The Sun.
London, England, 1847-04-07 00:00:00

THE PENINSULAR MAIL.

SOUTHAMPTON, APRIL 6.—The Peninsular and
Oriental Company's steam ship Madrid, Captain
John Weeks, arrived at Southampton this afternoon,
at half-past four o'clock, from Gibraltar, and landed
her mails from the following places, in charge of
Lieutenant Smythe, Admiralty agent. The mails
Were forwarded to London by the six o'clock train.
Tier dates of sailing are—Gibraltar, 28th March;
Lisbon, 31st ; Oporto, Ist April ; Vigo, 2d ; Corunna,
no communication.'

The Madrid brings home about thirty passengers,
amongst whom are Colonel Fane, Dr. Irwin, Mr.
Cot, Mr. Walsh, &c.
Her cargo consists of oranges, eggs, wine, &c., and
four boxes of bullion. The weather during the
Voyage outward was bad, with strong winds ; home-
ward moderate, with light winds.
STATIONS OF HER MAJESTY'S SHIPS.—At Vigo,
on March 23, her Majesty's ships Superb, America,
and Thetis ; at Oporto, her Majesty's ship Nautilus ;
in the Tagus, Hibernia, Trafalgar, Canopus, Incon-
stant, and steamer Phoenix.
STATIONS or VESSELS or WAR or FOREIGN
STATES.—At Vigo, on March 23, the Spanish frigate
Isabel the 2d ; in the Tagus, French brig Cygne, and
Portuguese squadron ; Cadiz Bay, Spanish steamer
Blasco de Gardy ; at Gibraltar, her Majesty's steamer
Virago and Trident.
SHIPS OBSERVED ON TIE 'VOYAGE.—Passed a large
French man-of-war steamer off Cape St. Mary, steer-
ing to the S.E., also a three-masted steamer to the
south of Finisterre, on the 2d April, supposed to be
French, and three in the Bay of Biscay, on the 4th
April, under French colours, going south. Passed a
ship, about 600 tons, off Finisterre, with bowsprit
standing, mainmast gone by the board, and the stumps
of fore and mizen-mast, apparently abandoned, also a
boat and much wreck in the bay.
MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE.—Passed Vianna
On the afternoon of the 23d March; there was firing
from the fort upon the town, continued with
spirit as long as we could distinguish from the ship.
At Oporto things remain in much the same state.
They are much alarmed at Lisbon, and continually
keep the town under arms, for fear of an assault, as
is expected, upon the town ; the Duke of Cornwall, a
steamer, chartered it is said for six months to carry
troops to and fro, arrived in the Tagus.on the 31st of
March, and is armed as a war-steamer, and they are
in daily expectation of the arrival of the Royal Tar,
R steamer bought for the Government, for the same
urpose. Her Royal Highness the Princess Anne
Marie, sister of Dom Miguel, with her daughter and
,three sons, came from Cadiz to Lisbon, and was sa-
luted by the British, French, and Portuguese men-of-
war, and seemed much excited by the deference
Showed to her. She was in good health, and also her
daughter, who is a beautiful girl of about eighteen;
the sons are about the ages of eight and twelve. The
British fleet now lying in the Tagus are uncertain as
to their movements ; as they daily expect an assault
on the town, they are lying there for British subjects,
11,110 will find refuge therein, and the fleet will imme-
diately depart.

THE SARAH SANDS.—LIVERPOOL, TUESDAY ATTER-
°°II.--The Sarah Sands tuok her departure on her
, She voyage for New York, about two o'clock to-day.
nad 50 cabin and 120 sec^nd chss rnseeDg'rF,
2'„rse cargo of general goods, specie to the amount of
aterlin and mails for the United States. The
Proceed g*
500 Bof the voyage are estimated at not less than
oz

ROYAL ITALIAN OPERA,
COVENT GARDEN.
The Royal Italian Opera at Covent Garden, opened
last evening, under the management of Mr. Beale.
We have already given severe' notices of the altera-
tions which have been made in the interior of the
theatre under the direction of Mr. Albano, the ar-
chitect, to fit it for the purposes of an Italian Opera
House, we shall, therefore, on the present occasion
confine ourselves to giving a general description of
the coup d'ceil presented by the theatre last evening
in its complete state, with all the scaffolding removed
and as fitted up for operatic performances. The salle
itself is nearly two.thirds larger than that of the old
theatre. The circle, or rather the horseshoe of
boxes is carried back into the saloon, the roof
has been raised, and the pit has been exca-
vated, so that there are now six tiers of
boxes.. The decorations on the panels of the boxes
are white and gold, and the ornaments are of very
elaborate workmanship. The second tier of boxes is
supported upon Caryatides, which produces a novel
and pleasing effect. The supports of the upper tiers
are hid by the draperies. The boxes are lined with
scarlet draperies, and the curtains are of rich scarlet
silk, the hangings being of scarlet velvet. These
draperies give to the house a magnificent, but some-
what heavy appearance. The proscenium boxes are
flanked en each side by Corinthian columns, with
gilt capitals, as at Drury:lane and the Haymarket
theatres. The chandelier is, perhaps, the most superb
ever seen, and it completely illuminates the house.
In addition to this, there is a branch containing three
wax candles to each box of the two lower tiers—a
novelty in the way of lighting a theatre that is in-
troduced here. these branches proceed from the
moulding of the boxes, and the light is, consequently,
thrown from below upwards. The ceiling is richly
embellished by allegorical paintings, which reflect
the highest credit on the artistic skill of Signori Perri
and Venardi, of the Theatre Italien, Paris, who have
been employed to embellish it, and who have
also painted the drop curtain, which is exceed-
ingly rich in its pictorial embellishment. As soon
as the doors were open, the house was crowded in
every part, and the appearance of Costa in the
orchestra was the signal for loud and frequently-
repeated shouts of cheering, which were acknow-
ledged gracefully by the musical director. The opera
chosen for the opening was Semiramide, and Mr.
Beale has certainly shown great judgment in select-
ing it. It is, perhaps, Grisi's greatest character.
Tamburini had years since made the character of
Assur his own ; in the new contralto Mademoiselle
Alboni was sure to make a hit in Arsace, and the
choruses and orchestra were already well drilled in
the music. He was thus enabled to play out his
great cards at once, and with effect. The following
was the cast :
Semiramide Madame Grisi..
Arsace —Mademoiselle Alboni.
Assur ...Signor Tamburini.
Idreno Signor Lavia.
Oroe Signor Polonini.
Grisi, who has grown somewhat stouter than she was
last year, looked well, and was in excellent voice.
It is needless to add that she was indeed the Queen
of the Assyrians. Tamburini has not appeared in
England for four years, and we regret to sav that
those four years have left their mark on him. -lie is
somewhat increased in size, but there is the same in-
tellectual
expressive countenance, the same energy,
the same passion in acting; but his voi,;e is not what
it was. It is occasionally husky, and in its upper notes
uncertain. He still accomplishes great things, but
with visible effort, and we have been unused to this
with Tamburini ; still, take it for all in all, his Assur
is a great performance, and when he shall have recovered
from the fatigues of his voyage, and have become
again accustomed to the English climate, let us hope
that Tamburini will be himself again. In the great
duet with Grisi, in the second act, she at times com-
pletely sang him down. The great hit of the night
was the debut of Alboni. Her voice is one of the
richest, clearest, purest contraltos ever heard. As a
musician she is perfect ; her features are beautiful
and most expressive, and her acting is everything
that can be desired. Imagine Pisaroni with beau-
tiful features and a fine figure, and you have
Alboni before you. Her " scene d'intrata" at once
secured her position. The audience felt that they
were listening to an artiste of genius. The only
encores of the evening were bestowed on Alboni—
first, in the finale to the scene with Oroe in the
second act, and next in the duet with Grisi (the gem
of the opera), Giorno d'orror. We never heard Grisi
exert herself more than she did in this duet. It was
evident that she felt it was a trial of skill between
herself and, the accomplished dcbutant, and the con-
sequence was, that this duet was given superbly.
Signor Lavia is a worthy and pains-taking tenor.
but Signor Tagliafico, who acted the part of Oroe,
although rated as a primo basso, will never rival
Lablache, who used to make so much of this cha-
racter. The chorus singers were well drilled, and
sung the music correctly, but it would be well if the
director would endeavour to infuse a little more ani-
mation into his subordinates, and make them act as
well as sing. The opera was well put upon the stage,
and at the conclusion Alboni, and Grisi, and
Tamburini were called for. The national anthem
was sung at the conclusion of the opera,
(which was not over until after midnight), and the
new ballet, Les Odalisques, with Mademoiselle Fleury
(who, two years since, appeared at Drury-lane), con-
cluded the evening's entertainment. The ballet, the
scenery of which is splendid, and which was com-
pletely successful, did not conclude until such a late
hour that we must defer a more detailed notice of it
to another opportunity.