The Sun.
London, England, 1847-03-15 00:00:00

MADAME ANNA BISHOP IN

EDINBURGH.

This lady having completed her engagement at Dublin,
where, says the critic of the Pilot," we do not recollect for
years a star who has so completely won the good-will and
sympathy of a public," appeared on Tuesday evening for the
first time before an Edinburgh audience. A first appearance
in Edinburgh is a trying ordeal for any artiste for the Edin-
burgh audience has the character of being the most learned
and at the same time the most critical in the kingdom. To
an inferior artiste this would prove a source of failure—to an
accomplished artiste like Madame Bishop, it is, on the con-
trary, a harbinger of success; for an accomplished artiste
a critical and a learned audience. The character chosen for
her deldit was Amina, in the Sonnambula, The Caledonian
Mercury, speaking of her performance, says—" The beauti-
ful rnorceau, Oh, love, for me thy power,' was given with
the most brilliant finish and execution, and elicited the most
rapturous applause. But the greatest triumph of the even-
ing was the concluding solo, " Oh, don't mingle," which she
gave in the original language. Such a furore did the singing
of this rine composition create, that notwithstanding its re-
petition, the cheering and waving of hats and hat:dkercbiefs
did not subside until the curtain again rose, and it was given
a third time." The notice thus concludes—J. This lady is
now decidedly the first English singer of the day ; and we
are glad the Edinburgh public have the opportunity of lis-
tening to such a splendid voice, and with all the acces=orie
of the musical art—full orchestra, chorus, and tfliciet
operatic support.

MORE THEATRICAL LITIGATION
(From the Opera-Glass.)
THE RENTERS OF COVENT GARDEN THEATRE

AT WAR WITH THE HOUSE.
No sooner has the legal question been mooted of the closing
of Covent Garden Theatre against the performance of itslian
opera, than, pendente lite, and during the abeyance of that
important point, a hundred matters of public prerogative
spring forth and grow into greatness, from among the diqjecta
rnembra of violated contracts and broken faith. 11' title, with
a morality as bad as their law, and a
want of principle as
desperate as their undertaking, the adventurers of Covent
Garden seem to have encouraged the delusion, that time can-
cels honour,—that integrity is banished by Act of l'adta-
ment,—that the value of a deed vanishes with its infract ion,—
and the terms of a lease lose themselves among the years
which roll it on to its finality,—the public—holding very dif-
ferent and more constitutional views—determined after the
truth, deeming honesty sacred, and quickly jealous of its pri-
vileges, begins to make the gates of the new Babel. quake
under a thunder of its own, and is proclaiming a will and
purpose which defy, and will assuredly crush, inroad after
inroad upon its rights.
Our article of last week—copied in full into the public
journals, and iterated by the country press—has not only
told its tale of terror to the Covent Garden contractors fbr the
" pig in the poke," but has set the holders of other vested
interests to see how far the infringers of one right will be
the despoilers of another.
A description appears in the papers of the alterations and
desecrations which have been made architecturally within the
house ; the renters read it, and exclaim, " Why, this new
management is laying the foundation of another spoliation ;
our money consideration for the renters' shares will be
abrogated, as the money consideration for Mr. Lumley's ex-
clusive right to the performance of Italian opera would have
been abrogated, but for a warning from justice, and the in-
stepping of the law."
At once the renters are in arms; and the result of their
resolution is, that they will, in the event of the opening of the
theatre under the projected scheme, so legaly enforce their
statutable privileges, that the subscribers will be quite as
ready as the Chancellor to close the house.
We have received a Number of letters from this class of
property-holders of Covent Garden Theatre. One of them,
a gentleman of position, who has authenticated his statement
to us, has also forwarded extracts from the statute by which
the rights of the renters are secured. One of these is a provi-
sion that
_ .

" Each renter or his nominee shall be entitled to be pre-
sent at and see gratis, in ANY PART of COVENT GARDE:4
TNRATRE, or place to be used in lien thereof, except the
stage and behind the scenes, and except the boxes reserved"
Lmeaning the private boxes previous to the present altera-
tions], " every theatrical or other performance which shall
be puolicly exhibited at the above theatre," Zee.
This is as unmistakeable as the deed quoted in our last.
Our correspondent very properly argues, that the manage-.
ment can have no legal right to convert those public boxes,
in all of which the renters have saleable shares, into private
boxes, from which they are to be excluded. No; the ren-
ters will be legally free of the private boxes, as well as (by
matter of course) of the stalls; " unless," as it is playfully
remarked, " the lessee can make out in a court of law that a
stall is a reserved box !"
With much moderation, our correspondent suggestively
hints, that " he (the lessee) should not attempt to infringe
their indisputable rights, and thereby provoke hostility and
litigation, to which he must eventually succumb."
Well, this is a very pretty quarrel as it stands; but oye
gods, to what a consummation does it lead ! There are hun-
dreds of renters; and all of them are not, like our correspon-
dent,
of the genes gentkman. Mar! a man of them will
have " that as is his 'n " at any sacrifice of courtesy or good
taste. Many of the renters' shares are in the hands of those
who bought them for a guinea, and are nowpremiumising
them among the multitude upon the, temptation of a possible
contact with fine company.
In the Times they are advertised from day to day, and the
right of entree into stalls and private boxes is the democratic
impetus which sends them up. The right of inconvenienc-
ing the aristocracy is something, and hundreds would pay
for it with brutal pleasure. Imagine Lady a sub-
scriber, rapt in the luxury of some divine performance, sud-
deßly started out of propriety by the appearance of the
market-gardener who supplies her ladyship's greenhouse,in the distinguished society of her ladyship's cook I Con-
ceive another Jeames, of Berkeley Square, the nonchalant
occupier of the crimson-cushioned sitting of his lordship's
private box ! Fancy a true connoisseur, arrived a little
late in the pit, and finding an unrelenting renter in his
fancy stall. And again, bow exquisitely the project of
a lady's omnibus box, par eretnple (and we have heard that
such an absurdity is on the tapis), would assimilate with the
notion of some fair frail renter—from one of the resorts which
the theatre—presented with a lean share by the hard-ex-
torted liberality of some stockbroker's Newman Noggs,
claiming her right of entrée among the polished coterie ; stud
afterwards setting the fashions of Ilart-street, from a Caretßl
imitation of the glories of the emigrants from the West
We confess, however, that while thus alluding to the
abomination of those precincts of the theatre, which defile
it by immediate contact, there is, nevertheless, one ad-
vantage of locality, which stands out in fine relief, and es-
pecially for the quelling of the renters' rows. 'l 'he police
station is the resort in esse, for all practical purposes,
and now there had better be established an electric
telegraph between Bow-street and the boxes, the
station and the stalls I Or should legal assistance be
required in an emergency, the aristocracy of the
theatre will be convenient for the opinion of the
learned Baron of the Jude
e and Jury Club! There
is no doubt now that the renters will have their rows, if they
d. o not have their rights; and as what has already been done
in the way of alteration demonstrates that the rights at least
are to be defied, it is as well to be in the neighbourhood of
the police-office, for the rows that follow. Lovers of chstuil,-
ance, too, may take a round dozen of nightly brawls into
their account of the evening's entertainments; and we sh,lll
have the critics of the morning papers writing eurrente
calamo, "Box 49 interrupted this beautiful aria with an
&acute in alto, in which it was completely lost ; ' or ".t lie
obstreperous behaviour of stall 86 led to an exchange of
cards, by which a noble lord found himself in pros; •it of a
duel with his cheesemorrer." The eld U.P. and I'. S. riots
—which really were riots in their way—will revive their
formidable character—not like a " giant refreshed with
wine," but" like a revolution refreshed with renters;" and
while parvenu fashionable do their pugilism in the pit, there
will be ladies in the boxes in an hysteria of consternation at
the determined presence of " those odious renters or their
abominable nominees.'