13 - An Opera for Every Taste: The New York Scene, 1862–1869

Summary

New York City in the mid-nineteenth century was a major metropolis that, in terms of opera, easily equaled the largest cities in England and on the European continent. With a population of more than 800,000, of which about 40 percent were immigrants, the city was more multicultural than most of its counterparts across the ocean. That ethnic diversity was reflected in many of its cultural offerings; in opera, for example, New Yorkers could hear Auber's Fra Diavolo or Gounod's Faust in German or Italian or, in the case of Donizetti's La fille du régiment, in addition to those languages, in English as well. Between 1862 and 1869, more than a thousand performances of opera took place in the city. Of the more than one hundred operas performed, thirty-eight were “current” works; that is, they had received a world premiere in 1855 or later.

Certain operas were clearly audience favorites. Fourteen—including the current international hits, Gounod's Faust and Verdi's Un ballo in maschera—were heard every season or every season but one. An additional fifteen operas, including eight that were recent, received more than ten performances, although they were not presented every year. During the early 1860s, even though the Civil War was being fought, Gothamites could expect to attend between forty and fifty different operas each season. Only the ferocity of the war reduced the number of performances given during the 1864–1865 season.

Three composers’ works dominate the list of works seen by metropolitan audiences: Donizetti, with twelve operas; Verdi, with ten; and Offenbach, with at least seventeen! The works of several composers famous in the nineteenth century but unknown today are also represented: Petrella's Ione, Cagnoni's Don Bucefalo, and the Ricci brothers’ Crispino e la comare. English operas heard include Sir Julius Benedict's Lily of Killarney, William Vincent Wallace's Maritana and Lurline, and Michael Balfe's The Bohemian Girl and The Rose of Castille. Comic operas by resident composers include Julius Eichberg's The Doctor of Alcantara and The Two Cadis, both of which were well received; and Robert Stoepel's Gamea, or the Jewish Mother and Edward Mollenhauer's The Corsican Bride, which did not garner acclaim.