Between 1789 and 1793 there were given at concerts in Philadelphia compositions by Rousseau, Dalayrac, Gluck, Paesiello, Monsigny, Sacchini, and Cimarosa, and it is not improbable that operas by these composers were also given, though we find no mention of the fact. The first unquestionable record of a French or Italian opera in this country is the performance of Pergolesi's Serva Padrona, under the title of 'The Mistress and Maid,' given by a French company at Baltimore in 1790. In 1791-92 Dibdin's 'The Deserter,' adapted from Le Déserteur of Monsigny, was given in New York, and it may be of interest to note that Sheridan and Linley's 'Duenna' was given in the same season. Charleston, always an enterprising city musically, harbored a company of French comedians who arrived from St. Domingo in 1794, and enjoyed performances of operas by Rousseau, Grétry, Cimarosa, Paesiello, and other composers then popular in Europe.
In the meantime there existed a healthy rivalry between New York and Philadelphia touching the excellence of their respective operatic organizations. Wignell and Reinagle opened the New Theatre in Philadelphia in 1793 and gave especial prominence to opera. As might be expected when Reinagle was at the helm, the performances reached a high standard of artistic merit. Reinagle himself was one of the conductors and among them also was Filippo Trajetto, whom we have already met in the concert life of Boston. Mrs. Oldmixon, Miss Broadhurst and Miss Brett seem to have been the vocal stars. In New York James Hewitt, George Geilfert or Gilfert, and Francis Hodgkinson directed the musical activities of the theatre and exerted themselves strenuously to surpass Reinagle's organization. Dunlap writes in his 'History of the American Theatre': 'We have noticed the improvement made by Mr. Hodgkinson in the orchestra at New York, improvements rendered necessary by the excellence of this branch of theatrical arrangement in the rival company of Philadelphia. (The orchestra at Philadelphia, under the direction of Reinagle, who sat at the harpsichord, was much superior to that of New York.) Instead of the "one Mr. Pelham" and his harpsichord, or the single fiddle of Mr. Hewlett, performers of great skill filled the bands of the two rival cities. In New York the musicians were principally French; most of these gentlemen who had seen better days,—some driven from Paris by the revolution, some of them nobles, some officers in the army of the king, others who had sought refuge from the devastation of St. Domingo.' Certainly, the debt of the United States to France is heavy in many directions.
Dr. Ritter has been at pains to compile a list of the English operas given in New York between 1793 and 1823. The former year saw Shield's 'The Farmer,' Storace's comic opera, 'No Song, No Supper,' and Dibdin's 'The Waterman.' During the season 1793-94 there were played Dibdin's 'Lionel and Clarissa,' and 'The Wedding Ring,' Arnold's 'Inkle and Yarico,' Shield's 'Poor Soldier,' 'Love in a Camp,' and 'Rosina,' 'The Beggar's Opera,' 'No Song, No Supper,' and 'The Devil to Pay.' Dibdin's 'Quaker,' Arnold's 'The Children of the Wood,' Storace's 'The Haunted Tower.' Carter's 'The Rival Candidate' and 'Macbeth' with music were given in 1794-95. In 1796 were produced 'Rosina,' 'The Children in the Wood,' 'The Maid of the Mill,' Reeve's 'The Purse,' Shield's 'Robin Hood,' 'No Song, No Supper,' 'The Haunted Tower,' 'The Surrender of Calais,' Arnold's 'The Mountaineer,' Altwood's 'The Prisoner,' 'Poor Soldier,' 'The Padlock,' and an English version of Rousseau's 'Pygmalion.' What is probably the first American opera was produced in New York on April 18 of the same year. It is called 'The Archers, or the Mountaineers of Switzerland,' and was written by Benjamin Carr to a libretto by William Dunlap. In 1796 also appeared 'Edwin and Angelina,' composed by Victor Pelissier to a libretto by one Smith. This has often been spoken of as the first American opera, but apparently it saw the light some months later than Carr's work, and, in any case, Pelissier was not an American. Another opera from his pen, to a libretto by William Dunlap, called 'The Vintage,' was produced in New York in 1799—but we are anticipating.
The seasons of 1797 and 1798 seem to have been rather poor in New York. Dr. Ritter notes only Storace's 'Siege of Belgrade' and Shield's 'Fontainebleau' in the former year, and Mrs. Oldmixon in 'Inkle and Yarico' in the latter year. Nothing is mentioned for 1799 and 1800 except Pelissier's 'The Vintage' and an opera composed by Hewitt to a libretto by Dunlap. In 1801 appeared Kelly's 'Bluebeard,' Reeve and Mazzinghi's 'Paul and Virginia,' 'The Duenna,' Shield's 'Sprig of Laurel,' and Kelly's 'The Hunter of the Alps.' Then there is a hiatus until 1807 and 1808, when we find 'The Siege of Belgrade,' Dr. Arnold's 'The Review,' Kelly's 'We Fly by Night' and 'Cinderella,' 'Forty Thieves,' Storace's 'Lodoiska,' and Mazzinghi's 'The Exile.' Another famine followed until 1812 when 'Bluebeard' was produced. The years 1813-14 saw Henry Bishop's 'Athis,' 'The Farmer and His Wife,' and 'The Miller and His Men.' Between 1814 and 1819 are noted 'The Poor Soldier,' 'Love in a Village,' 'Review,' 'Siege of Belgrade,' 'Bluebeard,' 'Lodoiska,' 'The Maid of the Mill,' 'Castle of Andalusia,' 'The Beggar's Opera,' 'Lionel and Clarissa,' 'Fontainebleau,' Kelly's 'Bride of Abydos,' and 'Rob Roy.' From this time on the vogue of English opera rapidly declined and there are signs of a growing interest in Italian, French, and German opera, though New York had little opportunity of hearing such before 1825. An opera called 'The Barber of Seville,' adapted by Bishop probably from Rossini's work, was produced in 1819-20. Such adaptations seem to have been not infrequent, and it can hardly be said that there was any artistic excuse for them. A similar adaptation of Mozart's Nozze di Figaro, made by Bishop, was played in New York in 1823 and two years later there was presented a mutilated version of Weber's Freischütz. It is worthy of note that John Howard Paine's 'Clari, the Maid of Milan,' containing the song 'Home, Sweet Home,' was produced in New York on November 12, 1823. The opera itself soon melted into oblivion, but the song has survived as one of the most widely popular lyrics ever composed. Other operas given in New York between 1819 and 1825 include Braham's 'English Fleet,' 'The Deserter,' Bishop's 'Henry IV,' Kelly's 'Russian,' Bishop's 'Montrose,' 'The Duenna,' and Bishop's 'Maid Marian.'
III
One turns with relief to contemporary opera in New Orleans. The preëminence of New Orleans as an operatic centre among American cities of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries was as marked as that of New York has been in recent times, though its population was only a fraction of that possessed by New York, Philadelphia, or Boston. Of course, New Orleans really was not an American city and did not contain any considerable number of American residents until many years after the Louisiana Purchase. It was, in effect, a French provincial city with a metropolitan flavor due to its position as the head of a rich and important colony. When one remembers the notably gregarious instincts of Frenchmen and their intense and tenacious devotion to the homeland, it is easy to understand how in New Orleans they reproduced as far as possible the social and artistic conditions of Paris. The thoroughly French character of New Orleans and its life remained unchanged during the Spanish régime, and even the purchase effected no appreciable change until many years had passed. This was especially so at the opera, which even now remains a thoroughly French institution, and it has been said that until after the Civil War American visitors to the opera were very rare. Indeed, opera is a form of art which has always appealed less to native Americans than to foreign-born citizens.
Information on the actual beginnings of opera in New Orleans are rather scanty, but we know that a regular troupe of French comedians and singers appeared there in 1791, and it is to be assumed that they presented operas of Grétry, Gluck, Dalayrac, Monsigny, and others, more or less efficiently. Opera, drama, and ballet in the best French manner were given at M. Croquet's Théâtre St. Philippe in 1808. Another theatre was built in St. Peter Street in 1810, and among the operas given there in that and the following year were Paesiello's 'Barber of Seville' and Zingarelli's 'Romeo and Juliet.' The arrival of John Davis in 1811 with a troupe from San Domingo marks one of the real epochs in American operatic activities. Davis built the Théâtre d'Orléans in 1813 and, when it was burned down four years later, he rebuilt it at a cost of $180,000. This new theatre was by far the finest and best appointed in America. Opera was given there three times a week by a regular opera company, and not by artists who combined opera with the spoken drama, as was customary elsewhere in America. After the death of John Davis his son Pierre conducted the theatre for twenty-five years. The glories of French opera in New Orleans during those years must await mention in a later chapter, but, remarkable as they were, they hardly surpassed the achievements of the elder Davis during a period when opera elsewhere in America offered little of interest or artistic importance. The works of Rossini, Mozart, Spontini, Méhul, Grétry, Gluck, and other of the most eminent operatic composers were given in the best manner by competent orchestras and ensembles, by distinguished conductors and soloists. Beginning with García's visit in 1825, New York received frequent attentions from foreign opera companies, and soon was enjoying an operatic life which has now grown to proportions surpassed by few cities in the world, but at least half of the nineteenth century had passed away before New Orleans lost its proud position as the real home of opera in America.
W. D. D.
FOOTNOTES:
[37] One must except Mr. Sonneck, who has unearthed some interesting material on opera in America prior to 1750. The reader is referred to his article in 'The New Music Review,' New York, Vol. 6, 1907.