The Sun.
London, England, 1865-08-08 00:00:00

A Scene at the French Competition,

In the theatrical feuilleton of the Opinion Nationale, M.
Francisque Sarcy gives the following graphic account of
the proceedings last week at the sitting of the Conserva-
toire de Musique et Declamation for the adjudication of
prizes in the dramatic section :—" Tragedy always comes
first. The competition is always very feeble every year ;
tragedy is evidently much on the decline ; it attracts no-
body now, and the pupils who are forced to perform in it
at the Conservatoire have lost all faith in what they do.
Tragedy has taken refuge with Ricourt, who forms every
year, in the Rue de la Tour d'Auvergne, some heiress to
the great Rachel. This year the poor youths who were
made to pass before our eyes declaiming tragic alexan-
drines understand absolutely nothing about the matter ;
they merely repeat well or ill the intonations they have
learnt. There was one only in the number that we could
remark for his fine voice and intelligent style of delivery.
His name was Masset. It would be incorrect merely to say
that he was superior to the others, for the others had no
place at all ; the difference between him and them was
just that between something and nothing. I should not,
perhaps, have given him the first prize, if that prize con-
ferred certain privileges, such, for instance, as that of
making a debut at the Theatre Francois; but certainly he
merited the second. The competition of tragedy having
terminated, the judges retired, as is the L''-ut°nll
in to
the chamber of consultation, and then retui7"l. to
proclaim the result. The young man in question ha,._
the second accessit'—three of his comrades having
passed before him. The public of the Conservatoire
is naturally very excitable, but it has also, like all
other publics, a keen sense of equity. When M. Masset
came up to receive his second accessit' he was received
with loud applause from hands and feet, several times re-
newed. After that episode the trials in Comedy were pro-
ceeded to. Now, it so happened that this same pupil had
"Misanthrope,"
where for his piece the first act of the
where Alceste gives vent to his annoyance at the acts of
injustice with which the world is filled. The allusions
were easy, and the public amused itself, in order to show
the jury what it thought, in catching them all as they
flew, and supported them with furious bravos and long
shouts of laughter. And the young man himself, excited
by the applause and instigated by a secret indignation,
launched forth the imprecations of Alceste with an ac-
cent and force of which he certainly would not have
been capable on an ordinary occasion. When he came to
the famous lines—

" Mais entin, nous verrons dans cette plaidoirie,
Si lee bommes aurent assez d'effronterio,
• Seront assez mechants, scelerats et pervers,
Pour me faire injustice aux yeux de l'univers,'

his gesture was so energetic, the sound of his voice so
impassioned, that the whole audience thrilled with emotion,
and all eyes were turned to the jury, who sat in their box
stiff and immovable like Egyptian gods. The shouting
and applauding should have been witnessed to be believed.
The judges, however, did not bear malice, and this time
awarded the second prize to M. Masset. To this there
was nothing to object, inasmuch as the gainer of the first
(M. Michel) had played with great comic affect the first
scene of the Amphitryon,' which is extremely difficult to
L'e adequately rendered."