The Sun.
London, England, 1858-04-14 00:00:00

(From the Morning Advertiser.)

The first impression made by Madlle. Titiens was favour-
able, though the few snatches of dialogue allotted to her pre-
paratory to the ballet are unimportant. Her beautiful de-
lineation of the passages wherein she discloses her fears for
the life of Raul, menaced by the conspiracy of her father, St.
Brie, and Manrevert, stamped her as an artist capable of the
grandest efforts of tragic opera. The duet with Marcel,
" Nella notte," and the tenderness and power of her " Ah
l'ingrato," when Marcel departs to warn his master of the
contrived assassination, created an enthusiastic burst of ad-
miration from the house. Vialetti sang " Non pentirti" iu
au artistic manner. The whole of this scene on the part of
Madlle.Titiens was a triumph. The burst wherein she tells the
honest soldier that she is " une donna the l'adora, 8 chi
morra ma per salvar suoi di," electrified the listening hun-
dreds, and success, brilliant success, was assured.
The culmbiating point of Madlle. Titiens' performance was
reached in the grand duet with Giuglini, " Tu mio sospiri "
and the agonising scene that follows. The harrowing appeal,
" Che, Raul, it mio dolor," and her death-like swoon, pro•
duced great effect, vocally and dramatically. One univer 40.1
call followed the exit of the maddened Raul from the window,
amid the cries of the slaughtered Huguenots. A shower of
bouquets greeted the gifted cantatrice when, led on by
Giuglini, she quitted the stage to be again called, and again
bowed her gratitude amidst descending flowers.
(From the Morning Chronicle.)
The main attraction of the night's performance lay in
the debut of the new prima donna, Mademoiselle
Titiens. It was triumphantly successful, and deservedly
so. The voice of this lady is the most perfect soprano we
have ever heard—and we speak with a tolerably long me-
mory. For richness of tone and quality it is smsurpassed by
any voice known in our times, while its extensive compass
and capability of sustentation, even up to the very highest
notes in the scale, render it an instrument of no ordinary
power in the bands of aconsummate artistlikoMdlle. Titiens.
Her voice, Ls NOVOI', is but a part of her attractions as a dra-
matic artist. The new prima donna poss3sses tragic power
such as is rarely met with in these days ; nit the noisy, ob-
trusive demonstrative development of the dramatic art, but
something of a higher order, dependent on the impulseFt f
her own nature. This was first indicated in the interview
with Marcel, before the duel between Raoul and St. Bris ;
but it reached its culminating point in the duo of the third
act, in which Mille. Titiens achieved a triumph which places
her at the present time in indisputable possession of the throne
of the lyrical drama. The talent of the new prima donna is
precisely of that order on which criticism is really thrown
away. As an actress, she is distinguished by impassioned fer-
vour, and dignity and grace of carriage—as a singer, she has
acquired an entire mastery over the mysteries of her art.
Sighor Giuglini s not new to the part of Raoul. He has
sung it elsewhere, and always with success. Last night, he
was able so to prepossess his audience, as to make thtan for-
get a predecessor in the part who was supposed to have ful-
filled all the conditions of perfection. The exquisite quality of
this artist's voice, andthe classical purity of his style, are his
least recommendations, if we may judge from his performance
last evening, in the course of which, more especially in the
celebrated duo with Valentin in the third act, he showed him-
self capable of rising to the height of the most intense tragic
passion.

(From the Daily News.)
Mademoiselle Titiens is indeed a star
of the very first
magnitude. Nothing that has been said in her praise
has been sufficient to give an idea of her powers as an actress
and a singer. She must be seen and heard in order to be
fully appreciated. She is, in the first place, a very fine
woman, with a beautifully formed figure, a noble air,
singular grace and elegance in every movement, and a face
full of intelligence and expression. She has a voice of mar-
vellous power and beauty, perfect in its tones in whatever
way it is used, whether breathed in the softest whisper or
uttered with all the strength and volume of whish it is capa-
ble. Her execution is most finishe I, and she is evidently a
complete mistress of all the ineekanism of her art. Her voice,
too, has the charm of youthful freshness the greatest, as it
is the most fleeting, of charms. In her acting she shows deep
earnestness She identified herself in evavr fn.., look, and
gesture, with the hapless heroine f the drama, and her re-
presentation of the character was one of the most pathetic, as
well as ono of the most beautiful, that we have ever witnessed.
She found in Giuglini a worthy partner. The part o Raoul,
we thins, is the most successful of all his efforts. He looked
to the life the young French gentleman of the 16th century,
bringing out most felicitously the noble and chivalrous fea-
tures of the character; and he sang Meyerbeer's music, so
foreign to the school in which lie has been educated, as purely
and effectively as if he had been "to the manner born" and
inured to it all his life. The impression ra tcle on the house
by the joint efforts of two such performers may be readily
imagined. During the great scene between Raoul and Valen-
tine—that exquisite yet terrible picture of love and despair—
which ends the third acc,, the audience seemed enchained in
breathless interest and suspense, till, at its close, that
deep silence was broken by thunders of applause and accla-
mations, prolonged and reiterated for several minutes. When
the curtain fell the same expressions of enthusiasm were re
peated.

(Front the Morning Herald.)
Of the principal singers we cannot speak at length at this
late hour. The new prima donna, however, can hardly be
passed off with scant notice. Her claims, indeed, are those
of a first-rate artiste, since it may confidently be asserted that,
with the exception of Jenny Lind—with whom, by the way,
she possesses not one quality in common, unless it be
genius— no singer since the earliest days of Grisi has
betokened the same amount of talent, and none ce•tainly
created the same sensation on a first appearance. Madlle.
Titiens' voice is a pure soprano, of exquisite quality, in
its tone clear and liquid as a silver bell, of exquisite bril-
liancy, and far more than ordinary compass. Her upper
notes have an openness of sound which we do not remember
to have heard in any other singer. If we add to these quali-
ties unusual fluency and facility, and unerring intonation, an
admirable method, and a largeness of style which belonged to
Pasta alone of all preceding singers, our readers will enter-
tain some idea of the vocal powers and attainments of Mr.
Lumley's new prima donna. As an actress, julginz from
her performance in Valentine, said to be her greatest part,
she is hardly less entitled to our admiration. Tall, erect, and
commanding in figure, she walks the boards with consum-
mate grace and ease, and impresses the beholder at a glance.
Her features, if not remarkable for beauty, are singularly
expressive, and her whole appearance betokens innate gran-
deur and dignity of mind, as befitting the empress of the lyric
drama. In Valentine's first scene with Marguerite, she has
only a few notes to sing ; but even these few notes declared
the beautiful quality and firmness of Madlle. Titiens' voice.
In the finale to the first act (the second according to the scare)
its resonance and penetrating power were first manifested.
The upper notes sounded clear and bright above the band,
chorus, and principals, and the curtail' fell amid enthusiastic
cheers from all parts of the house, and a recall for all the
principals. As yet, however, Mademoiselle Titiens had only
bee a heard in concerted music, and opinion was held in
abeyance. In the scene in the P e aux-Clerca, where Valen-
tine overhears the plot for asses. inating Raoul, and having
met Marcel communicates it to him, which Involves the air
" O terror ! rai spavanta," and the grand duet • Nella sotto
io sol," Madl e. Titiens created au immense sensation, both
by her acting and singing, and thenceforward arrested the
earnest attention of the entice audience. The lovely qua-
lity of the voice and the pathos of the singer combined.
the passionate phrase "Ali ! ingrate d'offesa mortale 'touc hed
every heart. The scene of the conspiration is a still more
trying ordeal for the artist who sustains the part of Va en-
tine ; Madlle. Titiens, nevertheless, rose with the occasion,
and sang and acted with even greater effect throughout the
whole of the terrible scone. Not in the singing and acting
alone, however, will a real artist declare herself on such
occasions. Madlle. Titiens' by-play was inimitable. Her
terror, expressed in uneasy motions and hurried actions, lest
Raoul should overhear the details of the projected massacre
from his place of concealment behind the tapestry ; her eager
glances towards the place; her stealthy steps in the same
direction and cautious listenings, were all evidences of the
highest art and impulsivet• s. The scene with Raoul was
most splendid of all. The grandest of all dramatic love duets,
indeed, was powerfully rendered by Made uoiselle Titiens and
Signor Giuglini, and created a furor. More may be said of
this impressive scene ou another occasion ; at present we
must content ourselves with describing it as a series of grand
effects, which reached the c imax as Raoul rushed madly
from the prostrate body of Valentine, and leapt from the
window into the street.
Her Majesty and his Royal Highness the Prince Consort,
accompanied by her Royal Highness the Princess A ice,
honoured the performances with their presence. The suite
in attendance upon the royal party included Lady Churchill,
the Hon. Mary Bulteel, the Earl of Sheffield, Colonel Nelson
Hood, and Capt. Un P•at. Amongst the company honouring
Royal
the Highnesses
Russian
thet e
Dtheatrea
nwdi tphutchheeisrs pdr,eAs
ui nine end wore s
Excellency
their
Minister, the Duke of Leeds, the Marchioness of Stafford,
Frances Countess Waldegrave, the Earl and Counte s of
Hardwicke, and Lady Eliz. Yorke, the Countess Dowager of
Harrington, the Earl and Countess of Stamford and Warring-
ton, the Earl of Wilton, the Earl of Lincoln, Earl Granville,
Viscount G ey de Wilton, Viscount Chels a, Baroness Lionel
de Rothschild, Viscountess Newark, Lord Ashburton, Lady
Marry Vane, Captain the Hon. George Mills, Hon. Otway
Toler, Hon. Seymour Egerton, Colonel the Hon. James \lac.
donald, C. 8., Sir Hal, It Howard, Sir John Lowther, Sir Geo
Wombwell, Madame Murieta, Alderman Salomons,
General Sir George Bowles, K.C.8., Sir Proby Cantley,
K.C.8., Mr. Hubert de Burgh, Colonel Henry Damill, Col.
Mrs. Horace Twiss, Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler, Mrs, Heaven,
Major Pole, Mr. C. P. Leslie, Captain Leyland, &c.

The Gaulle of last night- contains some further de.
epatches frc mlndia, which have been received at the East
ludia, House. They are all of a remote date, and refer
to n2aleri cmcerning which the London papers have
given the necessary particulars.
Sir W. Frarer, M.P., suggests that the bridge about
to be rec,ed over the Trarnee, next above Waterloo.
bridge, be called Sebastopol bridge, and will put a rpm.
tien to the Chief Commissioner of Works on the subject
in the Rouse of COMMIS ttio•PiOrrOW.