The Sun.
London, England, 1845-04-15 00:00:00

THE T-iIEATIIES.

DRURY. LANE.
Duprez appeared here last night in the character of Ed-
geatrtlo in Donizetti's opera of Lucia di Lammermoor.
composed the music of Edgard() expressly for Duprez,
Dem-
and he created the character on the first production of the
Iyer some ten years since at the theatre of San Carlos at
exars• The admirable talent which Donizetti possesses of
art'istlY suiting his music to the peculiar talents of the
Operate: who are engaged hi the production of his
is well known, and he has certainly been more than
usually felicitous in the present instance. To speak theatri-
cally' It is the best fit he ever made, and we think that all
aho
l(11s
it have heard Duprez will agree with us in opinion, that
is also his greatest character. He perfectly embodies the
of the maestro, and does him more than justice. It is
seldomisactl.tiftiti.ll:7 he has occasion to have recourse to his falsetto,
his voice is never strained, and his full rich tenor tones tell
His acting too was magnificent, and as a
tpe imen of what the highest order of lyrical tragedy ought
soul e' the Edgardo of Duprez is perfect. Nothing
l'ui be more h eau tiful than the duet at the
C, use of the first act, " Vevianna a to sull aura," as given by
rMrez and
-""datlie Garcia, whose Lucia is already well
_.rlweiniert°gytiN: Play. going public, and who made her debut at
this theatre last evening-. There was something sublime in
tl
Duprez threw into the concluding scene of
the second act, in which he bursts in upon the bridal festival.
twe.inspiring was his manner of asking Lucia if the signa-
_Lie to the marriage contract was hers—low, tremu-
i7 s, subdued, yet energetic, end intensely impassioned_
op e,yery tone thrilled to the soul; and then his burst
spurt's furry tone
he accuses her of perfidy, and
Ct her from him, was absolutely terrific. The
brok scene was a perfect triumph. The strong man is
ehilaen
ro on
down—the impassioned man has become weak as a
He woos death as he would a coy mistress—his
nothofin
great want is to die, and to be at rest. Never has the utter
prostration
despairg been more beautifully delineated—
ere is on the lyrical stage more intensely pathetic
Duees " Tombe was a miei." He was loudly ap-
cumend,. throughout, and was of course honoured, in union
rb Madame Garcia, with the usual call at the fall of the
He was excellently supported—the Lucia of Ma-
dame 4'-ugenie Garcia is by far the best on the English
ge, and the Enrico of B crni was a more than creditable
eerformance. Thehouse was crowded in every part long
tore the rising of the curtain.
PRE "
wh-o" PLAYS.—ST. JAMES'S THEATRE.
not, that pays any attention to French theatricals has
aueard of M. Ravel, the Prince of Farceurs? Ilis fame is
but au, his name has long been "familiar in our ears,"
ina4dPerson was unknown to us until last evening, when
-I'.6`to-e his debut at this theatre in the new vaudeville of
ainusi araeou. Verily he is worthy of his fame ; a more
ham ~ng' laughter-moving, lively, bustling, humorous, aye,
thet;"us actor, has not appeared- on this stage. We use
eh rtn humorous advisedly, for humour is the distinguishing
anoannteteristic of the acting of M. Ravel. Wit is more corn it .-
anion among oter neighbours across the channel. thaia
bron.,g Us islanders, but they are deficient in. humour, in that
dien4u, !ich unctuous humour, we mean, which keeps an au-
Now,ul a roar from the rising to the falling of the curtain.
ete M. Ravel possesses this power, and for two hours last
ofnet:rhtirnagic,deidd_he by his acting keep the aristocratic audience
or. James in a roar. At first the laughter was
anid the aghe as 'twere despite themselves, but
lapse of a few minutes nature overcame etiquette,
`harpa followed peal ohs hearty laughter, because, as_ old
ea Itrathews would e said, " 1 hey could not help
L'Etourneau is an admirable farce,—and who and
tenet is L'Etourneau? Why, L'Etourneau is M. Ravel—a.
oftittain Felix, a scapegrace of a junior partner in a br.oker's
ee'r,,Wllo must needs fall in love with Madame Dunois, time
tilZ° Wife of one of his old clients, and who can find no
ti.a effectual mode of telling her the story of his. love, than
a‘u_ t of writing it in a letter, and presenting it to her in a
riZnclnet. The bouquet with the letter is presented. The
a b)lauglia—Felix -im ers—the lady laughs still more. Felix
thnse...
-s some contres tepinps, looks at the letter he has given
acid,,essYe'", and findin it a letter ofbusiness he had
While to the husbandis
that he has inserted thei bouquet,
to e the billet-doux for the wife has been regularly posted
her husband, and his best of clients, M. Dunois, he
"listens to the post-office to endeavour to get the letter
back"--he cannot succeed—he is driven nearly mad.
runs about from pillar to post in search, of this unfortu-
nate letter—he gets into all sorts of scrapes—and at length
iae finds the letter in the side-pocket of his coat, where he
tha:bquietly deposited it when he placed the business letter in
Jereneuquet. These are slight materials for.a three act van-
L; nevertheless,. in. the hands of Monsieur Ravel, they
We all.
the f sufficient. He is all life,
heand. bustles and keeps up
r • tin gloriously the whole time is on the stage. We are
iieJeleed to have made the acquaintance of M. Ravel, and
n()Pe he will remain among us a long time, and when he does
,a'n't us, we shall say to him from the bottom of our heart,
revoir. The house was well and fashionably attended.

PRINCESS'S THEATRE.
(lalllthees opera, the Due d'O/onne, was produced at this
- eatre last evening, with great and deserved success. It is
reunne
cessary to detail the plot, as the piece has aiready
atee
-any theatres,
under various names in a dramatic form so
—any theatres, that the story must be familiar to every play-
re„ r• The music is light, pleasing, and thoroughly Auberish.
I"en. as the Chevalier de Vilhardoin, sung and acted de-
-4lghtfully, and was much applauded; and Leffler, as the
bile d'Olonne, was in excellent voice, and went through his
Part admirably. The piece was well put upon the stage.