Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III WITH THE STOCK COMPANIES At the conclusion of the tour with the drawing-room entertainment, Ellen Terry sought an engagement at a London theatre and was not slow to find one. Her services were promptly secured by a French lady with the imposing name of Albina di Rhona, an accomplished dancer, who in her day was voted very attractive. In recording her first appearance in London, in November, 1860, at the St. James's Theatre, "The Athenaeum" says: " The management have resorted to the Terpsichorean art, always in favour at this theatre, for aid in stimulating business, which needs a degree of help at this period. Mlle. Albina di Rhona, late of St. Petersburg, is the divinity on whose name the manager has called, and, as we think, not vainly. She is a dancer of uncommon merit, variety and vivacity. The piece in which she appears is performed in French and in English, and called ' Smack for Smack.' As Fanchette, the fair artiste astonishes poor John Trott (Mr. E. Belmore) by her agility and versatility." For some reason or other, Mlle. Albina's engagement at the St. James's came to an abrupt conclusion, and when we next hear of her she is at Drury Lane, where, according to one critic, her dancing was so brilliant as fairly to astonish the audience, who were entranced with her spirit and elegance. Her success probably induced her to go into management on her own account. The Soho Theatre, which for a long time had been given over to dust and to amateurs, was, as usual, vacant. With commendable energy Mlle. Albina di Rhona became its tenant, swept and garnished it, re-christened it the Royalty, and re-opened it somewhere about the second week in November, 1861. Ellen Terry was one of the company engaged to support the vivacious little lady. The opening production was ...
评价“Ellen Terry and Her Impersonations”