In the beginning of 1842, Garcia considered Mdlle. Nissen sufficiently advanced to make her appearance, and in April her début was made at the Italian Opera as Adalgisa in "Norma," this being followed by an immediate engagement for three years under the same management, commencing at a salary of from three to four hundred pounds for the first year. At the conclusion of this she toured Italy, Russia, Norway, Sweden, and England till 1849, when she appeared at Leipsic, and in the following years sang at most of the Gewandhaus concerts there, while in Berlin she almost rivalled Jenny Lind in popularity.
In the summer of 1842, the year of Nissen's début, Catherine Hayes came from Ireland, by the advice of Lablache, to place herself under Garcia, being at the time seventeen years of age. After four years' study she made her début at Marseilles in "I Puritani." Next year she appeared at Vienna, and in the following seasons sang in various parts of the Continent with success.
Her London début was made in 1849, and during that season she appeared at Covent Garden in the rôles of Lucia, Linda, and Amina. She soon became one of the most popular vocalists of her day in England, showing herself to be possessed of remarkable power, while her chief forte lay in the rendering of ballads.
The year 1844 saw the advent of three interesting pupils, the names of all curiously enough beginning with the same initial letter,—Barbot, Battaille, and Bussine.
Joseph Barbot came to Garcia at the Conservatoire at the age of twenty, and soon proved himself to be possessed of a remarkably fine tenor voice. At the completion of his training he was engaged at the Grand Opera, but soon left it for Italy, where he sang with great success. Perhaps the most noteworthy event of his career took place on March 19, 1859, for on that date he created the title part at the first performance of Gounod's "Faust" at the Théâtre Lyrique; while sixteen years later he was appointed to a professorship at the Conservatoire as successor to Mme. Viardot.
Charles Battaille appears to have commenced earning his livelihood as a doctor of medicine, the while he carried on his vocal studies. When he had brought these to a close he gave up his practice, and accepted an engagement as basso at the Opéra Comique. Here he remained for ten years, till an affliction of the larynx caused his retirement. From that time on he devoted his life to teaching, having already, in 1851, been appointed professor at the Conservatoire. In 1861 he published the first portion of a voluminous treatise entitled 'L'Enseignement du Chant,' containing some important results of his physiological study. His principal claim to fame, however, is the fact that he was chosen by Meyerbeer to create the bass rôle in "L'Etoile du Nord," while he won special renown in the "Seraglio," of Mozart.
As to Bussine, he was connected for some time with the Opéra Comique, and left it for an engagement as principal tenor at the Grand Opera in Paris. Moreover, he gave much time to teaching, one of his best known pupils being Duc.
The year 1845 saw the advent of one who ultimately became Garcia's greatest pupil in the field of teaching—Mathilde Marchesi, or, as she was at that time, Mdlle. Graumann.
Her father had been a wealthy merchant, but in 1843 he lost his fortune, and his daughter, being at this time seventeen years old, decided to adopt the musical profession. She went in the first place to study in Vienna, but in 1845 came to Paris to place herself under Garcia, who soon discovered in his new student a remarkable aptitude for teaching. Of her own recollections of studying under the maestro, Madame Marchesi has sent me the following details, some of which have already been narrated in her interesting book of reminiscences, published under the title, 'Marchesi and Music':—
"I need scarcely mention how the maestro's clear, intelligent, and thorough method furthered my artistic efforts. His ideas on the female voice and its development were a revelation to me, and they were the foundation of my future career. With Nicolai and Mendelssohn I had only studied classical music; now Garcia initiated me into the style of the Italian school, as at that time a florid execution was the principal aim of all good singers. The compositions of Rossini, Bellini, and Donizetti were the chief objects of study, and I was obliged, therefore, to work away at countless scales, arpeggios, &c., and, what was worse still, with the metronome, which sometimes rendered me almost desperate.