | NEXT | NEW SEARCH |