The Sun.
London, England, 1816-01-18 00:00:00

COVENT-GARD:•:N THEATRE.

The Poet's eye, in a fine phrenzy
Doth glance from heaven !beau!), front eat tit to heaven
And, as imagniation bodies forth
The forms of things unknown, the Poet's pen
'rums them to shapes,, and gives to airy rtuthing .
A local bahriation, s iv • • •1. - •
anti who shall further body forth the enthusiastic
conceptions of the Poet's mind, and go beyond hint
in giving them a local habitation. Well might the
machinist, the scene painter, the decorattir,toid the
musician exclaim, "- hic labnr hoc opus est," and
abandon their tasks in depair What could he done
was we think done last night. The play, which has `
so7niuch deli It oil u, in the efoset; did not fail to
please tis on the stage; and in so wild and fanei
tul a theme as SH AK EsPeARE has here adOrned with -
all the reet•lre'of genius, this is no 'mean praise.
To approach to' the ideal world of this Magir
cian,_ to realize the images with which his fancy
hits so luxoriantly sported, and, a'lu is more,
to come up,' in some-measure, to the abstract
inaginings:,w it h which every cadet Of taste has
dumbed the Creation of the Bard, is' to be greatly
successful, and such was the performance at Co-
vent-Garden Theatre. To stew this, we mast
begin at that topic With whicli theairicil criticisms
usually conclude. The 'scenery is admirable : several
of the landscapes are sweet and true to nature ; a •
sea-piece, ttitlt the ortisal Of the "Indian Boy,"
;where aerial figures rise from the ocean and hover
in the skies, magnificent lee) owl description ; and
a star-light scene at once strikingly new unit
wonderfully Intainiful. We are not in the' habit
of bestowing critkcisni on t his adjunct of the Drama,
but in Tlie Mid,uninier Night's Dream it is so,
important, that we must object to the abrupt ex-
of the. Roseate bower over Titanici's coach—.
a few straggling flowers would eel eve u sharpness
very unpleasing tp the eye in this-lovely combinai,
lion of scenery. ' • •
In unison with the spectacle department. we have.: •
just noticed, is the costnine. It is rich, elegant,
and appropriate. The Fairy groupings are exquisitely
managed, and produce the. finest-effect. • Perhaps •
the resemblance to the machinery in Macbeth is
tut) often obvions,,without being- once carried:to.so
imposing a 'height. The adjuration of inviiible
spirits by a Master is always very interesting ; iii
this respect the arrangements. of last night were •
by no means so tllcThcontlucted as those in which,
the elves appeared upon the Stage. : • ,
Before remarking on the Play. itself, .we shall,
in few words, dismiss the music,-which is uncom- •
monly happy, and does great credit to the taste
of Me. litsnoe. The labrinrs of 4“sp, BATT',
SHALE, SMITH, HANDEL, CoolcE,- and STRV ass,.
have been contributed to this harmonious 011 a;
but Mr:-Bistior has the merit not only of 'selee-
tion,.but of some pretty origittaFeompositions.—",..
To do justice to these, almost the entire •,musicat
strength of the company was called forth. Mrs.::
LISTOS4 Misses MATHEWS, BUnKSLI., and MACAL.:,:f.
PIN'; Messrs. SINCIAIR 'and DUHUSET executed
their various parts with skill and taste ; but the
exertions of Miss STIIIIHANS were crowned with the
most perfect success. This-enchauting songstress
never afforded'greater delight, and never merited
or received
.more.- unbounded applause. lice
Opening sunk, " the simplicity, of Venus'
dove" ; the air from Acts and Galatea, .of " Husk
ye pretty warbling choir"; and the final bravura
" Warriors, march on," were all ravishingly
sung, and we rejoiced to see that in the face of
some cruel encoring, the.feeEngs.of the audienie
prevented the repetition ot. what was indeed delight-
fol to bear, but at the cost of too severe an impo-
sition upon the performer who did so much to
gratify them.
•

This Play itself is tlivided into three acts, and
a good deal shortened. In general the curtail-
ments . (chiefly by ciARRICK, HMI COLIWAN) have
been judiciously made, and particularly in the
lovers' roarrels.7 Yet some of the finest of the
fairy dialogue is omitted, end, what is still more
inexensable, the most arousing of Bottom:s ha=
morons colloquies, lett Out.- All his convirsutions'
with Mustard Seed, &c. ought surely to be restored,
especially .to a 801‘0114 so irresistibly comic as
LisToN,

Of. the Performero we can seareely•speak too
highly. CotswAy looked Theseus himself and de-
livered his speeches with all• the effect of which
they are. Susceptible. ABBOTT (lid equally welt
with Lysander, and SINtif,AI R and Eorturots were-
respeetable in Acting Demetriuinrol EgeuS. The
Lierinia of Miss STIIPAI ews waS every, way com-
plete ; and. Miss Powys, as Helena, looked anti"
played very agreeably. • •
Perhap.', tive. hard-handed Men of Athens were
never before so ably reply:seated. LzrraN's Bottom
was, 9 we.have said, irresiNtible from its Indicrons
gravity and pompons pretensioli.. The ass's head
became him .well. Est ES Y Quince, MENIAGE'S
Starveling, Toket.Y'S SIMMONS'S Flute, and
lit.AlscnAttn'i &OW, were full of humour, and
the three latter, when transformed into the Lion,
Thisbe, and Wall, formed tas thoroughly. CIMOIC si
trio as ever the stage exhibited.
The fairy: race were alSt.) excellent. DIJIMSET
was Oberon, aad Mrs. FkU CIT T 11042,; Min
BOOTH a very round limbed Puck, She was
arch and playful, and the coup a:telt, in all the
scenes in which these imaginary personages shone,
was truly enchanting.

•
The Play closes, with a new grand Pageant hi
THRsitue exploits, to which the only ohjectims
is the introduction of .the Amazons in chains—a:,
b:ul compliment from the Conqueror to their
Quee:i Llippolita;. The Minota►ur, Centaurs,. &e.
were very graud, and replete :.with classical,

A revival of so admired a production of our
nuntal Bard has carried us beyond our common
bounds in 'unites like the present. The Managers
have spared no cost, and we are certain that
their liberality will be amply rewarded by a Public
whieh.knows how to apprecitlie such efforts' to
please. To the critics who have applied Aristote-
Ilan Rules to this irregular and brilliant emana-
tion, they may aptly reply in the language of
Puck, which speaks the opinion entertained of
bib own work by SHAgEsPRARE
ruc(. " if we shadows have 4iffentled,
Think but this (and all is mended),
That you have but shitubced,here,
While those visions did appeal,
And this weak and idle theme,
No more yielding but, a dream,
Gentles, do pot reprehend ;." • *
We neVer 5%W so CiOW4C.I a itOtite.