The National Register. — London, England, 1815-02-05 00:00:00

E NATION DRAILITIC REGISTER. COVENT GARDEV. • List night, Miss O'Neill acted the -character of Pies. ]buffer in Straver, for the first time. The high popularity which she has atiaii;ed caused the theatrical world to be in motion at an early hour, and a most superb assemblage appeared in the theatre long before the commencement of the play. From the lateness of the hour, it is impossible for us to follow her through the several scenes in which she astonished and delighted us in common with the whole Wow; Ihe beuevolence and humility of the repentant wanderer, s-he depicted with the happiest effect, and the agonies of.remorse and, the emotion which the appearance of her injured husband calls forth, 'were marked with coital strength and delicacy. In the last scene she was paatictdarly great, the burst of hysteric laughter, which ceded the noment in which she turned from her child to rush into the arms - of him, from whom she had been so long . scparated, was wonderfully fine, and the manner she stank on her knees from his proffered embrace, gave a new instance of exquisite sensibility and taste. Young in The StranAcr exertsd himself with the greatest w ee* We never saw him with more pleasure, and we never saw an audience more deeply affected by " the emitting of the scene," than was that of yesterday, during the whole of the last act. Dining the poeformanoe of the arduous diaraeter of isacila on Tue.olay O'Neill herself so entirely with the regrows of the mourning mother and supposed widow, that she gun overpowered tinder the weight of woe, and fainted about the luiddle of the second act. She was carried off the stage by Mr. AbbOtt, wha after the lapse of half an lionr, came forward and stated, th;it O'N e il,' was so eacee:liiigly ill,. as to be mia:4 again to appear that evening : that a Physician olefin:le:ice baying been fog hilloc' in the house at the time, had immediately attended her, and that by his directions she had just left the house in a can iage, but that Mrs. Fauoit would read the part. Here the tumult became fxces sively violeut. Ile then added, that for a Lady placed in so delicate Y s i tua ti o n, and muter such imperious circumstances, be trusted the House would gram every indulgence.. 'This appeal prodneed a tem porary pile flee. After considerable delay, the curtaitedrew up, and Mrs. I.'ancit appeared with the book iu her hand.. .The tumult then rose louder than before, and became so violent, that she was also . ' led off the stage in a state of great agitation by MI. Abbott. This Gentleman then once more came forward. and made lepeated apo logies, conjuring the House to allow the play to proceed; but the greater part of the House (-Ain; lonely for the Pantomime, the tra gedy Was not attended to. The cm tail at last drew np, in the midst ref some disapprobation, and the feats of followed the of • torts of the Tiagie Muse, and ultimately succeeded in restori4 peace and goad humour. The history of the new Opera called Br,: /LT :mil Si r , %%Ilia ob tained the 'most brilliant success on Wednesday last at this Theatre, is rather curious. Its original wid be found in a very old English play, entiled The Widow's Choice. From this it was translate,' into • Pnth, and acted with much applause on the Parisian stage, from . whence it once more rettmcd to England, and, unilet the name of Lore, Rennin., and Obey, appeared in the eurtailed.shape of s Bur- . letta threeyears since at the Su:is Paull Theatre. It has now found its way:to Coma Garden with ajl its French amplitude about it, and, from the fond of merriment which it contains, is likely to fix its ie . 'sidence on the metropolitan boards for a considerable time. The fullnwing are the chief features, of the plpt : Donna /sawn (Miss Stevens), a young w idow of Castile, after the (lead' of her husband, nines, accompanied by her female attendants, to a emits in -the vicinity of Madrid, where they all make a solemn vow of celibacy. The piece opens with the arrival of Don Christorat de Tormcs (Mr. Fawcett), the uncle of Donna Isidora, who uses his tcoieavours to persuade his niece to abjure bee vow and accept the hand of Dan Sycio dc Flores (Mr. Dunne!), whom he informs her he • 'ER. 1 % ,• Jo has invited to the Castle. Donna Isidore, however, continue, obsti nate, and refuses to admit the visit et Don Sy&in. In the mean time Donna Castilla (Mrs. Egerton), the sister of Sy/eio, burr at .the indif ference with which be is received, secretly proposes a plan Lor inducing hidora to admit the addresses of her brother. For this purpose she 8.8311111e1 the disguise of her own maid, and being unknossn to hidnra, proceeds to her castle, and requests permission to communicate to her an important secret. Oil gait:ing admittance, she stated that her mis tress, hum she represents as the enemy of Isidorn, had him:tied her that she intended to visit the castle snider the disguise of her bro ther Sylcia, and after having gained the affections of hidara, to hrn w off her di•gui-e, and expose h-r to the ridicule: of her friends. Isidera conseqw.ntly determines toturn the joke agaiust her expected visitor?, and on the a-rival of the real'Don Sy/ria, treats with the utmost . familiarity, ifrers him her band, mid d e ,i ies bits, to confess his design. both parties are now lost in amazement, when the mystery is expl tined by the art iVal of Camilla, and Isidnra, Unwilling to withdraw the promise she had contracted to the supposed ludj, bestows her band On Sylvio. The merryment of the piece k mnrh increased by the sitnation of Don Sylrio'4 servant (NIE. Liston), who being taken, like his mas ter, for a maid, receives the same treatment from the interior females of the caste, and astonishes them by the case and impudence with which he sustains the character of a nom. The piece, though not strictly original, probably boast more at tractions than it ever before possessed. It abounds with the sweetest melodies that the EngHsi: hasp has lately produced, and the whole of the music does great ilOllOlll to the talent of Bishop and Reeve. The actine was excellent, and we do not remember any piece whiekevcr seemed to create more lively and general satisfaction. On Thursday the retinal of the old favourite, Matthews, in the elwaeter of linskin, in Killing No ',birder, was greeted at this Theatre, by a most MIME roils audience, with the peals of applau-e and loud cheering. His kindless, anti that of Liston, afforded room for a ludicrOns conversation betwecn them, w hie!' heightened the lummom of the piece. He was encored in his songs and never did. played his comic powers with greater etiiet. 111 DRURY LANE. - Miss L. Kelly assumed last night, for the first time, the character of Ogielia, and was receive) with considerable applause. Her voice enabled her to give the songs with much sweetness and effect, but she depicted rather feebly the anguish %%hid) she ought to feel at the supposed-insanity of ilantkt. A little more enetey 'infused into her second perfiwmanee of this character will act as a powerful ally to her figure and beauty, and.will entitle her to higher corn. mendations. • Mr. Kean leas considerably iniproved his representation of the Danish Prince, which was not originally one of his most olecessita efforts. We still object, however, to the pause alter 44 Who from a shelf the precidns diadem and the discordant and protracted howl w:th which the word '• style" bursts front his lips. On Wedne,day AliAs Walstein played for the first time the part of Refaa?ine, - and appeared to mire advantage than she has yet done at this Theatre. Her features are particularly well suited to the male attire ; her conception of the character was. good, and her drliverY tFugaentty and deservedly applauded. So much were the audience •pleased with her• ckecution ut• the Cuckoo sung, that the was•eucorcd twice in it. 0:► Pi i'lay .h►. perfooned Lady 7ouldcy, iu tbe,Proruked but with fewer clai►us to approbation. ORATORIOS . . The Oratorios for the season commenced on Monday evening, being the anniversary of King Charles's Martyrdom., At t)rtny.lane there was a selection from the Messifdr, with Beethoven's new Oratorio of the of Wire. The principal vocal pertOrmers were Madame Sessi, the first s►nger at the Opera House, who was encored in most of her airs, Mrs. Diekons, Mrs. Bland, Mr. Bellamy, and Mr Pyne. At Covent Garden; the Messiah was performed complete. Miss Stephens, Mrs. Salmon. Miss Singleton, Miss Griglietti, and Messrs. Brakam, Loney ; Durusset k and Bart'calm', being the principal per il/I'lllM.