The Sun.
London, England, 1849-04-16 00:00:00

HER MAJESTY'S THEATRE.

Mademoiselle Parodi repeated the character of Norma
[ on Saturday- evening, and more than justified the opinion
, which we expressed on Wednesday of her transcendent
talents. \V e extract the following notice of her perform-
ance of Saturday evening from a cotemporary, as it ex-
actly expresses our own opinions of the position and the
powers of Mademoiselle Parodi :—" Tho pretensions of
Mademoiselle Parodi as a dramatic vocalist are so high,
and the sensation created by her Norma is so general,
that another notice, a propos of her second appearance on
Saturday, cannot be deemed superfluous. Mademoiselle
Parodi must be looked upon as an artist playing for a
large stake. There is about her that marked pecu-
liarity —that decided absence of everything approaching
the conventional—that she must eventually take her posi-
tion in the very highest rank, or she misses her aim alto-
gether. She cannot become the mere utilite—the merely
pleasing vocalist. It will not be her's to win a public by
gentle allurements, but to gain admiration she must
command it—exact it as a tribute due to real genius.
The applause which she received on Tuesday, when she
made her delnit, was genuine and hearty; that
which was awarded her on Saturday was still
more enthusiastic. In several respects she
was manifestly better than on the first
night. The favourable reception had inspired her with
confidence; she was evidently more at home in her new
region; her execution had gained in certainty, and her
acting in fire. This was particularly observable in the
famous trio which terminates the first act. Of the
greatness of Mdlle. Parodi's acting there can be no
question. It is what lyrigal....lxagic acting should be—
large, imposing, and approaching the statuesque. The
lyrical tragedian cannot, like the speaking actor, dwell
on minute details. The language of operatic libretti is
written in an abstract style, showing a passion in its
broad characteristics rather than in its countless phases;
and even if it were otherwise, the very act of singing in-
stead of speaking prevents those niceties of discrimina-
tion which form the great merit of ordinary modern
acting. Mdlle. Parodi seizes on a passion in all its
largeness; it becomes her own, and is strongly marked
in countenance and gesture. With those who term her
acting exuberant we cannot agree. On the contrary,
it seems to us that a severe classical discipline has
set limits to her most energetic expressions, and a letter
(now in print) which has been addressed to her by her
avoidingopinion.
ITiahbeits.inodfigenxaangt gsecroaLionv;itohbvwiohuicshly
shperouvpes.
preceptress Pasta, and which especially commends her
fourar
braids Pollio is as truthful as it is impressive, while the
which combines the attitude of grief with which she kneels to Oroveso, and
the pose, during the war chorus,
in-
spiration of the priestess with the exultation of the
vengeful woman, could scarcely be exceeded in the
sculptor's art. Taking all things together—the original
talent of Mademoiselle Parodi, the distinctness of her style
from anything that has been recently seen, her youth
(and it is no trifle to play Norma at, twenty-two), her
association with Pasta, and the impression which she
has generally and really made upon the public, it must
be admitted that her accession to the operatic company
may be set down as an important event for those who
take interest in the lyrical drama.
her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cambridge, ac
companied by her Royal Highness the Princess Mary,
their Serene Highnesses the Princesses Amelie and Elise
of Hohenlohe Schillingsfurst, and their Serene High-
nesses the Prince Ernest and Prince William of Hesse
Phillipstahl, and the Prince Edward of Saxe Weimar,
honoured the performances with their presence. In the
Royal party were—the Comptesse d'Erfu and the Hon.
Miss Mitchel. His Royal Highness the Prince Leopold
of Naples, Count of Syracuse, attended by the Cheva-
lier Colona, honoured the theatre with his presence.
Amongst the visitors were—his Grace the Duke of Wel-
lington, the Duchess of Leeds
.and Miss Lane Fox, his
Excellency the Russian Minister and Mademoiselle
Olga de Lechner, the Conte Lielow,ky, his Excellency
the Austrian Ambassador, his Excellency the Swe-
dish Minister and the Baroness Rehausen, the Prince
Maglis.ni, the Marquis of Headfort, the Marquis of
Donegal, the Marchioness of Douro, the Marquis of
Clanricarde, the Earl of Cardigan, Earl and Countess
Caledon, the Earl of Munster, the Earl of Chesterfield,
the Earl of Aboyne, the Viscountess Glentworth, the
Viscountess Newry. the Viscountess Cantilupe, Lord
W. Lennox, Lord Gardner, Lady Shelley, Lady Quen-
tin, Lord Suffield. Lady F. Bentiuck, Lady Flower,
Lady Lisburne, Count Benowsky, Lord Elphinstone,
General the Hon. H. Cavendish, Baron Talleyrand, Sir
Bellingham Graham, Bart, and Lady Graham; Sir Ralph
Howard, Bart., and Lady Howard; Sir H. Webb, Bart.;
Sir Charles Wombwell, Bart.; Major-General Sir An-
drew Barnett, Bart.; Sir Charles Desvoeux, Bart., and
Lady Cecilia Desvoeux; Sir Michael Bruce, Bart.; Sir
Charles Shackerley, Bart. ; Sir B. Fraser, Bart. ; Mr.
Grenville Berkeley, M.P. ; Mrs. Dennistoun, Mr. H
Broadley, M.P., Mr. Montgomery, &c.