The parts had been given to Mlle. Josephine de Reszke—her two brothers Jean and Edouard were to ornament the stage later on—Salomon and Lassalle, the last creating a rôle for the first time.
There was no public dress rehearsal. It was not the custom then as it is nowadays to have a rehearsal for the "couturières," then for the "colonelle" and, finally, the "general" rehearsal.
In spite of the obviously sympathetic demonstrations of the orchestra and all the personnel at the rehearsal, Halanzier announced that as they were putting on the first work of a debutant at the Opéra, he wanted to look after everything himself until after the first performance.
I want to record again my deep gratitude to that singularly good director who loved youth and protected it.
The staging, scenery and costumes were of unheard-of splendor; the interpretation of the first order....
The first performance of Le Roi de Lahore, the twenty-seventh of April, 1877, was a glorious event in my life.
Apropos of this I recall that on that morning Gustave Flaubert left his card with the servant, without even asking for me. On it were these words:
"This morning I pity you; to-night I shall envy you."
These lines show so well the admirable understanding of the writer of Salammbo and that immortal masterpiece Madame Bovary.
The next morning I received the following lines from the famous architect and great artist Charles Gamier: