The Sun.
London, England, 1842-08-22 00:00:00

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HER MAJESTY'S THEAVIXII

, .
Her Majesty's Theatre closed for the present year on
Saturday night; "the season" having, as our readers are
aware, Closed with the previous Saturday's perform-
ances. There were two nights in the past week in
which the house was open, and the entertainments
were, if anything, more abundant in quantity than
on the preceding evenings of the season ; and yet the
prices
of admission to all parts of the house were little
more than half the charges made during the season.
• On the night of Thursday the Puritans was offered
to one of the most crowded audiences of the year, being
filled to repletion, and not a single inchkin its vast space
being unoccupied ; while on Saturday night, the
programme presenting still more attractive features,
the crowd was, if possible, still greater. In short, the
last two performances may be termed the season of the
middle classes, and they seem to have availed them-
selves of the opportunity with an alacrity, erod enjoyed
the. treat with a gusto that do them the 'highest credit.
It is also creditable to the good feeling of the
manager, Mr. Lumley, to have thrown open
his theatre under such circumstances ; a.though
there may be some difference of opinion ;* to
the policy of making the Opera as popular, or
rather as common, as an ordinary , theatrical enter-
tainment. That, however, is a question between the
manager's feelings and interests, and the prejudice*
of a class or classes in the community; and in any
case it does not impeach the credit due to Mr. Lum
ley for good feeling towards those in the humbler
walks of society, and an honest desire to afford every
gratification in his power to what is known in common
parlance as " the public 'at large." The musical per.
formances of Saturday were the first act of the ever.
pleasing Cosi Fan Tutte— that most congenial
work of the immortal mind of Mozart, though it be
anything but congenial with the circumstances under
which it was produced, namely, bodily sickness, men-
tal misery, the pressure of debt, and the wearisome
load of grinding poverty : the second act of La
Sonnambula—the sweetest and the gentlest of the
sweet and gentle productions of poor I3ellini's soft
spirit : and the last scene of Id Pirata—this latter
being introduced expressly to aftbrd Ruhini an oppor.
tunity of singing his famous aria.' "Ty •Vcirai","
which he did to the point of perfection. Nothing
could have more completely hit the tast,e. of the
audience than this combination : all through the
evening they were in a furore of delight : now Ca',•-
ried along with the joyous current of melody +.-oat
sparkles and flows through every scene of Cod Fan
Tutte, laughing up like a gushing rivulet in the sun,
now subsiding into the most sober sadness, as though
" the melting mood" was with them—
" Native, and to the manner born,"
the while the sweet but meretricious music of
Lu Sentuzmbu/a filled their cars ; and then bursting
out into a wild and tumultuous torrent of apple_ee, at
the energy and force with which the primo ten ore of
the age, Rubini, poured forth the skilfully er,,,str„_
ted and not unmelodious combinations of I/ Pircaa.
As far as their enjoyment went it was, in fact, un-
alloyed round of gratification and pleasure—the mue
sical performance of the evening—and it would ha
injustice to the artists engaged in it, as well as to the'
manager, not to add that this gratification was well
founded, and the pleasure of the audience the echo of'
good taste ; for at no period during the, past " season"
did there appear more manifest a disposition on the
part of the one to put forth their powers, and on that
of the other to promote their application to the de-
lights of the thousands assembled within the walls of
her Majesty's Theatre on this occasion.

The- Clcoregraphique portion of both evening's en-
tertainments was equally abundant and equally ex-
cellent. On the night of Thursday the gorgeous
ballet of Alma and an intermezzo of the Warsovielne
and another popular national dance, gave the
greatest delight to the audience ; while on Slatr.rday
night the ever agreeable Soiree de Carnival, the
Warsovienne, a pas de Trois, and the last
act of Alma, were introduced as parts of the
performance. The elasticity and grace of Cerito, the
lithe and elegant movements of Camille, the fancy and
finish of Guy Stephan, and the strength and youthful
energy of Fleury, were all called into full action,
and-each received her due meed of the most rapturous
and unbounded approbation ; while the agility or:
Perrot excited no small share of the general admire -
tion, and received, as it deserved, no niggard por-
tion of the public applause.

" God save the (ideen," sang by all the company,
closed the evening's entertainment, and with it her
Majesty's Theatre for the year.
'l
he ensuing season is expected to be of tht.i mast
brilliant character. We trust it will be correspond-
ently profitable to the manager, Mr. Lumley, who
has, during the season that is just over, been an inde-
fatigable caterer for " the subscribers," and to whom
the musical public of the country is also much in-.
debted for the introduction to its notice of So many
'new and accomplished singers. We wish his arducius
undertaking every possible success, sure that, if he
goes on as he has begun, he will well deserve all, the
favour that can be bestowed upon him by a diseerling