French comic operas have been set on foot at the
St. James's Theatre, seemingly by the directors of the Paris Theatre Lyrique, who announce the arrival in London of their entire company. We cannot say that they have made a judicious beginning. They have produced a new opera by _Adolphe Adam belonging to their own repertoire—Le _Bijou .Perdu; a piece which, though it has had some success in Paris, is not likely to be so fortunate here. We are getting pretty well used to the free and easy morality of the modern French stage, but are not yet ready to derive amusement and mirth from adultery, seduction, and heartless profligacy. Besides being immoral, the piece is dull ; and Adam's music does not reach the not very high level of that very alight composer, whose pert and flippant melodies are seldom better than dance-tunes. The sole sup- port of the piece was the prima donna, Madame Marie Cabel; who acted the part of a little grisette of the faubourg St. Antoine with remarkable grace and spirit, and sang in the genuine French style, of which we have had many specimens, in Thillon, Nan Ugalde, and the rest, but with greater facility and brilliancy than any of them. Of the other performers we really cannot form a judgment till we hear them in something better.
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