The Sun.
London, England, 1847-05-28 00:00:00

HER MAJESTY'S THEATRE-
Donnizetti's comic opera, La Figlie del Regiment°
(better known as La fine du Regiment), was produced
here last evening with the following cast:—
Maria Mellle. Jenny Lind.
La Marchese di Berkenfield Madame Solari.
Tonio Sig. Gardoni.
Sulpizio (a sergeant) Sig. F. Lablache.
preTfihxeedfetlolotwhienglibisretthtoe:—" libretto:—The
argument
scent
the Tyrol, during the occupation of ;bat country by
French. The heroine is Maria a Vi\"
girl, the daughter of the 11th Regime.
nt ado the Grand
dchild
Army of Napoleon. She has become the Pte c
f that ea-
"ofofthteheaotoipoeurak,aitts_
t o
of the regiment, because Sulpizio, a sergesa
h her
cellent corps, found her after a battle, and was
ad_
letter from her father, a captain. The let.'eLvr"- ood
andiere, a static!
dressed to a Marchioness of Berkenfield. L'e ,F
sergeant kept the letter carefully, and the galla.q! ,as
giment adopted the child, who, from a little girl,
grown up into a sprightly young woman—a suttler
full of spirit and enterprise, who marches and drinks with
her collective father—that is to say, the whole regiment.
In the Tyrol she meets with a young peasant, yr"
saves her life when she is on the point of falling down
fr
a precipice, and then becomes in love with the vivandiere
—a love which she returns from 4ratitude, and ,:r!.
other reasons still more potent. Tonio, the young ;Ira
rolese, follows the regiment in all its movements, young
ey
spite of every obstacle, and even the threat that t
will hang him as a spy does not deter him;
con-
trary, he ventures even to make bold to ask'of the W;
the band of his daughter. The regiment, true
to
the
paternal character, assembles and holds a counci.l Tem.
important subject, of which the result is, they 1,10 lust
sent to the match on the condition that Tonio
into the regiment. Tonio at once accepts the conditits_
and becomes a soldier in the hope of being united tt,_.
Maria. But in this conjecture he experiences a new I°-
°ld..
Berkenfie
stacle in the person of the Marchioness de
On hearing her name, Sulpizio (the sergeant) remeny
on the cpe
hers the letter addressed to her he found at the 511171°
time as Maria; he gives it to the Marchioness, and She
recognises the suttler girl as her niece, the offspring °I
the secret marriage of her sister with the French car
tain. The haughty lady claims her niece, Maria, in
order to have an education given her worthy her station
in society. The 11th Regiment is obliged to abdicate
its paternity, and to return Maria to her real relative;
Maria is forced to leave her military father,
and likewise poor Tonio, who very fruitlessly
has made the sacrifice of deserting to the enemyln the second act Maria is seen at the Castle of Birite,stv
field; she has renounced the costume, and with it we,:
manners of a suttler girl. She is obliged to learn
bearing and accomplishments of a young lady of fashit
she is taught to dance and to sing, but it is no longer
joyous songs and unconstrained dance of the cantr-''
the contrary, Maria is much annoyed by her stilted es;
istence; she regrets her former freedom and habits, 6ce
very frequently resumes them, to the great annotran.l;
of the proud Marchioness. Her regret for her past rer:r
of life, and still more for Tonio, is preying upon
mind, when all at once the sounds of drums and trti;
pets are heard approaching the castle.. These Women
sounds announce the approach of the 11th Begt:at'
which takes possession of the castle, having for icor to
a no less interesting person than Tonio, who, 0111'7,1 al
his gallant conduct, has become a field officer. A._°""ga.
and most joyous recognition of course takes Plac,ie"ry
tween Maria and her lover, who now possessing r°ll,„fe,
rank, asks of the aristocratic aunt that hand in inalh'irie
which he obtained before from her father with
bayonet. The Marchioness rejects the offer, having Pre
mher
tohoer. handTo on fio herth e
nn edetermines
soonn
eoafraryind acFhhesee;
ioft,tneiisgehd neighbour
which Maria consents, indignant at her aunt a crnel
To prevent this, by establishing a claim on her feeling
the Marchioness reveals that Maria is, in e;
daughter—a fact a hich she had withheld to conceal
marriage she had formed so much beneath her milli.'
Maria, who had refused to obey her aunt, cannot refuse
consent to the will of her new. found mother; and, tslthoniel
in utter despair, consents to marry the youngDukeinstea
of Tonio. But this proof of devotion awakens the dot"
mant feelings of a mother in the heartof the Marehione,
and she consents at last to the union of Tonio and Sant
The character of the Vivandiere has, on the condo! Ili
been ever considered as one of the most popular OLtue;
characters of Jenny Lind, and most justly has it is
so considered. Wonderful as she is in Alice mid in
Amine, she is equally wonderful,. equally great' he
Maria. This alone would prove her to be one of
greatest artistes that ever lived. In characters in whin
,':
pathos alone is to be exhibited, in characters in why
humour humour alone is to be exhibited,
difficult for an artist to be great. There is one unin-
terrupted current of feeling running through the vvnennl
drama—similar in kind albeit varying in intensisY7
when once the genius is " screwed up" to the partici'
ters as
passion all gees on smoothly, but in such chaise
pathos,
it is perhaps nos
the Vivandiere, in which simplicity and archness,
and fun are blended together, it is most difficult to give
to each its due proportion, and that artiste who does thin
in perfection may be truly said to have achieved
triumph—and such a triumph did Jenny Lind achieve
last evening. She is as great to the full in comedy as
she is in tragedy, and commands the tears or the Nodes
of her audience at will. She makes her appearance ill
the second scene, and enters dressed in her Vivandiere
costume, singing an air in honour of her regiment; this
was followed by a lively duet, " Io vidi la lute sul camp*
guerrier—E it suon del tamburo mio solo pincer," which
she sung with F. Lablacho (who supported her most
efficiently throughout the opera), and which she gave
with true military spirit and gusto. The scene ends with
the "Plan Plan Eatamplan" march, which she marched,
acted, and sang admirably. Tonio is then brought in
as a spy, and a change comes over her. They are about
to execute him, and the merry Vivandiere be-
comes all earnestness, as she asks if he shall die who
saved her life? his life is spared and all is joy, and
Maria sings the favourite song of her comrades, "
Cias-
cun lo dice—ciascun lo sa," a song composed in honour of
the regiment, and which ends with a refrain in which
all join,

"Egli e
Ecco l'undecimo c'egual non ha."
lier acting here was full of spirit. Well might the
regiment be proud of such a Vivandiere. The chorus,
too, was admirable ; their making up was superb, and
they were excellently drilled, speaking not only 111
musical sense, but in a military sense also; it elicited
shouts of enthusiastic applause. The scene in which
Tonio declares his love was excellently given. ."Y?1/
do not believe it—listen, then, decide," exclaims Tonle,
Nothing can exceed the dry humour, the espiegle arch,-
neAs with which, assuming an air of mock dignity, she
replies,

"Vidiam udiam
Ascoltism e guidichiam."
(We will see—we will hear—we will consider—lvo
will judge.) The scene ends with an exquisite duet
(the gem of the first act); " A confession si ardente,'
which was deliciously given by Jenny Lind and Gara
doni, and in which the marvellous power which she
pos-
sesses
of throwing her voice into distance and again in-
creasing its force like the swell of an organ, wee
exhibited with most telling effect. The applause at the
conclusion lasted for some minutes, and the repetition
of tho duet was loudly called for from every part of
the house. Her acting in the scene in which
she parts from her old comrades, as she is led
off by the Marchioness to become the lady of fortune,
was beautifully pathetic—pathetic from its very simpli-
city—the perfection of acting, because there was no
effort at acting—and here the astonishing power of her
voice was made more manifest than it has been in
any scene in which she has yet appeared in this country'.
not
The love of Donizetti for noisy choruses and •
sy ac-
companiments is well known, and here he had an oppor-
tunity of indulging that propensity, of
which he did not
fail to avail himself ; but above 3',
multitudinous voices
braying of the chorus—above the the
of trumpets and
horns, and the growling of bassoons and op e above the spirit-stirring drum, the
ear-piercing
was heard the clear, rich, full, soft, yetpowerful voice of
Jenny Lind, and this not only without screaming, but
absolutely without any apparent effort or exertion. It
is needless to add that she was called for at the conclu-
sion of the first act. The second is very short, but very
excellent. Pre find our merry Vivaudiere living in the
chateau of the Marchioness, who is in vain endeavour-
ing to transform her into a fine lady, so as to make her a
suitable wife for the Duke of Krakenthorp. Her only
solace is an occasional chat with Sulpizio on the glories
of the regiment. The Marchioness has determined that
ilaria shall make a grand musical display, and has
chosen an old romance, the music of which is by the
Maestro Caffariello. Dressed en grande dame she enters
and meets Sulpizio, to whom sheconfides her sorrow. "She
wants me to sing before all the grand people to-night,"
says Maria, "I know not what piece of antiquity that
she has chosen from her hoards of old trash. "Ma to
vedrai," she adds, with the most fascinating archness,
" non ne farenso niente" (You shall see we will do
nothing of the sort). The Marchioness enters with
this exquisite romance in her hand, she seats herself at
the piano, and handing the music to Maria, orders her
to commence. Maria commences the romance, accom-
panied by the Duchess, on the pianoforte ; while she is
singing Sulpizio approaches her, and whispering to her
the old refrain Itantanplan, she strikes up immediately
the favourite air of the regiment, and marching about,
to the great horror of the Marchioness, sings the
praises of the regiment —" Eco l'undechno ch' egeal
nun ha." The Marchioness, in a tone of offended
dignity, remonstrates with her, and Maria, indignant at
the attempts matte to instruct her in the art of sine",
" fine," commences a regular sol-fa exercise, in w"--
she introduces all sorts of roulades and shakes, to the
astonishment of the Marchioness and the delight of the
audience, and at length dashing her music-book on the
ground in a fit of passion, leaves the room. The acting in
[his scene was one of the richest pieces of comedy we have
ever teen, she excited a perfectfui ore. At the conclusion the
audience was so enthusiastic in their applause that they
would not be satisfied until Jenny Lind had come for-
ward twice to acknowledge the compliments paid to her.
Equally great was she in the next scene, " Deeiso 0
dul,que," in which, in tones of extreme pathos, she la-
inents the hard fate which has condemned her to
be a fine lady, and to leave her dear fathers,
ha regiment. Suddenly she hears military music in
the distance. .` Oh! transperto! oh! dolce ebrezza."
tis the old 11th. She is a Vivandiare again, and,
bursting out with the old military air "Evviva la
?atria," she finds herself once again in the midst of her
old comrades. Her transition in this scene from grief
to exuberant joy was one of the finest pieces of acting
ever seen, and her accuracy in taking up the sudden
change in the character of the music at the same time
as a marvel of facility. A trio, "Stretti insiem,"follows,
It is a rattling, rapid affair, and was given with immense
spirit by Jenny Lind, F. Lablache, and Gardoni, and
The finale, " Dolce Tesoro," was
told meet effectivsly.
d exceed the grace and
-eau:daily ;.ottliag twit,
he precision, and •this
the luxuriance of her fioriture in
finale. At the fall of the curtain she was called for
three times, and bouquets af4 were thrown sonupon the
stage. Gardoni was in admirable Moe, And Xing and