The Sun.
London, England, 1856-12-09 00:00:00

GERMAN PLAYS.

• A trope of German prforrners, under the direction
of Hers Gruenfeld, of the Londoner Dcutclies Journal,
• made their first appearance, on Saturday, at the St.
• James'; Theatre. The performance consisted of three
Germav comic plays and a musical interlude. The first
• piece Ras " Durch," a small affair, in one act, by Rudolf
Genee. The play is a humorous one, and the dialogue
; smart ;nd witty. Sturmer is a young farmer who has
fallen is love with a very pretty fraulein, one Clife, tle
daughter of a certain Haafe, a hosier. The father has
a sister, Franzista, and he will not consent to the mar.
riage of his daughter until he has first seen his sister
weddel. Sturmer, however, nothing daunted, and re-
, solved to carry his love affair durclt (through) to a happy
concl4ion, declares that he will find a husband for the
aunt ce his beloved one. Every individual of the male
gender whom he comes across is accordingly asked by
Haasee's lover if he is married, and when he receives a
reply n the affirmative he is forthwith driven away in
disgust. At length, one Budeburg, a German swell
ni° or rather a notorious swindler, is seized hold
ofbbsilan
Ythe'young man, and, to his extreme delight, this
indivilual is unmarried, and open to an engagement to
any oie who has golden recommendations. He is ac-
introduced, when, le)! he discovers in the
of the somewhat elderly lady, an "old flame"
whom, twelve years since, he had contrived to
swinge
ofe
oii
tg iY
out of all her property. The scene between
the feTner lovers, the deceiver and the deceived one, is
very droll and amusing, and the extravagant fopperies
of tht swindler, and repeated protestations of love, ex
cite 'pars of laughter. Finally, the affair is arranged
to tie satisfaction of all parties ; the sins of the false
one 're forgiven by the fair lady, whose rapid advances
towesis old maidenhood make her, perhaps, lees resent-
ful. Sturmer clasps his bride to his heart, and the father
verYproperly gives his benediction to the happy couple.
Tie second piece was "Badekure,"—a favourite little
pies: with the German public, the incidents turning
upoi some scenes of fashionable life at the German spas.
Thethird piece, which was also in one act, was " Fami-
lierewist and Friede," or " Family Jars and Peace."
It 'bows, in a most humorous rtyle, the effects of the
revdution in 1848, when German politics and noti las of
egiality had set the members of a household against
each other, and when domestics refused to do the
biding of employers, and justified their rebellion
agliust the authority of roasters by appeals to " Li-
birty, equality, and fraternity." The principal actors
"hre Herr Walter, Herr Weiss, Herr Rober, Herr
araube, and Herr Hohnfeldt, and Mdlles. Rhorbeck
nsd Doring. The performances were on the whole very
food, and if continued they will no doubt he found not
nly attractive to the German residents in London, but
also very useful in assisting to a knowledge of the Ger-
-nan language many persons who are at present not per-
fectly proficient in that tongue. The other entertain-
ments consisted of Leporello's song in "Don Juan,"
lining in German by Hamilton Braham ; the celebrated
scena from " Der Freiscbutz," sung by Madame Zim-
merman, in such excellent style that an encore was
unanimously demanded, when she sung " Robert toi quo
Jaime ;" and two pieces, which were executed in first-
rate style by Herr Wilhelm Ganz on the piano-forte,
which we understand were his own composition ; end
the " Hamburg Polka." a pas dc eltaractere, by Mdlle.
Rosa Dorey and Herr Franz Weiss, which was danced
so artistically as to secure an encore.