The Sun. — 1830-04-29 (London, England)

COVENT-GARDEN THEATRE.  SouTimex's' affecting tragedy of Isabella, was played at this theatre last evening, for the benefit of 11r. C. KEMBLE, when Miss KEMBLE appeared for the first time as Isabella. The character of Isabella is inferior to very few tragic parts, for the interest which it is capable of exciting. The blamelessness of her conduct, her unmerited sufferings at the beginning of the play, and the fatal occurrence of events which plunge her unwittingly and innocently into an inextricable depth of misery at its close, are calculated to produce commisseration, the intensity of which is increased by the obvious impossibility that any prudence could have guarded her against the sufferings she endures, or that they are the consequence of any fault of her own. The other parts in the play, all of which are subordinate to that of the heroine, are well arranged for producing the effect that is designed by them. That of Biron, slight and sketchy as it is, shows enough of a noble quslity to justify the almost idolatrous affection of Isabella for him ; and the generous infatuation of Villeroy, the unmerited partaker of their sorrows, increases the sympathy which is excited by the destruceon of his promised happiness. The character of Isabella is by no means one of the easiest in which Miss KEMBLE has hitherto appeared, and her performance of it showed that she is endeavouring to maintain the reputation she has gained by the only means by which it can be secured—pains and study. Her acting in the earlier scenes of the play, the interview with her father-in-law, and that in which she gives her consent to become Villeroy's wife, was judicious and effective. The manner in which she conveyed that apprehension of coining evil, of which she perceives the approach before she can discern its form, just before the arrival of Biron, was very powerfully conceived, and her recognition of her husband, produced a striking effect. She rushes tawards him, and falls prone at his feet, as if struck down by the sudden recollection of the horror of her situation. The whole of this scene, and the short soliloquy which ensues upon Biron's leaving her, when despair seizes upon her at the thought of being " married to both, and wife to neither," were very admirably given. From this part of the play all is distraction with her, and the depicting that aberration of intellect which the poet meant appeared to us the least successful part of the performance. The attempt to murder her husband was too cool and collected, and therefore the sense of that speech in which, as her reason returns, she says, " Madness has brought her to the gates of hell, and left her there," was in a great degree lost for want of contrast between it and the other parts of the scene. Her passionate grief at the sight of Biron's corpse, and her own death, gazing on her child uatil her strength utterly fails, were acted with a most natural and pathetic force, and drew from the audience universal applause. Mr. C. KEMBLE'S Biron was very well acted. There is very little in it ; but that little was given with great good taste arid feeling. Mr. ABBorr played Villeroy ; the other parts, which are very insignificant, were tolerably well filled. Mr. G. BENNETT acted Carlos, and although he is many degrees at present from being a good actor, it seems not at all improbable that he might become one if he would study the text of his parts more attentively, and abandon the excessive and misapplied gesticulation and that boisterous tone of voice in which he indulges. Charles the Second followed the tragedy, and was very pleasantly played, anti Miss PATON sang Black Ey'd Susan with great effect. The house was very well filled in every part. The tragedy was announced for repetition on Friday.