The Press. — London, England, 1858-12-25 00:00:00

1260 these little folks, by moonlight, we are informed that the Princess with the beautiful orbs has played her heart against a Diamond of the first water in the shape of a Prince, though he appeared but as a peasant, end has of course lost. Princesses of former days seem certainly, if we may judge both from history and fiction, to have been blessed with the mt-st stony-hearted fathers, and " King Hot upon every thingems," the " parieut" in this instance, appears to be no exception to the rule. He resolves to wed his "one fair daughter and no more" to a decrepid old Baron—a match by no means agree able to one of the parties principally concerned. In this he is aided by a mischievous Gnome ; but what can mortal kings or wicked spirits avail against the strategic effort of those good little people the fairies ? So in the end, after a runaway match, love triumphs, and having passed through the usual metainoi pliois of Harlequin and Columbine, the Prince Diamond and the Princess Brigbteyes be• come as happy as good people usually do—at least in story. The scenery is of the most gorgeous de scription, and the whole effect truly beautiful. Harlequin, Columbine, and Clown are represented by Mr. Cormack, Miss Caroline Adams, and Mr. Huline. The Pantaloon is Mr. Paulo, and the harlequinade portion is by Mr. Ellis. THE ILIYITARKET.—Tne well known German legend by tile Baron de la Motte Fouqui, under the title of Undine ; or, Harlequin and the Spirit of the Waters, will be produced at this house. The history runs thus :—Undine, the beautiful Spirit of the Waters, was, when a child, left on the banks of a broad lake near an enchanted forest by her kindred that she might grow up amongst mortals until reaching her eighteenth year ; when if, during that time, she could resist the power of Love, she would be worthy to succeed to the throne of her mother under the waters. Being discovered by an old fisherman, lie brought her home, where she lived with him and his wife until her eighteenth birthday, when a young knight who had braved the dangers of the enchanted forest to prove his valour and please a lady to whom be was betrothed, sought refuge in the fishettnan's cottage. Undine, on beholding the stranger, fell at once in bye with him. The water soiriVr, on knowing this, were greatly incensed against Undine, but allayed their anger by the knowledge that, should the knight prove untrue to her, it was her doom to destroy him. In vain Undine sought her companions in their ocean home ; in vain she absented herself to conquer her Leal passion. The power of love gave her a soul, and henceforth she became mortal, and sul.ject t, ell the infirmities of mortality. Tin young knight for a brief spice returned the passion of Undine, hut, on the arrival of the lady betrothed to him, Undine discovered his falsehood, an I bade him a sail adieu. On his hiidal night she sought his chamber, and, finding him there alone, flung herself into his arms and gave him the kiss of death. This sacrifice atoned for her weak ness, and she become restored to her high station amongst the Spirits of the Waters. The character of Undine will he sustained by Louise Leolercq ; Transtacia, her sister, by Fanny Wright; and Mrs. L!clercq will personate the false knight. The scenery has been painted by Mr. Frederick Fenton, and toe unrivalled pantomimists of last year—Arthur Lectercq, Charles Leclereq, L mime Leclercq, and Fanny Wright—will sustain the harleqiiinade, the comic portion of which is inven• eil by Mr. W. Dor rington. The scenery of this portion is painted by Messrs. O'Connor anti Morris, and the entire pan tomime produced under the direction of Mr. Lech req. Tits ADELPHL—The public have a right to expect much from this theatre, an I, to judge from the pro- gramme for Boxing night, they will not be dis- appointed. Mother Redcap is to " come out" under the ehaperonship of Mr. William Smith, her toilette being intrusted to the skilful hands of Messrs. Powell, T. Ireland, T. Pitt, and Phillip Phillips—the last being " the celebrated dioramic painter." Nor will expectation be weakened by the announcement that the genial and witty Alfred Crowquill is to illus trate tiguratiiely the opening. Mother ItAcap in . habits Camden•town, which in those remote times is a wood, London being only visible in the distance. By poetic licence, however, Mr. Rarey's existence has been ante-dated, " for this night only," and his mar• vellous lessons are given under the Dame's special patronage. The national cur,usity about Johnny Gilpin is gratified by a pealu at the exterior of the worthy train-band captain's shop. The ride from Edmonstone to Ware gives a capita ( pportu nity for the dioramie skill of Mr. Phillips, who bring 4 THE PRESS, DECEMBER 25, 1858. Johnny and us safe to the Calender's house at the latter locality. There is no res; however, for the wicked Johnny, or for our own aching sides. 'lack we tear to the shop again, and here the "grand mechanical transformation scene" awaits us. The broad fun of the piece is thrown upon the stalwart shoulders of Messrs. Hildebrand as Har lequin, Croueste as Clown, and Lopino as Pantaloon Miss Jenny Hayman doing that fast and fantastical young lady, Columbine. All that follows may safely be supposed first-rate where such a reputation has to he kept up and such ability is brought to the task. The denouement, " The Dazzling Halls of Splendonr unit Realms of Fascination," will, we suspect, take the shine out of many a rival, anti confirm the judg. ment of the playbill, which pronoutices it " unsur passable." THE LYCEll3l.—T;iis house, so famous for its burlesques, comes out with one by Mr. Robert B. Brough, entitled The Siege of Troy. Alter the pro. Logue we have a view of the Grecian camp and fleet anchored before Troy, with the chiefs assembled in council. The council is suddenly interrupted by Chryses in search of his daughter, who has been taken prisoner by Agamemnon. The latter refuses to give her up, upon which Chryses calls down a pestilence of heat upon them from Apollo ; the Greeks find it rather" hot"—even the redoubtable Ajax giving way for once to the melting mood. No less a person than Homer, who appears under the nom de plume of " our own correspondent," threatens to leave soma of them out of his new work if they do not behave well. Tile scene opening, we arrive at —" The Pleasaunce of the Immortals, and Lake of Gold on Mount Olympus," which is expected to prove one of the most gorgeous Lyceum effects ever witnessed. This scene concludes with a grand ballet by Iris and the twenty.four houris. The original story is adhered to as to the rescue of l'aris by Venus. "The breach of the truce and first battle'' of Homer are made the work of Cupid. Hector snatches a moment from the fight in order to make his first appearance ins chariot drawn by four real horses, but seriously damaged about the armour. The conjugal teteli.tite is interrupted by yEneas, who informs Hector that the Greeks are getting the best of them, and implores him to come back to the field. The giant horse is introduced, and rashly accepted by Hector as a present. The Bth and 9th scenes are devoted to the excitement of the sacking of Troy. The piece is interspersed with a great many songs and choruses. Die cast is unusually strong. Mrs. Keeley, as Hector, is certainly not inaptly described as " the leader of the Trojan Hosts, and for that matter a host in himself;" there are no less than five " principal comedy p Arts " for the gentlemen— Messrs. Einery, Young, El lerton, and Barrett. Miss Talbot in propria persond will represent Achilles, and Miss Julia St. George will doubtless play to the life that daugerous little demigod Cupid. STRAND.—The Christmas extravaganza here is the joint production of Messrs. Andrew Halliday and Frederic Lawrence, and is entitled Kenilworth ; or, ye Queene, ye Earle, and ye Maydenne, following, of course, the historical novel of Sir Walter Scott. The principal incidents of the story afro taken from the scene between :he Earl of Leicester and Amy Rob• sart at Cumnor place, the meeting between Queen Elizabeth and the rival Earls of Leicester and Sussex at Greenwich Palace, and the festivities at Kenilworth. The two grand scenes in the piece are those at Greenwich and Kenilworth, where all the personages in the story appear on the stage. The fascinating Leicester is represented by the fair lessee, Miss Swanborough. The imperious Elizabeth finds a fitting representative in Mrs. Selby ; while 'tiny Robsart, in the hands of Miss M. Oliver, will nattually make herself agreeable to everybody but her husband. Sir Walter Raleigh could not find a better representative than Mi.s Marie Wilton. Mr. J. Clarke has the villainous part of Varney assigned to him, and that, picturesque vagabond, Wayland Smith, airs his tatters and eccen tricities upon the shoulders of Mr. Bland. Miss Charlotte Saunders plays the forlorn lover Tresilian, while the Duke of Sussex is represented by Miss Lavine; Tony Foster, otherwise Fire the Fagot, by Mr. Poynter, and the rollicking Mike Lambourne by Mr. Turner. The piece has been got up on a scale of great magnificence. ASTI.F.Y . S.—A new edition of the veracious history of Baron Munchausen, by Messrs. Cooke and Nelson Lee, is to delight children of all ages at this favourite theatre. The adventures of the Baron, so celebrated for his achievements in drawing the long bow, and his celebrated horse—one of the most celebrated of Mr. Cooke's remarkable stud—will doubtless furnish ample materials for one of the funniest of panto. mimes. Mr. Forrest is the Clown. SURREY.—At this house the Christmas piece is written by Mr. C. J. Collins, called Harlequin Father Thames ; or, the River Queen, and the Great Lord Mayor of London. The Surrey bas always been celebrated for the gorgeousness of its pantomimes, hut the present one we understand is to surpass all its predecessors. The opening is a burlesque.extravaganza, similar to those whil.h of late years have been produced at the Lyceum. It is entirely original, the action of the piece being mad e to turn upon a kind of War of the Roses between Father Thames and all his tributary forces and the River Queen and her commander in-chief Sanita, the Goddess of Health. The grand transformation is to be most magnificent. THE ALHAMBRA.—The Miser of Bagdad, founded on the celebrated Eastern story, is to be the subject of the pantomime at the Alhambra. THE PRINCESS'S. The Jealous IVife, one of the productions of the elder Colman, was revived at this house on Satur• day, in its curtailed form. Mr. C. Kean has too nice a perception of the duties of a manager, too high an appreciation of modern taste, to have repro- duced, in its full development of five acts, a piece which, with all its merits, is remarkable for its inequality. The objectionable characters in the comedy are happily disposed of, and by this judicious curtailment The Jealous Wife in three acts becomes admirably suited to the playgoing folk of present times. If we required additional proof of the versa. tilitS of true genius we should find it in the imper sonation of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Kean as Mr. and Mrs. Oakley. Sudden as was the transition from the accustomed role of these most accomplished ornaments of the British stage, we were prepared for a renewed success, but hardly for such a triumph as followed the performance on Saturday. As the husband, henpecked and uxorious—as the wife who, with all the spirit of the virago, turns every imaginary wrong into a weapon of offene.e and defence—Mr. and Mrs. Charles Kean's delineations are inimitable. So cleverly has Colman sketched the more salient passages in a long domestic strife, that we might almost think that a salutary experience bad dictated each scene from the starting post of submission on the part of Mr. Oakley to the goal, when his triumph is secured by the assertion of his tights. Mr. Charles Kean's delineation of the character is of the higest order, for it brings, for the moment, conviction of sufferings meekly borne and patiently endured. Mr. Oakley is like a man perpetually standing on the edge of a volcano, and endeavouring to comport himself, with a due regard to his immediate danger. By every means in his power he seeks to avert each succeed ing difficulty and to parry each coming attack, until at last human endurance reaches its utmost limits, and he stands forth boldly to assert his prerogative as a husband and his dignity as a man. As the Jealous Wife, Mrs. Charles Kean's conception of the character is based less on a yielding to, than a desire to use the monster which her own suspicions have created for the purpose of founding a domestic tyranny ; and regarding it from this light every phase in the impersonation is artistically worked out. We note the real motive in the brewing of each storm, in each gust of passion, and in the final outbreak of the whirlwind. Every little action serves to fill up the portrait of the Jealous Wife, as sketched by . Mrs. Charles Kean, with a thorough appreciation of Colman's original. Altogether never were two pictures more admirably portrayed than those which stand out in such bold relief in this comedy evidently written with a design to prove how small beginnings may give rise to matrimonial discord and eventuate in domestic purgatory. The remaining characters were effectively filled ; Mrs. Winstanley playing Lady Freelove with much point, and Miss Heath representiog Harriet Russet with commendable quietness and grace. We may mention that The Jealous Wife, the last, and certainly not the least, of the great histrionic triumphs at this theatre, will be performed on Mon. day next, with the uew pantoniime, of which we have elsewhere given an outline. MR. Ammer SMITH has reopened the Egyptian Hall, with his amusing Chinese entertainment, made up of scraps of his own collection, in his recent travels through the Celestial Empire. Mr. Albert Smith was most warmly received by a crowded audience on his re-appLarance; and the inauguration of his ucw subject was highly successful.