National Republican., 1883-01-04
----- -
Mile Rhca as Adrlcnnc.

Mile Rhea made her first appearance in this
city last season, and was enthusiastically
greeted by large audiences. Tho play was
"Adrienne Lecouvreur," with Mile Rhea in
the title role, which she will again present as
her opening play on Monday night next.
The first act Of the play is rather tedious
under the most favorable circumstances, aud
the more so rs 1t does not present the heroine.
Last year the impatience of the audience to
see the star regnant had the effect to aggra-
vate the slowness of the movement, but when
she did appear in the "green room of the
Theatre Francais" magnihcently CostumQd
for the role of RoXanna she was hailed with
delight, and in the hospitable expression of
appreciation which reached her ears she must
have found genuine inspiration. The de-
camatory exercises which she indugcs in
while studying her part upon her first
entrance was not pitched i'll the right
key, and rather gave promise of a pro.
nouncedly melOdramatic Interpretation of
tho role, but this feeling was soon made to
yield to delightful sensation; and rs the
beautiful actress proceeded with the unfold
ment of her character she proved herself the
mistress of dramatic resources for which she
had not hitherto been credited by the critics
on this side of the Atlantic Her description
of her rescue was graphic, spirited, and mag
netic, and her portrait of her hero was brill
liantly realistic 1t needed but this to sat
isfy the audience that. Mile Rhea brought far
more than queenly beauty and grace to her
aid in the representation of SO difficult role
as that of "Adrienne." Her reading of La
Fontaines fable of 1.-THE Two Pigeons" was
charmingly natural, and exhibited tender
ness of feeling that was as delicious as u mel
low strain of music. But delicate and ar
tistic us was her work in the second act, it
gave no information of the display of artistic
skill and tragic force which were to come.
Her scene with the princess in the third
act was admirable in every feature of
| il, and closed with an exhibition of impas-
stoned vehemence which carried the house by
storm. She bore herself grandly in the varied
scenes of the fourth act, and her speech from
Phedra" fairly electrified the audience and
brought down tho house in whirlwind of
applause. There could no longer be any
doubt of her qualities as tragedienne. She
rose to the heights with grace, confidence,
| and power worthy Of u Rachel, and those
who saw and heard her were entranced. Her
scene with "Michonet," in the fifth act, her
bouquet scene, that still later with the Count
de SAKE, were indescribably beautiful in their
varied emotional effects. Her mad scene was
unutterably tender and touching, and in its
final exhibition of tragic power was over
| whelmingly grand. Her death scene was n
transation-the passing away of beautiful
soul from fearful and stormy environment
to land of love, tenderness, and repose.
Mile Rhea was enthusiastically called be-
fore the curtain at the close Of every act (;
every scene of hers was heartily applauded ;
and in the middle of the fourth act the extra
ordinary compliment of recall was rendered
| her with spontanoity and warmth that must
have delighted the artistic.
The "Adrienne" of Mile Rhea is one of the
most beautiful characters we have over seen
upon the stage; exquisitely and purely wo-
emanly from beginning to end and animated
and informed bya wOman's soul in way that
is inefiably charming, In this impersonation
Mile Rhea is a truly great actress-a woman
of rare genius-r-a tragedienne who can sway
the heart by the gentlcst methods or enthrall
the senses by the force and fire of her nature.
Simple, natural, graceful and bewitchingly
lovely as she is ON the stage, she leads the
heart captive before she appeals to the in
tellect, and charms by her feeling even whore
her art fails to reach the standard. The
American stage is to have her for three years,
at least, and we predict for her most brill
Liant and successful career.