The Sun.
London, England, 1850-04-05 00:00:00

DER MAJESTY'S THEATRE.

Last night was the first " Sontag night" of the
season, and also the first of the delightful " long
Thursdays ;" no wonder therefore that there was a
crowd collected around the doors of her Majesty's
Tbeatre long before the time fixed for their opening,

no wonder that the Haymarket was thronged with
carriages, no wonder that the crush was terrific, that
every box and every stall was occupied, and that even
standing rooom in the pit and gallery was at a pre-
mium even long baize the commencement of the
opera. The opera was Don Pasquale, with Lablache
as the Don, his first appearance this season, and
Madame Sontag as Norina, her first appear-
ance before a London audience in that
character, and also her first appearance
for the season after having achieved in Paris,
during the course of the last few weeks, a success to
which nothing can be compared save the triumphs she
herself achieved in the French capital on her first
appearance there, before her retirement from the
strge, and in comparison with which even those
triumphs appear as nothing. The character of
Norina is exactly suited to Sontag's peculiar style of
acting and vocalization. Norina is witty, espiegle,
gay, vivacious, but, above all, and before all, she is a
lady, cud there is not, there never has been in our re•
membrance, any artiste on the Italian lyrical boards
who could approach Madame Sontag in the delinea-
tion of the lady. Tae Norina of Grisi was full of
power, but it was too boisterous, and approached at
times almost to vulgarity—not so the Norina of
Madame Sontag, it is to the full as animated as that
of Grisi, but is always ladylike and graceful. In
the scene in which Norina is introduced to Don Pas-
quale, in the concluding scene of the second act,
where she turns upon the astonished Don, and in the
whole of the third act, we could not but make the
comparison between the Norina of Grisi and that of
Madame Sontag; and, in making the com-
parison, it was impossible to avoid observing
how much more delicate and graceful was the Norina
of Madame Sontag. As a piece of vocalization
it was perfect. Her beautiful execution of
her aria d'intrata, " Quel guardo it cavaliere," created
a perfect furore, which continued the whole evening.
Nothing could exceed the brilliancy and the finish of
her fioriture in this exquisite air. Her acting in the
scene in which she is introduced to the Don was, as
we have before said, moat graceful and ladylike, but
at the same time irresistibly comic; and her voca-
lization in the quartette and finale to the second act
was exquisitely beautiful ; the quartette was, as a
matter of course, encored, and never have we before
heard it so effectively given as it was last night by
Sontag, Lablache, Beletti and Calzolari. The duet
with Lablache in the third act, " Signorina
in tante fretta" was exquisitely rendered by
Madame Sontag and Lablache, and in a histrionic
point of view it was the very perfection of comic act.
ing. Nothing could exceed the elegant playfulness
of Sontag throughout this scene. The duet was
encored, as a matter of course. Then came the finale,
which as a piece of brilliant, sparkling, yet most
graceful and most finished execution, has never been
surpassed. Sontag lavished a profusion of the most
brilliant ornaments upon this finale, and created a
furore which resembled the triumphs of Jenny Lind.
She was, of course, encored, and at the conclusion
the pit and stalls " rose at her," as Edmund wean
used to say, and greeted her with tumultuous and en-
thusiastic applause. She was called on at the conclu-
sion of each act, and three times at the fall of the curtain.
Lablache, the great Lablache, the evergreen Lablache,
was the Don. Ile appeared in excellent health, excellent
spirits, and in magnificent voice, and never acted the
Don with more unctious humour, never sang the music
with greater power than he did last night, and his re-
ception was as enthusiastic as the welcome back of an
old friend always should be. He is the same La-
blache that he has been any time the last twenty years,
and is still in every sense of the word the greatest of
bassos. Calzolari sang the music of Ernesto with
great sweetness, and was encored in the serenade, and
Beletti was admirable as Malatesta. All these artistes,
were called at the conclusion of the opera, and several
times also during the course of the performance. At
the conclusion of the opera Madame Amalia Ferraris
repeated her pas with M. Charles, and excited the
greatest enthusiasm. As a professor of choerogra-
pbic art, Mademoiselle Amalia Ferraris has no rival ;
the applause with which she was greeted was rap-
ous, and at the conclusion bouquets a foison were
showered on her. The last scene of .Ernani, with
Sims Reeves, Mademoiselle Parodi, and Beletti, fol-
lowed, and the exquisite singing and acting of these
accomplished artistes elicited the enthusiastic plaudits
of their delighted auditors. The delightful ballet of
Les Metamorphoses, in which Carlotta Grisi was as
brilliant as ever, concluded the entertainments of the
evening.
Their Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of
Cambridge, accompanied by her Royal Highness the
Princess Mary of Cambridge, and attended by the Ba-
roness Ahlcfeldt, Major Stephens, and Mr. Edmond St.
John Mildmay, honoured the performances with
their presence. The royal party cccupied her Mdesty's
box. Amongst the company were his Excellency the
Russian Ministers, the Baroness Brunow, Mademoiselle
do Brunow, and Mademoiselle Olga de Lechner; his
Excellency the Portuguese Minister and the Baroness
de Moncorro, his Excellency the Swedish Minister, the
Duchess of Leeds and Miss Ehz ibeth Lane Fox, the
Earl and Countess of Oxford, the Countess de Flabault
and Miss de Flahault, the Count M. de Rosen, Viscount
Canning, the*Baron Reitchel, the Count de Potocki, the
Baron de Krehmer, the Count de Civey, the Baron de
Schertz, the Viscount ClifJen, Lord Adolphus Fitz-
clarence, Lord William Lennox, Lady Paulet
Lady Augustus Wentworth and Miss Wentworth,
Lord Francis Gordon, Lady Charles Somerset, Lord
Gardner, Lord Rendlesham, Lord Harry Vane,
Lieutenant-General Sir Alexander Woodford, Bart., and
Lady Woodford, Sir John Lowther, Bart., Sir Thomas
Barrett Leonard, Bart., and Lady Barrett Lennard,
Sir W. Keith Ball, Bart., Sir Heury Meux, Bait., and
Lady Meux, Sir Ralph Howard, Bart., M.P., General
the Hon. B. Cavendish, Sir Compton Doraville, Bart.,
and Lady Domville, Sir John Scott, Bart., Captain the
Hon. A. Vivian, Mr. Walter Lennard, the Hon. Mr.
and Mrs. Dudley Ward, Mr. Holford, the Hon. Mr.
Chichester, the Hon. C. R. Neville, Mr. Sackville Lane
Fox, Mr. T. Wentworth, Miss Sands, Mr. and Mrs. C.
J. Palmer, Major Buckley, Mr., Mrs., and Miss Bren-
ton Trelawney, Mr. W. Cubitt, M.P., Mrs. Paul, Mr.
Phillips, Mr. and Mrs, Mackenzie, Mr. and Mrs. Grote,
Mr. Martin, Mr. Hubert do Burgh, Mr. Megan, Mr. C.
W. Packe, M.P., Mr. G. Cornwall, Mr. G. Barrow, Mr.
C. Barry Bald Win, &c.

ROYAL ITALIAN OPERA,
COVENT-GARDEN.
Signor Tamberlik, a new tenor from the Opera of
the San Carlo; Naples, and from the Opera of Barce-
lona, made his debut here last evening in the charac-
ter of the hero in the opera of Masaniello, and, albeit
he was suffering from the fatigue of his journey
(he only arrived in London on Wednesday), and was,
moreover, dreadfully and visibly nervous, yet it was
evident before he had been on the stage five minutes
that he was an artist of very tigh order. His
voice is a pure chest voice, of considerable power
and of sonorous quality, and his style and deli-
very prove that he has been educated in the
best schools. He was encored in the barcarole, and
this compliment seemed to have restored to him his
presence of mind, for he sang it on the second occa-
sion admirably, and without any trace of that tremu
lousness which was evident when he first sang it, and
which we at first took for an- indication of a'voice
which had passed its prime. He was also encored
in the invocation to sleep, which was beautifully ren-
dered; the mad scene was splendidly acted, and the
address to the insurgents was magnificently declaimed.
Signor Tamberlik was called on frequently during the
course of the evening, and he has achieved a great
and a deserved success. Madame Castellan sang the
music of Elvira very gracefully, and Miss Balliva, as
Fenelle, gave evidence of the possession of much greater
pantomimic power that the world has hitherto given
Ler credit for. Massol resumed
his old character of
Pietro, and was perfect in it. The choruses were
admirably rendered, and the splendid overture was
as usual encored.

MONUMENT.
THE NELSON
A second alto relievo in bronze has been affixed,
on the north side, to the base of the Nel-
son Column in Trafalgar-square—having been
very recently completed at the establish-
ment of Messrs. Moore,, Terrance, and Com-
pany, Baldwin's-gardens, Gray's Inn-lane, from a
design by Mr. Woodin• gton. In material it consists
of one-tenth part of tin to nine-tenths of copper;
the whole being of an equal thickness throughout,
weighing altogether three tons, and being cast ver-
tically in five divisi▪
ons, with a skill and clearness
highly creditable to all parties concerned in the
undertaking. In design the subject is treated
in a manner singularly felicitous, representing
an incident in the battle of the Nile—that famous
incident when the heroic Nelson, having been
wounded over his only remaining eye by a langridge
shot, was conveyed into the cockpit with his face and
bosom covered with blood. The great sea-captain is
portrayed as half recumbent in the arms of two of
his sailors, and the surgeon, disturbed in his attend-
ance upon a wounded tar by the apparent danger of
his renowned commander, is hurrying forward to the
assistance of the latter with eager emotion. By the
side of the illustrious admiral is the gallant Cap-
tain Berry, speaking to Nelson, while Nel-
son himself is gently rejecting the proffered
help of the surgeon until his " turn
arrived. In the background are two more sailors
descending into the cockpit with another wounded
comrade, while a fourth, though severely maimed, is
raising his arm enthusiastically to cheer the glorious
hero, who was not
only reverenced but beloved by
every man in the British fleet. The effect of the