THE THEATRES.
Favonarre comedies and operas have been the preludes to pantomime at bolls the Great Theatres, which are nightly filled—Covent Garden to excess ; and at the Haymarket the popular performances of the seac. son have been repeated by way of wind-up—that theatre closing on. Wednesday next, with WEBSTER'S benefit, though it opens on Thursday for the benefit of Mrs. GLOVER. On Monday the Stranger was played here, "by desire" of some personage of high German taste, or very strong curiosity ; the latter feeling prevailed with us to gulp this nau-
seous dose of melodramatic misery anti misanthropy, for the sake of seeing Mrs. Waesen as Mrs. Haller ; and the pungent bitterness of sor- row she infused into it overpowered the mawkishness of the pathos. From the first pang of shameful recollection to the overwhelming
burst of agony and remorse that prostrates the guilty wife at the feet of her wronged husband, Mrs. WARNER expressed the strong womanly feelings of repentant anguish and maternal tenderness with intense emotion : she touched the heart, and would have " sent the audience weepiug to their beds," had not O'Flanniyan awl the Fairies followed to change the nature of the tearful tribute. MAuREADY appeared not to relish his part, and consequently did imt lessen its inherent disagree- ableness and monotony. The buffisonery of BucesroNa and STATUE.. I.AND was eagerly welcomed as a relief to the dreariness of the play ; though the earnestness with which the old man, Mr. Gomm, told his pitiful tale, and Isis lively gratitude, were also recognized as they deserved.
John Bull and the Duenna have been added to the popular revivals at Covent Garden, by way of variety to the Christmas titre ; which is here excellent : the company and the costumes, the scenic accessories and stage-management, all contribute to render the entertainments as complete and effective as possible. The sable pall of Tragedy is now to sweep over the stage, for the purpose of introducing a new candidate for the honours of the buskin and Metropolitan applause, Mr. MOORE, from Edinburgh, who makes his first appearance in Hamlet on Monday. Letan HuNT's play, we suppose, awaits the success of the new tragedian and the return of Miss ELLEN TREE. Meauwhile, a new opera by 31r, Jour is in rehearsal, and almost ready for representation. At Drury Lane, an opera by HOILDIEU, with the clumsy title The cord is not a Lord, is advertised to be produced on Thurday ; and Miss DELcit is announced to appear as Zerlina, in the ever-pleasing Fra Diavolo. Tragedy will soon resume her sceptre here too ; Mary
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Stuart, by Mr. HavNEs, being n preparation for Mr. Macnisanis and
M i
rs. WARNER to appear n : the weight of their talents, iu addition to the attraction of Miss DEWY, we hope may turn the scale of Drury's success. An interlude, with the promising title of Cupid's Diplomacy, has been squeezed in between the play and the pantomime at Drury Lane, for the purpose, we presume, of keeping two favourite actresses before the audience, as well as for the introduction of some claptrap about the Royal nuptials-which, however, did not "take." The story is simply the boyish love-making of Louis the Fifteenth, in disguise, to the Princess Marie, daughter of ni the exiled King of Poland. Mrs. St- Luso personated the royal suitor, and looked a very gallant young ca- valier, with a saucy air of self-complacency : but the assumption of male characters by women, when not required by the structure of the drama, is a dernier ressort that is best avoided. Miss E. MONTAGUE, who made her daCit 11S Juliet a short while ago, played the young Princess very charmingly: her sweet voice, and clear and expressive utterance, joined to a pretty and engaging person and manner, will render her a valuable acquisition to the company. The range of characters that she may fill with credit to herself and delight to her audience, is far from being limited, without venturing upon the heroines of tragedy. Wishing well to Miss_ MONTAGUE, however, we would remind her that success in confirming the favourable impression she has made upon the public, will depend upon her thoroughly studying the whole of the play, not merely the words of her part, and endeavouring to express the emotions incidental to each scene characteristically and spontaneously. We were induced to peep in at the Victoria the other night, by the 'report of some pretty scenery in the introduction to the 'pantomime, by BevEnt.ev, a relative of the manager. Nor had we cause to regret our visit, for both the design and execution are worthy of any theatre : the accessories of the scene also are tasteful. We were glad to see the audience respectable and orderly ; an improvement that reflects credit on the new management.
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