The Mirror of Taste, and Dramatic Censor, Vol. I, No. 3, March 1810
History
The Mirror of Taste, and Dramatic Censor, Vol. I, No. 3, March 1810
Drama -- Periodicals; Theater -- Periodicals
Again--“Kemble has a very graceful manly figure, is perfectly well made,
and his naturally commanding stature appears extremely dignified in
every picturesque position, which he studies most assiduously. His face
is one of the noblest I ever saw on any stage, being a fine oval,
exhibiting a handsome Roman nose, and a well-formed and closed mouth;
his fiery and somewhat romantic eyes retreat as it were, and are
shadowed by bushy eyebrows; his front is open and little vaulted; his
chin prominent and rather pointed, and his features so softly interwoven
that no deeply marked line is perceptible. His physiognomy, indeed,
commands at first sight; since it denotes in the most expressive manner,
a man of refined sentiment, enlightened mind, and correct judgment.
Without the romantic look in his eyes, the face of Kemble would be that
of a well-bred, cold, and selfish man of the world; but this look from
which an ardent fancy emanates, softens the point of the chin and the
closeness of the mouth. His voice is pleasing, but feeble; of small
compass but extreme depth. This is, as has been previously observed, the
greatest natural impediment with which he, to whom nature has been thus
bountiful, has still to contend.
“Cooke does not possess the elegant figure of Kemble; but his
countenance beams with great expression. The most prominent features in
the physiognomy of Cooke are a long and somewhat hooked nose, a pair of
fiery and expressive eyes, a lofty and somewhat broad front, and the
lines of his muscles which move the lips are pointedly marked. His
countenance is certainly not so dignified as that of Kemble, but it
discovers greater passion; and few actors are, perhaps, capable of
delineating, in such glowing colours the storm of a violent passion, as
Cooke. His voice is powerful and of great compass; a preeminence he
possesses over Kemble, of which he skilfully avails himself. His
exterior movements are by far inferior in the picturesque to those of
Kemble.”
GERMAN THEATRE.
It has for a considerable time been fashionable to declaim against the
theatrical performances translated from the German. They are pretty
generally charged with having corrupted the English dramatic taste, and
been the means of introducing the ribaldry and nonsense which,
particularly in the form of songs, have so frequently appeared of late,
and disgraced the London audiences, who countenanced such trash. This
charge is more than insinuated in the first number of this miscellany,
page 97, and by way of illustration, the sublime, refined, and admirable
song of Alderman Gobble is introduced.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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