II
After a year of vacancy the Italian Opera House went to James W. Wallack, father of the famous John Lester Wallack, and after a year of the spoken drama it went up in smoke. For ten years Italian opera in New York was as dead as the English queen whose demise is her chief title to fame. But New York was not wholly barren of opera during those years. In 1837 came Madame Caradori-Allan from England to sing in oratorio, concert, and opera in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and elsewhere. She gave some operas at the Park Theatre in 1838, including Balfe's 'Siege of Rochelle,' Bellini's La Sonnambula, Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia, and Donizetti's Elisir d'amore, all in English. Also in 1838 a company which Dr. Ritter calls 'the Seguin combination' gave some operatic performances at the National Theatre. He tells us that Rooke's opera, 'Amalie, or the Love Test,' was performed for twelve consecutive nights before crowded houses.[41]
Noteworthy were the efforts of an English company who in 1839 gave performances of Beethoven's Fidelio, Rossini's La Cenerentola and La Gazza ladra, Bellini's La Sonnambula, Auber's Fra Diavolo, Donizetti's Elisir d'amore, and Adam's Postilion de Lonjumeau.
This was by far the choicest operatic menu that had ever been placed before New Yorkers. The performances were in English and we are not enlightened as to their quality; we know only that the venture was not a success. In 1840 the Woods returned with a season of operas in English, including La Sonnambula, Fidelio, and—sublime bathos—the 'Beggar's Opera'! Later the singer and composer, Braham, beloved of Englishmen, appeared at the Park Theatre in 'The Siege of Belgrade,' 'The Devil's Bridge,' 'The Waterman,' and 'The Cabinet.' Except for the visits of the New Orleans opera companies, of which we shall speak in another chapter, these were the only operatic treats vouchsafed to New Yorkers between the years 1834 and 1844.
In the meantime a gentleman named Ferdinand Palmo was making quite a reputation as a cook and proprietor of the Café des Mille Colonnes on Broadway, near Duane Street. Mr. Palmo suffered from that ancient delusion known as 'opera for the people,' and under its influence he spent the accumulated profits of the Mille Colonnes in remodelling Stoppani's Arcade Baths, on Chambers Street, into a popular opera house. There, in 1844, he opened a season of Italian opera with Bellini's I Puritani. Mr. Palmo was certainly determined to give New Yorkers the best that could be obtained. He had Madame Cinti-Damoreau, whom Fétis described as one of the greatest singers the world had known; he had a great tenor in Antognini, whom Richard Grant White compares as a singer to Ronconi and as an actor to Salvini; he had a very good soprano in Borghese. In addition he had an orchestra of 'thirty-two professors.' He survived the first season, but in the middle of the second the 'thirty-two professors' went on strike for their wages and the sheriff's minions descended on the box office receipts, the Mille Colonnes and everything else attachable that Mr. Palmo possessed. The attempt at a democratic opera was a fine and courageous one, but the time was not ripe for such an effort.[42]
After Palmo's failure his theatre was taken over by a new company which included among its principal members Salvatore Patti and Catarina Barili, the parents of Carlotta and Adelina Patti. It had a very brief existence and in 1848 Palmo's Opera House became Burton's Theatre. In the meantime, however, New York had been enjoying an assortment of other operas, presented by various visiting companies. The most important of these was a French company from New Orleans which, in 1843, presented La fille du régiment, Lucia di Lammermoor, Norma, and Gemma di Vergy—in French, of course. There were also several English companies, notably the Seguins, who gave opera in English at the Park Theatre and elsewhere. In 1844 the Seguin company produced Balfe's 'Bohemian Girl' for the first time in America.
It has frequently been the lot of New York to be visited by Italian opera companies from Cuba, Mexico, and South America. These companies were sometimes very bad, sometimes indifferent, sometimes very good. Of the last-named category was the company brought from Havana by Señor Francesco Marty y Tollens in 1847. Señor Marty was backed in his enterprise by James H. Hackett, the actor, and William Niblo, proprietor of the famous gardens. He had a very good company, notable chiefly for the fact that its conductor was Luigi Arditi, composer of Il Bacio—the 'Maiden's Prayer' of aspiring coloraturas. A season was given at the Park Theatre, after which there were a number of extra performances at Castle Garden. The repertory included Verdi's Ernani and I due Foscari, Bellini's Norma and Sonnambula, Paccini's Saffo, and Rossini's Mosé in Egitto. Señor Marty returned in 1848,1849, and 1850, with a company which Max Maretzek described as the greatest ever heard in America. The famous contrabassist, Bottesini, was musical director and Arditi remained as conductor. Among the operas performed were Verdi's Attila and Macbeth, Meyerbeer's Huguenots and Donizetti's La Favorita.
Opera in English was still given frequently but without any regularity at various theatres. Madame Anna Bishop appeared in a number of operas in 1847, and during the same year W. H. Reeves, brother of the famous Sims Reeves, made his operatic début. Among the novelties produced was Wallace's Maritana. In 1850 Madame Anna Thillon appeared in Auber's 'Crown Diamonds' at Niblo's and two years later Flotow's 'Martha' was produced.