an unusually long professional career, having sung on the stage at the age of ten, and continuing to make occasional appearances at concerts until within a few years of his death, which occurred in 1856. He was one of the greatest tenor singers of his time, and his great declamatory power and florid execution made his singing of the national songs wonderfully effective. CATALANI. The year 1806 was distinguished by two great events in the history of this theater-the introduction of Mozart's music, never before performed in England, and the début of Madame Catalani. This marvelous singer, the versatility of whose talents rendered her equally admirable in a tragic or comic rôle, received the sum of £15,000 for the season of 1809, her benefit and the various concerts which she gave amounting to £11,000 more. Catalani is pronounced by Captain Gronow, who well recollected her, the greatest vocalist that he ever heard. He writes: "In her youth she was the finest singer in Europe, and she was much sought after by all the great people during her séjour in London." On one occasion, while on a visit to the Marquis of Buckingham, she was asked to favor the company with a few songs, whereupon her avaricious lord sent in the following little bill, which was paid at once: "For seventeen songs, seventeen hundred pounds." "I visited Catalani in town," writes Cyrus Redding, "and always found her the same elegant and amiable creature, with the same sweet simple smile and modest manners. She stood unrivaled in her profession. As an actress she was by no means remarkable; yet she looked so attractive on the boards, that the audience forgave any little fault of action. And then her voice was transcendent. She sang in a private room more charmingly than in the theater. I had known her previously. Of all the females attached to the opera, before or since, that I have seen, she pleased me most. She was a kind generous creature, without a particle of pretension, an excellent mother, and exemplary wife, wedded to a narrow-minded man, who sometimes got her an ill name from his avarice. He managed all her money transactions, and used to call her ma poule d'or.' I hear her now singing 'God save the King,' with her heavenly voice and pretty foreign accent, set off by a person, one of the sweetest on the stage I ever saw. For mind she was not remarkable; I never met with a singer of either sex that was so. There was an openness and candor about her quite charming. 'Monsieur Redaing, I speak no language propre. I speak one Babylonish tongue. I speak not my own tongue, nor French, nor your tongue propre.' "Her husband, before Junot entered Lisbon, used to blaze away in the pit of the opera in a dashing French uniform, speculating upon his future poule d'or, which to him she afterwards most fully proved. He was rarely invited with his wife to the houses of people of consideration. A person I knew, half a Roman, said one day to Catalani, 'My dear half-countrywoman, how did you come to marry Valabreque ?'-'I will tell you. I was at Lisbon; the Portuguese are fond of music. Great men, princes, and counts talk to me of love, and a number of fine things, but none of them talk of marrying. M. Valabreque talked of marriage-I marry M. Valabreque." ments. The theater was reconstructed, in 1818, by Messrs. Nash and Repton, with great improveThe interior was the first in England to be modeled in the horse-shoe shape, so favorable both for sight and sound. The dimensions were within a few feet of those of the Grand Opera House at Milan. The length from the front of the curtain to the back of the boxes was 102 feet; the extreme width, 75 feet; the stage measured 60 feet in length and 80 in width. The edifice was of brick and Bath stone, with a bas-relief on the Haymarket front representing Apollo and the Muses. It was in this year that the music of Rossini was first presented to the English public. From 1824 to 1840 the history of the King's Theater is that of a series of triumphs. Pasta, Veluti (the wonderful male soprano), Sontag, Grisi, Rubini, Tamburini, Lablache, and Mario successively appeared upon the stage; the five last named, who were all in their zenith about the same time, forming a brilliant constellation of talent unequaled before or since. THE OMNIBUS ROW. In 1837 the name of the theater was changed to "Her Majesty's," in honor of the accession of Queen Victoria. The year 1841 witnessed the "Omnibus" row, which was brought about in the following manner. The manager, Laporte, who had long been at issue with several of the talented quintette, who were the glory of his establishment, and who had formed a clique against him, had declined the further services of Tamburini. His choice of a victim was determined by the fact that he was enabled to replace the great baritone by Colletti, a singer who had achieved great success at La Scala. But Laporte had miscalculated his power. Madame Grisi, at whose fair shrine all the jeunesse dorée of that day bowed down, induced her aristocratic admirers to organize a disturbance, which burst out on the appearance of Coletti in the place of Tamburini. The omnibus boxes were crowded with lords of high degree, foremost among whom was a prince of the blood; and Coletti was saluted with yells, hisses, and cries of "Off, off!" "Tamburini !" "Laporte !" shouted with all the force of aristocratic lungs; and finally the whole party, headed by the scion of royalty, leaped upon the stage, and the curtain fell on their shouts of "Victory." Negotiations were subsequently entered into with Tamburini, through the good offices of Count D'Orsay, and the discarded baritone was persuaded to overlook the affront and resume his place. This battle royal is handed down to posterity in the "Ingoldsby Legends," as "A Row in an Omnibus (Box)." M. Laporte, who must have had rather a hard time of it among his imperious troupe, resigned his uneasy throne in 1842, and was succeeded by Mr. Lumley, who had long been his colleague. JENNY LIND. The year 1847 was an eventful one for Her Majesty's Theater, which had been for more than half a century the only temple of Italian opera in London. Then took place the secession of Grisi, Mario, Persiani, and Tamburini, with the mighty Costa, to the new Opera in Covent Garden; then began the struggle to solve the problem whether two Italian Opera Houses could be made to pay in London-a vexed question, which seems hardly settled even yet. The same year (1847) witnessed also the first appearance of Jenny Lind, who had been persuaded to break her engagement with Mr. Bunn, the lessee of Drury Lane, in favor of Mr. Lumley. No words can describe the furore excited by this far-famed lady from the night of her début until the time when she finally quitted the stage. As much as £30 was frequently paid for a stall on a "Jenny Lind night." As Lumley tells us in his "Reminiscences : "The newspapers teemed with descriptions of wild scenes of 'crushing, crowding, and squeezing; of ladies fainting in the pressure, and even of gentlemen carried out senseless; of torn dresses, and evening coats reduced to rags." These triumphs were, however, partially counterbalanced by the result of an action brought by Mr. Bunn against the prima donna, for her breach of contract with him. He laid the damages at £10,000, and gained a verdict for £2,500-a loss which fell entirely on Mr. Lumley, who had undertaken to bear the vacillating fair one scathless. The operatic career, however, of the celebrated songstress was as brief as it was brilliant; for on the 18th of May, 1849, Jenny Lind made her last appearance upon any stage, as "Alice," in Roberto il Diavolo. In 1850 the chief stars of the Italian opera at Her Majesty's were native artists, Mr. Sims Reeves and Miss Catherine Hayes. An attempt was made in the same year to produce a sensation through the introduction of the Black Malibran. The lady bearing this pretentious title was Donna Maria Martinez, a negress, who appeared in a divertissement called Les Delices du Sérail, in which she sang quaint Spanish melodies, accompanying herself on the guitar. "Her songs," writes Lumley, "were full of original charm, her execution excellent, her voice sweet, pure, and true; but the whole performance was small almost to meagerness, and, although it might well be regarded as a piquant musical curiosity, it failed in any real power of attraction." In 1852 Mdlle. Titiens, the only worthy successor of Grisi in such parts as Norma," "Lucrezia Borgia," or "Semiramide," appeared as "Valentina" in Les Huguenots. MARIETTA PICCOLOMINI. The year 1856 produced another "great sensation" in the young, charming, and high-born Marietta Piccolomini, of whom Lumley writes :"Once more frantic crowds struggled in the lobbies of the theater; once more dresses were torn and hats crushed in the conflict. In what lay the charm of this new fascinator of all hearts? It would be difficult to tell, although this much is undeniable, that she exercised an almost magical power over the masses. The statistics of a 'treasury' are indisputable facts. Her voice was a high and pure soprano, with all the attraction of youth and freshness, not wide in range, sweet rather than powerful, and not gifted with any perfection of flexibility. Her vocalization was far from being distinguished by its correctness or excellence of school; to musicians she appeared a clever amateur, but never a really great artist." This fascinating little lady created an equal furore in Paris, yet the French criticisms on her performance seem to agree with those of Lumley—as, for example, the following:-"Mdlle. Piccolomini sings with infinite charm, but is not a cantatrice. She acts with talent, but is not an actress. She is a problem-an enigma!" Pecuniary difficulties having terminated Mr. Lumley's long managerial career, Mr. E. T. Smith became the lessee of Her Majesty's Theater in 1860, to be succeeded, two years afterwards, by Mr. Mapleson. THE OPERA HOUSE AGAIN DESTROYED. Mlle. Christine Nilsson appeared in 1867 with great success; perhaps the only artiste who has ever succeeded in realizing to the full the poet's exquisite conception of "Marguerite," in Faust. This triumph was the last reserved for the old "King's Theater," which was once more destroyed by fire on the 6th of December, 1867. At the time of the catastrophe the Earl of Dudley, as assignee of Mr. Lumley, was the lessee under the Crown, on a lease terminating in 1891. In 1862 Lord Dudley had sub-let the theater to Mr. Mapleson for twenty-one years, at a yearly rental of £8,000, payable in advance. The earl was fully insured; but Mr. Mapleson, who unfortunately was not so, was a loser to the extent of £10,000. The great organ, valued at £800, the chandeliers, scenery, costumes, interior fittings, the whole of the musical library, besides several invaluable manuscripts of Rossini, were all destroyed. The origin of the fire was never ascertained. RECONSTRUCTION OF THE THEATER. Lord Dudley, having decided upon rebuilding the theater without loss of time, the site was cleared early in 1868, and the works were commenced at midsummer. The architect was Mr. Charles Lee, and the contractors Messrs. George Trollope and Sons, who undertook to complete their task in forty weeks, under a penalty of £1,000 for every following week in case of failure. This promise was so strictly fulfilled, that before the end of March, 1869, the new theater, complete at all points, at a cost of about £50,000, was in a condition to open its doors to the public. The old edifice having been considered deficient in stage accommodation, care had been taken in the present case to increase the size of the stage, which had been effected, as it was stated, without materially lessening the area of the auditorium. There are four tiers of boxes in front of the stage, and five tiers on either side; the space above the fourth tier in front being occupied by amphitheater stalls, with a spacious amphitheater behind them. As in the case of Covent Garden Theater, the partitions between the boxes are constructed in such a manner as to be easily removed, so as to form the ordinary dress circle of a theater, if required. Every possible precaution has been adopted to reduce the risk by fire, throughout the whole of the building, to a minimum. It is calculated that the new theater will accommodate about 1,800 for operatic, and 2,500 for dramatic performances. So much stress had been laid upon the completion of the new edifice by the contractors before the commencement of the opera season of 1869, that both the public and the press were daily speculating upon the probable date of the opening night; when the Times of the 24th of March, 1869, published a notice from the "Directors" of Her Majesty's Theater, to the effect that no performances would be given there during that season. Great was the surprise and consternation at this announcement, and higher still rose popular amazement when the solution of the enigma leaked out by degrees. The construction of the interior is such that, the greater part of the boxes and stalls being held on lease, the expenses must necessarily be in excess of the receipts, even in the case of a full attendance every night. In 1874 the theater About ten years later, being then occupied by an English company, it began to be spoken of as "The Little Theater in the Haymarket"-a title which it retained until the original edifice was pulled down in 1820, having just completed a century of existence. Its site is now occupied by the Café de l'Europe." In 1734 it was in the occupation of Henry Fielding, the great novelist and dramatist, with a congenial band, styled in the play-bills "The Great Mogul's Company, recently INTERIOR OF THE HAYMARKET THEATER, 1821. at that time much favored by the English aristocracy, and who performed under a temporary license from the Lord Chamberlain. This company styled themselves "The French Comedians of his Grace the Duke of Montague," that nobleman being their principal patron, and opened the new house on the 29th of December, 1720, with the comedy of La Fille à la Morte, ou le Badeaud de Paris. At this time, and for several years afterwards, Potter's speculation was known to the play-going world as 66 The New French Theater." dropped from the clouds." His opening piece was entitled Pasquin, and, being a social satire of the most caustic nature, it achieved great popularity, and had a run of more than fifty nights. Elated by his success, Fielding produced a second piece, called The Historical Register, a political satire, which contained so audacious a caricature of Sir Robert Walpole, under the name of "Quidam," that the Prime Minister's resentment led to the passing of the Act which requires all dramatic pieces to be submitted to the approval of the Lord Chamberlain before they can be performed. We are told by Mr. Frost, in his "Old Showmen," already quoted, that "Punch's celebrated company of comical tragedians from the Haymarket performed the most comical and whimsical tragedy that ever was tragedized by any tragical company of comedians, called The Humors of Covent Garden, by Henry Fielding, Esq." In 1745 the "Little Theater," having passed through the hands of several managers, each of whom had only a temporary license, was opened without the ceremony of a license of any sort by Theophilus Cibber, who succeeded in evading the usual penalty by the manner in which his advertisements were worded. They ran thus :-" At Cibber's Academy, in the Haymarket, will be a concert; after which will be exhibited gratis a rehearsal in the form of a play, called Romeo and Juliet." It is probable, however, that in spite of this ingenious artifice, Mr. Cibber received an official hint which induced him to announce, in the autumn of the same year, that " Mr. Cibber's company, being busily employed in reviving several pieces, are obliged to defer playing until further notice." SAMUEL FOOTE'S PERFORMANCES. In 1747 the the house was daily crowded by fashionable audiences, to witness Samuel Foote's humorous entertainments, entitled "Foote giving Tea," etc., which included life-like imitations of the most notable characters of the day. Apropos of Foote's entertainment, a good story of the silly Duke of Cumberland is told by Mr. W. C. Hazlitt, in his "New London Jest Book." One night he was in the green-room here. "Well, here I am, Mr. Foote," said he, "ready to swallow all your good things." "Your royal highness," answered the witty actor, "must have the digestion. of an ostrich, for I never knew you to throw up any again!" When Foote first opened this theater, amongst other projects, he proposed to entertain the public with an imitation of cat music. For this purpose he engaged a man famous for his skill in mimicking the mewing of cats. This person was called "Cat Harris." As he did not attend the rehearsal of this odd concert, Foote desired Shuter would endeavor to find him out and bring him with him. Shuter was directed to some court in the Minories where this extraordinary musician lived; but not being able to find the house, Shuter began a cat solo; upon this the other looked out of the window, and answered him with a cantata of the same sort. "Come along," said Shuter, "I want no better information that you are the man. Mr. Foote stays for us-we cannot begin the cat opera without you." All sorts of stories are told of Mr. Foote, and some of them on very good authority. A few of them will bear repeating here. Foote could not bear to see anybody or anything succeed in the Haymarket but himself and his own writings, and forget that a failure of the new scheme might possibly endanger the regular payment of his annuity. His pique broke out sometimes in downright rudeness. One morning he came hopping upon the stage during the rehearsal of the Spanish Barber, then about to be produced; the performers were busy in that scene of the piece where one servant is under the influence of a sleeping draught, and another of a sneezing powder. "Well," said Foote, dryly, to the manager," how do you go on?" Pretty well," was the answer; "but I cannot teach one of these fellows to gape as he ought to do.' "Can't you?" replied Foote; "then read him your last comedy of The Man of Business, and he'll yawn for a month.” On another occasion he was not less coarse, though more laughable, to an actor than he had been to the manager. This happened when Digges, of much celebrity out of London, and who had come to town from Edinburgh, covered with Scottish laurels, made his first appearance in the Haymarket. He had studied the antiquated style of acting; in short, he was a fine bit of old stage-buckram, and "Cato" was therefore selected for the first essay. He "discharged the character" in the same costume as it is to be supposed was adopted by Booth when the play was originally acted--that is, in a shape, as it was technically termed, of the stiffest order, decorated with gilt leather upon a black ground, with black stockings, black gloves, and a powdered periwig. Foote had planted himself in the pit, when Digges stalked on before the public thus formidably accoutered. The malicious wag waited till the customary round of applause had subsided, and then ejaculated, in a pretended under-tone, loud enough to be heard by all around him, "A Roman chimney-sweeper on May-day!" The laughter which this produced in the pit was enough to knock out a débutant, and it startled the old stager personating the Stoic of Utica; the sarcasm was irresistibly funny, but Foote deserved to be kicked out of the house for his cruelty and insolence too. The theater barely escaped being destroyed, in 1749, by an enraged mob, the victims of a hoax |