CHAPTER IV.
PARIS AND LONDON.
(1816-1825.)
IN the spring of 1816 the elder Garcia left Naples, and with his family set out for Paris, which he had decided to make his home once more.
When he had last been in that city, upwards of four years previously, Napoleon had still been all-powerful; when he returned Louis XVIII. was on the throne and Bonaparte in hopeless exile at St. Helena.
After he had settled down he continued the singing lessons of his son, whose general education was looked after by private tutors,—Reicha, Basbereau, and others. As to himself, he was at once engaged as primo tenore at the Théâtre Italien, then under the management of Catalani,—a woman whose story we will dwell on for a moment.
At the age of twelve she had been sent to a convent near Rome, being introduced by Cardinal Onorati. Here her voice soon became a great attraction owing to its extraordinary purity, force, and compass, which extended to G in altissimo. On leaving the convent, where sometimes the congregation had openly applauded her splendid notes in the services, she found herself compelled to perform in public, owing to the sudden poverty of her parents.
At the age of sixteen she obtained her first engagement at the Fenice Theatre in Venice, and thence she went to other opera houses in Italy, meeting everywhere with wonderful success.
In the year of Manuel's birth, Catalani signed her first agreement with the managers of the King's Theatre in the Haymarket at £2000 per annum, and remained in England for seven years. She was, however, a prima donna of the deepest dye, capricious as she was extravagant. Neither would her disposition endure the possibility of rivalry, nor would the size of her increasing demands allow the managers to engage any other singers of position. At last with the close of 1813, having unsuccessfully attempted to purchase the King's Theatre outright, she fell out with the directors and left London.
With the fall of Napoleon she went to Paris, where Louis XVIII. gave her the management of the Théâtre Italien, with a subvention of 160,000 francs. Subsequently, during the Hundred Days, she fled before the advance of the despot, fearing his wrath, and paid a tactful visit to Germany and Scandinavia. It was only after the capture of the Emperor that she dared return, and even then she did so by way of Holland, instead of coming direct, lest at the last minute he might somehow free himself and come back into power. However, all was well, Catalani returned to her position at the Théâtre Italien, and at once engaged Garcia père on his arrival in Paris.
In the autumn of the year the tenor and his family paid their first visit to England, but only made a short stay. The little daughter Maria, who was now eight years old, accompanied them, and was left in England for some years, her education being carried on in a convent school at Hammersmith. It was to this fact that in after life she owed her success in this country as a singer of oratorio and English songs.
Upon the elder Garcia's return to Paris, the "Caliph of Bagdad" was revived, as well as another of his operas, "Le Prince d'Occasion." As primo tenore of Catalani's troupe, he appeared as Paolino in Pergolesi's "Matrimonio Segreto," and sang in all the operas which were in vogue at that time,—a very different repertoire to that which audiences are accustomed to hear nowadays.