French Opera: Galathée

Event Information

Venue(s):
French Theatre

Event Type:
Opera

Record Information

Status:
Published

Last Updated:
16 August 2016

Performance Date(s) and Time(s)

11 Dec 1866, Evening

Performers and/or Works Performed

Citations

1)
Announcement: New York Post, 07 December 1866.
2)
Advertisement: New York Herald, 09 December 1866.
3)
Advertisement: New-York Times, 09 December 1866, 7.
4)
Advertisement: New-Yorker Staats-Zeitung und Herold, 10 December 1866.
5)
Review: New York Herald, 12 December 1866, 7.

“Galathée was enacted for the third time last evening to a crowded house. Mlle. Naddie and M. Wilhem appearing respectively as the statue and the anamored [sic] sculptor, sang with marvelous effect and merited the enthusiastic plaudits and final recall with which their efforts were rewarded. During one of the enr’actes announcement was made [sic] that MM. Juignet and Drivet having withdrawn had placed the management of the theatre in the hands of the associated artistes, and the speaker expressed the hope that the enlightened patrons of music and the drama would accord the performers a continuance of the generous patronage which has never failed their predecessors. The hearty response of the audience gave every assurance that the fashionable and appreciative playgoers of the metropolis, by generous encouragement, will see to the permanent establishment of opera comique—that most refined and delightful of entertainments—in the metropolis of the New World.”

6)
Review: New-York Times, 12 December 1866, 4.

“French Opera.—Last night the successful opera ‘Galathée’ was repeated at the Theatre Francais in Fourteenth-street. The production of this work reflects credit on the management, and displays the capacity of the company to decided advantage. The costumes are admirable, the scenery good, and the artists excellent. We notice, by the way, that on Friday last Mlle. Naddie appeared before a very large audience in Philadelphia, and met with success. The lady came here unheralded, and almost unaided has won her way to a leading position. In ‘Galathée’ she created a sensation, as also did Mr. Wilhelm, as Pygmalion. Before the representation of the opera it was announced by a member of the company that the enterprise had changed hands—that our old friends, Messrs. Juignet and Drivet, had retired, and that the company was mutually supporting itself. Let us hope that this institution of French music and language can be sustained.”

7)
Review: Courrier des États-Unis, 13 December 1866.

[First paragraph is about change in administration of the French Theater—see above article in NY Times.]

“Tuesday, the performance of Galathée didn’t experience any of the effects of the perplexities or emotions of the day [i.e., the change in administration at the French Theater]. M. Wilhem was a perfect singer as always; they covered Mlle Naddie, who was magnificent in the role [of Galathée] with flowers, and MM. Surmont and Edgard had their rightful share of the applause.”