Maretzek Italian Opera: Dom Sébastien, roi de Portugal

Listed in “Amusements This Evening.”

“Since Faust was the early passion of the opera going public, when twenty-seven hundred people once went to hear it at a matinee, there was never a larger audience on a similar occasion than Don Sebastian brought together yesterday at the Academy. The weather, we need not say, was most unfavorable, but it did not in the least affect the desire of the public to hear this fine work of Donizetti for the last time at a matinee. The opera was given with its usual excellence for the ninth time.  The artists, probably inspired by the immense house, sang admirably.  The tenor, Signor Massimiliani, however, we are sorry to state, was suffering from a recent accident consequent upon the unsafe condition of the streets, having received a severe fall on Thursday.  But, though enduring considerable pain, he unselfishly consented to sing rather than disappoint the public. Don Sebastian, as we anticipated, will have to be repeated once more, and is announced for to-morrow (Monday) night.”

One line only.  “[The matinee] of last Saturday was, in spite of unpleasant weather, one of the most brilliant entertainments of the kind ever given here.”

Very brief.  “The matinée on Saturday was brilliantly attended, fully sixteen hundred ladies—without counting the other sex—being present on the occasion. The condition of the weather did not promise such a flattering result. It proves, however, that ‘Don Sebastian’ has taken a firm hold of the public fancy. The applications at the Box office for a repetition have been so numerous that Mr. Maretzek has concluded to give the opera once more to-night.”