The Sun.
London, England, 1852-04-06 00:00:00

PARIS THEA

RI CAL S.

FRANCAIS.—Another! imitation fiorn the classics
has'beed given, here with tolerable success,_ under
the title .of Les Trois, Amours de Tibulle, a kind
of condensatiop
,of the works of that most elegant
of elegiac poets, in one act and in verse, by M.
Tail hand, , Instead of Plautia, Delia, Ne-
mesis, iind Nemrs, M. Tailhand introduces only
Delis, News, and the apocryphal Sulpitie,„ and
gracefully illustrates the inconstancy of the. Roman
knight; who, after forsaking his first love, Delia, for
the charms of Nesera and Sulpitia, returns at the
close of the piece, .
.al primo, to Delia, never more to
forsake her, despite all the little obstacles her husband
May throw in the way of the lovers. Les Trois
Amours de Tibulle is very well acted ; Mmes. De-
nain, Judith, and Merle being the Delia, Nears,
and Sulpitia; while M. Maillart's performance of
Tibullus is very commendable. M. Tailhand's name
was proclaimed with all the honours at the fall of the
curtain.

VARIETIES.—Two merry trifles have met with a
hearty reception here under the titles of Le Chateau
de Coetaven and Un Monsieur qui Preud la Mouche.
In the ffrst, two travellers in the depth of Britanny,
harassed with a long day's march, arrive at night in
a fine old chateau, where the lord of the manor and
his lady generously offer them a bed and supper. Our
travellers, ho-Wever, imagine they are in an inn, and
hence a series of absurd quid pro quos arises, which
keeps the house in roars of merriment- until the fall
of the curtain. The other affair is a gross burlesque,
which exhibits Arnal as. an iratund gentleman, ready
to draw the sword on the least provocation, in con-
trast With M. Became', the most pacific of fathers-
in-law, and of which the merit consists chiefly in the
acting. The other parts are well supported by Le-
clerc, Kopp, and Mdlle. Dueler).
PORTS ST. MARTIN.---A drama, which has been
got up in a style of splendour and completeness which
would reflect credit on the Grand Opera, was pro-
duced here on Thursday night, of which the
renowned sculptor Benevenuto Cellini is the
hero, who gives his name to the piece.
The incidents are taken partly from the en-
tertaining memoirs of that extraordinary per-
sonage, who, by the way, fully justified the line
of the poet—" Genius to madness nearly is allied.'
The author of the drams, M. Paul Maurice, has also
availed himself of some romantic incidents in connec-

tion with the great sculptor's visit to Paris on the
invitation of Francois I. At the opening of the
piece we find the great Florentine established at Paris
with his favourite pupil Ascanio, whom he has brought
up from childhood, and for whom he entertains the
affection of a parent. Ascanio has the fortune
to attract the favour of the Duchess d'Etampes, the
beautiful mistress of the King ; but Cellini, knowing
the danger which attend liaisons with Royal favou-
rites like the Duchess, peremptorily inter-
poses, and effectually prevents the accomplish•
meat of her designs. Mortified at this interference,
the Duchess becomes the inexorable enemy of Ben-
yenuto, against whom, she employs all her influence
with the* Alonareh ; and an occasion speedily arises
to enable her to gratify her malice against him, by
the King having granted Cellini the chateau of the
Grand Nesle to carry on the great works on which
he is engaged. This chateau being in the occupation
of the Sire d'Estourdis, Provost of Paris, on his ap-
plying for entrance, leads to a fierce altercation be-
tween them, which end 3 in the hot-blooded Floren-
tine, olden by his pupils and numerous workmen,
breaking into it and obtaining possession vi et armis.
The offended Provost, forced to yield, resides in
an adjacent tower ; he bas a fair daughter, Colombe,
between whom and the young Ascanio a mutual
passion shortly springs up, and even the heart of
Cellini himself is not proof against her charms; for,
seeing her every day walking in her garden from
the window of his atelier, he becomes deeply ena-
moured, and this leads to the most effective and dra•
matic incident in• the piece. M Meliugue, who is
known to be scarcely less eminent as a sculptor than as
an actor, and who is the Benevenuto of the piece, in a
moment of fervour, as she crosses the stage at a dis-
tance, seizes a mass of shapeless clay, and under the
eye of the spectator literally works out a model
of the fair original, which is so correct in
likeness . and attitude, that it created a
feeling of surprise and enthusiasm on the
part of the public rarely equalled, and this genuine
artistical feat was rewarded with thunders of sp.
plause. On learning, however, the sentiments of
his beloved Ascanio for Colombe, he generously sa-
crifices his passion. Meanwhile the war of intrigue
between the. Duchess and Benvenuto continues, and
she succeeds in drawing down on him the King's
displeasure, but he obtains a return of the royal fa-
vour on condition of his casting a colossal statue of
Jupiter in brcnze, and this leads to another most
effective scene, in which the artist, still thwarted and
harassed by the enmity of the Duchess, is on the
point of failure until the last moment, when he tri-
umphantly succeeds; and, after defeating the ma-
chinations of Mme. d'Etampes at every point, he
obtains the King's consent to the marriage of his
pupil with the Provost's . daughter. We have pur-
posely omitted an interminable crowd of incidents,
which complicate and lengthen this piece almost
beyond the bounds of endurance. (The piece com-
menced at half-past seven, and ended an
hour after midnight.) It requires the pru-
ning-knife, or we would recommend a
hatchet for the operation of curtailment. The
effect of its many highly dramatic scenes is
throughout impaired; and in some instances destroyed,
by the tedium and heaviness which precede or follow
the best of them. The acting of Melingue
may truly be called the life and soul of
this entire drama. His appearance, manner,
strange mixture of courtesy and impetuous
violence, and, above all, his brilliant eye, bring to
the mind of the spectator the portraiture of the fiery
Florentine, as described in the pages of Roscoe, and
by the artist himself in his autobiography. In other
erprisin
respects the acting is satisfactory. Some of the
scenery, representing Paris in the olden time, is a
tr.eat for the antiquary,. and the costumes are fasti-
?rbously in accordance with the period at which the
'eeAnier•iBl-11asickett, of New York, well known as an en-
. Et,7l3i stifle
g Aniederican manager, and also in England as
New York, reputedicatol
a distil).
°vector, has been passing the winter in
Para.
for Niblo's &eatatr"'ng with some of the first artistes,
establishment in Broadway,
be the most extensive and best
appointed place of amusement in America.

ith t andlie' .1.-
Mr.
Tennant,
M.P., had
Sir Robert A. Fergrison, Ara.-----.,
dent of the Board of Trade, on
. °resident and Vice-Presi-
an interview yesterday,
Act Amendment Bill. tn subject of the Passengers
Dispatches were received at the col
onial oft
from the Governors of the West India Islands,-ce yesterday,
of New South Wales, New Zealand, Van Diemen
the Governors
from the Governor of Turk's Island. 's Land, and
His Serene Highness Prince Leopold of Saxe Coburg went
to Claremont yesterday afternoon, and visited the ,ountess
doNottilll itPd tin roach itoyal ttawny....