The Sun.
London, England, 1866-12-27 00:00:00

COVENT-GARDEN.

Although pantomime of course formed the main
attraction at this establishment last night, it was
not the only novelty of the evening, having been
preceded by a new operetta, in one act, called
" Terrible Hymen," which served to fill up the
preliminary hour before the specialty of the
occasion ; and to maintain (although but in
a very slight degree) the associations of the house
with musical purposes. The operetta is a mere
trifle, both dramatically and musically ; in the
former respect apparently an adaptation from some
French vaudeville, while the music also has some
affinity to the same school in its lightest aspect.
The libretto is a mere thread on which to hang
three songs and as many duets for the two charac-
ters of the piece—Pierre, a timid lover, whose
courage constantly fails him when on the point of
proposing marriage to Marie, the object of his
affections ; the lady taunting him with his vacilla-
tion, and proposing an exchange of names, and
being met by a counter-proposal of a change of
costume. In this exchange of characters a little
and the
badinage leads to a better uThe book is by nderstanding,Mr.bert a Beckett. The
usual happy termination.
music, by M. Emile Jonas has

a light vein of dance-like melody, which is pleasant
because unpretentious, and not prolonged so as to
become tiresome. The characters of Marie and
Pierre were representod by Madame Linas Marto-
relli and Signor Gustave Garcia, both vocalists of
considerable accomplishments, who gave their songs
and duets • with much finish and point. A little
more case in the acting of the gentleman will
doubtless come with further stage practice. •
The pantomime was a great and genuine success,
and was received throughout with frequent demon-
strations of applause by an audience which occnrird
cwry is the, theatre. There can be
no doubt that "Ali Baba" wi:l prove a long sourcs
of attraction to the public, and of profit to the ma-
nagement \ld hich has placed it on the stage in so
lavish and costly a style.

HAYMARKET.

Notwithstanding the absence of the ordinary
stock Christmas piece—the expected pantomime
or extravaganza—the Haymarket programme
was yesterday diversified even beyond the
voracious appetite of a Boxing-day public. Yet
in the midst of all its diversity, the Haymarket
so far preserved the dramatic unities and its title
to recognition as the theatre of comedy par excellence
as to make the comic element the flavouring ingre-
dient in the preparation of its holiday novelties. To
begin with, there was a morning performance by a
troupe of Lilliputian artists, consisting of 27 actors
and actresses, varying in height from 30 to 50
inches. Most persons would be apt to smile at the
idea of a comedy performed under such conditions,
where the little actors must be supposed to con their
parts and fill their " humorous stage" veryptich as
parrots might be supposed to do. But a visit to
" Littletop's Christmas Party," and the burlesque
of " Sylvius" which follows, in the morning perfor-
mance at the Haymarket, will disabuse the a prior
thinking public of any such idea.
The evening entertainment commenced with a
comedietta in one act, entitled ci A mere Child," by
Mr. Westland Marston, Miss Rebecca Powell per-
forming the part of the " Child." The "Child" is
seventeen, and her aunt, Mrs. Radnor (Mrs. LawB)
is anxious to keep her in the state of innocent ignor-
ance supposed to be represented by those numerals.
But the " Child" experiences a feeling which, with
some doubt and hesitation, she supposed to be a
part of her nature ; She induces her aunt to allow
her the exercise, if only by way of essay, of her
newly-discovered instinct, and the result of the ex-
periment is that by her simple and artless manners
she takes the place of Miss Dampier (Mrs. Chippen-
dale), a perfect woman of the world, in the affec-
tions of the rich and high-born Charles Grande)*
(Mr. Howe). The piece seems to have been
written
.
expressly with a view to the special acting qualifi-
cations cations of Miss Powell, and in this point of view I'
answered exceedingly well, for it gave ample oPP°r"
tunity for the exhibition of that naive and simplestyle which she possesses in a high degree.
In the " Lesson for Life," a comedy in three acts,
by Mr. Tom Taylor, Mr. Sothern was welcomed
back to the Haymarket boards as to his home- „
A pleasant farce, entitled " Jenny Lind at Last,
and a ballet divertissement, in which Mdlle Sophia,
of the Berlin and Copenhagen Theatres, took the
principal part, followed, and wound up a day's en-
tertainment of a pleasant and diversified kind. The
house was very full.

ADELPHI.
The Christmas piece at this house is a burlesque
by the surviving author of " Kenilworth," founded
upon the familiar theme of " The Lady of the Lake,
and entitled " Mountain Dhu ; or, the Knight, the
Lady, and the Lake." The principal incidents in Sir
Walter Scott's poem are, to use a theatrical expres-
sion, " utilised" in the construction of this piece ;
but in the arrangement of incidents and the delinea-
tion of character the author has abundantly availed
himself of the freedom which burlesque claims as its
With it Rob Roy's name is not M'Gregorl
even when his foot was on his "native heath,"
cun-
less that appellation falls naturally into rhyme; and
it is therefore not surprising that James Fitz James'
Douglas, and Roderick Dhu should have undergoee
moral transformations almost equal to those PhYs.lo,
cal ones which are to be found in pantoniiines,ll,
order to adapt them to the Adelphi stage., 1,1%
Knight of Snowdon, as represented by Mrs. lie
is entirely innocent of Lincoln green, and 01111,,'1c',
"
the manners rather of a Cockney excursionist t'an
is
of a sporting sovereign. The Douglas, in the bands
of Mr. Paul Bedford, has lost all his fury, and "1.111;
proved" into a heavy father; while the Roderick
Dhu of Mr. Toole has so far submitted to the ieflll-
ence of civilisation as to take snuff out of 3 sayer
box, and carry his whisky in such a flask as is to be
met with any day in a first-class carriage between
London and Brighton. Mr. Toole made his first airt
pearance last night after his return from a sonlowrld
prolonged provincial tour. He was warmly greete
upon his entry, and a few lines " appropriate to the
occasion," in which, among other things, be nu;
nounced that he had left the dews of Ben Nevis, and
meant in future to take his due of Ben Webster'
were heartily applauded.
The burlesque was preceded by " a Sister's Pen-
ance." Miss Kate Terry, who plays the heroine, Iva;
warmly applauded in all the principal scenes; and
was, with Mr. H. Vezin, called before the curtain
at the end of the play.

own.

OLYMPIC.
This house re-opened last night under the lessee-
ship of Mr. Benjamin Webster and the manageraeut
of Mr. Horace Wigan, with a revival of Mr. l3ouci-
cault's early comedy of " London Assurance," a Pia/
that has been a stock piece for actors of comedy for
more than twenty years. Mr. Charles. Mathews has
returned to the scene of his early and most success-
ful labours, accompanied by Mrs. Charles Mathews,
and, looking younger than ever, performed his old
part of Dazzle with wonderful spirit and finish. Lady
Gay Spanker, a character associated in the minds of
playgoers with Mrs. Nisbett, found a charming re-
presentative in Mrs. Charles Mathews. Sir Har-
court Courtly was given to Mr. Horace Wigan,
Charles Courtly to Mr. H. Neville, Mark Meddle to
Mr. G. Vincent, Max Harkaway to Mr. Addison,
Dolly Spanker to Mr. Dominick Murray, Grace
Harkaway to Miss M. Palmer, and Pert to Miss E.
Farren—a strong and efficient cast. The afterpicce
is the burlesque of " Faust and Marguerite."