Maretzek Italian Opera: Il trovatore – Opening Night

Event Information

Venue(s):
Academy of Music

Manager / Director:
Max Maretzek

Conductor(s):
Jaime Nuno

Event Type:
Opera

Record Information

Status:
Published

Last Updated:
29 August 2018

Performance Date(s) and Time(s)

01 Feb 1864, 7:30 PM

Program Details

Opening Night.

Jone was cancelled at the last minute because of Biachi’s indisposition.

Performers and/or Works Performed

2)
aka Troubadour
Composer(s): Verdi
Text Author: Cammarano

Citations

1)
Announcement: New-York Times, 28 October 1863, 7.

 “The regular Winter season of Italian Opera will begin, under the present management, during the first week in February 1864.”

2)
Advertisement: New-York Times, 26 January 1864, 7.

Jone announced for opening night.

3)
Announcement: New-York Times, 27 January 1864, 4.


4)
Announcement: New York Herald, 28 January 1864.

 “On Monday evening Maretzek commences a season of sixteen nights of opera at our Academy of Music. There will be performances four nights in the week for regular subscription.” Opening night listed as Petrella’s Jone.

5)
Advertisement: Courrier des États-Unis, 28 January 1864.


6)
Announcement: New York Post, 30 January 1864.

Jone announced for opening night.

7)
Announcement: New-York Times, 30 January 1864, 6.

Announces Jone. “Although the ticket office has only been open for a couple of days, the demand for seats has been quite unprecedented.”

8)
Advertisement: New York Herald, 01 February 1864.

Cast for Jone was to be: Josephine Medori (Jone); Henriette Sulzer (Nidia); Francisco Mazzoleni (Glauco); Fernando Bellini (Arbace); Hanibal Biachi (Burbo); Sig. Reichardt (Salustio); Herr Muller (Clodio); Mlle. Milner (Dirce)

9)
Announcement: New York Post, 01 February 1864, 2.

“Mr. Maretzek begins his opera season to-night under unusually favorable auspices. The subscriptions for the sixteen nights have been very liberal, and the general public manifests an interest in the enterprise which has seldom been awarded to previous operatic undertakings.”

10)
Announcement: New-York Times, 01 February 1864.

Jone announced for opening night.

11)
Advertisement: New-York Times, 01 February 1864, 7.

Announces Jone, starting time of 8 pm. Cast (Jone).

12)
Announcement: Courrier des États-Unis, 01 February 1864.

Announces Ione.

13)
Advertisement: New-Yorker Staats-Zeitung und Herold, 01 February 1864.

Announces Jone.

14)
Review: New York Herald, 02 February 1864.

“The weather was wretched last night, on the occasion of the inauguration of Mr. Maretzek’s grand operatic season, but, nevertheless, a very large and very fashionable audience filled our Academy of Music. Owing to the indisposition of Signor Biachi there was a change in the programme, Il Trovatore being substituted for Ione. That the audience were not annoyed at this was evinced by their hearty applause of Verdi’s chef d’œuvre, admirably sung by Maretzek’s artists. The Trovatore will ever be a favorite opera—that is, unless the dreary ‘music of the future’ should become appreciated by the public, in which case the melodies that abound throughout the Trovatore would sound as much out of place as jig tunes in church. We shall have passed away ere that period, we fondly hope, as we can conceive of no greater punishment than listening to the music we have above mentioned, Chinese tam-tams begin quite cheerful in comparison.

To return to our artists, we will state that one and all were in admirable voice, and that they sang Verdi’s beautiful opera in the superior manner we are accustomed to at their hands—no, throats. As they made their appearance they were loudly welcomed by the audience. We noticed that there was more than usual warmth in the applause last evening. The public is doubtless rejoiced at the opportunity of enjoying for a month Opera well sung and well put upon the stage. Il Trovatore is too familiar to the habitues of the Academy for us to do more than notice that the performance as a whole was a great success.

It is now well known by the public that Signor Brignoli has been engaged by Mr. Maretzek, and that we shall have the pleasure of hearing him sing in opera as soon as he recovers from the indisposition he is laboring under. There is, of course, no rivalry intended between Brignoli and Mazzoleni. These artists are different in style, and will not appear in the same operas; still both have hosts of friends, and these, in their desire to patronize their favorites, may get up a sensation. In that case the season will be all the more spirited. We shall then have the war of the roses at the Opera House—York and Lancaster in Irving place.

It was doubtless gratifying to those who were present at the Academy of Music last evening to witness the array of fine toilettes—evidences of the fashionable patronage which awaits this operatic season. We have been caviled in no measured terms by some ‘would be critics and can’t be gentlemen’ because we have insisted upon the fact that fashion is necessary to opera. We repeat the assertion, and wish that the vandals who think otherwise might ever get their plum puddings without plums, their punch without sugar; in short, that their comforts and enjoyments may be incomplete until they learn to appreciate that music, however fine, is all the more enjoyable when heard under advantageous circumstances. Even the finest masterpiece of painting requires a frame. The richest jewel may be enhanced by its setting.”

15)
Review: New York Post, 02 February 1864, 2.

“The opera season was opened last night with the never-failing ‘Trovatore,’ an opera which is always on hand in case of emergency, and is so well known to all artists and chorus singers as to render rehearsals thereof quite superfluous. Biachi’s hoarseness was the cause of its substitution for ‘Ione,’ which had been previously announced.

The opera was given, and [illeg.] were [illeg.] to Mazzoleni’s air ‘Amor sublime, amore,’ in which he introduces a famous crescendo note, and to the Miserere. Medori’s 'Amor sul all’ deserved a similar compliment, especially for the noble and appropriate cadenza with which she closed it, most prima donnas ending this air with a brilliant rapid shower of fiotura [sic] quite inconsistent with the character of the composition. Sulzer and Bellini sang with their usual effect.”

16)
Review: New-York Times, 02 February 1864, 4.

“[A]n attendance that hardly seemed to be affected by the very inclement weather. The house was indeed one of the most fashionable that we have seen in Fourteenth-street for many months. This is the more remarkable when we consider that the opera was changed rather late in the day—owing to the illness of Signor Biachi—a procedure that generally results in material damage to the exchequer. Instead of “Ione” by Petrella, we had the familiar “Trovatore” of Verdi. We need say nothing of the performance, except that the artists on their appearance were hailed with positive signs of approbation, and that the representation was generally good.”

17)
Review: New-Yorker Staats-Zeitung und Herold, 02 February 1864, 8.

Well attended despite the bad weather. The audience was elegant, especially the ladies in the first balcony. The performance was good and the soloists were warmly received.

18)
Announcement: New York Clipper, 06 February 1864.

“Having made a great deal of money in Boston, Max Maretzek hurries back to New York to spend it, and with this end in view, he commences another season of opera at the Academy, this evening, Feb. 1st, with the ‘Last Days of Pompei.’”

19)
Review: New York Clipper, 13 February 1864, 347.

“Max Maretzek's Italian Opera Troupe filled up the entire week at the Academy, giving six operatic performances to pretty good business. [Comment: The troupe only gave five performances this week.] Max is awfully jubilant over the money he made in Boston. He will run the show another week, skipping Ash Wednesday and Thursday.”