Clowns -- Great Britain -- Biography; Grimaldi, Joseph, 1779-1837
[35] Drury Lane opened for the season on September 14, 1805, with the
"Country Girl," Peggy, Mrs. Jordan; and the farce of "The Irishman in
London." Byrne, and his son Oscar, had quitted at the close of the last
season, and were engaged at Covent Garden; and D'Egville had abandoned
his situation at the King's Theatre, to succeed Byrne as ballet-master
at Drury Lane: all this was known before the opening.
[36] The management of Drury Lane, in their desire of novelty, had
engaged M. Joubert, and Mademoiselle Parisot, from the King's Theatre
for the season. On October 24, it was underlined in the bill of the
day, that she would appear for the first time, on that stage, on
Monday, the 28th, in a new ballet, composed by M. D'Egville, entitled
"Terpsichore's Return;" it was, however, "owing to the indisposition
of a principal performer," deferred a few days--till November 1. In
this ballet, Grimaldi had a great part, that of Pan, in which he fell
in love with Terpsichore, who, after favouring his pretensions, jilted
him; this allowed Joe full latitude of display, and the applause the
ballet obtained had never been exceeded on the production of any drama
or piece in that, or any other theatre. The ballet was performed the
fifth time, on Saturday, November 9, on which night Grimaldi quitted
the theatre, and never afterwards was within its walls. "Terpsichore's
Return" was performed a sixth time, on Monday, November 25, and Pan was
personated by George D'Egville, a pantomimist, and brother to James
D'Egville, the ballet-master. George D'Egville had performed with great
_éclat_ the part of Caliban, at the Haymarket, in a similar ballet,
derived from Shakspeare's "Tempest," and as his engagement was possibly
on the _tapis_ for Drury Lane, (Pan apparently having been designed for
him,) Joe fancying that two suns could not shine in the same sphere,
broke the terms of his engagement, and left the course clear to his
successor.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account