The Sun.
London, England, 1851-07-21 00:00:00

HER MAJESTY'S THEATRE.

On Saturday Madlle. Sofie Cruvelli appeared in the
part of Elvira in Ernani, and afforded the habitues an
opportunity of marking the immense progress which she
has made in her professional career, as this was the cha-
racter in which she made her debtit at this theatre in 1848.
Her performance was full of power and full of pro-
mise. That promise is now more than fulfilled, and the
power is regulated (and by being so regulated, increased,
and intensified) by the most highly cultivated taste,
and the most perfect knowledge of art ; she
has studied deeply and conscientiously, and deep and
conscientious study invariably meets with its reward.
The celebrated Ernani involami was the very perfection
of bravura singing; never have we heard it so brilliantly
rendered, and her acting throughout was magnificent..
The trio in the last act was superbly rendered, and
in the concluding scene she was exquisitely pathetic.
She is certainly the best Elvira who has yet appeared.
The opera was strongly cast, Sims Reeves being the
Email', and acting it with all his wonted fire, and Co-
letti the Carlo V., in which he was admirable. The Don
Silva of Scapini was a careful and meritorious perform-
ance. The house was crowded.

FRENCH PLAYS.
ST. JAMES'S THEATRE.

On Saturday evening Victor Liugo'ssublime drame
Angelo Tyran de Padoue was produced here for the first
time, Madlle. Rachel sustaining the character of La
Tisbe, which is most assuredly her greatest character i❑
the modern (as contradistinguished from the classical)
drama, if it be not, as we are inclined to think, the
greatest and most effective character in her whole reper-
toire. Victor Hugo tells us in his preface that his ob-
ject in writing this drama was to bring face to lace two sad
and melancholy figures—woman in society, and woman
cast out of society—to show these two, who may be
considered as the types of all womankind, often gene-
rous, always unhappy—to defend the first against des-
potism, the second against contempt—to show what
temptations have been resisted by the virtue of the
one, and what tears have washed out the stains of the
other. To bring the guilt home to the really guilty,
that is to say, to man who is strong, and to the social
state which is absurd. La Tisbe, the actress, the vaga-
bond, the mistress of Angelo the tyrant of Padua, is the
type of the outcast; and Catarina, his miserable
and unhappy wife, is the type of the woman
in society. Madlle. Rachel acts La Tisbe, and
her sister, Madlle. Rebecca Felix, is Catarina. The
play is not altogether unknown to the English play-
goer, a version of it having been produced some years
ago by the Covent Garden company during their exile
to the Victoria. The grand scene between these two
types of woman in society and woman out of society,
which takes place in the fifth scene of the second act,
is perhaps one of the most sublimely terrific in the
whole range of the drama. La Tisl36, albeit she is
the mistress of Angelo, loves to distraction
a certain Rodolfo, who in his turn loves Catarina, the
wife of the Podesta; La Tide has just tracked her
lover to the chamber of Catarina, who has barely time
to secrete him in her oratory, when her rival
enters, and in reply to Catarina's demand,
" Qu' eat-ce que c' est que ceci?"— answers,
in a voice of terror " Ceci? ce qua c'est? Tenez, je vais
vous le dire. C'est la maitresse du podesta qui tient dans
sea mains la femme du podesta." The majestic appear-
ance of Rachel, as in most impassioned tones she
delivered these terrible words, was that of a goddess.
an incarnate Nemesis, to whom had been delivered the
commission to avenge the wrongs of outcasts upon that
society which is, in the subsequent part of the same
scene, the subject of the most bitter and sarcastic outpour-
ings of the contempt and hatred of genius for the hollow
conventionalities of society, and which were delivered by
Rachel in a manner to create not only admiration and
wonder, but awe. Nothing could exceed the sublimity
of her delivery of the following speech :
"Ce qua c'est que ceci, madame? C'est une come-
dienne, une fine de theatre, une baladine, comme vous
nous appelez, qui tient dans sea mains, je viens de vous
le dire, une, grande dame, une femme mariee, une femme
respect& une vertu! qui la tient dans sea mains, dans sea
ongles, dims ses dents! qui peut en faire ce qu'elle you-
dra, de cette grande dame, de cetto bonne renomirea do-
tea, et qui va la deehirer, la mettre en pieces, la mettre
en lambeaux, la mettre en morceaux! Ah! mes-
dames les graudes dames, je no sais pas ce qui va
arriver, mais co qui est stir, c'est que j'en ai une a sous
mes piAs, une de vous autresl et que j© ne la lacherai
pas! et qu'elle pent etre tranquille! et qu'il aurait mieux
valu pour elle la foudre sur sa tete que mon visage de-
vent l© sien! Dites done, Madame, je vous trouve
hardie d'oser lever les yeux sur moi quand vous avez
un amant chez vous!"

Her energy, her expression of intense hatred and of
gratified but not satiated revenge, was absolutely terrific.
Beautiful, however, was the transition to the most ex-
quisitely pathetic tenderness when discovering that
Catarina had saved the life of her mother. La Tisbe
determines to save her and render her happy, which she at
length accomplishes, although at the sacrifice of her own
life. Those who have not seen Rachel in this character
have yet to see the most sublime and terrific delineation
of passion which she has yet exhibited, and we regret
exceedingly that she will perform it but once more.
She was admirably supported by Madlle. Rebecca Felix,
who, as Catarina, fairly divided with her the honour of
the representation. The theatre was crowded.

SERIOUS ILLNESS or MR. COOPER,, THE NOVELIST.
—We regret to learn that Mr. Fenimore Cooper, who has
been confined to This house at Cooperstown, for several weeks,
is now considered very dangerously ill; so that we shall
not at any moment be surprised to hear of his death. Aware
of his situation, he last Saturday partook of the Sacrament
and had all the members of his family summoned to his
house. Mr. Cooper is now nearly sixty years of age.—. New
York Herald.
MAN DROWNED IN A WELL.—On Saturday
evening an inquest was held by Mr. W. Baker, at the Lamb
public-house, North-street, Bethnall-greeu, on the body of
Henry Papley,,a,gTehda4t3th,
owdheoeweaassedfowunads
fdoruonwdndedeadininhias
wowelz
came therein they had no positive proof."
bwuetellh.:V:Teirtdelic/dt, OF JENNY LIND.—The Star Spangled
Banner announces that " Jenny Lind is an exalted echo of
the undeveloped inner-tone of our musical taste, which, if
not educated, at least has not been vitiated."

a return to the
--- -- ,
HoVusiecolf°CßoirnAlTnßsEjuEsTt printed,SEWEß.
—By
—ars that the estimate
for the Victoria sewer was 5,0821. The contract price was
4,6001., but the actual cost for the completion of the same
YON 7,4431. 30. 6d.