This was followed by a production of Gounod's _Mirella_, in which Emma Nevada again appeared with brilliant success; and afterwards by _La Gazza Ladra_, with Patti and Scalchi in the leading _rôles_. On the 24th November, it being the 25th anniversary of Patti's first appearance at the New York Academy of Music, great preparations were made for the purpose of celebrating her silver wedding with the New York operatic stage. The opera selected for the occasion was _Lucia di Lammermoor_, being the same work in which she had appeared exactly 25 years previously on the Academy boards. Patti's first "Edgardo," Signor Brignoli, was to have appeared with her. But his sudden death necessitated an alteration of the original programme, and it was decided to give an opera which the _Diva_ had never sung in America, namely, _Martha_. The following account of Patti's _début_, which appeared in the New York Herald, of November 25th, 1859, will be read with interest:-- "DÉBUT OF MISS PATTI. "A young lady, not yet seventeen, almost an American by birth, having arrived here when an infant, belonging to an Italian family which has been fruitful of good artists, sang last night the favourite _rôle_ of _débutantes_, 'Lucia di Lammermoor.' "Whether it is from the natural sympathy with the forlorn _fiancée_ of the Master of Ravenswood which is infused into the female breast with Donizetti's tender music, or from a clever inspiration that to be unhappy and pretty is a sure passport to the affections of an audience, we cannot say. Certain it is, however, that the aspirants for the ovations, the triumphs, the glories, that await a successful prima donna almost always select this opera for their preliminary dash at the laurels. The music affords a fine opportunity to show the quality and cultivation of the soprano voice, and it is so familiar as to provoke comparison with first-rate artists, and provoke the severest criticisms by the most rigid recognized tests. "All these were duly and thoroughly applied to Miss Adelina Patti a day or two since by a very critical audience at what was called a show rehearsal. It was then ascertained that Miss Patti had a fine voice, and that she knew how to sing. The artists and amateurs were in raptures. This was a certificate to the public, who do not nowadays put their faith in managers' announcements, unless they are endorsed. With an off-night and an opera worn to bits, the public interest in Miss Patti's _début_ was so great as to bring together a very large audience, rather more popular than usual, but still numbering the best-known _habitués_ and most critical amateurs. The _débutante_ was received politely but cordially--an indication that there was not a strong claque, which was a relief. Her appearance was that of a very young lady, _petite_ and interesting, with just a tinge of schoolroom in her manner. She was apparently self-possessed, but not self-assured.