LE GRAND OPERA ENRHUMÉ.
M. Halévy, weary of compelling his orchestra to imitate the tinkling of Bayadères' armlets, or the solemn tramp of an army of elephants, has, in his opera of the Nabob, now performing at the Opéra Comique, introduced a novel musical effect, upon which Mr. Punch, in anticipation of its speedy transmission to England, feels bound to offer a word of comment. In the third act of the opera, the libretto of which, be it remarked, is from the pen of M. Scribe, a chaise, containing two of the principal characters, is upset at the door of a tobacconist's shop in Wales. Of course, the occupants of the chaise are assisted into the shop, where they sing a duet with, as the French papers say, "A funny accompaniment of coughing and sneezing." At this we are told the whole house "éclata de rire", and that "les brouhahas les plus vives accueillirent ce joli morçeau". If Mr. Punch were not entirely free from all petty national jealousy, he might, perhaps, insinuate that M. Halévy has taken his idea from the brilliant sternutations which the immortal tenor Grimaldi was wont to embroider, as the Morning Post would say, upon his grand scena of "Tippetywitchet." But he contents himself with M. Halévy's indirect tribute of praise to that great artiste, and rejoices in the conviction that the belle fioriture of il povero Guiseppe, now that they have received the stamp of French approval, will come into general acceptation with us.
He expects that during the ensuing winter great pains will be taken to perforate the roofs and walls of our theatres, as managers will feel that no singer can succeed properly in an air unless she stands in a draught.
He expects also that his contemporaries will criticise the début of a new tenor after the following fashion—
"Signor Infreddatura, who made his first appearance last night in the comic opera of Il Catarro, has all the qualifications of a great singer; viz. a fine person, a sweet and powerful voice, expressive and appropriate action, and a bad cold. He took all his sternutations with the greatest ease, and in correct time, and in his grand aria of 'Ah! tu traditrice,' the audience knew not whether to admire most, the great power with which he gave the Ahchew—sustaining the 'Ah' for some seconds, and then suddenly pouring forth the 'Chew' in a volume of sound that Duprez might have envied—or the playful irony which he threw into his new and spirituel reading of the treechay. He was, however, but badly seconded by Madame Testachiara, who was so nervous as to have no control over her organ whatever, so that the two pinches of snuff which the prompter administered to her before she came on exploded at the wrong time, and thus impaired the general effect of an otherwise fine performance."
One advantage Mr. Punch perceives, will certainly result from the vigorous prosecution of M. Halévy's idea. It is that, whereas our climate has hitherto been the bane, it will henceforth prove the antidote of foreign singers. They will flock here in crowds to perfect their education, nor will they be deterred from coming by a fear of overstocking the market, as they will always feel sure that there is plenty of rheum for them in England. And even Mr. Sims Reeves, when afflicted by the recurrence of his apparently hereditary cold, need no longer disappoint the audience by withdrawing from them altogether, and may favour them with "My lodging is on the cold ground" (a song which will naturally afford great scope for a display of the new ornaments), or with "We'll sound the gay Catarrh."