Verdi at the Golden Gate: Opera and San Francisco in the Gold Rush Years [1 frontisp., Reprint 2020 ed.] 9780520913424

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Verdi at the Golden Gate

B O O K S BY G E O R G E

MARTIN

The Opera Companion (1961; 4th ed., 6th ptg. 1992) The Battle of the Frogs and the Mice: An Homeric Fable (1962; 2d ed. 1987) Verdi, His Music, Life and Times (1963; 4th ed. 1992) The Red Shirt and the Cross of Savoy: The Story of Italy's Risorgimento, 1748-1871 (1969) Causes and Conflicts: The Centennial History of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, 1870-1970 (•97°) Madam Secretary: Frances Perkins (>976) The Companion to Twentieth-Century Opera (1979; 3d ed. 1989) The Damrosch Dynasty: America's First Family of Music (1983) Aspects of Verdi (1988; 2d ed. 1993) Verdi at the Golden Gate: Opera and San Francisco in the Gold Rush Years (1993)

Verdi in 185-3.

1

at the Golden Gate Opera and San Francisco in the Gold Rush Years

George Martin with a Foreword by Lotfi Mansouri

U N I V E R S I T Y OF C A L I F O R N I A Berkeley

•

Los Angeles

•

Oxford

PRESS

This b o o k is a p r i n t - o n - d e m a n d volume. It is m a n u f a c t u r e d using toner in place of ink. Type and images m a y be less s h a r p t h a n the same material seen in traditionally printed University of California Press editions.

University of California Press Berkeley and Los Angeles, California University of California Press, Ltd. Oxford, England © 1993 by G e o r g e iMartin

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Martin, G e o r g e Whitney. Verdi at the Golden Gate : opera and San Francisco in the Gold Rush years / George Martin, p. cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index. ISBN 0-520-08123-4 (alk. paper) 1. O p e r a — C a l i f o r n i a — S a n Francisco—19th century. 2. Verdi, Giuseppe, 1 8 1 3 - 1 9 0 1 — P e r f o r m a n c e s — C a l i f o r n i a — S a n Francisco. I. Title. ML1711.8.S2M37 1993 792.5'0974'6109034—dc20

Printed in the United States of America The p a p e r used in this publication meets the m i n i m u m requirements of A N S I / N I S O Z 3 9 . 4 8 - 1 9 9 2 (R 1997) (Permanence of Paper). @

92-18674 CIP MN

For my niece Julie Cheever -who has made her life in San Francisco

Contents

List of Illustrations Foreword

xiii

Preface

xvii

Acknowledgments

xxi

Prologue PART

I. II. III. IV. V. VI. VII.

xi

1

I

Toward a Theatre The First Opera The Celebrity Sopranos More of Emani; and the First Resident Company Anna Bishop and Judith (Nabucco) Emani, Nabucco, I Lombardi, and I due Foscari Economic Decline, Il trovatore in Excerpts, and the Vigilantes of 1856

9 18 32 44 50 67 89

PART

Vili. IX. X. XI.

II

Maguire, His Opera House, and the Bianchis Il trovatore Premiered; Emani Revived The Bianchis Produce La traviata and Attila Theatrical Scenery and Styles; Traviata and the

New Realism XII. A Duel, and a Period of Operatic Doldrums XIII. Success of the Maguire-Lyster Company, and Failure of Rigoletto XIV. The Annus mirabilis: San Francisco Mad for Opera

109 125 140 153 164 176 189

Epilogue

201

Appendix A: Opera Premieres in San Francisco, 1851 Through 1860, with Theatre, Cast, and Number of Performances

213

Appendix B: Chief Theatres for Opera in San Francisco, 1851-60

227

Appendix C: Transpositions and Tuning A in San Francisco

233

Appendix D: Verdi's Operas: World, Western Hemisphere, United States, and San Francisco Premieres, with Casts for San Francisco

237

Appendix E: Reviews of San Francisco Premieres and Early Performances of Macbeth, I masnadieri, and Luisa Miller

247

Appendix F: Performances of Verdi's Operas in San Francisco by Decade, 1851 Through 1899

253

Notes

257

Works Cited

303

Index

309

Illustrations

Frontis. Verdi in 1853 1.

Mathilde Korsinsky-Von Gulpen

20

2.

Innocenzo Pellegrini

25

3.

Rosina Mauri-Pellegrini

30

4.

Eliza Biscaccianti

35

5.

Letter of Alessandro Biscaccianti

38

6.

Catherine Hayes

40

7.

Anna Bishop

51

8.

Anna Thillon

61

A title page for sheet music

78

10.

9.

Interior of the Metropolitan Theatre

83

11.

Mr. Thomas Maguire

110

12.

Maguire's Opera House

114

13.

Eugenio Bianchi

119

14.

Giovanna Bianchi

120

15.

Libretto for Emani

134

16.

Verdi in 1859

142

17.

Lucy Escott and Henry Squires in costume for La favorita

178

18.

A libretto for the Bianchis' fall 1863 season

209

Theatre buildings in San Francisco, 1850—1860 (maps)

230

Foreword

If you look in the New Grove Dictionary ofMusic and Musicians under the heading "San Francisco," you will read that "Opera was the city's first musical love." One of the marvelous things George Martin has accomplished in Verdi at the Golden Gate is to demonstrate how the remarkable love affair between opera and San Francisco—a relationship that we take for granted today but that, viewed objectively, is a highly improbable development—came to be. Of course, most people today are aware that San Francisco Opera is a major force in the world of international opera, and has certainly been the preeminent operatic institution in the Western United States since its founding in 1923. In fact, my first actual participation in an opera production was with San Francisco Opera when it toured to Los Angeles some 40 years ago, when I appeared as a supernumerary spear-carrier in an opera by Verdi, no less—Otello. What many people may not be aware of, however, is the degree to which the Bay Area embraced the muse of lyric theater long before San Francisco Opera was even a glint in the eye of founder Gaetano Merola, or even before Gaetano Merola was a glint in his own father's eye. It's a highly entertaining and highly improbable story—but then, San Francisco has always had a rather improbable history. xin

xiv

Foreword Martin analyzes, among other things, how the city's unique qualities

influenced its taste for opera. Bay Area residents today are perhaps a bit too quick to say, "Only in San Francisco," but as Martin so convincingly demonstrates in this remarkable book, it's a phrase that is, in this case, perfectly apt. In his epilogue, Martin writes, "Most likely, depending on each reader's previous knowledge of San Francisco or Verdi, he or she will find in this history a different set of surprises." For a book as filled with surprises as this one, that is an understatement. Martin deals generously with all aspects of the city's cultural history, and part of the surprise comes from his vivid reconstruction of the tone and style of life in what was, at the start of the second half of the nineteenth century, probably the most rugged, coarse and primitive community in America. That opera would take root and flourish in a society whose populace was less than 10 percent female should go a long way in laying to rest the tired canard that opera is an experience to which women drag their reluctant husbands. On the other hand, women receive credit from Martin for their sometimes disproportionately large share of performance duties, when mezzo-sopranos had to make up for the dearth of capable tenors or baritones. Indeed, the means to which early opera impresarios resorted in the 1850s will be very familiar to ambitious opera presenters in the smaller American communities even today. Perhaps one of the most remarkable revelations for me was the fact that much of San Francisco's earliest exposure to operatic music came by way of artists who were engaged at the opera houses of Mexico City, Lima, Valparaiso, and Santiago. These were established citadels of culture at a time when San Francisco was a barbaric settlement of roughshod miners. Today, in our outreach and exchange programs, particularly through the activities of our San Francisco Opera Center, we have been establishing anew our musical ties with other countries on the Pacific Rim; how gratifying it is to learn that our own operatic impulses first came to us from some of those very regions to which we now extend our own cultural resources. In a wonderful way, it seems that we are merely beginning to pay off an old artistic debt.

Foreword

xv

T h e more one reads of Mr. Martin's engaging chronicle, the more the mind boggles. H o w it can change our perspective of American musical life when we learn that San Franciscans were hearing music by V e r d i — a n occasional aria, at least—at a time when he had not yet composed Rigoletto, II trovatore, or La traviata! Martin, through his exhaustive research, shows us that the evolution of musical taste in San Francisco during the mid-nineteenth century was not, despite the area's extreme physical isolation, very far out of step with the rest of the world. As the author so poetically puts it, "Rossini's sun was setting, its laughter and brightness giving way to the dark, romantic dramas of Donizetti and Verdi." M a n y people in our own time have been impressed with the ability of so relatively small a city as San Francisco to support an opera company on a par with those of urban centers five or ten times its size; how even more miraculous to see the far-flung frontier outpost of San Francisco in the 1850s become, to use Martin's term, "mad for opera." One of my favorite statistics the author has compiled is the fact that if N e w York in 1992 were to play to an audience proportionate to that of San Francisco in i860, it would need to build twenty additional opera houses and run them every night of the year. Each reader, however, has his or her own thrilling discoveries to make in this intriguing text. It's a narrative unlike any other, combining the most colorful, passionate, and theatrical of all art forms with the history of the most colorful, passionate, and theatrical of all American cities. T h e pairing now seems so obvious, so right, that local Bay Area sociologists and art historians might well feel some embarrassment that it was left to a writer in Pennsylvania to record this incredible story. Let us just be thankful that the task was left in such capable hands. San Francisco, opera, G e o r g e M a r t i n — t r u l y a menage made in heaven! I'd like to conclude with an addendum that illustrates a type of continuity, however tenuous, between the San Francisco that Martin writes about and the opera company over which I preside today. In 1914, Verdi was honored again in San Francisco with a statue erected in G o l d e n Gate Park. As part of the dedication ceremony, Luisa Tetrazzini sang an aria from Aida to the assembled crowd. A little more

Foreword

XVI

than a half century later, the Friends of Recreation and Parks decided to revive this wonderful notion of combining opera with the beautiful surroundings of that unique park, by presenting an al fresco concert featuring the stars and orchestra of San Francisco Opera. T h a t concert proved to be such a success that it was repeated in 1973 and again in 1975, after which it became an annual event. T o d a y it attracts scores of thousands of opera devotees from every walk of life every year to G o l d e n G a t e Park in an annual celebration of the significant place that opera holds in the hearts of the citizens of this beautiful city. T h e love affair between the residents of the San Francisco Bay region and that miraculous combination of music and theater called o p e r a — a n affair that Martin so affectionately documents in this fascinating chronicle—continues. Lotfi Mansouri General Director San Francisco Opera

Preface

My aim in this book is twofold: first, to write a history of opera in a particular place and time, San Francisco during the Gold Rush years, concentrating the events around the works of a particular composer, Verdi; and second, by exploring Verdi's rise to popularity in this city, in these years, to make a contribution to the more general history of San Francisco and, even, to the westward movement in the United States. Both aims, specific and general, seem worthy because, with regard to the first, we lack detailed accounts in American musical history of how music started in our frontier towns: who began it, who supported it, what was played; and with regard to the second, most general histories, to their detriment, largely ignore cultural matters. For instance, one such history of California that has enjoyed many printings has no section, however small, on music, and not a single entry for it in the index. Yet from the start San Francisco, with its Bay area, has been an exceptional community for music, a leader in the United States. This attempt to combine operatic and non-musical history may strike some readers as odd or ill-conceived; and certainly it is unusual. Therefore, to avoid any misconception of what follows, let me offer a word of explanation. xvii

xviii

Preface

I have nothing to say about Verdi's life or the musical, political, and social influences that molded him or his music, and next to nothing about his musical techniques. I do have some comments on his musical style, which contributed to his popularity, and I have much to report on how his music was performed in San Francisco and how it was received by audiences who, for the most part, were hearing it for the first time. N o one in San Francisco in the Gold Rush years knew the facts of Verdi's life, or cared about them, and none, truth to tell, wrote about his music with much perception or learning. Yet artists and musiclovers in the city during these years took his music to heart and enthroned him as the most popular of opera composers and even perhaps—because there then was no great difference between "popular" and "serious" m u s i c — t h e most popular composer of the day. How and why this happened are themes of the book. In this sort of history, for instance, the circumstances of what seems to be the first public performance in San Francisco of any of Verdi's music is worth noting. T h e performance was not of an opera, staged by a resident or visiting company in a theatre, with sets and costumes; it was of an aria, "Ernani, involami," sung by a soprano with only piano and violin accompaniment, and presented as an intermission feature between a play and a farce. And the second sample of Verdi heard in the city, performed in a concert of more than forty artists (most, probably, amateurs), was a trombone fantasy on an aria from his opera Attila. Apparently no such fantasy at the time had been published, and so the trombonist, in all likelihood, had made his own arrangement from sheet music for the aria. And the same probably was true of the soprano and her colleagues. T h e s e two performances most likely fit the pattern of how music first entered a recital hall in any town on the frontier—of which San Francisco, in some aspects of its founding, was one. It was settled, for instance, by immigrants moving into what they called "the Wilderness" and attempting to create a civilized society. In other respects, however, San Francisco was unique. T h o u g h isolated by thousands of miles from the nearest large cities of the American Midwest, it could

Preface

xix

be reached by water, by ships carrying hundreds of passengers and much cargo, so that in many ways it was more like a maritime colony of the East Coast than an inland town on the advancing frontier. Nevertheless, the steps by which music in San Francisco moved from the back room of a saloon into a recital hall and finally into an opera house were probably not very different from their sequence in the more typical inland towns of the frontier—except for their acceleration by the event of 24 January 1848 that set San Francisco apart: the discovery in the mountains behind it of gold. In short, I have attempted to combine in a single account musical, social, and theatrical histories that more often are treated separately. If my experiment succeeds, it should tell us much about opera's growth across the country and also, I like to think, something about Verdi. In some circles such a book would be called a study of "the transmission and reception of musical culture"; in others, more simply but less descriptively, "cultural history." But whatever its label, my account will include as important events a frontier audience's first hearing and response to Rigoletto, II trovatore, and La traviata—unimpressed, ecstatic, puzzled—and will tell of related persons and episodes such as the impresario who spat in the face of a creditor, a whorehouse Madam who sat in the wrong row of a theatre, her gambler-lover who later was hanged by vigilantes, and a fistfight in the audience that stopped a performance of Daughter of the Regiment and ended in a death by duel. Verdi composed his melodramas in these years in a style that some persons found excessive, not only musically, but also in its pessimism. "People say," he once wrote of Trovatore, "this opera is too sad and there are too many deaths in it. But after all, in life there is only death. What else lasts?" In San Francisco in these Gold Rush years, when good and bad occurred in frequent excess, the difference between life and art, often exaggerated by the prosaic, all but vanished. And the blurring of that usual division, I believe, in part explains Verdi's astonishing popularity in northern California—most of whose immigrants arrived by ship, sailing into San Francisco's great bay through a narrows called "the Golden Gate."

Preface

XX

But of course, Verdi was not the only opera composer to achieve popularity in the West, or in the United States generally. There were also Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti, Balfe, Auber, and others, and taken all together, opera, Italian, English, and French, in these years had a great vogue. There evidently is some confusion about this, for one distinguished music historian has concluded that "of all the kinds of art music of the American cultivated tradition between 1820 and the Civil War, the least significant, and the least widely heard, was opera." Another, writing more specifically about the arts in California, has lamented that by 1859 "we must accept a sad ending for the first chapter in the history of music on the Gold Coast." Yet as I hope this book's accumulation of facts from contemporary journals will show, at least on the frontier of northern California and in the final decade before the Civil War, a great deal of opera was heard. And on the Gold Coast in 1859 opera was about to have a stupendous year, stupendous by anyone's measure. The truth is both more interesting and colorful than generally reported. George Martin Kennett Square Pennsylvania

A word about the treatment of opera titles. In all quotations I have left the title—in language, in italic or roman type, with or without quotation marks—as it appeared in the original. In my own writing I refer to the opera in the language in which it was composed except when I am discussing a production that I have reason to believe was sung in some other language. Thus, in general I refer to Rossini's II barbiere di Siviglia, but when writing of a production sung in English I call it The Barber of Seville, and in French, Le Barbier de Seville. All rules, of course, have exceptions; to state one: when referring to the overture to Rossini's Guillaume Tell, I call the opera William Tell.

Acknowledgments

In the research for this book I have been helped greatly by the learning, skill, and patience of librarians, chiefly those in San Francisco, Sacramento, New York, Boston, and Washington. I will not identify every individual in each institution who answered a question, produced a book or document, or made a fruitful suggestion—the number of names and titles soon would deprive the list of any meaning—but those libraries in which most of my facts were discovered or verified are as named below, and for the courtesy, learning, and willingness of their staffs, at all levels of authority, I am grateful. San Francisco Performing Arts Library & Museum San Francisco Public Library California Historical Society Library, San Francisco Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley California State Library, Sacramento Boston Public Library N e w York Public Library New-York Historical Society Library Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. xxi

XXII

Acknowledgments

I also wish to thank Jackson Research Projects of Davis, California, a business offering "historical consulting services," for its part in assuring the accuracy of many parts of this book. Although I did research myself in California libraries, living in the East I inevitably was forced often to rely on others to verify old facts or to uncover new ones, and on my application the Jackson company assigned to work with me Rand F. Herbert and, later, also David A. Riggs. The people at Jackson Research Projects are experts in water rights, a subject of prime importance in California if the state's citizenry is to live at peace, and as I sent queries westward I soon was rejoicing in the exactitude of the replies I began to receive. Water rights, it would seem, make an ideal preparation for research in opera. Yet when I look back on our three years of work, I am surprised that the company was willing to take me on—and, I believe, there is some surprise on its part, too. In any case, though I still know nothing about water rights, Messrs. Herbert and Riggs have learned something about opera in San Francisco in the Gold Rush years, and the accuracy of this book owes much to their precision and sympathetic interest. And I delight in acknowledging their help. Other individuals who have aided me in some way beyond the usual call of friendship or duty are Mary Ashe, Oliver Daniel, Barbara R. Geisler, J. D. McClatchy, Barbara McClure, Peyton Moss, Frank Pitelka, John P. Sweeney, and Thomas G. Kaufman. For permission to use pictures and documents from their collections, I am grateful to the following libraries: for the photographs of Rosina Mauri-Pellegrini, Innocenzo Pellegrini, Mathilde KorsinskyVon Gulpen, Giovanna Bianchi, and Eugenio Bianchi, the San Francisco Performing Arts Library & Museum; for the Alessandro Biscaccianti letter, the libretto of Ernani, the photographs of Tom Maguire and of his Opera House, the Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley; for the drawings of Catherine Hayes in Musical Hall and the interior of the Metropolitan Theatre, the California State Library, Sacramento; and for the title page of sheet music and the libretto to I due Foscari, the Pierpont Morgan Library, New York City. The remaining photographs are from my own, small collection.

Prologue

Verdi himself never set foot in the United States, but from 1847 onward, after a production of I Lombardi in New York introduced his operas to the country, most of them came over within three or four years of their European premieres, and many settled promptly and permanently into our musical life. How his music spread throughout the larger cities of the Atlantic coast follows a predictable pattern of opera productions fully staged, with glamorous, European stars; how it spread in the emerging cities of the West, many of which at the time lacked an opera house or even a theatre, is less well known. In the United States at the start of the decade 1851-60, Bellini, with Norma and La sonnambula, probably was the most frequently performed opera composer, and in countless arrangements and translations the aria that ends Sonnambula, "Ah, non giunge," was a popular song. At the end of the decade, however, Verdi had displaced Bellini—a reason to concentrate this history on Verdi's operas. How did his music penetrate the towns of the West, or his operas make their way in cities only just building their first theatres? Of his operas, which were the first to be produced, and the first to succeed? How did the first theatres emerge, and what were they like? And what of the early opera productions: the orchestra, chorus, scenery, and

1

Prologue

2

lighting? Who made up the audience, how did it behave, and how did the people react to Verdi's music? Not to the singer's voice and personality, please note, but, to the extent these can be subtracted, to the music itself, to Verdi. Given the breadth of the country west of the Mississippi River and the variety of persons moving into it, the questions are large, and I will focus here on a single city, San Francisco, which in the 1850s joined Boston, N e w York, Philadelphia, and N e w Orleans as a center for opera. It achieved the distinction partly because it was a port, accessible to ships and steamers plying the western coast of Central and South America and consequently able to attract a few adventurous singers from an existing Pacific opera circuit. At this time, the opera houses of Santiago, Valparaiso, Lima, and Mexico City employed chiefly Italian artists, and some of these, though never a whole company, were willing to risk themselves and their artistry in the raw, new city to the north.1 For exploring the arrival of opera in a city, San Francisco offers several advantages, and one singular disadvantage that directly affected opera production: the city lacked women. In California in

I8JO,

because

of the rush of men into the state after the discovery of gold two years earlier, only 8 percent of the population was female, and, initially at least, many of those were women of ill repute. Among the French and German immigrants, the most active music-makers, the percentage was even smaller. Reportedly, among the French in San Francisco in March 183-1, though the figures seem remarkably low, there still were only ten or twelve French women to upward of several thousand men; and even eighteen months later, the coming of a hundred French women caused an excited news-story headlined "Large Arrival of Women." 2 Not until about 1900 did the statewide proportion of men and women become equal. For this reason, therefore, as much as because of any belief that the theatre was inherently sinful, in the 1850s in San Francisco many operas requiring a women's chorus were produced without one. Either the men's chorus sang the women's melodies, or the music was cut.3 Nevertheless, despite this oddity, the city makes a fine sample for study. T h e swiftness of its growth insures that it did not start the

Prologue

3

decade with an established preference for any particular style of opera; indeed, probably none of any sort had been staged there. In 1848 San Francisco was a village of 500, and in 1851, the year of its first reported opera, a city of 30,000. Thus, throughout the 1850s the first production there of any opera was a regional premiere. In 1854, for example, a partial list of works heard for the first time in the city, and most likely for the first time anywhere west of the Rocky Mountains north of Mexico City, includes: Auber's La Muette de Portici and Fra Diavolo; Balfe's The Bohemian Girl and The Enchantress; Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, Lucrezia Borgia, and Don Pasquale; Flotow's Martha; Rossini's Cinderella; Verdi's Nabucco; and Weber's Der Freischiitz. The variety of musical styles in this list reflects the diversity of the city's population—omitting always in this book the Chinese, whose operas fall outside the Western tradition. Among the immigrants of American and European background, however, the latter being chiefly Spanish-Mexican, French, Italian, German, English, Irish, and Scots, no one group by wealth or numbers was able to determine the city's musical life, as did those who spoke French in New Orleans, English in Boston, and, increasingly in this period, Italian and German in New York and Philadelphia. And because in San Francisco no group by itself could support a resident company, the operas of all nationalities were forced to compete in the same few theatres for an audience. By the end of 1859, the last year before Verdi began to dominate the repertory, by a rough count the most popular operas in the city's first nine years of opera were Donizetti's La Fille du régiment (17 performances), Balfe's The Bohemian Girl (17), Bellini's La sonnambula (15) and his Norma (15), Auber's The Crown Diamonds (14), Donizetti's Lucrezia Borgia (13), Verdi's LI trovatore (11, all in 1859), Weber's Der Freischiitz (10), Donizetti's La Favorite (10), Balfe's The Enchantress (9), Verdi's Ernani (9), and Rossini's II barbiere di Siviglia (9).4 Though no Spanish composer is represented, Spanish or Mexican songs were much sung in the city's many saloons and frequently appeared as finales or encores to recitals of opera excerpts. In addition to this mixture of cultures, another aspect of San Francisco in the 1850s that aids a study of Verdi's rise to popularity is the

4

Prologue

city's isolation. Transcontinental telegraph became available only in 1861, and regular overland mail, by pony express, only in i860, and by railroad, in 1869. Until the mid-i86os the city could be reached from the east with any ease only by transshipping across the isthmus of Panama or by rounding Cape Horn, both routes long and expensive. As a result, unlike eastern cities San Francisco was left free to sort its preference in opera undisturbed by the arrival from elsewhere of fully staffed companies whose excellence created an immediate demand for a particular operatic style. In New York in 1843 and 1845, for example, visits by a French company from New Orleans, with operas mostly by Auber, Meyerbeer, and those by Donizetti to French texts, such as La Favorite and La Fille du régiment, had excited an enthusiasm for French opera. Then in 1847 a company from Havana, with good conductors, a fine orchestra, brilliant singers, and a repertory mainly of Rossini, Bellini, and Verdi, had established as the dominant style Italian opera. Yet despite the isolation, in the years 1851-60, as Verdi ultimately became the city's favorite composer, San Francisco's taste for opera swelled into such a passion that if today's citizens of New York took to opera with equal exuberance—number of tickets sold relative to the population—the Metropolitan Opera Company would have to build twenty additional houses (cap. 3,800) and play them every night.5 A focus on San Francisco, therefore, is helpful to the book's more general purpose of examining how opera came to the West, for the very speed and severity of the city's intoxication with opera, by magnifying the steps of growth, makes them easy to follow. First, a city must have a theatre so that music unsuited to church or cabaret may have a home and be heard. Then comes the celebrity, typically a soprano accompanied by her husband as manager, and she includes an aria or two in a program of songs and ballads. Later, though still in recital, the soprano, modeling a variety of costumes and often with assisting singers, begins to present operatic scenes; and these in turn are followed by staged productions of the entire work, frequently in an English version, usually severely cut, with vocal lines mangled by transpositions and favorite arias of other composers inserted. Finally, there are full productions, increasingly in the composer's language, moderately cut, properly cast, and with few or no interpolations.

Prologue

5

There is nothing extraordinary about this progression; in its outline it exemplifies the history of opera in much of the United States throughout the nineteenth century. Though seldom so clearly or fully developed, it was repeated in many towns on the frontier as they more slowly than San Francisco grew into cities. But if an account of how Verdi's music triumphed in San Francisco can serve as a general model for how opera took root elsewhere in the West, in its details this account, because of the city, is highly individual: for in the 1850s, San Francisco was not like other cities. In the neighboring foothills of the Sierra Nevada, gold had been discovered, and from all over the world came fortune hunters. The city, nurtured by greed, was crude, savage, corrupt. Yet, perched on the rim of the world, it was also wholly new, unfettered by traditions, class distinctions, or received opinions, and it had a unique spirit. Immigrants, few of them older than thirty-five, found its atmosphere exhilarating. One, from New York, was Stephen J . Field, who later helped to create California's legal system and in 1863 was the first lawyer from the state appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court. He arrived in the city on the evening of 28 December 1849, sailing in through the Golden Gate. After disembarking, as he started up the street in search of cheap lodgings, he met acquaintances from New York, all of whom remarked in their greeting, "It's a glorious country," or "Isn't it a glorious country?" or "Did you ever see a more glorious country?" And soon, though he had but a dollar in his pocket and no employment, he found himself saying to everyone he met, "It's a glorious country."6

ONE

Toward a Theatre

T h e r e was music in California before the Gold Rush, chiefly on the large ranches in the countryside and in the settlements that clustered around the twenty-one Dominican (originally Franciscan) missions. It was music of Spain and Mexico, played usually on some combination of violin, trumpet, and harp, backed by guitars of several kinds and sizes and a variety of percussion. Aside from the individual songs and dances that livened family parties, picnics, and weddings, for the most part it accompanied religious festivals, leisurely, colorful events in which the whole community participated and which, because of the moderate climate and country life, often were held out-of-doors. Throughout the year there were many saints' days to be celebrated. At Christmas there were pageants, at New Year's, childrens' masquerades; and among the many events of Easter was a favorite of boys, the punishment of Judas Iscariot. His two-faced effigy of straw was strung on ropes between two buildings, and the ropes, jiggled and jerked in response to cries of abuse from the boys below, caused him to dance in pain. For a finale he was put to the torch, exploding in a stunning display of light and noise as firecrackers concealed in his limbs dismembered his flaming body. 1 Though there was drama in these fiestas, it did not lead to opera. 9

Toward a Theatre

10

The religious and familial purpose of the events, together with their setting—out-of-doors, in the church, or in some ranchero's private house—was against it. Opera, lacking religion's universal appeal, required a sizable population from which to draw an audience, as well as public theatres. And Mexican California had neither. In these years, for instance, the chief port for northern California, the seed of what later would become San Francisco, was Yerba Buena. Located on the tip of the peninsula, a mile or two from the Mission San Francisco de Asis (popularly known from a nearby stream as Mission Dolores), Yerba Buena was a cluster of twelve or fifteen buildings of which the largest was a barracks, the presidio. The others were rough houses or sheds for the storage of hides. On the empty hills behind were corrals for cattle. As for population, at this time the entire future state of California contained an estimated 15,000 persons, of which 10,000 were Indians and the balance white or mixed.2 One historian, summarizing the region and its people under Mexican rule, reported: [Visitors] confessed themselves astonished at the frailty of the Spanish and M e x i c a n hold: a society without schools, without manufactures, without defenses, administered by a quasi-feudal mission system

It was a society

so backward that its plow and o x - c a r t were those of ancient times, so disorganized that in spite of the fact that countless cattle roamed its hills, it had to secure dairy products from the Russian colony at Fort Ross and have leather shoes shipped round the Horn from Boston. 3

In 1847, as the result of the treaty closing the U.S.-Mexican war, the Mexican province of Upper California, the future state, passed to the United States, and in March of that year a contingent of the U.S. Army arrived in Yerba Buena to take possession, and the village was renamed San Francisco. With the surge of immigration from the United States that followed the flag, its population quickly increased, and following the discovery of gold in 1848 the numbers exploded. By December 1850 San Francisco had become a city of 30,000, almost all men. Many came, no doubt, simply to get rich quick, by mining, gambling, or any way that opened. Others were tinged with idealism, eager

Toward a Theatre

11

to help in creating a new society in a backward, almost vacant land. T h e lawyer Field, for instance, was stirred by the thought of "going to a country comparatively unknown and taking a part in fashioning its institutions

I had always thought that the most desirable fame a man

could acquire was that of being the founder of a State, or of exerting a powerful influence for good upon its destinies." 4 T h e excitement of that larger adventure, something more than the pursuit of gold, surfaces in many accounts of those who went out in "Forty-Nine" or the years soon after. Another, even more prominent theme in their journals, letters, and newspapers is their report of a startling return to a life of primary experience. On arrival, life suddenly became, as it often is in opera, a sequence of emotions and events that are overwhelming in their intensity and simplicity. In the words of the historian Kevin Starr: For a few brief years, in far-off California, the bottom fell out of the nineteenth century. Americans—and not just Americans of the frontier— returned en masse to primitive and brutal conditions, to a Homeric world of journeys, shipwreck, labor, treasure, killing, and chieftainship. . . . The Forty-Niners themselves were not unaware that they were being reduced to the elemental. Moments of stark experience, recorded without selfconsciousness and yet shot through with mythic power, filled their narratives: there were murder, death, the falling-out of friends, food by a fire, gestures of voice and action appropriate to the mining camps of California.5 T h e same awful moments fill the accounts of those trying to create a decent city at the region's capital, by the Golden Gate. At times the task must have seemed beyond human capacity. Six times in eighteen months the city, or its major part, was destroyed by fire. And while the glut of gold no doubt provided wealth for quick rebuilding, it brought problems of its own, chiefly inflation and gambling—between which there was little difference in effect: both led to cheating, violence, drunkenness, and suicide. In hindsight, amid all the masculine brawling in this city that lacked women, the growth of a desire for art, chiefly good theatre and music, seems a miracle. Evidently, though, that desire is as elemental as the lust for gold: late or soon, it will appear.

12

Toward a Theatre In the pattern usual for frontier towns, public entertainment pre-

sented by paid performers from a stage first appeared in saloons. T h e rougher sort of these, known in San Francisco as "bit houses" because the price of admission was either one bit or two (twenty-five cents), had a small stage at the back of the building, with access, even for performers, only through the barroom. In the area before the stage were tables and chairs at which men drank, smoked or chewed tobacco, and gambled. Frequently they overturned the tables, and fought. T h e air stank of sweat, and the floor, soggy with tobacco juice, was often red with blood. Sometimes, facing the stage, a small gallery clung to a wall, and sometimes, instead of tables, there were rows of chairs—though in that case the back of each chair held a rack for bottles and glasses. T o the side were rooms for gambling, their doors invitingly open; of the card games, monte, which in its simplicity is almost impervious to cheating, was the most popular. T h e entertainment, accompanied perhaps by a single piano or violin, a pair of guitars, or a wheezy accordion, consisted mostly of recitations, farces, songs, and dances performed by artists who were old, penniless, or simply untalented. T h e tone of the show, as well as of the audience's response to it, was rough, and no women, except for "hostesses," entered either the saloon or its "theatre." T h e show, good or bad, was quite incidental to the liquor and gambling. 6 M o r e expensive, refined saloons, sometimes called "melodeons" after the portable reed organ that occasionally substituted for an orchestra, offered a better grade of liquor and barmaids, spittoons for the tobacco-chewers, and private rooms for gambling, along with more complicated games of chance, like roulette. T h e y also sometimes offered better entertainment. But again, the only entrance to the theatre usually was through the barroom, and though the audience was perhaps less coarse in language, dress, and behavior, it was still almost exclusively male, still only marginally interested in the show. N e v e r theless, on occasion the music was well enough performed to draw in some men to listen. In the spring of 1850, for example, one of the more famous of these saloons, the Bella Union, instead of a melodeon offered its patrons five

Toward a Theatre

13

Mexicans playing two harps, one large and the other very small, two guitars, and one flute. According to one who heard them, The musicians were dressed in the Mexican costume (which, however, was nothing very noticeable at that time, as many of their auditors were in the same style of dress), and were quiet, modest looking men, with contented, amiable faces. T h e y used to walk in among the throng of people, along to the upper end of the room, take their seats, and with scarcely any preamble or discussion, commence their instrumentation. They had played so much together, and were so similar, seemingly, in disposition—calm, confident and happy—that their ten hands moved as if guided by one mind; rising and falling in perfect unison—the harmony so sweet, and just strange enough in its tones, from the novelty in the selection of instruments, to give it a peculiar fascination for ears always accustomed to the orthodox and time-honored vehicles of music used in quintette instrumentation. Their repertoire contained the popular waltzes and dances of the time, and many weird, curious airs of old Spain, sad refrains and amorous Lieder ohne worte; the listener knew, intuitively, though he heard the music without the words, that the same sounds had, with words, centuries ago, floated on the moonlit night in old Seville, beneath the iron-latticed balconies where lovely senoritas listened with bated breath, and thrilled with sympathetic recognition.7

Soon those who cared more for theatre than for liquor or gambling began to separate the stage—just a little—from the saloon, and on 18 October 1849, in Sacramento, the first building in California erected expressly for drama, the Eagle Theatre, opened with a melodrama, The Bandit Chief. The two-story building had a wooden frame with walls of canvas and a roof of sheet iron and tin. Its stage, roughly twenty feet wide and sixteen deep, was built of packing boxes, but unlike saloon stages it had three all-purpose, painted-canvas backdrops, representing a street, a wood, and an interior. It also had a drop curtain that, when the bell rang to signal the start of the performance, rolled up. When down, the curtain displayed a California scene, described by the visiting journalist Bayard Taylor as "a glaring landscape, with dark-brown trees in the foreground, and lilac-colored mountains against a yellow sky."8 By Taylor's count the Eagle seated 400, of whom 100 were in a

14

Toward a Theatre

gallery grandly titled "boxes." N o seat, however, was numbered or reserved, and for the first few performances there were no seats at all on the parquet, merely bare ground. When rough benches were added, the men used them during intermissions for gambling tables. Though the only entrance to the parquet was, as usual, through a saloon, the gallery could be reached by an outside stepladder, permitting respectable women to attend. And to forestall any violation of their modesty by Peeping Toms, the management nailed canvas to the underside of the ladder's rungs. Unlike the saloons with their nightly variety shows, the Eagle put on plays only three times a week, at a set hour, and to an audience that regularly included women. But that was about the extent of its sophistication. T h e canvas kept the theatre hot; and the men in the audience, in long heavy coats and flannel shirts, removed clothing, drank, smoked, chewed, spat, gambled, whistled, yelled, and sometimes threw vegetables at the actors. T h e opening-night play, The Bandit Chief; or, The Spectre of the Forest, was a story of knights, ghosts, and a lone damsel. According to Taylor, the company's single actress, a Mrs. Ray who advertised herself as "of the Royal Theatre, New Zealand," rushes in and throws herself into an attitude in the middle of the stage: why she does it, no one can tell. This movement, which she repeats several times in the course of the first three acts, has no connection with the tragedy; it is evidently introduced for the purpose of showing the audience that there is, actually, a female performer. The miners, to whom the sight of a woman is not a frequent occurrence, are delighted with these passages and applaud vehemently.9 Though the play, of course, filled the main portion of the evening, music had a part. There was an orchestra of five, which Taylor reports was led by an Italian and played well; it opened the program with an overture and closed it as accompaniment to a postlude of songs and duets. Thus music, on the coattails of drama, entered a space, a theatre, that might be used as a recital hall or opera house. San Francisco was only a fortnight behind Sacramento in erecting what was probably its first public theatre, a temporary arena for a

Toward a Theatre circus. Then, on

16 January I 8 J O ,

15

its first theatre proper opened with a

drama, The Wife, by the well-known Irish playwright of the day Sheridan Knowles; and as was the custom then, the tragedy was followed by a farce. The theatre, Washington Hall, occupied the second story of a building that at street level housed Foley's Saloon. After only a week, however, the actors abruptly ended their season—reportedly because their treasurer had lost all the box-office receipts gambling—and the saloon took over the hall.10 During the next three months several more theatres opened, and one, the National, was for the time remarkably grand. It was partly of brick, stood on its own plot between Montgomery and Kearny streets, and seated 700, 400 on the parquet and 300 in "boxes," which, except for two stage boxes, may have been merely a gallery. The theatre opened in February with a French vaudeville company and in May, in one of San Francisco's many fires, burned to the ground. But before then it had housed an important event in the city's musical history. On 2 April a pianist of international reputation gave San Franciscans what seems to have been their first purely musical event, certainly the first of note. Henri Herz, of Paris, who was nearing the end of a five-year tour of the United States, Mexico, the West Indies, Peru, and Chile, arrived from South America via Panama and, hiring as assisting artists a local bass-baritone and a flutist, gave a recital at what were surely the highest prices yet charged: $6 a seat for the boxes and $4 for the parquet. Though the flutist's two selections are not known, he probably performed arrangements of popular songs or operatic arias; the bass-baritone, a Frenchman, sang an aria from Donizetti's La Favorite and two French songs; and Herz, playing four times, offered variations on music from Hérold's opera Le Pré aux clercs, Bellini's I Puritani, Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, and a medley of American, French, Italian, and German popular songs that ended with a triumphant inflation of Stephen Foster's "Oh! Susanna." 11 Though the recital had not sold out, Herz scheduled another for 6 April, with the same flutist but a new singer, and this time, among other works not identified, he rhapsodized on "The Last Rose of Summer" and introduced his Voyage musicale for piano in which he mingled a

Toward a Theatre

16

"Storm at Sea" and " T h e California Polka" with the national songs of the world's principal countries, representing the United States by "Yankee Doodle." T h e daily paper Alta California reported that portions of the Voyage were "perfectly electrifying." 1 2 Herz's prices, however, left many seats empty, and for his third concert, five days later, he lowered the scale to $5 and $3, announcing a "Monstre Concert" in which, in addition to a cornetist and two singers, he promised a finale in which four pianos would combine on a Marche nationale. Though not described, it probably was another Voyage musicale. T h e lower prices and more varied program pulled in a full house, and he left for Sacramento on a storm of praise. 13 Returning before the end of the month, Herz played his "farewell" on 27 April, repeating his Voyage musicale and again selling out the house at the reduced price scale. After the performance he was entertained by admirers at the Hotel du Commerce. According to the Pacific News, " T h e occasion was one of the most pleasant re-unions in the happiest French taste; the viands were delicious, and the wines most choice and rare." 14 T h e reception, with its touch of elegance, marked a change taking place in the clothing as well as habits of some in San Francisco. With the city's growing prosperity, men in the business community, particularly among the French, had begun to replace the miner's slouching felt hat with a narrow-brimmed black beaver, the flannel shirt with white linen, and the long, rumpled outer coat with a frock or dress coat. Trousers, too, increasingly were tailored; but no man, so long as spitting indoors or out was common and every street was a bog in winter and a bin of dust in summer, was ready yet to give up the knee boots into which trousers could be tucked. 15 Herz, a witty, stylish man who enjoyed meeting people, assisted the sartorial transition. As the first artist of front rank to visit the city, with his recitals and receptions he not only encouraged those interested in music to want more but also gave those who wished to dress up the opportunity. In Sacramento, for example, only men with starched shirts were admitted to his recital, and afterward he was entertained with a ball, albeit in a cottage. While there was still smoking, spitting,

Toward a Theatre

17

drinking, gambling, and much brawling in the theatres, he helped to advance the idea that they could be places of reasonable, orderly behavior. 16 In his farewell recital, however, he put music's cause in retreat by engaging for the intermission a non-musician, a magician. Worse still, three nights later he played the piano as a turn in the man's show, once more relegating music to the subordinate position from which he had just rescued it. 17 On the other hand, before leaving the city he declined an offer of $2,000 a month to remain and play nightly in a saloon. Though the offer was perhaps too low to tempt him, his refusal, reported in the Pacific News, sharpened anew the distinction between music as an end in itself, however sugared to taste, and music merely as an accompaniment to other activities. 18 At very least, by his success he had demonstrated that the city, with its population now approaching 30,000, was almost ready to support serious musical endeavors— recitals, concerts, and opera.

TWO

The First Opera

The first sample of Verdi's music presented by a professional musician to an audience in San Francisco cannot be named with certainty, but the earliest yet discovered is the soprano's cavatina or entrance aria from Emani, "Ernani, involami." It is an aria of leisurely, arched phrases, followed by an extended rush of intensity as the bride-to-be, unwillingly engaged to an elderly uncle, invokes her secret lover to snatch her from the old man's horrid embrace. The singer, making her local debut, was Mathilde Korsinsky, an artist of German background who before coming to San Francisco had sung professionally for five or six years in New York (Fig. i). And the occasion was the intermission between a drama and a farce at the Jenny Lind Theatre on 4 November 1850. The theatre, the city's newest, had opened only five nights earlier, on 30 October; and although on the previous day everyone had celebrated California's admission to the Union as the thirty-first state, the Jenny Lind's first night was also an event and, for the time, well reported. Its name reflected the "Lindomania" then sweeping the East as the "Swedish Nightingale" toured the bigger cities, St. Louis being her only stop west of the Mississippi. The theatre, built in traditional style and seating about 700, perched on the second floor of the Parker 18

The First Opera

19

House, a large building on the main square, or the Plaza. Directly beneath it was a saloon, with a piano and entertainment, and upstairs, with easy access to the theatre, were rooms for gambling.1 The theatre had its own entrance, however, and though its seats were unnumbered, those in the front, or so it advertised, were "reserved for ladies."2 For the theatre's inaugural night the proprietor, the saloonkeeper, had put together a gala program consisting of Mme Korsinsky-Von Gulpen, as she sometimes was known, a man who sang ballads, and another who performed magical tricks and also was an expert on the slack wire.3 This variety show—which on i November the volunteer firemen of the St. Francis Hook and Ladder Company attended in full uniform 4 —played four nights, and in Mme Korsinsky-Von Gulpen's bit of the evening, at least on the first night, she sang an unidentified Spanish song and "On the Banks of the Guadalquiver." 5 While there are several songs with that title, hers almost surely was the one by the Irish composer Michael Balfe, which then was very popular. On Monday, 4 November, the Stark theatrical troupe took over, and between the drama Damon and Pythias and the closing farce Dumb Belle, Korsinsky-Von Gulpen sang her Verdi aria. The next day the Evening Picayune reported (with several names misspelled): The cavatina from Ernani was sung by Madame Korsinski with a power and brilliance of execution that drew down the house in the most enthusiastic demonstrations of delight. She was rapturously encored, and will afford one of the most popular attractions of this theatre. The orchestra consisting of a grand Piano played by Mons. Van Gulpen, and a violin by M. Pascal, was quite sufficient to fill the house, and they discoursed really delightful music. The hall is the neatest and most commodious affair of the kind in the city.6 Music in an intermission was then a common form of entertainment, and Korsinsky, who had been engaged for the week, apparently repeated the aria at least once.7 Because of her marriage to the pianist, Carl Von Gulpen, which seems to have been recent, she soon would drop from her professional name the "Korsinsky," thus creating a sharp division between her career in New York and in San Francisco. She was never a singer of top rank, but in New York, appearing with the

Fig 1. Mathilde Korsinsky-Von Gulpen, who sang under her maiden name, Korsinsky, in N e w York City and under her married name, Von Gulpen, for the most part, in San Francisco. (San Francisco Performing Arts Library)

The First Opera

21

Philharmonic Society as Korsinsky, she had won a footnote in history as the mezzo-soprano in the U.S. premiere of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. In San Francisco as Von Guipen, she perhaps earned another for introducing the city to Verdi.8 In her next appearance, on 16 December 1850, she produced what seems to have been the city's first recital organized primarily around a singer. For the event, which she advertised as a "Grand Concert," she rented the Armory of the First California Guards and, as assisting artists, hired a cellist and two male vocalists. Although no one sang or played any Verdi, she did oifer an aria from Rossini's II barbiere di Siviglia and a duet from Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, both before the intermission; after the break, she and the others sang only songs. Apparently, she gauged the audience's taste correctly, for the following day a newspaper's one-sentence comment was an invitation, albeit conditional, for more: "There can be no doubt that two such concerts monthly, if well managed, would succeed admirably."9 Before she was able to act on the suggestion, other artists had put together a musical miscellany that the Alta California described as the city's "first Grand Concert of Vocal and Instrumental Music." Assembling on the afternoon of 22 December in the large hall of the California Exchange, more than forty musicians, with perhaps twelve or fifteen of them forming an orchestra, offered a mishmash of operatic overtures, arias, and popular songs. The paper in its review, which omitted first names, partially identified only two soloists and their selections. A Señora (Francisca) Abalos sang the "soprano cavatina" (probably "Come per me sereno") from Bellini's La sonnambula, and a Signor (?) Lobero played a trombone arrangement of "the Grand Aria" (probably "Dagli immortali") from Verdi's Attila,10 At this time Verdi, born in 1813, had not yet composed Rigoletto (1851), II trovatore (1853), or La traviata (1853), and the trombone "fantasy," as such instrumental arrangements of arias then often were called, was drawn from one of the more popular of his early operas. Of the fifteen of these works preceding Rigoletto, the best known probably were Nabucodonosor (generally called Nabucco; 1842), I Lombardi alia prima crociata (1843), Ernani (1844), and Attila (1846). Of these, Ernani, based on

The First Opera

22

a play by Victor Hugo, had won the most fame, and its soprano cavatina, "Emani, involami," more than any other of Verdi's arias, carried his name around the world. Sopranos could not ignore it. In San Francisco, as will be seen, it became a touchstone; by its rendition artists were judged. Though Von Gulpen was a mezzo-soprano, or even contralto, and probably transposed the aria down, her success with it had been real, and for her next recital she returned to it, announcing another "Grand Concert," with herself as producer and star, for 29 January 1851 at the Adelphi Theatre. The Adelphi, which stood on the south side of Clay Street between Kearny and Montgomery, was a focus of the city's French community, a frequent home to French plays and farces. Its acoustics were doubtless better than those of the Armory, and it also had several advantages over the Jenny Lind: it was slightly larger and, most important, free of competition from the piano in the saloon." As her assisting artists Von Gulpen hired a flutist, a cellist, and a bassbaritone, and offered a program that included a fantasy for flute on melodies from Bellini's Sonnambula and I Puritani, duets for herself and the bass-baritone from Donizetti's Belisario and Elisir d'amore (the latter to be sung in costume), and, as her most demanding solo aria, placed as the finale before the intermission, Verdi's "Ernani, involami." 12 Before this event took place, however, two others leading toward the production of opera in San Francisco intervened. On Sunday evening 12 January, at Foley's Amphitheatre, a small group of resident French musicians, led by the violinist Louis Theophile Planel—usually referred to simply as "Mons. Planel"—gave a concert of vocal and instrumental selections, ending with the final act of Donizetti's French opera La Favorite: the first attempt in the city to present an entire act of opera, however much cut. But their effort, or at least its vocal part, for which Mme Hortense Planel served as prima donna, was judged a failure. The Alta California dismissed it in two sentences: "We confess ourselves disappointed. The instrumental portion was far the best of the entertainment." In his next concert, Planel shied away from opera. 13 Meanwhile, an event of more lasting significance had occurred. On

T h e First Opera

23

8 January, at 1:00 P.M., the steamer Tennessee from Panama via Acapulco, San Diego, and Monterey, a voyage of twenty days, had docked with freight, mail, and 101 passengers, among whom was a troupe of three Italian opera singers and a pianist, arriving unexpected and unknown.14 Promptly their leader placed an advertisement in the Alta California, which he ran for three days: I T A L I A N OPERA M A D ' M E ROSINA MAURI P E L L E G R I N I , SIGNOR INNOCENZO P E L L E G R I N I , SIGNOR

and SIGNOR JAMES WEITZ, forming a company of the first and most distinguished vocal performers of the lyric companies of Peru and Chile, under the direction of Signor Pellegrini, a celebrated tenor, and lyric artist of highest repute, who has sung in the first theatres of Europe, private singer to H.M. the King of Denmark, Fellow of the Academy of St. Cecilia at Rome and also of the Philharmonic Society of Rome, and Bologna, whose voice is among the sweetest Italy has produced, and of the most modern school [Fig. 2]. Mad'me MAURI, prima donna soprano, also a very distinguished Italian songstress [Fig. 3]. Signor ANGELO F R A N C I A , an Italian baritone, and Signor J A M E S WEITZ, an excellent pianist, and much prized by Americans, and whose talents have raised his reputation to place him on a par with the most distinguished of modern pianists. T h e above mentioned artists intend giving a few entertainments, in which will be represented and sung whole acts of the best modern operas, and complete operas, with gorgeous dresses, which they have brought here, not omitting the best orchestra to be engaged in this city. 15 ANGELO FRANCIA

Pellegrini scheduled the first concert for 24 January, at Foley's Amphitheatre, hiring to appear with his singers several dancers, the Llorentes, who made a specialty of character skits. And where the local French, in the vocal part of their entertainment, had failed, the newly arrived Italians succeeded. Unfortunately, neither Pellegrini in his announcements nor the newspapers in their reviews disclose what was sung.16 Capitalizing on his troupe's success, Pellegrini scheduled a second concert at the amphitheatre for 28 January, preceding by only a day Von Gulpen's "Grand Concert" at the Adelphi, with its program of

The First Opera

24

arias by Verdi and Donizetti and a duet "in costume." Such a quick succession of operatic events was new in San Francisco and a sign of how swiftly the city's musical life was growing. Also in this week, and possibly in time for his second concert, Pellegrini expanded his troupe by hiring two additional soloists: Señora Abalos, who in the previous month had done well with the cavatina from Sonnambula; and a bassbaritone, Signor V. Acquasoni. Like the first concert, this second was a success, and though details are lacking, a news item hints: "The programme promises selections from the operas of Donizetti and Verdi.'" 7 Meanwhile, Pellegrini had announced in the Alta California, though without dates, staged productions of complete operas; and finally, at the Adelphi Theatre on 12 February, as the opening of his season, he presented San Francisco with its first opera: Bellini's La sonnambula. The cast included himself as Elvino; his wife, Mauri, as the sleepwalking Amina; Abalos as Lisa; Acquasoni as Count Rodolfo, and Francia in the small role of Alessio. Possibly Weitz, who no longer is mentioned, served as a vocal coach and rehearsal pianist, and perhaps also as conductor, though the fact that neither the advertisement nor the review of the performance mentions a conductor suggests that the small orchestra was led by the first violinist from his chair, a frequent but unsatisfactory practice. (Except when he stopped playing to direct, the violinist usually led simply by playing loud, stomping time and making faces at the players and singers.)18 The next morning the Alta California, with an unsigned paragraph, published the city's first review of an opera: ITALIAN OPERA

— A crowded house greeted the opening of the Italian

opera troupe, at the Adelphi, last evening. T h e opera was Bellini's celebrated production, " L a Sonnambula." W e were not previously aware that San Francisco contained such finished musical artists as appeared last evening, and the torrents of applause that continually broke forth [it was not yet the custom to await the aria's close to applaud], exhibited the appreciation of the audience. We trust these talented artists will receive the support from the San Francisco public which they richly merit. 19

Indeed, so pleased was the public with what it had seen and heard that Pellegrini was able to repeat the opera three times in the fortnight.20

Fig 2.

Innocenzo Pellegrini. (SF Performing Arts Library)

The First Opera

26

Then, adding another local artist, Von Gulpen, to his troupe, on 27 February he presented Bellini's Noma, and it, too, had a triumph. According to the Alta California the next morning: "Signora Abalos [Norma] did not possess a large amount of talent, but her voice is strong and musical. Von Gulpen-Korsinsky [Adalgisa] is a great acquisition for this company." Four days later they sang Norma again.21 All these performances, if like those soon to follow, were severely cut, lacked a women's chorus, had a men's chorus of six or fewer, and were accompanied by an orchestra of not more than twelve or fifteen—at most four or five violins (with the first-desk man doubling as conductor), a viola, a cello, a doublebass, a flute, two clarinets, two horns, a cornet, and a trombone . . . but, it seems likely, without tympani, which apparently were slow to reach the city.22 The players, again judging from later performances, were usually either French or German immigrants—with the latter predominating, for the Germans, numbering nearly 5,000, were the city's most active music-makers.23 Germans also customarily manned the chorus, whether recruited individually or as a group from one of their four fraternal singing clubs, of which the most important, the Turn Gesangverein, was the usual source.24 The Adelphi, which housed San Francisco's first opera season, had about a thousand seats, all unnumbered, except perhaps for those in the stage boxes. When the theatre opened its doors, therefore (usually a half-hour before the performance), within any price range it was "first come, best seated"—a practice about which the press, always on the lookout for perquisites, soon complained.25 Because the city did not have gas until February 1854, the Adelphi's auditorium and stage were lit by either candles or whale oil, probably in some combination. Each had a disadvantage: the sperm-whale oil had an unpleasant odor, and the candles required attention. Candles in the footlights, for example, often wanted their wicks trimmed during the performance, a duty frequently assigned to a member of the orchestra. As for the auditorium, once a chandelier had been lit and raised to the ceiling, its candles could not be trimmed, and sometimes dripped—a reason the pit, or orchestra floor close to the stage and

The First Opera

27

directly beneath the chandelier, was neither fashionable nor expensive. Respectable women shunned the area, and men sitting there were apt to keep on their hats.26 Indeed, throughout the house generally it still was common to remain "covered" during the performance, on the rationale that a theatre was a public place. Even the actors, whether the scene was indoors or out, frequently wore hats, for the stage, too, usually was lit by a chandelier. 27 Pellegrini's price scale at the Adelphi was, private boxes (probably only the stage boxes or those adjoining the proscenium), $4; other boxes (apparently unenclosed and merely the lowest of the three galleries), $3; second gallery and parquet (probably the entire orchestra floor), $2; and top gallery (to which, at the Jenny Lind at least, Negroes were directed), $i. 28 Von Gulpen at her recitals had charged $3 for all seats at the Armory (with a $1 discount for escorted ladies) and $2 at the Adelphi. A drama troupe playing the Jenny Lind had a top price of $3. Pellegrini's scale, therefore, was not high; indeed, compared to what Henri Herz had charged a year earlier it was low, and tickets sold well. In the gold fields at this time a miner who was skillful, lucky, and hard working might average $100 a day; and two who struck it rich went off with $10,000 in two days. In the city, meanwhile, a dinner with wine cost $3.50, a stevedore or porter could charge $3 or $4 to carry a trunk, and a skilled workman could earn upwards of $20 a day. At the most elegant saloons a woman, invariably French, would sit at a man's table for the evening—nothing more—for $32, and a woman known to be fastidious and willing to entertain a man for the night might earn $400. Among musicians there was the usual spread: an orchestra member might earn $32 of an evening; popular soloists, five or six times that amount. 29 Inevitably, the great majority of the audience were men, many in work clothes. 30 According to reports of later performances, the most elegant in dress and manners were the French, and the most raucous, the Irish. 31 During the intermissions those of European background would stand in the lobby or on the sidewalk outside, smoking their cigars and discussing the performance; the Americans would rush

The First Opera

28

across the street to have a drink.32 In the theatre, peanuts and fruit were sold in the aisles, and purchasers munched throughout the performance.33 Many in the audience smoked. After Pellegrini's first concert, at Foley's Amphitheatre, the Evening Picayune had complained of "the disgusting habit of segar smoking... the theatre was filled with tobacco smoke, and several ladies were compelled to leave in consequence."34 Ten days before the first Sonnambula, the Alta California gave theatregoers a tip: "We would respectfully advise gentlemen, if they must eject tobacco juice in church or in the theatre, that they be particular to eject it on their own boots and pantaloons, instead of the boots and pantaloons of others."3S After two performances of Norma, Pellegrini brought back Sonnambula for one, the city's first operatic revival, and then announced in the Alta California as his third production, to be presented on 28 March, the "First representation of the celebrated opera of Ernani." Though the notice listed the singers of the four leading roles, it nowhere named the opera's composer: Verdi.36 Pellegrini's casting for Ernani was strange, reflecting not only the small number of his company, but also a problem in mounting the opera that, in turn, suggests a way in which many of Verdi's early works may have sounded distinctive to audiences. Pellegrini's roster of voices for leading roles (and plainly, judging by the casting of the first two operas, he did not think Francia's baritone good for much) counted three female and two male: the sopranos of Mauri and Abalos, the mezzo-soprano of Von Gulpen, his own tenor, and Acquasoni's bassbaritone. This was adequate to cast most of the contemporary costume dramas, which typically required one or two sopranos, a tenor, and a bass-baritone; but it would not do for Ernani, which wanted a single female voice and three male: tenor, baritone, and bass. This imbalance in favor of men's voices was not unusual in comic opera, but with only a few exceptions, like Donizetti's Marin Faliero or Bellini's I Puritani, it was rare in the romantic melodramas then popular. For contemporary audiences, therefore, part of the special quality of Ernani was its strong masculine tone. Finding a satisfactory baritone, however, must have proved difficult,

The First Opera

29

for ultimately Pellegrini assigned the role of Don Carlo to Von Gulpen, who would have to sing it an octave higher than composed and, in all probability, to rewrite many of its phrases. In these years Verdi's baritone roles often were troublesome to cast, for he wanted a voice higher than the traditional bass-baritone, yet lower than the tenor. The true distinction between bass and baritone, according to Charles Santley, a contemporary English artist who sang many of Verdi's baritone roles, lay not at all in the ability to sing higher notes—for many excellent basses could manage an F or G above middle C—but entirely in the "quality of the voice" that a singer could bring to the upper end of his range. That quality often was slow to stabilize, a fact that led many men to concentrate on their lower notes, to become basses, when they might have done better to train as baritones.37 Verdi was not so much "creating" a new type of voice, as was sometimes said, as calling into greater use a range of a voice already existing and often needing only some further training. Pellegrini, in producing Ernani, was not the first impresario to find himself without enough male voices, or voices of the required range and quality, to cast the opera properly. In 1847

Royal Italian Opera

at Covent Garden, unable to find a baritone for Don Carlo, used a contralto for the part, Marietta Alboni. But however fine Alboni's low notes, she cannot have descended to Don Carlo's lowest, an A at an octave and a half below middle C; and like Von Gulpen, she, too, must have transposed the vocal line upward. With his Ernani, though, Pellegrini's luck turned against him, and on the morning after the supposed performance on 28 March

I8JI

the Alta

California carried a brief explanation of its sudden postponement: W e are requested by Signor Pellegrini, director of the Italian Opera, to state that in consequence of the sudden departure of Madam Von Gulpen for Sacramento City, without having given him notice, he will be unable for the present to produce the opera of Ernani, upon which he has made great outlay. 38

Von Gulpen never disclosed to the public who or what had called her to Sacramento, but she evidently was able to reconcile herself to

Fig. 3.

Rosina Mauri-Pellegrini. (SF Performing Arts Library)

The First Opera

31

Pellegrini, for he soon announced for the evening of 8 April, as the final performance of his season and a benefit for himself as "manager," the production of "Verdi's magnificent opera of Emani." 39 There is no review of it—a lack that for 1851 in San Francisco is not uncommon— but the journal of a local theatrical agent, John H. McCabe, records the performance as having taken place.40 Soon thereafter Pellegrini, Mauri, and Acquasoni (no mention of any others) gave four concerts in Sacramento, which could be reached by the Union Line's river steamer in nine hours, at a charge of $12 for a cabin, $9 for a deck chair. In their concerts the trio offered selections from operas by Bellini, Donizetti, and Verdi. At the same time, Pellegrini sought by newspaper advertisement "fifty gentlemen [who] will subscribe twenty-five dollars each" to underwrite a season of Sonnambula, Norma, and Ernani.4X But the sponsors were not forthcoming, and even the concerts of operatic selections may not have been too successful, for the announcement of the last promises that Pellegrini "will sing in English the popular song, 'The Death of Warren at Bunker Hill' " — surely a concession for a fellow of the Philharmonic Society of Rome and of Bologna.42 Then, on 3 May 1851 in San Francisco, occurred one of the city's celebrated fires, the fifth of six within eighteen months. This one started in a paint shop on the west side of Portsmouth Square, as the Plaza now was called, and, burning all the next day, destroyed twentytwo blocks in the heart of the city. Among the buildings lost, estimated at 1,800, were all the newspaper offices, except that of the Alta California, and, without exception, all the theatres. Every one. Perhaps discouraged by the fire and not conceiving how the city could recover, Pellegrini and his wife apparently concluded that San Francisco no longer was a town for opera—and they vanished, utterly.43 Possibly they were lost at sea. Pellegrini, however, was the first, forever the first, to produce opera in San Francisco: five performances of Sonnambula, two of Norma, one of Emani.

THREE

The Celebrity Sopranos

Though Pellegrini bequeathed to San Francisco a memory of Ernani, Verdi as yet cannot be said to have had much impact on the city, and in 1852, when no operas were staged, he had even less. This year two visiting celebrities, both sopranos, dominated the musical life, each with a series of recitals in which she surrounded arias and scenes from operas with English, Scottish, and Irish songs. A typical program began with an orchestral number, usually an opera overture, played by a band of ten seated on the stage; it continued with a song or aria sung by an assisting artist, and then presented the prima donna. She would be greeted with cheers and stamping feet, "thunders of applause," which she would acknowledge with demure smiles and imploring glances until allowed to sing. Thereafter, each of her selections, if all went well, would gather more applause as well as a harvest of bouquets, either thrown from the galleries or, the theatres being small, handed to her directly. Sometimes these offerings concealed gold coins or small pieces of jewelry. In response to appeals, several times of an evening she would repeat a song or aria or, instead, move to the piano and accompany herself in some unscheduled, highly popular number such as "Home, Sweet Home." In those days, throughout the United States and not only in San 32

The Celebrity Sopranos

33

Francisco, an audience's approval was not expressed merely by clapping. Even at musical events, which by their nature were more quietly attended than plays or minstrel shows, there was a great deal of whistling, stamping, and yelling, particularly from the cheaper seats. T h e more reticent members of the audience, sitting for the most part in the boxes, might express their approval by clapping or knocking their canes against the wooden chairs or using them as poles to twirl their top hats. T h e more noisily inclined, however, held nothing back, and if in a mood of disapproval, hissed, groaned, yelled, and sometimes hurled vegetables at the artists, though this was more frequent at plays than at concerts. Even when pleased, however, the audience did not reserve its applause for the end of the song or aria, but broke in after any admired passage, often obscuring the one that followed. Thus a repeat, even if sung exactly as before, might reveal beauties as yet unheard, and perhaps for this reason, as well as for fear of offending a capricious audience, repeats, when vigorously demanded, often were granted. 1 T h e amount of whistling and yelling always startled European visitors. In 1851 a French immigrant to the city, Albert Bernard de Russailh, noted in his journal that enjoyment in the theatre was expressed by "shrill whistles and savage yells," and he went on to add: "Most of the Frenchmen here cannot live on friendly terms with the Americans, whom they consider a savage, ignorant people." T h e French in San Francisco, in 1851, had cause to dislike their American neighbors, for the American-dominated state legislature, in a notable display of racial animosity and greed, had imposed a prohibitive "Foreign Miners T a x " on all but U.S. citizens, and efforts in the mine fields to collect the $2o-per-month fee had led to furious protests and riots. So angry was the response to the tax that it soon was repealed, but among non-citizens distrust of American motives and actions lingered. De Russailh, though he did not share the French aversion to Americans and thought French exclusiveness a foolish trait in California, nevertheless was appalled by the aggressive spirit of American nationalism and the violence that accompanied it. In commenting on the

34

The Celebrity Sopranos

frequent barroom and gambling brawls, he remarked: Americans "have all the characteristics of savages and think only of death and slaughter. They always carry revolvers, and they draw them on the least provocation and threaten to blow your head off . . . As a race they laugh at honesty and decency whenever it is to their advantage to do so."2 Even the American sense of humor distressed him, for he saw in it the same tendency to violence that permeated their daily life. At a circus, he noted, they want "a good clown. When they see him kicked in the behind, they scream with laughter, and they love a fellow with plenty of jokes, who can roll around in the sawdust and make funny faces while his partner belabors him."3 Possibly De Russailh's views exaggerate American failings, but they also support three plain truths about theatrical life in San Francisco in the Gold Rush years: the behavior of the audiences for drama and music was as rough as legend tells; the French in the city had a strong civilizing influence on audience behavior and the development of the arts; and the artists, like Herz and those who followed him to the Golden Gate, had courage. The first of the two celebrity sopranos to arrive, on 14 March 1852, was Eliza Biscaccianti (Fig. 4), with her husband Alessandro, a cellist, acting as manager. In anticipation, the Alta California asked musiclovers for their attention and good behavior. She was coming, the paper stated, despite the "remonstrances" of friends and "moneyed inducements" to remain in the East, and was relying on "the good taste of the Californians." San Franciscans should "show the world that the Muses have as many admirers and supporters here as elsewhere."4 Because she had been born in Boston of a New England mother, Biscaccianti was known popularly as "The American Thrush," but she had studied in Europe and sung in Paris, Milan, St. Petersburg, and London, founding a claim to be the first American to sing opera in Europe. In the ten months that she remained in California she sang at least seventy recitals, thirty-five in San Francisco, thirteen in Sacramento, seven in Stockton, and the balance in smaller towns.s In San Francisco she opened with a series of ten recitals, all sung at the American Theatre (cap. 2,000) during March and April 1852.6 In the

The Celebrity Sopranos

35

Fig. 4. Eliza Biscaccianti in costume for the "Bridal Scene" of Lucia di Lammermoor: a title page for sheet music published by Arwill, N e w York.

third of these she sang Verdi's aria "Emani, involami," and in the eighth, the soprano's prayer (including the initial recitative), "Sempre all'alba," from his opera Giovanna d'Arco. Both selections won applause, yet despite her skills the music evidently made little impression and, unlike the finale of Sonnambula, "Ah! non giunge," which at its first presentation had to be repeated twice, neither Verdi aria won a repeat or was rescheduled. Mozart did no better; "Porgi amor," from Le nozze di Figaro, similarly failed.7

The Celebrity Sopranos

36

What succeeded were the old songs, sometimes sung straight, sometimes embellished, though the latter were not to everyone's taste.8 Among the most popular were "Comin' Thro' the Rye," "John Anderson, My Jo," "I Am Queen of a Fairy Band," "Believe Me, If All Those Endearing Young Charms," and a new one—her only American number—Foster's "Old Folks at Home" (1851), which in popularity was beginning to rival Bishop's "Home, Sweet Home" (1823). She also did well with some song of Schubert that she retitled "A German Romance" and offered with a cello obbligato played by her husband; it not only earned a repeat but was rescheduled twice.9 Of the operatic selections in this first series of recitals, besides "Ah! non giunge," with eight renditions, only the duet for two sopranos from Norma, "Deh! con te," with four, caught the public's ear and required an immediate repetition and rescheduling. And only "O luce di quest'anima" from Linda di Chamounix and "Spargi d'amor" from Lucia di Lammermoor won even a single reappearance. The other three arias, from Sonnambula, Beatrice di Tenda, and Robert le diable, like those of Verdi and Mozart, were heard once and dropped. The songs, therefore, greatly outnumbered the arias. Nevertheless, her art deeply stirred her audiences, and after her opening night the Alta California reported, "The next day the people went about in a daze and even the most sober minded and judicial subscribed to the decision of the press that the evening marked an era in the musical, social and fashionable progress of the city." 10 In the city's small theatrical world, however, where an undifferentiated audience attended all entertainments of whatever kind, any artist's success or failure was likely to be translated promptly into a comic skit, and Biscaccianti's triumph was no exception. On 30 March, the night after her fourth recital, in the very same theatre a group of comedians presented an "original local quizzical, outrageous burlesque squib," Mr. and Mrs. Biscuit Chanter. The Alta California, without revealing details, reported that the players had won "a great deal of applause," and presumably the company's chief comic, James Evrard, had mocked by excess all the mannerisms of a prima donna: the entrance, the acknowledgment of applause, the discreet cough (to

37

The Celebrity Sopranos

discount in advance any failure), the careful positioning of herself and her dress (ending in a nod to her accompanist when ready to begin), and finally all the bodily and facial contortions of a soprano in full bravura flight." Biscaccianti's success continued into the summer, and after a tour that included Sacramento and the towns and mining camps to the north, she returned to San Francisco in July to offer a second series of ten recitals, appearing this time in the Jenny Lind Theatre, which because of fires was now in its third incarnation, no longer on an upper floor but standing on its own lot and enlarged to seat z,ooo.12 She also sang a benefit to raise money for the Washington Monument Fund, "realizing" $503,13 another for the Firemen's Charitable Fund, and one for Grace Church—for which occasion the parishoners set up a bar in the church—where she presented, presumably backed by the church choir, soloists, and organ, the local premiere of Rossini's Stabat Mater.1* But for the most part, her programs remained much as before. Evidently she liked San Francisco, for early in December, in an open letter to the Herald, her husband proposed that subscribers underwrite a season of Italian opera, with Biscaccianti as prima donna, backed by an Italian company then in Lima, Peru. T o persons he thought might subscribe he sent the proposal direct, with full details of the scheme (Fig. 5). 15 He envisaged importing not a troupe but a full company: nine soloists, a mixed chorus of twelve, and an orchestra of twenty-one, with the first violinist as conductor. In addition he wanted to include a prompter, who might also serve as a copyist, and a chorus master who would be in charge of costumes. The salaries and other expenses, he estimated, would come to $16,000 a month, and he projected a season of six months and fifteen operas. In every way the project was more than the city's musical community was ready to undertake, and for lack of support his effort to found a resident company—which he referred to as "the first San Francisco Opera"—failed. Instead, on 15 January 185-3,

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APPENDIX

C

Transpositions and Tuning A in San Francisco

T h e practice of transposition, the lowering or raising of an aria's key to make it easier to sing, raises an artistic question: Should not the artist sing the aria in the composer's key? Is it not unethical to change that key? N o one, surely, would presume to alter Rembrandt's colors or the stance of Michelangelo's David. T h e question soon proves more complicated than at first it may seem. Some persons hear in particular keys a unique quality, or "color," and for them a change in key will alter slightly the sound or quality of the aria. Further, some composers create patterns in the succession of keys used in an opera, and where this has been done, each aria will have a unique place in the scheme. Yet many composers have published a song for "high" voice in one key and the same song for "low" voice in another, which suggests that for some composers, at least, the key in which a song or aria may be sung is not of great importance. Indeed, composers, while often angry about cuts in their arias, for the most part have not objected to transpositions. In San Francisco in these early years the history of transposition cannot be followed with any certainty, for so far as has been discovered, no critic or artist left an account of it Yet the practice was prevalent, and evidence of it is all around, beginning with women 233

234

Appendix C

singing the baritone roles in Ernani and Attila and Georgia Hodson, a contralto, singing the tenor part in Trovatore. Less obvious, but just as certain, Anna Bishop, who undertook to sing anything that caught her fancy, must often have adjusted the vocal lines to suit her voice, and so, too, must have Giovanna Bianchi, who described herself in the roster of the Bianchi company as "soprano and contralto."1 One night she would sing the soprano role, Violetta, in Traviata, and another, the mezzo role, Azucena, in Trovatore, but never did she or any critic bother to recount the transpositions she must have made. As an example of the practice, and no doubt typical of what went on in San Francisco, here is the conductor Luigi Arditi's translation of a letter he received in 185-9 from the singer Pauline Viardot, a mezzosoprano famous for her creation of the mezzo role of Fides in Meyerbeer's Le Prophete. Viardot was preparing for a performance in Dublin of Verdi's Macbeth, in which she would sing Lady Macbeth, a soprano role, and she describes the adjustments she wants in the vocal line:2 C A R O M A E S T R O , — Here are the transpositions which I am making in the part of Lady Macbeth. T h e most difficult of all, which will necessitate certain changes in the instrumentation, will be that of the Cavatina. The recitative in D flat, the Andante, "Vieni, t'affretta" in B flat, and the Allegro "Or tutti sorgete" in D flat, consequently the whole scene must be a minor third lower. Not bad! All the rest of the act may be given as written. T h e cabaletta "Trionfai" is not sung. In the banquet scene (Act II) there must be a transition from the concluding phrase of the chorus finishing with the words "Come," etc., in order to get into A flat, the key of the drinking song. T h e Allegro as written in F. For the second verse of the Brindisi it must be taken a whole tone lower, five beats before beginning the melody, by inserting A flat into the preceding chord of F; thus: — [she indicates the notation]. In this way we approach the key of A flat. After the repeat of the Brindisi, a transition must be introduced at the seventh beat of the Allegro Agitato, where we again find ourselves in the key of F major. [She indicates the notation.] Or we might take the beat of Macbeth's "Va!" exercising [sic] the six previous beats. The sleep-walking scene must be a tone lower; that is, the melody and recitative in E flat minor, and the Andante in B major. I fancy I see your orchestra making faces at the horrible aspect of the six double flats and five double sharps! Dear maestro, you must have the parts of these numbers copied

Transpositions and Tuning A

235

because the orchestra we shall have only likes to transpose (transport) the public. . . . PAULINE VIARDOT

Doubtless few singers were as knowledgeable as Viardot about their transpositions, but besides illustrating the practice, her letter also shows the relative position then between singer and conductor—and composer. If this kind of readjustment is what is needed to bring together a first-class singer and equally good opera, is it wrong? Much of the need for transposition in the mid-nineteenth century was the result of fluctuations in pitch, disagreements from one city to the next as to what should be the fundamental pitch for performance. Before the opera begins, the orchestra tunes, settling on a note— tuning A (the A above middle C on a piano)—that sets the pitch. In some cities of Mozart's era this note sounded when a string vibrated at 422 cycles or oscillations per second. But gradually pitch, or the number of cycles per second (cps), rose, and by mid-nineteenth century British orchestras were tuning to an A of 453 cps, Viennese to an A of 4j6, and Americans to an A of 457, about three-quarters of a tone higher, effectively changing the key of every aria in an opera. T h e chief culprit in this rise was the orchestra, whose members thought their instruments sounded more brilliant at the higher pitch. But the shift upward caused singers trouble, for an A of 440 cps is almost a half-tone higher than, say, Mozart's 422, an easily heard increase in pitch; the singer is thus forced to take Mozart's aria almost a half-tone higher than the composer intended. This shift upward, if continued over a long or difficult aria, may exhaust a singer, and if extended for an entire opera it can spell disaster, especially as during a performance, with singers and players becoming physically and emotionally heated, pitch in any case tends to rise. Eventually musicians agreed on a tuning A of 440 cps, but before then the transposition of arias downward was common, and even today is not infrequent. 3 In San Francisco in the days of Lyster and Bianchi, what was the fundamental pitch? T h e only reference found to the question occurs, without citation, in a typescript published by the W P A Projects in J u n e

236

Appendix C

1938. It tells of an incident involving the tenor Eugenio Bianchi, who favored the Paris Conservatory pitch of 435 cps. "At operas, between the acts," related August Wetterman who was conductor in this city since 1852, "Bianchi would come down to the music room with his tuning fork, the Paris Conservatory of Music pitch which had been founded upon the human voice. He hit the fork on his knee, then holding it to our ears, saying 'This is the right pitch. Gentlemen, you are all wrong. When I want to sing B flat you force me to sing B natural. This is outrageous. You must change your pitch or you will kill me.' And we stood the abuse," narrated Wetterman, "knowing he was right."4

Unfortunately, no other reference to Wetterman has been discovered, but there seems no reason to doubt the story. If Bianchi was complaining of a half-tone increase over 435, then the orchestra probably was tuning to, roughly, 455—very high, but not out of line with what was happening elsewhere.

APPENDIX

D

Verdi's Operas: World, Western Hemisphere, United States, and San Francisco Premieres, with Casts for San Francisco

A question mark (?) indicates that either the initial or name of the person, or the role sung, is unknown. Or, if used with a name thus, [G. Loder?], it indicates that, although there is no statement, in either an advertisement, news item, or review, that Loder was the conductor for the performance, there is other, circumstantial reason for thinking so.

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Notes to Pages 4-15

259

the opera was given as an entity, even if cut. Performances of selected acts or scenes are not counted. 5. T h o u g h the estimate is rough, it is not without a basis. See the discussion in the final paragraphs of Chapter 14. 6. Stephen J. Field, Personal Reminiscences of Early Days in California (1895; rpt. N e w York: Da Capo Press, 1968), pp. 6-7. See also the chapter "Society in California" in Bayard Taylor, Eldorado, or Adventures in the Path ofEmpire, Comprising a Voyage to California, via Panama, Life in San Francisco and Monterey, Pictures of the Gold Region, and Experiences ofMexican Travel (1850; rpt. N e w York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1949)» PP- 233~36CHAPTER

1. T O W A R D

A

T H E A T R E

1. See Kevin Starr, Americans and the California Dream, i8jo~ipiy (New York: Oxford University Press, 1973), pp. 24,31; George R. MacMinn, The Theater of The Golden Era in California (Caldwell, Idaho: Caxton Printers, 1941), pp. 24-25, 457-58. 2. Description o f Y e r b a Buena: E. Gould Bufium, The Gold Rush: An Account of Six Months in the California Diggings (1850; rpt. London: Folio Society, 1959), p. 18. On Population: Jacob Piatt Dunn, Massacres of the Mountains: A History of the Indian Wars of the Far West, iüij-rfyj (1886; rpt. London: Eyre & Spottiswoode, 19 63), pp. 116-19; and Starr, Americans and the California Dream, p. 49. For this period, see also Hubert Howe Bancroft, Works, vol. 34: California Pastoral, 1J60-1848 (San Francisco: T h e History Co., 1888). 3. Starr, Americans and the California Dream, p. 5. 4. Field, Personal Reminiscences, p. 2. 5. Starr, Americans and the California Dream, p. 51. 6. De Russailh, Last Adventure, pp. 11, 28-29. H e says of the French women who worked in the saloons: "Nearly all these women at home were street-walkers of the cheapest sort." For a description of the music in the gambling halls of Sacramento, see J. S. Holliday, The World Rushed In: The California Gold Rush Experience (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1981), pp. 320-21. 7. T. A. Barry and B. A. Patten, Men and Memories of San Francisco in the "Spring of 'jo" (San Francisco: A. L. Bancroft & Co., 1873), pp. 45-46. 8. Taylor, Eldorado, pp. 206-8. See also Walter M. Leman, Memories of an Old Actor {San Francisco: A. Roman Co., 1886), pp. 231-34; and MacMinn, Theater of the Golden Era, pp. 28-34. 9. Taylor, Eldorado, p. 207. 10. Leman, Memories, p. 234; MacMinn, Theater of the Golden Era, pp. 38-39. 11. On Herz's arrival, see DPN, 27 March 1850, 2:1; DAC, 27 March, 2:2. On the first two recitals, DAC, 1 April 1850,3:4; 2 April, 3:4; 3 April, 2:2; 6 April, 3:4; 8 April, 2:2. Despite the excitement of California, Herz, in his slight book of memoirs, seems to have found nothing to record about it. H e is interesting, however, on the

Notes to Pages 16-21

260

size of the music publishing business in the United States, which flourished in part because the country did not participate in the international copyright treaties of the day. See Henri Herz, My Travels in America, trans. Henry Bertram Hill (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1963) p. 56. 12. DAC, 8 April % o , 2:2. 13. On the third recital, see DAC, 11 April 18J0, 3:4; 12 April, 2:2. 14. On the farewell recital, see DAC, 17 April 1850,3:5; review and reception, DPN, 29 April, 2:3. 15. On clothing, see Taylor, Eldorado, pp. 229, 231; on the mud, Henry Vere Huntley, California: Its Gold and Its Inhabitants (London: T h o m a s Cautley Newby, 1856), 1:2. 16. Samuel C. Upham, Notes of a Voyage to California via Cape Horn, Together-with Scenes in El Dorado, in the Years ifyp-'jo

(Philadelphia, 1878), pp. 291-92: "As tickets

of admission were $4 each [to the recital], and no one was admitted without a 'biled shirt,' the audience was not large, but very select." 17. DAC, 27 April 1850, 3:5; DPN, 30 April, 2:2, 3:4. 18. DPN, 3 May % o , 2:6. C H A P T E R

2. T H E

FIRST

OPERA

1. T h e early history of the Parker House is summarized in Lois Foster Rodecape, " T o m Maguire, Napoleon of the Stage," California Historical Society Quarterly 20, no. 4 (December 1941): 292-94. 2. On seats for ladies, see advertisements in DEP, 6, 8, and 9 November 1850. 3. On opening night, see DEP, 26 October 1850,3:3. J o h n H. McCabe, "Theatrical Journals and Diary, 1849-1882 (ms., California State Library, Sacramento), 1:3, lists the performance and the artists. 4. On firemen, see DEP, 2 November 1850, 2:1. According to Huntley, California 2:228, "full uniform" for at least one company meant "red woolen frocks and blue trousers," and presumably there was some insignia. 5. DAC, 31 October 1850, 2:2, identifies the song and reported her voice to be "mellow, flexible, and satisfying," and her manner, "unaffected." T h e performance was advertised as her local debut (DEP, 26 October, 3:3), with previous appearances at the "San Carlo, Naples, and N e w York Theatres." 6. DEP, 5 N o v e m b e r 1850, 2:2 (review). 7. On the apparent repeat of aria, see advertisement in DEP, $ N o v e m b e r 1850, 3:2. 8. Description of Korsinsky-Von Gulpen: DAC, 16 December i8jo, 2:3. For her career in N e w York as Korsinsky, see references in Vera Brodsky Lawrence, Strong on Music: The New York Scene in the Days of George Templeton Strong, 1836-i8y$, vol. 1: Resonances, 1836-1850 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1988). In N o v e m b e r 1847, she sang in a short season of opera in Philadelphia with Anna Bishop; see

261

Notes to Pages 21-23

W. G. Armstrong, A Record of the Opera in Philadelphia (1884; rpt. N e w York: A M S Press, 1976), p. si9. O n the program, see DAC, 15, 16 D e c e m b e r 1850, 3:4; a news item appears on 16 December, 2:3; and a review on 17 D e c e m b e r , 2:1. See also M c C a b e , "Journals," 1:4. 10. O n the concert miscellany, see DAC, 23 D e c e m b e r 1850, 2:3. It seems likely that t h e " G r a n d Aria" was "Dagli immortali" because that was one of t h e opera's most p o p u l a r arias, a "double aria" with a cantabile and cabaletta and therefore " G r a n d , " and, being for baritone, it would lie well for trombone. Abalos had appeared as an assisting artist at Herz's third recital, 11 April 1850. According to a review (DAC, 12 April, 2:2), her first selection, unidentified, she sang poorly; h e r second, "a very stupid little Spanish air," she had to repeat twice. 11. O n the Adelphi's French programs, see Leman, Memories, p. 234; " G e n e r a l Remarks," Pioneer Magazine, D e c e m b e r 185-4, P- 372;

theatre's advertisements.

See also d e Russailh, Last Adventure, pp. 18, 23-24 and passim. On the saloon piano, see DEP, 9 N o v e m b e r 1850, 2:1, reviewing a play: "If they must have music d o w n stairs, let it be between the acts!' 12. On the program (in final advertisement), see DAC, 29 J a n u a r y 183-1,3:2; also M c C a b e , "Journals," 1:5. T h e review in DAC, 30 J a n u a r y , 2:3, states only that t h e recital was "exceedingly well attended." 13. DEP, 11 J a n u a r y 1851, 2:5 (advertisement); DAC, 12 J a n u a r y , 2:4 (news item), and 13 J a n u a r y , 2:2 (review); and ad for subsequent concert, stressing instrumental music, in DEP, 29 J a n u a r y , 2:5. C o n c e r n i n g Planel's first name: N e i t h e r his n a m e nor initials ever appear in a news-story, review, or advertisement; he is always "Mons." or "Mr. Planel." But one time he wrote a letter on musical matters to t h e t h e editor of the Alta California and signed it "L. T . Planel" (DAC, 9 M a y 1855, 2:4); and in t h e San Francisco Directory for 1861 and for 1867 he is listed as " T h e o . P l a n e l " and " T h e o p h i l e L. Planel," respectively. A death notice in t h e San Francisco Daily Morning Call, 6 F e b r u a r y 1889, 7:2, reports: "Louis T . Planel Sr., a well-known musician, w h o resided in California from 1851 to 1874, died in Paris J a n u a r y 5th, aged 84 years. Deceased leaves a son of the same name, also a talented musician, w h o resides in Paris." 14. O n the Tennessee, see DEP, 8, 9 J a n u a r y 1851, 2:5; DAC, 9 J a n u a r y , 3:1. T h e singers were not n a m e d in news-stories of the passengers, and so their arrival seems wholly unexpected; DAC, ^ J a n u a r y , 2:3, states they arrived on t h e Tennessee. 15. DAC, 10 J a n u a r y

I8JI,

3:2 (announcement); see also news item, DAC, 10

J a n u a r y , 2:3, on t h e troupe's intent to give c o n c e r t s — w i t h the news item no d o u b t a reward for the costly advertisement. T h e a n n o u n c e m e n t was repeated on 11 and 12 J a n u a r y . Pellegrini asserted t h e same claims to distinction before concerts in Sacramento; see news item in Sacramento Union, 1 April 1851, 2:3. 16. See the reviews in DEP, 25 J a n u a r y 1851, 2:2; and DAC, 16 J a n u a r y , 2:3.

262

N o t e s to P a g e s

24-26

M c C a b e , "Journals," 1:5, dates the c o n c e r t on 14 J a n u a r y , apparently a slip o f the pen for 24, which is confirmed by the newspaper advertisements and reviews. M c C a b e c o m m e n t s that the event was an "Italian operatic c o n c e r t , " and adds: "1st in city." 17. A news item in DAC, 28 J a n u a r y 185-1, 2:3, besides hinting at the program, states that Pellegrini's c o m p a n y is " r e c e n t l y organized in this city." S e e also M c C a b e , "Journals," 1:5. 18. An early a n n o u n c e m e n t o f season, in the review o f Pellegrini's first c o n cert, appears in DAC, 26 J a n u a r y 1851, 2:3; see also the advertisements in DEP, 11, 12 February, 2:4; and DAC, 12 February, 2:2, which gives the cast. Regarding the first violinist conducting: T h e impresario M a x Maretzek has a hilarious account o f o n e

at work—see his Crotchets and Quavers, or Revelations of an Opera Manager in America (1855; rpt. N e w York: Da C a p o Press, 1966), pp. 15-17. 19. O n the Sonnambula

premiere, see DAC, 13 F e b r u a r y 1851, 2:3. S e e also

M c C a b e , "Journals," 1:5; "1st time in state full Italian opera." 20. On the repeat performances on 15,18, and 25 February, see advertisements in DAC and DEP; also M c C a b e , "Journals," 1:5. M c C a b e omitted the first repeat, but both newspapers advertised it, and DEP, 17 February, 2:2, reviewed it. 21. A review appears in DAC, 28 F e b r u a r y 1851, 2:3; on the repeat p e r f o r m a n c e on 3 M a r c h , see M c C a b e , "Journals," 1:6. 22. T h i s is the orchestra o f the G e r m a n i a C o n c e r t S o c i e t y for a series o f twelve concerts in the s u m m e r o f 1855 (see advertisement, SFDH, 1 J u l y 1855, 1:1); presumably four years earlier the orchestras were even smaller. Cf. DAC, 29 J u l y 1854, 2:5 (advertisement), when for the p r e m i e r e o f Der Freischiitz

an orchestra o f

"upwards o f t h i r t y " was announced with fanfare: it was to be formed by uniting " t h e Verandah C o n c e r t S o c i e t y " with " t h e O p e r a Band o f the M e t r o p o l i t a n " theatre; see also DAC, 6 August 18/5, 3:6. S e e DAC, 23 M a r c h 1852, 3:4, for a complaint about an orchestra's small size; and Pioneer Magazine,

February 1854, pp.

114-16, for a summary o f prevailing deficiencies in music-making. On the rarity o f tympani, see SFDH, 3 S e p t e m b e r 1855, 2:2. 23. T h e orchestras were sufficiently small that announcements often listed the names o f players, most o f whom were G e r m a n . F o r a report, " T h e G e r m a n s in San F r a n c i s c o , " see DAC, 16 M a y 1853,

2:3:

they number " a b o u t 5,000," and " m o s t

o f the dealers in cigars, musicians, and brewers are G e r m a n " ; also, " T h e Union Band is composed entirely o f G e r m a n s . " According to Soul6, G i h o n , and Nisbet, Annals, pp. 4 4 5 - 4 7 , the G e r m a n s in 1854 numbered 5,000 to 6,000. T h e F r e n c h " m o n o p o l i z e d many professions o f a semi-artistic character. T h e y are the c h i e f shoeblacks and hairdressers, cooks, wine importers and professional gamblers." T h e y also were "partial to public amusements, and often have a theatre open, when plays, vaudevilles and operas in their own language are p e r f o r m e d " (ibid., p. 461). 24. S e e a n n o u n c e m e n t for Der Freischiitz,

DAC, 29 J u l y 1854, 2:5. O n the T u r n

Gesangverein, see Soule, G i h o n , and Nisbet, Annals, p. 460.

Notes to Pages 26-27

263

25. On the Adelphi, see DEP, 18 October 1850, 2:3. On the press, see DAC, 13 May 183*3, 2 : 2 : "It is not always possible for members of the press to be on the spot when the doors open, but unless they contrive to be, whenever there is a rush, they have no chance of securing a place from which the play can be appreciated. It would be well for the managers to think of this." T h e last sentence, considering the venality of the typical U.S. newspaper of the day, possibly was intended as a threat of bad notices. On the low estate of music criticism in New York, see Lawrence, Strong on Music i:xii, 19. T h e critics in San Francisco, perhaps because writing anonymously, seem to have been more balanced and honest than those in New York, but the spate of news items about Pellegrini in the Alta California no doubt was stimulated by his advertisements in the paper. T h e press received its seats free; see the advertisement for the Metropolitan Theatre, SFDH, 10, 11 July 1855, 1:3: " T h e usual theatrical free list will be suspended, except the Press." For retaliation by the N e w York City press in 1870, when advertising and the number of free tickets were reduced, see Howard Shanet, Philharmonic: A History of New York's Orchestra (Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1975). PP- 151— Concerning the venality of the press in San Francisco, or in the United States generally, it is, of course, hard to prove bribery by cash payment. But for what it is worth, there is this curious episode. In September I 8 J J the English singer Anna Bishop ended a visit to the United States with a stay of eighteen months in San Francisco. Her next stop was Melbourne, Australia, and upon arriving there one of her first actions was to send a letter to the editor of the Melbourne Punch enclosing a roll of bank notes. T h e paper's critic, James Smith, later described his own and his editor's response: "Mr. Sinnett and myself waited upon her at the Prince of Wales [Theatre] the next morning, to hand them back, and to inform her that, whatever might be the practice in America, the Melbourne press was honest and incorruptible" (Harold Love, The Golden Age of Australian Opera: W. S. Lyster and His Companies, 1861-1880 [Sydney: Currency Press, 1981], p. 27). Lest anyone think that the sins of the American press are all in the past, consider: In 1987 the San Francisco Chronicle fired a critic for reviewing a ballet performance that, because of a last-minute schedule change, had not taken place; and the critic's review had been harsh. 26. On hats, see DAC, 10 August 1853, 2:2> reviewing a concert: "Pretty faces upturned toward the singers' places, half buried in hat trimmings or shaded by opera hoods and other fashionable head-fixings." See the illustration of the audience in the Metropolitan Theatre, San Francisco, on 7 j u n e 1854 (Fig. 10). Also see Lawrence, Strong on Music 1:68 n. 10. 27. Lawrence, Strong on Music i:68n.io; and note the actors in the illustration cited above. 28. On segregated seating, see DAC, 21 February 1851,3:3: " T h e gallery has been fitted up in elegant style expressly for respectable colored people." T h e Golden Era,

Notes to Pages

264

27-29

9 A p r i l 1854, 2:5, r e p o r t e d , " T h e r e are n o w r e s i d i n g in S a n F r a n c i s c o n e a r 1500 c o l o r e d p e r s o n s w h o o w n p r o p e r t y t o t h e a m o u n t of $1,000,000.00. G e n e r a l l y s p e a k i n g , t h e y a r e civil a n d i n d u s t r i o u s . " C o n c e r n i n g t h e A d e l p h i T h e a t r e , d e R u s s a i l h (Last Adventure,

p. 24) d e s c r i b e s

t h e t h e a t r e , b u t b e c a u s e of t h e i m p r e c i s i o n of s u c h t e r m s as boxes, parterre,

parquet,

a n d pit it is n o t c l e a r w h e t h e r t h e h o u s e h a d t w o o r t h r e e galleries o r b a l c o n i e s . It seems, h o w e v e r , t h a t t h e l o w e s t of t h e s e , e x c e p t p e r h a p s f o r e i t h e r e n d , h a d r o w s of seats a n d w a s n o t s e p a r a t e d i n t o boxes. W h e n t h e t h e a t r e w a s r e b u i l t a f t e r t h e M a y 1851 fire, a c c o r d i n g t o d e Russailh, it w a s slightly e n l a r g e d , " w i t h t h e w h o l e b a l c o n y d i v i d e d i n t o boxes." 29. F o r e a r n i n g s at t h e m i n e s , see B u f f u m , Gold Rush, pp. 64, 75-76, 86-88, 9 4 - 9 5 . San F r a n c i s c o p r i c e s a r e t a k e n m o s t l y f r o m d e R u s s a i l h , Last Adventure, n, 29. In 1849, a c c o r d i n g t o B u f f u m (pp. 145-44),

a

pp.

b e d a n d b r e a k f a s t in t h e c i t y

c o s t $3.50, an u n s k i l l e d l a b o r e r c o u l d e a r n $8 a d a y , a n d a c a r p e n t e r o r p l u m b e r u p to $20. T a y l o r (Eldorado, p. 208) states t h a t e a r l y in 1850 at t h e E a g l e T h e a t r e , S a c r a m e n t o , a bass soloist r e c e i v e d $96 for a single s o n g , a n d a m e m b e r of t h e o r c h e s t r a , $16 f o r t h e e v e n i n g . 30. O n dress, s e e H u n t l e y , California 2:224-28: " T h e a u d i e n c e o n t h e s e o c c a sions p r e s e n t a m o t l e y d i s p l a y of dress; m a n y w e l l - d r e s s e d ladies a n d g e n t l e m e n o c c u p y p o s i t i o n s close t o t h e w o r k m a n in his r e d or b l u e w o o l e n f r o c k in w h i c h h e w o r k s — c e r t a i n l y it is g e n e r a l l y a n e w o n e . T h e d o l l a r d e c i d e s t h e r i g h t of s e a t w i t h o u t r e g u l a t i n g t h e d r e s s of t h e p e r s o n o c c u p y i n g it." M a c M i n n [Theater of the Golden Era, p. 30) q u o t e s a t h e a t r e g o e r of 1854 w h o r e g r e t s t h e p a s s i n g of t h e m o r e c o l o r f u l d a y s of 1849, " w h e n w e w o r e h a b i l m e n t s t o o u r f a n c y , s p o r t e d h i g h - t o p s , b l u e shirts, a n d m o s t rascally s o m b r e r o s . " 31. O n e l e g a n t F r e n c h , see S o u l e , G i h o n , a n d N i s b e t , Annals, pp. 461-65. O n r a u c o u s Irish, DAC, 1 D e c e m b e r 1852, 2:3. 32. Wide West, 11 F e b m a r y 1855, 2:7. 33. DEB, 26 A u g u s t 1862,3:5: "It m a y b e i n t e r e s t i n g t o t h o s e w h o d o n o t a t t e n d ' t h e o p e r a ' t o k n o w t h a t ' a p p l e s a n d p e a c h e s ' are n o w r e g u l a r l y c r i e d f o r sale a m o n g t h e fine ladies of t h e d r e s s circle. O r a n g e s a n d p e a n u t s are as y e t c o n f i n e d t o t h e r e s e r v e d seats in t h e p a r q u e t t e . " M a c M i n n ( T h e a t e r of the Golden Era, p. 100) q u o t e s t h e San Francisco

Chronicle o f J a n u a r y 1854 in a d e s c r i p t i o n of h o w a

" w a l n u t - c r a c k i n g h o l i d a y a u d i e n c e " was s i l e n c e d b y M a t i l d a H e r o n ' s p e r f o r m a n c e of S h a k e s p e a r e ' s J u l i e t . 34. DEP, 25 J a n u a r y 1851, 2:2. 35. O n spitting, see DAC, 3 F e b r u a r y 1851, 2:4. 36. O n Norma a n d Sonnambula

r e p e a t e d , see n e w s p a p e r s ; a n d M c C a b e , " J o u r -

nals," 1:6. O n t h e o m i s s i o n of V e r d i ' s n a m e , see DAC, 28 M a r c h 1851, 3:2; o n its i n c l u s i o n , DEP, 27 M a r c h , 3:5. 37. C h a r l e s S a n t l e y , Student

and Singer:

The Reminiscences

of Charles

Santley

( L o n d o n : E d w a r d A r n o l d , 1892), pp. 31- 33. F o r s o m e r e m a r k s o n t h e c a t e g o r i e s of

Notes to Pages 29-34

265

singers, see Julian Budden, The Operas of Verdi (London: Cassell, 1973-78; N e w York: Oxford University Press, 1981), 1:22, 33-35, 421, 449, 484. 38. DAC, 29 M a r c h 185-1, 2:3. Because this notice followed t h e scheduled date of performance, it suggests that Von G u l p e n ' s d e c a m p m e n t was very sudden. 39. DAC, 7 April 1851, 3:2; and DEP, 7 April, 3:1. See also DAC, 8 April, 2:4, 3:2; DEP, 8 April, 3:3; M c C a b e , "Journals," 1:6. 40. M c C a b e , "Journals," 1:6: "closing night 1st Italian O p e r a season." Hixon {Verdi, p. v) is uncertain w h e t h e r t h e p e r f o r m a n c e took place because "subsequent mention or review not encountered." M c C a b e ' s note is that subsequent mention. 41. Sacramento Union, 1 April 1851, 2:3 (news item) and 3:2 (advertisement). 42. Sacramento Union, 19 April 1851, 2:1 (news item) and 3:2 (advertisement); 26 April, 3:2 (advertisement). 43. I could find no record of t h e Pellegrinis, either before or after their visit to San Francisco, in either the local newspapers and journals or in Kaufman, Verdi and His Major Contemporaries. I should note, however, that K a u f m a n gives as t h e p r e m i e r e of Ernani in San Francisco a p e r f o r m a n c e on 14 N o v e m b e r 1854, which I c o u n t to be t h e second p e r f o r m a n c e (see n. 40). Similarly, I could find no f u r t h e r report a n y w h e r e of Angelo Francia, J a m e s Weitz, or V. Acquasoni. M a t h i l d e K o r s i n s k y - V o n G u l p e n and Francisca Abalos continued to live in San Francisco and, on occasion, to sing. Von G u l p e n , for example, on 15 April 1855 sang two songs at a concert presented by t h e N e w G e r m a n i a C o n c e r t Society in t h e T u r n - V e r e i n Hall, and in m i d s u m m e r took a minor role in a production of La gazza ladra (see advertisement of the Metropolitan T h e a t r e , SFDH, 10 J u l y 1855,1:3). Abalos in 1853 gave a concert with t w o of her children that was reviewed in DAC, 14 N o v e m b e r 1853, 2:3: " T h e concert at Schappert's Saloon was crowded last evening. M a d a m e Abalos was in excellent voice, and gave h e r favorite Spanish ballads with her usual ability. T h e dance by Miss Sophia was rapturously applauded. Miss Caroline Abalos, a younger daughter, appeared and gave an old-fashioned, whole-souled h o e - d o w n , with a refreshing and consoling heartiness."

C H A P T E R

3. T H E

CELEBRITY

S O P R A N O S

1. Regarding audience behavior, H u n t l e y , California 2:224-28, describes the audience and reports, "In many of these [bouquets] there was a fifty-dollar gold piece. O n e person in this m a n n e r presented a valuable diamond brooch." See also Lawrence W. Levine, Highbrow/Lowbrow: The Emergence of Cultural Hierarchy in America (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1988), pp. 25-29, 186-197; and references in Lawrence, Strong on Music, vol. 1, passim; and M a c M i n n , Theater of the Golden Era, passim. 2. O n whistling and yelling, see de Russailh, Last Adventure, p. 21. O n t h e Foreign Miners T a x , Holliday, The World Rushed In, pp. 400-401; Josiah Royce, California, From the Conquest in 1846 to the Second Vigilance Committee in San Francisco

266

N o t e s to Pages

34-36

(Boston: H o u g h t o n , Mifflin, 1899), pp. 358-68; and H u b e r t H o w e Bancroft, History of California, vol. 6:1848-1859 (Santa Barbara: W a l l a c e H e b b e r d , 1970), pp. 402-8. O n F r e n c h exclusiveness, d e Russailh, Last Adventure, p. 78; on t h e A m e r i c a n love of violence, ibid., pp. 15, 18. O n t h e F r e n c h , see Soule, G i h o n , a n d N i s b e t , Annals, pp. 461—65.

3. D e Russailh, Last Adventure,

p. 22.

4. DAC, 19 F e b r u a r y 1852, 2:2. 5. T h e c o u n t is t a k e n f r o m t h e figures of t h e Placer Times and Transcript, in M a c M i n n , Theater of the Golden Era, p. 387. F o r a t r i b u t e in t h e Stockton

cited Journal

to Biscaccianti, " t h e first to v e n t u r e with h e r store of m e l o d i e s to this far-off and n e g l e c t e d land," see DAC, 1 D e c e m b e r 1852, 2:3. F o r a brief a c c o u n t of h e r life a n d c a r e e r (with s o m e inaccuracies), see O s c a r T h o m p s o n , The American Hundred

Singer: A

Years of Success in Opera ( N e w York: Dial Press, 1937), pp. 38-40; and also

W P A , San Francisco Theatre Research, m o n o g r a p h 17 (in vol. 7): History of Opera in San Francisco, Part I (San Francisco, 1938), pp. 19-30. 6. T h e A m e r i c a n T h e a t r e , a h o u s e of brick and w o o d on S a n s o m e b e t w e e n C a l i f o r n i a and S a c r a m e n t o streets, was built on landfill of sand o v e r soft m u d , a n d o n o p e n i n g night, 20 O c t o b e r 1851, w h e n t h e h o u s e for t h e first t i m e was full, it sank n e a r l y t w o inches, f o r t u n a t e l y u n i f o r m l y . T h e r e a f t e r it r e m a i n e d stable. S e e Soule, G i h o n , and N i s b e t , Annals, p. 354. 7. R e v i e w s in DAC of h e r first series of t e n recitals a p p e a r e d on 23 M a r c h 1852, 3:4; 2 j M a r c h , 2:3; 27 M a r c h , 2:2; 30 M a r c h , 2:2; : April, 2:3; 2 April, 2:3; 3 April, 2:3; 6 April, 2:2; 8 April, 2:3; 10 April, 2:4; 13 April, 2:3. In e v e r y i n s t a n c e t h e recital was t h e p r e v i o u s evening. See also M c C a b e , "Journals," 1:13-15. An a d v e r t i s e m e n t for h e r first recital, a " G r a n d C o n c e r t " with G e o r g e L o d e r c o n d u c t i n g t h e orchestra, a p p e a r s in SFDH, 20 M a r c h 1852, 3:1. 8. DAC, 23 M a r c h 1852, 3:4: "The Last Rose of Summer

was e x e c u t e d with a

brilliancy a n d b e a u t y w h i c h has seldom, if ever, been surpassed. T h e r e are t h o s e w h o d o n o t like a n y t h i n g r e s e m b l i n g o r n a m e n t in an old ballad; b u t if any such w e r e p r e s e n t last night, t h e y w e r e u t t e r l y silenced in t h e loud a n d v o c i f e r o u s e n c o r e w h i c h followed t h a t song." See also letter f r o m " O . F o g y " against e m b e l lishments, Wide West, 30 J u l y 1854., 2:2. 9. T h i s s u m m a r y and t h e figures t h a t u n d e r l i e it are m y estimate, based o n a n n o u n c e m e n t s and reviews, of songs a n d arias r e s c h e d u l e d or r e p e a t e d . R e g a r d i n g " O l d Folks At H o m e " : A l t h o u g h t o d a y this s o n g p e r h a p s m o r e t h a n any o t h e r is associated with Foster, b e c a u s e of t h e t e r m s o n w h i c h h e sold it to E. P. C h r i s t y , of C h r i s t y ' s Minstrels, until 1879 C h r i s t y ' s n a m e a p p e a r e d o n t h e m u s i c as t h e c o m p o s e r . Biscaccianti, h o w e v e r , was a f r i e n d of F o s t e r and p r e s u m ably k n e w t h e t m t h . T h e DAC, h o w e v e r , a p p a r e n t l y did not, for it consistently r e f e r r e d to t h e song as " t h e E t h i o p i a n m e l o d y " — i . e . , a m i n s t r e l s o n g — a n d n e v e r used Foster's name, in h e r t e n t h c o n c e r t , a c c o r d i n g to DAC, 22 April 1852, 2:2, Biscaccianti sang "brilliant variations" on t h e song. 10. DAC, 23 M a r c h 1852, 2:4. See also " M u s i c a l Intelligence: C a l i f o r n i a , "

Notes to Pages 37-39

267

Dwigbt's Journal i (8 M a y 1852): 39; and 2 (23 October 1852): 23. For a similar reaction to one of h e r last concerts, see Golden Era, 9 J a n u a r y 1853, 2:7; and to her "farewell," DAC, 12 J a n u a r y 1853,

2:z

-

11. M c C a b e , "Journals," 1:14; DAC, 30 M a r c h 1852,3:6 (advertisement); DAC, 31 March, 2:3 (review). 12. T h e first J e n n y Lind T h e a t r e , which o p e n e d with Von G u i p e n singing in t h e intermission, b u r n e d on 4 M a y 1851. T h e second, again on the second floor of t h e rebuilt Parker House, b u r n e d on 22 J u n e 1851, before its scaffolding had been taken down. T h e third opened on 4 October 185113. M c C a b e , "Journals," 1:19; and DAC, 28 J u l y 183-2, 2:3. 14. M c C a b e , "Journals," 1:18: " G r a n d Oratorio for benefit of G r a c e C h u r c h , " z6 J u l y 185-2. On t h e bar in t h e church, see H u n t l e y , California 2:60-61; on general levity in church, ibid., 1:165—66; and on spitting, DAC, 3 February 1851, 2:4. 15. SFDH, 1 D e c e m b e r 1852, 2:3. See also "Musical Intelligence: San Francisco," Dwight's Journal 1 (22 J a n u a r y 1853): 126, citing a report of 16 N o v e m b e r 1852 in an unidentified paper. Dwight's "16 N o v e m b e r , " however, is misleading. T h a t is the date of t h e letter to the paper, not the date of publication. Alessandro Biscaccianti's letter (see Fig. 5) to Mr. G r e g o r y Yale, 10 D e c e m b e r 1852, is in the Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley. Yale, w h o had arrived in San Francisco with Stephen J. Field on 28 D e c e m b e r 1849, became one of California's most distinguished lawyers; see Field, Personal Reminiscences, PP- 4-S16. Despite M c C a b e , "Journals," 1:23, which states that Biscaccianti left on 1 F e b r u a r y 1853, two other notices announcing h e r departure, with the ship and date of sailing listed, seem conclusive: DAC, 6 J a n u a r y , 2:4; and 9 J a n u a r y , 2:3. She sang her farewell recital on 10 J a n u a r y ; see DAC, 12 J a n u a r y 1853, 2:2 (review). For a report from Lima, see DAC, 7 August 1853, 2:3. 17. F o r her arrival on the Oregon, see DAC, 21 N o v e m b e r 1852, 2:1; for information on her mother, H u n t l e y , California 2:219-20. Mengis's n a m e m a y be found in a letter he wrote to DAC, 18 M a y 1853, 2:2; t h e fact that he c a m e from E u r o p e is in DAC, 13 N o v e m b e r 1852, 2:4. O n his being a G e r m a n Swiss, given the constant " H e r r " and also because to introduce himself to t h e city h e sang in t h e first recital a "Swiss Song" titled " T h e H a p p y Switzer" composed by one Mengis, presumably himself, see DAC, 28 N o v e m b e r , 3:7 (advertisement); and he sang it again later: see DAC, 9 S e p t e m b e r 1854, 3:4. H e was good at patter songs; see the review of their initial concert, DAC, 1 D e c e m b e r 1852, 2:3. 18. O n Barnum's agent preceding h e r and t h e terms of her contract, see DAC, 21 O c t o b e r 1852,1:2. See also DAC, 13 N o v e m b e r 1852, 2:3, 2:4, and "Musical Intelligence: San Francisco," Dwight's Journal 2 (22 J a n u a r y 1853): 126. It is possible that s o m e t i m e d u r i n g her San Francisco visit she broke with Barnum (see DAC, 16 M a y 1853, 2:2), though she continued to be managed by his agent, Bushnell (see C h a p t e r 5< n. 9)19. O n the fire companies, see Huntley, California 1:275-76, 2:228; on balls,

268

N o t e s to P a g e s 41^42

Soule, G i h o n , and Nisbet, Annals, p. 355. O n outings, see DAC, 8 J u n e 1852, 2:4; with festivities and cost, DAC, 9 February 1859,1:1; 10 February, 2:3; 14 February, 2:2; on benefits, DAC, 22 April 1852, 2:2; 15 May, 2:3; on the fire companies' rivalry, DAC, 5 D e c e m b e r 1852, 2:2. F o r a celebration over a new hook and ladder truck, see SFDH (steamer ed.), 16 N o v e m b e r 185-4, S'-S20. O n the auction, see t w o news items, both DAC, 4 D e c e m b e r 1852, 2:1; and H u n t l e y , California 2:224-28. W o r d of the auction reached Boston and was reported as "a B a m u m furore" in Dwight's Journal (see n. r8 above) see also H u n t ley, California 2:253-56. W P A , Opera, Part I, p. 33, states that the final bid was $1,150. 21. O n hats thrown, see DAC, 1 D e c e m b e r 1852, 2:3. H u n t l e y , California 2:224-28, states that one Irishman cried out: "By the powers! darlint, here's my hat for yer, and it's all I have got to give ye!" 22. DAC, 1 D e c e m b e r 1852, 2:3. 23. O n n u m b e r e d seating, see DAC, 28 N o v e m b e r 1852, 3:7 (advertisement); 1 December, 2:3 (review). 24. In addition to DAC, 1 D e c e m b e r 1852, 2:3; and 16 M a y 1853, 2:2; see Pioneer Magazine, F e b r u a r y 1854, comparing Anna Bishop and Hayes; and Golden Era, 19 D e c e m b e r 1852, 2:7; 30 April 1854, 2:4; and 21 M a y 1854,

2:

4'

25. DAC, 28 D e c e m b e r 1852, 2:2; also 1 April 1852, 2:3; 24 D e c e m b e r 1852, 2:2; and 9 J a n u a r y 1853, 2:3: " T h e Adelphi is thronged every night without regard to wind or weather." O n the mud, see Huntley, California 1:2. 26. Even such an u n c o m m o n event as Biscaccianti's d e b u t was "looked forward to in o u r musical and fashionable circles" merely "for m o r e than a week," DAC, 23 M a r c h 1852,3:4. An advertisement (SFDH, 10July 1855,1:3) for a production of Lagazza

ladra states that tickets for the T h u r s d a y p e r f o r m a n c e would begin sale

on T u e s d a y . 27. Von G u l p e n and her assisting artist at her second G r a n d Concert, on 29 J a n u a r y 1851, had s u n g a d u e t from Elisir d'amore (probably " Q u a n t o a m o r e " f r o m Act II) in costume, b u t that was quite different from presenting an entire program in which costumes were changed appropriately for each selection. 28. T h e first concert-in-costume was on 23 D e c e m b e r 1852; the last, on 1 F e b r u a r y 1853; s e e M c C a b e , "Journals," 1:21. O n the bare stage and lavish costumes, see SFDH, 24 D e c e m b e r 1852, 2:1; DAC, 28 December, 2:2. 29. Mengis received consistently favorable notices; see t h e description of his voice in DAC, 1 D e c e m b e r 1852, 2:3; and, for a testimonial to his popularity with audiences, DAC 18 M a y 1853, 2:2. After its review of Hayes's farewell performance, t h e DAC (16 M a y 1853, 2:2) added a separate "farewell review" for him: ". . . T h i s popular singer will d e p a r t t o d a y . . . . H e has acquired . . . a t r u e popularity, though i t . . . [was not granted] a complimentary benefit (as we would have t h o u g h t good taste might have dictated) . . . H e has been more than half t h e attraction at Miss Hayes' concerts." Presumably, the person of "poor" taste, in the critic's view, was

Notes to Pages 4 3 - 4 6

269

Hayes, though the veto of a benefit for Mengis may have been u r g e d by her agent, Bushnell, w h o seems to have been t h o u g h t uncharitable by some; see DAC, 20 M a y 18Si, 2:4. 30. DAC, 14 May 185-3, i-131. DAC, 16 M a y 1853,1:r< "Passenger List for John L. Stephens,"DAC, 17 M a y 2:5; and M c C a b e , "Journals," 1:25. DAC (7 August 1853, 2:3) reported that Biscaccianti was having a success in Lima and that Hayes, w h o had arrived there on 17 J u n e , after a short stop w i t h o u t p e r f o r m i n g w e n t on to Valparaiso. 32. F o r the Masnadieri

performances, see K a u f m a n , Verdi and His Major Con-

temporaries, pp. 354,356. K a u f m a n also records (p. 259) that Hayes sang in Milan at t h e La Scala premiere (21 February 1846) of Federico Ricci's Estella and at Venice in the La Fenice p r e m i e r e (13 M a r c h 1847) of Ricci's Griselda. Presumably by t h e time she reached San Francisco she no longer was at h e r best. According to her e n t r y in The New Grove Dictionary

of Music

and Musicians,

ed. Stanley Sadie

(London: Macmillan, 1980), 8:414, she m a d e her operatic d e b u t at Marseilles, on 10 M a y 1845, singing Elvira in Bellini's I puritani. F o r a brief account of her, see W P A , Opera, Part I, pp. 30-39.

AND

C H A P T E R 4. M O R E O F T H E FIRST R E S I D E N T

ERNANI; C O M P A N Y

1. DAC, 26 J u l y 183-3, 2-i< 27 July, 2. F o r reviews of t h e seven concerts, see DAC, 27 J u l y 185-3, 2:3i 3° J u ' y , 2:3; 3 August, 2:4; 10 August, 2:2; 17 August, 2:3; 20 August, 2:3; 24 August, 2:3. In every case t h e concert was t h e preceding evening. In addition, t h e T r o u p e appeared as part of a " G r a n d Vocal and Instrumental Concert," conducted by R u d o l p h Herold, on 13 August. 3. In t h e course of Eliza Biscaccianti's first ten recitals Loder, besides c o n d u c t ing t h e orchestra, played the piano and flute; he also composed for h e r a " G r e e t i n g to California." 4. DAC, 8 J u n e 1852, 2:4. 5. M a c M i n n (Theater of the Golden Era, pp. 395—97) states that it was f o u n d e d in t h e s u m m e r of 1852. "Musical Intelligence: California," Dwight's Journal 2 (13 N o v e m b e r 1852): 47 and (22 J a n u a r y 1853): 126, also refers to it. 6. F o r Loder's career in N e w York, see references in Shanet, Philharmonic; and Lawrence, Strong on Music, vol. 1. O n t h e N.Y. Philharmonic's conductors and repertory, see Shanet, Philharmonic, pp. 109, 293. 7. Lawrence, Strong on Music 1:589. According to Lawrence (p. 135), Loder's opera parodies in N e w York "closely adhered to t h e originals." In 1855 he would join t h e San Francisco Minstrels as t h e c o n d u c t o r and arranger of their opera burlesques; see DAC, 19 J u l y 1855, 2:5. 8. DAC, 27 J u l y 1853, 2:3. Verdi began to exhibit his r h y t h m i c skill as early as

270

N o t e s to Pages 46-52

the finales of his third opera, Nabucco (1842); on this point, see Budden, Operas of Verdi 1:35. 9. SFDH, 30 July 1853, 2:3. 10. In its review DAC (20 August 185-3, z:l) d ° e s n o t mention the selection. T h e Trio, with a new Latin text and title, "Jesu Dei Vivi," by the turn of the century had become very popular with choirs in Roman Catholic churches; see George Martin, Aspects of Verdi (New York: Dodd, Mead, 1988), pp. 224-25-. 11. Pioneer Magazine, December 1854, p. 373. 12. On the Concord coaches, see DAC, 3 March 1855, 1:3 (advertisement); and J o h n W. Caughey, with Norris Hundley, Jr., California: History of a Remarkable State, 4th ed. (Englewood Cliffs, NJ.: Prentice-Hall, [1940] 1982), pp. 202-3. 13. DAC, 4 February 1854, 2:4: "It being 'steamer night,' the house was not so crowded as it would have been under other circumstances." See also Wide West, 4 February 1855, 2:4; and DAC, 2 May 1855, 2:4, reviewing I Lombardi. For a description of the crowd's behavior on the pier during a mail steamer's arrival, see Huntley, California 1:277-78. T h e eyewitness account is Amelia Neville, The Fantastic City: Memoirs of the Social and Romantic Life of Old San Francisco, ed. and rev. Virginia Brastow (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1932), pp. 92-93. 14. SFDH, 4 March 1855, 2:7 (advertisement). 15. Rudolph Herold played a piano fantasy at Hayes's first recital, DAC, 1 December 1852, 2:3; as this apparently is the first mention of him in the city, it seems likely that he came with her as an accompanist. DAC (21 October 1852, 1:2) reports that she was bringing Mengis "and other artists," and eleven years later DAC (17 August 1863, 2:2) states: "Mr. Herold came to this State, we believe, with Catherine Hayes, and he has resided here ever since." 16. On the Hauser concert, see DAC, 12 November 1859, 3:7 (program); and 13 November, 2:4 (review). T h e assisting artists were the Pacific Musical T r o u p e and a guitarist. 17. For a review of La Favorite, see DAC, 26 September 1853, 2:3; of Gilles Ravisseur, presented twice, DAC, 31 October, 2:4; 7 November, 2:5. 18. On the Adelphi, see Golden Era, 20 February 1853, 2:7- O n the theatre as a focus of the French community, see Pioneer Magazine, December 1854, p. 372. T h e benefit for the Société de Bienfaisance was held there; see DAC, 14 November 1853, 2:3; and de Russailh, Last Adventure, pp. 18, 23-24. 19. On Barber, see DAC, 28 November 1853, 2:5; on Gilles Ravisseur, DAC, 7 November, 2:5; and SFDH, 31 October, 2:2.

C H A P T E R 5. A N N A BISHOP A N D JUDITH (NABUCCO) 1. Morning Post, 9 October 1846; quoted in the entry for Bishop in the New Grove Dictionary 2:741. This entry and the one on Bochsa (pp. 831-32) are good short

Notes to Pages 52-54

271

biographies of the two artists. For a brief account of Bishop in California, including her second visit, in I86J, see WPA, Opera, Part I, pp. 40-48. On the qualities of her voice in 1847, see W. G. Armstrong, A Record of Opera in Philadelphia (1884; rpt. N e w York: AMS Press, 1976), p. j8. 2. DAC, 5 February 1854,3:7. T h e r e was no newspaper comment on the numbered seating, perhaps because of protests about the prices charged, which for the subsequent recitals were reduced; see DAC, 6 February, 2:2; 10 February, 2:2. 3. DAC, 15 February 1854, 2:4. 4. T h e seven recitals took place on 7, 10,14, 16, 18, 21, and 25 February. T h e r e are announcements and sometimes reviews in both DAC and SFDH; the initial announcement appeared in DAC, 7 February 1854,3:7. At her second recital, besides Scottish songs, she sang the prison scene from Donizetti's Anna Bolena (in English), a selection from his Linda di Chamounix (in costume and in English), and ended with a Mexican song, "La Catalumba," for which she dressed as a Mexican boy. See DAC, 11 February, 2:2 (review). T h e review in SFDH, n February, 2:1, closed with this censure: "It would be well to omit the nonsense contained in the pamphlets disposed of at the door as a key to these concerts. It is impossible to read the silly anecdotes related in this key, and enter fully into the spirit of the very fine music of these concerts." T h e announcement of the Tancredi scene in "warrior costume" appeared in DAC, 17 February 183-4, VT Besides those operas already mentioned Bishop sang arias or scenes from Bellini's Sonnambula and Norma, Donizetti's Roberto Devereux (costumed as Q u e e n Elizabeth), and Lucia di Lammermoor. She repeated the scene from Tancredi on 1 March and had a great success, a critic declaring it to be "the great feature of the evening, and we hope soon to see the whole opera" (DAC, 2 March, 2:5). 5. Hayes arrived on 3 April aboard the steamer John L. Stevens, accompanied by her mother, her agent, W. A. Bushnell, and H e r r Mengis; DAC, 3 April 1854, 2:2. On Norma, see McCabe, "Journals," 1:37; DAC, 26 April 1854, 2:4 (review). Also DAC, 16 May 1853, 2:2: " T h o u g h the reputation which was kindled for Miss Hayes, on her arrival here . . . was greater than her merits as an artist would justify, it did not detract from her success." For her previous failure in recital with Norma's aria "Casta diva," see DAC, 1 December 1852, 2:3: "It was not sung with the expression that seemed required, and . . . the staccato in which it was rendered detracted from the merit of the execution." 6. An announcement of Bishop's Norma appeared in DAC, 30 April 1834, 3:7. A news item (DAC, 1 May 185-4, 2:3) recommended a comparison of Hayes and Bishop in the role. 7. Announcements and reviews for the eight-day "season" appeared regularly in both DAC and SFDH. 8. Pioneer Magazine, February 1854, pp. 114—19, has a discussion of the relative merits of Bishop, Hayes, and Anna Thillon; see also Golden Era, 21 May 1854, 2:4. Even before Bishop's arrival the Golden Era had been steadily and often satirically

272

N o t e s to Pages 5 4 - 5 8

critical of Hayes: see, e.g., 19 D e c e m b e r 1852, 2:3; 13 F e b r u a r y 1853, 2:z'< 2 7 F e b r u a r y , 2:3; and 20 M a r c h , 2:4. 9. O n H a y e s ' s final c o n c e r t and d e p a r t u r e for Australia, see news item, p r o gram, and review, DAC, brooch,

8

July,

2:3.

In

7

July

185-7,

185-4,

2:4i

7

July,

3:4;

and

8

J u l y , 2:5; on t h e gold

' n R o m e , she m a r r i e d the agent, W . A. Bushnell, w h o

had r e p r e s e n t e d h e r so ably in San Francisco. 10. M c C a b e ("Journals," 1:37) r e c o r d s t h e Norma as t h e first a p p e a r a n c e of Leonardi. F o r his roles in S o u t h America, w h e r e h e sang b o t h Attila (bass) and Ezio (baritone) in Attila, see K a u f m a n , Verdi and His Major Contemporaries, pp. 329, 333. "Best basso": Pioneer Magazine,

D e c e m b e r 1854, p. 374.

11. L e o n a r d i ' s career in P e r u and C h i l e can be followed to s o m e e x t e n t in K a u f m a n , Verdi and His Major Contemporaries. T h e f o u r concerts w e r e given on 24, 26,30

M a y , and

3 J u n e 1854.

O n "Dagli i m m o r t a l i , " see DAC,

24

May,

3:4

(program);

t h e review, 25 May, 2:5, m e r e l y n a m e s L e o n a r d i . O n "Profezia," on 3 J u n e , see DAC, 3 J u n e , 2:5- (program; t h e r e was n o DAC review); and SFDH, 4 J u n e , 2:2, w i t h o u t c o m m e n t on t h e music. 12. DAC, 7 J u l y 1854, 3:4 (program; no review). 13. An a d v e r t i s e m e n t for Atwill's n e w location describing t h e store appears in DAC, 1 D e c e m b e r 1852,1:4. O n librettos for sale, e.g. for Trovatore, see DAC, 6, 7 M a y 1859, 1:9. O n leaving addresses, see, e.g., DAC, 20 N o v e m b e r 1852, 3:7 (for G e o r g e L o d e r and Mr. Planel); and

21 J u n e 185-4,

3 July,

3:4

(S. W . Leach). As to

finding

n e w music: It is possible, of course, that t h e e n t e r p r i s i n g artist was n o t Smith o r C o u l o n b u t G e o r g e Loder, w h o f r e q u e n t l y seems to be c o n d u c t i n g w h e n n e w works by Verdi are i n t r o d u c e d . But t h e a r g u m e n t then w o u l d run: for t h e s a m e reasons he f o u n d it easier to p e r s u a d e t h e m e n than t h e w o m e n to t r y t h e n e w pieces.

For

a notice

of n e w

music

received,

t h e most r e c e n t operas," see DEB, n F e b r u a r y

including

"selections

from

i860, 3:4.

14. O n Bishop's selections b e i n g available for p u r c h a s e at Atwill's store, see t h e a d v e r t i s e m e n t for h e r recital in DAC, 12 F e b r u a r y 1854, 3:7. For lists of a r r a n g e m e n t s offered by Verdi's Italian publishers, see L u k e J e n s e n , Giuseppe Verdi and Giovanni Ricordi with Notes on Francesco Lucca, from "Oberto" to "La traviata" York: G a r l a n d , in p r i n t in

1989).

1870,

(New

F o r lists of a r r a n g e m e n t s offered by A m e r i c a n publishers and

see Complete Catalogue of Sheet Music and Musical

N e w York: D a C a p o Press,

1973).

Works,

I8JO

(rpt.

F o r 1 Lombardi and Ernani, for example, J e n s e n ' s

totals are 243 and 344, and t h e Catalogue's, 58 and 113. A Bostonian visiting t h e city in April 1856 r e p o r t e d in Dviight's Journal 9 (3 M a y 1856): 37

that " M r . Atwill, f o r m e r l y of N e w York, tells m e h e sells m u c h first class

music." A p r o b l e m for musicians in t h e city, according to this person, was t h e lack of good pianos. F o r a description of Atwill's N e w York store in 1842, see L a w r e n c e , Strong on Music

1:176-77. O n Atwill, see Soule, G i h o n , and Nisbet, Annals, pp.

781-83.

15. Cailly arrived on t h e s t e a m e r John L. Stevens on 3 April, a c c o m p a n i e d by

N o t e s to Pages 58-60

273

"Mons. Cailly," whose first name remains unknown, and an unspecified number of children; see DAC 3 April 1854, 2:2. During her San Francisco season, however, the manager of the Union T h e a t r e was Jules Cailly and possibly her husband. According to DAC (4 April 1854, 2:2), she had embarked at Lima and was "of the National Academy of Music in Paris, and prima donna of the T h e a t r e Royale in Brussels." In Lima, in 185-3, s ' l e had sung at least two operas with Leonardi, one of them Verdi's I masnadieri; see Kaufman, Verdi and His Major Contemporaries, p. 357. " T h e very good French operatic company": DAC, 4 April 1854, 2:2. 16. Wide West, 23 April 1854, 2:3, reviews the opening night, 16 April, of Lucie di Lammermoor. For an announcement of the season at the Union Theatre, see DAC, 13 May, 2:5-, Golden Era, 21 May, 2:4, comments on Le Barbier and announces Norma. DAC, 21 May, 2:5 (news item), states that Norma will be sung in French. 17. On the Lucia "challenge scene," see Wide West, 4 March 1855, 2:3, which refers to another performance of it, when it was sung as an excerpt by E. Coulon and [?] Laglaise in Planel's first season after the third performance of La Fille du régiment (see DAC, 2 October 185-3,3:7)- Evidently in these years, at least among the French, it was an admired part of the opera. On Crown Diamonds, see DAC, 28 May, 3:7 (advertisement), which promises a female chorus and suggests that the opera will be sung in French. 18. See DAC, 3 May 1854,3:7 see (advertisement), for the benefit next day; there was no review. In Italian scores of I Lombardi there is no Polecca or Polonaise, but in Verdi's revision of it for Paris, which he entitled Jérusalem, the aria " N o n fu sogno" became "Qu'elle ivresse," was moved from Act IV to Act II, and in French scores and sheet music was titled "Polonaise." Jérusalem was performed in Paris in 1847, in Brussels in 1848, and reached N e w Orleans on 24january 1850. Since Cailly and most, possibly all, of her associates in this San Francisco season were of French origin or descent, it seems likely that they knew the aria through its French editions; indeed, she probably sang both the Polonaise and the aria from Ernani in French. T h e variations "expressly composed for her" possibly were the work of M. Planel, who the following year prepared the orchestral parts for a production of I Lombardi in San Francisco by an Italian troupe. See his letter to the editor, DAC, 9 May 1855, 2:4. After this season Cailly apparently never again sang in San Francisco, but no report has yet been found of her leaving the city. Kaufman ( Verdi and His Major Contemporaries, p. 358) records her in a performance of ! masnadieri in Montevideo in 1859, so she did continue her career. 19. According to McCabe ("Journals," 1:32), on 31 December 1853 Thillon arrived in the city with her husband, Charles, and accompanied by a tenor, S. W. Leach (see Chapter 10, n. 20). For an article anticipating her season, mentioning Loder and the chorus, see DAC, 15 January 1854, 2:2. See McCabe, "Journals," 1:33, for opening night at the Metropolitan, Crown Diamonds, 16 January 1854; for open-

274

Notes to Pages 60-64

ings of o t h e r operas, see pp. 33-35. Reviews of Bohemian Girl: SFDH, 14, 16 M a r c h 1854, 2:1; of Cinderella: Golden Era, 21 M a y 1854, 2:4. 20. See Wide West, 16 April 1854, 2:3, for t h e review of Thillon's La Fille du régiment. According to W P A , Opera, Part /, p. 50, Thillon, after a short and u n s u c cessful t o u r of the mining towns, left San Francisco on 1 J u n e . Before then, in t h e final weeks of May, she premiered Cinderella and revived The Bohemian Girl (see advertisements in DAC, 19-28 May). H e r final appearance was on 28 May; DAC, 29 May, 2:3, reviews her p e r f o r m a n c e and c o m m e n t s on her health and difficulties with the California climate. According to DAC, 30 May, 2:1, she would d e p a r t with a profit from her five-month visit of $30,000, but the paper deplored the system of "stars" and urged m o r e support for local singers and companies. 21. O n English versions of arias and operas, with cuts and interpolations, see Charles H a m m , Yesterdays.- Popular Song in America ( N e w York: W. W. N o r t o n , 1970), pp. 62-88; also Lawrence, Strong on Music 1:15, 132, 164, 267, 335, 589. 22. On cuts in The Enchantress, see Wide West, 28 J a n u a r y 1855, 2:3; on Cinderella, DAC, z6 M a y 18/4, 2:5. T h e Pioneer article is in the F e b r u a r y 1854 issue, pp. 114-19. W h e n Bishop later produced Bohemian Girl, with heavy cuts and alterations, she had a failure; see DAC, 4 February 1855, 2:4. Bishop had another failure with an altered version of Fra Diavolo on 25 N o v e m b e r 1854. According to DAC, 16 N o v e m ber 1854, r-5>

° P e r a was " m o r e singularly and unfortunately cast than any opera

we ever witnessed before. M a d a m e Bishop herself appeared as Fra Diavolo [ t e n o r ] — a l l well enough as a novelty, but very inappropriate and unnatural." 23. T h i s brief season, 18-25 J u n e 1854, can be followed in the advertisements and reviews starting with DAC, 18 J u n e , 3:4. 24. O n Der Freischutz, see news item announcing first p e r f o r m a n c e "tonight," DAC, 19 J u l y 1854, 2:4; and advertisement naming the farce, ibid., 3:3. T h e review in DAC, 20 July, 2:4, reported a good p e r f o r m a n c e except for a mishap in the incantation scene: " T h e effect, however, was not at all heightened by t h e entrance of a s u p e r n u m e r a r y with a blue bucket and exceedingly rusty tin d i p p e r to extinguish t h e fire in the magic circle which, through lack of precaution on t h e part of the property man, b u r n t rather too freely." On t h e chorus and orchestra, see DAC, 28, 29 July, 2:5; 30 July, 4:5; on t h e orchestra of thirty-two, SFDH, 31 J u l y ; a review can be found in Golden Era, 23 July, 2:6. 25. C o n c e r t Society orchestra of thirty: DAC, 1 September 1854, 3:4. 26. In Bishop's third recital after her arrival in San Francisco, she sang a "Bouquet Musical" e m p l o y i n g eight languages; see DAC, 16 February 1854, 3:7. Leman (Memories, p. 235) states she could sing in twenty. W h a t e v e r the number, it was sufficient to be remarkable. T h e sensation of her 1848 season in N e w York was a skit, La sfogato, in which, "with a series of swift costume changes, she impersonated a singer at a manager's audition pretending to be six other singers of various nationalities, respectively p e r f o r m i n g in their native tongues (and costumes): French, G e r m a n , Italian, English, Russian, and 'Tartarian' " (Law-

Notes to Pages 64-66

275

rence, Strong on Music 1:527). For La sfogato in Philadelphia in 1848, see Armstrong, Record of the Opera in Philadelphia, pp. 61-62. In a San Francisco recital she sang scenes from Lucia di Lammermoor, Linda di Chamounix, Der Freischiitz, and Lucrezia Borgia respectively in French, English, G e r m a n , and Italian; see SFDH, 18 S e p t e m ber 1854, 2:2 (review). O n Von G u l p e n replacing G o u l d , see DAC, 29 J u l y 1854, 2:5 (advertisement). T h e review {DAC, 31 July, 2:5) states t h e language now to be German. 27. For a review of La Muette, see SFDH, 22 August 185-4, 2:1; an enthusiastic review of the second p e r f o r m a n c e appears in DAC, 19 August, 2:3. 28. F o r more opera than N e w York, see DAC, 13 M a y 1854, 2:5; and Golden Era, 9 April 1854, 2:5: "California at present can boast of being the center of theatrical attraction of the whole Union." T h e critic's complaint is from Pioneer Magazine, J a n u a r y 1855, p. 51. 29. For a brief account of Bishop's theatrical intrigues in Naples, see F. Schlitzer, "Verdi's Alzira at Naples," Music and Letters 35 (1954): 125. 30. An advertisement for Judith, DAC, 22 S e p t e m b e r 1854, 3:3, gives t h e cast, which was drawn from the pool of singers in the city, chiefly T h i l l o n ' s t e n o r S. W . Leach (see Chap. 10, n. 20), secondary singers from the French troupe, and local dancers. T h e advertisement incorrectly announces that t h e p e r f o r m a n c e on 22 S e p t e m b e r would be the first; the review t h e next day, DAC, 23 September, 2:3, reveals it was t h e second. F o r review of first performance, see DAC, 22 S e p t e m b e r 1854, 2:2. 31. See the pertinent appendices in Jensen, Verdi and Ricordi. See also New York Herald, 20 August 1850, 5:6 (announcement); and the review of 21 August, 4:2: " T h i s piece, which is a very appropriate combination of t h e best musical gems of Verdi has been admirably and well arranged by Mr. Bochsa . . . w h o also composed t h e marches and recitatives for this grand operatic spectacle." Also New York Morning Express, 21 August, 2:4; 23 August, 2:4; and 27 August, 2:3 (reviews). 32. Pioneer Magazine, J a n u a r y 1855, p. 55. 33. O n the "brindisi" from Macbeth, see DAC, 22 S e p t e m b e r 1854, 2:2; at t h e second p e r f o r m a n c e of Judith her singing of it was extravagantly praised by DAC, 23 September, 2:3. F o r her later p e r f o r m a n c e of it in recital, see SFDH, 23 S e p t e m ber 1855, 2:2. C o n c e r n i n g Macbeth: In the United States and England t h e opera was given very seldom, presumably because it was t h o u g h t to compare unfavorably with Shakespeare's play. G e o r g e T e m p l e t o n Strong saw it in N e w York on 26 April 1850 and recorded in his diary: "Macbeth, almost scene-for-scene with the tragedy, and absurd e n o u g h is the a t t e m p t to marry N o r t h e r n legend to m o d e r n Italian music, even were t h e legend not canonized and beatified by Shakespeare, and t h e music not that of Verdi. T h e music is Verdiesque. Screaming unisons everywhere, and all the melodies of that peculiar style t h e parallel whereof is rope-dancing; first a swing and flourish, hanging on by t h e hands, then a somerset, and then

Notes to Pages 66-68

276

another swing to an erect position on the rope, a few shines cut there, and then down again. T h e u n f o r t u n a t e man is incapable of real m e l o d y — h i s airs are such as a man born deaf would c o m p o s e by calculation of the distances of musical notes and t h e intervals between them. His supernatural music in this opera is especially comical. Like very many of his brethren of this day, t h e deluded author has n o means whatever of expressing feeling in music except by coarse daubing of color. Passion is typified and portrayed by a musical phrase instrumented with t h e brass; softer emotion by t h e same phrase written for the oboes and flutes; terror by ditto through t h e m e d i u m of t h e brasses judiciously heightened with the big d r u m s and the ophicleide; and so of every other subject of musical expression" ( T h e Diary of George Templeton Strong ed. Allan Nevins and Milton Halsey T h o m a s [ N e w York: Macmillan, 1952], 2:13-14). T h e opera had its San Francisco p r e m i e r e on 18 N o v e m b e r 1862, and was repeated on 20, 22, and 23 N o v e m b e r , and on 25 M a y 1863. F o r reviews, see Appendix E. 34. O n t h e enlarged orchestra, see DAC, 21 S e p t e m b e r 185-4,

2:2

- Performance

dates for Judith were 21, 22, 23, and 24 September, and 16 October (unannounced, but see DAC, 17 October, 2:4); t h e second act was combined with Martha on 25 October. For t h e final p e r f o r m a n c e on 27 N o v e m b e r , see DAC, 28 N o v e m b e r 1854, 2:2. See also M c C a b e , 'Journals," 1:44-46. 35. Pioneer Magazine, D e c e m b e r 185-4, P- 373- DAC, 17 October 1854, 2:4> reviewing t h e final performance, stated: " W e have previously spoken of the excellent m a n n e r in which this opera is managed and performed."

C H A P T E R I LOMBARD/,

6 . ERNANI, A N D I DUE

NABUCCO, FOSCARI

1. DAC, 12 N o v e m b e r 1854, 3:5 (announcement); and SFDH, 13 N o v e m b e r , 3:1. T h e t r o u p e arrived on the steamer S.S. Cortes on 31 October 1854; see Soul6, G i h o n , and Nisbet, Annals, Continuation, p. 21. T h o u g h t h e a n n o u n c e m e n t says " f r o m Italy," the troupe's prima donna, Clotilda Barili-Thorn, had been singing as recently as August 1853 in Lima, in performances of Verdi's La battaglia di Legnano; and previously, in M a y 1850, she had sung Ernani in Mexico City; for both, see Kaufman, Verdi and His Major Contemporaries, pp. 367, 300. For descriptions of Barili-Thorn in her opening season in N e w York, 1847, see Lawrence, Strong on Music 1:427—29. 2. DAC, 7 D e c e m b e r 1854, 3:4; SFDH, 9 December, 2:1. 3. Pioneer Magazine, J a n u a r y 185-5-, P4. O n its being the "first complete company," see Pioneer Magazine, D e c e m b e r 1854, p. 373. T h e following month (January 185-5-, P- 54)> however, it was merely " m o r e c o m p l e t e " than its predecessors. 5. Lawrence, Strong on Music 434-35, 445-

1:434, quoting the New York Herald; also pp.

N o t e s to Pages 68-72

277

6. DAC, 12 N o v e m b e r 1854, 3:5-; SFDH, 13 N o v e m b e r , 3:1. 7. Pioneer Magazine, D e c e m b e r 1854, p. 372, incorrectly lists as arriving in San Francisco with t h e t r o u p e two m e n w h o had been singing in the city for some time, Leonardi and Alfred Pierre Roncovieri. T h e last, a F r e n c h m a n resident in San Francisco, was hired by almost every t r o u p e as a comprimario; see W P A , Opera, Part I, pp. 14-16. 8. O n t h e frequent "hoarseness," see Pioneer Magazine, J a n u a r y 183-5, P- 55\

an

d

2:

Wide West, 4 F e b r u a r y 183-5, 4- F o r Barili-Thorn's "severe cold" on o p e n i n g night, see Pioneer Magazine, D e c e m b e r 1854, p. 374; for h e r return to t h e stage after long indisposition, SFDH, 17 February 1855, 2:2; 19 February, 2:1; and for h e r weakness at t h e end of her stay, DAC, 14 J u n e 1855, 2:3. 9. Wide West, 19 N o v e m b e r 1854, 2:4. See also DAC, 15 N o v e m b e r , 2:4 (review); and, regarding the "largely a u g m e n t e d " chorus, SFDH (steamer ed.), 16 N o v e m ber, 1:1. 10. Pioneer Magazine, D e c e m b e r 1854, p. 373. 11. O n the lack of a women's chorus, see DAC, 17 N o v e m b e r 1854,2:5; on Scola's poor stage presence, ibid, and Pioneer Magazine,

D e c e m b e r 1854, p. 373; on his

failure to improve in the role, DAC, 14 J u n e 1855, 2:3; and for a comparison of him to Eugenio Bianchi, DAC, 20 M a y 1859, 2:4. 12. Golden Era, 19 N o v e m b e r 1854, 2:5. 13. SFDH, 1 5 N o v e m b e r 1854, 2:2. 14. DAC, 17 N o v e m b e r 1854, r-S15. Abramo Basevi, Studio sulle opere di Giuseppe Verdi (Florence: Tipografia T o f a n i , 1859), p. 159. 16. Lawrence, Strong on Music 1:520; "Italian Opera," Dviight's Journal 5, (26 August 1854): 165. 17. See, e.g., his letter of 22 M a y 1844 to Francesco Maria Piave: " T h e r e is no contrast in idea to set off the adagio" (in / copialettere di Giuseppe Verdi, ed. G a e t a n o Cesari and Alessandro Luzio [Milan, 1913], p. 426). Verdi was not u n i q u e in his pursuit of variety. Berlioz, ten years older and whose music Verdi would hear in Paris, once declared, "Variety wisely ordered is t h e soul of music." And in an opera Berlioz, like W a g n e r , sought a unity of dramatic purpose to which all the parts c o n t r i b u t e d — s c e n e r y , stage direction, voices, and orchestra. T h i s idea of an organic unity based in variety was part of the general concept of artists in t h e romantic age and owed a great deal to their readings of Shakespeare. See D. Kern H o l o m a n , Berlioz (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1989), p. 361. 18. Verdi, Letter of 22 April 1853 to Antonio Somma; quoted in Franz W e r f e l and Paul Stefan, eds., Verdi: The Man in His Letters, trans. Edward O. Downes (1942; rpt. N e w York: Vienna House, 1973), pp. 174—76. 19. O n W a l t Whitman's " h a u g h t y attitudes" and "fiery breath," see New York Dissected by Walt Whitman: A Sheaf of Recently Discovered Newspaper Articles by the Author of "Leaves of Grass," ed. E m o r y Holloway and Ralph Adimari ( N e w York:

278

N o t e s to P a g e s 7 2 - 7 3

Rufus Rockwell Wilson, 1936), p. 22. T h e article quoted here was published first in Life Illustrated, 10 November 185-5, and recounts for the reader a typical night at the opera—which is playing Ernani. Whitman describes the house, the audience, the orchestra "of nearly forty performers," and "the stormy music of Giuseppe Verdi." T h e poem quoted has similar images of Norma, Lucia di Lammermoor, I Puritani, La Favorite, and Sonnambula. Another "night at the opera" that uses Ernani as its example, this time in Philadelphia, is "Scrici," Physiology of the Opera (1852; rpt. N e w York: Institute for Studies in American Music, Brooklyn College, 1981). (Note: DAC, 22 January 185-5, 2:4> makes clear that on the previous night, despite the announcement of the complete opera, only two acts of Ernani were sung. This requires a correction to Hixon's listing of full performances of the opera.) 20. Pioneer Magazine, January 1855, p. 55. 21. DAC, 30 November 1854, 2:5 (news item with synopsis of opera); ibid., 3:5 (advertisement with cast). For reviews, see DAC, 1 December, 2:5; and SFDH, 1 December, 2:1. T h e conductor is named in the review of SFDH, 5 December, 2:1. 22. Enthusiastic reviews of Nabucco appear in DAC, 3 December 1854, 2:5; 5 December, 2:5; SFDH, 3 December, 2:1; 5 December, 2:1; and Pioneer Magazine, January 1855, p. 55; also in SFDH (steamer ed.), 9 December, 3:3: "It was indeed an entertainment which would have deserved success in any city of the United States." For those parts of Nabucco that impressed a critic at a revival, when the opera's title was Nino and the story slightly changed, see DEB, 26 May 1862, 3:5: " T h e music, though occasionally of a noisy character, is often beautiful, and some of it very striking. . . . Among the many fine things that are in the opera may be mentioned the quintet and chorus of the 2nd act, when the impious Nino calls on the people to worship him; the air in the 3rd act where he entreats Abigail to spare the life of Fenena; the grand though simple chorus of the captive Babylonians in the same act; the lament of Fenena when led to martyrdom; and the glorious hymn to Isis (or originally, to the God of Israel) that closes the work. T h e funeral march in the 4th act, and the short triumphal march on the first appearance of N i n o are fine. . . . T h e r e is a pleasing introduction, which from its length may almost be called an overture, that contains morsels of the melodies that afterwards occur in the piece." From this description, it seems the production omitted the death of Abigaille, Verdi's final scene. 23. Pioneer Magazine, January 1855, p. 54. This first season of the Barili-Thorn troupe ran from 14 November through 18 December 1854. 24. On the Sacramento visit, see DAC, 10 January 1855, 2:2. T h e Ernani performances on 19 and 21 January are reported in SFDH, ^ J a n u a r y 1855, 2:6 (announcement); and DAC, 27 January, 2:7. Francesco Leonardos last performance in the city of an opera was as Dr. Bartolo in Ilbarbiere di Siviglia, on 14 December 1854; he then sang in a concert that closed the troupe's season on 18 December, and thereafter I found no trace of him, of when he left the city or where he went.

279

Notes to Pages 74-76

25. Wide West, 28 J a n u a r y 1855-, 2:3. R e g a r d i n g t h e i m p r e s a r i o : T h e a n n o u n c e m e n t of t h e first B a r i l i - T h o r n s e a s o n in DAC, 12 N o v e m b e r 1854,3:5, s t a t e s t h a t t h e t r o u p e ' s d i r e c t o r , L u i g i Bazari, " h a s e n t e r e d i n t o an a r r a n g e m e n t w i t h M r s . S i n clair t o p r o d u c e in t h e M e t r o p o l i t a n T h e a t r e , f o r fifteen nights, t h e f o l l o w i n g o p e r a s . . . ." A n d a n e w s i t e m , DAC, 12 D e c e m b e r , states t h a t a p e r f o r m a n c e t h a t n i g h t will b e a b e n e f i t f o r "Bazzini, t h e i m p r e s a r i o . " T h e r e a f t e r his n a m e , h o w e v e r s p e l l e d , d o e s n o t a p p e a r again e x c e p t o n c e as " B a z a n i " in a p u b l i c s t a t e m e n t b y M r s . S i n c l a i r (DAC, 9 M a y 1857, 2:4). S o u l e , G i h o n , a n d N i s b e t , Annals,

Continuation,

p. 21 (31 O c t o b e r 185-4), states t h a t a m o n g t h e p a s s e n g e r s a b o a r d t h e S.S. Cortes, w h i c h d o c k e d t h a t d a y , w a s B a r i l i - T h o r n " a n d o t h e r s of t h e Italian t r o u p e e n g a g e d b y M r s . Sinclair." M r s . S i n c l a i r (1817-91), b o r n C a t h e r i n e N o r t o n Sinclair, w a s an actress. In 1837 s h e m a r r i e d t h e g r e a t A m e r i c a n t r a g e d i a n E d w i n F o r r e s t (1806-72), a n d in 185-0, in o n e of t h e s e n s a t i o n a l d i v o r c e s of t h e era, t h e y p a r t e d . S h e r e s u m e d h e r m a i d e n n a m e b u t k e p t h e r m a t r o n ' s title. T h e M a r g a r e t Sinclair V o o r h e e s w h o s a n g F e n e n a in Nabucco w a s h e r sister; see Pioneer Magazine,

D e c e m b e r 1854, P- 375-

26. Wide West, 28 J a n u a r y 1855, 2:3. 27. SFDH, 28 J a n u a r y 1855, 2:1. O n a n o t h e r joint p r o g r a m , see DAC, 17 F e b r u a r y 1855,3:1; a n d SFDH, 17 F e b r u a r y , 1:3: L 'elisir ( B i s h o p , Scola, L a n z o n i , M e n g i s ) , of Anna

finale

Bolena (Bishop), b a l l e t a n d c h u r c h y a r d s c e n e f r o m Robert le diable ( M i l e

T h i e r r y , ballerina). 28. Wide West, 11 F e b r u a r y 1855, 2:7 ( r e v i e w ) . 29. DAC, 3 M a r c h 1855, 3:3; SFDH, 10 M a r c h , 1:4 ( a d v e r t i s e m e n t s ) . 30. T h e a u d i e n c e d a n c i n g o n s t a g e d u r i n g a p e r f o r m a n c e s u r e l y w a s rare, a n d a l t h o u g h t h e r e is n o r e p o r t o f m u s i c a d d e d f o r t h e occasion, c e r t a i n l y s o m e m u s t h a v e b e e n r e q u i r e d . At t h e B o s t o n p r e m i e r e o f V e r d i ' s Un ballo in maschera, t h e a u d i e n c e w a s i n v i t e d o n t o t h e stage f o r t h e m a s k e d ball of t h e final s c e n e , a n d a c c o r d i n g t o t h e a d v e r t i s e m e n t , m u s i c f r o m t h e " G r a n d Bal M a s q u e of G u s t a v u s III" (doubtless f r o m Auber's opera) was added. See G e o r g e Martin, "La prima r a p p r e s e n t a z i o n e di Un ballo in maschera a Boston, 15 m a r z o 1861," Atti del Primo Congresso Internazionale

di Studi Verdiani

( P a r m a : I s t i t u t o di S t u d i V e r d i a n i , 1969),

p p . 378-82. 31. F o r a r e v i e w of Don Giovanni, see DAC, 9 M a r c h 1855, 2:3; o n t h e "sold o u t " h o u s e , SFDH, 10 M a r c h , 2:1. O n t h e e c o n o m i c d e p r e s s i o n , see DAC, 20 J a n u a r y 1855, 3:1; also in N e w York C i t y , DAC, 10 J a n u a r y , 2:2; a n d o n c o n t i n u i n g h a r d t i m e s , SFDH ( s t e a m e r ed.), 4 April 1856, 5:4. 32. DAC, 7 - 9 J a n u a r y 1855, 3:5. 33. DAC, 12 J a n u a r y 1855, 3:5. 34. F r e d e r i c k H . M a r t e n s , A Thousand

and One Nights of Opera ( N e w York: D.

A p p l e t o n a n d Co., 1926), p. 152. At t h e t i m e this w a s p u b l i s h e d , t h e d i c t i o n a l r e a d y w a s l o n g o u t o f d a t e — o f t e n t h e case w i t h o p e r a s y n o p s e s . 35. DAC, 13 J a n u a r y 1855, 2:4.

280

Notes to Pages 76-82

36. DAC, 17 January 1855, 2:5. 37. On the revised production, see DAC, 4 February 1855, 2:5 (news item) and 3:1 (advertisement). A review appears in Wide West, 11 February, 2:7. For an incorrect prediction that the French community would turn out "en masse" for the opera in French, see Wide West, 4 February, 2:4. This review states, as others do not, that the opera first was sung in English. 38. DAC, 14 February 1855, 2:3. 39. Lawrence, Strong on Music 1:432, 438-39, quoting the Albion, 6 March 1847, p. 120. 40. SFDH, 1 May 1855, 2:1 (news item) and 3:1 (advertisement). 41. DAC, 2 May 1855, 2:4 (review). On costumes and carriage hire as the start o f the quarrel, see Sinclair's statement, DAC, 9 May, 2:4. For a suggestion that this first performance o f I Lombardi was underwritten by interested patrons, see DAC, 30 April, 2:3. 42. SFDH, 4 May 1855, 2:2; DAC, 4 May, 3:3. 43. SFDH, 6 May 185-5, 44. Barili-Thorn's letter appears in DAC, 7 May 1855, 2:4, as does Mrs. Sinclair's. An editorial, " T h e Operatic Quarrel," is in ibid., 2:3. 45. For Sinclair's figures, see DAC, 9 May 1855, 2:4, which includes an interesting table o f the theatre's staff; for Planel's letter, ibid. 46. DAC, 21 May 1855, 2:4; and see SFDH, 20 May, 2:1, which lauds "a chorus we have never heard surpassed in power and effect" singing to a house that was "good" but not "crowded." Presumably Rudolph Herold, who was the company's musical director at the Union Theatre, conducted; see DAC 26 May, 3:7 (advertisement). 47. Gino Monaldi, Verdi, lSjjt-iSfS, 2d ed. (Turin: Bocca, 1926), p. 60. 48. I found no advertisement or review o f the Foscari premiere, but the performance is announced in a news item, DAC, 23 March 1855, 2:4, and it is confirmed in a news item for the second performance, on 25 March, in SFDH, 25 March, 2:2. An advertisement for the second performance (SFDH, 25 March, i:j) gives the cast. (Note: These first two performances do not appear in Hixon's listing.) For the third and fourth performances, see DAC, 26 May, 3:7 (advertisement); 1 June, 2:4 (news item) and 2:5 (advertisement); and SFDH, 1 June, 1:4 (advertisement) and 2:1 (news item). 49. DAC, 16 J u n e 1855 (steamer ed.), 1:5: On Saturday 9 J u n e Sinclair "took a farewell benefit, concluding her long and arduous service as theatrical manager." She acted Lady Teazle in Sheridan's School for Scandal and a scene from Shakespeare's Henry VIII in which she played Catherine o f Aragon. In her farewell speech she remarked on her financial losses, saying that "within the past few months I have, in common with almost every member of this community, suffered from the disastrous state o f affairs."

Notes to Pages 82-87

281

50. See the review in DAC, i ^ J u n e 1855, 2:5, with adverse c o m m e n t s on Scola's acting. 51. DAC, 18 J u n e 1855, 2:4 (review). F o r a critic in London w h o similarly retained "forever" a m e m o r y of the Doge's "agony" in the final scene, see H e n r y F. C h o r l e y , Thirty Years' Musical Recollections ( N e w York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1926), p. 211. Presumably Loder c o n d u c t e d on t h e sixteenth; he had been a n n o u n c e d for Maria di Rohan in DAC, 16 J u n e , 2:7. 52. Regarding Lanzoni's liking for Verdi: O n leaving San Francisco, he sang in t h e p r e m i e r e productions of Verdi's Macbeth, Trovatore, and Traviata in Lima, 1856—57, and Macbeth in Santiago, 1857; s e e Kaufman, Verdi and His Major Contemporaries, pp. 346, 411, 425-, 342. T h e review is in DAC, 18 J u n e 1855, 2:3. 53. .DAC, 1 M a r c h 1855, 3:5; 2 M a r c h , 3:3 (programs); Wide West, 4 March, 2:3 (review). Carlotta Patti m a d e her d e b u t as a vocalist, singing Schubert's Serenade in English, between the acts of t h e second p e r f o r m a n c e of I due Foscari; see SFDH, 1 J u n e 1855, ,: 4i and DAC, 1 J u n e , 2:5 (advertisement). 54. SFDH, 9 J u l y 1855, 2:2; DAC, 9 J u l y , 2:5 (programs); DAC, 10 J u l y , 2:2 (review without comment); on Loder at the piano, see the review of SFDH, 11 July, 2:1. 55. SFDH, 6 August 185-5, 2:1; DAC, 11 N o v e m b e r , 3:6 (reviews). 56. DAC, 9 J u l y 1855, 3:6 (program); SFDH, 12 J u l y , 2:1 (review). 57. O n the t h r e e - m o n t h tour, see DAC, 15 J u n e 1855, 2:4; 12 July, 2:4; and 16 J u l y (steamer ed.), 1:2. O n Gazza ladra, see SFDH, 11 J u l y 1855, 1:3; DAC, 12 July, 2:4. 58. On the Norma travesty, see DAC, 16 J u l y 1855, 3:6; SFDH, 20 July, 2:1 (review). O n Bochsa's illness, DAC, 16 July, 2:3. 59. DAC, 27July 1855,3:6 (advertisement); DAC, 31 July, 2:3 (review). O n Bochsa's illness and the p o s t p o n e m e n t of the performance, see DAC, 1 August, 2:1. 60. DAC, 8 August 1855, 2:4. 61. DAC, 7 J u l y 1855, 2:4. 62. O n singers' dispersal, see DAC, 27 August 1855, 2:5. F o r "Ernani, involami," see SFDH, 31 August 1855, 3:1; 3 September, 2:2 (review). 63. For the "Brindisi" program, see DAC, 22 S e p t e m b e r 1855, 2:5; and SFDH, 23 September, 2:2. O n Comassi, see SFDH, 28 October, 1:3 (program). 64. O n the repetition of "Ernani, involami," see the programs in DAC, 24 S e p t e m b e r 1855, 2:6; and 25 September, 3:6; for t h e recital on t h e twenty-fifth, see SFDH, 26 September, 2:4 (review). 65. T h e program appeared in DAC, 27 S e p t e m b e r 1855, 2:5. N e w s item on loss of Bishop: SFDH, 28 September, 2:1; also DAC, 28 September, 2:5. She was scheduled to sail for Australia on the Kit Carson on 30 September; see DAC, 24 September, 2:2. 66. SFDH, 20 N o v e m b e r 1855, 2:2 (news item). 67. SFDH, 3 S e p t e m b e r 1855, 2:2.

282

N o t e s to P a g e s 8 9 - 9 2 C H A P T E R 7. E C O N O M I C D E C L I N E , IL TR 0 VA TORE I N E X C E R P T S , A N D T H E V I G I L A N T E S OF 1 8 5 6

1. Stewart Edward White, The Forty-Niners

(New Haven, Conn.: Yale Univer-

s i t y P r e s s , 1918), pp. 172-73.

2. See, e.g., Roger W. Lotchin, San Francisco, 1846-18JÓ: From Hamlet to City (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1974), pp. 245-50; Walton Bean, California: An Interpretive History (New York: McGraw Hill, 1968), pp. 143-48; Hubert Howe Bancroft, History of California, vol. 6: 1848-18854, and of Verdi alone on an extensive tour of Great Britain in 1856

and 1857, during which she frequently sang II trovatore in English.

296

Notes to Pages 176-179

2. T h e best accounts of Escott, of H e n r y Squires, and of the impresario W. S. Lyster appear in Love, Golden Age of Australian Opera, pp. i—8, 4 6 - 4 9 , 187, 275-77. In t h e 1860s Lyster became the "the father of Australian opera," and his chief singers then were Escott and Squires. T h o m p s o n , American Singer, pp. 4 0 - 4 1 , offers a brief biography of Escott, though without m e n t i o n i n g her success in San Francisco or, later, in Australia. Another who similarly shortened her career is t h e G e r m a n composer Hans W e r n e r H e n z e (b. 1926), who memorialized h e r in his Lucy Escott Variations, published in 1963. T h e s e , for piano, are based on t h e

first-act

aria " C o m e per me sereno," from Bellini's La sonnambula, and are preceded by this epigraph: "Old play-bills of Italian opera p e r f o r m e d at D r u r y Lane T h e a t r e about 1820 [sic], show the coloratura soprano Lucy Escott as the protagonist. O n e of h e r most famous parts was Amina, in La Somnabula [ w ] . Lucy Escott was a charming y o u n g girl with a very pleasing voice, light at the top and well balanced in all registers. H e r secret love for Bellini (whom she knew only from pictures) led her existence little by little into a seclusion, which after the early death of her idol rapidly grew into an unearthly perfection that can be explained only by the pain of love; her voice became higher and higher until it could no longer be heard by h u m a n ears. By this time, grown ever smaller and m o r e graceful, the light of the moon and t h e stars shone through her and she finally disappeared from this world, we imagine to live on as a n y m p h in the T h a m e s . T h i s set of variations, based on one of her favourite arias, is offered as a m e m o r y of Lucy Escott and as an obituary." 3. DAC, 19 M a y i860, 1:7 (announcement). According to Love (Golden Age of Australian Opera), Squires studied music first with an organist in T r o y , N e w York, which, being near Albany, the capital of the state, probably associated him with it. For the "American tenor," at Dodsworth's Musical Festival, Metropolitan Hall, 20 F e b r u a r y 1852, see Shanet, Philharmonic, p. 120. A column, "Theatrical 'Pot Pourri,' " DAC, 6 August 1854, 2:3> reports Squires, "once of Albany," as singing in La sonnambula at the T e a t r o San Carlo, Naples, with great success, and ends, " H u r r a h ! for American Singers!" According to K a u f m a n (Verdi and His Contemporaries, p. 428), Squires sang Traviata

Major

with the Strakosch c o m p a n y in

Louisville, Kentucky, in J a n u a r y 1859. After Squires and Escott had sung opposite each other almost nightly for twelve years, the two retired from the stage, married, and on their earnings lived happily ever after in Paris. T h e i r importance in the history of opera in Australia is great. Escott died in Paris in 1895, and Squires t h e r e u p o n r e t u r n e d to t h e United States, w h e r e he died in 1907. 4. DAC, 19 M a y i860, 1:7 (announcement). 5. DEB, 7 September i860, 3:5, confirming that the Lyster production of Figaro was in English. 6. See "Musical Intelligence, San Francisco," Diuight's Journal 17 (8 September i860): 191.

Notes to Pages 179-187

297

7. For a listing of performances, 19 M a y t h r o u g h 20 July, see M c C a b e , "Journals," 1:114-17. 8. F o r a review of p r e m i e r e on the previous night, see DAC, 23 M a y i860, 2:2; c o m p a r e d to Lucia, DAC, 29 M a y i860, 2:3. 9. DEB, 26 M a y i860, 3:2; DAC, 26 May, 2:3. 10. DAC, 13 J u n e i860, 2:2. 11. DEB, 13 J u n e i860, 3:4. Reviewing t h e next performance, the critic picked out as one of the opera's "gems" the " o p e n i n g brindisi of the bandits" in the first act; DEB, 14 J u n e , 3:4. Curiously, this chorus, which today wins little esteem, was then highly regarded. 12. T h e two reviews are DAC, 9 J u l y 1860, 2:3; and 11 September, 2:2. 13. "Musical Intelligence, San Francisco," Dwight's Journal

17 (8 S e p t e m b e r

i860): 191. Love, Golden Age of Opera in Australia, pp. 48-51, discusses Squire's technique and quality of voice. 14. DAC, 9 J u l y i860, 2:3. T h e previous fall the critic for t h e Bulletin had dismissed Hodson's voice as "greatly injured by u n n a t u r a l efforts to execute tenor parts"; DEB, 16 N o v e m b e r 1859, 3:3. 15. Verdi, Letter to Vincenzo Luccardi, 17 F e b r u a r y 1863, in I copialettere, p. 612; translated in W e r f e l and Stefan (eds.), Verdi: The Man in His Letters, pp. 230-31 (Downes translation used). 16. E.g., H e n r y Pleasants, Opera in Crisis: Tradition, Present, Future ( N e w York: T h a m e s & H u d s o n , 1989), pp. 89-90. 17. DAC, 9 J u l y i860, 2:3. 18. DAC, 19 J u n e i860, 2:2. Julius Mattfeld, A Handbook of American Premieres, l-jji-ipSi

Operatic

(Detroit, Mich.: Information Service, 1963), p. 90, mistakenly

sets t h e p r e m i e r e in N e w York, 1864. O n the American premiere, see DEB, 18 J u n e , 3:4; the critic for DEB, 19 J u n e , 3:4, blamed t h e poor p e r f o r m a n c e in part on obvious lack of rehearsal. 19. DAC, 20 J u n e i860, 2:1. Because of t h e suggestion to hire another soprano to replace D u r a n d , Love (Golden Age of Opera in Australia, p. 32) suggests that either Biscaccianti or F e r e t had bribed the critic. But I think it unlikely that Lyster, a careful, aggressive manager, would have succumbed to such pressure. 20. DAC, 1 J u l y i860, 2:3. 21. DEB, 2 J u l y i860, 3:5. 22. Kellogg, Memoirs, p. 36. 23. T h i s reason is suggested by Francis T o y e , Giuseppe Verdi: His Life and Works (1946; rpt. N e w York: Vintage Books, 1959), p. 271. And the French critic Bellaigue, Verdi: Biografia critica, p. 36, seems to agree. 24. Santley, Student and Singer, p. 218. 25. For a s u m m a r y report on the c o m p a n y m i d w a y through its first season, see "Musical C o r r e s p o n d e n c e , San Francisco," Dwight's Journal 17 (28 J u l y i860): 141: " D e Haga has disappointed t h e majority. H e sings terribly out of t u n e and his

298

Notes to Pages 187-196

voice is much choked up"\ also DAC, i 8 J u n e i860, 2:2: "sang as if he had a frog in his throat." 26. In DAC, 24 D e c e m b e r i860,1:2, a s u m m a r y of the company at the year's end, t h e critic adds an extra night to the initial season and exaggerates slightly the n u m b e r of performances by Squires. 27. DAC, 21 J u l y i860, 2:2. For a s u m m a r y report at the end of the company's first season, see "Musical Correspondence, San Francisco," Dwight's Journal 17 (8 S e p t e m b e r i860): 191. 28. DEB, 19 J u n e i860, 3:4. 29. DAC, 30 August i860, 2:2; "Musical Correspondence, San

Francisco,"

Dwight's Journal 17 (8 S e p t e m b e r i860): 191.

C H A P T E R 14. T H E SAN F R A N C I S C O

ANNUS MIRABIL IS: MAD FOR OPERA

1. M c C a b e , "Journals," 1:118-19. (Note: M c C a b e has t w o mistakes in his record when there were substitutions for a scheduled performance: on 30 August, Traviata replaced Trovatore, and on 10 September Trovatore replaced Favorita.) 2. DAC, 31 August i860, 2:2; he had complained in an earlier review of Traviata of t h e tenor's lack of "force and energy"; see DAC, 16 May, 2:3. 3. DAC, 1 September i860, 2:1; DEB, 7 September, 3:5. 4. SFDH, 18 September i860, 3:2. 5. DAC, 18 September i860, 2:2. 6. For t h e schedule, see M c C a b e , "Journals," 1:119.

American premieres, see

Mattfeld, Handbook of American Operatic Premieres, p. 57, w h o mistakenly puts the premiere of Lurline in Cambridge, Mass., in 1863. T h e only city with two American premieres in i860 would be N e w York, and then only if N e w York and Brooklyn were counted as one city, which they then were not—legally, socially, or culturally. Brooklyn had Mozart's Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail on 16 February i860, and N e w York, Verdi's / masnadieri on 31 May. 7. DEB, 1 N o v e m b e r i860, 3:6 ( a n n o u n c e m e n t of premiere and description of scenic delights). On the U.S. premiere, see DAC, 1 N o v e m b e r , 4:4. T h e coral is described in Santley, Student and Singer, p. 170. 8. DAC, 3 N o v e m b e r i860, 2:3. 9. DAC, 2 N o v e m b e r i860, 2:3; DEB, 2 N o v e m b e r , 3:4; 3 N o v e m b e r , 3:4. 10. DAC, 24 N o v e m b e r i860, 2:3. 11. Golden Era, 2 D e c e m b e r i860, 5:1. 12. O n Squires as the "universal tenor," see DAC, 24 D e c e m b e r i860, 1:2. T h i s s u m m a r y report on " T h e Lystcr Operatic Season" contains much information, a small part of which seems incorrect or, at least, ambiguously worded. 13. DAC, 3 D e c e m b e r i860, 2:3. 14. T h e r e is considerable disagreement about the city's population in i860.

Notes to Pages 197-199

299

T h e federal census is as I have given it, but DEB, 22 October 185-9, 2:1 (editorial), using T a x Office figures, sets the population then at 80,000. DAC, 16 J a n u a r y 185-9, 1:7, estimated 80,000, and on 21 D e c e m b e r 1862, 1:1, referring to the federal figure for i860 as "glaringly erroneous," claimed the population then n u m b e r e d "at least 70,000." DAC, 27 April 1865, 2:2, again referring to t h e federal figure as "too small," r e t u r n e d to its estimate of 80,000. Against the n e w s p a p e r estimates, however, must be set that of Bancroft (History of California, vol. 6:184.8-1859, p. 786) of about 50,000 at t h e close of 1859. Lotchin (San Francisco, 1846-1856, p. 82) adopts the federal figu r e for i860. Most historians, apparently, have decided against t h e newspaper estimates. 15. DAC, 3 D e c e m b e r i860, 2:3. 16. W e b e r is quoted in W h i t e , History of English Opera, p. 253. W h i t e has some interesting speculations on w h y English opera tended to shy away from music at t h e i m p o r t a n t moments; see pp. 256 and 436-37. 17. Golden Era, 16 D e c e m b e r i860, 5:1. 18. A review of Ernani at t h e American T h e a t r e , with c o m m e n t s on the voices of Escott and Squires, appears in DAC, 18 D e c e m b e r i860, 2:2. 19. M c C a b e , "Journals," 1:122. Regarding t h e Lyster T r o u p e : W. S. [William Saurin] Lyster took nine artists with him to Australia: Escott, Squires, D u r a n d , H o d s o n , Ada King and Frank T r e v o r , who sang secondary soprano and t e n o r roles, Frederick Lyster, w h o specialized in baritone buffo parts, A n t h o n y Reiff, t h e conductor, and William Lloyd, the stage manager w h o had designed the m a c h i n ery for Lurline and o t h e r spectacles. T h i s nucleus of a c o m p a n y dominated opera in Australia in the years 1861-67. See Love, Golden Age of Australian Opera, pp. 20, 87-88. 20. Degrees of madness being difficult to measure, any comparison of frenzy is treacherous. Still, a m o n g t h e variables entering t h e comparison surely must be t h e population of t h e city, t h e n u m b e r and capacity of its theatres, t h e n u m b e r of performances staged, and the size of the audiences. In Venice in 1637, the first public opera house in the world, t h e T e a t r o San Cassiano, opened with a p e r f o r m a n c e o f M a n e l l i ' s L'Andromeda, and t h e Venetians p r o m p t l y fell in love with t h e new form of entertainment. By the end of t h e c e n t u r y there were ten public houses presenting regular opera seasons every C a r n i v a l — r o u g h l y Christmas to L e n t — w i t h f r e q u e n t performances at other times. Some 350 operas had been presented and many of t h e m m o r e than once. T h e theatres were small, t h e audiences, by all reports, full and enthusiastic, and t h e city's population at the time was about 140,000, not including thousands of transients. In N e w Orleans, in t h e years 1836-41, the chief opera house was the Orleans T h e a t r e (cap. 1,300), t h e h o m e of t h e French opera c o m p a n y specializing in F r e n c h opera. T h e secondary theatre, w h e r e English and Italian opera as well as ballet was likely to play, was t h e St. Charles (cap. 4,500), at the time of its o p e n i n g

300

Notes to Pages 203-4

in 1835- t h e largest t h e a t r e in t h e U n i t e d States. A t h i r d a n d s m a l l e r h o u s e , t h e C a m p S t r e e t T h e a t r e , also s o m e t i m e s p r e s e n t e d o p e r a . A c c o r d i n g t o t h e city's o p e r a historian, H e n r y A. K m e n (see " S i n g i n g a n d D a n c i n g , " c i t e d in full b e l o w ) , in t h e

five-year

p e r i o d f r o m t h e fall of 1836 t h r o u g h t h e s p r i n g of 1841 t h e r e w e r e

602 p e r f o r m a n c e s of b a l l e t a n d o p e r a . S u b t r a c t i n g f r o m this t o t a l s o m e 77 p e r f o r m a n c e s o f b a l l e t a n d 46 o f i n c o m p l e t e o p e r a s , t h e t o t a l b e c o m e s 479, o r r o u g h l y 100 of o p e r a e a c h y e a r , a figure well b e l o w S a n F r a n c i s c o ' s 145 in i860. F u r t h e r , t h e p o p u l a t i o n s in t h e p e r i o d s c o m p a r e d a r e N e w O r l e a n s , 100,000, t o S a n F r a n cisco, 60,000. A n d finally, s o m e p e r f o r m a n c e s in N e w O r l e a n s in t h e s e y e a r s — e n o u g h t o raise cries of a l a r m — p l a y e d to a l m o s t - e m p t y h o u s e s . K m e n tells of a u d i e n c e s o n o c c a s i o n n u m b e r i n g n o m o r e t h a n five o r six. In San F r a n c i s c o , a p p a r e n t l y , t h e h o u s e w a s n e v e r less t h a n h a l f

filled.

S e e H e n r y A. K m e n , Music in New Orleans: The Formative Years, ijpi-1841

(Baton

R o u g e : L o u i s i a n a S t a t e U n i v e r s i t y Press, 1966) a n d t h e P h . D thesis o n w h i c h it is b a s e d , a n d w h i c h has lists of p e r f o r m a n c e s as well as m o r e i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t t h e m , " S i n g i n g a n d D a n c i n g in N e w O r l e a n s : A Social H i s t o r y of t h e Birth a n d G r o w t h o f Balls a n d O p e r a , 1791-1841" ( s u b m i t t e d t o T u l a n e U n i v e r s i t y , 1961 a n d available f r o m U n i v e r s i t y M i c r o f i l m s , Inc., A n n A r b o r , M i c h i g a n ) .

E P I L O G U E 1. M c C a b e ( " J o u r n a l s , " 2:221) c l a i m s t h a t n o o p e r a w a s s t a g e d in 1861, a n d n o r e c o r d of a n y has b e e n f o u n d . F o r t h e C i v i l W a r ' s effect o n o p e r a , s e e Kellogg, Memoirs, p p . 5 5 - 6 1 , 74—75. 2. T h e first s t a g e d o p e r a in 1862 was La sonnambula o n 14 A p r i l w i t h Biscaccianti, w h o , w i t h h e r a c c o m p a n i s t , G e o r g e T . E v a n s , a p p a r e n t l y o r g a n i z e d a s e a s o n w i t h local artists. T h e c o m p a n y ' s s e c o n d p r i m a d o n n a was L i z z i e P a r k e r ; a c c o r d i n g t o M c C a b e ( " J o u r n a l s , " 1:131), s h e a r r i v e d in S a n F r a n c i s c o f r o m t h e E a s t o n 4 F e b r u a r y , g a v e five c o n c e r t s , a n d t h e n m a d e h e r o p e r a t i c d e b u t as L e o n o r a in La favorita. F o r its t h i r d o p e r a t h e t r o u p e s t a g e d Lucia di Lammermoor, w i t h Biscaccianti. In all, t h e s e a s o n c o n s i s t e d of e l e v e n p e r f o r m a n c e s and a b e n e f i t c o n c e r t . T h e Bianchis, a b s o r b i n g t h e t r o u p e , s u b s t i t u t e d t h e i r b e t t e r s i n g e r s f o r m o s t roles a n d r e p l a c e d E v a n s as c o n d u c t o r w i t h t h e m o r e e x p e r i e n c e d R u d o l p h H e r o l d . F o r s o m e r e v i e w s of t h e Biscaccianti season, see DAC, 18 A p r i l 1862, 2:3; 19 A p r i l , 2:3; a n d 28 April, 2:3; a n d DEB, 15 April, 3:5; 18 April, 3:4; 19 April, 3:5; a n d 22 April, 3:4. F o r a s t a t e m e n t i m p l y i n g t h a t b o t h t h e Biscaccianti o r c h e s t r a a n d c h o r u s w e r e small, see DEB, 20 M a y 1862, 3:5. 3. T h e Bianchis, w i t h a bass a n d b a r i t o n e , a r r i v e d o n j M a y 1862, a f t e r a v o y a g e of 100 d a y s f r o m S y d n e y , via H o n o l u l u ; see DAC, 6 M a y 1862, 2:2; a n d 7 M a y , 2:2. T h e b a r i t o n e w a s J o h n G r e g g , a p p a r e n t l y an A u s t r a l i a n , a n d t h e bass, E n r i c o G r o s s i , was p r e s u m a b l y an Italian; b o t h h a d b e e n s i n g i n g in A u s t r a l i a w i t h t h e Bianchis; n e i t h e r b e c a m e f a m o u s . F o r a r e v i e w of t h e i r d e b u t s in S a n F r a n c i s c o , in Trovatore, s e e DEB, 20 M a y , 3:5.

Notes to Pages 204-210

301

4. For the roster of twelve soloists, including three prima donnas, see DAC, II July 1862, 2:4. T h e newspaper reports do not state the orchestra size, but advertisements called the Bianchis' orchestra "efficient" and "splendid," and the critic for DEB (20 May 1862,3:5) described it as "enlarged," so an estimate of twenty-five to thirty players seems reasonable. For the orchestra in N e w York, see Shanet, Philharmonic, p. 134. 5. A review of Nabucco (DEB, 26 May 1862, 3:5) states that the chorus had twenty-four male and female voices. O n e concert (see DAC, 14 April 1862,1:7) had a mixed chorus of twenty-eight; the Garibaldi Society, for one performance, had a chorus of "over thirty voices" (DAC, 1 September 1862, 2:2); and the Bianchis announced a chorus of "no less than thirty-two" for a performance of Lucia di Lammermoor (see DAC, 17 April 1865, 4:2; and the Metropolitan T h e a t r e playbill in the Bianchi folder at the San Francisco Performing Arts Library and Museum). Finally, the Caecilien-Verein, at least for its private performances, had a mixed chorus of over fifty. Hence twenty-four is probably a modest number that on occasion was increased. (But see the DEB review of Macbeth, in Appendix E.) On the chorus at the Metropolitan, N e w York, in 1886, see George Martin, The Damrosch Dynasty: America's First Family of Music (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1983), p. 91; for size in 1906 and 1946, see Irving Kolodin, The Metropolitan Opera, 1883-1966: A Candid History (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1966), p. 462. 6. Eleanor Scott, The First Twenty Years of the Santa Fe Opera (Santa Fe, N.M.: Sunstone Press, 1976), pp. 8-13. 7. For one artist against the practice, see Santley, Student and Singer, p. 285. 8. MacMinn, Theater of the Golden Era, pp. 102-5'. 9. One of the last spots allowed for an insertion was the "lesson scene" in Rossini's Barbiere di Siviglia, and at the Metropolitan as late as the 1950s an aria frequently substituted for Rossini's "Contro un cor" was Meyerbeer's "Shadow Song" from his opera Dinorah. 10. T h e Bianchi roster in their "second season," which began on 16 July, included among the sopranos (besides Signora Bianchi) Lizzie Parker, Agatha States, and Eliza Biscaccianti. For the announced roster of twelve soloists (lacking Biscaccianti), conductor, and subscription plan, see DAC, 11 July 1862, 2:3, 2:4. 11. For a scuffle at the American T h e a t r e that ended in an order for arrest, see DAC, 18 May 1862, 1:1; and on behavior in general, see Levine, Highbrow/Lowbrow, pp. 184-200. 12. Levine, Highbrow/Lowbrow, pp. 187-88. 13. Ibid, p. 40. 14. W. H. Auden, The Dyer's Hand and Other Essays (London: Faber & Faber, '9^3), P- 47415. In addition to this review of Verdi's works, members of the company introduced the public to some selections from his Aroldo (1857). After a performance of I masnadieri one night, Signora Bianchi sang the soprano's "Grand Cavatina," probably "Ah! dagli scanni eterei" (the Cemetery scene); see DAC, 15

302

Notes to Pages 210-236

J u n e 1863, 4:3. And after an evening of Norma, the c o m p a n y baritone, Augusto Fellini, sang an unidentified "cavatina" from Aroldo, probably "Mina, pensai che un angelo"; see DAC, 8 August 1863, 2:3. 16. O n Lincoln and Rigoletto, see H a m m , Yesterdays, p. 88; and Elise K. Kirk, Music at the White House: A History of the American Spirit (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1986), pp. 78-89. W a y n e D. Shirley, Music Specialist in the Music Division of the Library of Congress, reports that in the Library's collection of band music of Francis Scala, w h o was t h e leader of the M a r i n e band in Lincoln's day, there are "band scores or parts for selections from most of the Verdi operas u p through The Sicilian Vespers (even AroldoVj" (Shirley, Letter to author, 26 M a r c h 1991.) 17. O n Lincoln at Un ballo in maschera, see New York Herald, 21 F e b r u a r y 1861, 1:6. Anna Bishop's letter to Lincoln, said by Kirk to be "the earliest letter that we know of from a p e r f o r m i n g artist to a president" (Kirk, Music at the White House, p. 379n.47), is dated 1/ F e b r u a r y 1861 and may be read in t h e Library of Congress, Lincoln Papers, Ser. 1, Reel 17, N o . 7327-7328. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of t h e letter, which in its invitation is straightforward, is that she sent it to Lincoln via the hand of the governor of N e w York, Edwin D. Morgan: " . . . takes the liberty to request His Excellency to have the kindness to convey the enclosed to the H o n o r a b l e Abraham Lincoln" (ibid., N o . 7329-7330). And t h e governor, evidently, did as she asked.

A P P E N D I X C: T R A N S P O S I T I O N S A N D T U N I N G A IN SAN F R A N C I S C O 1. DAC, 11 J u l y 1862, 2:4. 2. Luigi Arditi, My Reminiscences ( N e w York: Dodd, M e a d , 1896), pp. 53-54. 3. For m o r e on traditional transpositions and the reasons for them, see H e n r y Pleasants, Opera in Crisis, pp. 59-66. 4. W P A , " T o m Maguire."

Works Cited

Most of the material in this book I culled from California newspapers of all types published during the Gold Rush decade. Of the dailies in San Francisco, I found most rewarding the Alta California, the Herald, and the Evening Bulletin; also of use were the Evening Picayune, Pacific News, and Morning Call; and out of town, the Sacramento Union. Of the weeklies, the most pertinent for opera were the Golden Era and the Wide West. A monthly, the Pioneer, also was helpful. From Boston, D-wight's Journal of Music, a weekly and sometimes biweekly, reported periodically on music in San Francisco. Four works of exceptional value need a lengthier description. First there are the unpublished theatrical journals of John H. McCabe, in which he lists, day by day, the most important theatrical events, thus providing a continual, though partial, check on the city's musical activities. T h e "Journals" can be read at the California State Library, Sacramento, where they are catalogued under McCabe's name and the title "Theatrical Journals and Diary, 1849-1882." Because unique, they do not circulate, cannot be reproduced, and are not available on interlibrary loan. Of equal importance is Verdi in San Francisco, 1851-1899: A Preliminary Bibliography, by Don L. Hixon, privately published in typescript in 1980 and available in many large or specialized California libraries. Hixon purports to list every performance in San Francisco in the nineteenth century of a Verdi opera. He gives the date, the theatre, the cast, and citations to reviews or news items in several of the city's newspapers. Needless to say, his work is fundamental to anything I have accomplished here, and though for the years 1851—63 I have been able to add twenty-

303

304

Works Cited

three performances to those he records, while subtracting one, in time no doubt someone will improve my reckoning. The first study of opera in San Francisco that attempted to be comprehensive was undertaken during the economic depression of the 1930s as a project of the federal government's Works Progress Administration, the WPA. A team of writers was assembled and under the title San Francisco Theatre Research they produced a series of monographs in typescript. Monograph 17 (in vol. 7), is The History of Opera in San Francisco, Part /, and Monograph 18 (in vol. 8), Part //,- also relevant is Monograph 3 (in vol. 2, pp. 1-69) "Tom Maguire," an account of San Francisco's most famous impresario. No monograph's author is named, and many of the quotations taken from newspapers and journals lack citation. Further, as might be expected in such a pioneer work, details sometimes go awry. Yet the works' overall picture is mostly accurate, and they offer many clues to pursue. A number of California libraries have mimeographed copies, and these usually are available for copying and interlibrary loan. Lastly, there is Thomas G. Kaufman's Verdi and His Major Contemporaries: A Selected Chronology of Performances "with Casts, which gives the date, theatre, cast, and conductor of premieres of all Verdi's operas in most music-loving cities of the world. It is possible in Kaufman's lists to follow the careers of several singers important to this history as well to see the speed with which Verdi's operas penetrated the world. It is mere truth to say: T h e lack of any one of these four books would have required mine to be far more tentative in its conclusions. WORKS

CITED

Periodicals California Historical Society Quarterly Daily Alta California (San Francisco) Daily Evening Bulletin (San Francisco) Daily Evening Picayune (San Francisco) Daily Morning Call (San Francisco) Dv>ight's Journal of Music (Boston, weekly or biweekly) Golden Era (San Francisco, weekly) New York Herald (daily) New York Morning Express (daily) Overland Monthly (San Francisco) Pacific News (San Francisco, daily) Pioneer Magazine (San Francisco, monthly) Sacramento Union (daily) San Francisco Daily Herald San Francisco Directory of City and County Residents and Businesses Wide West (San Francisco, weekly)

305

Works Cited Books and Articles

Arditi, Luigi. My Reminiscences. New York: Dodd, Mead, 1896. Armstrong, W. G. A Record of the Opera in Philadelphia. 1884; reprinted New York: AMS Press, 1976. Auden, W. H. The Dyer's Hand and Other Essays. London: Faber & Faber, 1963. Bancroft, Huben Howe. History of California. Vol. 6: 1848-1859. Santa Barbara, Calif.: Wallace Hebberd, 1970). . Works. Vol. 34: California Pastoral, 1760-1848, and vol. 35: California interpocula. San Francisco: T h e History Co., 1888. Barry, T. A., and B. A. Patten. Men and Memories of San Francisco in the "Spring of'50." San Francisco: A. L. Bancroft & Co., 1873. Basevi, Abramo. Studio sulle opere di Giuseppe Verdi. Florence: Tipografia Tofani, 1859. Bean, Walton. California: An Interpretive History. New York: McGraw Hill, 1968. Bellaigue, Camillo. Verdi: Biografia critica (Milan: Treves, 1913). Budden, Julian. The Operas of Verdi. 3 vols. Vols. 1-2: London: Cassell, 1973-78; vol. 3: New York: Oxford University Press, 1981. Buffum, E. Gould. The Gold Rush: An Account ofSix Months in the California Diggings. 1850; reprinted London: Folio Society, 1959. Caughey, John W., with Norris Hundley, Jr. California: History of a Remarkable State. 4th ed. Englewood Cliffs, NJ.: Prentice-Hall, [1940] 1982. Chorley, Henry F. Thirty Years' Musical Recollections. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1926. Complete Catalogue of Sheet Music and Musical Works, 1870. Reprinted New York: Da Capo Press, 1973. Crane, Clarkson. Last Adventure: San Francisco in 1851; Translatedfrom the Original Journal of Albert Bernard de Russailh by Clarkson Crane. San Francisco: Westgate Press/ Grabhorn Press, 1931. Currey, John E. B. "The Terry-Broderick Duel." Typescript. San Francisco, 1890. Delano, Alonzo. Pen Knife Sketches-, or Chips of the Old Block. 1853; reprinted San Francisco: Grabhorn Press, 1934. Dempsey, David. The Triumphs and Trials of Lotta Crabtree. New York: William Morrow, 1968. de Russailh, Albert Bernard. See Crane, Clarkson. Dunn, Jacob Piatt. Massacres of the Mountains: A History of the Indian Wars of the Far West, 1815-1875. 1886; reprinted London: Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1963. Field, Stephen J. Personal Reminiscences of Early Days in California. 1893; reprinted New York: Da Capo Press, 1968. Garibaldi, Luigi Agostino, ed. Giuseppe Verdi nelle lettere di Emanuele Muzio ad Antonio Barezzi. Milan: Treves, 1931. Gatti-Casazza, Giulio. Memories of the Opera. 1941; reprinted John Calder, 1977. Gould, Milton. A Cast ofHaviks: A Rovidy Tale of Greed, Violence, Scandal, and Corruption in the Early Days of San Francisco. La Jolla, Calif.: Copley Press, 1985. Hamm, Charles. Yesterdays: Popular Song in America. New York: W. W. Norton, 1970. Herz, Henri. My Travels in America. Translated by Henry Bertram Hill. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1963. Hixon, Don L. Verdi in San Francisco, 1851-1899: A Preliminary Bibliography. San Francisco: privately printed, 1980.

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Holliday, J. S. The World Rushed In: The California Gold Rush Experience. N e w York: Simon & Schuster, 1981. Holoman, D. Kern. Berlioz. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1989. Hoist, Imogen. Tune. London: Faber & Faber, 1962. Huntley, Henry Vere. California: Its Gold and Its Inhabitants. 2 vols. London: T h o m a s Cantley Newby, 1856. Jensen, Luke. Giuseppe Verdi and Giovanni Ricordi with Notes on Francesco Lucca, from "Oberto" to "La traviata." New York: Garland, 1989. Kauffmann, Stanley. " T w o Vulgar Geniuses: Augustin Daly and David Belasco." Yale Review 75, no. 4 (Summer 1987): 496-513. Kaufman, T h o m a s G. Verdi and His Major Contemporaries: A Selected Chronology of Performances with Casts. New York: Garland Publishing, 1990. Kellogg, Clara Louise. Memoirs of an American Prima Donna. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1913. Kirk, Elise K. Music at the White House: A History of the American Spirit. Urbana, 111.: University of Illinois Press, 1986. Kmen, Henry A. Music in New Orleans: The Formative Years, 1791-1841. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1966. . "Singing and Dancing in N e w Orleans: A Social History of the Birth and Growth of Balls and Opera, 1791-1841." Ph.D. diss., T u l a n e University, 1961. Kolodin, Irving. The Metropolitan Opera, 1883-1966: A Candid History. N e w York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1966. Krehbiel, Henry Edward. Chapters of Opera, Being Historical and Critical Observations and Records Concerning the l.yric Drama in New York from Its Earliest Days Down to the Present Time. New York: Henry Holt, 1908. Lawrence, Vera Brodsky. Strong on Music: The New York Scene in the Days of George Templeton Strong 1836-1815. Vol. 1: Resonances, 1836-1850. N e w York: Oxford University Press, 1988. Leman, Walter M. Memories of an Old Actor. San Francisco: A. Roman Co., 1886. Levine, Lawrence W. Highbrow/ Lowbrow: The Emergence of Cultural Hierarchy in America. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1988. Lotchin, Roger W. San Francisco, 1846-1856: From Hamlet to City. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1974. Love, Harold. The Golden Age of Australian Opera: W. S. Lyster and his Companies, 18611880. Sydney: Currency Press, 1981. M c C a b e , J o h n H. "Theatrical Journals and Diary, 1849-1882." 2 vols. Ms., California State Library, Sacramento. MacMinn, George A. The Theater of the Golden F.ra in California. Caldwell, Idaho: Caxton Printers, 1941. Maretzek, Max. Crotchets and Quavers, or Revelations of an Opera Manager in America. 1855; reprinted N e w York: Da Capo Press, 1966. Martens, Frederick H. A Thousand and Otte Nights of Opera. N e w York: D. Appleton and Co., 1926. Martin, George. Aspects of Verdi. N e w York: Dodd, Mead, 1988. . The Damrosch Dynasty: America's First Family ofMusic. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1983.

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307

. "La prima rappresentazione di Un ballo in maschera a Boston, 15 marzo 1861." Atti del Primo Congresso internazionale di Studi Verdiani. Parma: Istituto di Studi Verdiani, 1969. Mattfeld, Julius. A Handbook of American Operatic Premieres, 1731-1962. Detroit, Mich.: Information Services, 1963. Monaldi, Gino. Verdi, 1839-1898. 2d ed. Turin: Bocca, 1926. Neville, Amelia. The Fantastic City: Memoirs of the Social and Romantic Life of Old San Francisco. Edited and revised by Virginia Brastow. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1932. Pleasants, Henry. Opera in Crisis: Tradition, Present, Future. New York: Thames & Hudson, 1989. Rodecape, Lois Foster. "Tom Maguire, Napoleon of the Stage." California Historical Society Quarterly 20, no. 4 (December 1941); 21, nos. 1, 2, 3 (March, June, September 1942). Rourke, Constance. Troupers of the Gold Coast, or the Rise of Lotta Crabtree. New York: Harcourt Brace, 1928. Royce, Josiah. California, From the Conquest in 1846 to the Second Vigilance Committee in San Francisco. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin, 1899. Santley, Charles. Student and Singer: The Reminiscences of Charles Santley. London: Edward Arnold, 1892. Schlitzer, F. "Verdi's Alzira at Naples." Music and Letters 35 (1954). Scott, Eleanor. The First Twenty Years of the Santa Fe Opera. Santa Fe, N.M.: Sunshine Press, 1976. "Scrici." Physiology of the Opera. 1852; reprinted New York: Institute for Studies in American Music, Brooklyn College, 1981. Shanet, Howard. Philharmonic: A History of New York's Orchestra. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1975. Sherman, William T. Memoirs of General William T. Sherman, by Himself. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1957. Soulé, Frank, John H. Gihon, and James Nisbet. The Annals of San Francisco. New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1855. . The Annals of San Francisco, Together with the Continuation, Through 1855, Compiled by Dorothy H. Huggins. Palo Alto, Calif.: Lewis Osborne, 1966. Starr, Kevin. Americans and the California Dream, 1850-1915. New York: Oxford University Press, 1973. Strong, George Templeton. The Diary of George Templeton Strong. 4 vols. Edited by Allan Nevins and Milton Halsey Thomas. New York: Macmillan, 1952. Taylor, Bayard. Eldorado, or Adventures in the Path of Empire, Comprising a Voyage to California, via Panama, Life in San Francisco and Monterey, Pictures of the Gold Region, and Experiences of Mexican Travel. 1850; reprinted New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1949. Thompson, Oscar. The American Singer: A Hundred Years of Success in Opera. New York: Dial Press, 1937. Toye, Francis. Giuseppe Verdi: His Life and Works. 1946; reprinted New York: Vintage Books, 1959. Upham, Samuel C. Notes of a Voyage to California via Cape Horn, Together with Scenes in El Dorado, in the Years 1849- 50. Philadelphia, 1878.

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Verdi, Giuseppe. I copialettere di Giuseppe Verdi. Edited by Gaetano Cesari and Alessandro Luzio. Milan, 1913. . Rigoletto. Vol. 17 of The Critical Edition, 1st ser. Edited by Martin Chusid. Chicago; University of Chicago Press/Milan: G. Ricordi & Co., 1983. Ware, W. Porter, and T h a d d e u s C. Lockard, Jr. P. T. Barnum Presents Jenny Lind: The American Tour of the Swedish Nightingale. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1980. Werfel, Franz, and Paul Stefan, eds. Verdi: The Man in His Letters. Translated by Edward O. Downes. 1942; reprinted N e w York: Vienna House, 1973. White, Eric Walter. A History of English Opera. London: Faber & Faber, 1983. White, Stewart Edward. The Forty-Niners. N e w Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1918. Whitman, Walt. New York Dissected by Walt Whitman: A Sheaf of Recently Discovered Newspaper Articles by the Author of "Leaves of Grass. " Edited by Emory Holloway and Ralph Adimari. New York: Rufus Rockwell Wilson, 1936. Works Progress Administration (WPA). San Francisco Theatre Research. Edited by Lawrence Estavan. Monographs 17 and 18 (in vols. 7 and 8): The History of Opera in San Francisco, Part I and Part II. San Francisco, 1938. —. San Francisco Theatre Research. Edited by Lawrence Estavan. Monograph 3 (in vol. 2, pp. 1-96): " T o m Maguire." San Francisco, 1939.

Index

Entries concerning the more frequently mentioned composers and their operas are presented with general comments in a paragraph preceding the operas, which then follow alphabetically. The abbreviation SF denotes San Francisco; prem, premiere; perf, performance; and rev, review. Birth and death years are given for all composers and for other musicians only when certain. An asterisk denotes an immigrant to San Francisco who settled there, at least for a great part of his or her working life, whether or not he or she became a citizen of the United States. Thus, an entry such as "Cora, Charles*, Italian professional gambler" denotes a resident, not a transient, of Italian background. Abalos, Francisca*, S p a n i s h / M e x i c a n

La Muette de Portici (Masaniello), SF prem,

soprano: sings Bellini aria, 21; in SF's

in English, with enlarged orchestra

first opera, Sonnambula, 24; in Norma, 26; vocal qualities, 26, 261 n.10,

and chorus, 64; in French, 85 Auden, W[ystan] H[ugh], E n g l i s h / A m e r i c a n

265 n.43

poet/librettist: opera and ethos of nineteenth century, 208, 210

Acquasoni, V., bass-baritone, 31; in SF's first opera, Sonnambula, 24

Australia, artists leaving SF for, 54, 87, 93, 105, 152, 198, 299 n.19

Auber, Daniel-Francjois-Esprit (1782-1871), French composer; works popular in SF in 1850s, 3

Balfe, Michael William (1808-70), Irish

Black Domino (Le Domino noire), SF prem, in

singer/composer: works popular in

English, 60

SF in 1850s, 3; song, " O n the Banks

Crown Diamonds (Les Diamanti de la

of t h e Guadalquiver," 19

couronne), SF prem, in French, 58; in

Tie Bohemian Girl, 3, 202, 203; SF p r e m ,

English, 60; English version, 135, 172

.

Fra Diavolo, 194; SF prem, in English,

60; English version, 136, 172, 174; contralto in tenor role, 136; revived,

274 n.22; English version, 135, 174;

190-91; sentimentality of, 191

burlesque of, 172

The Enchantress, 3, 202; SF prem, 60; A.

309

Index

310 Balfe (continued)

favors Paris pitch, 236; in SF prems of

T h i l l o n ' s version heavily cut, 74;

Macbeth, 2 4 7 - 5 0 , / masnadieri, 2 5 0 - 5 1 , Luisa Miller, 2 5 1 - 5 2

revived, 184 The Maid of Artois, A. Bishop's London

Bianchi, Giovanna* (1827-95), Italian soprano and wife of E. Bianchi:

d e b u t in and description, 52 Rose of Castille, SF prem fails, 1 8 4 - 8 5 Ballets, spectacles, circuses, 17, 19, 74, 98,

arrives in 1858, 1 18, 286 n.l9; portrait, 120; vocal qualities, 121, 122,

194; Pluto and Proserpine (music of

129-30, 133, 152, 286 n.20; sixteen

Trovatore), 174

concerts in fifty-eight days, 124; in

Barili-Thorn, Clotilda, Italian soprano:

SF prem of Trovatore, 125, 127-31, of

arrives in 1854, 67; vocal qualities,

Traviata, 144-46, of Attila, 148-51; to

68, 69; bronchitis, 69, 70, 277 n.8; on

Australia, 152, 292 n.25; returns in

Pacific circuit, 69, 84, 276 n.l; SF

1862, 208; in SF prems of Macbeth,

p r e m s of Don Giovanni, 75, Lombardi,

247-50, of / masnadieri, 2 5 0 - 5 1 , of

7 7 - 8 1 , Due Foscari, 81; to South America, 84; significance in SF, 88 Basevi, Abramo, Italian critic: compares

Luisa Miller, 2 5 1 - 5 2 Biscaccianti, Alessandro, cellist/manager and husband of E. Biscaccianti, 36, 37; letter proposing resident c o m p a n y for

Verdi to Donizetti, 7 0 - 7 1 Bazari, Luigi, Italian impresario, 279 n.25 Bedei, Marietta, Italian soprano: in SF prem

SF (illus.), 38 Biscaccianti, Eliza (1824-96), American soprano: arrives in 1852, 34; portrait,

of Nabucco, 72 Belasco, David, American a c t o r / m a n a g e r /

35; recital programs, 35-37; sings "Emani, involami," 35; burlesque on,

playwright, 285 n.3, 288 n.6

36; on tour, 37, 266 n.5; benefit for

Bellini, Vincenzo (1801-60), Italian composer: popularity in 1850s, 1, 3,

Washington M o n u m e n t , 37; SF prem

21, 24, 26, 35, 53, 67, 162; J. S.

of Rossini's Stabat Mater, 37; leaves

Dwight compares to Verdi, 71

for Pacific circuit, 37, 269 n.31;

Norma, SF's second opera, 26; d u e t sung,

returns in 1859, 170; five concerts,

36; "opera-in-brief," 42; perfs, 53, 54,

170; vocal decline, 171; recital with

136, 187; in French, 59

Ferets, 173; in SF prem of Puritani,

I Puritani: piano variations, 15; flute fantasy, 22; male voices, 28; SF prem,

185; d r o p p e d from Maguire-Lyster Co., 189; reviews, 300 n.2; death, 171 Bishop, Anna Rivière (1810-84), English

185 La sonnambula: aria "Ah, non giunge"

soprano: arrives in 1854, 5 0 - 5 2 ;

extremely popular, 1, 35, 162, 171;

portrait, 51; vocal qualities, 52;

aria sung, 21; flute fantasy, 22; SF's

concert program notes, 53, 271 n.4;

first opera, 24; first revival, 28; "opera-

costumes, 53, 156; in Norma, 54; first

in-brief," 42; perf, 54; English version,

opera season, 54; in SF p r e m of Don

135, 174; revived in Italian, 185, 195 Bianchi, Eugenio* (ca. 1823-95), Italian

Pasquale, 54, of Der Freischütz (with enlarged chorus and orchestra), 6 2 - 6 4 ;

tenor/impresario: arrives in 1858,

language ability, 274 n.26; in Verdi

118-19, 286 n.19; portrait, 119; vocal

pastiche Judith, 6 5 - 6 6 ; berated for cuts

qualities, 118, 121, 122, 152; sixteen

in Bohemian Girl and casting in Fra

concerts in fifty-eight days, 124; SF

Diavolo, 274 n.22; prem of Elisir,

prem of Trovatore, 125, 127-31; sued

74, of Don Giovanni, 74; on tour, 85;

by Maguire, 133-35; quarrel with

resumes in SF with prem of Gazza

Ferets, 136; breaks with Maguire,

ladra, 85; burlesque of Norma, 85;

140; in SF prem of Traviata,

sings " E m a n i , involami" and Macbeth

144-46,

of Attila, 148-51; search for

"brindisi," 86; farewell concert,

subscribers, 152; skill as impresario, 152;

87; to Australia, 87; in N e w York in

to Australia, 152, 292 n.25; returns in 1862, 208; Verdi festival, 208-10;

1861, invites Lincoln to opera, 210 Bishop, H e n r y R. (1786-1855), English

Index

311 composer: " H o m e , Sweet H o m e , " 36, 51, 87; version of Rossini's Barber; 60, 62, of Mozart's Figaro, 141; pastiche Rob Roy, 137

Bochsa, Robert Nicholas C h a r l e s (1789-1856), B o h e m i a n / F r e n c h h a r p i s t / c o m p o s e r / c o n d u c t o r : arrives in 1854 with A. Bishop, 5 0 - 5 2 ; as

Cora, C h a r l e s ' , Italian professional gambler, 99-104 Coulon, Emile, French baritone, 60, 105; Lombardi aria, 56; interest in new music, 56; in five SF prems, including first Rossini Barber, in French, 215 Crabtree, Lotta M *, American child star/actress, 1 17, 285 n.15

harpist, 5 2 - 5 3 , 76; in SF prems of Freischütz, Verdi pastiche Judith, and La Muette de Portici (all with enlarged chorus and orchestra), 6 2 - 6 4 ; in SF p r e m s of Don Giovanni and Robert le diable, 75-76-, ill health, 85; revives Muette in French, 85, and Freischütz in English, 86; place in SF's musical life, 63, 8 7 - 8 8 ; to Australia, 87, 281 n.65 Boieldieu, Adrien (1775-1834), French composer: La Dame blanche, SF prem, 48 Jean de Paris, SF prem in English version, 137 Booth, Edwin T h o m a s , American actor, 105, 112 Broderick, David C., U.S. Senator from

Daly, Augustin, American impresario/ playwright/stage director: SF's laggard taste in acting, 161 De Haga, J o h n , basso, 177; mars SF p r e m of Rigoletto, 187, 297 n.25 De Russailh, Albert Bernard, French journalist: French dislike of Americans, 3 3 - 3 4 ; tensions in SF life, 93, 257 n.2, 259 n.6 Donizetti, G a e t a n o (1797-1848), Italian composer: works popular in SF in 1850s, 3; French favor his French works, 3, 4, 22, 48; style c o m p a r e d to Rossini and Verdi, 57; A. Basevi and J. S. D w i g h t compare him to Verdi, 7 0 - 7 1 ; on Verdi's Due Foscari, 81

California, 113; killed in duel,

Belisario, 22

164-68

L'elisir d'amore, d u e t in costume, 22;

Budden, Julian, English scholar/critic: on Attila, 1 4 7 - 4 8 Buffum, E[dward] G o u l d , American journalist: prices, and profits of

"opera-in-brief," 42; SF prem, 74 La Favorite, aria in concert, 15; Act IV p r o d u c e d , 22; SF prem, 48; revived, 189 La Fille du régiment, very popular in 1850s,

miners, 264 n.29; pollution of

3; "opera-in-brief," 42; SF prem, 48;

countryside, 90

T h i l l o n sings in English, then in French, 60; perf stopped by fistfight,

Cailly, Clarisse, B e l g i a n / F r e n c h soprano: arrives in 1854 and joins Planel's company, 58; sings SF's first Lucia di Lammermoor, in French, 58; sings Lombardi aria and "Ernani, involami," 59; departs, 59, 273 n.18

91; flute fantasy, 122; English version, 137, 172, 174 Linda di Chamounix, aria " O luce di quest'anima" sung, 36, 173; SF p r e m in English, 62 Lucia di Lammermoor, piano variations, 15;

Casey, J a m e s P.*, SF politician, 102, 104

d u e t in concert, 21; aria "Spargi

C h a p m a n , Mrs. G e o r g e , American actress,

d ' a m o r " sung, 36; "opera-in-brief,"

105 C o l e m a n , William Tell", SF businessman, 102-4 Collins, Julia G o u l d . See G o u l d , Julia Comassi, Luigi, Italian tenor, sings aria from Macbeth, 87 Cooke, T h o m a s [ T o m ] Simpson

42; SF p r e m in French, 58; J. S. Dwight on D. G a r b a t o in, 96; "challenge scene" sung, 59, 273 n.17; opens Maguire-Lyster season, 179 Lucrezia Borgia, popular in 1850s, 3; SF prem, 62; D. G a r b a t o sings aria, 98; revived, 136

(1782-1848), Irish

Maria di Rohan, SF p r e m fails, 67

t e n o r / v i o l i n i s t / c o m p o s e r . See

Marin Faliero, 28

Planché, J a m e s Robinson

Don Pasquale, "opera-in-brief," 42; SF

312

Index

Donizetti

(continued)

Flotow, Friedrich (1812-83), G e r m a n

prem, 54; English version, 136; Donizetti not allowed contemporary costumes, 146

sentimentality of story, 191; at

Dumas, Alexandre fils (1824-95), French novelist/playwright: history of Camille (La Dame aux camélias) in SF, 143-44; intended play to be a contemporary drama, 146

Lincoln's second inauguration, 210 Foster, Stephen (1826-64), American composer: piano fantasy on "Oh! Susanna," 15; "Old Folks at H o m e "

D u r a n d , Rosalie (1833-66), American light soprano: arrives with N e w Orleans English Opera T r o u p e in 1859, 172, 289 n.16; in SF p r e m of Le nozze di Figaro, in English version, 295 n.24; forms D u r a n d - H o d s o n company, 173; with M a g u i r e - L y s t e r c o m p a n y fails in SF p r e m of Rose ofCastille,

184-85;

recoups with Bohemian Girl, 190-91; farewell in Fra Diavolo, in English, 194; to Australia, 299 n.19 D w i g h t , J o h n Sullivan, Boston e d i t o r / c r i t i c / e d u c a t o r : compares Verdi, Donizetti, Bellini, 71; Verdi's style in Emani, 9 5 - 9 6 ; D. Garbato's voice in Lucia di Lammermoor, 96

sung, 36, 266 n.9 Garbato, Drusilla, Italian soprano, arrives with husband in 1855, 95, without costumes or publicity, 283 n.14; vocal qualities, 95, 97; flair for "Ernani, involami," 96; excerpts from 'I'rovatore, 98; m o r e concerts, 101; out of town, 105, 106; farewell concert, 284 n.35 Garbato, Luigi, Italian c o n d u c t o r / m a n a g e r and husband of D. Garbato: 95, 97, 284 n.35 Gatti-Casazza, Giulio, Italian i m p r e s a r i o / m a n a g e r of the Metropolitan Opera, N e w York: on scenery, 155 Gay, J o h n (1685-1732), English

Escott, Lucy (ca. 1828-95), American dramatic soprano: arrives in 1860 with Maguire-Lyster company, 175-76, 295 n.l; portrait, 178; opens in Lucia di Lammermoor, 179; in SF prems of Maritana,

composer: Martha, 3, 66; SF prem, 220; revived, 191;

179-80, Rigoletto,

185, Lurline, 193-94; vocal qualities, 182, 198; honored, 191; Hans W e r n e r Henze's Lucy Escott Variations, 296 n.2; to Australia, 299 n.19 Feret, J e n n y , French mezzo-soprano: in SF prem of Trovatore, 136; breaks with Bianchi, 136; revives Paer's Maitre de

p l a y w r i g h t / p o e t / m u s i c arranger: The Beggars Opera, SF prem, 137; style of, 141 G e r m a n i a C o n c e r t Society: programs, 84, 87, 101 G o u l d , Julia, American actress/singer, 6 3 - 6 4 , 113 Grisar, Albert (1808-69), Belgian composer: Gilles Ravisseur, SF's first U.S. prem, 4 8 - 4 9 Gutierrez, Antonio Garcia, Spanish playwright: El trovador

(Trovatore)

performed, 137-38, 289 n.24

169, 294 n.9; recital with E.

Hauser, Miska (1822-87), Hungarian violinist/composer: violin fantasy on Ernani, 48

Biscaccianti, 173

Hayes, Catherine (1825-61), Irish soprano:

chapelle, 168-69; starts music school,

Feret, [Ferdinand?], French conductor and husband of J. Feret: leads SF prem of

arrives in 1852, managed by agent of P. T . Barnum, 39, 267 n.l8;

Trovatore, 136; starts music school,

accompanied by Josef Mengis,

169, 289 n.l8, 294 n.9; plays Miserere

baritone, and Rudolph Herold,

(Trovatore) on harmonica, 173 Field, Stephen J.*, California lawyer/U.S.

pianist, 39, 267 n.l 7, 270 n.l 5; chaperoned by mother, 39, 42, 43;

S u p r e m e C o u r t Justice: spirit of early

portrait, 40; vocal qualities, 41; a

SF, 5; idealism, 10; guns and knives

favorite of the Irish, 41;

in state legislature, 165

concerts-in-costume or

313

Index "operas-in-brief," 41; on tour, 41; earnings, 43, 54; fails to sing Verdi, 43; to South America, 43; returns in 18S4 and fails in Norma, 53-54; concerts with Leonardi, bass, 54; to Australia, 54 Herbert, Victor (1859-1924), American composer/conductor, 207 Hérold, Ferdinand (1791-1833), French composer: Le Pré aux clercs, piano variations on, 15 Herold, Rudolph*, pianist/conductor: arrives with Hayes, 48, 270 n.15; leads Pacific Musical Troupe, 48; during strike replaces Loder conducting Lombardi, 80; conducts for Bianchi and Caecilien-Verein, 121, 170 Heron, Matilda, American actress: in Camille, 144; influence of acting style, 160-61 Herz, Henri (1803-88), French pianist/composer: arrives in 1850, 15; concerts in SF, with fantasies on opera melodies and popular songs, 15-17; in Sacramento, 16-17; influence of, 16-17 Hodson, Georgia (1826-1901), Irish contralto/mezzo-soprano: arrives with New Orleans English Opera Troupe in 1859, 136, 289 n.16; sings tenor roles, 136, 137; SF prem of Mozart's Figaro, in English version, 295 n.24; in winter 1859-60 forms Durand-Hodson company, 173; in Maguire-Lyster company, 177-79; vocally weak in Italian opera, 182; as Cherubino, 191; to Australia, 299n.l9 Johnson, J. Neely, Governor of California, 104 Kammerer, E., mezzo-soprano: sings baritone role in SF prem of Attila, 150 Keene, Laura, English/American actress/manager, 158, 211 Kellogg, Clara Louise (1842-1916), American soprano: costume for Traviata, 156; models Violetta on Heron's Marguerite, 160; Rigoletto banned in Boston, 186 King of William, James*, Scottish banker/journalist: campaigns to clean up SF, 100-102, 113 Korsinsky-Von Gulpen, Mathilde*,

mezzo-soprano: apparently first professional artist in SF to sing Verdi, 18; rev, 19; portrait, 20; career in East, 19-21, 260 n.8; concert, 21; repeats aria, 22; in SF prem of Norma, 26; sings baritone role in SF prem of Emani, 29—31; in Freischutz, 64; in SF prem of Gazza ladra, 85; vocal qualities, 260 n.5 Lacy, Michael Rophino (1795-1867), English violinist/conductor/arranger: English versions of operas, 60, 141 Laglaise, (?), French tenor: with Planel company in 1853, in SF prems of La Fille du regiment, La Favorite, La Dame blanche, and Gilles Ravisseur, 48, 215; in SF prem of Lucia di Lammermoor, in French, with "challenge scene," 58-59, 273 n.17; with Thillon, 60; to Australia, 105 Lanzoni, Alessandro, Italian baritone: arrives in 1854 with Barili-Thorn, 69; SF's first Nabucco, 72, and Don Giovanni, 75; in SF prem of Elisir, 74, of Lombardi, 77-81, of Foscari, 81-84; in singers' strike, 77-81; in SF prem of Gazza ladra, 85; in burlesque of Norma, 85; failure of his benefit, 86; to South America, 257 n.l; Verdi prems on Pacific circuit, 281 n.52 Leach, Stephen W.*, Irish utility singer: arrives with Thillon in 1853, 59, 149, 291 n.20; in SF prem of Trovatore, 132; in Emani, 132; fails as Attila in SF prem, 149; in Maguire-Lyster company, 177 Leonardi, Francesco, Italian bass-baritone: arrives with Hayes in 1854, from South America, 53; SF's first Don Pasquale, 54; Pacific circuit, 54, 57, 257 n.l; excerpts from Attila and Nabucco, 55-56; interest in new music, 56, 272 n.13; vocal qualities, 70; in Emani, 70, Nabucco, 72; final perfs, 278 n.24 Levine, Lawrence W., American scholar: Shakespeare and ethos of nineteenth century, 207 Lincoln, Abraham, U.S. President: love of opera, 210; hears first two acts of Ballo in maschera, 210

314

Index

Lind, Jenny (1820-87), Swedish soprano, 18 Loder, George (1816-68), English conductor/pianist/composer: arrives in 1852, appearance, early career, 44-45; conducts for E. Biscaccianti, Hayes, and Thillon, 44, 54, 60-62; founds SF's first Philharmonic Society, 44; conducts for Barili-Thorn, 68; in SF prems of Nabucco, 70, 72, of Lomhardi, 77; with SF Minstrels, 113; arranges opera burlesques, 45, 113, 269 n.7; to Australia, 93, 105 Lyster, Frederick (1832-?), Irish light baritone/arranger: arrives in 1859 with New Orleans English Opera Troupe, 289 n.16; brother of W. S. Lyster, 172, 177; inadequate for Rigoletto in SF prem, 187; arranges Mozart's Figaro for opera's SF prein, 295 n.24; to Australia, 299 n.19 Lyster, William Saurin (1827-80), Irish/Australian impresario: arrives in 1859 with New Orleans English Opera Troupe, 289 n.16; brother of F. Lyster, 172; start of Maguire-Lyster Co., 172, 175-76; profits, 188; stages benefit for Escott, 191; record in SF as impresario, 195; to Australia, 299 n.19 Lyster Company (See also Maguire-Lyster Company): six-night season in 1860, 198; to Australia, 198, 299 n.19 McKarkel, W.", organist/harpist, 75—76 Maguire, Emma*, T o m Maguire's first wife, 111

Maguire, John*, Tom Maguire's younger brother, 111 Maguire, Thomas*, American saloon keeper/impresario: arrives in 1849, 111; portrait, 110; background in New York, courage, and rough behavior, 111-12, 117, 171; builds twelve theatres in California, 111; three Jenny Lind Theatres in SF, 112, 228; loses third in 1852, and recoups with saloon and gambling hall, 112; in 1855 buys San Francisco Hall and SF Minstrels, 112; wary of Vigilance Committee, 113; rebuilds SF Hall as Maguire's New Opera

House, 109, 113-14, 114 (illus.); drop curtain, 114-16; rejects Lotta M. Crabtree, 117; enlarges opera house, 117, finances it by saloon and gambling, 117-18; SF Minstrel burlesques of operas, 113, 172; in 1859 presents Bianchis in concert series, 121-24; sends Bianchis on tour, 124; controls theatres in Sacramento, 124, 140; repaints opera house, 125; SF prem of Trovatore, 125, 127; breaks with Bianchis, 1 33-35, 289 n.15, 140; power as impresario, 151; in 1859 backs New Orleans English Opera Troupe in opera in English, 135, 289 n.16; repertory and casting, 135—37; sends to interior, 136, 140; farewell perfs and plans for enlarged company, 172, 175; in 1859-60 presents Durand-Hodson company in English opera and spectacles, 172, 173-75; in 1860 presents Maguire-Lyster company, 172, 175-76; SF prems of Maritana, 179-80 and Rigoletto, 185; low prices, high profits, 188; SF prem of Lurline, 193-94; record of Maguire-Lyster seasons, 195; ends partnership with Lyster, 198; death in New York, 284 n.2 Maguire-Lyster Company: creation, 172, 175-76; leading singers and size of orchestra and chorus, 177-79; first season, 179-87; SF prems of Maritana, 179-80, Rose of Castille, 184-85, Puritani, 185, and Rigoletto, 185-87; low prices, high profits, 188; on tour, 189; second season, 189-92; 'I'mviata, not Rigoletto, revived, 189-90; Bohemian Girl and Martha revived, 190-91; on tour, 192; third season, 192-95; twelve perfs without repetition, 193; SF prem of Lurline, 193-94; farewell perfs, 194-95; summary of three seasons, 195 Mauri-Pellegrini, Rosina, Italian soprano and wife of Innocenzo Pellegrini: arrives in 1851, 23; in SF's first opera, Sonnambula, 24; portrait, 30; in SF prem of Emani, 31 Mengis, Josef, Swiss baritone: arrives with Hayes in 1852, 39, 267 n. 17; his

315

Index success, 268 n.29; departs with Hayes for South America, 43; returns with her in 1854, 53-54; stays in city, 54; in SF prem of Freischütz, 63, of Elisir, 74; SF's first Leporello, 75; burlesque of Norma, 85; concert excerpts of Trovatore, 98 Meyerbeer, Giacomo (1791-1864), German composer: Le Propb'ete, Hayes sings "Ah, mon fils," 41 Robert le diable, SF prem in English, with Bishop and enlarged chorus and orchestra, 75-76; later perfs in French, 76; in Paris, first opera to be lit by gas, 94 Minstrel companies. See San Francisco Minstrels Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus (1756-91), Austrian composer: Requiem sung, 152 Don Giovanni, SF prem, 75, 279 n.30 Le nozze dì Figaro, aria "Porgi amor" sung, 35; SF prem in English version, 295 n.24; revived, 184, 185, 191 New Orleans, influence of, in 1840s, 4; passion for opera, 199, 299 n.20 New Orleans English Opera Troupe: arrives in 1859, 289 n.16; fails with opening Sonnambula, 135; English version repertory, 1 35-36; women in men's roles, 136, 137; to Sacramento, 136; summer in SF and tour, 140; farewell perfs, 172 New York City, changing taste in opera, 4; Academy of Music costumes, 156; Metropolitan Opera scenery, 155, and enlarged chorus, 204 Nisbet, James*, Scottish journalist, 126, 132, 287 n.3 OPERA (in U.S. in mid-nineteenth century). See also San Francisco: Opera History Advantage of mixing serious and light opera, 73-74, 145, 198 Arrangements of arias, 57-58, 272 n.14 Audience behavior, 32-33, 149, 206-7 Bellini, popularity, 1 Categories of voice start to splinter, 183-84 Chorus, sire, 26, 68, 204 Costumes, 42, 53, 68, 155-56, 271 n.4; in Traviata, 146, 291 n. 13

Dwight, John S.: compares Bellini, Donizetti, Verdi, 71 English operas and versions of foreign operas, 60-62, 135-36, 184, 202; cuts, 60, 62, 137, 154, 174, 274n.22; insertions, 136, 205; spoken dialogue, 141, 197-98; von Weber on English opera's peculiarity, 197-98 Ethos of nineteenth century, 164-68, 207-8 Gap widening between serious and light opera, 141, 142-43, 162-63, 182-84, 202-3 How opera spread, 1, 4; on coattails of drama, 14, 18-19, 32 Lighting, 26-27, 157-58 Music stores, role, 57-58, 272 nn.13, 14, 291 n.18 New concepts of illusion, 156, 161 New Orleans, influence, 4, 199, 299 n.20 Opera's need to humanize issues, 207-8 Orchestra, size, 63, 68, 87, 121-22, 145, 179, 204, 290 n. 10 Orchestration increasingly sophisticated, 141-43 Rise of realism in sets and acting, 157-62 Rise of stage director, 153; Verdi's desire to control the production, 154, 158-59 Transpositions of vocal line, 149, 174, 233-36 Troupes, size: on East coast in 1840s, 4, 68; in SF in 1850s, 23, 68, 289 n.16, 299 n.19 Pacific Musical Troupe: in SF in 1853, 44-45; Loder conducts, 44; success with Act III finale of Emani, 46; to Sacramento, 48; in SF, 48, 270 n.16 Pacific opera circuit, 1, 201, 257 n.l; E. Biscaccianti, 37, 170, 269 n.31; Hayes, 43, 53, 269 n.31; Leonardi, 54, 257 n.l; Cailly, 58; Mengis, 43, 53; Barili-Thorn, 68, 69, 84, 276 n.l; E. and G. Bianchi, 118, 286 n.l9; Lanzoni, 257 n.l Paer, Ferdinando (1771-1839), Italian composer: Le Maitre de chapelle, SF prem, 58-59; revived, 168-69 Patti, Carlotta (1835-89), Italian soprano/pianist: half-sister of Barili-Thorn, 68; debut as pianist

316 Patti (continued) with Verdi variations, 84; debut as singer, 281 n.53 Pellegrini, Innocenzo, Italian tenor: arrives in 1851, 23; produces SF's first opera, Sonnambula, 24; portrait, 25; SF prem of Norma, 26, of Ernani, 31 ; casting Ernani, 28-31; to Sacramento, 31; vanishes, 31 Pepusch, John (1667-1752), German/English musician/composer. See Gay, John P E R F O R M I N G GROUPS A N D O R G A N I Z A T I O N S IN SF: Barili-Thorn troupe, 67-84 E. and G. Bianchi, 118-152, 208-10 E. and A. Biscaccianti, 34-37 A. Bishop and N. Bochsa, 50-87 Caecilien Verein, 170 C. Cailly and Planel, 58-59 Durand-Hodson troupe, 172-73 Les Enfants de Paris, 168 D. and L. Garbato, 95-106 German Chorus, 170, 175 Germania Concert Society, 84, 86, 87, 101 C. Hayes and J. Mengis, 37-43, 53-54 Lyster Company, 198, 299 n.19 Maguire-Lyster Company, 172, 175, 176-98 Metropolitan Theatre band, 63 New Orleans English Opera Troupe, 133, 135-40, 172, 289 n.16 Pacific Musical Troupe, 44-48 Pellegrini troupe, 23-31 Philharmonic Concert Society, 97 Philharmonic Society, 44 Planel French company, 22, 48-49, 58-59 San Francisco Minstrels, 84-85, 109, 113, 128, 172 Sängerbund, 63 A. Thillon and S. W. Leach, 59-62 Turn Gesangverein, 26, 63, 64 Verandah Concert Society, 63 Planché, James Robinson (1796-1880), English playwright/music arranger: The Two Figaros, 173-74 Planel, Hortense", French soprano/wife of L. T. Planel, 22, 48, 169, 294 n.10 Planel, Louis Theophile*, (1805-89), French violinist/impresario/teacher, 22, 261 n.13; organizes SF's first resident company, 48; season of five operas,

Index 48; the prems, 58; prepares parts for Lombardi, 80; with wife starts music school, 169, 294 n. 10 Popular songs, performed either embroidered or plain, 15, 171, 266 n.8 "Auld Robin Gray," 55 "Believe Me, If All Those Endearing Young Charms," 36 "Comin' Thro' the Rye," 36, 173 "Death of Warren at Bunker Hill," 31 "Hail Columbia," used as national anthem, 172 "Home, Sweet Home," 36, 51, 55, 87, 171 "I Am Queen of a Fairy Band," 36 "I'm Not Meself At All," 291 n.20 "The Irish Immigrant's Lament," 55 "John Anderson, My Jo," 36 "Kathleen Mavourneen," 173 "Last Rose of Summer," piano variations on, 15, 41, 171, 266 n.8 "Oh! Susanna," piano variation on, 15 "Old Folks at Home," 36, 266 n.9 "The Rale Ould Irish Gintleman," 291 n.20 "Widow Machree," 291 n.20 "Yankee Doodle," represents U.S. in piano medley of national airs, 16, 172 Reift, Anthony, American conductor/pianist/composer, 169, 179, 198, 299 n. 19 Richardson, William H.*, California politician: quarrel in theatre, 98-99; shot in street, 99 Rossini, Gioachino (1792-1868), Italian composer: SF prem of Stabat Mater, 27; duet "Quis est homo" sung, 173; compared by critics to Verdi, 36, 135; compared to Donizetti, 57; slipping from repertory, 195-96 II barbiere di Siviglia: soprano aria sung, 21; "opera-in-brief," 42; SF prem, in French, 48-49; "La calunnia" in concert, 54; revived, in French, 58; in Italian, 67, 278 n.24; English version, 135; contralto in tenor role, 136 Cinderella: SF prem, heavily cut, 60, 62; Lacy's English version, 60; curious English version, 136 La gazza ladra, SF prem, 85 Mose in Egitto, excerpts in Cinderella, 136

Index Tancredi, Bishop sings "landing scene," 53, 156; clarinet variations, 86 William Tell, overture, 86; excerpts in Cinderella, 136; Biscaccianti sings "Sombre forêt," 173 Ryan, Arabella*, brothel madam, 99, 104 Sacramento: first theatre in California, 13-14; Herz, 15-16, 260n.l6; Pellegrini troupe, 31; E. Biscaccianti, 37; Pacific Musical Troupe, 48; Barili-Thom troupe, 73; Bianchis, 124-25; Maguire controls theatres, 124, 140; New Orleans English Opera Troupe, 136; Durand-Hodson troupe, 173; theatres cold in winter, 173; Maguire-Lyster Co., 189 SAN FRANCISCO: General history Americans, 27-28; prone to violence, 33-34, 91, 117 Before the Gold Rush, 10 Clothing, 16, 27, 131, 260 n.16, 264n.30 Drinking, 12, 37, 90-91 Dueling, 91-92, 99, 282 n.8; Gwin-McCorkle duel, 293 n.2; Hunt-Hubert duel, 91-92; Broderick-Terry duel, 164-68; out of fashion, 168 Economic recession of 1854-56, 69, 75, 76, 89, 280 n.49; transforms into political-moral crisis, 89-90; ends by 1860, 196 Entertainment, types of, 17, 19, 49, 92, 105, 286 n.18 Fires in city, 11, 31 French, 2, 22, 80; elegance of, 16; bar-maids and prostitutes, 27, 257 n.2, 259 n.6; dislike of Americans, 33-34; demand own Vigilance officers, 103; signs of assimilation, 169 Gambling, 12, 44, 90, 282 n.5 Germans, 26, 63, 64, 129, 152, 262 n.2 3 Harbor littered with ships, 90 Homicides, 91, 99; attempted, the Bateman case, 91, and Crabtree-Maguire, 117 Irish, 27, 268 n.21 Isolation of, 4, 47, 203 Italians, 131-32, 144, 301 n.5 Mediterranean quality of, 116 Mining, 27, 90 Newspapers, style of, 46-48, 59

317 Performing Groups and Organizations. See separate headings Population: California in 1848, 10 SF as Yerba Buena, in 1847, 10 SF before Gold Rush, 3 SF in 1851, 3 SF in 1852, 257 n.2 SF in 1854, 92, 257 n.2 proportion of women to men, 2, 92, 257 n.2 diversity, 3, 257 n.2 emigration from California, 93 SF in 1860, 196, 298 n.14 Prices, 15-16, 17, 27, 31, 69, 80, 122-23, 169, 188, 196, 206, 264 n.29 Puritanism and the arts, 143-44, 290 n.5 Saloons, 12; Bella Union, 12-13; Parker House, 19, 111, 112; number in 1852, 44; El Dorado, 90 Second Vigilance Committee, 102-6; effect on politics, 104, on arts, 105; disbands, 109 Smoking, 28, 91 Spanish music, songs, 3; before Gold Rush, 9; in saloons, 13, 265 n.43; at concerts, 87, 101, 271 n.4, 283 n.14; Tlo Canillitas, pastiche, 106 Spitting, 28, 91, 171 Streets and street lighting, 16, 42, 94 Suicides, 91, 93 Theatres, opera houses, and concert halls. See separate heading Volunteer Fire Companies: importance in social life, 39; theatre benefits, 19, 37, 59, 101 SAN FRANCISCO: Opera History Arrangements of arias, 15, 21, 22, 57-58, 272 n.14 Audience behavior: applause, 32-33, 131, 149 drinking, 12, 27-28, 117 eating, 28, 160, 264 n.33 increasing sophistication, 161, 192 smoking, 28 spitting, 28 violence, 91-92, 282 n.6, 301 n.ll whistling, 33-34 Audience composition, 131, 162-63, 264 n.30 Bellini, popularity, 1, 21, 24-26, 35, 53, 67

Index

318 SAN FRANCISCO (continued) Burlesques on operas: Bohemian Girl, 113 Cinderella, 113 Ernani, 84-85, 113 Fille du régiment, 84, 113 Fra Diavolo, 84-85, 113, 172 Gazza ladra, 84 Norma, 85, 113 Casting problems, 53, 129, 149. See also women in men's roles Chorus, size of, 26, 68, 75, 133, 136, 170, 179, 204 Claque, 181-82 Concert programs: 1850: 21 1853: 4 5 - 4 6 1855: 86 1858: 122 1859: 170-71, 286 n.24 Concerts-in-costume, 24, 42, 52-53, 122, 271 n.4 Conductors, rise of: as first violinist, 24; Loder at piano, 62, at podium, 68; Bochsa conducts Freischiitz and Robert le diable, 63, 75; Germania Concert Society, 87; SF leading Italian theatres, 154 Costumes, 22, 24, 42, 52-53, 68, 95, 123, 271 n.4, 283 n.14; in Traviata, 146, 155-56, 180, 291 n.13 Cuts: in Nabucco, 278 n.22; in Trovatore, 136—37; in Traviata, 145; in Rigoletto, 185-86 Drop curtains, 115-16 English operas and versions of foreign operas, 6 0 - 6 2 , 135-36, 184; strength, 202; cuts, 60, 62, 137, 154, 174, 274 n.22; insertions, 136, 205; spoken dialogue, 141, 197-98; von Weber on peculiarity of English opera, 197-98 Excluding prostitutes from theatres, 100, 283 n.25 Festival of Verdi in 1862-63, 208-10, 301 n.15 French role, summary, 201-2 Gambling, 18, 118 Gap widening between serious and light opera, 141, 142-43, 162-63, 182-84, 202-3 Hats in theatres, 27, 40 (illus.), 83 (illus.), 263 n.26, 268 n.21

How opera spread, 1, 4; on coattails of drama, 14, 18-19; 32 Italian patriotic sentiments, 131-32, 144, 147, 149 Lighting, 129; by candle or whale oil, 26-27; by gas, 94, 158; on drop curtain, 116 Low prices, 16, 123; success of, 16, 196 Musical decline: in 1856 and 57, 105-6; in 1859-60, 168-75 Music dealers and publishers: economics of, 56-58; arrangements of arias, 58, 65, 122, 272 n.14; Atwill & C o , 57, 272 n.14; Woodworth & C o , 57; "Salvator Rosa," 57; copyright, 259 n.ll Music in saloons, 12-13, 17, 22, 265 n.43 Newspaper critics, 126-27, 132 Numbered seating introduced, 19, 26, 41, 52, 129, 271 n.2 Opera production; 1851: lack of women, 2; size of men's chorus and of orchestra, 26; nationality of chorus and orchestra, 26 1854: 63, 68, 70 1858: 121 1859: 129, 130-31, 133; mixed chorus of eighteen, 136, 144 1860: 179 1862: 204, 300 nn.4, 5; subsequent years, 206 Pacific opera circuit. See separate heading Press, 26, 4 6 - 4 8 , 263 n.25, 297 n.19 Prices for seats, 15, 16, 27, 69, 123, 188, 196 Publicity posters, 114-15 Recital programs: 1850: 15, 21 1851: 22, 23 1852: 32, 35-36, 41 1853: 42 1854: 54-55 1855: 87, 98 1856: 101 1860: 173 Scenery, backdrop and wings, 154-55; "box" set, 157, 174 Seating for ladies, 14, 19, 27, 91, 99, 117; gradual move to orchestra floor, 129, 144, 182 Segregated seating, 263 n.28

319

Index SF becomes a center for opera, 1, 4, 64, 275 n.28 SF mad for opera, 198-99, 299 n.20 Singers' strike, 77-81 "Steamer night," 46, 59, 203, 270 n.13 Subscriptions, search for: 31, 151, 206 Theatres, opera houses, and concert halls. See separate heading Troupes, size of: on East coast in 1840s, 4, 68; in SF in 1850s, 23, 68, 289 n.16, 299 n.19 Ventilation in theatres, 26, 113-14, 117, 123, 286 n.16 Volunteer Fire Companies, benefit perfs: 15, 37, 39, 59, 101, 173, 284 n.35 Women in men's roles: Korskinsky, 28-31; Bishop, 85, 274 n.22; Hodson, 136, 137; Kammerer, 149-50; in SF theatre, 205 San Francisco Minstrels, 109, 128; burlesques on operas, 84-85, 113, 172 Santa Fe Opera Company, initial number of chorus, orchestra, and soloists, 204 Santley, Charles (1834-1922), English baritone: on baritone voice, 29; incident in Rigoletto, 186-87 Scola, Carlo, Italian tenor; arrives in 1854 with Barili-Thom, 69; unromantic as Ernani, 70; in SF prem of Nabucco, 72, Elisir, 74, Don Giovanni, 75, Lombards 77-81, Foscari, 81-84; in singers' strike, 77-81; sings aria from Luisa Miller, 84 Sherman, William Tecumseh, American military officer, 104-5 Sinclair, Catherine Norton, actress/impresario: manager of Metropolitan Theatre, 73, 82, 87, 279 n.25; opposes singers' strike, 77-81; losses on opera, 80; to Australia, 93, 105 Smith, J. Connor, American baritone: success with "Oh sommo Carlo," 46; new music, 56 Squires, Henry (1825—1907), American tenor: arrives in 1860 with Maguire-Lyster Co., 175, 177, 296 n.3; portrait, 178; vocal qualities, 182, 187, 198; in SF prems of Maritana, 179-80, Rigoletto, 185, Lurline, 193-94; in Traviata, 190; farewell in Trovatore, 194; his "American" name, 194; his

extraordinary technique and stamina, 195; to Australia, 299 n.19 Starr, Kevin, American historian: quoted, 10, 11

Strong, George Templeton, New York City lawyer/diarist: Verdi's style in Ernani, 71, in Macbeth, 275 n.33; curbs audience behavior, 206 Taylor, Bayard, American poet/journalist: on California's first theatre, 13-14, 264 n.29 Terry, David S.*, California politician: in duel, 164-68 THEATRES, OPERA HOUSES, AND C O N C E R T HALLS IN SF, 1851-60 Adelphi Theatre (I), 22; described, 26-27; bums, 31 Adelphi Theatre (II), 4 8 - 4 9 American Theatre (I), 34, 41, 266 n.6 American Theatre (II), 81, 105; drop curtain, 115 American Theatre (HI), 126, 144, 198; drop curtain, 115 Foley's Amphitheatre, 22, 23, 28 Jenny Lind Theatre (I), 18; burns, 112 Jenny Lind Theatre (II): burns, 112 Jenny Lind Theatre (III), 37; sold to become City Hall, 112 Maguire's New Opera House, 109, 179; described, 113-14, 114 (illus.); drop curtain, 114-16; enlarged, 117; redecorates, 125 Metropolitan Theatre (I), 53, 54, 58, 63, 67, 82, 83 (illus.), 94, 105, 106; burns, 117 Musical Hall, 40 (illus.), 52, 105, 170, 173 Music Hall, 45 National Theatre, 15 San Francisco Hall, 41, 109 Turn-Verein Hall, 86, 102 Union Theatre, 58, 80 Washington Hall, 15 Thillon, Anna (1819-1903), English soprano: arrives in late 1853, 59-60; vocal qualities, 59; season of English operas and versions of operas, 60-62; in SF prems of Bohemian Girl and The Enchantress, 60; portrait, 61; versatility, 60; criticized for cuts, 70, 74; perf of La Fille du régiment stopped by fistfight, 91; bronchitis, final perfs, and profits, 274 n.20

320 Thomas, Theodore (1835-1903), American conductor, 207 Turn Gesangverein, 26, 63, 64 VERDI, GIUSEPPE (1813-1901), Italian composer: Confrontational style of drama and frontier, 93 Desire to control production, 154, 158-59 Dismissed by SF critic as "dismal and spasmodic," 135 Donizetti on Due Foscari, 81 Dwight, J. S. compares to Bellini and Donizetti, 70-71, 77 Emphasis on masculine voice, 28; on extremities of vocal range, 96, 283 nn.17, 18 Festival of operas in SF in 1862-63, 208-10, 301 n.15 First aria sung in SF, 18 First fantasy played, 21 First opera produced, 28-31 Gloomy idealism, 210 Ignored in SF by chief celebrity sopranos, 65 Increasing sophistication of operas, 141, 142 Lincoln and Verdi, 210-1 1, 302 n. 16 Melodic style, 56 News item of buying land, 116 Orchestration refined, 141, 142, 148 Patriotic touches, 131-32, 149 Perfs of operas by decade, 253-55 Popularity in SF: 1850: 3, 21 1854: 67 1855: 84 1858: 121-22 1859: 137-39 1860: 187, 189, 195 Prefers human to epic dramas, 82 Reflects ethos of nineteenth century, 164-68, 208-11 Rhythmic impulse, 46, 138, 142 Search for contrast, 70, 71, 73, 277 n.17 Spain as setting for grand emotions, 138 T o n e of rhetoric, 164-68 Use of baritone range, 29 Views on casting, 183, 187; on monotony of his early operas, 71 t VERDI, GIUSEPPE: Works: Attila: trombone fantasy played, 21,

Index 261 n.10; trio and arias sung, 46, 54, 84, 123; aria "Dagli immortali vertici" discussed, 55; intensity of strings in overture, 141; anticipatory enthusiasm for SF prem, 147; perf history of opera, 147; only title role in Verdi for bass, 147; powerful scenes, 147; SF prem and revs, 148-50; flawed casting, 149; success moderate, 150-51; only Verdi opera with all scenes set outdoors, 159; intended visual images, 159-60; opera assessed by J. Budden, 147; style of its drama, 160; revived in 1862, 208 La battaglia di Legnano: C. Barili-Thorn and F. Leonardi in Lima prem, 68; A. Lanzoni in world prem at Rome, 69 Il corsaro: C. Patti in debut plays piano variations, 84 1 due Foscari: SF prem and rev, 81-82; Donizetti on, 81; Verdi's changing style in, 82-84; power of chief role, 82, 281 n.si; SF libretto of 1863 (illus.), 209; G. Bianchi sings aria in first concert, 286 n.24; revived in 1863, 208 Emani: "Emani, involami," first aria of Verdi sung in SF, 18; importance of aria to sopranos and to Verdi, 22, 97; SF prem and problems of casting, 28-31; E. Biscaccianti sings aria, 35; burlesques of opera, 45, 84; Pacific Musical Troupe sings two choruses, 45, and rev, 46; chorus "Oh hail us, ye free," 45, 71, 133, 297 n.H; chorus finale to Act III, "O sommo Carlo," 45-46, 70, 71, 132, 133; violin fantasy on, 48; opens Barili-Thorn season, and rev, 69-70; continuing success in SF, 71, 72; G. T. Strong on, 71; Walt Whitman on, 72; D. Garbato sings in Boston, and rev, 95; in SF, flair for "Emani, involami," 97; Bianchis revive, and rev, 132-33; SF libretto of 1859 (illus.), 134; Maguire-Lyster Co. revives, and rev, 180-81 Giovanna d'Arco: E. Biscaccianti sings "Sempre all'alba," 35 Judith (a pastiche of Verdi by N. Boscha, with music taken mostly from Nabucco)'. SF prem, and rev, 65-66, 71, 174; rev of New York City production, 275 n.31

Index 1 Lombardi alla prima crociata: first Verdi opera in U.S., 1, 77; "Sciagurata! hai tu creduto" sung, 56; "Non fu sogno" sung, with variations, 59, 273 n.18; SF prem marred by singers' strike, 76-81; rev, 80-81; sheet music (illus.), 78; violin fantasy on, 84; trio sung in Bianchis' first concert, 286 n.24; revived in 1865, 210 Luisa Miller: tenor aria first music sung in SF, 84; soprano aria sung, 123; revs of SF prem in 1863, 251-52 Macbeth: brindisi sung in Judith, and rev, 65-66, 275 n.33; brindisi in concert, 86; tenor aria sung, 86; revs of SF prem and early perfs, 247-50; G. T. Strong on, 275 n.33 I masnadieri: Hayes sings in Italy, 43; Leonardi, in South America, 54; Bianchis in concert sing "T'abbraccio, o Carlo," 121; E. Bianchi, with chorus, sings "O mio Castel paterno," 121; revs of SF prem and early perfs, 250-51 Nabucco: Leonardi in concert sings "Profezia," and aria discussed, 55-56; SF prem, and rev, 72-73; success of "Dischiuso è il firmamento," 73; overture in concert, 98; rev of 1862 perf, 278 n.22 Rigoletto: Bianchis sing duet in concert, "Signor ne Principe," 121; SF prem, a failure, and rev, 185; cuts in production, 185-86; final duet cut, discussion, 186; opera banned in Boston, 186; in SF badly cast, 187; selections played at Lincoln's inauguration, 210; revived in 1863, 210 La Traviata: Bianchis in first concert sing tenor aria and duet, 121; opera's appeal to Parisians, 138; SF prem announced, 144; history of Camille (La Dame aux camélias) in SF, 143-44; SF prem, and revs, 144-45; puzzled reception, 145-46, 180-81, 190; defects of production, 145-46, 290 n.10; history of incorrect setting, 146, 180, 291 n.l 3; impact of photography, the new realism, 157; every scene set indoors, 159; shift in style of emoting, 161-62;

321 Maguire-Lyster production, 180; revived, and rev, 189-90; tenor role compared to those in Emani and Trovatore, 190 11 Trovatore: Garbato in concert introduces SF to Anvil Chorus and Miserere, 98; excerpts in Bianchi concerts, 123; SF prem announced, 125; record of perfs in SF, 126; revs of prem, 127; impact in nineteenth century of tenor role, 127; revs of later perfs, 128; opera's visual images, 130; the "wooden" German chorus, 130; supposedly different responses of English and Germans to opera, 132, 288 n.l 1; in English, with contralto in tenor role, 136-37; cuts made by Bianchis, 137; popularity of opera in SF, 137-38; reason for appeal to SF, 138-39; E. Biscaccianti sings "D'amor sull'ali," 171, 173; Miserere on harmonica, 173; spectacle Pluto and Proserpine, with music chiefly from Trovatore, 174; chosen for Squires' farewell to SF, 194 Viardot, Pauline (1821-1910), French mezzo-soprano: cuts and transpositions wanted in Verdi's Macbeth, 234-35 Von Gulpen, Mathilde Korsinsky. See Korsinsky-Von Gulpen, Mathilde Wallace, William Vincent (1812-65), Irish composer: Lurline, SF prem, 193; anticipates Wagner in scenic effect, 193; emphasis on scenery, 193-94 Maritana, SF prem and description, 179-80; revived, 190 Weber, Carl Maria von (1786-1826), German composer: work popular in SF, 3; on distinctions between English and German opera, 197-98 Der Freischütz: SF prem, in English, 63; later perfs in German, first in SF, 63-64; significance of enlarged orchestra, 63; revived in English, 86; English version, 137 Whitman, Walt, American poet: on Emani, 72 Yerba Buena. See SF: Before Gold Rush