The HTML version of this text produced by Bob Frone can be found
at <http://www.intac.com/~rfrone/operas/Books/oper-books.htm>
Plain text adaption by Andrew Sly.
A BOOK OF OPERAS
THEIR HISTORIES, THEIR PLOTS, AND THEIR MUSIC
BY HENRY EDWARD KREHBIEL
TO
LUGIEN WULSIN
AN OLD FRIEND
"Old friends are best."--SELDEN.
"I love everything that's old,--old friends, old times, old manners,
old books, old wine."--GOLDSMITH.
"Old wood to burn! Old wine to drink! Old friends to trust!
Old authors to read!"--MELCHIOR.
CONTENTS
Chapter I "Il Barbiere di Siviglia"
First performance of Italian opera in the United States--Production of
Rossini's opera in Rome, London, Paris, and New York--Thomas Phillipps
and his English version--Miss Leesugg and Mrs. Holman--Emanuel Garcia
and his troupe--Malibran--Early operas in America--Colman's "Spanish
Barber"--Other Figaro operas--How Rossini came to Write "Il Barbiere"
--The story of a fiasco--Garcia and his Spanish song--"Segui, o caro"
--Giorgi-Righetti--The plot of the opera--The overture--"Ecco ridente
in cielo"--"Una voce poco fà,"--Rossini and Patti--The lesson scene
and what singers have done with it--Grisi, Alboni, Catalani, Bosio,
Gassier, Patti, Sembrich, Melba, and Viardot--An echo of Haydn.