The Sun.
London, England, 1848-06-13 00:00:00

HER MAJESTY'S THEATRE.

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MASQUE OF " LES QUATRE SAISONS."
This new ballet-divertissement, the capo d'opera of
the season of " it famoso ballerina" Perrot, is said by
all the adepts accustomed to estimate the value of
devices, in spite of obscurity, half-finished scenery,
and half.finished dresses, to be a most remarkable
imaginative and poetical composition. It needed all
these qualities, and required to possess extreme
variety with its complexity, for it is a pas monstre--
twice as long as any other ever attempted. It will
last fifty minutes without pause and with encorces.
With poets, sculptors, painters, and composers,
" The Seasons" have been a very favourite sub-
ject; but as far as we could observe at the re-
hearsal M. Perrot has had but scant assistance
from his predecessors, and, like Thompson, has been
compelled to win down from her " hermit seat"
inspirations "by mortals so seldom found." It is
true that in preparing this treat for the public, M.
Perrot has not been obliged to submit to the dire
condition of the cookery book, " first catch your fish ;"
he has had ready at his eommand talents more nume-
rous and of a higher order than ever were brought
together. But if such wonderment prevailed at how
the ingredients were managed, so that they should
amalgamate, in the famous pas de deux, de trots, and
de quatre, still more extraordinary must be deemed
the conquest achieved now, when it is considered
what an invidious subject is " The Seasons" for ladies
of " the fantastic toe. However serene Mr. Marshall
might be inclined to paint the sky, " vapours, and
clouds, and storms," must be expected to arise par ici,
par la; and the French ballet composer might be
supposed less eager than the English poet of " The
Seasons," to exclaim,
" Welcome kindred gloom!
Congenial horrors hail!"
Although we speak, of course, but by guess, it might
be surmised that there had been • some slight convul-
sion, for in his ballet, M. Perrot does not begin the
" varied year," like the poet does—with spring. The
ballet commences by winter, but so joyously' that it
cannot be long after " Merrie Christmas." By this
arrangement Mdlle. Marie Taglioni is greatly the
gainer—she enacts Winter, and, as no costume is
found to exhibit young ladies to so much advantage as
the costume of their grandmothers, the contrast of
real spring and artificial winter is'highly favourable.
Rosati encounters the character of Autumn with no
less advantageous piquancy, of result. Carlotta
appears all " blooming as Summer," &c. Each
fair leader comes on in turn with eight
attendant nymphs, and, after performing, thus
supported, her introductory step in the masque, dis-
appears. In the next scene the whole theatre re-
presents a parterre—the stage below is covered with
flowers, and above is a conservatory admirably
painted, the whole presenting a striking coup d'ail.
The whole of the dramatis persona reappear, and
the four great danseuses alternateiy execute varia-
tions, groups, or quick concerted dances. During
the pauses of the principals the eoryphees and corps
de ballet on each side all join in the dances. Of the
fascinating character of the groups, of the origin&
lity of the variations, and of the daring but still ex-
quisitely graceful feats to be performed, we can speak
confidently.from yesterday's rehearsal. But we shall
require the full performance and the blaze of light to
do justice to M. Perrot's magnum opus.

THE THEATRES, &c.
DRURY-LAIVE.
The attempt to turn Drury-lane into a Theatre
Ilistorique (so called "ut lucus a non lucendo,") for
the representations of the somewhat loosely con-
structed, and more than rather immoral dramas of
Alexandre Dumas, has turned out a failure. The
attempt to revolutionize the English stage
by deposing Shakspere, and setting up Dumas,
aroused the indignation of the English frequenters
of Drury-lane to such a pitch, that they last evening
created such an emeute as has not been equalled since
the days of the 0. P. rows. The pit and boxes were
filled long before the rising of the curtain, and the
performance of the National Anthem was greeted
with shouts of applause, but no sooner did the
curtain rise for the performance than the uproar
began and continued without intermission until the
conclusion, so that the whole piece (the first part of
Monte Christo) passed off in dumb show. M. Jullien
came forward and made a vain attempt to address the
audience. It was useless, and after half-an-hour's
pantomime he took his departure. A gentleman in
tae boxes tried to make a speech, but of course no
one listened to him, and another in the pit,
who made a similar attempt, met with
no better success. The storm might, perhaps, have
subsided somewhat as the evening advanced, had not
some person connected with the management most
injudiciously introduced a posse of policemen into the
pit, who seized some two or three individuals who were
hissing. Had they been engaged in tearing up the ben-
ches, or in doing any damage to the property, we could
have understood this introduction of the police, but
under the circumstances of the case it was most inju-
dicious, and the consequence was that the uproar was
renewed with more violence than ever, and the last
chance of obtaining audience for even a portion of the
play lost. The play proceeded in dumb show to the
conclusion. We could not hear a word of the dialogue,
but judging from the scenery and the pantomime we
should say it was an average Victoria melodrama,
which, if acted at the Victoria, might run for a week
or two, but which could never hope to obtain the
popularity which many of the Surrey and Victoria
melodramas have attained. At the 'conclusion Mons.
Jullien led forward M. Melinque, who had played
the part of Monte Christo. Some bouquets were
thrown him from the private boxes and the orchestra,
followed by showers of orange-peel from the pit.
The performances were over shortly
after eleven
o'clock.

The performances at this theatre last
HAYMARKET._
night call for
no particular notice. Novelty there was none. The
" great attraction for the holidays," as the bills have
it, was the repetition of pieces which have already re-
ceived, and deservedly so, the favour of the discri-
minating audiences who frequent this theatre. The
entertainments commence with Mr. Lovell's play of
The Wife's Secret, a model of its kind, which dra-
matists who wish to hit the taste of the age would do
well to study. It has now been performed at this
theatre for the forty-third time, and yet its attraction
increases. Mr. and Mrs. Kean, who represented the
hero and heroine, and Mrs. Keeley, who enacted the
subordinate part of Maud, had the of a call
before the curtain at the end of the performance, and
were heartily applauded. Previous to the commence-
ment of the next piece, Mr. Gerhard Taylor gratified
the audience with a very brilliant performance on the
harp. The one-act piece entitled the Pas de Fas-
cination; or, Catching a Governor, by Mr. Stirling
Coyne, followed, in which the artless extravagauce4.
of Mrs. Keeley contributed not a little to the amuse-
ment of the audience. The grand, romantic extrava-
ganza of the Castle of Otranto, produced at this
theatre on Easter Monday, and noticed at the time,
concluded the evening's entertainments. The house
was very well attended.

ADELPHL
There were no holiday novelties at this house last
night, the current pieces which have been performing
there for the last few weeks—namely, The Harvest
Home, Going to the Derby, and the Double bedded
Room, having furnished the Whitsuntide entertain-
ments. The inclement character of the weather, in
all probability, prevented a large attendance in the
early part of the evening, for, although the pit and
gallery were toleralAy well filled .immediately after
the opening of the doors, the boxes did not present a
full array of occupants until a sUb3equent period,
when the rain had ceased to fall; in such copious
torrents as it had done previously to eight o'clock.
About the period alluded to the house gradually
filled, and then exhibited a more respectable and
orderly audience than holiday seasons usually furnish
to the minor theatres. The performances went off
with success, and there was no event of any conse-
quence to demand a particular noticein the course of
the evening.

ST. JAMES'S.
clever acting
years, charac-
terised few mere trifles, more or less amusing, served
to pass away the time of the aristocratic visitors of
this theatre, yesterday evening. The whole strength
of the company was, put forward on the occasion,
and the performances presented no novelty whatever.
which
the representation of French plays at the St.
wehahsadalmthoest liivoevlayr,iachairye,fuolf,
laanted
James's. In the principal piece, VE
, tourneau, M.
eat force and humour one of
Ravel depicted with gr
the thousand stage modifications of the character of
a nervous and unfortunate lover. Nothing could
well be more laughable than the scrapes into which his
spirit of intrigue has led him, or more natural than
the terror with which he views the dangers by which
‘es surrounded._......--