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

HER MAJESTY'S THEATRE.

Mademoiselle Jenny Lind made her debut here last even-
ing, and has surpassed—far surpassed—the highest expecta-
tions that could have been formed of her powers. As early
as four o'clock, persons began to assemble around the pit and
gallery doors of the theatre. At five o'clock the passage
through the Opera Arcade was completely blocked up by the
crowd (among whom were several ladies) assembled
around the pit door. Minute by minute that crowd con-
tinued to increase, until half-past seven o'clock, when the
doors were opened. The crush was terrific, and those who
had waited for hours, thought themselves fortunate if they
could secure standing room within sight and hearing of the
stage. Her Majesty, accompanied by his Royal High-
ness Prince Albert, her Royal Highness the Duchess
of Kent, and their respective suites, entered the
Royal box before the commencement si the over-
ture, and when Mr. Belle entered the orchestra, there
was not a place is the house from which it was possible to
get a glimpse of the stage unoccupied. The opera was an
Italian version of the chef-dceurre of Meyerbeer, Robert le
Diable, or, as it has been Italianised, Roberto Il Diavnlo,
I with the following cast :

Alice Mademoiselle Jenny Lind.
Isabella Madame Castellan.
Robert Signor Fraschini.
Bertram Herr Staudigl.
Rambaldo Signor Gardoni.
Sacerdote --Signor Bouche.
The overture was magnificently given, as was the opening
chorus of cavaliers, one of the finest compositions in the opera.
Rambaldo then enters, and the reception of Gardoni was
most flattering. It was not until after this period that the
audience recognised Staudigl, who of course had been on the
stage from the commencement of the opera, but the instant
his clear rich bass tones were heard, the applause
was enthusiastic. Then came the beautiful air, "Regnava
un tempo in Normandie," which was most tastefully given
by Gardoni, and which would, doubtless, have been honoured
by an encore but for the impatience of the audience to hasten
forward the great event of the evening—the debut of Jenny
Lind. At the conclusion of this air, Jenny Lind, undoubtedly
the prima donna of the world entered. She was re-
ceived with shouts of applause, and with waving of
handkerchiefs, that lasted several minutes. Of her
personal appearance the recently published portraits, which
are to be seen in every print-shop window, convey as
good an idea as portraits can convey, of the personal appear-
ance of any living being ; but there is an intellectualg beauty
in her animated countenance, a mobility of feature, and a
beauty of expression about the eye, which set the limner's art
at defiance, and to which words cannot do adequate justice.
So highly had Jenny Lind's musical powers been praised,
that we went almost prepared to be disappointed. We ex-
pected to find her a second Sontag from the descriptions we
had read, but we certainly were not prepared to find, as
we did find, the beautiful tones of a Sontag, united to the
powers of a Grisi, the compass of a Malibran, the more
than flexibility of a Persiani, and the correctness of
intonation of the most perfect of musical instruments.

It is impossible by language to convey any idea of what the
voice of Jenny Lind really is, because it is so surpassingly
beautiful—so superior to any other voice, uniting, as it does,
the perfection of all voices, that there is no standard to which
it can be compared. It is, in fact, itself the standard, as being
the nearest approach to perfection of any voice ever
heard, and hence the difficulty, nay, the absolute
impossibility of doing justice by description to the powers of
Jenny Lind. Truly has she been called the nightingale, for
she possesses in the utmost perfection the " jug " note of the
bird, and also that marvellous power of throwing, as it were,
the warble into distance—now dying away, and now swelling
again, even as an organ does—a power possessed by no other
human voice that we have ever heard. She first
brought this marvellous power into play in her scena d'ist-
trata '‘ V anne dense al figlio mio," and the audience were
hushed into admiring silence--they seemed almost afraid to
breathe; and at the conclusion there was one loud burst of
enthusiastic applause. This possession of this marvellous power
was still more distinctly manifested in the second act, in the
far-famed Quand Je quittais La Normandie, the Quando
lasicar la IVOrmundia of the Italian version. Never has this,
perhaps, the capo d'opera, been so exquisitely given. Those
who have not heard Jenny Lind sing this air can
form no idea of what it really is. The beautiful
nightingale•like richness and clearness of her tones
the immense power and compass, and the marvellous
flexibility of her voice—the lavishness and exquisite taste of
her fioriture—the perfect purity of her intonation are such,
that it is impossible by words to convey the remotest idea of
the reality. In her manner of reading the prayer to the
virgin, with which this air concludes, there is some-
thing indescribably beautiful. It is as though a nightin-
gale were endowed with the power of warbling in articulate
syllables. Jenny Lind is far and away the greatest singer
who has ever yet appeared, and loudly as fame has spoken in
her praise, fame has in this instance been guilty of no exag-
geration. We wonder not at the enthusiasm she has ex-
cited, wherever she has appeared. She was called for at the
conclusion of the first act, and also at the conclusion of the opera.
It is a world of supererogation to praise the Bertram of
Staudigl. It is one of those performances which have be-
come classical, send which are ranked with the Coriolanas of
Kemble, and the Sir Giles of Edmund Kean. Madame Cas•
tellan was in excellent voice, and sang and acted
Isabella exquisitely. Never has the far-famed
" Oh, Robert ! oh toi que j'aimic," (Roberto o tu
the adoro of the Italian version), been more correctly,
more feelingly, or more beautifully given. Henceforth
that aria (at least in this country) is Madame Castellan's.
Fraschini was the best Hubert we have seen in England. His
tine, powerful, and rich chest tenor is excellently suited to the
part, and he acted it admirably. The dining song in the first
act has never been bet ter given. Gardoi is Rambaldo is beau-
. .

tilul. We have already alluded to his scene el intrate
in which he was much applauded. His duet with Staudigi
in the second act was also exquisitely given, in fact,
Gardoni has made the character of Rambalio. The cho-
ruses were splendidly given, and the manner in which the
music of this, perhaps the finest opera in the world, was
given by the orchestra, was a perfect triumph for Balls.
The opera has been put upon the stage in the most perfect
manner possible. The scenery, by Marshall, is superb. The
effect of the resurrection of the nuns was quite novel, and was
admirably managed. The mysterious and gradual appearance
during the incantation was quite dioramic. Carolina Rosati
was the principal nun, and if anything cculd excuse Robert's
sacrilege, it would be the fascinations of such a tempter.
A divertissement, embracing the talents of Cerito and St.
Leon, and Lucile Grahn, concluded the evening's enter-
tainments.

The Queen and his Royal Highness Prince Albert were
present. They were accompanied by her Royal Highness the
Duchess of Kent and his Serene Highness the Duke of
Leiningen. The Royal suite included the Countess of
Desert, Lady Augusta Bruce, Hon. Miss Kerr, Hon. Miss
Cavendish, Lord Waterpark, lion. Colonel Phipps, and Col.
Bouverie ;• her Majesty the Queen Dowager, accompanied
by his Serene Highness Prince Edward of Saxe Weimar,
and attended by the Earl and Countess Howe, Viscount and
Viscountess Barrington, lion. Miss Wheatley, and Captain
Somerset ; and her oyal Highness the Duchess of Cam-
bridge, attended by the Ladies Augusts and Ilonoria
Cadogan, and Baron Knesebeck, were also present. Amongst
the general company were the Prince Louis Napoleon, the
Duke and Duchess of Beaufort and Lady Blanche Somerset,
the Duke and Duchess of Montrose, the Duke and Duchess
of Cleveland, the Due de Melfort, Marquiss and Marchioness
of Ailesbury, Marquis and Marchioness of Douro, his Ex-
cellency the Baron de Brunnow, the Baroness Brunnow and
Adlle. Olga de Lechner, his Excellency the Hanoverian
Minister, Marquis of Huntley, Marquis of Conyngliam,
Marquis of Donegal, Earl Cadogan, Earl of Strathmore,
Earl and Countess of Wilton, Earl of Warwick, Earl of
Arundel and Surrey, Countess of Jersey and Lady Clemen-
tine Villiers, Earl of Munster, Earl of Chesterfield, Earl of
Falmouth, Countess of Blessington, the Misses Power, Earl
of Cardigan, Earl and Countess Granville, Countess Dowager
of Essex and Miss Johnson, Earl of Belfast, Countess of
Dalhousie, Earl and Countess of Powis, Countess Grey,
Viscount Cantalupe, Viscount and Viscountess Maidstone,
Viscountess Falkland, Viscount Canterbury, Viscount Re-
nelagh, Viscount Castlereagh, Viscount Clifden, Lord and
Lady Willoughby de Eresby, Lord and Lady Macdonald,
Lord and Lady Ernest Bruce, Lord Alexander Gordon
Lennox, Lord and Lady Seymour, Lord Brougham, Lord
Brooke, Lord Gardner, Lord Sandys, Lord Saltoun. Lord A.
Fitzclarence, Lady Glentworth, Baron and Baroness Botha-
hc ha
ti
ilged,n
.B
Baronaron and i
col3mair,o Baroness
Baron
LionelK olKoller,
e r 12, c&husne
Count
Rothschild, 10,
rsaß ayr,onß Counte.-
de Berke, Count de Courcy, Count
.de Maces, Hon. G. L.Hon.
Smythe,
Mrs. R . Curzon,D
y c e
SliorbreV, Mac-
donald,.HWond.lßou.gLhabwnlelly,onliojn..Mr.
Dillon, Sir R. and Lady Peel, Sir Moses and Lady Montefiore,,
Sir George Talbot, Lady Palmer and Miss Palmer,__ Sir
SmYt b e 'Ho n.
Loftus and Lady Otway, Sir Alexander and Lady Wood-
ford and Miss Woodford, Sir Fitzroy and Lady Kelly, Sir
Charles Lemon, Lady Colbourn, Sir Wm. Fremantle, Sir
Henry Webb, Sir H. Willoughby, Sir Andrew Barnard, Sir
George Wombwell, Sir Bellingham and Lady Graham and
Miss Graham, Lady Slade, Sir Henry and Lady and Miss
Meux, Lady Douglas, General Upton, Colonel Tynte, Colonel
Merrick, Mrs. Colonel Powell, Colonel Bowers, Major Butler,
Major Baring, Major Colgreave, Captain Reynolds, Captain.
Greville, Captain Smith, Captain Laing Messon, M. C. De
Koudriafsky, Mr. and Mrs. Hodgson, Mr. and Mrs. Hubert
de Burgh, Mr. and Mrs. Trelawny and Miss Trelawny, Mrs.
Cunningham, Mr. C Packe, M.P., Mrs. Packeißeading, Mr.
Leader, M.P., Mrs. Grote, Mr. Barry Baldwin, M.P., air. G.
Delafield, Mr. W. Delatield, Mr. J. Hankey, Mr. Hucksley,
Mr. W. Williams, Mr. Montagu Gore, Mrs. Capel, Mr. and
Mrs. G. Phillips, Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler, Miss Gyles,
i,ifr
.Miss..
Gee, Mr. Clarke, Mr. H. Villebois, Mrs. M h
Barclay, Mr. Amory, Mr. Howard, Mr. o or, Mrs.
H 11 d Perry,
Mr. B. Lindo, Mr. Roberts, &c.
(From the Times.)
experiencesfrequent we may safely say, and our
pertaining to " firsten nights," y
d several hundreds of her Majesty's
of the excitement ap-
pertaining
such a scene of enthusiasm
opiWnieon havewil l liijaedbfarceek %,
subjects, that we never.
mademoiselle
Lind's debut as Alice in an Italian version of Robert
as that displayed
..last night on the occasion •
Jenny
is Diable. The uproar which followed her entrance is some-
thing to be remembered, not described. The whole crowded
mass displayed a power of lungs truly astounding, and hats
and handkerchiefs waved from all parts. It was not like the
encouragement given to a delitanfr, but the welcome given
to an established favourite—a declaration of an existing
sympathy. For a moment Mademoiselle Lind was a little
overcome by her immense reception, but it was for a moment
only, and as a singer and an actress she had perfect posses-
sion of all her powers throughout the evening. If the ex-
pectations were great, we must say that they were more
than realised. People came prepared to admire, but they
admired beyond the extent of their preparation. The de-
licious quality of the organ—the rich gushing notes were
something entirely new and fresh. The auditors did not
know what to make of it. They had heard singers over
and over again, but here, that wondrous thing, a new
sensation was actually created. The conversations in the
hox.lunhies were all indicative of the highest gratification
and the highest wonder, were all variations in the
o!e 'lotheme
ise
of " Did you ever hear such a thing in your life?"
andYhadoppor-
tunity
rhapsodizing, but all that were there,
know an
what
that we
of our readers who were not in the house ma • fancy we are
of joining io general conversation,_fact.
notes, swelling with full richness, and fading down to the
are stating is a Inure unexaggerated The sustained
softest piano, without losing one iota of their quality.
being delicious when loud, delicious when whispered,
dwelled in the public ear, and reposed in the public
heart. The shake mezzo race with which she concluded
the pretty air " Quand je quittai ma Normandie" was
perfectly wonderful for its rapidity and equality. This
air was rapturously encored with the most enthusiastic
will-0g of hats and handkerchiefs, Even the way is