Garcia the Centenarian and His Times: Being a Memoir of Manuel Garcia's Life and Labours for the Advancement of Music and ScienceMackinlay, M. (Malcolm) Sterling
History
Garcia the Centenarian and His Times: Being a Memoir of Manuel Garcia's Life and Labours for the Advancement of Music and Science
In 1819 he returned to Paris and became once more a member of the
company at the Théâtre Italien, Catalani having failed and resigned the
reins of management during his absence in England. Here he repeated his
old success in "Otello" and "Don Giovanni," and also took part, on
October 26, in the first performance of "Il Barbiere" ever given in
Paris, at the Salle Louvois. It was again received coldly, as had been
the case on the original production in Rome three and a half years
before. Once more the critics demanded the "Barbiere" of Paisiello,
which was accordingly put on the stage at the Théâtre Italien, only to
meet with dismal failure; and thus in the end Rossini triumphed with it
in the French capital, as he had in that of Italy.
The cast of this Parisian _première_ was as follows:
_Rosina_ Mme. Ronzi de Begnis.
_Figaro_ Signor Pellegrini.
_Bartolo_ Signor Graziani.
_Basilio_ Signor de Begnis.
_Almaviva_ Signor Garcia.
In addition to appearing at the opera Garcia _père_ continued to compose
prolifically. "La Mort du Tasse" and "Florestan" were produced at the
Grand Opera, "Fazzoletto" at the Théâtre Italien, and "La Meunière" at
the Gymnase, while three others were finished but never performed.
Moreover, he devoted a good deal of attention to teaching singing, his
fame attracting a number of pupils, while at the close of the year 1819
he published a book on his 'Method of Singing.'
In the spring of the following year, in which took place the accession
of George IV. to the throne of England, Manuel Garcia paid a flying
visit to Spain. It was destined to be the last time he ever saw his
native country. The fact is a curious one when we remember his intense
love for Spain, which was so strong that, in spite of his spending the
last fifty-eight years of his life in England, nothing would have
induced him to become a naturalised British subject.
On his return from Madrid he commenced the study of harmony, for, as has
been already stated, his father was a firm believer in the necessity of
every singer being a musician in the broadest sense of the word. For
this work he was placed under François Joseph Fétis, who had just
succeeded Elen as professor of counterpoint and fugue at the
Conservatoire. This was six years before Fétis became librarian of the
institution--a position in which he was enabled to prepare his famous
'Biographie Universelle des Musiciens,' which is one of the greatest
monuments to the achievements of musical genius ever reared. He was
indeed a remarkable man, who displayed talent not only as teacher, but
composer, historian, critic, and author of various theoretical works.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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