The Sun.
London, England, 1860-12-27 00:00:00

HER MAJESTY'S.

The pantomime proper has just now received an
immense addition to its prestige in the fact that for
the first time, thanks to the enterprise and radical
predilections of Mr. E. T. Smith, it has found a
home in that great shrine of Apollo, the temple of
the Opera in the Haymarket. The stage that was
once made vocal and reverential by the singing of
the .‘ glorious quartet," Grisi, Rubini,. Tambirini,
and.Lablache, now reverberates with the shouts,
bumps, thumps, and vociferations of the less "glo-
rious quartet"—but still glorious in many eyes—
of Harlequin, Clown, Pantaloon, and Columbine.
Mr. Smith, however, did not last night present the
first pantomime at her Majesty's Theatre without
prefacing it with a musical performance—one,
too, of no ordinary kind—thus preserving, to a
certain extent, the operatic character of the great
establishment in the Haymarket. By this he has
shown that not only does he not intend giving up
opera during the run of the pantomime, but deter-
mines to abide by it as pertinaciously as ever. It is
impossible to surmise that he would, under c.ny
other conditions, have produced a new opera on
boxing-night, when every other theatre in London
was bringing forward some piece of little worth, or
used up, as good enongh on such an occasion. The
new opera, " Queen Topaze," is an English version
of M.Victor Masse's " La Reine Topaz," introduced
some few seasons ago at the Opera Comique of
Paris with moderate success. The pantomime
written by Mr. E. L. Blanchard, " expressly,"
as the bills assert, " to employ the vast operatic
and choregraphic resources of this establish-
ment," is founded upon the familiar old
English story of " Tom Thumb," and is en-
titled " Harlequin and Tom Thumb; or, Merlin
the Magician, and the Good Fairies of the Court
of King Arthur." The miniature hero, per-
sonated by Miss Lilla Ross, goes through all the
traditionary adventures recorded in the memorable
narrative. He is brought out of a magic album by
the art of the great wizard of the northern climes,
is shaken up in a beg of cherry stones, tied up in
batter pudding, swallowed by a red cow, absorbed
into the system of the giant Hurlothrubo, devoured
by a salmon, and finally brought before the table
of the great King Arthur, by whom he is knighted,
and who appoints him a residence in the palatial
mousetrap, whence he sallies forth, on a docile rat,
on the expedition that leads him to his legendary
fate. Here, however, the good fairy interposes, and
he is transformed into Harlequin, whilst the rest of
the principal characters undergo the usual magical
metamorphosis. The celebrated Lauri Family sup-
port the humours of the harlequinade, and the ballet
uud the choral clopartroonta figure eonspinuougly in
the opening. Mr. Wm. Beverley has invented some
most effective scenic contrivances for the embellish-
ment of the opening ; and Mr. Tully, by original
music, has given some striking features to the vocal
illustrations ; the masks and characteristic costumes
are, as a matter of course, in any theatre under the
management of Mr. Smith, by Dykwynkyn, a
merry Bobriquet the manager has given to hie in-
spector of robes and tailor general.
The Lauri Family undertake all the principal
personages in the harlequinade, Miss Jenny Lauri
being Columbine, Mr. J. Lauri Harlequin, Mr. C.
Lauri Clown, and Mr. H. Lauri Pantaloon. The
great scene of the piece takes place in the presence
of the King and the Distinguished Representatives
of the Ancient Days of Chivalry above alluded to.
It changes from the banqueting hall of the Palace
to "The Chameleon Temple of the Fairies," which
we pronounce without hesitation to be the grandest
aid most magnificent tableau we ever beheld in
pantomime. To describe the scene is utterly
beyond our power. One exquisite effect is
the manner in which the SEttlid scene, re-
presented in the most brilliant lustre, is first
given in pink light, then in blue, and finishing in
The excitement following this scene
dazzling gold,
was immense, and a loud cry being raised for Mr.
Beverley, the scene painter and designer, when
Mr, g. T. Smith stepped forward incontinently
and was saluted with hearty cheers from all
arts of the house. Boots it not to dwell
p
and .yieesitudes of Clown
upon the peregrinations
-ithful Harlequin
and Pantaleon, attended upon byis, - I,nne-
and graceful Columbine. These may be Um
fully to the imagination of the reader, seeing that
the old routine was not violently departed from,
and that the quartet adhered to the good old stock

Of course the pantomime was the attraction of
the night—as of course it will be for many nights
to come. The subject, violently seized, wrung and
contorted by that able pantomime-wright, Mr.
V. Bridgman, is the history of our old enemy,
"Bluebeard," who, by the way, is not the only
wife-killer of that hue of beard, who parades his
'tiptiCeiniblitidtrard6ffeitit -management this
Christmas—for there " be" two Bluebeards in the
pantomime-field. As our readers are already in-
formed, Mr. Bridgman's story of the many-wived
hero is not exactly according to the orthodox narra-
tive with which we were once all of us so excitedly
familiar. Last night we found Bluebeard in com-
pany with a certain interpolated King Despotino,
and attended by a personage with whom fami-
liarity would certainly not, under any circumstances,
"breed contempt," namely, the Demon of Remorse.
Bluebeard's royal acquaintance, King Despotino,
is an impersonated warning to monarchs with a
taste for governing their subjects according to rule
of thumb-screw—if, indeed, it is permissible, even
in pantomime, to imagine any such regal impossi-
bility. Britannia, whom we find also imported into
the story, is, of course, our own genius, whose mis-
sion (inq his present pantomime) is to foster the
boldest and furthest-going efforts of Freedom every-
where and for everybody in the world ; and the way
in which she aids Freedom (who is not too strong
for her work) to overthrow King Despotino (who
i 3 very .‘ strong in his wrong") by assuring her that
she (Freedom) has her (Britannia's) "best wishes,"
is a sentiment calculated to reach to the depths of
a British Boxing-night atulience's patriotism, and
it reached it accordingly.
Of the scenery throughout it is hardly possible to
speak too highly ; it is worthy of the artists(Messrs•
Grieve and Telbin), whose old renown is associated
with the so-called palmy days of pantomime. The
dark scene which precedes the "transformation.
scene" is a design full of poetry and feeling; it re-
presents a wreck-strewn sea-shore, on which there
is a lightless lighthouse, giving a look of awful
desolation to the view. The transformation scene
itself is, we are quite sure, one of the most beautiful
scenes of the kind that has ever been seen. It is a
very wonder of ingenuity ; but it has a charm which
is mostly wanting in such scenic displays—it is
most beautifully harmonious in colour, and fault-
lessly graceful in every arrangement of form, for
it takes many new forms in the course of its deve-
lopment. The applause was loud, long, and
thoroughly spontaneous. We need not add that it
was well deserved.

The harlequinade was what all harlequinades
must be, we suppose. It has the merit of being
earned on by a double set of Clowns, &c., among
whom are several old favourites, as Harry Boleno,
M. Milano, W. A. Barnes. The only fact notice-
able in this performance was the occurrence
of an accident which, for a moment threw the audi-
ence into a state of alarm. A. mass of the scenery
fell forward with a crash, overthrowing a number
of persons who were upon the stage. Mr. Harri-
son, however, came forward to announce that no
one was hurt, and after a few minutes the business
went on. Considerable retrenchment of the harle-
quinade will, no doubt, be made, and then we have
no doubt that for a long succession of nights
" Bluebeard" will run along " as merry as a grig"
whatever that may be.