(1) Italo Campanini (Parma: 30 June 1845 - Parma: 22 Nov 1896): Italian tenor, brother of Cleofonte Campanini. Debut in Parma (1863) as Gennaro in Lucrezia Borgia. First Italian Lohengrin (Bologna, 1871). London debut at Drury Lane in 1872 as Gennaro as well. Sang Faust in the first performance at the Metropolitan Opera (22 Oct 1883).

Campanini superstition: "Campanini couldn't get along unless he had a dried prune in his waistcoat pocket." Brooklyn Eagle 8 Jul 1888.

(2) Giuseppe Del Puente (Naples: 30 Jan 1841 - Philadelphia: 25 May 1900), Italian baritone. He first studied with the cello at the Naples Conservatory. He made his debut at Iasi, Romania. Early in his career he appeared in Naples (at the Teatro San Carlo), Spain (1870), Rome (1873: Teatro Argentina), London (1873: Drury Lane), Parma (Teatro Regio) and La Scala (1875). In 1878 he appeared at the New York Academy of Music (another source has him making an appearance there in 1874). In 1883 he sang Valentin in Faust in the first ever performance at the Metropolitan Opera. Del Puente had a son, Joseph, who was also a baritone but his career was brief. Seen here as Escamillo.

The extremely transitory nature of operatic glory is emphasized by the death of Del Puente in Philadelphia, where he had been a singing teacher for several years. Twenty years ago Del Puente's Toreador in "Carmen" was the idol of New York. His grace, his dash and his power gave him in this opera an equal hold with the golden-voiced Campanini, who sang Don Jose. Brooklyn Eagle 26 May 1900.

(3) Etelka Gerster (as Marguerite in Faust): Hungarian dramatic soprano (25 Jun 1855 - 20 Aug 1920). Studied with Marchesi in Vienna. Debut in Venice as Gilda in Rigoletto (8 Jan 1876). Great successes in Berlin and Budapest. Married Carlo Gardini. London and NY (Academy of Music) debuts as Amina in Sonnambula. She was an Adelina Patti rival, and her success caused some bitter feelings between the two singers.

(4) Roberto Stagno: Italian tenor (1840-1897): Made his debut (1862) in Lisbon as Rodrigo in Rossini's Otello. He was popular in South America, Spain, and Italy. He created the role of Turridu in the premiere of Cavalleria Rusticana (17 May 1890). He sang at the Metropolitan Opera during its inaugural season (1883-84). He married Gemma Bellincioni in 1886, and together they had a daughter, Bianca (1888-1980), who studied as a soprano with her mother.

(5) Victor Capoul: French tenor (2 Feb 1839 - 13 Feb 1924): Debut (1861) at the Opéra-Comique in Le Chalet. Sang mostly in London, Paris, and NY. He lost his entire fortune to speculation. Bitter, he burned all of the mementos he collected over the years. Rare recordings on Fonotipia exist but mostly recorded later in his career.

(6) Clarice Campobello [Clarice Sinico - née Marini]: Italian soprano. Sang Donna Elvira at the Academy of Music (New York) 6 Nov 1878 with Frapolli, Del Puente, Minnie Hauk and others. She also appeared in a matinee Carmen there on 16 Nov 1878 as Micaela. A rare signed image of the soprano.

(7) Guiditta Faentini Galassi: Wife of Antonio Galassi. At the time of this photograph Antonio Galassi was singing with the Mapleson Company. Signora Galassi appeared with pianist Jossefy at Brooklyn's Academy of Music on 28 Oct 1879. She is "a singer of merit, and will be likely to establish herself in popular favor. She has a pleasing mezzo-soprano voice, and although apparently not quite at home on the concert stage, the impression she made was agreeable and creditable to her. Her two songs, O Mio Fernando from La Favorita and the Brindisi from Lucrezia Borgia were hardly in keeping with the character of the rest of the concert. Nevertheless, she made a successful debut and was heartily encored in both, responding with Mozart's Voi che sapete the first time, and repeating a part of Brindisi afterward. Her task was somewhat thankless and difficult, and she deserves credit for her performance. The house was well filled with an audience of the best character." On 12 Oct 1879 the rumor that Guiditta and Antonio Galassi would be coming to New York for the season appeared in the New York Times. They had just appeared together on the stage in Parma in Marchetti's Ruy Blas as Casilda and Don Salustio, respectively. "This lady [Signora Galassi], by the way, is unknown to our country, but enjoys a high musical fame in Italy, Spain, and Mexico ...."

(8-9) Minnie Hauk [orig. Mignon Hauck] American soprano (26 Nov 1851 - 6 Feb 1929): Debut Brooklyn 1866 as Amina. London CG, Paris, Brussels, Moscow, Berlin. First American Juliette (which she sang the day before her 16th birthday), Carmen (seen here), and Manon. Appeared one season at the Met and then organized her own opera company. She retired at the height of her career to live with her husband at Wagner's villa at Triebschen. Lost her fortune during WW I and was thereafter supported through donations from American opera lovers. Both of these cabinet card images were taken in the same 'sitting'. The second one was damaged by an inkwell spill.

(10) Sofia Scalchi: Italian mezzo-soprano (29 Nov 1850 - 22 Aug 1922): Debut Mantua 1866 as Ulrica. London CG (1868 - 1890). Toured US with Mapleson company. She was Siebel at the opening of the Metropolitan Opera (1883). First American Mistress Quickly, La Cieca, and Emilia. Great volume and range, and command of coloratura. Said to have four (perhaps uneven) registers. A seemingly innocent portrait, Scalchi is wearing a brooch with "Calve" engraved on it. A gift from Emma Calvé?

(11) Marcella Sembrich: Polish soprano (15 Feb 1858 - 11 Jan 1935): Debut (1877) as Elvira (I Puritani) in Athens. Dresden Royal Opera, Met, Paris, Milan, Berlin, Vienna, Stockholm, Brussels. Equally adept with the piano and violin and often accompanied herself. One of the most famous coloratura sopranos in operatic history.

(12) Antonio Galassi: Italian baritone (1845 - 1904): Covent Garden 1875 Italian Royal Opera season. Father to Elvira Galassi di Lorenzo (Cesena: 30 Aug 1883 - Mailand: 21 Apr 1954). Galassi was part of Adelina Patti's touring company along with Mme Fabbri (contralto), Louise Engel (mezzo), Durwald Lely (tenor), and Franco Navara (bass) [Music Hall: New York: 13 Nov 1893]. Also at the Music Hall on 21 Feb 1893, Galassi participated in a benefit (Orthopedic Dispensary and Hospital) concert of Wagner's music. He was not well received: "The same cannot be said for Signor Galassi, except in one instance when he lost the pitch on an entrance. In other places he had a firm grip on every note, and he kept it till his breath was well-nigh spent. His phrasing was consequently highly original and not lovely." He was seen at Chickering Hall in New York [2 Feb 1892] giving a concert (with Emil Fischer, Italo Campanini, Victor Herbert [as a cellist], among others) for the benefit of the basso, Clemente Bologna who had been sick and disabled for a long time.

(13) Husband and wife, Antonio Galassi and Guiditta Faentini Galassi.

(14) Zélie De Lussan: American (Brooklyn) mezzo-soprano (1861 - 18 Dec 1949): Concert debut at 16 in the Academy of Music (NY). Stage debut 1884 in Boston with the Boston Ideal Opera Company, 1885. Great success at Covent Garden (1895 - 1902). She sang Anne in the first American performance of Falstaff (Met Opera: 4 Feb 1895). Married pianist Angelo Fronani. Rare Victor records.

Mlle Zelie de Lussan, prima donna, has changed her mind. This in itself is nothing remarkable, for she is a woman, and, as the world knows, it is a woman’s privilege to alter her opinion as often and whenever she pleases. The point on which she has changed her mind that is of interest to Brooklynites, however, is on her expressed determination to become a vaudevillienne at the weekly pittance of $2,000, for it was in this city and at the Adams street theater that she was to first see a metropolitan audience over the vaudeville footlights. But, now that her mind is made up to the contrary, Brooklyn theater-goers will have to struggle along as best they can --- unless she changes it again….She was simply holding off for a raise. [The] demoiselle has written to the representative of Messrs. Hyde & Behman to the effect that they could not offer her money enough to tempt her to sing twice a day, “not even if I were to receive $5,000 per week,” as she tersely says in her letter. And now for the reason. Mlle de Lussan is, it seems, betrothed to one Chevalier d’Acosta, a don of Spain, and, when it was flashed under the ocean that his inamorata was to do a turn in the vaudevilles, he was in a mighty rage. Hyde & Behman were greatly disappointed over Mlle. Zelie de Lussan’s decision, for they regarded her conversion to the lighter form of amusement as a direct result of their efforts, and said last evening that they considered the Chevalier d’Acosta’s interference with their plans as a good cause for a suspension of diplomatic relations between Uncle Sam and the don. Brooklyn Eagle 17 Feb 1901

(15) Clara Louise Kellogg (Sumterville, SC: 12 Jul 1842 - New Haven, CT: 13 May 1916). American soprano and impresario. She made her debut at the NY Academy of Music (27 Feb 1861) as Gilda (Rigoletto). She was the first New York Marguerite (Faust) (25 Nov 1863). London debut (2 Nov 1867) as Marguerite at Her Majesty's Theatre. In 1872 she formed an opera company with Pauline Lucca and then formed her own, the English Opera Company. She retired in 1887.

(16-17) Marie Roze [orig. Hippolyte Ponsin] (2 mar 1846 - 21 Jun 1926): French soprano. Debut Paris Opéra-Comique (1865) in Herold's Marie. London; Carl Rosa U.S. tour; First London Manon. Married Mapleson's son, had son Raymond Roze (1875-1920) who produced opera at Covent Garden.

(18) Therese Tietjens [also Tietiens] (1831- 1877): A Mora image of the German soprano (of Hungarian parents). She made her debut (1848) as Erma in Le Macon in Hamburg. She was London's first Amelia (un Ballo in Maschera), Marguerite (Faust), Leonora (La Forza del Destino), Elena (Vêpres Siciliennes), Mireille, and Medea. On 13 Apr 1858 Tietjens opened the season at Her Majesty's Theatre in London as Valentin in Huguenots. The Queen, who was in attendance, said "It was beautiful." Tietjen's appearances were a great success. By the late 1870s Tietjens, who in her later years often performed in pain, died of cancer and was buried in London's Kensal Green Cemetery. Mora does not disappoint us with this winter scene of Madame Tietjens on a frozen lake.

(19) American (naturalized) soprano Emma Juch (Vienna: 4 Jul 1863 - New York: 6 Mar 1939). Juch's parents were Austrian and Emma was born while they were visiting America. She made her debut (1881) at Her Majesty's in London as Philine (Mignon). Shortly thereafter she appeared at the New York Academy of Music in the same role. She was part of the National Opera Company. When it ran into difficulties she reorganized the company into the Much Grand Opera Company, which toured throughout the States, Canada, and Mexico. She was very much a champion of singing opera in English.

(20) Italo Campanini.

(21) Etelka Gerster (with candle): Hungarian dramatic soprano (25 Jun 1855 - 20 Aug 1920). Studied with Marchesi in Vienna. Debut in Venice as Gilda in Rigoletto (8 Jan 1876). Great successes in Berlin and Budapest. Married Carlo Gardini. London and NY (Academy of Music) debuts as Amina in Sonnambula. She was an Adelina Patti rival, and her success caused some bitter feelings between the two singers. Seen here in Faust.

Mme. Gerster is a young lady of winning presence. She is about medium height, has a rich growth of light hair, and features molded in the German culture, and when she converses her mouth wears a peculiarly charming smile, her blue eyes sparkle, and her voice is low, but very musical. New York Times, 4 Nov 1878.

(22-24) Marie Roze [orig. Hippolyte Ponsin] (2 mar 1846 - 21 Jun 1926): French soprano. Debut Paris Opéra-Comique (1865) in Herold's Marie. London; Carl Rosa U.S. tour; First London Manon. Married Mapleson's son, had son Raymond Roze (1875-1920) who produced opera at Covent Garden. Here are two Mora images from the same studio session.

(25) Sybil Sanderson: "Sybil Sanderson is to sing in Brooklyn [in Manon]. Miss Sanderson ranks with the very greatest of famous songstresses in grand opera. Undeniably the queen of American singers, among whom are numbered such artists as Emma Eames, Zelie de Lussan, and Lucile Hill, she stands in the operatic world second only to Mme. Melba. To the Eagle reporter who found her in her apartments at the St. James Hotel yesterday afternoon it became obvious that she is not only a great artist but also a very beautiful young woman…. Miss Sanderson said:

“I hear that the Academy of Music is very nice both in its size and in the arrangement of its stage. It is about two-third as large as the Metropolitan Opera house, is it not? I am looking forward with a great deal of pleasure to singing Manon there. Oh, thank you. Do you really think I shall receive a cordial welcome in Brooklyn? I only hope it will be as flattering as you promise. If it proves as cordial as that extended to me here I shall be more than pleased. Of course, I wish to be liked in America and in America’s chief cities, for am I not American myself despite my long absence on the other side? I have never given up my nationality and am as proud of it to-day as ever before.

“Now about Manon, which I shall sing in Brooklyn. I was much surprised and disappointed about it here. Massenet, the very day I left Paris, assured me that the entire opera had been re-written and that all the recitative music had been sent on here. There was to be no speaking dialogue, whatever. On my arrival here, however, they told me that there was none of that music here. There was no other alternative. We had to use frequent dialogue, and it injured very much the artistic value of the opera. I knew all the music, but I could not sing it when the rest only spoke it. M. Jean de Reszke alone knew the music. In our scenes the parts were sung entire. As you can see, I was greatly disappointed. Manon is much better adapted to a house the size of the Academy. It will sound much better, I am sure, there than it did in the Metropolitan Opera house. It is too big, too huge. My voice is as large as the usual sopranos, but it is an effort to fill a building as large as the Metropolitan Opera house. As to the criticisms that my high notes were shrill Wednesday evening, I will say this: Of course I realize that my voice is not as full as I should like it, but it is growing more so every year. When I began singing I had nothing but high notes. You may remember that I had to take high G in ‘Esclarmonde.’ [Parisians called it her "Eiffel Tower note."] Well, I sang ‘Esclarmonde’ 100 times, and then I stopped singing in public altogether for six months. I went to my singing teacher during that time every day and tried to find my low notes. I am happy of the critics who think I have found them. But you and the opera goers of Brooklyn will have to judge for yourselves when I sing over there. After all, you must hear to know. I hope they will like Manon and --- me.

“No, the part was not re-written for me. It had been created eight years before I commenced to sing at all, but in the interim, Massenet had not produced it because he could not find anyone whom he liked for the part. The character I take is, as you know, that of a young girl. I am not just sweet 16, but I am still young enough in face and figure for it, and the author liked my singing. That is the reason I was selected to re-introduce it.” 20 Jan 1895.