The Sun.
London, England, 1834-11-25 00:00:00

THEATRES,

DRURY-LANE.

The new opera, called the Red Mash, or the Council of
Three, was repeated a fifth time at this house last night, and
was received with marked approbation. There was a very full
audience. The performance was exceedingly good throughout,
and much enlivened by the light harmony of the music. Miss
Sherrill sung with her usual grace, and was frequently ap-
plauded. Miss Tree pleased us most, although we think sin.
rather over-acted some parts, particularly the closing of the
scene where she obtains an interview with the Doge. 'We can
make a large allowance for the extravagance of grief, but it
must never appear forced or bombastic, if it would excite the
sympathy of mere observers. The scenery is bnutiful. After
the fall of the curtain, this opera was aanounce4 for perform-
ance on Wednesday evening, and the announcement was re .
ce:ved with a grist applause.

CO VENT- GARDEN.
Messrs. Denvil and Vandenhoff appeared last night, in the
characters of Othello and lago. Mr. Denvil's performance,
although far from being finished, was yet very creditable, and
gave proofs of talent which, if matured by study and practice,
may enable him to maintain a very respectable position. It wa
deficient in the expression of that concentrated passion which
ought to mark the character, and the deficiency was not con-
cealed by the loud raving in ethic!: the actor too much in-
dulged. It must be remembered, hor"ever, that the task is
full of difficulties, and that the actor who can adequately rer
present the varied emotions and sufferings of the over-tempted
Moor has mastered his art. Mr. Vandenhoff's lago was too
tame. The familiar style in which he played it can only be
ventured upon by very first-rate actors. Mrs. Sloman was seen
to greater advantage in Desdemona than in most of the parts
in which she has lately appeared, and the other characters were
very sufficiently filled. The tragedy was very favourably received,
and Mr. Denvil's performance loudly applauded. After the tra-
gedy, a new ballet called The Storm, or the Isle of the Genii,
was produced. It is founded on La Tempi*, the last no-
velty of a similar description that has been brought out at
the Academie Royale, in Paris, and the subject of which ap-
pears to have been suggested by our own Tempest. The re-
semblance between them is so slight, that there can be no
fear of our. veneration for Shakspeare being impaired, by
the use which has been made of some of the materials of
one of his most fanciful and delightful creations. The bal-
let is, nevertheless, a very agreeable affair. It opens with
the sacking of a Grecian town, and the massacre of the in-
habitants by a troop of Turks. A child, Lea, the future
heroine of the ballet, is the sole survivor of the Greeks, and
escapes the fury of the conquerors by being hidden by her
dying mother. Osteron, a benevolent genius, is seen sail-
ing in a cloud over the city, and, compassionating the child's
forlorn misery, despatches Zephire (the Ariel, if one may so
call her, of the ballet) to Lea's aid. The sylph descends,
and carries off the child to the Isle cf the Genii. Here
she remains under the care of Osteron until she attains the
age of womanhood. By this time the peaceful attractions of
the island have lost their charms for her. Osteron exercises
his power in vain ; the spirits of earth, sea, air, and fire spread
their treasures before her, and exert all their skill to charm the
ennui which devours her, without effect. Osteron discovers
that her young heart languishes with desires which his spells
csnuot satisfy, and as so profound a genius cannot be long at a
less for expedients, he causes a shipwreck, which throws upon
ti e island a young Spaniard. Fernando meets Lea ; a mutual
passion ensues, and after the youth's constancy and the purity
of his passion have been put to some severe trials, he is re-
warded with the hand of the maiden ; the vessel is restored
to its pristine good order and condition, and the youthfu
pair quit the island to make themselves as happy as they!
can without the aid of a conjuror. The ballet has been
got up with considerable taste. The scenery is remarkably
pretty. The conflagration of the city, the enchanted gar-
dens by moonlight, the palace of the fairy Alcina, who endea-
vours by her blandishments to shake the constancy of Fer-
nando's love, and the last scene, representing a submarine
grotto, with the depths of the ocean seen in the distance,
were very fanciful and effective. The dances are extremely
well arranged. Madame Proche Giubilei was the Lea,
Mademoiselle Keppler the Zephire, Mademoiselle Bougoin
the Alcina, and Miss Bailin (we believe, although her name
does not appear in the bills) a sort of chief sylph, and each of
them danced with remarkable skill and grace. Mr. Gilbert
played Fernando, and was deservedly applauded. The
dresses were magnificent, and the whole affair went off well,
and to the satisfaction of a crouded audience.