In fact, the only receipts I got for the purpose of paying my way were from the letting of the exterior of my theatre instead of the interior; seats on the roof fetching £1 apiece, whilst windows were let for £40. These receipts helped to provide the sinews of war for carrying on my arduous enterprise.
I now bestirred myself in order to obtain some attraction that would replenish the depleted operatic chest. My efforts seemed rewarded when I secured the services of Mdme. Adelina Patti, at the small salary of £650 per night. Mdme. Patti in due course made her first appearance at Her Majesty's Theatre in her favourite rôle of "Violetta" in La Traviata, when there was £1,000 in the house. My hopes, however, of recouping my heavy losses were dashed almost instantly to the ground. Mdme. Patti having accepted an invitation from a wealthy banker for a trip up the river, to be followed by a dinner, she took a violent cold, from having been placed in a draught with a light muslin dress on. The next evening Mdlle. Lilli Lehmann again made the old theatre ring with her magnificent impersonation of "Fidelio." The house, however, was nearly empty, all attention being directed to the next night, which was to be Patti's second appearance—in Il Barbiere di Siviglia.
At five o'clock, however, on the evening of the performance, Signor Nicolini came in to inform me that Patti was too ill to sing, but that I might rely upon her services the following Saturday, when she would appear as "Margherita" in Faust, transferring the Barbiere performance to the following Tuesday. He himself added to the programme an announcement to the effect that she would introduce in the lesson scene the valse from Romeo and Juliet.
It being too late to substitute another opera, I had no alternative but to close the theatre that evening, leaving hundreds of carriage folks who had sent their coachmen home to get away as best they could, disappointed, and declaring (in many cases) that there was no reliance to be placed on Mapleson!
On the following Friday, finding that the booking for the second Patti night was very light, the public having lost all confidence, as is generally the case after a disappointment, I suggested to Mdme. Patti and to Nicolini that a small allowance ought to be made towards the vast expenses I had incurred (rent, salaries to artists, band, chorus, &c.) while keeping the theatre closed, which her incautiousness of the previous Sunday up the Thames had alone prevented me from opening.
The following day Signor Nicolini offered to contribute a sum of £50. I replied that that would be scarcely enough for the orchestra, and that the entire representation would be jeopardized. He thereupon went home, stating that Mdme. Patti would not sing that evening unless the orchestra was duly secured.
I immediately made arrangements with my orchestra, and notified the fact to Mdme. Patti by half-past three o'clock through her agent at her hotel, who, after seeing her, informed me that it was all right. She was then lying down in view of the evening performance, for which her dresses had already been looked out by herself and her maid.
Just as I was leaving the hotel Mr. Abbey came downstairs, and accompanied me to the ticket-office, adjoining the theatre, the proprietors of which were large speculators for the occasion. On ascertaining that some four or five hundred of the best seats had not been disposed of—the public naturally holding back until Mdme. Patti should have made her reappearance after the disappointment they had experienced—Mr. Abbey informed me that Mdme. Patti should not sing that evening. I may here mention that the full £650, being the amount of her honorarium, was already deposited to her credit at the bank, so that it was not on the score of money matters that her services were refused.
I waited until eight o'clock for the arrival of Mdme. Patti, her room being prepared for her; but no message was sent, nor any notification whatever, that she was not coming down. After the previous disappointments the public had met with I could not find heart to close the theatre. I, therefore, informed the numbers who were then getting out of their carriages and gradually filling the grand vestibule that I would perform the opera of Carmen, and that I invited all present to attend as my guests; adding that their money would be returned to them on presentation of their tickets. This, of course, it was.
As to the gratuitous representation of Carmen (with Trebelli in the principal part), it went off admirably. The audience was numerous and enthusiastic; and among the distinguished persons who honoured me with their presence, was, I remember, H.R.H. the Duchess of Edinburgh.