The Sun.
London, England, 1854-04-18 00:00:00

121 E g_TYII4I, _LI 0 141)0N, Irin SDAY :EYE NIN

EA.BTE'R AM`U,SIIMNiTT

DRtRY-LANE:

Last night this time-honoured theatre was re-opened for
operatic performances,' tinder the management of Mr. H.
Jarrett. The arrangements appear to have been made on
a very eatensi scale, and the object proposed is to give
the publiC a first-class musical entertainment at " play-
house prices,"
• . , , ~•
• The:" address -"-printed on the bills, deals in tome nude:
nimble generalities respecting the want of eliesp.9ol,*
M and shows :that although all Other branehts:Of u m
sic 4
now be enjoyed by the many at an economical cost, the
lyrical drama is alone kept up to a fancy price-7-a price
that the wealthy only can contemplate with'indiffeienT—
PlaCing it -wholly beyond the means of the :many wh-o crave
to indulge in such amusements. The dfrectOra :flit!,
Royal Opera, for such "the new establiihment. is desig-
nated, propose to. come Much within this - prohibitory
figure, and their tariff is that adopted by lg.r. E. T. Smith,
and other reforming managers. Whether the paitliness, of
the admission to entertainments of this nature has; not
hitherto been deendant on the costliness, of the Vocal
commodity, which is its element, is a question not dis-
cussed in the " address." Foreign singing birds,:those; we
mean, who can sing, are not to be caged for nothing, and
it is quite, possible to fill your house without at the same
time filling your treasury. However, we may conclude
that the arithmetic of the matter has been gone into, and
that the arrangements of the present adventure have not
been made without due computation. •
Our duty now is to say whether the opening exhibition
of the powers of this new company was commensurate
with the agreeable expectations created by the address.
That very important .questiOn we are happy in being en-
abled to decide,at once in the affirmative.

. The company, according to the present showing, is un-
doubtedly composed of many strong and serviceable mate-
rials. Madame Caradori, the prima donna of last year,
resumes the same position this, and as she has prevedler-
self to be an excellent dramatic actress—fast growing in
popularity, and well deserving of the fame she is steadily
and surely acquiring, we do not knoW of any person better
qualified to discharge the functions of this important office.
Mdlle. Sedlazek, the daughter of the eminent flautist, who.
has been singing abroad with honour, and who established
a favourable impression by her recent efforts at the second
of the New Philharmonic Concerts, is the seconda donna.
Then there is a Madatne'Rudesdorf, of whom we as yet
know nothing. Mille. Vestvali, the contralto, sang a few
nights ago at the Reunion des Arts, and those who heard
her pronounce a warm' eulogium no less upon her per-
sonal beauty than upon her superiority as a vocalist.
The principal tenor is Signor Pavesi, from the Scala, who
made his debut last night ; and the basses not only in.
elude Formes, an unrivalled ?inger in his several walks
as we all know, but even, it is rutnoured, Pischek.
Mr. Hamilton Braham is ' another of. the -enga&ements in
this department; likewise a Signor Arnoldi,, lately of the
Italian Opera of Paris. The same liberal enterprise which
has presided over this really excellent force as regards the
principals. has also extended to the chorus, which numbers
fifty voices, with thirty in addition to arrive next week.
The orchestra has been selected with equal prudence, and
contains some fifty-eight instrumentalists of signal effi-
ciency, as we had ample proof last night. Herr Lindpainter
is the conductor. .

If all these arrangements are permanent, there can be
little doubt of the substantive worth of the project. The
scheme is very comprehensive. The best operas of tho
Italian and German schools are to be given on alternate
nights, and we see that provision has been made to insure
just and satisfactory embodiments.
' The opera which was performed last night was the Norma
of and the interest that the announcement created
was evidenced in the crowds that attended. The audience
yeas a holiday one, and disposed evidently ,to enjoy itself.
The reception which it gave to the singers was warm and
cordial, and Madame Caradori, experienced an ovation
not unworthy of Grisi herself; and the performance of
this clever and intelligent singer more than justified
the prepossessions of the auditory. She sang the
music of the unfortunate Drnidess admirably, and the
principal scenes with a fire and animation, a truth and
propriety of expression, which astonished while it de-
lighted. The entire performance was replete with every
excellence. Whether in portraying the calm tranquillity
of the priestess, the " fury of the woman scorned," or the
heroic feeling which, compassionates and forgives, Madame
Caradori was uniformly good, and there was no mistake
as to the honesty of the applause. Her delivery of the
" Casts, Diva was marked' by many beauties. Nothing
could exceed the pleasure of the listeners as the opera pro..
ceeded, and 'Madame Caradori was recalled again and again
in the course_ Of the evening. The plaudits which were
beitowed upon het at the termination emanated, with
4` one consent," from the entire house. Mdlle. Sidlazek
rendered the music of Adelgisa very prettily, and with an
exactness and finish denoting her to be a praiseworthy and
eminently useful artiste, notwithstanding the childish sen-
timent that colours the vocal organ. Pavesi, who perso-
nated Pollio, sang with distressing falsity of intonation
throughout, indicating pretty plainly that he must be
speedily replaced by-some one less subject to this infirmity;
but Arnoldi, though not quite free from the same defect,
came out sonorously in tho music belonging to the pa-
triarch Oroveso.
At the close of the opera the National Anthem was sung
by the general company.
The entertainments concluded with a divertissement ;
but we must take some other opportunity of discussing the
merits of the nymphs who have been engaged by the ballet
master for this lively section of the lindertaking.

HAYM ARKET.
The Easter piece at the Haymarket is entitled Mr.
Buclatone's Voyage Roitncl the Globe, and described as " A
newand original cosmograpbical visionary extravaganza
and dramatic review, in one act and four quarters." Re-
garded as a draMatic coinposition, it is of slight structure ;
but, being blessed with a good dialogue, enriched with
good music, and illustrated with good scenery, it gave in-
finite satisfaction to the audience, and may fairly be pro-

flounced a " hit.". , • .
Mr. Buckstone is at once the drollest,. the 'most. senten-
tious, and the most sedentary of travellers. He does not
take the road like Don Quixdte, that he inayeleave giants,
slay dragons, tilt at 'windmills, dissolve enchantments,
and set Captive damsels free. Such plulaathropic projects
find little favour in his eyes. Neither does he travel after
the manner of Madamo Ida Pfeiffer, that most fear less and
adventurous ,of matrens, who wanders from the world's
girdle to the frozen pole with " Bunyan's pilgrim's Pro,
greys" in one pocket and a pound of salt in the-other. To
such erratic impulses, and to all the discomforts they ine-i
vitably engender, he Is, happily for hiniself and the London
playgoers, an utter stranger. He is a' traveller of the same
school is Zavieriernaitre, who, for along period of his life,
never crossed the threshold of his own door, and yet he has
left us in his " Voyage Autour de 33111. chambre" &pleasanter
book of travels than many a man has been able to pen who
has shivered with ,the Icelanders and panted. with the
Moors. On the principle; we laud presume, that a man
may be a good astronomer and yet not live -in the moon,
he deems it possible to be a great traveller, without push-
ing his peregrinations farther than Mr. Wyld's Globe is
Leicester-square. • It occurred to hini that, like the
nraunientioned'in. Mahomet's story; who lived years in a
moment, and travelled to the utmost limits of
,space with.
out ever leaving his arm-chair, he might sail the wide world
over -in: a .dream, without the Misery of raea-sickness, the
nuisance of passports, or the chronic anguish of incessant
disbursement. A happy thought, truly; and one in which,
with the aid of Mr. Wyld and Mr. Planche, he has sue.
ceeded is liter:milk. The plot of the story is the simplest
thing imaginable. Incompany with an unfortunate author
'(Mr.W. sarron), " a youth to fortune and to fame utir
known," Mr. BuCkstone repairs to Leicester-square, with
the intention of taking an actual voyage round Mr. Wyld's
Globe and an imaginary one round "the great globe itself."
At the foot of the staircase he and his companion are pro-
vided with arm-chairi, •in which to rest their weary limbs
before ascending ; but Morpheus marks them for his
own, and they fall asleep to the rof "Slumber my
Darlings." Cybele, alias Ultra, " air
the Goddess of the
World," (Mrs.- Fitzwilliam) appears to them in a dream'
and introduces them successively to her four daughteri—
Europe, Miss Ellen Grey ; Asia, Miss Grantham ; Africa,
Mrs. Caulfield ; and America, Miss A. Vining. On eacp.
of these young ladies Mr. Buckstone urges the Bartle earnest
entreaty that she will be graciously pleased to supply hint
with the materiel for an Easter piece that will pay. They
lead him through. some of the most beautiful districts of
their respective dominions—the scenery splendidly
illun-
trated by the pencils of Mr. W. Calzott, and Messrs.
Morris and O'Connor—but so far fromfacilitating,his pro-
fessional views, they regard his perplexity with evident
enjoyment, and take *a malicious satisfaction in repro-:
ducing subjects which they are well aware are either
already appropriated by other.men to his entire exclusion,
or else are completely " used up." Thirs Europe takeahim
to "the theatre of war," which he declares hi; utter in-
ability to manage. She then introduces her "young man
with a carpet-bag," meaning Mr. Woodifl, who is personated
by Mr. B. Villiers, and after running the gauntlet through
various other celebrities, she has the sublime effrontery to
propose an interview with the " Corsican Brothers." Mr.
Buckstone almost swoons at the thought, but when she as-
sures him that it is the last sight he shall ever get of them, he
is overjoyed at the announcement, and declares that upon
that blessed condition he is willing to endure the apparition
once more. The stage opens at the command of Europe,
and who should spring up but the "Duke of Glo'ster from
Drury-Lane," and the "Duke of Glo'ster from the Prin-
cess's," meaning Mr. Brooke and Mr. C. 'Kean ! Mr.
Buckstone retreats without" coming to an engagement,"
and, crossing the Dardanelles, continues his journey by the
Overland Route to Asia, where he sees "grand oriental
spectacles," wise elephants of the East standing upon their
heads, ",feasts of dragons," and " wonderful performances
of Chinese magicians" (the Messrs. Marshall), one of whom
does not stick at impaling his friend with dinner knives.
In' Africa he is struck with the sad appearance of its dark
angel, and indulges in various ethnological reflections on the
,Bosjesunins, Zulu Kaffir's, Earthmen, ithd other unnatural
curiosities; who Would willingly come to terms with him if
her would eixOtt Item In America he has an interriow

:~ - .