The Sun.
London, England, 1847-04-16 00:00:00

HER MAJESTY'S THEATRE.

was pro cl,ef d'iauvre of Be I Puritani,
duced her.. last evening., tor the first tune this seaeor,
with_the following cast :
Elvirq—Madarne Castellan.
G orgi o —Sign, ir Lablache.
Arturo— Signor Gardoni.
Riccardo—Signor Colletti.
It was the first appearance of Lablache for the season.
He was greeted as the greatest singer in the world
ought to ne greeted, with the hearti-st welcome that
could be given him, and never did he sing or act better.
The Elvira of Madame Castellan was, whether regarded
lyrically or histrionically a beautiful impersonation. It
would seem natural enough that her Elvira should pro-
voke a comparison with that of her great predecessor,
but Madame Castellan possesses certain physical advan-
tages over all her competitors in this character, of which
she has known so well how to take advantage as to ren-
der comparison impossible, by giving a perfectly diffe-
rent, perhaps truer, version• of the character. Madame
Castellan is young and beautiful, and she therefore can
make of Elvira that which the author evidently
intended Elvira to be, a lovely, unsophis-
ticated, trusting girl. Such was the Elvira of

Madame Castellan,—and this version of the character

makes the whole opera vraisemblable, and brings out
effects of which hitherto the habits& of the opera have
had no idea. For instance, the celebrated Polacca,
"Son vergin vezzosa," .

Ihas been hitherto regarded merely as an exquisite
melody, sung by Grisi as perfectly as music could . be
tsnunginbnukt,
at
tf
the
ete
singeryears
at
and least,
keep it
up the was impossibleillusion
of the scene. Castellan, on the contrary, looks
the " vergin vezzcisa in vesta di . Sposa " —the
young girl deckedheroseuitf_
the young girl abnridea.eenmSphleishedis
artiste actin', the young girl. Castellan sang the music
exquisitely, by appearing to make no effort, she accom-
plishedGasrisi,a
in a marvellous
decidedly the
degree, the, ars celare artem. Gardom is
everything. She possesses, .
best Arturo who has ever appeared. Ho is what neither
of his predecessors in this character were, an actor; and to
give a proper version of Arturo, acting is as necessary as
singing. We remember Rubini in this character—we
have seen Mario as Arturo many a time and oft—but we
prefer the Arturo of Gardoni. He is more youthful than
Rubini, more impassioned than Mario, and as accom-
plished a musician as either of them. His " A to o care,"
in t he first aei, was beautifully given, and was rapturously
applauded; and the third act, the whole burden of which
falls upon Arturo, was given in a manner that left
nothing to be desired. Colletti made more of the
character of Riccardo than has ever hitherto been
made of it. His voice has that which was want-
irg, both in Tamburini and Fornasari—steadi-
ness ; and as an actor he is 'quite equal
to either of th3se great artists. The suoni la tromba, as
given by Coletti and Lablache, created quite a furore,
and was rapturously encored. As a whole, I Puritani
has never been better performed at her M.jesty's Theatre
than it was last evening. The principal artistes were
called for at the conclusion of each act, and again at
the fall of the curtain. Between the acts of the Opera,
a Divertissement was produced, in which Carolina
Rosati and Paul Taglioni appeared ; and in which
little Maria Taglioni danced a new pas, entitled
" Posnania; ou Dense Polinaise," a variety of the Craw-
vienne, with all its elegance, but without its vulgarity. It
was a decided hit, and will become very popular. Caroline
Rosati danced ex qui,4tely, introducing some of her fa-
vourite pas from Thea. She was rapturously applauded and
houquw a were showered upon her in profusion. She
has now decidedly taken her place among the Messes.
After the opera, we had the new balltit of Orithia; ou
le Camp des Amazons, with the following cast:—
Or t hia—Mfte. Lucile Gr:thn.
Marthesia (La Rehm dee Aciazones)—Madame Co-
pere.
Alceis (Scythian Prince)—M. Taglioni.
Isapathe—Mlle. Mont'ort.

The following is the plot of the ballet :
It is n4...,hr. We are in the camp of the Amazons,
and of their Queen, •Marthesia. As a distant sound of
the horn is heard, the warriors awake ; day appears,
and they salute the sun. The horn approaches ; it
announces the arrival of Orithia, the Queen's niece,
who returns triumphant from her combats with the
Masssgetes, bearing on her arm the buckler of their
chief Alceis, whom she brings a prisoner. The Queen
celebrates this victory by dances, and ordains a royal
chase, to the conqueror in which the buckler of Alceis
is decreed. The Amazons hasten with delight towards
the forest.
Silence reigns once :more within the camp, when the
Prince Alceis enters it at, the peril of his life. He loves
Orithia, and what is peril to him if it brings him near
the object of his love! His buckler, raised as a trophy,
strikes his sight; he seizes it, and is about to destroy it
when the Amazons, carried by the chase towards the
camp, appear. He Mies himself behind a rock, whence
he can see without being seen.
The huntresses depart. Orithia, still haunted by
the recollection of the Prince, then arrives and con-
templates the trophy, which reminds her of Alceia.
She shudders at the idea that this token may become
the prize of another. She is about to return into the
forest, when the Prince appears. The Amazon recoils
affrighted. Alceis then declares his love, and to what
it has impelled him. Orithia entreats her lover to fly
from the implacable law which condemns to death every
man who dares to enter the-camp. Alceis refuses.
Isapatho, the Queen's favourite, has remarked the
trouble of her mistress, and, having followed her, has
been a witness of this scene. At a signal, the Amazons
hasten with Marthesia, who bitterly reproaches her niece
for having betrayed her oath. She then orders the
punishment of the captive at the tomb raised to the
memory of Argapesas, her husband, killed by the King
of the'SCYthians.
Orithia supplicates ; her companions join in her
prayers, but the Queen is obdurate. Alceis then is
doonied ; but on approaching the mausoleum where
he is to be sacrificed, he sees the name of his father
inscribed thereon. Seizing his buckler, he pushes a
spring, and the following inscription appears :—" Arga-
pesis to his son Alceis " Marthesia is, then, his mother!
The coldness of the Que. n and the sternness of the
Amazon give place to the w irm gush of maternal love.
Marthesia pardons, and Alceis becomes the happy cap-
ve*of his Orithia. ,

The opening scene of the Amarmian encampment is
exceedingly picturesque; and the Pas L' Amazonia by
Lucile Grahn, Madlls. Honore, and Cassan, and
the corps de ballet, •is perhaps one of the
most classically beautiful ever seen ; each pose seems
like a study from some ancient Grecian sculpture. The
The great pus of the ballet, however, is the scene
a t abandon of Lucile Grahn and Paul Taglioni. It is
lei hi=ps, one of the most wonderful, and at the
same time one of the most graceful of choerographin
performances. So delight. dis the sp. ctator by the ex-
ending- g, ace of the artistes, that it is not until be has
had time to reflect, !hat he can rightly appn-ciate the
difficulties which that have
succest-hitly ov. reome. Ni-ver
has Lucile Grahn appeared to greater advantage than in
this pas. Never has she been be:ter or Jess obtrusively
supported than she -was last night by Paul Teglioni.
The house was crowded to excess before the commence-
mentas at apremium,
even donfvlihneg:isnedesnteanndfi
agtherßooanlliewt.
the Opera,
1a

HER MAJESTY'S THEATan.—There were present
e terday evening
.at her Majesty's Theatre the Russian
I yesterday
and Mademoiselle Olga de Leaner, the Countess of
Desert. Viscount and Viscountess Brackley and party (who
occupied her Majesty's box), the Duke and Duchess of St.
Albans, the Earl of Cardigan, the Earl of Munster, the Earl
of March, the Earl of Kilmorey, the Earl of Lonsdale,Viscount
and V unvtiesessoltt dntylicaanndnLona,dyLoArddelaanidde
LPaagdyetß,
rVouis;aunnit,
Lord W. Lennox,
Lord Clarence
Paget, Ladd
Templemore, Lad Conroy, Lady Wilson, Lord G. Paget.to
a Lordnt II
sui
as ;flood, y 8
Lord G. Lennox, the Right Hon. H. B. Pierpoint, Hon. St.
John Methuen, Hon. Mrs. Musgrove, Hon. Mr. Stanley, Sir
G. Wombwell, Bart., Sir R. and Lady Howard, Lady De
Baths, Col. Woodford, Col. Wildman, Captain Meynell,
Captain Lyons, U. C. Dekoudrioffsky, Mr. W. Wells, Mr.
and Mrs. Matheson, Mr. Parnther, Mr. Trelawny, Mr. Sand-
ford, Major Baring, &c.
[ADVERTISEMENT.]—The Registered Paletot of
Llama cloth, the most fashionable coat fot both the present
and approaching seasons, still retains the same moderate
price, which, with its usefulness and gentlemanly appear-
ance, has secured such geceral popularity. It has been made
by special command for their Royal Highnesses Prince
Albert, Prince George of Cambridnearince Edward of Saxe
Weimar, his Grace the Duke of Wellington, and the several
royal visitors to the British Court. In London it can only
be purchased of the patentees, H:J. and D. Nicoll, Court
tailors, 114, Regent-street, and 22, CornhilL Agents for
Liverpool, Dawbarn and Son, Bold-street; for Dublin, Geo.
MacJona, Molesworth-atreet; for Birmingham, Wareing and
Son, New-street; for Edinburgh, Christie and Son, George-
street ; and the principal tailors in other large towns.
The steam-ship Hibernia, with the mails from
Canada and the United States of the Ist instant, had
not reached Liverpool on Wednesday afternoon at half-
past four o'clock, the hour at which our express left for
London.

WEXFORD, Arm!. 14—The passenger ship Roches-
ter, bound from Liverpool to New.''York, strtick on Black
Water Bank yesterday morning. The crew and passengers,
about 300, remained on board until to-day, wheu they were
taken out of her by several of the Arklow fishing boats, and
brought in here.