The Sun.
London, England, 1848-02-21 00:00:00

FOR.

egitiegeo.S*O4.O~NVONPAPOL, "Win6,4”o* aalatitif
ZIER MAJESTY'S 111EATlifi,

The season has commenced, and has comment •
vcith great eclat. Her 111;ijk.sty's Theatre opened c
atur 'gy evening, arid opened, as it always bt
• -pen. d since Mr. Lumley assumed the reias of me
oagement, in a manner which reflects the higher'
credit on his enterprise, taste, and assiduity. Th.:
opera was Verdes Ernani, and the artistes, with the
exception of Gardoni, who appeared in the cbaraeter
of Carlos, were all new to the English boards, but
before the conclusion of the first act they bad all
established themselves as first-rate favourite!. The
following was the cast :
Don Carlos, the King Signor Gardoni.
Ernani Signor Cuzzani,

(his first appearance).
Ruy Gomez de Silva.. .. Signor Belletti,
(his first appearance).
Elvira ..
(her first appearance).
Mdlle. Sofia Cruvelli is, if we mistake not, des-
tined at no distant day to become the prima
donna, par excellence of the Italian lyrical stage.
She has only just completed her musical education,
and is not s et twenty years of age, and has appeared
for a short time only at the theatre of La Fenice, at
Venice, w here her success was immense. IVhere
Mr. Lumley saw her cr heard of her we know not,
but we congratulate him on having been enabled to
s"cure the services of one in every way so calculated
to sustain and to enhance the well•earned fame of
r Majesty's Theatre. She is beautiful, and possesses
that freshness which youth alone can give. Her eye
is most expressive, and her finely developed forehead
gives an air of intellectuality and majesty to her
' whole demeanour. Her action is graceful exceedingly,
and her elocution fervid and impassioned. Her voice
is one of the finest, most perfect sopranos ever heard,
clear, rich, even, and sweet; its compass is most
extensive, and in her lower notes there is a depth of
intonation, a clear ringing silvery tone, which is
seldom heard in soprano voices. Her first song,
" Sorta e la notte," at once obtained for her a favour-
able attention, which her fine acting in the scene with
the King which immediately follows secured. From
this moment to the conclusion of the opera, the part of
Elvira increases in intensity, and Mademoiselle Sofia
Cruvelli was always found equal to the demands
etrriumuvepilhi,
waansdeotmheplesccceEss of q
made upon her. The last scene was a perfect
Mademoiselley complete
w a
5S otfihaa
success of Signor Beletti, the new baritone. Rich,
deep, clear, pure, and flexible, his voice is one of the
finest baritones ever heard; it is cultivated up to the
highest pitch of perfection, and his intonation is per-
fect. There is about the voice of Signor Beletti
none of the tremulousness which so marred some of
the finest efforts of Fornasari, nor any of the rigidity
which is too commonly the fault of this quality of
voice. His acting too was very fine, full of dignity
and pathos. His opening scene, " Infelice e tuo
credevi," at once stamped him as an artist of the very
highest powers, and was received with an enthu-
siastic encore. Signor Cuzzani, the new tenor,
was suffering from influenza, notwithstanding which
he went through the part of Ernani with infinite
taste and feeling. His voice is of very pure quality
and his intonation beautiful. His appearance is
greatly in his favour, and he is a first-rate actor.
Gardoni, as Carlo, sang the music (transposed to suit
his voice) with that exquisite sweetness and expres.
awn which characterises everything he does. He
makes a great part of the King, which none of his pre-
decessors have ever done. He looked exceedingly
well, and was in admirable voice. At the con-
clusion of the opera all the artistes were called
before the curtain, and were received with the most
rapturous applause. Then came " God Save the
Queen," and nothing could exceed the splendour of
the coup trail presented by the house at this moment;
every box was occupied, and then when the company, in
honour of the national anthem, rose and came forward
to the front of the boxes, was realised the gorgeous
imagining of the artist who first suggested the
bouton d'or decorations for the hangings. Each
box was a framed picture. The pit and
the stalls too were crowded, and the
effect of the whole was gorgeous. The
orchestra, under the direction of Balie (who on
hie first appearance was greeted with enthusiastic
applause), is greatly improved ; indeed nothing could
be more perfect than their performance of the music in
Ernani on Saturday evening, and the choruses are
admirable. Then came the new ballet Fiorita; ens La
Reine des Elfrides, one of the most beautifil
and consequently one of the most successful
of ballet creations. The scene is laid in Sicily, and
the scenery, by Marshall, is exquisitely beautiful.
The groupings in the second tableau are some of the
most exquisitely classical and tasteful ever exhi-
bited, and the concluding scene, in which the Queen
of the Elfrides is turned into a statue, and in which are
introduced several beautifully designed fountains of
real water, is perfectly novel, and drew down
rapturous epplause. The great feature of the
ballet, however, is the dancing of Rosati, and of
the young Marie 'l'aglioni. Rosati is now a perfect
dancer; there is the same complete mastery over the
difficulties of her art which she exhibited last season,
joined to more grace and elegance ; she now com-
pletely possesses the ars celare artem, and therefore is
she now truly great. Her reception was most enthu-
siastic, and:she would have had to repeat every pas more
than once had she attended to all the encores with
which she was greeted. Marie Taglioni has returned to
us greatly improved in her art, and still retaining the
delightful naivete, one might almast call it fascinating,
simplicity of childhood which constituted the great
charm of her dancing last season. She does great
things, without being apparently conscious of it. The
two promising artistes of last season, Mesdemoiselles
Julienne and Lamoureux, have more than fulfilled
the promise they then held out, and bid fair, ere
long, to take their place in the foremost
ranks of their profession., I The ballet, which is by
M. Paul Taglioni, was mounted in the most superb
manner, and its success was decided. The house
was crowded in every part.
Her Majesty's box was occupied by the Duke and
Duchess of Norfolk and the Ladies Fitzalan Howard,
Viscount Morpeth, and Lady Mary Howard, &c.
In the Queen Dowager's box were Lord and Lady
Ernest Bruce and party.
Among the general company in the boxes and
stalls we observed—His Excellency the Russian Mi-
nister, the Baroness Brunnow, and Mdlle. Olga de
Lechner ; his Excellency the Hanoverian Minister,
his Excellency the Sardinian Minister, his Excellency.
the Swedish Minister, the Duke of Welling-
ton, the Duke and Duchess of Montrose, the
Marquis of Clanricarde, the Marquis of Done-
gall, the Marquis of Ailesbury, the Earl of
Munster, the Earl Granville, the Earl of Lonsdale,
the Countess (Dowager) of Essex, the Viscount
Cantilupe, the Viscount Clifden, the Viscount So-
merton, the Viscount and Viscountess Seaham, Lord
Sandys, Lord Adolphus Fitzclarence, Lord Suffield,
Lady Charles Somerset, Lady Webster, Lord Dun-
more, Lord and Lady Holland, Lord Gardner, Lady
Fremantle, Sir John and Lady Bailey, General the
Hon. C. Cavendish, Sir George %Si ombwell, Sir Ralph
and Lady Howard, Major-General Sir Alexander and
Lady Woodford and the Misses Woodford, the
Count de Bearne, M. de Berg, M. C. Koudriaffsky,
M. Canofari, Colonel Stanhope, Colonel Crichton,
Colonel Brow nlow Knox, Colonel Knox, Major
Baring, Major Buckley, Mr. Hubert de Burgh, Mr.,
Mrs., and Miss Trelawney, Mr. B. Trelawney, Mr.
Craven Berkeley, Mr. Henry Broadwood, M.P., Mr.
S. Lane Fox, Mr. Williams, Mr. and Mrs. Ewing,
Captain Smith, Captain and Mrs. Townley, Mr. I'.
Knox Holmes, Mr. G. Cornwall, Mr. 0. Morgan,
Captain Gerard, Mr. Barry Baldwin, M.P., &c.