The Sun.
London, England, 1852-04-13 00:00:00

PRINCESS'S THEATRE.

The extraordinary run which the Easter piece en-
joyed at this theatre last year was less attributeble to
any peculiar humour in the dialogue than to some
very piCturesque-scenery„ to 'the extraordinary and
inimitable personation of a monkey by Flesmore, and
to the convulsing exploit's, -of _Keeley and Wigan as
" the bounding bricks of Babylon. " Not that the
dialogue was, as regards fun,• much below the average
of that employed in fairy burlesques, but the fact is,
that the profusion of puns, old and new, good and
indifferent, which has signalised_ productions of this
nature for several seasons past at divers of the Lon-
don theatres, has so jaded the public that the speaking
partslave become in their estimation completely sub-
servient to the effects Of scenery, costume, and ballet.
People go more to, see than to hear a burlesque. In
the entertainment,, however, produced last evening at
the Princess's Theatre under the title of Wittikind
and his BrothrS; or, The Seven Swan Princes and
the Fair Melusine this Stale trick of punning has
been wisely .- abandoned -by its author. The
dialogue is smooth and unpretentious, not
thetitute of huinour, but free from pointed
absurdities. The story of Wittikind and his Brothers
is founded on this German fairy tale, yclept " The
Seven Swans," which, if we recollect right, has been
also handled by Andersen. Esel, Kitig of Miirchen-
land, the father ;;of seven-sons and one daughter,
Melusine, by a first wife, is, married to a sorceress
Queen, Mandragore, who persuades her henpecked
spouse to send Melusine, when a child, to be reared
by the shepherds of Miirchenland. The opening
scene of the fairy tale Ands her celebrating her birth-
day among the peasants. Their rustic merriment is
broken in upon by the arrival of Adelmann, the
mayor of the palace to Ting Esel, with a summons
of Melusine to the court, on the occasion of the
knighting of Wittikind and his brothers. Melusine
leaves her shepherd friends with regret, and one of
them, Ulf, 'her foster: brother, contrives to fol-
low her to the court. Here, by the spells
of Queen Mandragore, who poisons her bath, Me-
lusine is transfoemed'into hideousness, and is driven
from the coudAS an impostor. • Ulf alone recognises
her, and proffets her from the blows and the insults
of the lacqueys. With-.him she wanders away into
the woods; and there, by the intervention of the fay
Rinnilde is restored to her original beauty. Mean-
while, the Queen, anxious to' obtain the sole power,
transforms the King into •an owl, and the seven
princes into wild swans, who fly forth incontinently.
At nightfall, however; the spell is suspended, and the
princes resume their htiMan forms. During the night
they discover their sister. Anxious to escape from
pursuit of their step-mother, they weave a net of
rushes, end fly with Melusine over the sea to Avalon,
leaving Ulf behind to follow as he can; and this
flight closes the first act. The second act discovers
Melusine sheltering in a cave overlooking the
plains of Avalon. The fay .Rinnilde, in a vision, points
out to her that. she may restore her brothers to their
human shapes by spinning shirts of thistledown,
during.: the 'iiieening and weaving of which she is
neither, to epeak' nor smile. Ulf' arrives, having some-
how crossed the sea and is perplexed to find Melusine
dumb-and-sad. She • sends him to gather thistles
for her, and while he is absent Lothaire, Lord of
Avalon, entering the cave in pursuit of his hawk, is
charmed by her beauty and Silence,—he happening to
be blessed with seven sisters who are inveterate
chatterers. Melusine- is taken to court, and there
Lotbaire weds her with great splendour. Meanwhile
Mandragore, who has been driven from Miirchenland
by the revolt ]of.her people has arrived in Avalon to
np
ask Lothaire's aid against the rebels, attended by
er in his
Ahdelmann, delmann, and bearing her wretched husband with
she
ew sehraspuetid oowe is
a witch,l.Recogn andizing
aes th the horned King
sh
induces him to follow-her to one of her nocturnal
visits to the churchyard,whither
she goes to gather
thistles fore h
• witch, er
spinning. The King, believing her a
charters consents,er to her execution. In prison she en-
ge cof beothers, who have been arrested on a
whom, during tigning.the princess (with
interviews in theirpiece,s human forms). Melusine
Ulf, succeeds in ceeenOlene. and, distrusted by all but
about to fire the pii,,Jl;3l?igch the shirts as they are
a sorceress. The princes, who sielie is to be burnt as
the pile as swans, are 'restored to atvt,e, flown down to
King Esel having previously been their human forms,
the presence of mind of wit.tikined,
adudeni‘cihanted by
having' 136eb, in her turn, changed into an han.dragore
of her owe spells. The prince recognises I
thew faithone
and innocence of Alelustne, and the seven
r.
Wittikind the 'Wise, and his giddy.pated brethren,ince"
Ottocar the Obstreperous, Rudiger the Rough
,Iva
libald the Wavering,Eginhard the Energetic Hilde
brand the Headstrong, and Luitprand the 'Loving,
wed the yoluhle.tongueel Princesses of Avalon, Clo-
.. •