THE THEATIW.S.
Or the fourteen theatres that were opened on E Ister Monday, we have visited btu theca—namely, Covent Garden, Adelphi, and the Olympic ; and from what wt. have heard of tlw eine) tainments at the rest, they were as well left unvisited. Spectiiele is not longer peculiar to Easter ; we have it all the year round. At Covent Garden. the b atitiful story of X anal the Ftir Persian, one of the prettiest iii the Arahi..ii Entertaianients, was not en ly spoiled in the dramatizing, but the tweeantry was most shabby. '1' inc court of Hamlin al Itasellitl wae shorn of its glory, and the pauperized pump gave proof of cruel retrenchment in the diminished number of attendants and the faded splendour of their at- tire: it was quite melancholy to see the multitudinous bevy of dancing- girls reduced to a beggarly half-dozen. It struck its there must have been an execution in the palace, of a kind very different from those that caliphs are familiar with.
The Rape of the Lock, at the Olympic, is a set of animated tableaux, illustrative of POPE'S poem, as sumptuously elegant and correct as ever were represented at this theatre. The characters are not dra- matic. VESTRIS as Belinda, in her bed surrounded by the Sylphs—at her toilette with Shock at her feet and Betty at her side—or with her adoring slaves in the boat on the Thames—realized the description of her ideal prototype ; and her rivals, Thalestris and Clarissa, were well personated by Miss FITZWALTER and MISS Meiteae. The scenes with the three fair ones, indeed, are very piquante and lively exhibitions of female spite, jealousy, and raillery. The silk trains flowing from the shoulder, and the little black velvet cap with its one feather so jauntily worn, made the fair ones look as if they had stepped out from a group of WATTEAU. The men's costume, stiff and formal as it is, has a quaint sort of picturesqueness, that gives an air of artificial ele- gance to its very ugliness. CHARLES MATHEWS'S dress, in particular, is superb. The Sylphs and Gnomes, necessarily being of mortal sta- ture and solidity, are rather cumbrous portions of the machinery of the poem ; but this is an unavoidable disadvantage. Not even the skill of VFSTRIS can prevent a soaring sprite suspended like a jack- weight reminding us of the dolls pendent over the doors of rag-shops. The Adelphi spectacle is of the amphibious order, the water pre- dominating ; and the translucent stream of muslin that represents the Danube, is far more real-looking as well as beautiful, than the actual muddy water that whilom formed the grand attraction of Sadler's Wells. There, one felt for the poor actors, who were compelled to jump into the New River, at the imminent hazard of getting their deaths of cold : but here it is pleasant pastime to see nymphs, in starched frocks and crisply curled hair, sporting in the scenic waves, and full. dressed lovers placidly descending feet foremost into the deep, with REEVE floundering about like a porpoise in the agitated wave, his bald head bobbing up and down like a buoy. The King of the Danube is a didactic personage, in a suit of sea-weed glittering with silver, who sends his daughters to earth to captivate the hearts of earthly lovers whom they lure to his subaqueous dominions. Among the victims to their charms, are Toby, a droll little ferryman, and the Baron von Rumgrigg, suitors of the beautiful Coralie. The scene where the two rivals meet under water is rich in broad humour. REEVE is seen striking out as if he was swimming for his life ; and Biscx- STONE is sorely tormented by the fish, who, though much larger, are not less active in their attacks on his person than the more minute invaders of his clothes on terra firma. BUCKSTONE getting rid of his fishy assailants, may vie with GRIMALDI swallowing sau- sages. REEVE is dressed with all the full-blown extravagance of a feudal Lord Grizzle. Mrs. HONEY makes a charming Coralie ; and Mrs. Firzwii.Liass, as her Naiad sister, Riverbelle, is a very buxom sub- aqueous nymph. The scenery is beautiful—especially the view of the Danube, and the caves beneath. The vocal music had better be omitted, excepting the ditties that fall to Mrs. HONEY'S share.
A new melodrama, of "deep domestic interest," called Ruth Tudor, affords an opportunity for Mrs. YATES to evince her powers of pathos, 0. SMITH to look picturesquely villanons, REEVE to be droll, and TOMKINS to exhibit his skill in a view of one of the Welsh mountains.
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