The Sun.
London, England, 1848-04-25 00:00:00

HAYMARKET.

The Easter novelty at this theatre is " a grand
romanticextravaganza," founded on Horace Walpole's
" Castle of Otranto." That romance shot up into
popularity at once, and has always retained a good
place in .the general esteem. It forms a very fair
subject for a burlesque, though we almost grudge
seeing the fool's cap put upon so many of the heroes
of our Childhood. All our giants have shrunk up,
and its for'ghosts, it is as much as a decent man's re-
putation_ is worth to mention such things with that
respect for them in which people were once brought
up. To think of a little fat man, with a fur tippet
round his neck, strutting out as Manfred, the stern
lord of Otranto! -Ho wever; there is no help for it ;
the town must have its joke, and will take no
denial. And, if it must be so, we are not at all
disposed to 'quarrel with the way in which
the work has been done in this instance.
At the opening of the piece we have Man-
fred (\lr. Keeley) in possession of Otranto
as heir of his grandfather, Ricardo, who had seized
it under a forged will of its late lord, Alphonso.
Manfred lives in dread of the accomplishment of the
prophecy that the family of Ricardo should reign in
Otranto only until the rightful owner should be grown
too large. to inhabit the castle, and as long as issue
male from Ricardo should remain to enjoy it. There
is already a claim put forward by the Marquis Vin-
cenza (Mr. J. Bland), as the nearest though a distant
relation of Alphonso. tut Manfred is expecting to
make safe his title by the marriage of his only son
Conrad with Isabella (Miss
Reynolds) who is the
daughter and heiress of Vincenza. The, bridal pro.
cession, waiting only to ascertain the presence of the
bridegroom, is disturbed by a noise in the castle
yard. Manfred calls on the whole company to join
in " a tremendous demonstration," to suppress what
he supposes to be some rioting, put constables staves
into their hands, and appeals to them in mock-
heroic verse, parodying the noble song that has so
often stirred the soul of the Scot, and beginning—
" Specials, who by me are led."
This was the first good point in the piece ; it told
well, put the house in right humour, and seemed to
settle the question of success. The cause of the in-
terruption of the wedding
is—as in the romance, the
main points of which are brought out—that Conrad
has been killed by the fall of an enormous helmet
"Which has suddenly been found in the castle. Of
course, great lamentation is made over him, "poor
little chap beneath that great chapeau."
his loss,' Manfred determines to divorce
Hippolita, (Mrs. W. Clifford), or, as he is pleased to
term it, "pass her into private life," and himself to
Th
his
repair
wife,
marry Isabella. Hippolita most dutifully consents,
protesting that she would even lay down her life for
her lord; though, as Keeley remarks, one does not
subterraneanst
see "where she could lay it." The young lady, how-
ever, has a will of her own, and her will is not, to
pmarrypursued
dthe
throughßaron.
the passages of the
Resiin his advances, she is
castle, and escapes by the aid of a young peasant,
Theodore (Miss P. Horton). And now Vincenza
comes and claims his daughter, bringing with him
an immense .sword, which seems ominously to
match with the gigantic helmet, and, with an enor-
mous leg, which has also startled the inhabitants of
the castle by its appearance, gives token of some ap-
proaching fulfilment of the prophecy. Theodore
proves to be the true heir to Alphonso, and the lady
Isabella gives her hand to him. • The form of Al-
phonso appears dilated to a vast size, bursting through
the wall of the castle, and the lawful owners, we pre-
sume' are thenceforth to possess it. The piece closes
with Keeley, reluctant to lay down his ducal crown,
declaring—
" E'en for my sovereignty I need not fear,
For loyalty is universal here;"
whereupon he breaks into—
" Here's a health to the Queen, God bless her,"
and calls for cheers, presuming that there can be no
mistake about the company being " all charged," or
they could not have come into the house. This ap
peal and all the political allusions were met right
loyally; and the National Anthem was sung amidst
great applause. But the political_ allusionsmost were not
parts of .it were the parodies_ .upon
ald
Ii popular
in songs,
the happiest hits in the piece ; the most successful
Much of the punning was
Wh was
's taste. -
not something to suit every y en the
° bation was •
curtain fell, a sentence of app given
given in
from all sides, and there,wa,s not a..dissentient voice.
quantity of it, it wOuld bevbehraydrd indeed if theresuch
The acting was very good, and the piece will probably
have a run: • . '

. entitled ADELPI-11.
A grand fairy spectacle formed the Easter novelty
at this snug little theatre.
It is
"The
Fountain of Zea; or, the Child of Air,' and is one of
those romantic extravaganzas which, compounded of
smart dialogue, absurd situations, and gorgeous scenic
effects and tableaux, form a melange not by an
same
rendezvous ages, still
means inharmonious, and, when well got up, highly
entertaining. From the bills we learn that the scene
is laid in the beautiful island of Zea, celebrated by
Thomas Moore in his " Evenings in Gre„e.,, An
antique fountain, at which the nymphs of, the island
existswere wonti
n i
tst o
original
assemble
as it was formerly for the young women ofthe
island, who met there to dance and sing the " Songs
of the Well," as they were called amongst the an-
cient Greeks. This fountain is regarded with pecu-
liar veneration by the inhabitants, who preserve as
state—the tet—hethe earliest
tradition, that—" Whatever good spirit touches its
water once, becomes subservient to the will of the
demon of evil; but that should the waters touch the
good spirit a second tirne, the evil one loses his power, I
and, in his turn, becomes the slave of the being be
sought to subdue." Operating upon the materials
thus set forth in the " legend," Mr. Stirling Coyne,
who is the author of the piece, has strung together, a
series of scenes in which poetic justice is done to a
Gnome King, from whose unholy grasp Algea, the
Child of Air, represented with her usual grace and
vivacity by Madame Celeste, is in due course rescued
by the opportune touch of the sacred waters of Zea,
and all ends happily. The dialogue was pretty smart
and, aided by the superb tableaux, the pieee passe,' off
very st.;oee-ssfully.

PRINCESS'S.
Mr. Maddox provided liberal fare for the Easter
holiday folks who honoured his establishment with
their presence last night. There were two novelties
—" The Nightingale," .an operetta, in which the
charming Anna Thillon made her re-entree, and
" Esrneralda," a grand ballet, introducing several
new artists—besides a couple of pieces already sanc-
tioned by public approval. Le Bran's " Rossignol"
(" The Nightingale") has been a stock piece in every
town of France and Belgium where an opera can be
mounted for the last thirty years. The libretto is a
pastoral, treating of the loves of Lubin and Phillis,
two peasants, stamped with the attributes of candour
avid simplicity that appertain especially to the age of
the Galateas and Estellas, celebrated by Cervantes and
Florian. Phillis (Madame Anne Thillon) is fond of
singing, and Lubin (Mr. Barker) plays upon the flute
with a facility thatis the more to be admired considering
the times in which he is supposed to live. Lubin woos
Phillis by means of his musical talent, serenading
her night and morning at her window, and echoing
her songs with the tones of his instrument, which are
so mellifluous that the neighbours, with bucolic art-
lessness, mistake them for the voice of the nightin-
gale. This courtship is carried on so effectually,
that in spite of the, rival suit of a powerful " baillie '
(Mr. Weiss), who is favoured by Mathurin (Mr.
Bodda), the subservient progenitor of Phillis, the
lovers bring matters about according to their wishes,
and are ultimately united, to the great joy of them-
selves • and everybody else, even the baillie. ' The
music is remarkable for nothing beyond a certain
flow of unaffected lance, which rarely fails to captivate
the many. The opportunities for display of florid
vocalization are successfully used, and these were ad-
mirably exemplified by Madame Anna Thillon, who,
besides her clever and expressive singing, acted with
fascinatingsprightliness, and looked the prettiest Phillis
that was ever wooed by faithful shepherd. She was
received with the greatest enthusiasm by the audience,
and was, indeed, the main support of the piece, which,
through her exertions, achieved complete success.
Mr. Weiss, who appeared for the first time this
season, made the best of the small part of the Baillie,
and sang the music allotted to him with musician-

like correctness. Messrs. Barker and Bodda took
great pains with their respective parts. At the fall
of the curtain Madame Thillon was recalled, and ap-
peared with Mr. Weiss and Mr. Barker. The well-
known musical piece of "The Sultana" ' (with Ma-
dame Thillon as the Roxalana), 'and a farce, called
" Mammon and Gammon," followed " The Nightin-.
gale." In the, latter, through the non-appearance of
one of the performers, Mr. Harris had to read the
part (rather a long one) from a book, and accom-
plished his task with singular facility; the farce was
altogether well acted by Miss Villars, one of the
most intelligent and entertaining of, soubrettes,
Mrs. H. Hughes, Mrs. Selby, Messrs. James
Vining (who is as young, vivacious, and bustling
as ever), S. Cowell, Wynn, &c., and was
received with shouts of laughter throughout.
The performances terminated with the ballet of " Es-
meralda,"' which under the superintendence of Mr.
Flexrnore has been most skilfully adapted to the di-
mensions and resources of this little theatre. Who
that has not seen "Esmeralda " at her Majesty's
Theatre, that has not admired the graceful Carlotta
Grisi, and laughed at the admirable Perrot, has yet
to behold and delight in the pearl of ballets, the most
ethereal of ballerines, and the most humorous of
male choregraphs. We have nothing now to say of
the story of " Esmeralda," which finds its ma-
terials in Victor Hugo's magnificent romance
"Notre Dame de Paris." It is enough to re-
late that the manner in which it has been placed
upon the stage of the Princess's Theatre is highly
creditable to the establishment. The dances are care-
fully arranged and executed with infinite spirit by a
numerous and efficient corps de ballet, the scenery,
by Messrs Brunning and Grey, is characteristic and
beautiful, especially the first and last scenes—" A
distant view of Paris " and "Notre Dame by
moonlight ;" the action is well kept up, and
the mise en scene altogether in the best taste.
Poor. Signor Pugni was the only sufferer, his music
being so fearfully ill-used by the orchestra as to be
scarcely recognisable. Mdlle. Auriol, a daughter of
the celebrated French clown from the Cirque Olim-
pique, was the Esmeralda of the evening; she is a
good pantomimist and dances with great vigour and
facility. Mr. Flexmore was humorous and.amusing
as Gringoire, but his. performance was occasionally
wanting in refinement. The, famous Truandaise,
however, was admirably danced by both, and received
with shouts of applause, and the pas de deux in the
second tableau, where Esmeralda teaches *Gringoire
to dance, was encored. Quasimodo was sustained
with great melodramatic emphasis by M. Le. Clerq,
and M. Deulin made the monk, Claude Frolic., more
mysterious and shadowy than usual. Among the in-
termediate dances, which attracted most attention an
applause were a pas de deux by Mdlles.' Louise and
Adele (from Drury-lane Theatre) and a pas do trois
by Madame Le Clerq and Mdlles. Le Clerq arid me-
thilde, in the course of which several sten, Were
loudly encored. The subordinate parts ;301, 1_31%e;
Phcebus, and Clopin were. filledcarefully
_by.
Cuthbert and MM. 'Zavystowski and Paulo. The
ballet was most • favourably received from beginning
end, and Mdlle. Auriol was forced to re-appear at
,he fall of the curtain. The house was, very full.

• MARYLEBOIVE.
The exquisite judgment which Mrs. Warner dis-
played last"night in the entertainments she provided
for Easter Monday has never been exceeded since this
truly elegant little theatre has been under her
management. Instead of resorting 'to any meritri-
cious or holiday-style attractions, she relied upon the
good taste of her friends 'and the judicious portion of
the public for support, and proffered them in return
—what, now-a-days, unfortunately, is to be rarely
enjoyed--a genuine representation of one of Shak-
spere s plays. To this end she engaged Macready--
a name that has not undeservedly become endeared-
to the lovers of the " legitimate" drama—though vihy
legitimate, by-the-by, we never could rightly,under-.
stand. Be that as it may, • Macready appeared, and
performed his part :,but before we speak of him let us
notice one peculiar feature of the evening. Boxes,.
pit, and gallery, were crowded, the latter to the very
. ceiling ; it was Easter Menday ; and yet not -a
Whisper was heard from any part of the house during
the whole of the performance. This is literally.
:true. To what is this to be ascribed ? Partly, no
doubt, to the understood spirit in. which this 4heatie
is conducted,—that of an endeavour to create a taste
for:the drama ; but' partly 'also,
_we hope, despite of
the perver-sions- that men of sinister minds would give
to the feelings and. tastes of the people,qo the' im-
proved habits of those who are more particularly ac-
customed; to siva- themselves of these seasons of
relaxation to resort to such places. It would be 'a
4 work of supererogation to speak of N.r. l‘laeready's