Event Comment: Benefit for Vestris? Jun. Opera: In 2 acts; the music by Piccinni, and conducted by Bianchi. With new Scenes painted by Novosielski. New Dresses and Decorations both for the Opera and Dances. Mme Simonet will this Evening reassume her station at the Opera House; but as she is not perfectly recovered from the consequences of her late Accidnet, she hopes for the indulgence of the Public, from whom she has already received so many flattering proofs of Approbation. Tickets, 10s. 6d., to be had of Vestris, No. 5, Leicester-street, Leicester-fields. "Last Thursday was the benefit of Vestris and son; the house could not receive and contain the multitudes that presented themselves. Their oblations amounted to fourteen hundred pounds" (Walpole [26 Feb. 1781], XI, 406)

Event Comment: Benefit for Mons and Mme Bithmere, and Le Baruf, Composers and principal Performers of the Dramatic Romance of The Rival Knights. Gazetteer, 7 May: Tickets to be had of Mons and Mme Bithmere and of Le Boeuf at Stacy's, colourman, corner of Long-acre. Receipts: #101 8s. 6d. (73/0/6; tickets: 28/8/0) (charge: #105)

Event Comment: [The playbill retains Mme Mara, but "The severe illness of Mme Mara rendered it impossible for her to appear yesterday evening...Her airs were executed by the other performers, who undertook to sustain her part, with taste and spirit" (Morning Chronicle, 10 Mar.).

Event Comment: Benefit for Mme Mara. A new Serious Opera. Under the direction of Federici. Tickets to be had of Mme Mara at her house, No. 8, Golden-square

Event Comment: Afterpiece [1st time; MD 2, by Jeremiah Meyer and William Hayley, "from the German." Larpent MS 941; not published; synopsis of plot in Morning Herald, 18 Apr.]: With new Scenery, Machinery, Dresses and Decorations. The Music selected from Ditteus [i.e. Dittersdorf], Rauzzini and Salieri; the Overture and new Music by Reeve. Book of the Songs to be had at the Theatre. [Mme Carnevale had 1st appeared at king's in 1783.] Receipts: #252 3s. 6d. (242.19.6; 9.4.0)

Event Comment: [The playbill announces Nina, but "Last night the grand tragic opera of Semiramide was revived, in which Mme Banti and Viganoni received all their usual applause. [In the new dance] there is a charming pas de deux by Didelot and Rose" (Morning Chronicle, 3 Jan.).

Event Comment: Benefit for Mme Banti. A new Serious Opera [1st performed at Florence, 1795]; the Music by Paisiello [with additions by Benelli, Federici and Guglielmi]

Event Comment: Mainpiece [1st time; CO 3, by Andrew Franklin]: The Scenery, Machinery, Dresses and Decorations entirely new. The Overture and Musick composed by Florio. The Scenes, designed by Greenwood, and painted by him, Banks, and assistants. The Machinery, Dresses and Decorations designed by Johnston, and executed by him, Gay, and Underwood. The Female Dresses designed and made under the direction of Miss Rein. Books of the Songs to be had at the Theatre. "With thy exception of Pizarro, this is one of the most magnificent spectacles the stage has for some time produced. The dresses...are attended with particular accuracy to the costume of the country...and the scenery is locally correct" (Monthly Mirror, Mar. 1800, p. 173). "As a singer [Mme Mara's] powers are indisputable; but as a performer she exhibits herself in a light which alternately provokes our ridicule and pity. Her delivery is an absolute libel on the profession. To the defects of a foreign pronunciation she joins a natural impediment of speech, which partakes too strongly of a lisp to warrant her bearing part in the prose dialogue of a play. What could possibly induce her to appear before the public under such disadvantages, unless she did it in compliment to the composer, we are at a loss to conjecture; nor less are we puzzled to account for the supineness of an audience which can patiently tolerate such puny efforts" (Dramatic Censor, I, 347-48). Morning Chronicle, 14 June 1800: This day is published The Egyptian Festival (2s.). Receipts: #320 18s. 6d. (277.6.6; 42.8.0; 1.4.0)

Event Comment: A Comic Opera; the Music by Paisiello. The Dialogue, for the first time in this Country, will be delivered without the Music of the Recitative. "Nina [Bolla] performed for her benefit in a novel and singular manner, the dialogue being spoken in prose without recitative, which had not a bad effect; but this way of acting it was deemed an infringement of the rights of the English theatres, and after a few nights it was stopped by authority, as unlawful at the Opera" (Mount-Edgcumbe, 111-12). Tickets to be had of Mme Bolla, No. 6, Haymarket

Event Comment: A revived Serious Opera, with Grand Chorusses, New Dresses and Decorations; the Music by Sacchini. "In the second act [Mme Mara, who sang Andromeda] was encored in a song of Bravura . .. The amazing extent of her voice never appeared in a more conspicuous light... As to the Chorusses, we understand that they were under the immediate direction of Mme Mara, which accounts for the uncommon precision with which they were executed" (General Advertiser, 22 Mar.)

Event Comment: Benefit for Kelly. Part of the Pit will be laid into the Boxes. To prevent Confusion, Ladies are desired to send their servants by Half past Four o'Clock. [Mme Mara had sung in concert at the Pantheon in 1784; in opera at the king's in 1786; and in the dl oratorios in 1787 and 1788.] Public Advertiser, 27 Mar.: Tickets to be had of Kelly, No. 48, Rathbone Place. Receipts: #351 5s. 6d. (177.12.0; 9.13.6; 0.5.0; tickets: 163.15.0) (charge: #111 3s.)

Event Comment: Mainpiece: Not acted these 8 years [acted 1 May 1792, Mme Mara had appeared in the oratorios at this theatre in the present season, as well as in 1792-93 and 1793-94]. Receipts: #216 11s. 6d. (210.8.0; 6.3.6)

Event Comment: Among the Principal Instrumental Performers are G. Ashley, Leader of the Band; C. Ashley, Principal Violoncello; Wm. Parke, Sarjant, J. Mahon, Boyce, Bridgtower, Parkinson, Lavenu, Taylor, W. Ware, Flack, Dressler, Gwilliam, Nicks, [the] Munros, I. Sharp, W. Sharp, M. Sharp, J. Sharp, Archer, Cobham, Jackson, Wood, Coyle, Cornish, Purney, Leffler, Woodham, Piele, [the] Cantelos, Skillern, Beale, Lloyd, Franki, Simpson, Jenkinson, &c.; J. Ashley, Organ; R. Ashley, Double Drums (used at Westminster Abbey). The Chorusses will be numerous and complete. The whole under the Direction of Ashley. Boxes 6s. Pit 3s. 6d. Gallery 2s. Upper Gallery 1s. Places for the Boxes to be taken of Brandon at the Office in Hart-street. The Doors to be opened at 6:00. To begin at 7:00 [same throughout oratorio season]. Books of the Performance (with the imprimatur of E. Macleish) to be had at the Theatre. [Sga Galli did not sing in The Messiah when it was originally performed in Dublin in 1742, or in London in 1743, in which year the cg oratories under Handel were established.] "I had the curiosity to go, and heard [Sga Galli] sing, 'He was despised and rejected of men' in the Messiah. Of course her voice was cracked and trembling, but it was easy to see her school was good; and it was pleasing to observe the kindness with which she was received, and listened to; and to mark the animation and delight with which she seemed to hear again the music in which she had formerly been a distinguished performer. The poor old woman had been in the habit of coming to me annually for a trifling present; and she told me on that occasion that nothing but the severest distress should have compelled her so to expose herself, which after all did not answer its end, as she was not paid according to her agreement" (Mount-Edgcumbe, pp. 19-20). [At the rehearsal, 1 Mar., I know that my Redeemer liveth sung by Mme Mara; Comfort ye my people by Braham; But@thou didst not leave by Miss Poole (Morning Herald, 2 Mar.).] "The chorusses are not such as would give satisfaction to a musical amateur: in this department we must endeavour to be content with noise and bawling, instead of sense and science:--they are not, however, worse than usual" (Monthly Visitor, Mar.1797, p. 262)

Event Comment: "We consider Madame Mara, to use vulgar phrase, as upon he last legs...[Her] Polly is downright burlesque; her figure, countenance, and time of life are directly repugnant to our ideas of the character; and her foreign accent and gesticulation complete the absurdity" (Monthly Mirror, Nov. 1797, p. 299). "Mme Mara is merely a singer; her voice is by no means calculated to give effect to the dialogue of the part; and her performance, although she appears to have paid considerable attention to the degree of action necessary for the part, is greatly deficient in point of feeling...Her deficiency in person and performance, however, is amply compensated for in her ability as a singer" (Morning Herald, 26 Oct.) Receipts: #329 16s. (324.6; 5.10)

Event Comment: Mme Mara is prevented by a Severe Hoarseness from appearing this Evening; but will perform in Love in a Village [advertised on playbill of 8 Nov.] on Wednesday next. [2nd piece in place of Catherine and Petruchio, advertised as above.] Receipts: #193 6s. 6d. (185.6.6; 8.0.0)

Event Comment: Mme Allegranti continuing so seriously indisposed, as in opinion of Sir George Baker, to render her immediate appearance [in Il Matrimonio Segreto, advertised in Morning Chronicle, 5 Apr.] extremely dangerous [see 9 Apr.]