The Sun.
London, England, 1844-02-19 00:00:00

HER MAJESTY'S THEATRE:
(Abridged from the Post.)
We trust tLe I,.ssee h s frunitd his progrartme
more than his ordinary a' men and sin. erity of purpose.
1 itir,ng the pat season we fou,,d he had t-udoenly
brought her Majesty's Theatre to that degree of splen-
dour it ought always to have po.sessed. and in which it
had, until his time, been lamentably deficient ; and we
thought it but fair V, yield him that measure of appause,
without which lessees, no more than virtuosi, can brilli-
antly enact their parts,- still under present circum-
stances, we must watch his progress with a jealous eye.
The theatre must fill. Apart the daily increasing taste
for music—particularly vocal and dramatic—there are
numberless incentives to attend her Majesty's 'rheatre.
It is the rendezvous of the aristocracy, 44' al, those who
shine in society—of all the literary and tasteful men who
throng to the gr ,at metropolis, as well as of all foreign-
ers or distinction visiting this country. 11:,y appearing
there, the gay memhers of so-iety proclaim their ar-
, rival—ascertain who amo.gst their f iends is in town—
receive their visits and combine their movements in the
career of pleasure. When a C. urt mourning, or any. ther
untoward public event, stops for a time the current of
pleasures, the Opera is still the never-failing resource.
Here for the first time the aristocracy of wealth meets
on an equal footing the aristocracy of lineage, whose ranks
it may ultimately recruit ; and here likewise the pro-
vincial visitors in their hasty railroad tr ps to town have
an opportunity of seeing at one glance the dist.n;:uished
characters who are the subjects of con,ergati-n in the
most distant parts of the land. And here, it is sad,
also " that in the snug causerie* of a box are laid the
foundations of more marriages than in the contest with
fair rivals in the turmoil and exhausting amusemenis of
crowded mats and balls "

We, who entertain our warmest allegiance to Euterpe,
must regard the vocal troupe most vigilantly—for, as to
the ballet, we are d-stined to be overwhelmed by the
enthusiasm of the followers of Terpsichore. No doubt
the ballet will make the fortune of the florists, .and the
stage be impassable from the showers of bouquets..
Stephan, Carlotta Grisi, Cerito, Fanny Elssler, and
Taglioni herself, are announced, independent of another
Florentine ballerina of rising fame, Mademoiselle Frasi.
The Germans, the French, the Swedes, the Italians,
each have their fair representative, whilst John Bull is to
play the part of Paris to these rival goddesses. It must
be confessed that there is great piquancy, in this union
or succession of talents. The public had abundant op-
portunity of observing last year how varied are the
sources of effect in this art, which has only lately attained
so high a degree of perfection, concealing all effort,
and combining grace with poetry. The new ballet of
Esmeralda is destined to set off the peculiar style of Car-
lotta Grisi, so well suited to the heroine of Victor Hugo.
The chef d'oeuvre of the lamented Princess Marie of
Orleans' chisel, the beautiful statute of Jeanne d'Arc at
Versailles, has suggested another ballet, and a character
well adapted to the pure style and remarkable mimic
powers of Elssler, for " Fanny Elssler est la grace sans
mechancete," as was once said by that admirable critic,
M. de Stendhal—so devoted to the stage that he wrote
his best works at the back of his box at La Scala, to the
sound of music.

So far as we can at present judge by the lessee's pro-
gramme of the fast approaching Opera season, the most
hypercritical will be satisfied. We trust the finished
picture will be worthy of the boldness of the outline—
all will depend on the taste and feeling of the executive.
The lessee should not relax in endeavours that are sure
to be rewarded, for, independent of other extraneous at-
tractions, this year are expected visits from many of the
most illustrious and several august personages of the
Continent, not excepting Louis Philippe, and they are
sure to draw to her Majesty's Theatre those numberless
spectators who are attracted as much by the wonders
before as behind the scenery. Considering art as our
paramount object, we shall still not be unmindful of this
prevailing curiosity, and from time to time we shall in-
dicate the habitual places of the distinguished sub-
scribers to her Majesty's Theatre, to guide and gratify
the casual observer, and at the same time record the
upp•.rt given to that splendid establishment by those
who are its principal attraction and m nament.