The Sun.
London, England, 1840-06-01 00:00:00

HER MAJESTY'S THEATRE

Persiani's opera, " Inez di Castro," was produced at
this theatre, for the first time in England, on Saturday
night, with the following cast of characters :
Alphonso IV. (King of Portugal) Sig. Lablache.
Don Pedro (his son) Sig. Rubini.
Gonzalez (a nobleman)
Roderigo (Captain of the Royal Archers) Sig. G. Galli.
Inez di Castro
Blanche (Infanta of Castile)
Elvira (attendant on Inez) .... Mad. Bellini.
The plot is partly founded on the following well-known
passage in the history of the beautiful Inez di Castro, and
partly invented :—Don Pedro, the son of Alphonso the
Fourth, King of Portugal, subsequently to the demise of his
first wife, Constantin, secretly united himself to Inez di
Castro, a descendant of the Royal Family of Castile.
From this latter family Don Pedro was himself
descended on the mother's side. Shortly after the
death of Constantia, Don Pedro was importuned by
most of his immediate connections and friends to make
a selection of a second wife. To these importunities, how-
ever, he turned a deaf ear, and eventually rejected the pro-
posal in such terms as to give rise in the minds of the sup-
porters of the Alphonso dynasty to a suspicion that his
affections were already engaged; accordingly no means
were left untried for the purpose of discovering the sup-
posed object of his love. Their suspicions at length
pointed to Inez de Castro, who was no less distinguished
for her mental acquirements than for her personal beauty;
and this idea having once taken possession of their imagi-
nation, was soon strengthened by their fears, so that already.
in their foreboding thoughts the proud family of Inez had
supplanted them in the favour of the young King. Al-
phonso, too, was, without much difficulty, induced, by the
insidious representations of Diego Lopez, Pacheco,
Pedro Coelho, and Alvaro Gonzalez, to entertain serious
apprehensions that, in the event of such a union, the
interests of Ferdinand, the son of Don Pedro by his
first wife, might be compromised. To the remon-
strances of the King, Don Pedro, not daring to avow his
marriage, only replied by an absolute refusal to marry
another, in consequence of which Alphonso, with the ad-
vice of his councillors, resolved upon the death of the un-
fortunate Inez. This barbarous determination soon reached
the cars of Beatrice, the Queen Mother, who lost no time
in cautioning her son against the danger which threatened
his wife. Don Pedro, however, cenceiving that it was no
more than a scheme, whicn had been planned with a view
of exciting his apprehension, disregarded the advice of his
mother, though backed by that of the good Bishop of
Braga. The temporary absence of Don Pedro, in pursuit
of the pleasures of the chace, appeared to the enemies of
Donna Inez to afford a most favourable oppo-_-tunity for the
accomplishment of their design, and Alphonso repaired to
Coimbra, where Inez was residing, in the convent of
Santa Clara. Terrified at the news of the King's arrival,
Inez nevertheless summoned up all her resolution, and
being, with her children, shown into the Royal presence,
threw herself at the feet of her husband's father, and im-
plored his mercy. Alphonso, unable to resist her suppli-
cations, suspended the execution of his task until his evil
counsellors had succeeded in extinguishing the spark
of tenderness which the fair object of their jealousy
had awakened in her Sovereign's breast. Ultimately
she became the victim of their machinations, and
was put to death in 1355. The desperation of Don
Pedro, on discovering what had occurred, knew no bounds.
lie revolted against his father, and but for the interces-
sion of the Queen Mother and the Bishop of Braga, the
consequences to all parties must have been fatal. As a
compensation for the sufferings be had undergone, he was
loaded with honours; but immediately after the death of
Alphonse, he gratified his thirst for vengeance by ordering
the councillors of the late Kuig to be put to death amidst

,he most cruel tortures; and 'his attachment to Donna

Inez, by causing her corpse to be habited in the royal
robes, and wearing the crown upon her head, and to be
placed on the throne, whilst the grandees of the empire
were compelled to kneel and kiss the hem of her robes,
and pay that homage after death which she had been so
cruelly deprived of during her life. After this ceremony
had been duly observed, Don Pedro, attended by the
whole of the court, followed the body on foot to Aleobaca
(a distance of 30 miles), where it was entombed, and a
magnificent monument, surmounted with a bust of the la-
mented Intz, crectel to her memory.
The opera, boa ever, as performed, differs considerably
from this historical detail. For instance, the discovery of
Pedro's attachment for Inez is made almost coeval with
her death the murder of Alphonso by Gonzalez is invented,
and applied to the same time; and the slaughter of the
innocent cffipring of the hapless lady, and her still more
hapless spouse, is contingent upon both tkese circumstances.
Inez di Castro is pardoned at the instance of Blanche,

,
..-. .__
her rival ; in the libretto of the opera her Royal fathcr-
in-law is murdered, almost eauselessly, by the traitor Gon-
zalez at the banquet which ensues on their reconciliation;
her infants are murdered at the same time by the same
monster, and she herself, after partaking of a poisoned
cup presented to her by this fiend in human form, first be.
comes insane with grief at the loss of her children, the
death of her father, and the absence of her husband, and
then dies of the poison she has drunk. Tho overture,
with which the opera commences, is of a commonplace
character. Of nearly the same character are the opening
scene, which is a kind of chorus by the Nobles of the
Court; the second, which is a rapid dialogue in recitativo
between Gonzalez and the attendant Nobles; and the
third, which is a dialogue of a like description between Al-
phonzo and this ♦illain. There are, however, in it two spirit-
ed solo paseages, in which the King apostrophises the shade
of Constance, Pedro'; first wife, on being informed of his
son's attachment to Inez di Castro. Scene the fifth pre-
sents Inez in the garden of her own castellated abode,
reading a letter which announces the near arrival of Pedro ;
and here, in truth, the opera begins to assume a high cbr.-
racter. The solo part, sung by her, as she listens to the
coming of her husband, is of a high order, arid was given
with a force of feeling, a depth of ex?ression, a tenderness

and a pathos, by Madame Persiani, that she has never
surpassed. There was some good singing by Rubini and
Persiani, when the principal features of the opera were
developed. The impassioned dialogue which takes place
between the lovers was given with great effect, and met
with due applause. The final scene of the first act, when
Pedro and Inez avow their marriage in the presence of
Alphonso and Blanche of Castile, was eminently
successful, both as regarded the performance and the music.
In the second act the interest increases. The melodious
soliloquy of Blanche by Mdlle. Grisi was admirably per-
formed and elicited great applause. The third act is but
brief; but is full of dramatic effect. The King has been
murdered ; the infant children of Don Pedro and Inez di
Castro have been slain ; the wretched wife and more
wretched mother has become insane from those accumu-
lated horrors. She strays into a churchyard, and dies ;
but not until we have the warranty of her husband that
her death shall bo avenged. On the whole the opera was
highly successful. Iler Majesty and Prince Albert, the
Queen Dowager, the Duchess of Cambridge, the
Duchess of Gloucester, and the Prince of Saxe
Leiniu-
gen were present all through its performance. The house
was crowded to inconvenience.

MORTALITY in the METROPOLIS

The following arc the results of " A Table of Mortality
for the Metropolis, showing the Number of Deaths from
all Causes Registered, in the Week ending Saturday, the
23d of May, 1840." The Table is issued from the Office
of the Registrar-General:—

Weekly
Total. Average,

CAUSES OF DEATH.

1838,

Epidemic, Endemic, and Contagious Diseases 126 265
Diseases of the Brain, Nerves, and Senses 137 156
Diseases of the Lungs, and other Organs of
Respiration . . ...
Diseases of the Heart and 13loodvessels ...
Diseases of the Stomach, Liver, and other

. ,
Organs of Digestion 62 57
Diseases of the Kidneys, &c...
Childbed, Diseases of the Uterus, Sic
Diseases of the Joints, Bones, and Muscles
Diseases of the Skin, &c 1 1
Diseases of Uncertain Scat lO2 102

Old Age, or Natural Decay 49 79
Deaths by Violence, Privation, or Intemperance 17 26
Causes not specified
Deaths from all Causes -

Average Weekly Deaths
Deaths in the Average Weekly
Week. Deaths, 1838.
West Districts ......... 114 156
North Districts l5l 172
Central Districts . 145 208
East Districts
South Districts ........ 194 233

Total

1,013

It is stated that under the term Metropolis are corn
prised the 32 districts herein mentioned, which include the
City of London within► and without the walls, the City and
Liberties of Westminster, the out parishes within the
bills of mortality—and the parishes of St. Marylebone ;
St. Pancras ; Kensington ; Fulham ; Hammersmith
( Chapelry) ; St. Luke, Chelsea ; Paddington ; St. Mary,
Stoke Newington; St. Leonard, Bromley; St. Mary-le-
bow ; Camberwell; Greenwich ; St. Nicholas and St.
Paul, Deptford ; and Woolwich. The population as enu-
merated in 1831 was 1,494,890. The weekly average for
1838 was obtained by dividing the deaths registered in that
year by 52. In comparing it with the weekly deaths in
1840, it must be borne in mind that the metropolis in.
creases nearly two per cent. annually ; and that, if the
population had been the same in 1833 as in 1840, the deaths
would have been one 27th part more numerous.
General Register-office, May 28, 1840.

A letter has just been received here from Capt.
Shaw, of the KAlain of this port, written in lat. 0. 15.
lon. 17. 47. IV. and dated the sth of April, Thy
'
had then been in company twelve days with the Mandarin con-
vict ship from London, with John Frost and his associates on
board, during which time the winds were so light that the ves-
sels could not proceed at a greater rate than twenty miles a
day. Capt. Shaw says :—" I had the pleasure of dining On
board the Mandarin, and of conversing with Messrs. Frost,
Jones, and Williadis. Frost says he would far sooner have
been executed ; but they are very penitent. He is a decent,
nice looking old man." We believe these are the first tidings
received of those persons since their departure from England,
and, though brief, it may be somewhat gratifying to their
friends.—Greenock Advertiser.
At the drawing-looms and levees it has become
a matter of frequent remark, that persons present themselves
wlth a variety of miht icy deco:•ations, and who to foreigners
appear to be the most distinguished officers of our empire, the
fact being that they are merely officers of General Evans's
auxili,ry coyly:, and that, standing beside them, are to be seen,
undecorated, the heroes of Ciudad Rodrigo, Badajoz, Vittoria,
and (Alter scenes of British valour. To behold these bedi-
zoned Christiano soldiers of a day in company with the endur-
ing gallantry of that most perfect specimen of disciplined bra-
very, the old Peninsular army, would go far to: justify the con-
cluding remark of Col. Napier, in his last volume of " The
Peninsular War," viz., " Th. the war terminated, anti with
all the remembrance of the veterans' services."— Sunday Paper.
THE RAILWAY AND NORTHAM ROAD COAI-
ZyAlcwl .i—chTthbee pNarotritt:ismimn tchoismcpaasemhraevferacionmfreotmo anla3iryriantiggefnoiretiatn,
injunction, tire Railway Company undertaking to pay the costs.
—Southampton Independent,