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rehearsal; nor did the singers, though they exerted themselves more, appear to equal advantage: not one of the pre- sent voices is sufficiently powerful for such a theatre, when so crowded and so noisy. Signora Bianchi, the first wo- man, whose sweet voice and simple man- ner of singing gave me and others so much pleasure at the rehearsal, did not satisfy the Neapolitans, who have been accustomed to the force and brilliancy of a Gabrielli, a Teiber, and a de Amici. There is too much simplicity in her manner for the depraved appetites of these enfans gatés, who are never pleased but when astonished.
As to the music, much of the clair- obscure was lost, and nothing could be heard distinctly but those noisy and fu- rious parts which were meant merely to give relief to the rest; the mezzotints and back-ground were generally lost, and indeed little was left but the bold and coarse strokes of the composer's pencil.
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