The Sun.
London, England, 1844-01-30 00:00:00

THE THEATRES, &c.

Th ENGLISH OPERA HOUSE.
(1•
).8 theatre—the Lyceum as it is now. called—
With +Del, lied last night, for the first time this season,
Fooze First Part of Shakspeare's King Henry the
14, ottt"`„L' ,„The character of Sir John Falstaff, the
gratt,`"uncult, perhaps, in the whole range of the
441 ,w,at undertaken by Mr. Harvey Tuckett, whose
keme‘n Lord Cardigan attracted, it may be re-
lelars ired, a good deal of public attention a few
r, flice• On first coming forward on the stage
by fteikett, was received with marked approbation
flaro,,„ll,_": but not crowded house, and justified the
lliteif "le feeling of the audience by the spirit and
!ionlezgeonce with which he went through his part.
"It 4;34 his points told exceedingly well—especially
ltPre ee"isni on honour, which he delivered in an
Priate tone of mingled sarcasm and humour.
ori,tra4nner, too, on being detected in his
to bhi.°,l-Is falsehoods about the " eleven men
was highly comic, and elicited
Ltsse,att37 burst of laughter. Mr. Tuckett pos•
itit„tni,a:nY requisites for a successful actor ; he
thn-"Tence, self-possession, and an evident love
tbleg a"
; but, generally speaking, we missed Tame-
(4. that quiet, oily humour which is so
Idioarvii,enna a feature in the fat knight's
but iFracY• The actor's tone wanted mellowing;
tati is will come of practice, without which no one
SlatY to an English audience an adequate idea
"tsie Peare's Falstaff. Mr. Tuckett was, also, oc
too active and elastic in his gait ; he did
itnd In•
t°ve as if labouring under a mountain of flesh;
4
• Was with difficulty we could bring ourselves to
Iciei notwithstanding his apparent bulk, that he
hewar etl the lean earth as he walked along." These,
ver, are blemishes easy of removal ; and as Mr.
allekett)
8 conception of the character was correct and
the g,• t.ln the outline, and failed only here and there in
beca•iiiing
up we see no reason why he should not
the 111 a very diverting and successful Falstaff. Of
better re.t. of the dramatis persona—the less said the
l. Prince Henry was cruelly marred by Mr.
fo
teal d+. who went through the part with the set, for-
tekigravity of a Methodist parson. Mr. Wentworth
szdered Hotspur" a noisy, petulant boy, instead of an
11„,verILI Chivalrous .warrior. As he is very young,
'eitLeter, and somewhat inexperienced, we are not
th`nottt strong hopes of his improvement. Before
e Play God Save the Queen' was sung with the
14s1 enthusiasm ; and the evening's entertainments
're closed with a drama, entitled The lifiser's Well,
L
i'llrvfhich Mrs. Keeley played the part Of an adven-
i,,_ous boy, playsyge, with infinite spirit. The
-"llery In both was excellent.

ADELPHI.
0 new three-act play, from the pen of Mr. T. Mor-
Ili!' entitled Judith of Geneva, was produced at this
"tre last evening with great and deserved success.
yt,titlitil (Mr Yates), a mechanic's daughter, has in her
"ki,c,u_tb been66betrothd to Julius St. Val (Mr. Lyon), an
atm"cte, but his father disapp.roves of the connexion,
110;' in order to break it off, he entices Judith to his
lover s, . under a pretence of an assignation with her
e .places in her way a diamond necklace—the
actbelieving that this is a present from her lover,
ctillis herself with the jewels, and is instantly given in
convictl by the father, on a charge of theft. She is
fated and punished, and St. Val leaves her_ to her
viette, bit
The con-
hough he knows her innocence.
th-and thief' is deprived, from that moment,of all
the ce, °f gaining an honest livelihood—she becomes
Fruhuead of a gang who spread terror
.throughout
her asso-
eiat,'" and Switzerland. Herself a
es,' are arrested at Lyons. By her charms she
401,;vstes the Count Malvoisine, who procures her par-
te'. 44c1 Marries her ; but her associates are condemned
opel,risoninent for life. The Count dies,. and at the
tau of the play we find the Countess livingat her
Lady
iloumelt,u, the neighbourhood of Geneva,
all ti;011 of the district, and beloved and restprece)ted by
the ,e ,world. Her daughter Amy (Miss Chaplin) Of "°lllt of marriage with Capt. Henri St. Val, is
ssoonn
)114}ZIesdvocate, who does not recognise in the Countess
ltetti, 1 'tie his old flame Judith. On the. morning of the
re44ll'g St. Val receives a letter, informing him. that tl:e
i 4 a r,whorti he has entrusted the whole of his property
tiesir -"krupt, and that he himself is a beggar. He. is-
listB4sus of breaking off the match, but the Countess in.
teen it'd proceeding, and the young couple are accord-
(b 04" ,Illarried. On the same mornin La Vog-u
". Smith), a member of Judith's gang, who
saki i'*eaPed from prison, arrives at the chateau,
‘lf th:Cr?gniSeS in Rose (Mrs. D. Lee) the lady's maid
self ',.`-‘ounte,s, his own wife. and in the Countess her-
mtivudith, his former leader. •The interview be-
La
ss. YatesPo and Judith was admirably acted by
asi, Q‘s and O. Smith. She at once throws off the
ugly llod tells him that this appearance of virtue has
tetqh„•7'll maimed to make a grand coup. She has been
°lac' °P 13rivate theatricals in honour of the wedding,
the ricer taken care to cast the parts so as to include all
Wh'enctlPersons of the neighbourhood ; and her plan is
°Me eY have divested themselves of their jewels.in
-- slime the characters allotted to them, to seize
With
and decamp with them. La Vogue
with llPPointed her steward, determines to
.be Vogue,
ohalind
Waitk.ert and accordingly directs the carriage to
.be in
(1-1 an hour before the time she had appointed,
earri,7Posits the jewels in one of the pockets of the
P1ii41.,,e• In the meantime the marriage has taken
tory,',"? Judith then discloses to St. Val her real his-
Whieh-11`4, tells him that the haughty family of St. Val,
tr Was too 1p dto suffer its representative to con-
act „ rou
110%,, " athance with the poor, but innocent Judith, has ,Itidirinected itself with the base-born daughter of
tile swindler and thief. This, the most power-
ititl\vritten scene of the play, was acted with a thrill-
ris by Mrs. Yates and Lyon. Oh ! how she
aaj"Prnned ln her vengeance--how she revelled in the
illit;—eilt of gratified malice. St. Val, horror-struck,
amittto the earth, and in that state his son finds him,
ff. having left him to prepare for her flight. St.
irt ;fa has died in his grandson's arms, after hay-
sie4.ad and destroyed a letter informing him of the
ltto.Laace which his grandson had made, which
410 been conveyed to him by Judith. St.
determines to fly from Geneva with his
tt for
ever —he sees the carriage waiting
with lei. court-yard—forces his son to enter it—
slllland departs. Instantly Judith gives the
riei and accuses St. Val of robbery •, he is pursued,
rlot a, arid the jewels are found in the carriage. Ile ,ludi;7;eol.2deraned on circumstantial evidence, ape' again
%jell ;itri9nllha. " You now drink of the bate! cup
e,itee udith drained to the dress," exclaims she in the
cWri steel,
of her revenge. Nicholas, the coachman
t), deposes that the carriage was ordered. by La
he,'":, and sets forth in pursuit of him,
^tl uot St Val, is the robber. Rose, too, who
that
declaring that
ofhtti oat she has placed La Vogue out of the reach
st hoe, declares that he is the robber. At that in-
Nitl
!_a. brought in by Nicholas, who has seized and
PIaTIQ ?WI, and he declares that the robbers had been
the inf 07 the Countess herself, who is no other than
Zuditi amens Judith of Geneva.
Baffled and discovered,
1404 11112 dies to. the balcony, hich (pens on the water,
Ltu:!;_Lear
isehretsze.esl
eef into
itty,h
ae,ltaseskd ee,xand throughout.th e curtainlv r fgahllts:
as TheNi.
ceedingly civaint an.hu-
41*. Los look VI 2.3 sufficient to set the housed in a
ticki :relit praise is due to Mr. Morton for the artis-
Creatanner in which he has developed his plot, and for
care with which he has written the dialogue.
Loa re,
tlatal of Judith is a vast improvement upon the
toiehruoi.4.l.of Adelphi pieces. There is not a word too
'" dialogue, nor is there a scene introduced